Maybe I’m giving the song too much weight, but I like to think of head Baltar and head Six as the joker and the thief, respectively.
I have to say, Head Baltar always seemed vaguely sinister to me, and H6 sometimes did.
People seem to think that Science Fiction always must be spaceships, aliens, ray guns and lightspeed. But it doesnt. Science Fiction in its simplest and purest form is fiction based on science and technology. Aliens and Ray Guns are things writers choose to place inside their fiction. So why cant God be placed too? By placing God into the story, the writers of BSG added a layer of story that is rarely found in any science fiction, let alone television. Without that God layer, I dont think BSG would have had the same impact as it did.
Ahh, that’s a cool theory. I like it!
I suppose it is a matter of expectation. Sure, art is art, people steal and blend things. That’s good. I do it myself in my own art. I was expecting hard scifi–which I felt I’d gotten entirely, then there were clear declarations of the supernatural (which is outside science) and my expectations were undercut. BTW, hard scifi is a work which takes takes the current understanding of science and postulates beyond specifically omitting the supernatural. This is Asimov’s notion. I think, until the end, BSG could be seen entirely in a hard SF light. At the end, things were different, god was present without doubt. Whatever the god, that’s the realm of fantasy, again literarily & theatrically speaking, because you can’t study god (the being) with science–faith or magic or magick, but not science. The BSG world suddenly, definitively changed its rules of engagement, the contract with the viewer, and that’s bad storytelling–of which I find much in 4.5, especially the very end of the finale. I felt like I was told I’d won $100 million only to find it was a joke at my expense.
I accept your definition of Hard Scifi, but given it I disagree that BSG was ever Hard Scifi. From the moment that we see a Head 6 the flood gates were opened to things that might not be able to be explained by science known to the protagonists to the show. There were many moments in the later in the series that seemed to further beg for explanations outside of science. I do agree that up until the finale there was a level of ambiguity as to whether we were observing naturalistic or supernatural phenomenon, I don’t agree that the finale gave us a concrete answer that god exists or had a hand in directing the action of the series. What this “Force of Nature” that Baltar refers to is still an open question. Is it a monotheistic God, the Pantheon of the Colonial’s gods, an advanced though purely naturalistic intelligence? I don’t know. The only thing made clear, was that the Colonials and Cylons didn’t know either. In that sense, the finale seemed to follow exactly along the prescripts set forth in the miniseries and through 4 seasons of episodes… IMHO
I agree with this. Well said
. It is unfortunately not surprising that there is so much negativity with regard to the religious applications on many of the boards etc where people feel cheated out of specific answers and declare "copout"as a result.
I look at the finale to the series as a good balancing act of religion and science where the ambiguity is a necessary plot device to force ones own interpretation to give its own meaning to the messages presented.
I only watched the final episode today, and am still digesting it. I always wanted an explanation for the head characters, or perhaps just assumed that this would naturally fall out of the storyline relating to the F5 and Earth. That said, I didn’t mind the lack of explanation, although I reserve the right to revise this opinion later!
As an atheist by temperament and an agnostic by logic I would have found it disappointing to have the finale invoke the Christian god or something similar in a very explicit way. However, I have not objection to a bit of mystery - in fact I think it makes life richer and more numinous. I think we can interpret the ending in a number of ways. Sure, we can talk of angels and God in the conventional Western cultural sense. But who’s to say that Head Six, Head Baltar and Starbuck are not agents/remnants of some much more ancient culture from an earlier cycle, perhaps of a sub-group of that culture that managed to escape the cycle and which now observes and influences from “outside” of the cyclical universe?
So in principle no problem, and I think Starbuck disappearing was a nice touch, stylistically. Head Six and Head Baltar interacting directly was nicely done too, I thought. However, I do think this left some holes in the plot - for example I think we were all expecting, and wanting, Starbuck’s nature to be revealed. Also, the humanoid cylons, or at least Leoben, always seemed to know that there was something special about her, and this naturally seemed to point to a connection with the Final 5 as S04 went on.
I do think the writers could have done much more with these loose ends that would have added complexity to the story (some might say it was complex enough!) and, more importantly, made it more consistent. Mystery and even a bit of “supernatural” stuff is fine with me, but I feel that it could have been wrapped up more satisfactorily in terms of plot consistency. But that’s OK - it was never going to satisfy everyone, and it was still great despite the holes. The problem with a show like BSG is that it draws people in so tight, that we feel a sense of ownership of it and are inclined to be upset when it doesn’t go the way we want. That in itself is a validation of just how engaging it’s been.
The Cycle- I don’t think renouncing technology will break the Cycle, only stretch it out.
The “Angels” - I think are Starbuck 2.0 and Baltar. Neither are “typical” angels.
Before I move on I would like to say I’m not being offense or mean. I’m sorry if this hurts anyone’s feelings. This is just what I am getting from this topic, correct me if I am wrong.
Ok, First off if you take everything dealing with a form of being referred to as “god” or basically any sort of religion and throw it into the fantasy category. That is very sad because thats like not acknowledging it in the show. Which the poster of this topic is basically saying. Sci-fi can deal with religion, it plays a part in many peoples lives particularly the character’s on Galactica. I’m going to assume that the poster does not believe in “god” do to their statements, which is perfectly fine, but no one who watches and enjoys the show can just discount a higher beings existance in the BSG universe.
Now another thing is that sci-fi frequently comments on religion, politics, and general social commentary so once again when something touches on the premise of a belief and it is sci-fi…it is sci-fi. The term you wanted to use was fictional not fantasy. I personally think Religions are all speculation and we have everything- atheism, Christianity, Buddhism, and every other belief system all wrong in some way, but I digress.
Secondly, Head Gaius says that the higher power does not like to be called “god”. This could mean that most every creature below it may view it as “god” and those it employs as angels, That part is ambiguous because many of the characters who claim "god or “angel” on a character or something, is a very religious character or has religious beliefs(human and cylon alike). Therefore you can’t take their words at face value and there words are speculation. Truthfully I say only trust head Gaius >.>
This is a fictional universe people, so we can only read so little or so much into it
No need to apologize. Scott Sigler (up-and-coming author) did a rant along the same lines that you outlined.
I find that I’m unexpectedly OK with the way they wrapped everything up, and also kind of happy that it’s POed some people. No offense, I just mean that I like that it is causing debate after the fact. I totally get where the upset fans are coming from, and I’d have thought I’d be one if them if someone gave me a plot outline beforehand.
I think that is ultimately what RDM admired about the Sopranos ending.
How dull would it be if the overwhelming consensus was - great ending. Everything’s crystal clear. What’s on the tube next?