Good Night, Admiral Adama

Last Weekend

Friday 20 March 2009 was the Sci-Fi Channel broadcast of the 2-hour finale to Battlestar Galactica. Unfortunately, I had to head out to the Grand Rapids airport to pick up Mrs. Dr. Phil. So set the VCR+ code number and let 'er rip. One thing and another, and I started watching today at around 1am.

Before The Cut

No spoilers yet. I already knew that a LOT of people were bitching that they thought the BSG Finale sucked. That it betrayed the four years they'd invested in the show. That it wasn't the cast's fault.

But... how could it not be a disappointment? No, I'm serious here. Think of how BSG -- old and new -- begins. Peace is at hand and suddenly the Cylons sucker punch the human race. A small ragtag group of refugees head out to find Earth -- and keep having to fight the Cylons. Life sucks. Humanity dwindles. Okay, that's the GOOD news of the premise of the show. Finding Earth doomed the original BSG. Luckily the new show sucker punched us again -- Earth was ruined -- and again -- some of the humans on the crew are actually Cylons, but they didn't know it.

What could possibly work? Finding a new Earth and everyone living happily ever would be a letdown. Getting wiped in the last assault on the Cylon colony would be tragic, though if ALL the warring factions died, that's be a little better. Taking out the whole of humanity would be too easy and would suck.

No, really -- there's no GOOD solution. Only ones which would make some people mad. Remember Babylon 5? We didn't even know we were being taken on a five year arc ride back then. But the wind down of the war was never going to satisfy. And it had some problems, as I recall. Hell, ending The West Wing was a bittersweet letdown -- how could it not be? Still, we certainly enjoyed getting there. Of course in BSG's case, you could make some choices to make it worse. And apparently that was the path taken. slushmaster was so irate, he not only had a good inventory of the finale's failings, he also wrote:

Let me start by saying this post and its comments thread are for those who wish to express their rage or disgust with last night's series finale. The mildest reaction I'm looking for is bewilderment. If you liked last night's episode, with all due respect take it elsewhere. Really. I"m not interested in engaging in intelligent discussion or debate about the virtues of this episode. Sorry, but it's true. If you insist on posting anyway to defend this finale, I will delete your post. If you think I won't delete you because we're friends and hence you are an exception, let me assure you that you're wrong. I will delete you as well. No offense is intended if I delete your post, but you have been warned.

I am royally pissed.

The Battlestar Galactica Finale (Still Before The Cut)

Just viewing the finale was trouble. The VCR+ code number was for two hours. But after two hours, the tape stopped and the show wasn't over. Dammit! Not sure what happened, but... Gah! Fortunately, I'd waited over a week to watch this, so when I strolled over at 3am to Hulu, I actually found it. And watched the last twenty minutes.

( Thar Be Spoilers Ahead... )

So there you have it. I guess given that I still feel it had to end poorly, I'm not so disappointed with the finale -- I shall remember the series, not the ending. Star Wars VI and III had letdown endings, too. BSG is over. Sort of. There's a new series, Caprica, coming out.

And we'll probably still get sucked into it.

Dr. Phil