In the twentieth (and final) episode of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, everything hurts and only one thing is truly beautiful and even that thing is still really confusing and how am I supposed to deal with this and why does this show keep doing things to me like this and what the fuck do I do with all these feelings. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
I can’t deal with this. I can’t. I can’t talk about all the wonderful things and intriguing things and shocking things and emotional things present in “Crossroads, Part II,” without wanting to crawl under my desk and mourn and then yell at all of you and then punch myself in the face on accident again and then–
How. HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE.
I suppose that once I gave this all a good bit of thinking, it is quite possible. Well, perhaps everything but the very final reveal, but the shock wore off after a while. I think that because I had a very specific idea of where the trial, the jumps to the nebula, and the mysterious music would go, I initially was a lot more shocked than I might have been if I had not tried to piece things together. THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR TRYING TO PREDICT THINGS. Well, and I amuse all of you who already know all of this.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT I AM DOING.
I’ll start with this: “Crossroads” seems to be about how these people and this system is deconstructed, but I was surprised with how…unified everything seems at the end of it. The fleet does not end up split off from one another, and we get a few bizarre alliances out of the whole thing. (CAN I EVEN REFER TO THEM AS ALLIANCES. I UNDERSTAND NOTHING.)
If anything, I’m surprised at how little fighting there is by the end of this. Think about it: We see Athena, Roslin, and Caprica Six together, at the same time, in an entirely non-hostile situation. By all rights, these three should be at one another’s throats, but the shared vision they had (WHICH IS FUCKING CREEPY, BY THE WAY) compels them to at least try to figure out what’s going on. Strangely, though, this is largely left unexplained. Why did Caprica Six feel the need to protect Hera, and why were the three of them having visions of that place? I guess that this also depends heavily on this idea that the human-Cylon children are part of some “plan” for the future. Which also has been unexplained as well. Which…oh god, I still know next to nothing at all.
But I do know for sure that Gaeta, my lovely Gaeta, lied on the stand. I understand that he pretty much hates Baltar for what he did, but I couldn’t deny how disappointed I was that he fabricated the truth in the hopes that it would get Baltar convicted. It’s not like what he did witness was all that much better, but why perjure yourself like that? The evidence is damning enough, but now you’re just demonstrating proof that this whole trial has nothing to do with any actual justice and more to do with revenge.
That is what is deconstructed over the course of this entire finale story, and it’s here that Lampkin decides to go forth and call for a mistrial. Even though Baltar had objected to continuing this charade for any longer than was absolutely necessary, I was starting to understand the way that Romo Lampkin worked: he is basically a giant troll. No, not the Norwegian ones! He is able to recognize patterns and tropes in these people, and to take the things he observes, and manipulate them. It’s frightening in a way because it’s so easy for him to read the people in the courtroom, so I knew that him asking for a mistrial was not genuine. It was a play. He knew it would upset everyone, especially Admiral Adama, Lee, and Baltar.
What I did not guess was that he’d call Lee to the stand. Of course, it made perfect sense in an instant: the man knew his father had expressed a definite bias towards the defendant. And after everything Lee had just experienced, including the possible loss of his wife and his betrayal of Laura Roslin, he’s faced with turning over his father as well.
Have I said anytime recently that this show is fucked up? No? Battlestar Galactica is fucked up. I love it dearly, but the things this show goes through to put its characters in fascinating and intriguing stories is really painful sometimes. Lee struggles so plainly up there as Lampkin grills him; you can see it in his face how torn he is, how much guilt is coursing through him, and how much he is horrified by what this has turned into.
Now, I’m not always a fan of the big sweeping monologue, but Lee’s angry, frustrated, and desperate excoriation of what Baltar’s trial had turned into is one of the best bits of writing on all of Battlestar Galactica. Even if it is the result of prodding and manipulation from Lampkin, it’s every bit sincere and every bit necessary. I had touched on a few of the problems with this trial in the last review, but Lee lays it all out here: these people are hypocrites. There is not a person who has testified who has also not committed treason, murder, bent the rules, broken laws, or done something that deserved severe legal action. What this has become (and bless Lee for saying this) is a character assassination. Baltar’s irritating personality and arrogance is on trial. His actions are not. Roslin’s anger at what the Cylons did on New Caprica is on trial, not what Baltar himself did. Admiral Adama’s shame of running away for four months is on trial, not Baltar’s guilt.
Basically, y’all got told.
I didn’t know that it would help at all, so I sat about a foot from my computer scene as Baltar’s verdict was finally read aloud. But honestly, could the show have actually executed Baltar? Well….yes, I suppose. I mean, they killed off Starbuck, so why would Baltar be safe? But I got the feeling that he was far too important to all of this to just cast aside, and immediately after the verdict, we see all of the fascinating avenues that this show can now take with him. Unsurprisingly, the crowd in the courtroom took nothing from what Lee said, reacting violently. Unsurprisingly, Baltar is rather haughty and overconfident about the victory as well. And unsurprisingly, Lampkin wants nothing to do with Baltar post-verdict. I didn’t expect them to be friends; it was clear that Lampkin merely tolerated the man because he’s a good lawyer, and that’s it. This leaves Baltar in an unsettling state: what the hell is he supposed to do now that he’s a free man? Funnily enough, neither Lee nor Lampkin have any desire to help the man figure this out. He’s on his own.
After this, it’s only when Roslin and Adama have their talk of guilt and innocence that I smile for the very last time in “Crossroads, Part II.” I’d completely forgotten how close the fleet was to the Ionian nebula, but I’m very quickly reminded of that when Adama order the last jump, which is successful, and power suddenly vanishes from the fleet.
What happens next in rapid-fire procession is disarming and disorienting. As we see the Opera House again, the Final Five glowing in the balcony, and as we see the music that Tory, Tigh, Tyrol and Anders can hear grow louder and louder, more and more recognizable, and then suddenly I recognize what it is, and suddenly I don’t understand how that song can exist in this universe, and as I watch these four characters converge in the gym, I know that my prediction was horribly, horribly wrong.
I fought it every second of the reveal. They cannot be Cylons. Tigh has a history with Adama. Anders has a defined and WITNESSED history on Caprica. Tyrol has a DEFINITE history as well. But once I get to Tory, everyone’s history falls apart. Who else knew Tigh before he joined up with William Adama? Have we ever seen a second of Tyrol’s life before the miniseries? Just because we heard stories about how famous Anders was, how do we know they’re true? And where the fuck did Tory come from?
I don’t know how to process this reveal. I don’t know how to deal with it, and I don’t know if any of these characters can be safe again. There is so much heartbreak in terror in that room, plastered all over the faces of these four people who have come to realize the impossible. I thought that maybe one crew member on Galactica would be revealed to be a Cylon, not FOUR AT ONCE.
But there’s something even fucking bigger than this: HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE KNOW “ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER”?????? That song DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS FUCKING UNIVERSE and they knew the goddamn melody. WHAT THE HOLY FUCK! This cannot be an anachronism; this cannot be a thematic choice on the part of the writers just to be “poetic.” This is too big of an inclusion, but HOW THE HOLY GODDAMN FUCK CAN THESE FOUR PEOPLE KNOW THIS SONG. Even weirder, the lyrics? JESUS CHRIST, THEY FIT SO TERRIFYINGLY WELL.
“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief.
There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief.”
Or perhaps:
“No reason to get excited,” the thief he kindly spoke.
“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we’ve been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.”
NO, THIS HAS TO BE INTENTIONAL. But why? Why would this even be here? Why would this be the trigger that turns on in these four characters’ heads to make them realize they’re not human? How does it relate to the Ionian nebula or the massive Cylon presence that arrives just after the fleet does? How did the Cylons even find them this time?
But as numb and shocked as I felt, nothing could possibly compare to the final moment of “Crossroads” when Kara Thrace appears before Lee, alive and well, in an undamaged Viper, and tells him that she has been to earth and will lead them all there.
UM. EVERYONE
- HOW THE FUCK IS SHE ALIVE AFTER THAT EXPLOSION
- OH GOD, IS SHE EVEN ALIVE? IS LEE HALLUCINATING THIS TIME?
- OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHE IS THE FINAL CYLON MODEL I WILL NEVER HEAL
- WAIT WHAT IF SHE IS NOT A CYLON AND NOT A VISION AND IS A REAL PERSON THEN HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE
- OH MY GOD STARBUCK IS BACK!!!1!1!!!1
I’m still at a complete loss. This is monumental; somehow, this is an even bigger narrative shift for a finale, and I’m left with some FUCKING AWFUL QUESTIONS. HOW DARE YOU CLIFFHANGER ME LIKE THIS. But most of all, I am unbearably pleased at how season three has panned out, and I CANNOT WAIT TO KEEP WATCHING.
And a note about that as well! I’ve decided to revise the schedule a bit to fit in some one-off reviews and to hold our very first Battlestar Galactica liveblog! We need one of those, don’t we? Tomorrow, I’ll post my review of the Razor Flashbacks webisodes; on Wednesday, I’ll post my predictions for season four of Battlestar Galactica. On Thursday and Friday, I’m going to post one-off reviews that will be largely non-spoilery about two shows I think each of you should watch when you have the time because they have brought me much joy. On Saturday, October 29th at 10am PST, we will hold a liveblog of the Razor movie. If you’ve not done a liveblog around here, I’ll have a post up later today with all the details, but it essentially means that we all start our copy of Razor at the same time and then use the comments to flail, shriek, celebrate, and yell at one another whilst watching something.
The review for Razor will go up on Monday, October 31st, and I’ll start season four on November 1st. Which means it’s still going to be DAYS before I even see one goddamn episode of season four. I know y’all had to wait an eternity, but going like a week is TOO MUCH FOR ME.
omg i am a bigot
Expect another liveblog for the season four finale (probably only the final part, not all three) and another for that last movie that is about…something. I don’t even know! Until then, happy watching!
Welcome to the "All Along the Watchtower" Appreciation Thread
Here, have Bear's excellent blog post on the creation of the song.
Here, have an episode rip with all the dialogue and sound effects intact.
Here, have the soundtrack version.
LET'S ALL ROCK OUT AND BE CYLONS.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/jrwhh0.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
I was seriously considering asking if anyone had a link like that second one. Love that arrangement of it.
EPIC SONG OF EPIC EPICNESS.
AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING AND STRUMMING OF AIR GUITARS.
AND AIR SITARS. AIR MOTHERFUCKING SITARS.
DON'T FORGET THE AIR ELECTRIC VIOLINS
SERIOUSLY THOSE THINGS ARE THE SHIT
Can I add the Sacramento State Jazz Singers?
Nice!!
OMG, My school! I know most of those people! This makes me so proud of the Sac State Music Dept.
I present to you my TWoP-style recap of this episode. It would take eight posts to repost it here, so please click and enjoy! Some excerpts:
We open on Adama shaving. The lights flicker. The Morse code reads, "Never grow that mustache back!"
Tigh is raving to Adama about how THEY PUT THE MUSIC IN THE SHIP, as if that makes any sense. Adama humors him, telling him he'll look into it, but Tigh calls him on it and goes on about Cylon saboteurs. Adama's all, "So they're sabotaging us…with music? They're going to force us into a dance party that will distract everyone from the killer robot carnage?"
A Connecticut Badger in King Adama's Court.
Lee gets up and walks like his dad just sent him to sit in the corner for three hours, reading Stop Eating All Those Frakking Noodles. Sad music plays as he passes his dad, shooting him meaningful glances. Adama, stone-faced, just blinks. And blinks. And blinks. The Morse Code reads, "Et tu Lee stop."
Blonde Judge tries to match Lee's monologue with some pithy bullshit about justice and humans and machines, but she can't even practice proper subject-verb agreement ("our very imperfections that separates"?? When Lee was talking about bending rules, he meant the LAW, not ENGLISH! Or…Colonialese, or whatever the hell English is really called since there's no England. OR IS THERE.)
When Baltar gets all woe-is-me about how he'll survive, Badger pulls out a "cat metaphor," and I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY HAVE CATS. Where did these cats come from? Is this the past? The future? Did the Cylons build cats out of wood and steam and moonbeams? And why are they called "cats"? How is it that the very word we use today for these feline creatures, however they evolved, is being used to describe them? Are they still trying to pretend this isn't the future? Or is it just all of this has meowed, and all of it will meow again?
Tigh and Tory share a meaningful look. That is, Tory gives Tigh a meaningful look, and Tigh gives Tory half a meaningful look.
They're going to force us into a dance party that will distract everyone from the killer robot carnage?
BZT GURL TBG GUR QNAPVAT QRZBA SEBZ OHSSL. ZHFVPNY RCVFBQR GVZR.
Or is it just all of this has meowed, and all of it will meow again?
The Catlons were created by man.
My brain has been liquefied. I literally cannot compose an eloquent, coherent thought about this episode right now. I hope this list will suffice until I recover.
1. LEE FUCKING ADAMA AND HIS PERFECT SPEECH OF PERFECTION. JAMIE BAMBER, YOU BEAUTIFUL THING YOU. WHAT A PERFORMANCE.
2. CYLONS CYLONS CYLONS CYLONS CYLONS CYLONS OH MY GOD TIGHT TYROL ANDERS TORY WHAT THE FUCK
3. STARBUCKKKKKKKK YOU ARE HERE YOU HAVE BEEN TO EARTH WHAT IS HAPPENING MY EMOTIONS MY EMOTIONS
Also, BUTTERFINGERS.
TIGH** FUCKING AUTOCORRECT THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS GO AWAY
James Callis improvised "And you missed, butterfingers!"
bahahaha did he really? I love it!
Flawless man.
Upon first viewing, this episode shut me down completely. I couldn't think, couldn't process anything that I had witnessed.
For around five minutes at least, I then immediately began assigning suitable nicknames to the not-quite-final-four.
Saul Tighlon
Samuel Android
HALen tyrol
TOR-E Foster
I like it. Samuel Android, hee.
That stuff I said before, about Katee Sackhoff announcing she was done with the show? All true. And all at Ron Moore's direction, since he knew everyone would be predicting she would come back, and it was the only way to have it be some kind of surprise. Still, as soon as Lee spotted that rogue blip, I knew exactly where this was going.
THAT IS SO RAD HE MADE HER DO THAT.
He also trolled his own cast into believing Katee was really off the show – but Edward James Olmos was so mad about it, they let him know first that it was just META LEVELS OF TROLLING.
(he told the rest of the eight main leads, and then the other regular/recurring ppl in the credits).
And I'm not ashamed to say I practically levitated out of my seat with joy when Lee saw Kara in that Viper.
OMG BSG HOW DO YOU DO THIS???!!!! I was SUPER INCREDIBLY EXCITED after the Final Five (Four? WHO IS THE FIFTH?!) reveal because for once in my life I WAS PREPARED!!! I was all ready to mark the day on my calendar as The Day I Was Prepared and celebrate it annually when KARA THRACE RETURNED ALKSDJF;AJKDF;AJKDF;A BSG used my Final Five prepared-ness to make me even more unprepared for Starbuck’s return!! SO EVIL!!! I should have known something was up when my theory was correct for once.
SEASON 4 IS SO FAR AWAY!! How did all of you who watched this show in real time survive?
Alcohol and replaying all my stacked up DVR episodes every Friday night 🙁
We didn't. This is all in our minds as we feverishly pass out. The glorious temple of galaxies. Gamma echo two niner. Within and without are two sides of one being. Jump coordinates calculated; spooling drives.
All of this has happened before, and all will happen again.
The Battlestar version of "All Along the Watchtower" is sung by Bear McCreary's brother, Brendan McCreary whose professional name is Bt4. That's a frakking talented family.
And omg the song is so perfect. I don't know if RDM or Bear came up with its use first, but FLAWLESS USE OF MUSIC.
This whole episode is a mind-frak.
Ron did. Though Bear talks about how he used it and built up more of a melody around it in his blog for the episode.
HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry Mark, but I just love this. I knew you'd be beside yourself.
Was this not more brain busting than Season ?. Yup it was.
And yet you are still not at all prepared for Season 4:)
Mark, there is only the one part to the season four finale (when in extended form), remember?
ToneDef77 is exactly right. In fact, Ron Moore talked about how it was never meant to be split and watching it that way is unsatisfying.
In fact, the Extended finale is really a movie, which makes it even more appropriate to liveblog. And it works out well schedule-wise:
Monday Razor, Tuesday 4.01, Wednesday 4.02, Thursday 4.03, Friday 4.04
Monday 4.05, Tuesday 4.06, Wednesday 4.07, Thursday 4.08, Friday 4.09
Monday 4.10, 4.11, Wednesday Third Web Series, Thursday 4.12, Friday 4.13
Monday 4.14, Tuesday 4.15, Wednesday 4.16, Thursday Extended 4.17, Friday Extended 4.18, Saturday Liveblog of Extended Finale
Oops, can a mod please edit my post to say Thursday Extended 4.12 instead of just Thursday 4.12?
Oh, P.S. Remember that the Suggestions page doesn't currently reflect the fact that you'll be watching Babylon 5.
For you Watchmen fans:
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl
I'd forgotten about that connection, and … yeah. Chilling. (Literally. HAH.)
I was watching Watchmen with my ex and freaked when the song came on. But I couldn't tell him because he hadn't seen BSG.
It's because the comic actually quotes the song at that point, with the issue titled Two Riders Were Approaching.
I can see the panel in my mind's eye right now. Mmm, so good.
Interesting!
In my case, I couldn't tell him why I was freaked. I know nothing about Watchmen, really.
If you're going to live-blog the Season 4 Finale, you have to do the whole thing. Honestly, it's one really long episode, not three separate episodes.
And we have to wait until November 1st for the Season 4 Premiere review?! Frak!!
Oh and to add.
Lee "Frakkin" Adama (and Jamie "Frakkin" Bamber"). He was just brilliant in that speech. And he was 100% correct about everything he said.
And his face when he saw Kara…..SQUEEEEE forever.
YES TO ALL OF THIS.
Sometimes Lee (and Jamie) do not get enough love, which is probably a result of being a bit quieter of a character than Kara or PapAdama, but THE COURTROOM SCENE OH MY GODS.
(I'm not surprised Jamie's castmates and everyone watching gave him a standing ovation when he was done making that speech).
You know what else boggles my mind, is that he's doing all this great acting in an accent that isn't his own. AND YOU CAN NEVER EVEN TELL. I think there was like ONE time when I felt like his accent was slipping, throughout the entire run of the show. I am impressed.
Seriously. This was just amazing. I fell out of my chair when I learned he was a Brit. I didn't believe it, until I heard his real voice, which is higher pitch and nasal.
Well. Sure. You wait less than a week. WE HAD TO WAIT A YEAR. Sure, sure, we had Razor to tide us over, but not much.
A YEAR. WE HAD TO WAIT A YEAR.
This episode was one of the rare occasions that they were able to manipulate the credits so Katee's name was held off until the closing credits and not spoil the reveal by "Oh, Katee is in the episode I GUESS SHE IS NOT DEAD LOL"
Well played, RDM. Well played.
Oh I've been waiting for this and you didn't disappoint. I know what's gonna happen when I rewatch but I still get chills.
So, I will talk about this more later if I am not dead, but just one truefax real life story from me:
This was the first episode of Battlestar Galactica I ever watched. For real. I was up channel surfing late at night, happened to see that Battlestar Thing My Friend Talked About was on what was then SciFi, and just flipped over to it and watched on a whim. And this was the episode that was on.
In conclusion:
[youtube DhrfhjLd9e4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrfhjLd9e4 youtube]
Starbuck is alive!
I have no idea what's going on!
How long was Baltar helplessly wandering around with that plastic bin?
Did he leave his plastic bin behind when those women saved/abducted him? So sad 🙁 I hope someone returns it to him
I think he still has it. Plus a blankie, so he's all set.
Never forget your blankie Gaius!
I kinda like that he looks like Jesus and then when they put the blanket over his head he looks like the Virgin Mary.
Or:
<img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/s2tibq.jpg">
Got to get this out of the way first: LKSDJFIRUOIUIJALKJVN:FJLSD:JFLKJFLDKFJ
<img src="http://gifsoup.com/view/302029/omg-kitty-o.gif">
Ahem, okay, I'll get back to that later. List time!
-Jamie Bamber sold it these past couple episodes.
-Gaeta, you lie! It hurts to think back to Season 1, when he followed Baltar around like a puppy. But not gonna lie, Baltar calling Gaeta "Butterfingers" made me laugh.
-Caprica Six, I love you.
-Adama, thank you for voting not guilty. You're back in my good books.
-OMG I WAS RIGHT?!?!?! Tigh, Sam, Tory and Tyrol (although I still don't remember him hearing the music from Part 1) are Cylons. I feel so powerful. And dangerous. I really liked that they were all in the resistance, especially Tigh. He hated the Cylons sooo much, wasn't willing to believe they could make choices, and there he goes, making a choice to side with the humans. Ha! Suck it, Tigh. Tyrol must really love Cally if they were able to have a baby then and Cally's definitely human. Sam, you hurt my heart. Tory…I don't actually care. BSG, I give you one season to make me care whether or not Tory is a Cylon and give her a personality. Also, I think Galactica is a basestar in disguise. Yup, the ship.
-Kara???? Is that you, is that really you? I always assumed she'd be back, but at the midseason break, or something, not just a few episodes later. You guys all tricked me! I didn't think she really died back in Maelstrom, but then reading all the comments made me less sure what with all the stories about the cast you guys threw in. But I feel like that girl who was told she's going to Disney later that day. It's like I've been giving a BSG themed backpack and when I opened it up, there was Starbuck's uniform, her dog tags, some cigars, that Top Flyer stein or whatever it said, and that card she gave Adama, and then somebody asked me what I would like to do with all of it. I would've answered, "Give it to Starbuck, a living Starbuck." And then they said, "Okay, why don't you? She's right over there." Then cue screams and tears of joy. THAT is how I feel. I refuse to believe it can mean anything but the happiest and most beautiful of things.
That video was precious! (And you're awesome)
Tory…I don't actually care. BSG, I give you one season to make me care whether or not Tory is a Cylon and give her a personality.
Haha yeah. While re-watching I was struck by how little screentime Tory actually gets during her first two seasons. So when this reveal comes, you're like OMG TIGH, OMG ANDERS, OMG CHIEF, and… Tory, I guess? Heh.
Just because this episode is a huge mind-frack and the ending made me scream at the TV when I first saw it, doesn't mean I'm going to forget that adorable scene with Roslin and Adama talking on the phone at the beginning.
Just…y'know, thought I'd remind everyone of that. 😛
YES YES YES YES o/!!!!!
Oh, I know, I love that scene 🙂
Oh god that scene, so cute! <3
I love them so much 😀
"YES SIR OKAY SIR ANYTHING YOU SAY SIR."
GODS, BE MORE ADORABLE, I DARE YOU.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/l1akE.gif" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
You cannot out-adorable Andy Dwyer.
Yep. It's my porn. Roslin & Adama.
BOB DYLAN EXISTS IN ALL UNIVERSES EVER!
Bob Dylan is the Final Cylon. It makes perfect sense.
The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan.
But nobody can understand it.
The plan is actually "everybody must get stoned."
Oh man. Now I totally want to see a stoned Cavill
I still have on my iPod the special podcast wherein RDM and his wife watched the season finale with some people they knew who were seeing it for the first time, and oh, my. The gasping and "no way"ing and all-but-screaming. It's hilarious and awesome.
Also: "All Along the Watchtower." Forever and ever amen. That blew my mind wide open when I recognized the lyrics.
"My name is Saul Tigh. I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am, that's the man I want to be. And if I die today, that's the man I'll be."
Tigh's greatest moment, bar none.
I loved that. I felt strangely proud of him lol
I have a lot of love for Tigh but that moment made him even more awesome in my eyes.
This! Go Tigh!
V guvax ur npghnyyl bhgqbrf uvzfrys va “Eriryngvbaf” jura ur pbasrffrf gb Nqnzn gung ur’f n Plyba naq bssref uvzfrys nf n ubfgntr. “Q’Naan jvyy onpx qbja vs lbh guerngra gb syhfu zr bhg na nveybpx.”
I haven’t seen that episode since it aired and I’m getting a little emotional just remembering it. Michael Hogan for ALL THE AWARDS, EVER.
I think Tigh's "Whoooaaaaaa" might be the best "whoa" ever.
I have an irrational love for Tigh anyway, and this was his moment to shine! It sums, for me, what THE SHOW is about (and Lee's speech, hey!), namely, there are the circumstances that life deals us, and then there is the way re react. We have a choice about the latter. Choice! I love it.
2nd best moment of the episode!
<3.
25 comments, as of posting, and no Rot13. It's a record!!
Mark…, still so unprepared.
Let's face it, most of the Rot13 so far has just been us posting the lyrics to 'All Along The Watchtower'.
There's got to be some kind of way out of here
Said the joker to the theif
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine,
Plowmen dig my Earth.
None of them along the line
Know what any of it is worth.
No reason to get excited
The thief, he kindly spoke.
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate.
So let us not talk falsely, now;
The hour's getting late.
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view,
While other women came and went
Barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl…
Ia Ia Cthulhu fhtagn. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.
And now you know, at least a few of the things, that we've all been cackling about for the last few months. It's been so much fun.
How much does my shipper heart leap at that opening scene? Bill and Laura being super cute and flirty and jokey and <3<3<3
"And you missed! Butterfingers!" James Callis wins all the things for that bit of improv. The scene in Gaius' cell after the trial concludes is so good. It starts out with Gaius being so himself, insisting that no he knew things would work out the whole time, even when he was freaking out he knew it would be fine. His reaction when he realises that he no longer has anyone to support him is so sad. His walking through the hallways with his little box and seeing the guard push him shows us what a dangerous position he's in now. Most of the fleet hate his guts and he has no way of protecting himself. Until that bunch of girls grab him of course.
The builsd up to the reveal, with each of the Four taking a line of the song is really well done (well except Tory's with the camera swirling and her throwing up, that one goes a bit too long). The quick recaps that Tigh and Anders give us about their histories with the Cylons which reminds us just how ironic it is that these characters are really Cylons is a nice touch. Tigh's final speech about his identity before they join the battle is so awesome.
Suimilarly I love how they build up to the reveal of Starbuck. The little glimpses of her Viper through those gorgeous nebula clouds. The shot where Lee's ship is in the distance and the engins of hers just dip into frame for a second before it cuts away is one of my favourite shots of the episode. The super awesome Bear McCreary arrangement of All Along the Watchtower just makes the scene so fucking epic. And because I don't think I've mentioned it enough in rot-13 and the spoiler blog, my iTunes as of last Friday (when I took the picture):
<img src="http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/11874052829/1/tumblr_ltl6abkTvT1qexnga"/>
Basically, one of my favourite songs.
How did you get access to my iTunes?!
Oh, yes….BUTTERFINGERS! I laughed so much at that. And apparently James Callis ad libbed it. He's perfect.
Mark at what point did you realise they were listening to All Along The Watchtower? Because I only got it when they started saying the lyrics but on rewatch I can recognise the melody.
‘Get out of that bed!’ ‘That's not your best shot.’ ‘Get your fat, lazy ass out of that rack, Roslin.’ ‘Yes sir. OK sir. Anything you say sir.’
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2nvuia1.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
’Gaius Baltar, after carefully weighing the evidence, this tribunal, in a vote of three to two, finds you not guilty.’
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2dl7sav.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
‘There must be some way out of here…’ ‘Said the joker to the thief…’ ‘There's too much confusion….’ ‘I can't get no relief.’ (Oh my god Bear McCreary I love you forever and always!)
Heeding the Call
[youtube cUchAD44xA8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUchAD44xA8 youtube]
‘So that’s it. After all this time a switch goes off, just like that.’
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/143jlgw.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
’Hi, Lee.’
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2lucar9.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
’Don't freak out, it really is me (laughs). It's going to be okay. I've been to Earth. I know where it is. And I'm going to take us there.’
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2poqh08.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/sya1q0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Best. Comment. Ever.
THIS
'OH MY GOD STARBUCK IS BACK!!!1!1!!!1'
<img src='http://i.imgur.com/EiZdk.gif'>
Any chance of getting Tigh's WHOOOAAA in here anywhere?
So my basic reaction to this at the time, that I can recall, was sitting alone in my bedroom jamming the fuck out to All Along the Watchtower. I didn't understand a damn thing about how it got into the show, but I was like ROCK ON, HEY STARBUCK, LOOK, IT'S NORTH AMERICA AND WOOOOO EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
Little did I realize how long I was going to have to wait for a new episode.
"I know y’all had to wait an eternity, but going like a week is TOO MUCH FOR ME.
omg i am a bigot"
This right here is why I dig you, man. I can add to nor subtract from the beauty that is this post. So I'll just be sitting over here, listening to some Bear McCreary*, wondering why Jamie Bamber never won any awards, remembering how interminable was the wait between Season 3 and 4.
*McCreary is doing the music for The Walking Dead. This brings me joy.
Oh man…don't even get me started. Never mind Jamie Bamber.. NO ONE not one, no James Callis, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff…NO ONE.. Frakkin disgraceful.
The entire cast deserved every award that was given during BSG's time on air. I've always said it when speaking of "the best show no one ever watched." (Too busy with American Idol and Dancing With the Faux-Stars, I guess. WHAT. EVEN.)
IS he? No wonder I have such a strong reaction the music of that show. Half the reason I'm worried for everyone at any point in that show is the music.
Yup! You can go on his blog and read about the ideas behind all the music for each episode.
It also appears that he's going to be posting behind-the-scenes videos on his YouTube channel (youtube.com/bearmccreary) every week! He's posted 2×01 and 2×02.
He also did the music for The Sarah Connor Chronicles, including my personal favorite song he's ever done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CC2skFNaQc
I absolutely love that song. And I haven't even watched one episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Not even one.
Love that song! I miss that show so much.
He also did the music for the first season of "Human Target" which was a quite fun show until they screwed up the whole thing by firing Bear and well about a million other reasons.
OMG I CAN BREATHE NOW AND POST ALL THESE FEELINGS I HAVE.
Now you know what those r13 posts were about. You know that first r13 post was when you talked about ONE of them being a Cylon? It was a "let's laugh at mark" post, hahaha. Every time you mentioned it I just wanted to scream but I didn't, even though I could since even if I did you wouldn't hear me. THAT'S HOW MESSED UP I WAS THESE PAST FEW POSTS NOT BEING ABLE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING.
When the Four were revealed, I about fell over and crawled up in a fetal position. MY TYROL IS A CYLON. OMG ANDERS. WHAT WILL KARA DO? HOW THE HELL IS TIGH ONE? UMM, I DON'T CARE ABOUT TORY.
And let's not forget the comments on the Maelstorm post. Ron Moore is a sadistic genius for trolling the whole BSG community about Kara's death. One of the replies I got regarding that interview she did was that it was per Ron's instruction. Sadistic genius I say. But of course that story is far from over.
Despite all this Mark, sorry. Still not prepared at all.
I was at work reading the post on Friday and I yelled at the screen 'ahahahahahaaaaaaa THEY'RE ALL CYLONS ahahahahaaaaa' and it was one of the most evil noises I have made in a long time. I don't know why your unpreparedness gives me such satisfaction but it does.
I was one of the ones that mentioned Katee Sackhoff announcing she was off the show, as an attempt to give the newbies something of the same experience we got watching in real time.
Ron Moore is a sadistic genius for trolling the whole BSG community about Kara's death. One of the replies I got regarding that interview she did was that it was per Ron's instruction. Sadistic genius I say.
I think more people/shows should do that. Can you imagine if we got news that Matt Smith was signed on as the Doctor for two more seasons and then they just killed him off and brought Twelve in without telling anyone who it was going to be? The fandom's collective head would explode!
Okay, this might get a bit long, but I have SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS EPISODE, ZOMG.
Starbuck's return was spoiled for me before I had even watched "Maelstorm," and words can't describe how extraordinarily bitter I still am about that. It took so much out of the emotion and feeling and experiencing of this finale (and the grief that all the characters feel between "Maelstorm" and "Crossroads"). That being said, it is so incredibly telling of the power of this finale that even having known the biggest surprise of them all I was still reduced to a shrieking, flailing mess upon viewing this episode.
When we see those four come together, it was unbelievable. I immediately started trying to deny it, trying to trace back all of their histories, and then I realized: Tyrol, Anders, and Tigh were the three main leaders of the Resistance on New Caprica. How much irony is that??
And then you flash to the CIC, and see Tory take her place beside Roslin, and Tigh beside Adama. This goes so far deeper than anyone could ever have thought. And of course, my thoughts are "HOLY HELL THEY ARE ALL SO FRAKKED."
And Baltar. Oh Baltar. You are on your own now, sir…
(rot13-ing this becuase I'm not sure if it counts as a spoiler or not):
Fbzrguvat fbzrbar fnvq gb zr bapr gung V guvax vf fb irel gehr: bar bs gur zbfg ornhgvshy guvatf nobhg OFT vf gung rirel fvatyr frnfba svanyr abg bayl fhecevfrq hf, zbirq hf, naq cebivqrq evqvphybhf pyvssunatref, ohg rnpu bar nyfb freirq gb <v> pbzcyrgryl punatr gur tnzr </v>. Jura lbh guvax nobhg ubj qvssrerag naq frcrengr frnfba bar vf sebz gjb, naq gjb sebz guerr, naq gura abj guerr sebz sbhe, vg nyy uvatrf ba gur svanyrf. Juvpu…thhu, V pna'g rira. YRG ZR WHFG XRRC FVATVAT ZL CENVFRF SBE GUVF FUBJ.
so it turns out that when you rot13 your italicized html tags, the <i > turns into a <v > and doesn't work so well… And yeah, that's totally awesome.
The only thing I could think of after this episode was, "Wait…so Nicky is also a half-Cylon half-human hybrid like Hera. Why aren't the Cylons interested in him? Or are they and we just don't know it yet? IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ADAM TO HERA'S EVE?"
So many questions. Damn your posting schedule for making me wait so long to get answers!
The song was quite the point of contention at the time – some people hated it A LOT, and others love it. It was definitely confusing.
By the way, the closing shots do prove that our Earth exists in the BSG'verse. Which after all the talk about it was kind of nice to have confirmed!
And Kara's BACK! That was so great. I was sure after Maelstrom she would be back (narratively it didn't make any sense for her journey and the destiny we'd been teased about to end abruptly like that), even though Ron did his darnedest to try to make the fans believe otherwise.
The reveal of the Dylan Four (The Dylons, as some of us took to calling them) is so stunning. I think all four of them did such a great job with the confusion and denial and anguish of these four people who had been some of the strongest opponents of the Cylons and done rather dark, soul-crushing things as part of that fight, to find out that they are actually what they hate most. I can imagine few things that would upset me more than to find out that my very identity is now in question and everything I believe about myself may be a complete lie. Or to fear that suddenly you might become a tool of the enemy and not be able to stop yourself, like Boomer. It makes me just HURT for all of them, so much, to imagine what that would be like.
I was watching this on my own and my housemate had already seen the episode and managed not to spoil me. However, she did walk in right in the middle of it, as the music really started swelling and I was so pumped up and on edge that I paused the DVD and shouted 'FUCK OFF! GET OUT!' She stomped off to a friend's house in a huff and I had to ring her and abjectly apologise and ask if I could come join her to be held while I came to terms with what had happened.
Kara!!! Kara's back!
Did something else happen?
Oh, right, BSG broke my heart into Tigh, Anders, and Tyrol-shaped pieces. And Tory pieces, I guess (shrug). Then, Tigh stitched it back together with one speech about who he really is. Tigh! You were such a one-note bastard when the show started, and now I actually care about you. How'd they do that?
Here's why you shouldn't randomly decide to walk into a room where someone else is watching a show:
The last 5 minutes of this episode, i.e. the four cylon reveal, is actually the VERY FIRST THING I EVER SAW.
Yeah. Spoiled THAT for myself. Granted, I didn't know who anyone was or what was even going on. But I did remember that some dude with an eyepatch is some kind of robot? What? And I was even planning on picking up watching the show soon too, cause I finally had cable.
Spoilers are bad.
Mark, All Along the Watchtower was one of the main reasons why we always kept telling you to never look for BSG music on YouTube.
Not that the songtitles for season 4 don't still contain spoilers, but that was a biggie.
So this might be kinda long, but I wrote a little thing about the trial and Lee's speech a while ago and I thought I'd post it here:
I entered it knowing where I stood. Roslin is my favorite character no matter what she does (well, almost) and I was looking forward to Baltar finally getting his butt kicked for being the egotistical, intolerable screw-up that he is. I'm nodding during the prosecution's opening speech and fairly uncomfortable during Lampkin's. Everything is going well.
It starts to crack without my noticing at first. Lampkin and Lee put several defendants in their place. Tigh's drunk. Roslin's on drugs (though she does a fair job of flipping it around to make Lee look like a coward). Gaeta lies under oath.
And then Lee gives the most beautiful speech in all of my television experience, and I'm staring at the screen in complete awe, everything makes sense, it's all true, he's blown the trial, the fleet, and human nature wide open without the words "good" or "bad" dictating it, it doesn't sound preachy, because it's all true and the show can end right there.
But that would be hypocritical, because as was just eloquently pointed out, there isn't an easy answer to life and we're all in a big human muddle and if you're saying differently you're selling something.
Let me put it this way: Lee finishes, the verdict is announced, everything feels right and I'm happy, and in the chaos that follows the defendant makes a statement to the press and I remember who he is.
Baltar. Gaius Baltar. The worm I've hated for three seasons, who's weaseled out of countless justified deaths, who puts a face on humanity's greatest flaws and then has the best fortune of any character. I was convinced he was despicable, and yet I was just voting for his side because it was right in a totally true way. And here he is, instead of being humbled by his salvation he's talking to the press, downtalking the trial and all who were behind it, thinking only of himself yet again.
The revelations in this finale didn't just shock and thrill in an action and plot way. They didn't just flip a moral view, either. They picked up the morality and ethics of these characters, their story, and more importantly, their audience, and shook it around by the feet, putting us down dizzy and disoriented.
Gods, I miss this show.
I loved it so much too, because not only was everyone on trial..it felt like the viewers' perception of Gaius Baltar was on trial as well.
And after watching it, I felt like I personally had just been TOLD by Lee Adama.
<3
Yeah, he won back a good chunk of the respect he lost due to the love square fiasco.
This is still my favorite show EVER. No joking, no hyperbole. I can't even explain exactly why, but it just came into my life at the right(wrong?) time. I cannot say it is the best show I've ever seen because that goes to The Wire.
I think it might be the most original show I've ever seen that was based off pre-existing source material. Go figure how that happens.
there isn't an easy answer to life and we're all in a big human muddle and if you're saying differently you're selling something.
I don't know if you've seen the rest of the show, but guvf vf jul V trg fb natel nobhg gur svanyr. GURER VF AB RNFL ERGVERZRAG BA RNEGU ZNEX GJB. Gurer vf bayl fgehttyr. Gur svanyr vf jnl gbb unccl sbe zl gnfgrf, qrfcvgr nyy gur gentrql.
Too many emotions now…may come back later…
Okay, so I was pretty positive Tyrol was a cylon after that whole eye of jupiter thing but damn, Tigh and Anders was a total surprise.
I was positive that Starbuck would miraculously find her way back on the show somehow but I didn't see how that could happen other than her being a cylon so I kept my mouth shut on that post.
I totally don't get how the cylon doctor could have examined Starbuck and not know what she was though. What's up with that?
This show basically lost me when they introduced the bathtub lady and I'm pretty sure that was when they explained what the final five were and I was just uh way to distracted by that milky substance she was swimming in at the time so I probably missed some key info there.
Also: Anders really grew on me this season. I was kind of indifferent to him at first but I think I was just prejudiced against his facial hair. Man he is a good dude even though he is hella masochistic about his relationship choices.
Dee, though wtf: "I'm leaving you because of the system, Lee" Really? That's why? You're sure?
This courtroom drama wasn't really working for me. In another context I think Lee's monologue could have been really dramatic and depressing and it was definitely on point but for reasons that I can not put my finger on it wasn't really happening for me and when he got to the delivery of "because we just don't like you very much" it made me lol a little bit, I feel kind of bad.
I'm watching in time with Mark so this is just theory:
I totally don't get how the cylon doctor could have examined Starbuck and not know what she was though. What's up with that?
I've been wondering about this too, and I've developed a very preliminary and weak theory. The "Final Five" are different from the other "skinjob" Cylons and that has something to do with why they are programmed to not even think about them?
At first I was thinking they might even have more complete histories, like maybe they are reborn, yes, like other cylons, but into infant bodies that grow? But then I was thinking, if Kara is a cylon, and I think she is, then that doesn't work, because here she is. Also, the fact that she's been reborn…do the cylons know about her as one of the final five now? Did it happen on a resurrection ship? I'm guessing no, and somehow that happened somewhere else.
The monologue doesn't quite work for me either, but it's not the monologue itself that I think it's the problem. I like it and think the delivery was fantastic. (Although I will nitpick and say that murder is not the word I'd use to describe what Helo and Tyrol did to that guy from the Pegasus.) It just feels that the whole trial was set up so that Lee can deliver it. I can feel the writer's hand very heavily and I wish it played out in a more organic way.
That said, Starbuck is back and nothing else really matters.
In theory I think it's inevitable that everything they'd done would come back to haunt them. I wish I was into the scene more but yeah I see what you mean about it feeling forced.
What Helo/Tyrol did qualifies as manslaughter at most, no?
Oh okay,what I think it is is that Lee's already done a lot more severe stuff to defy his dad, like uh, what time he took a gun to Tigh's head and then escape he brig tto live underground and split the fleet. All his courtroom drama is pretty tame in comparison so it kind of takes the edge off the whole thing for me. At least as a supposedly epic finale, I feel like these things should have happened in reverse order,
I still think that "we just don't like you very much" is a genuinely funny line.
Dee, though wtf: "I'm leaving you because of the system, Lee" Really? That's why? You're sure?
RIGHT. Dee, you should have left his ass weeks ago.
Okay, so. THINGS:
– I agree with you on Gaeta. I love him, but committing perjury is a really messed up thing to do. Most court systems really rely on the idea that a witness will be truthful. It goes to the heart of institutionalized justice for that to be ignored or otherwise violated. Gaeta's decision to commit perjury (and they really drove it home by intertwining clips of Doral putting a gun to Baltar's head) definitely showed that he cared more about revenge than he did justice. And while that's understandable on a personal level, it's also the most damaging thing that could have happened in the context of this trial – certainly more so than Lee's problematic but legally acceptable questions to Roslin about her chamalla use. If people will simply lie under oath, we really might as well not have a trial at all.
– I also liked all the annoyance the prosecutor displayed over Lee's testimony. It was a weird step, and probably the furthest they pushed their dramatic license, but given the circumstances, it wasn't the most ridiculous thing I could imagine. The prosecutor's right in that it's something that probably should have been done in the context of closing arguments rather than as witness testimony, but … again, this was a pretty unique case, and it makes sense that the judges would have considerable discretion. And the fact was, Lee wouldn't have said all that without Lampkin basically drawing him out first.
– (And yeah, I love that monologue, too.)
– It's hard for me to talk too much about the other things because, as mentioned already, I was thoroughly spoiled for them. Watching the show for me became more about how it was such a big deal that these Four were apparently Cylons, to the point that now it's actually bizarre for me to think that I really knew that the whole time.
– Man, you can just hear the showmakers laughing when "Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck" comes up in the end credits.
I was completely with the prosecutor with the annoyance over Lee's testimony, and I was actually really distracted by how wrong it was because at least in the American judicial system, that would not fly at all. I'm used to being irked by TV shows failing at how law works (first thing you learn in law school: the court room procedurals are doing it wrong!), but it was really distracting here, because usually BSG is so spot on with everything.
Assuming that the BSG legal system is based on the American system, Lampkin/ Badger broke several rules of evidence and ethics by forcing Lee to take the stand, and no court would ever allow Lee to monologue like that, no matter how passionate or eloquent the speech is. Also, prosecutors can't go against what their clients want so Badger trying for mistrial against Baltar's vehement protests also totally wouldn't fly.
(I get too easily distracted by law stuff and that leads to perfectionist tendencies.)
The rest of the episode blew my mind, though!
Well, but the Colonial system could have different rules from our own, and Lampkin said he could cite a bunch of precedents for having counsel take the stand. Plus, I think it's true what Lee says, that they're not a civilization so much as a gang on the run from their lives and they've had to bend or break the rules a bunch of times in order to survive. I'm not too concerned with what happens here because how many rules have they broken already, you know?
Most court systems really rely on the idea that a witness will be truthful. It goes to the heart of institutionalized justice for that to be ignored or otherwise violated.
Yeah, I agree with this in principle, but in practice I think perjury happens ALL THE TIME. It has to, because so many court cases that go to trial end up being one person's word against another's, especially if there's a lack of physical evidence. And this sucks, but what can you do about it?
(I had a bad jury duty experience once and I'm kind of bitter about the legal system now. 😛 )
You know, I should have known, after last episode, that those 4 were Cylons. But did I stop to think about it? No, I continued with the next episode because I can't stop! EVER! Oh and….
STARBUCK'S BACK!!!!
BEST SONG EVER!!!!!! (all along the watchtower)
I can't wait for more!
Oh…How could I forget …Baltar,: "Oh Felix, ohhhh Felix…what are you doing??!" That was a tremendous line reading, which IMO made the "butterfingers" line even better.
I have been climbing the walls waiting for Mark to watch this episode because my sole and persistent reaction when it ended was WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH. I was literally unable to do anything but make interesting buhbuhbuhbuhbuh noises with my lips for a few minutes. And then for a few more minutes all I could do was flail. Spouse and I watched both parts as a doubleheader, the credits rolled at 1am with both of us in bed, and I literally jumped out of bed to flail and yell about it. Literally. I ONLY OVERUSE "LITERALLY" WHEN I AM HIGHLY OVEREXCITED YOU GUYS HOLY SHIT.
You know, I've used the words "my head exploded". But this episode made me realize that I did not truly know what it meant. I have never before actually physically felt like my head was going to blow from the pressure of multiple revelations. LITERALLY. What did it was the way it kept building, exactly like the music in the episode itself, until it reached its full strains of shocking discordancy, and then there was STILL MORE because someone has to be fucking with me here and that was it, my poor cranium just gave out.
You know what the truly surreal thing is? I had Starbuck's death AND RETURN spoiled for me before I saw them. I knew Starbuck would be back and yet when her Viper appeared I still thought I was going to wet my pants. That is special. This show is so good that I *know* X is going to happen, and still almost have my heart give out when I realize HOLY SHIT THIS IS HOW THEY'RE DOING THE REVEAL ON X JESUS CHRIST OH MY GOD.
I did like that Tigh, Tory, Anders and Tyrol run through exactly the same thoughts the viewers are probably having. Is it really possible for Tigh to be a toaster after 40 years of Colonial service? I know this is a long con but still. And jesus, he killed Ellen. She did everything for him, and got killed for it, and he's a Cylon? Just to be clear, I don't for a minute doubt that this show would do that. YES ABSOLUTELY it would cackle gleefully, as it put 50 kittens through a meat grinder.
… I call uncle, show. I give up. I have no fucking idea what's going on here BUT I'M EXTREMELY WORKED UP ABOUT IT. I have never been this yanked around by fiction in my life.
"My name is Saul Tigh. I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am, whatever else it means… that's the man I want to be. And if I die today, that's the man I'll be."
SAUL TIGH IS THE MOTHERFUCKING MAN.
AND MICHAEL HOGAN IS THE MOTHERFUCKING DELIVERY MAN (OF GREAT LINES).
So I can finally tell you my BSG story. Up until this point, most of my comments have been restrained versions of OMG LEE IS AMAZING. Here's why:
The first time I properly saw this show, I walked in on my friend Sarah showing Litmus to another friend of mine. I wasn't that impressed. Sarah, knowing that I would really love BSG, tried properly hooking me with Six Degrees of Separation. Unfortunately, she completely miscalculated my reaction to Gaius. I HATED him. HATED. HIM. Watching the first season again, I now find him really funny, but that's beside the point.
In desperation, Sarah decided to go all out and show me her favorite episodes: the last three episodes of season three, but cutting off right before the Cylon reveal. It worked. I was hooked on the show and went back to watch the whole thing with her, slightly spoiled but very excited. I was also head over heels for Lee Adama, who is a total rights-of-the-people-and-human-decency badass in these episodes and during the epic speech in particular. That's why I was able to deal with all of his flaws and BS during so much of the show (particularly the Leemo phase in season 2.5): I always knew that he was going to get better.
So yeah, that's my BSG story. 🙂
Jamie Bamber got a standing ovation from the cast and crew after the first take when filming the big speech scene.
Also, RDM and David Eick got scads and scads of angry phone calls once the cast & crew found out that Kara was going to die. At that point, only Katee Sackhoff knew that she was coming back. The reason for that was because the producers wanted to spare the rest of the leads from having to keep this big secret from everyone, and having to lie about Kara's death. Eventually, EJO and Mary MacDonald were told (and later the rest of the cast & some of the crew) because the producers could see that there was just so much angst and anger about the situation.
Also, I just found this video today of Tahmoh and Katee talking about Aaron's reaction to finding out that Tyrol was one of the Final Five (stop at 1:37 to avoid spoilers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RMkaMYt8hI
Also, here's 'All Along the Watchtower' linked with the Cylon intro bit:
[youtube BigolJfoANw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigolJfoANw youtube]
and the story gets better, since Aaron was the first to know, so he called the others and they were like "NO WAI YOU ARE SCREWING WITH US". And of course it was true. lol
Spoilers in the video though!!!!
(stop at 1:37 to avoid spoilers)
Haha, in the spoilery part of that video I adore Tahmoh's grin.
I've been looking forward to Mark's reaction to this episode.
HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE KNOW “ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER”?????? That song DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS FUCKING UNIVERSE and they knew the goddamn melody.
Maybe Bob Dylan's a Cylon.
THIS EPISODE!!!! OMG, this episode is the most win of all.
It's funny because this season has been kind of, detail-paced. Focusing on people's journeys and alternate experiences and parallel narratives. And then the season finale was like a bomb.
I remember watching this episode and as soon as Tigh said, 'There must some kind of way out of here,' I turned to my friends and sang, 'Said the joker to the thief.' And then everything started to happen. The Maiden-Mother-Crone of Caprica-Sharon-Laura came to the realization that they share a vision. The four hidden Cylons started to quote All Along the Watchtower. And then I knew how it would end. it still didn't stop me from shaking and praying the whole way through, when Lee shoots out of the tube, when Tigh makes his grand speech, when the Cyclons return to their posts – through it all I prayed for our girl, our hero, our wanderer who pushes back the boundaries and always, always returns.
And then she showed up, bathed in light, and I sang Hallelujah.
This episode made me believe in gods.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who (a) repeated the lyrics after Tigh and then was totally mind-blown when the characters started repeating them too, and (b) caught the Maiden-Mother-Crone thing. Well, Maiden, Mother, Crone and Gaius Baltar.
"Don't freak out."
"…Kara?"
Has anyone linked Mark to the first "What the Frak?" video?
…he freaks out.
I do believe I warned you that you were at all new levels of un-frakkin-preparedness.
God I love Razor. A lot of people seem to regard it as a lightweight, but I think it's one of the higher points of the series. Can't wait to see how you feel about it, Mark.
Oh, I adore Razor. But then again, that's what got me into BSG, so I'm a bit biased there.
I liked Razor as well. It's a worthy companion piece for sure.
Razor is the bomb and the shit, and I will fight to the death to defend that.
My capsule review of Razor:
Jul gur shpx qvq V whfg ibyhagnevyl jngpu avargl zvahgrf bs jne pevzrf?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
<img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Dr%20Who/10th%20Doctor/rosecrying.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
I just wrote a really long, complicated, involved post about my own personal head canon time line. And then the page had some error and disappeared. It prompted for a refresh and of course my unsubmitted comment was gone gone gone.
Such are the tragedies of life.
I'm going to try to reformulate it in a bit, but until then:
Something good must come of this sadness. I know, a sad gif spam!
<img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/10nant.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"><img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/242vpep.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/tumblr_leaxhfiwGX1qba6r7.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"><img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/n5k7r7.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/cryes.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"><img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/orig-12147071.gif" border="0" alt="Sad,rain,cry,Stitch">
And finally, frustration, rather than sad:
<img src="http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/ambyst/Gifs%20Pics%20and%20Icons/Misc%20Gifs/tumblr_lf5wrx8rjz1qzi154o1_r1_500.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
🙁
I watched this Friday night. As of Monday morning, I’m still trying to clean up the mess made by my brain turning to mush and falling out of my ears.
Shall we have some notes? Some of them are pretty hilarious in hindsight.
• “Get your fat lazy ass out of that bed, Roslin. ”In any other circumstances, with any other characters, I would not find that line adorable. But it’s Roslin and Adama so OF COURSE IT’S ADROABLE.
• Anders and Tory? Hmmm, yes, I approve of this pairing.
• When did Anders become a nugget? I must have missed that.
• All three of them are having simultaneous visions. This is so cool. And confusing.
• There must be some kind of way out of here.” Out of where? Out of the spaceship? Tigh, dude, that’s generally not a good idea.
• Gaeta WTF? WHY WOULD YOU LIE ON THE WITNESS STAND? Not cool. Not cool at all.
• Holy shit. I mean, Holy Shit. Was anyone else squirming in their seat during Lee’s “forgiven” speech? I mean, I FELT LIKE HE WAS TALKING DIRECTLY TO ME . Because everything he said was absolutely 0 TRUFAX. I think it’s safe to say Jamie Bamber owns this episode.
• Up until about 5 minutes ago this was unimaginable. After that, I think it was inevitable.
• Omg, Baltar talking about DOING A BOOK TOUR just made me facepalm so hard.
• No Lampkin, don’t go! Stick around for a little while. Like the rest of the series.
• Adama, I’m so proud of you for voting not guilty!
• The Ionian nebula!! It can be Earth time now plz?
• What the fuck? The lyrics from “All Along the watchtower?” Really, RDM? Really? Because I really don’t think they listen to much Jimi Hendrix in the colonial fleet.
• YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME THE MUSIC IS FREAKING ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER?!?!?!
• WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK IS HAPPENING ON MY SCREEN?
• …..
• oh my god.
• Oh. My. God.
• Holy living crap
• Aasdj;sdbsofndonfblf
• Anders. Tory.Tyrol. TIGH. OMG They were the leaders of the ResistanceI LOVE THIS IRONY SO MUCH
(more)
(DVD olayer on pause while I lose my shit.)
• OK how the HELL can Tigh be a cylon with so much history? Hasn’t Adama known him for decades? And he had flashbacks and he looked younger and everything and how could he if he was a cylon they don’t age do they? OMG I never thought about cylons aging.
• Holy Lords of Kobol – Tyrol’s dreams. Tyrol’s dreams in the last season finale. And freaking Cavil telling him he was AFRAID HE WAS A CYLON ASGASHJDJHGSJ HE FREAKING KNEW. EXCEPT HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE DOESN’T KNOW WHO THE FINAL FIVE ARE OR DOES HE.
• OMGOMGOMGOMG I just realized- Tyrol. Nicky. Hera is not the only Cylon/human child. asdgagsfgjdfgjdkf.
• OMG and he was with Boomer. He and Boomer were together that whole time and neither of them knew. 🙁 And now Anders and Tory were hooking up too? So cylons are, I don’t know subliminally attracted to each other?
• "My name is Saul Tigh. I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am, that's the man I want to be. And if I die today, that's the man I'll be." Tigh, bless your cylon heart. Bless him for saying that. Bless all four of them for this- for not letting this effect them doing their jobs. They know who they are, and human or cylon doesn’t make a damn bit of difference -when the ship is being attacked, they know where they stand.
• This is epic music of epicness.
• wait wait WAIT WHAT IS THIS SHIP MESSING WITH LEE IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS
• YES IT IS!!! OH HAI STARBUCK! HOW FUNNY OF YOU TO SHOW UP ALL ALIVE AND STUFF WHEN THERE HAPPENS TO BE SPACE FOR ONE MORE CYLON! whatever SHE'S ALIVE!!!!!!
• OMG AND SHE’S BEEN TO EARTH.
• BEST. SEASON. FINALE. EVER.
God, I love this show.
He and Boomer were together that whole time and neither of them knew. 🙁
You know what makes me sad about this, is they've said in podcasts that one of the reasons Boomer gets so angry and bitter about Hera is that she never had a kid with Chief so that meant they didn't have God's True Love or whatever. EXCEPT MAYBE THEY DID, and they just couldn't have a kid because they were both Cylons! Makes me want to give her a hug.
Yeah, all I really remember about the first time I watched this episode is being completely stunned by the revelation of the Four cylons, and All Along the Watchtower.
But rewatching the last 5-10 minutes of this episode (which I've done three times in the last week) just gives me such chills. The music is so incredible, the way it inevitably builds, and there's the four and then Starbuck, and then it pulls back and there is Earth….The first time I rewatched it (this time), I was weeping by the end of it, and I have no idea why, except that it is beautiful. And every time I watch it, it makes me get all shivery and I can't sit still.
So, yeah, I think this is my favorite episode of BSG.
I'd almost forgotten this was the most awesome episode of any tv show ever…until I rewatched it. Let me listeth the ways:
– Roslin and Adama being all kinds of adorable
– Gaeta is a lying prick, and "BUTTERFINGERS!"
– Lee Adama gives the best speech of all time ever. Seriously, so many tv shows and movies attempt the big emotional mind-changer of a speech and you always go along with it just accepting that it's affecting the characters opinions, but this is one where it really speaks directly to the audience, it sums up the thematic material of an entire season (nay, show) and wins the trial in one fell swoop. My favourite scene of the series, I've watched it so many times and I always get chills regardless.
– The single tear that Callis lets down after hearing the verdict, the ensuing chaos, and THAT LOOK that Roslin gives him. Seems Lee didn't sway everyone's opinion…
– Baltar is still Baltar even in victory, and Romo is still all kinds of awesome.
– Baltar has been adopted by a crazy cult!
– OMG "ALL ALONG THE WATCH TOWER"!!!
– OMG SHDFSJHFKSFS THEY'RE CYLONS?!!?!
– Omg Tigh and Tory in CIC offering their allegiance to the admiral and president respectively and then THAT LOOK. (btw its really clever how the cyclons now have an agent planted in each major area of Galactica: government, CIC, deck and pilots)
– OMG DJFDSKJFHJSFH STARBUCK!!!
– THAT ZOOM OUT! EARTH!
I love this show.
Please don't use the word "crazy" on this site.
Mark, All Along the Watchtower was one of the main reasons why we always kept telling you to never look for BSG music on YouTube.
"Get your fat lazy ass out of that rack, Roslin." I kind of want to record that and play it on my alarm clock.
Sadly I'm watching this while my roommate sleeps, so I have to keep the volume low. Otherwise I would blast Bear McCreary's genius for all to hear.
Anders and Tory, eh? Well, she's no Starbuck (nobody is), but they're both very pretty, so… I guess?
Aw, Seelix looks kind of sad when she realizes what's going on. I kinda thought she might have been flirting with him last episode, so maybe she has a crush. WHO WOULDN'T, for serious.
And then Chief mutters "way outta here…" I didn't even catch that! Hee. I also didn't catch Anders's muttered "no reason to get excited" the first time around. It's integrated pretty seamlessly into the dialogue.
About the song: I've probably mentioned this before, but I was a belly dancer for seven years. I'd like to get back into it someday, but it's an expensive hobby–the costumes cost hundreds of dollars and the classes aren't much cheaper. So, maybe someday when I have a real job and can actually afford hobbies that aren't the internet.
Anyway, I'm always choreographing belly dances in my head, and whenever this song comes up on my iPod, I get lost in how AWESOME it would be to do a dance to this. I mean, it starts out kind of quiet, but it just builds and by the end it's pure awesomeness. Plus the rhythms are pretty good for belly dancing, which is kind of rare for a song with English lyrics.
My teacher, though, the one I had for the majority of my belly dancing "career," was staunchly opposed to any kind of "modern" music in bellydance. She said we all had to do traditional, all the time, and maybe someday when we had mastered that we could start playing with modern stuff. (A lot of my fellow students agreed with her and looked down their noses at anything that wasn't traditional.) That's part of the reason I left–I was having my dreams crushed every time I got an idea for a dance to a modern or non-Middle-Eastern song. In the future I hope to find a teacher that will let me pick my own music. If I do, I'll be sure to video this one and upload it for you guys 🙂
(cont)
"Sabotage… with music." CYLONS AND THEIR EVIL MUSIC. "There's too much confusion!" Damn, I missed ALL OF THESE REFERENCES.
Oh Gaeta, you poor thing.
"BUTTERFINGERS!"
"I can cite at least seven precedents off the top of my head." That's why we love you, Romo.
I love Romo's little smile after Lee's outburst. He knows he's gotten what he wants. <3.
Lee's speech = perfect. I almost expected someone to start a slow clap, but I guess Adama has other things on his mind.
And then Roslin looks at Lee at the end all betrayed. Look Roslin, YOU PARDONED EVERYBODY. Just because Gaius wasn't around at the time doesn't mean he should be the ONE person who doesn't get a pardon.
Hee, Gaius is back to smoking cloves and claiming he knew all along he would be acquitted. Never change, Gaius.
Hey, how IS Romo's cat anyway? Did it get killed in the explosion? We haven't seen it since then. I CARE ABOUT THE IMPORTANT THINGS ON THIS SHOW.
This is probably my most vivid memory of watching this show: Sitting on my couch, and when Chief says "There must be some kinda way outta here," I said "said the joker to the thief," AS A JOKE. I didn't think they were ACTUALLY doing the song lyrics! So then when Tigh repeated it right after I said it, I just about jumped out of my seat. This episode blew my mind.
I just love this. Tigh, who lost an eye by the Cylons and killed his wife for collaborating with them. Anders, who resisted their occupation for months on Caprica and then again on New Caprica. Chief, who helped lead the resistance on New Caprica. And… Tory. Who we really don't know much about, actually. Did they pick these guys out of a hat? I'd love to have seen the decision process.
I wonder exactly what these four experienced when "the switch went off" in their heads. Did they suddenly get "I AM A CYLON" blinking in neon lights in their brains? Did they REMEMBER Cylon stuff? Did they unlock Cylon POWERS? Did they start to see the world in ones and zeros like The Matrix?
Vg gnxrf nabgure jngpu guebhtu guvf fubj gb ernyvmr ubj qvssrerag gur Guvegrragu Gevor Plybaf ernyyl ner sebz gur arj zbqryf. V zrna, Pnivy whfg qhzcrq gurz vagb uhznavgl, evtug? Ur qvqa'g chg nal cebtenzzvat va gurz gung gurl jbhyq fnobgntr fuvg sbe gur uhznaf? Ur whfg jnagrq gurz gb rkcrevrapr ubj shpxvat njshy vg vf gb or n uhzna orvat. Orpnhfr ur'f n qvpx.
Nyfb: Jung nobhg Ryyra VAQRRQ, Gvtu. Fbeel, lbh'yy unir gb jnvg nabgure frnfba sbe gung, gubhtu.
"We do our jobs." And this is where Tigh becomes my favorite character alongside Athena, because he basically does the same thing as Athena right here. He decides where his loyalties lie and he's not going to let his biology dictate that. Fuck yeah.
And then Starbuck! I don't even care that it makes no sense, because STARBUCK IS BACK.
Ahahaha Mark you are STILL SO UNPREPARED and I love it!
V nz trggvat zber naq zber phevbhf nobhg ubj Znex jvyy ernpg gb gur zhpu ungrq svanyr. Nalbar ryfr?