September 16, 2005

• You sure watch alot of TV, and yet have nothing to say about it, brothermose.
• So we know what you read on a regular basis now, brothermose. Got anything else?
• "Bush believes. Bush is a believer." Yah, well, Chimpy pob'ly believes Star Trek was filmed on location.
• I don't get your points, tracicle and Knickerbocker?
• Nor vice versa.
• I don't get your points, tracicle and Knickerbocker? You keep posting links to the same sites, which gets kind of boring. (I didn't get it either, then I checked your posting history. Lightbulb went on in 0.23 seconds.)
• Ah. Thanks for clearing that up Wurwilf. I guess those are sites I frequent. I will endeavor to broaden my horizons. Though isn't a variety of content just as important as a variety of sites?
• You may also want to provide a bit of context, supporting links, or other information. They aren't required for posts, but it makes things much more interesting and can generate better discussion. As it is, this post doesn't do much--you agree with the point of the article or you don't. Looking at recent fpps for an example, this one does all of the things I mentioned. Heck, even your existing post with some sort of opinion from you would be good--something like, "This article makes a good point but it breaks down after a while. What's a better comparison here?"
• Battlestar: Iraqtica. Does the hit television show support the Iraqi insurgency? Warning: This article contains many, many spoilers for the third season.
• OK, we're shown how horrible the world will be if the religious fanatic president who;s in bed with the military doesn't steal the election - the handsome male president will have sex in his office instead of protecting his people, who will be doing silly things like forming labor unions and building schools instead of guns until the evil OTHER religious fanatics (OUR fanatics are good; THEIR fanatics are bad, of course) and we're meant to believe that we're not deliberately being fed a message about our current political situation? I like my political commentary a little less ham-fisted, if you please.
• *shoves fistfull of ham down monster's underpants*
• There are clear and unambiguous connections to the current Iraq quagmire in BG, but I don't see it as beholden to the real world. The whole storyline is the result of several threads and recurring themes that have been worked on for the previous two seasons. So, trying to make strict comparisons of Baltar (who since the "pilot" mini-series has been deemed brilliant) to Bush (who since the first primary has been deemed otherwise) will break down. I also think strict comparisons to Iraq will break down because in another one or two episodes, the whole insurgency storyline will probably end as many of the humans will escape New Caprica. (And Baltar only became president at the end of last season--and he'll probably not last as el Presidente being a collaborator in any case). However, in the meantime, why not have fun making some storyline elements topical? That's what science fiction does after all. SF is about ideas, what ifs and, as far as Bradbury's concerned, watch out or elses. In case you're thinking I've been a follower of the show, you're quite right. And I hearitly agree with the critics in saying it's not only damn fine sf, but one of the best dramas on television. It has politics certainly, but also religion, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, moral choices in wartime, heroes, villians, and a multitude of voices on either side. In short, all sorts of fun shades of grey. What more do you want in a drama? (For humour, I still miss Scrubs... and Spaced come to think of it)
• My immeadiate reaction to the first two episodes was "Wow that's Palestine." From the IDF/Cylon always on guard, to the disappearances in the middle of the night. Abbas/Baltar collusion with the Israeli/Cylons. The state of occupation in complete poverty, the refugee status. The suicide bombers/tactical bombings. There is also the followers of the true religion/chosen people of God angle. What I find interesting is that in the show, the entire occupying force is seen as "the enemy." I doubt anyone would find this hard to not sympathize with this outlook. In comparison, if a Palestine was to propose this point they are "the evil."
• I wish I could see those shades of gray, BearGuy. To me it looks like black-n-white, right-v-wrong, us-vs-evildoers preachifyin'. There are some interesting subplots, like the whole "Is Baltar only hallucinating" thread, but mainly I just tune in for the sock-rocking performances by Olmos. Sackhoff, Callis, and Helfer.
• As the midterm elections approach, many conservatives are feeling betrayed by one of their most important allies in the war on terror: Battlestar Galactica.
• I like my political commentary a little less ham-fisted, if you please. posted by The Underpants Monster “The whole suicide bombing thing … made comparisons to Iraq incredibly ham-fisted,” wrote a frustrated Goldberg Coincidence?
• Great article homoculous! Yeah, tonight's episode with the kangaroo courts and the inference that no president should be able to order summary tribunals, etc. was pretty direct. And yet, for any naysayer, how is this not a great part of the storyline? Are the performances and character arcs not compelling because they tie in adroitly with current events? The episodes are still about the characters. I've seen many a bad "issue play" and "very special episode" and BG isn't playing like that. (Now if they continue to try and follow issues slavishly at the expense of interesting characters and situations, then that'll be a problem).
• Coincidence? Damn, I blew my cover again! I'll have to change my name to "The Long Johns Creature."
• "Jabba the Hack's Tiddy Whiteys."