shadowkat | Dabbling with a BSG Season 2 Review

Dabbling with a BSG Season 2 Review

[As an aside, had a very funny moment glancing at flist - two completely opposite commentaries on the English vs. French rugby match were, due to the oddness of lj, posted one above the other. Sort of point/counter-point without the two people ever meeting or an annoying journalist commenting in between. Also Proof positive that no matter where you live in this world, people are nutty about sporting events. Made me giggle uncontrollably for five minutes.]

To post or not to post about Season 2 BSG which just ended on Friday? Should be doing other things, frankly. Plus many people have posted on this -

coffeeandink has gathered a list of the postings on the finale, which has mixed reviews. One of the best is this one, http://coalescent.livejournal.com/310498.html, which explains clearly and conscisely why the finale did not work for me. Go read it.

Here's what I wrote before reading it...which isn't as conscise, but what the hey.

I felt the second season did not live up to the first season's potential. Granted the first season was shorter and in some respects easier to put together - people on the run. It had also gotten amazing reviews - which did put a lot of pressure on the writers to hammer together the next season. But, I've read that the writers more or less hammered out where this was all going before the first episode of Season 1 was written. Which means, S2 should have been tighter.

On the other hand as anyone who has ever worked in television or investigated the possibility of working in television understands - tight, well-plotted, clearly delineated, high quality are all laughable goals in a profession that bows to advertising and marketing gods. And is forced to churn out scripts and fully produced/acted/directed episodes at the speed of light. Anyone who has attempted to write a screenplay or teleplay in three days or less may be able to understand how difficult it is to write one in one or two days, get it chopped to pieces, rework it and have it ready to produce in less than a day after you handed it in.

tightropegirl explains what it is like to write for a tv show. Many online critics have a tendency to evaluate tv shows in the same way they'd evaluate a film (which has a lot longer), a play (even longer still) or a novel (the longest yet) - three mediums which allow the artist a lot of time to work out the kinks. With TV we get the first or second draft. It doesn't look finished to you? Well that's because it isn't - they didn't have time to make it finished. If you listen to commentaries for TV shows - the director/creator/producer will often quip that it is miraculous the episode came out as well as it did due to the fact that he felt it was more or less his first or second draft - he didn't have time to fine tune it.

That does not mean that we shouldn't critically evaluate the Television show. Nor that I'm not going to, of course I am, I adore critiquing tv shows. Just that it is a caveat worth keeping in mind.

My difficulty with this season of BSG was that I started to lose the characters, with the possible exception of Giaus Baltar whose thread stayed consistently true to his character throughout. At times, I got the impression that the writers were the most interested with Gaius, could be wrong there. The other characters did not feel off so much as just seemed to get increasingly darker as the season passed, which normally I don't mind - if you've been reading my journal, you know by now, that I like dark characters and dark plot-lines, the darker the better...so why did it bug me here? Good question.

It wasn't the grimness of the show nor the acting. It was how the female characters were increasingly portrayed within the fabric of the storyline and the universe as a whole. Not only the female, but the male in their relationships with the female characters. It felt, and again this is odd for me to say, since I tend to not always notice this stuff, decidedly misogynistic. I am not sure if this was deliberate - an attempt by the writers to show that the humans more or less deserved what they got at the hands of the cylons (a misanthropic theme as opposed to a misgoynistic one, perhaps?) or if it was unconscious. I'm hoping the former, but am uncertain.

Each female character without exception is abused or saved in some way by a man. When the men commit horrible crimes they do it against women. The most sadistic characters - the head of Pegasus and Six are both women and it is interesting that they take out each other - Helen Cain has Gina (Six) raped and tortured, while Gina (Six) kills Helen Cain and explodes a nuclear device. Then we have the Starbuck/Apollo relationship which does not bring out the best in Apollo - who becomes increasingly chauvinistic, authoritarian and misogynistic in his treatment of Starbuck and the women around him, to the point that I did not like him much at all by the end of the season - this was a character I actually used to like. Other female characters that are oddly used are Rosylyn who becomes more and more like Helen Cain - attempting to fix the election, her decision to take Sharon (8's) baby from her, making the woman think she's dead, and well her request that Adama have Starbuck assaignate Helen Cain. Adama remains the nice guy, Roslyn the not so nice one. Normally I wouldn't mind the flipping of gender roles here, but it was right after Helen Cain came on the scene. Too much. And of course Sharon, who is raped (or they attempt rape), abused, beaten, and treated like an object. Note the cylon women are treated like objects and they are the ones we see the most. The cylon men die quickly once they are discovered and rarely seen again. A trend I ignored at first, but is impossible to ignore this year. Finally the Cheif and his women, sigh, did we have to have him beat the girl who adores him? How much violence against women and abuse of women do we need to see? Baltar treats them like whores. Apollo - does the same, Adea (who had a lovely romance with Billy in Season 1, now is relegated to Apollo's sex toy?) It's clear in the finale he doesn't feel much more for her than that. What happened to Billy? (I missed two episodes in there due to my cable going out on me - so Scar and Sacrifice were missed. I'm guessing he was killed in a shoot-out?).

The finale...has a few things that intrigued me, the circle effect - that Baltare has once again, inadvertently, betrayed the human race because he wanted Six. The human race has once again stupidly stepped into the trap, because they don't want to run or fight any more. And the cylons are stepping in and saying, hey, we'll take care of you, govern you, control you much as you governed and controlled us. You are the children and we are the gods.

But, it didn't flow. I felt jarred by the storyline. There were too many gaps here and there. I did not get the falling out between Starbuck and Apollo - after all Apollo was with Adea? He may have feelings for Starbuck, but they've been hidden most of the time so why the falling out? It felt off somehow. Things happened too quickly in some places and too slowly in others - far too much time was spent with Baltar and his ladies, with his sex scenes. I also didn't get where the character of Cheif was going, I'd see him, he'd go, did he resolve his issues, didn't he? The last episode was almost too busy for its own good, they wanted to do too much in a short space of time. Felt thrown-together to me.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy aspects of it. And I do not regret spending the time watching it. I will watch next season. But it didn't sit right with me either. Seemed off. The characters, the story, the metaphors, it felt like the writers were more interested in stating a point or theme than telling their story. In being I don't know, showy? Cool? (Which also happened in The MAtrix sequels - the writers were more interested in showmanship than story.) Stephen King, love him or hate him, says it best in his Memoire - On Writing, STORY SHOULD COME FIRST AND FOREMOST! I agree. If it takes away from the story, don't do it. Here the writers seemed to want to make an anti-bush statement or talk politics, they wanted to get to a specific place and I think they could have gotten there too, if they focused more on story and less on being cool. I saw the same thing in Frank Miller's Sin City...a focus on cool over story.

Mixed feelings about the finale episode. The season as a whole? Uneven. Some bits good, some bits not so good.
Overall rating? B-. Which is a step down from Season 1's A.

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I didn't have a problem with S2 until they came back from the hiatus, because up until that point, the long story arc that began at the start of S1 had not been interrupted. Each episode still more like chapters in a long novel than arguably any other series I've seen, because the cliffhangers at the end of S1 were not all neatly tied up in one episode. It took about 10 weeks or so for things to "return to normal," and I was very impressed with how they handled all the threads. As soon as the status quo had returned, though, it felt like the writers had no clue where to go. That's when they started skipping time between episodes, having standalone episodes, causing continuity gaps, characters being pushed aside, logic leaps, etc. The first season and a half felt to me like a story that knew where it was going. I haven't seen the S2 finale yet (it's on my DVR), so I can't comment on that, but up until two weeks ago, I felt the show had almost completely lost its way. I've been happier with the trend of the past two weeks versus the bulk of the second half of S2, but I no longer have full faith that the writers know what they're doing, as I did before.

Agree with what you say here.

Yes, I felt much the same way.

Enjoyed the first part - the part that aired in the Summer and is now out on DVD, ending with Pegasus. Did not enjoy the second part so much, it got way too gimmicky, too much skipping and playing with time - which while cool, if done poorly confuses the audience. I've seen writers do it in novels where it has worked and not worked. It is a very difficult technique to pull off well.

The final two episodes I liked. Can't comment on Sacrifice and Scar, since missed them and have no way of seeing them. Wasn't found of the one's prior to Scar. And the Apollo centric episode made no sense and felt outside the story-framework.

So, while I'll keep watching, I no longer have the faith I did in the writers and can no longer state that the series is the best one I've seen. I think Farscape is far better and more consistent at the moment.

Yes the Rugby thing was funny! Of course I think I'm right. 3 tries isn't a mediocre game, scoring points only by kicking, now thta would be mediocre, but being American you probably don't care about Rugby!LOL

I disagree with you about BSG. I think the second season was better than the first actually, the writing improved especially after the 5 first episodes.

And women weren't necessarily damsels in distress. In "Scar" it's two women who beat the invincible Cylon while many men lost and died.

For instance Sharon (the one who loves Helo) kept saving everybody this season which is certainly not misogynistic. The only time she was the one being "saved" was from the attempt rape.

Gina was tortured, but so was Leoben in first season, except that Starbuck didn't go as far as the Pegasus guys did.

As for Dualla (why do you call her Adea?), she got exactly what she wanted. She wanted Apollo and got him eventually. Billy wanted to marry her but she declined because she wanted Apollo (Billy was killed while she was having a vacation on 9 Cloud with Lee)who didn't seem that interested first (but he never seems that interested when it comes to women...). Apollo never fell for Dualla, he simply let her seduce him. And no he isn't a very nice guy. Helo is the romantic guy on the show, not Lee.

The writing is pretty consistent IMO, we have Cylons becoming humans (even treating Centurions as slaves just like old humans used to!)and humans not sure they are humans still or forgetting what makes them humans which was pointed out by Helen Cain's military tyranny, Roslin's mistakes as well as her I-know-it-best attitude or Chief's brutal behaviour and doubts...

Too bad you didn't see "Scar" because there was an interesting discussion between Sharon and Starbuck about death and the experience it gives to donwloaded Cylons, but also the fear they have once they've gone through it. Fearing death is a human feature!

I think that the story is leading our humans (Roslin, Adama) to acknowledge that new Cylons aren't things, aren't toasters. Now they are going to live together on new Caprica.

I always hear her name as pronounced : "D" or "a - "D". So assumed it was Adea. Also people online were stating it that way. But again, I'm notorious for mishearing names - one of the many drawbacks of auditory dyslexia.

Unfortunately I missed the episodes that chronicled most of the Apollo/D relationship. Scar and Sacrife - I missed. And I think I missed part of another episode.

I felt the characters got a bit grim in the second season, that the emphasis was a tad too much on the monster starring into the abyss and the story felt choppy, off-kilter. Huge gaps here and there. I'd say it was because I missed those two episodes, but others online who saw those episodes seem to report the same feelings. So not just me.

Also Apollo got a tad too dark. In the first season and first part of the second one, he was a decent guy. In the second half, he changed and they never really explained why. The shift felt off and I'm sorry the death in space episode didn't explain the shift. The shift jarred.
Helo stayed more or less consistent throughout. As did the Chief.
But Apollo's shifts jarred they didn't track. And it has to track - you have to be able to go backwards and think, oh, okay, yes, I see that now. And I didn't. Again - it could be because I missed a few episodes.

Not sure.

Just know that while I do want BSG S1 on DVD, I may pass on S2, not my favorite season. Too dark for me.

I don't know. Apollo's near death experience in space might explain the shift...He actually reminded me of Buffy in season 6, especially when he said he didn't want to be saved, he wanted to "remain" dead.

Yes he was a pretty decent guy during season 1, compared to his father, he was smooth but there has always been something off about him, something he didn't share with others, a kind of reserve that could hide something darker beneath the smooth surface or some wound...

But to be honest I've never liked him much. I watched the first season because of Baltar mostly, and then I "fell" for Helo!

I guess I like it when it's dark. :- )

That may explain the different perspectives...because I actually did like Apollo, one of the few people out there who did, and wasn't overly fond of Helo in the second season. Liked him better in the first. Actually I liked all the characters the first season.

The death sequence didn't work for me - in BTVS it made sense, Buffy had saved the world so many times, she came to grips with the fact she was saving her sister, she'd lost both her parents more or less, and the love of her life (or who she believed at that time was the love of her life). Plus when she died, she went somewhere like heaven.

Apollo - on the other hand, had people he cared for, was fighting a war, people were counting on him and had not done much. If anything he should want to stay alive. Also there was no build-up regarding depression.

I just didn't get why he wanted to stay dead and the writers never gave us a reason.

No they didn't but there might be a reason we don't know yet. I actually like the idea that Apollo might be more complex than it showed first.

He always tried to follow a certain path, to do the right thing, to be true to certain principles, to fulfill a certain mission, but he's very alone actually and he never really managed to connect to people (the episode with his mistress/whore and the flashbacks about his girl friend on Caprica pointed it out) which reminds me of Buffy. Add to this being always on the run, fighting an enemy that is stronger...I think he was suddenly very tired.

Maybe he thought he would be....downloaded again!

But I understand your point of view. :- )

Oh, don't get me wrong, I like the complexity. I think it was just how they decided to portray it that didn't work for me - too quick a shift.

It's interesting, the people I've noticed online that really liked S2 and the finale, were all huge Balthar fans and not really invested in the other characters as much. While the people I've seen online who liked Balthar but were also invested and fascinated by the other characters, equally so, no more or less, were disappointed in the S2 and struggled with it more. Not sure if I'm reading too much into that or not, I have one of those minds that admittedly will find a pattern whether it is there or not. ;-)

Well, I haven't seen the last two episodes yet. In an I have TIVO sort of way, I rarely bother to watch dramatic cliffhangers these days. Far easier to wait and then there is no cliffhanger.

That said, I'd agree that I much more enjoyed S1. The S2 middle felt very much like everyone was hanging out until we could get to the main plot at the end of the season. From the two parter season opener until Download, I felt the same disconnect. I think you're on to something with the misanthropy. For whatever reason, I felt like the hope had been beaten out of the show in S2, in a way that I didn't get from the wholesale destruction of S1.

I suppose I wanted more ragtag fleet and a little less becoming the monster through staring in the abyss.

Well, at least I've been enjoying JLU.

And since I didn't get a chance before, happy birthday.

Hee..thanks!

Haven't been able to catch any JLU and envy you the TIVO. Not sure my system could handle it - barely handles the cable/dvd and the VCR no longer works at all. (Yes, I know, have to get a new tv eventually...)

Agree...it felt as if the characters were becoming almost too grim, too nasty. Lee Adama went from starry-eyed rebellious son, to somewhat misogynistic, authoritarian, military boy. Also felt as if the writers got a little lost along the way...or were filling in episodes until they could do the big reboot.

Unfortunately I missed one of the better episodes - "Scar" - that aired during my weekend from hell (of which I am deleting from my memory banks). Most of the episodes felt like monster staring into the abyss, which again is not so bad, but you need relief from it - stories that have done the same thing, BTVS, ATS, Farscape - have interspersed lighter episodes, not had it be so grim all the time. And BSG did the same in the first season and the first part of the second...

Anywho...just rambling now I'm afraid. Thanks again!

For the most part I agree with you, but the admitted flaws aside there is still a great deal to enjoy about the series, and hey-- next season could turn out better.

I also think you are right about the misanthropy as opposed to misogyny aspect, and that one of the primary goals the writers had for the season might have been to shift sympathies for the Cylons and away from the humans that we are supposed to be rooting for. What I found intriguing about the finale was how I now suspect that having done the above, the Cylons will eventually be shown to be as short-sighted as the humans who created them, and simply go on to perpetuate the evils of the past, just for different reasons. The ultimate point? Damn good question-- just have to wait and see.

Along those lines, I keep thinking of the humans' goal to reach Earth, and wonder if the Cylon "Plan" that the opening credits always refer to will evolve into trying to create a perfect species, and then plant a few dozen members of it back on an uninhabited Earth, and let them populate the planet. That is, (re?)create the Genesis myth where everything is perfect, as long as the new race doesn't do this ONE THING. As long as they don't the beings stay extremely healthy and happy, never die (if they get accidentally killed, they "download" into a new body) etc. etc.

Of course, perfect beings don't exist-- maybe that's the point. Mal essentially said that in Serenity. In all likelihood the "New Cylons" on Earth would choose to eat whatever metaphorical apple and the Old Cylons would get pissed and alter their DNA to make them mortal again, as we are now, and with all the attendent ills. The Cyclons then leave Earth and go elsewhere to try again (or not).

Anyway, you might consider crossposting your review over at ATPo-- see if it generates some conversation.

Thanks for your thoughts-- you were one of the people who turned me on to this series in the first place, and I appreciate it. It has its faults, yea verily, but it's still the best thing on TV since the various Jossverse series.

Wish I could, but work computer firewall forbids access to apto (it's filtered as entertainment - probably due to bad pop-up ads and virus vulnerability) and home dial-up is too slow at the moment. (I kid you not when I state that my phone lines suck, cable not a whole heck of a lot better, but better than phone lines -which have a lot of noise.)

If you'd like to cross post it there for discussion purposes, go ahead, just don't set up a link to my lj.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed BSG this year - more than just about any other show, because at the end of the day it still had the most complex characters and stories. The misanthropy theme, which I do think may have been deliberate on the part of the writers - did wear on me after a while. I think it was there - partly to do exactly what you say above, increase our sympathy for the cylons and almost, not quite, route for the final outcome. In some ways, we, the audience, are put squarely in the point of view of Gaius Balthar through-out, who is in effect justifying the outcome by his own ambivalence towards his own species and its foibles. His struggle with god and science which in some respects echoes the cylons. And if you watch the series through Gaius' eyes or he's your favorite character, I think you may enjoy it more than those who didn't.

There is misogyny there as well, but it appears to be part of the misanthropy theme - which doesn't necessarily make it forgiveable so much as understandable. In some ways I find it easier to deal with here than in some other tv series. Because I think it may have a reason behind it and I'm not convinced that the misogyny I'm seeing on-screen is more the characters not the creators. It's rather easy to throw words like misogyny and misanthropy around...but do they really work here? Do they fit? I often wonder, when I see people discussing them ( a good example was in respect to the character Spike in BTVS and ATS), if they are not simply reading their own fears and attitudes into the show - placing what disturbs them in the show into a nice neat little black box of criticism. As opposed to delving deeper to understand what it was that triggered the response. If that makes sense.

I'm hesistant to really state anything is misogynistic or misanthropic solely. I see shades of it, sure, but also other shades - as [Bad username or site: 'frenchani @ livejournal.com] successfully argues above and her points are well taken. Also if you get right down to it, you can describe quite a few things as misogynistic - things written by women and men - fanfic comes to mind, about 80% of it actually. But are they? Really? No. It's sort of like the song in Avenue Q..."everybody's a little bit racist", I can't help but think the same holds true for other things as well. Humans as a species, tend to be different than other animals, because we are aware of our foibles, our imperfections, our mistakes, overly aware and at times overly critical - making us at times, a self-hating species. We are in truth, as BSG states so clearly, our own worste enemey and our own nemesis.

if they are not simply reading their own fears and attitudes into the show - placing what disturbs them in the show into a nice neat little black box of criticism. As opposed to delving deeper to understand what it was that triggered the response. If that makes sense.

That self reflection and change and adjustment can be a very neat thing to see. I also, like hearing the different takes on things. It is widening and helps a bit with seeing from a more open place, and then too getting the authors' reflections. *smile* although occasionally they'll come back and say "I didn't realize I put that there." Which I guess, is cool in another way.

Speaking of which I came home Wednesday night and found a card and tonight a package. Thank you so much.

Oh good, was certain if it had arrived yet.

I received the Amazon.com order that I made with your gift certificate today, which was a pleasant surprise.

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Dabbling with a BSG Season 2 Review

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