Re: BSG Finale

> OK.  Where are you on the Cylons - life forms or
> machines?  It's funny that my wife and I have
> different perspectives;  she thinks they the 2nd
> Sharon is an evil machine and they should treat
> her like such.  I keep saying that the Cylons are
> a life form even if originally created by humans and
> argue that they should treat her humanely and even
> try and forge a peaceful understanding with the Cylons
> through her.

I guess my perspective is that it really doesn't matter. Whether
they're life forms or machines, they're relentlessly trying to exact
genocide on another race, and *that* is the lens through which they
should be judged -- not what their guts are made of.

I like the "ruthless pragmatism" approach. Blow 'em out the airlock.
Does it even make sense to treat Cylons "humanely" if they have
nothing but disdain for *humanity* itself?

But then, of course, there are the "sleeper" models, like Boomer, who
have forgotten their origins, and *do* love humanity, and for them I
think cautious leniency is in order. Yes, they have the potential for
being "switched on" and going batsh*t at moment, but then, don't we
all?

It's a tough question, but (to touch ever so lightly on the spoiler-y
part of the discussion) I feel that as the series progresses, we are
expected to sympathize with the plight of certain Cylons -- and I
found it very, very difficult to make that leap. I mean, they murdered
*everyone.*

(The more I think about it, the more I wonder if my inability to
sympathize is a by-product of watching the entire series over a couple
months, instead of over four years. Even as I get to the end of the
epic story, the genocide is still very fresh in my mind.)

> I have considered the fact that the Cylons I
> maintain are life forms are rather attractive.

Lol!

> And do you really think Lee Adama would be given
> a command if it weren't for nepotism?  Maybe I just
> find his character kind of boring or frustratingly
> predictable.

Lee was never one of my favorite characters (and I grew increasingly
bored with him in season 4, until the very end), but I think a good
case could be made for putting him in command. As Captain, he's got
plenty of leadership experience. In terms of skill and intuition, he's
second only to Starbuck --  and she's nowhere near stable enough to
command a battlestar. Tigh certainly isn't up to the job, and the rest
of the fleet captains are civilians.

>  From a casting perspective they wasted the
> talents/presence of> the guy who plays the
> doctor - he should have been given the Tigh part.

Oooh, I disagree. I like Doc Cottle a lot, but I really, really like
Michael Hogan as Tigh. He's one of those damned characters who make
you so angry, but then does just the right thing for a minute, and
you're back to loving him. I think Hogan's portrayal was a little
one-note in the first season, but I felt like he got better as the
series went on.

> Also I like Edward James Olemos but was maudlin
> overbrooding really written into every episode's script?

Heh. Get used to *that.* I actually complained about that to a friend
who'd already seen the whole series, and his response: "Yeah, well,
he's got a lot on his mind. Extinction of humanity and all that."

:)

The one character for whom I had very little patience was Roslin.
There were so many conflicts between her and the military, and I get
what her role was supposed to be, but I felt like Mary McDonnell
played her as such an arrogrant, condescending bitch. She has a habit
of smirking while talking down to everyone, and it just drove me
batty. Technically, yeah, I like her, but I wouldn't want to be
friends with her.

-- 
-pcg
 [email protected]

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