Don't worry. We'll find them.

[lostinapapercup]

It's Friday, folks

Whether or not you've watched the BSG miniseries this past week, feel free to join in! Everyone who expressed interest is rewatching, so there will be spoilers for the rest of the series in both this post and the comments.

Comments

[elliotsmelliot]

Thanks for organizing this! The questions are a good way to get us talking. As I said on my journal, watching the miniseries felt like I was attending a family reunion in which I knew all my relative’s fates, and most of them involved losing lives and body parts. Everyone looked so young! I wanted to wrap them all in a hug and tell them it would all be okay, even though it wouldn’t.

What was your introduction to BSG?
I think the first had already aired when I started watching. I remember being away on a research trip and my husband saying he found a show he thought we would both like. He downloaded the miniseries and we loved it. I caught up on S1 on DVD and then proceeded to watch the rest when it aired.

Which character did you warm up to the fastest?
It was Gaius and Laura. I adored Laura’s strength and leadership. Gaius’s comedic inner turmoil was a welcomed addition to all the seriousness.

We were introduced to four Cylons in the miniseries. Did the reveal that proved Doral was really one take you by surprise? (Why does Doral

[lostinapapercup]

I wanted to wrap them all in a hug and tell them it would all be okay, even though it wouldn’t.
Exactly. One of the people it gets to me the most to see again here at the beginning is Billy. And I feel like for most of the series it sucks to be Sharon, no matter which Sharon, so she's right up there, too.

Gaius’s comedic inner turmoil was a welcomed addition to all the seriousness.
You know, I was never able to like Gaius -- I like imaginary Gaius and real Six better than their counterparts, it seems -- but I do think his skepticism and inner struggle and... well, tendency to be a weasel are all really well played in the miniseries and the rest of season one. Disliking him on a personal level was one thing, but I was thinking my real problem with how he never seemed to learn any lessons probably starts after New Caprica.

I was not quite sure how Adama made the leap that Leoban was a Cylon (rather than a Cylon spy or war profiteer) since he did not know they could look like humans yet.I always thought Leoben was too obvious. So

[elliotsmelliot]

I was thinking my real problem with how he never seemed to learn any lessons probably starts after New Caprica.

I agree. I thought Baltar needed to change by then too and I felt the while religious cult was tedious.

I can't appreciate is the stuff with Six toward the end

Me neither. I didn't understand that storyline. It felt like I missed several episodes. He went from hurting her to being obsessed and all of a sudden they are pregnant and happy?

[in_the_blue]

I kind of love Bill's end speech too, the way he takes over with the whole SO SAY WE ALL thing, turning it into an anthem of hope. I like his honesty with Laura revealing he's full of shit about it too. Both these things set the mood and the inspiration for the whole rest of the show -- the search for Earth and the search for hope -- and I'm a sucker for things that become recurring themes, even though we only realize them in retrospect.

I also really like you picking Tigh as the one whose arc changes him the most. He's one of those characters who's easy to get annoyed with, like a thorn no one expected to pick up, but he really does have more than one remarkable transition and proves himself such a great character when all is said and done. Now if they'd only left out the business with Six...

[in_the_blue]

Rewatching the miniseries with a full knowledge of the fate of all the characters is a very different experience from watching it knowing nothing. I was spoiled for Boomer going in, but it doesn't negate any of the fascination I have with the way the characters are presented here.

What relationship-already-in-progress did you enjoy the most in the miniseries? Is there one you wish they'd have have focused on more?I am a total sucker for the fragile relationship between Laura and Billy. It's very much mentor-apprentice, mother-son, friend-confidante, jaded-innocent and it could have been a completely incidental relationship. Over the course of the miniseries alone it becomes so much more, and I remember thinking so many times that Billy was a Cylon and was consistently relieved to find out he was just Billy. I'm not sure I wished they'd have focused on it or any of the others more: it seems to me that there's a pretty fine balance just the way it is. We get hints of the friendship between Bill & Saul, the trouble between Bill & Lee,

[lostinapapercup]

I am a total sucker for the fragile relationship between Laura and Billy. It's very much mentor-apprentice, mother-son, friend-confidante, jaded-innocent and it could have been a completely incidental relationship. Over the course of the miniseries alone it becomes so much more, and I remember thinking so many times that Billy was a Cylon and was consistently relieved to find out he was just Billy.
Yeah, I enjoyed the way Billy and Laura played off each other. I keep thinking of the scene where she asks if he's all right and he mentions that his parents had just moved to Picon, but Laura's called away and for a long moment she stands there, looking like she's caught between oh, Billy, I am so sorry and You're going to be okay for me right? I need you to be okay.

I had a vested interest in Starbuck going in, so I'm not sure this is a fair question, nor can I say the miniseries made me warm up to her a whole lot.
I like Starbuck's role in the miniseries, but it wasn't what sold me on her.

But I have to say that at the very beginning

[in_the_blue]

I have to say I would also have been really interested in seeing the show exploring Lee's relationship with his brother. There's one hell of a missed opportunity there that could have been so fascinating, especially considering the flashback we get at the very end of the series.

[lostinapapercup]

That would've been great.

I wonder how far in advance they knew about each piece of the past we got to see in the finale. You know I wasn't wild the Starbuck-Zak-Lee flashback, but there were some ways in which I thought it made sense. With a little more insight into Zak's and Lee's relationship somewhere down the line, maybe it could have worked better for me.

Part 2

[in_the_blue]

What was your favorite scene? All of it, but Starbuck lovingly unfolding the picture of her and Zak to include Lee and smoothing it out on her mirror gets me every single time.

Were you curious to know what happened to Helo as the miniseries ended? So much happens in this series that I didn't actually think much about Helo the first time through. Curious? Yes, but not dying to know. I'm really glad they kept him in and focused on his part of the story. If they didn't know then how pivotal a character he was going to become, I'm sure they were as shocked to realize it as everyone else. They did well by him.

Who do you think has the canon journey that changes them the most? I'd be hard pressed to say that any single person has a canon journey that doesn't change them, but as far as who changes the most? I have to pick Felix Gaeta, for so many reasons. Every time I saw him in the miniseries I just wanted to grab him and say do not change. Do not go there. I could also argue for Laura, who develops a spine of steel and becomes much

Re: Part 2

[lostinapapercup]

Starbuck lovingly unfolding the picture of her and Zak to include Lee and smoothing it out on her mirror gets me every single time.
I like that little scene a lot.

There's so much blame that Lee has for Bill, and I would never say that Bill, wittingly or otherwise, wasn't a source of pressure but in the end Starbuck had a far more direct part in Zak's death. Maybe instead of Black Market we should've gotten a Lee episode that made more use of the relationships he already had.

I have to pick Felix Gaeta, for so many reasons. Every time I saw him in the miniseries I just wanted to grab him and say do not change. Do not go there. I could also argue for Laura, who develops a spine of steel and becomes much more manipulative than I would have thought possible, or Lee, who changes so significantly.Those are all good choices. I thought about Gaeta myself; I think he undergoes one of the more painful arcs. But I do think there are key things about him that stay in same despite his best efforts. Like, say, his insistence that Bill

Re: Part 2

[in_the_blue]

It occurs to me, a few hours later, that it could be Sharon who changes the most and whose arc is the most spectacular. Aside from the whole sucks to be Sharon thing, she really does grow in so many fundamental ways. Not only is she killed a whole bunch of times, but she has to come face to face with herself over and over and by the end, Athena is an entirely different Sharon than Boomer. It's kind of gorgeous, complex, and multi-layered now that I'm thinking about it.

[silveraspen]

Here from in_the_blue -- I'm so excited that you're doing this!

What was your introduction to BSG? I had grown up with the original series, and I had also heard a lot of the ranting (including and especially from Richard Hatch, once upon a time) about the disaster that the reimagined version was supposed to be, so I stayed away for it for the whole first season.

And then two very good friends of mine came over for dinner and brought the miniseries with them, and that was that.

Miniseries relationship-in-progress: I have to pick just one? The dynamic between Bill and Lee caught my attention immediately, so I'll put that one first. Close runners-up would be Laura-Billy, Billy-Dualla, and Laura-Lee.

Which character did you warm up to the fastest? Laura Roslin, without doubt or question. I love that lady so, so much, recognizing that she's imperfect, but oh, man, does she try to the absolute best of her ability, despite everything. And there's a lot of everything

[in_the_blue]

I see a theme here, Madam President.

[elliotsmelliot]

Great point about Gaeta. He looked so innocent and shiny in the miniseries. My heart just broke thinking of his challenging path ahead and fate.

[lostinapapercup]

So glad to have you! (Theme? *innocent* What theme?)

Close runners-up would be Laura-Billy, Billy-Dualla, and Laura-Lee.
I like all of these. Billy's one of my favorite minor characters, and the Laura-Lee dynamic is kind of fascinating.

I cry every single time when her voice breaks as she's taking the oath, and she forces herself to steady down and carry through. Every. Single. Time.
Ha, I just told Gwynne this exact thing yesterday. I simply can't make it through that scene without getting teary. It's so well done, and I could rave for ages about Laura as a character.

I think Laura's decision not to run and leave the civilians to scatter and die (at first) was one of the hardest-- whether it was the right one or not is a different discussion.
That's an excellent point. I was impressed by her initial insistence on gathering survivors, but I can't imagine that would be an easy choice for most people to make at a time like that.

I think I might have handled that differently if I were making the decisions, but I'm not sure how