Battlestar Galactica Question

[vastin]

So, I'm watching the series through for the first time, and I'm halfway through the 1st season, and I have a question I need answered by a reasonably non-denominational science fiction fan before I bother to put more time into it:

Comments

[egowumpus]

It is possible that the 'message' cobbled together by the end of the series might, if you squint hard enough, fit the thing you're afraid of. But I think the value of the series - though it fluctuates greatly from episode to episode and season to season - is not in the overarching narrative as the sub-narratives that they have going on. The strength of the series lies there, when it exists. Which, sadly, is not always.

Chances are, though, if you're that vehemently opposed to vague religious themes, you'll be too turned off by season two to get to the good stuff beyond it.

[kumir_k9]

In my opinion, the show got a little too preachy in the long haul, sort of pushing the religious envelope. However, I think they skirted it enough and threw enough curve balls in there that it didn't really hit the prophecy you're fearing.

In fact, the very end of the series leaves it well off from that. You just have to endure areas where you're going to fear it even more, to come out the other side. After enduring the weird religious crap, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Not to make it sound like the show wasn't worthwhile. To the contrary, I thought it was very good.

[vastin]

The religious crap wasn't really the problem, it was just a flavor. The problem was the writing, particularly regarding predestination.

The Cylons can predict/manipulate the future, not in a broad, general sense, but in a remarkably precise individual sense, such as being able to predict the exact actions of individual humans or the exact re-entry path of a crippled ship that hasn't even been shot down yet.

That kind of data manipulation suggests that either the Cylons are very close to omniscient, or are actually taking marching orders straight from God, either of which is a pretty crappy premise for a show.

[vastin]

Religious themes in and of themselves don't bother me. I happily put up with them in tons of fantasy and oddly themed sci-fi of other stripes

A bit of both sides

[ext_34748]

I think the show as a whole did a good job walking a line between things being fated or not. Some of the characters really believe in religion/fate/etc. and live that way; some of them don't. I don't remember if it comes up in the first season or not, but there's a sort of mantra that creeps in somewhere "this has all happened before, this will all happen again". It's up for discussion on any number of forums exactly what this means. I felt that over the course of the show, what this really came to mean was more along the lines of "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it", than a grand mystic/religious/etc. plan.

Re: A bit of both sides

[vastin]

I gave up on the series a ways into season 2.

By that point it was clear that the Cylons had the ability to predict and or manipulate future events with uncanny accuracy.

The ability to accurately predict isolated events in the future by definition eliminates free will, so the show's statement on that front is pretty unequivocal.

They may or may not be gods, as there appear to be (a few) events that they are not able to accurately predict or manipulate, but the difference is pretty much moot.

I do not particularly like viewing existence through such a starkly nihilistic lens - same issue I had with the latter Matrix movies - so the show was doing nothing for me. It also deviates so far from the reality I am familiar with that I can't learn much from it.

The only credits I can leave it with are pretty good VFX, and some excellent acting, though the best of both were displayed in the Miniseries and haven't reached a real peak since.