tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post956019040777839109..comments2023-10-28T10:46:47.864-04:00Comments on The Nonsensical Ravings of a Lunatic Mind: BSG Finale "Daybreak"Shanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02912061891010047846noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-2773952707757094322009-03-25T17:51:00.000-04:002009-03-25T17:51:00.000-04:00Yeah, damned if you do, damned if you don't. For ...Yeah, damned if you do, damned if you don't. For the record, I agree with PJ's choice in LOTR (though the goodbyes could have been edited more tightly). No way, cinematically, the battle for the shire, could follow the whole Mount Doom and army of the dead thing.<BR/><BR/>Still pondering Daybreak days later, and I wish the opera house meant "more," Starbuck had a better explanation and exit, and there was more thought given to the lack of technology other than "Lee thinks we should give up EVERYTHING and go native!"<BR/><BR/>io9 has a poll up, putting it on the "Trek Scale" of endings (with TNG Best, and Enterprise Worst). I put BSG right along with DS9, which was second best, and slightly behind TNG (which Ron Moore also co-wrote).Shanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02912061891010047846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-31509995467312839822009-03-25T17:35:00.000-04:002009-03-25T17:35:00.000-04:00The comparison of the final 45 minutes to LOTR: Re...The comparison of the final 45 minutes to LOTR: Return of the King is a good one. <BR/><BR/>I have seen fans of the series complain about the Return to the Shire for the final battle for years, and then when Jackson left it out of the movie, complaints came down the other way.Freebirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03497685364383102839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-43077327669672652792009-03-25T08:32:00.000-04:002009-03-25T08:32:00.000-04:00I didn't mind the extended farewells, which remind...I didn't mind the extended farewells, which reminded me (and many others) of LOTR:Return of the King, since I really didn't want to let go of the characters after 4 years. But it was a change of pace after an hour of balls to the wall action. <BR/><BR/>And it's not the "divine" playing a role in the series, or the faiths of all the characters, that bugged me. That's been in the DNA of the show since moment one. (I'm rewatching the show from S1 on DVD, and you can see a lot of there already). It's like you note: if it was just the angel/demon aspect of the head Baltar and Caprica characters, that would be fine. Or paying off prophecies and scrolls and visions. That suggests a divine presence that still leaves room for character choices. But the handling of the Starbuck resurrection and disappearance was step too far in my book. Though as you say, it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the series, and the finale, as a whole.<BR/><BR/>Good stuff.Shanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02912061891010047846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-47761598540624210112009-03-24T22:35:00.000-04:002009-03-24T22:35:00.000-04:00I've had to avoid your blog until tonight, such th...I've had to avoid your blog until tonight, such that I could complete the Daybreak episodes. I thought it was a good finish to the series, although I thought they dragged out the last 45 minutes on "our earth" longer than necessary.<BR/><BR/>I agree completely about the WTF ending with Starbuck. I think a "preferable" ending from my perspective would have been the much talked about "daughter of Daniel" theory espoused on the internet.<BR/><BR/>I didn't mind the plot line for the "divine" leap of faith required (although you see where that got Cavil)..... but the Starbuck thing bugged me as well.<BR/><BR/>The writers could have confined that storyline to Baltar/Caprica, and still accomplished the same message. <BR/><BR/>Nevertheless, a good ending.Freebirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03497685364383102839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-37895621529247940452009-03-23T08:45:00.000-04:002009-03-23T08:45:00.000-04:00Thanks for the comments. I still have fond feelin...Thanks for the comments. I still have fond feelings for the X-Files, and they TOTALLY botched the ending there. BSG was nowhere near that mess, and for the most part, I really liked the themes and closure of "Daybreak." I just think they took the role of an "active" deity one step too far. <BR/><BR/>Funny, this weekend I just rewatched S1's "Hand of God" on DVD, and there, the "divine" also played a role, making Gaius "guess" correctly about the location of a key component on a Cylon refinery, which spurred his conversations with 6 and eventual path toward accepting more than just hard science. This is the kind of mystical intervention that works well, because Gaius's guess and revelation could be something truly divine working THROUGH the humans, or it could be the humans taking something inexplicable like "intuition" and ascribing religious overtones to it. Great fodder for debate, without diminishing the contribution of the characters themselves. However, if you have an entire person and a spaceship created out of nothing who then plays the primary role in the denouement of the series, who then vanishes magically into thin air....well, I think that takes it to a next level that removes the mysticism and diminishes the contributions and roles of the characters we've come to love.<BR/><BR/>Oh well. You're right. So few shows have "stuck the landing" (Angel? ST: TNG? 6 Feet Under?) that it's difficult to hold a few problems with "Daybreak" against the whole series (though I admit, it will always be in the back of my mind as I rewatch older eps).Shanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02912061891010047846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308566111258293099.post-84798728186649554002009-03-22T21:13:00.000-04:002009-03-22T21:13:00.000-04:00Shan, that was spot-on perfect. Nothing I can add....Shan, that was spot-on perfect. Nothing I can add.<BR/><BR/>I am just glad to have been able to experience one of the greatest shows to ever grace the small screen. In spite of some huge quabbles with the finale (which are pretty much the same as yours, and that's coming from a devout Christian), I am choosing to remember this show for what it was over the entire life of the series, and for THAT show, I am grateful.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00155737107718849274noreply@blogger.com