Earlier today, commenter and frequent guest clacker bsgfan2003 emailed an old link to me about the possibility of another Battlestar Galactica spin-off, this one taking place during the Cylon War. It actually just got greenlit. I remember seeing that news item earlier this year, and you know what? I don’t care, and I’ll tell you why.
Back when the original (re-imagined) Battlestar Galactica series ended, I had a couple of thing to say about the finale. A lot of what I said was negative, and I know I wasn’t alone. In fact, I still hold that most people not disappointed with what “answers” we got in that finale were crazed fanboys/fangirls who can find no wrong with their beloved child. And after all this time, I still cringe with how things ended — I cannot wash that bad taste out of my mouth.
I really loved the series up until that lousy ending, but when you’re so engrossed in the story and the mythology of the universe put in front of you, it’s not so easy to push aside canon. So when the finale hit, and it was disappointing, it sort-of had a ripple effect for the rest of the series. The show is effectively off my “recommended watching” list, when it used to be near the top! How can I recommend a series when it all comes down to THAT? Call this reason five Caprica wont get renewed.
That ripple effect I mentioned … well, it’s still rippling. Now when I watch Caprica, I can’t help but ask myself, “Why am I watching this again, when I know it ends with civilized men fucking neanderthals?” I know a lot of you are saying I should enjoy Caprica as a stand-alone series and not bother myself with BSG, but the creators of this show should have thought of that before calling it a prequel to BSG and riding on its coattails.
So, that rumored young Adama spin-off series. Remember that ripple effect I mentioned? It’s still smack in the middle of it. We can watch young Bill Adama fire cool looking guns and fly Raptors for hours, but in the end I can’t get that finale out of my head. And then there’s the possible BSG MMO game, more spin-off rumors, etc. BSG was a cow and they’ve got the milking machine hooked up to it and cranked up to max output.
Yeah, sometimes I wish I wasn’t such a stickler for canon. How about you? Does knowing how everything ends in a series — and that ending sucks — dampen your opinion of prequel shows? Is this partly why Caprica‘s ratings are in the toilet?
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Oct 22, 2010 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
My biggest problem with the spin off is seeing someone take over the role who isn’t Edward James Olmos. I suppose I could be surprised, but I can’t imagine anyone else playing Adama, even as a young man. Those are some huge shoes to fill.
I think I am more forgiving of the ending, even if I hated it just as much as you. I will still highly recommend the first few seasons to people. Just as with Lost, I didn’t let the ending effect my enjoyment of the rest of the series (though I didn’t hate the ending of Lost nearly as much as some). Tastes run in many different directions, and even if I don’t understand how someone could like the ending that BSG presented, I don’t doubt that there were those who genuinely did (without being total fanboys).
If it’s Nico Cortez (Razor), I’d be fine.
Could anything be worse than Galactica 1980?
I agree. The ending was lousy for many reasons. Hera dies when she’s a teenager; it’s her bones that are found in the future.
Of course, there’s the whole BSG was just another book of the Old Testament wherein an angry, vengeful God punishes humans for their sins. Really, is that what we wanted to know? God kills 12 billion humans to restart humanity?
Yuck!
And, then there’s the whole issue of Kobol. What about the gods of Kobol? Did they exist? What were they? Why did humans really leave Kobol?
I’d rather have a series focused on Kobol and the Lords of Kobol. How did humans get to the point that they felt they had to flee? How did they find the Colonial worlds?
Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer, there’s more to your story that I’d prefer to be revealed than a retread of an angry, vengeful, psychotic god who murders billions to get his way.
I mentioned that to Keith too, I think. The story of Kobol needs to be told.
I understood the end a little bit different.
I would say, humans destroyed themselves (through the cylons) and god recreates them to give them another chance and of course they manage to fail again until one day maybe finally they survive (I am fairly pessimistic about that).
I didn’t hate the end as much as others did but I still think the series would have deserved another one.
Wow, I honestly didn’t think the BSG finale was that bad. It didn’t ruin the years I spent watching it. BTW… BSG 1980 is the first time we see a human looking cylon… The issue I have with Caprica is the same as the issue I have with SGU, not enough SciFi for me.
Lost is an example, for me, where my disappointment in the finale didn’t ruin my enthusiasm for the series. With BSG, I don’t think I had as strong a reaction as Keith, but I was definitely let down by the “it’s all God’s doing” ending. But it was an ending. I have no interest in watching some proto-Adama shoot down Cylons anymore. There are no more mysteries with that part of the series.
Caprica is another thing, though. They’ve surprised me with how strong a job they’ve done setting up a world I actually am interested in (the real one, not the virtual one–that bores me to tears). I couldn’t care less if anyone’s related to people from BSG. Caprica is its own story, and the birth and growth of the Cylon robots HAS been intriguing on its own.
If you don’t like some aspect of a show, just ignore canon and enjoy the parts that you like. This is fiction, after all – not history. With fiction, you are a participant – it involves imagination, which means you don’t have to imagine anything you don’t want to. It’s a waking dream, and you control the dream. For example, I’ve decided that seasons 9-10 of Stargate are not canon (for me anyway).
Kinda my point of view too. Me:
1. The finale wasn’t that bad.
– I got my “What do you hear, Starbuck?” line, so I was golden.
2. Bad or not, I’m not letting it get in the way of the other parts of the series I loved (Especially S1/S2).
I’m with you Ruby. As far as I’m concerned, BSG ended exactly how I wanted it to. I rewrote the finale, saw it, and am going with that :)
Hehe… ironic how this sounds so much like me only it took you a year longer to come to this conclusion :-)
I have BSG Seasons 1 to 3 on a shelf behind me. I simply ignore everything after that and haven’t watched a single episode of Caprica yet, due to the exact same reason.
But this post made me realize something. The Neandertal is in germany. Yay us! ;-)
I understand why Keith and many people were disappointed with the conclusion. For some unexplained reason the writing threw most of the hardcore fans right under the bus. Too many loose ends not tied, and some downright flayed at the end. The writers owed it to the serious viewers to come to intelligent closure. I think some people feel sold out. There were too many bonehead illogical decisions made, and a confusing aftermath. Why, I suppose I will never know.
The above statements are why Keith, and others like him, are reluctant to invest their time and loyalty into a similar production. I hope he will because any new series can be done with different writers, directers, etc. (and Caprica, is pretty good). I love BSG and I was happy with the things that were important to me (except for Sharon’s senseless death) but it is not being two-faced when you are honest about its weaknesses.
I hate to use this tired old cliche but the journey WAS better than the destination. And I agree with Ivey in that the ending was not that bad (I’m speaking of entertainment value here). It was just that it was SO out of character with the entire run to satisfy the serious fans. Myself, I will always be a frontrunner fan when it comes to my beloved BSG, and I won’t let that controversial final spoil it.
Oops. I meant “except for BOOMER’S senseless death” I guess everyone knows who I meant. LOL.
Well put about the journey. There were elements I loved about the ending, and elements I did not like about the ending. As I mentioned to Keith, while it was airing, no other show gave me more joy, really, really. Do I wish Starbuck was handled better? Yes. Do I wish Starbuck and Apollo could have had a functional relationship, so they could have a happy ending together? Yes, there was so much chemistry there.
The ending could have been the scene with Galactica going over the moon, and I would have been better served. That did not happen, but I certainly won’t take my frustrations out on Caprica or any other BSG related show that comes along. Oh, and I reserve the right for my feelings to change when/if I watch the whole series over again!
The finale wasn’t THAT bad only if you compare it to Lost’s finale.
It was horrible, but then again so was the last two years of the show.
No series finale will ever be as disappointing as the Star Trek Voyager and Stargate Atlantis finales. They were rushed as all hell and with far too many glaring plot holes left far open.
The BSG (RDM) finale wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad. The common complaint I have heard was the over reliance of God as the function source to the outcome. I never have understood the complaint. From episode one of the miniseries, it is made clear that there is a higher power guiding the forces of the show. Throughout the series, this does not go away.
My only real complaint I can make is how easily the refuges turned aside their knowledge and technologies to start a new life. Seemed far fetched considering the Centurions are still out there exploring space.
I personally enjoyed all of BSG. I might have liked a different ending, but I wasn’t offended by the one we got. I didn’t really believe that all of the survivors were so willing to completely abandon all of the cool (and essential) technologies they had, and a few other details bothered me a little along the way. But overall, it was a great story.
If you really enjoy life, except for the part where you die at the end, does that mean you shouldn’t bother living?
Keith,
Your comment about only crazed fanboys/girls loving the finale is way off mark. I for one loved the finale of the show. Yet I know the show was not perfect from start to finish. There were some weird episodes in season 3 I could do without. You give me the impression you put the show high up on a pedestal, much like one does with a beautiful girl. So how does that differentiate you from a “crazed fanboy?” You too believed the show was perfect. You refused to believe it could do no wrong. Clearly you never saw season 4 to see the ending was going to have some religious explanation.
Then there is your comment regarding putting the show on your do not watch list. Can we say bandwagon fan? That’s what most fanboys/girls seemed to do after the finale. I hated the Lost finale. In fact the whole final season turned out to be a waste. That does not mean I will put that show on my do not watch list. I’ll gladly rewatch seasons 1-5 as they are some of the finest television ever produced.
The same can be said forBSG. That was one of the finest sci-fi shows ever made. I’m not going to stop watching it based on one episode out of 75.