To Moore and Eick: Please Don’t Screw This One Up
Let me start off by saying I’m a big fan of the science fiction series remake, Battlestar Galactica (or BSG as its referred to by its viewers) by Ron Moore and David Eick. The first two seasons of this show were a brilliant demonstration of the fact that science fiction is not about futuristic technology or ships flying around in space; rather, it is an examination of human drama, character conflicts and motivations set against an alternate reality.
Oh sure, BSG has gone on to create a new stylistic look – in particular the use of camera movements for the space scenes that creates the illusion of a real camera operator floating in space trying to capture all the action while staying out of the way. But those who really get what the show’s strength is know that it’s the multi-dimensional characters and the complexities of their relationships to one another. Of course, the show also has a tendency to pull off some wicked mind fraks on the audience (frak, for those who are unfamiliar with the show, is a series-based euphemism for a contemporary profanity word. I’m sure you can figure out which one). Certainly one of the other key hallmarks of BSG is that you could never assume anything about its story lines since many of those conventional storytelling ruses or plot devices used these days would invariably be taken to the curb and tossed – when you least expect it.
And yet, despite some well-crafted storytelling and character drama for the first two seasons of the show, by the time the 3rd season came into play, it was becoming a bit obvious that the creators of this re-envisioned series were beginning to lose their grasp on what made it such a compelling series. The start of the 4th season this past April was a welcome and much appreciated return to the kind of series this show started out as. It felt as though Moore and Eick had used the break between seasons to reassess the situation and they had found their way back.
But then again, just a few episodes in, it started to slide down into mediocre writing and hackneyed plot devices. They’ve since picked up the slack with the last couple of episodes, but I have to admit, that quick slide back early this season has me a little on the cautious side about whether they can keep it up. Which brings us to tonight’s showing of what’s being called a “mid-season finale” due to the fact that it will be the last episode that will be shown until early 2009 (that’s more of that savvy network thinking you hear about so much about in the entertainment rags). Given the long hiatus between tonight’s episode and the remaining 10 episodes before the series finale, I think this will be a make or break moment for this series and its audience. Reading the non-spoiler comments from some of the production personnel following last night’s advanced screening of tonight’s episode “Revelations”, it sounds as though I and everyone else who follows this show are in for a real great piece of drama and plenty of surprises.
I hope that’s more truth than hype. I could really use a mind frak right about now.
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