OT: BSG Series

[Captain Kwok]

I caught portions of the opening movie or whatever it was, and wasn't too keen on it. The ship sequences were interesting, but lots of the sets looked like they were put together in some guy's garage and the dialogue/acting was pretty poor or at least aimed at a fairly young demographic.

[Atrocities]

Garage sets is a good way to describe them. Read a few of my Posts about the cheapness of the series. But honestly, the visual effects are quite nice and it doesn't take you long to see that "that" is where there money is going.

[brianeyci]

Atrocities said:
I have to say that this new BSG series is, well, a disappointment of epic proportions. Not that its it a bad series, it simply is so low budge that its almost laughable.

It is just done so dirt cheaply that when you watch it you have to ask yourself "what were they thinking?"

Its really sad that they have to use modern day terms, equipment, and locations becuase they don't have the $$ to do it right.

One actor was actually smoking a ciggerette.

Hi. Well I'm joining the thread late, but here's my two cents. I don't agree with you.

I'm glad there's no plasma guns or phasers. Why would futuristic societies necessarily forget everything about projectile weapons? Would you want banana weapons with no sight or weapons that are completely unergonomical but "look" cool?

What's wrong with an actor smoking a cigarette? Is humanity supposed to be so much better in the future that they give up vices? However self-satisfying that is to think of, good sci-fi writers know that "humans are made of the same stuff, and will keep being made of the same stuff for a long time."

Having replicators, transporters, futuristic ways of going to the toilet etc., doesn't necessarily add to SoD.

Brian

[Atrocities]

Hello,

You make an interesting point, however, BSG is not taking place in our future, that is our society is not what BSG is based upon. Therefore the events, and props, used in BSG should not be the same as they are now. By now, I mean NOW, today, real life. If they are going to smoke a cigarette, then great, but why does it have to be called a cigarette, and look just like the ones that are smoked now?

I too like the fact that they are not using "beam" weapons, replicators, or other technology that makes it easy to explain away who they get things.

They did a good job with a few of the episodes explaining how they got water, and fuel.

Why does a lighter have to be called a lighter in BSG? Because the people who are watching the show are not all that smart. The Sci-Fi channels track record with smart shows is not all that good. They tend to cancel them after a few years. So the dumber the show is, that is to say, the easier it is for dumb people to watch, the longer it Lasts.

I do like this new BSG, I do not like the lack of imagination when it comes to using real world items though. Come on, they come from a differant planet and they still call peanut butter "Peanut butter." The only way this can be explained away is if they did indeedcame from Earth and colonized those colonies in our future. In that sence, then yes, cigerettes are cigerettes, and peanut butter is peanut butter.

Lets watch and see what happens.

[Caduceus]

Atrocities said:
I do like this new BSG, I do not like the lack of imagination when it comes to using real world items though. Come on, they come from a differant planet and they still call peanut butter "Peanut butter." The only way this can be explained away is if they did indeedcame from Earth and colonized those colonies in our future. In that sence, then yes, cigerettes are cigerettes, and peanut butter is peanut butter.

Lets watch and see what happens.

I agree with some of what you're saying, AT, but the problem is carrying stuff for long periods of time in a series. It also has to be accessible to new viewers.

For instance, if they called lighters "flargles" or something strange, it distracts from the story. It is kind of like SG1 stumbling onto a planet where they can always speak to someone. It saves us hours of Daniel Jackson looking off into space and identifying the exact Mayan subculture which derives the word for moon.

If I'm reading a novel or something, I expect consistency in a world and its language(s). If I'm watching TV, I assume they'll take shortcuts, just to keep from doing hours of exposition over the course of a season. Look at it as the Universal Translator changing their "peanut butter" from their source of protein-packed underground legumes which taste good when smeared across leavened yeast products and crushed fruit preserves.

[Caduceus]

I've enjoyed parts of the story so far in BSG, back to topic, I guess. I watched the miniseries for the first time earlier this week. I then watched the two-part opener Last night. I enjoyed "33" quite a bit. There was good character exposition, especially with the civilian carrier at the end. The fact that events carry over, and retaining Helo on Caprica (with a second Boomer) may mean that networks are willing to continue to try large story arcs. And that means we have to watch every week.

[Azselendor]

Remember, Sci-Fi and the UK Networks only agreed to 13-episodes. Plus the miniseries, we got 17 episodes total. SciFi channel has a nasty history of cancelling series for totally random reasons.

But it's still good to see some attempt at a stronger sci-fi series again. I was starting to fear that Enterprisidice had spread worse than the plague.

The reason why they use real world items is the same reason why Kirk in 1967 had a common suitcase in one episode or why Galactica 1980 was created and why UPN made so many bad sci-fi/horror series...

Cost.

It's not making the show accessable or dumbing it down. It's Cost. The original BSG had episode costs between 1 and 2 million per episode. Plus a history of expensive lawsuits with George Lucas. Most networks won't even consider touching such a series without an assurance to reduce cost.

That's what "Water" was about. Water set the tone that the series is gonna be mainly a bottle series with a handful of scenes on earth-like planets. Bottle shows are cheaper, less expensive than on-location shows - one of the key factors in driving up the original series costs.

A more current example is Enteprise's first season where episode costs briefly spiked up as high as 4.5 million each. It's the main reason why the network is hesistant to pick it up. Another is Farscape which reached 2-3 million per episode - but after so many seasons, the audience stopped growing for an unknown reason.

ALL HAIL THE ALMIGHTY GREENBACK!

Anyways

I also like the Helo arc which I hope will be something they run for a long time. I'm also looking forward to seeing Kobol's Last Gleaming Laster this season and how that effects thier quest for earth.

It has potential.

[Atrocities]

Thanks, that was good info. It all boils down to cost in the end. To bad they cannot get someone like Bill Gates to invest in their shows. A cool half a billion would go a long way toward fixing the $$ issues.

[Starhawk]

Let us hope the NEW BSG Lasts for more then 13 episodes because if it does then it will likely pick up budgeting like Andromeda did, every year Andromeda's budget went up a little bit until where finally they now have enough money to stop using stock footage in every single episode.

BSG is actually a very good very "real" show and I hope they stick to their guns like UPN did when it came to Enterprise because BSG will definately be a unique and good series for modern TV which is mainly now just a bunch of reality bull hock.

[Renegade 13]

I watched the series opener Last night, and I must say I like it. Especially the part with the "Olympic Carrier" civilian ship. Most shows don't include a moral dilemma the way they did....and that's only the first episode! It seems to me like it's a logical continuation of the first, and if the powers that be cancel it after only 13 episodes, I'm gonna find 'em and break some heads!