Battlestar Galactica

[taitai]

Has anyone else watched this (the newer) series? I was riveted by it - it was the only thing that kept me sane when I was recovering from a stroke recently. . . . . ALMOST up there with Tarkowsky's "Solaris" & the unfortunaltely foreshortened series "Carnivale". . . .

 

[Tigersoap]

Hello Taitai,

Welcome to the forum,
Maybe you'd like to post in the newbie section a short introduction about yourself and how you came to discover the Sott.
Did you read the the Wave as it would help to have a basis for most of what is discussed in this forum.

Maybe you'd like also to read a bit around the health section as perhaps there would be information that would help you if you recently suffered from a stroke.

 

[Ares]

BSG reimagined series is indeed one of the best series on television :)

the parallels it has with many of the issues discussed in this forum are striking. major themes on the top of my head that stand out are:

-people that are pre-programmed for a certain behavior that is triggered at a certain point, aka sleeper agents
-dehumanizing of a certain section of people as sub-human- thus justifying genocide against them
-humanity wants to be saved from disaster - but is not entitled to it (re. the speech by commander adama, on the cylon attack)

 

[Turgon]

BSG reimagined series is indeed one of the best series on television :)

the parallels it has with many of the issues discussed in this forum are striking. major themes on the top of my head that stand out are:

-people that are pre-programmed for a certain behavior that is triggered at a certain point, aka sleeper agents
-dehumanizing of a certain section of people as sub-human- thus justifying genocide against them
-humanity wants to be saved from disaster - but is not entitled to it (re. the speech by commander adama, on the cylon attack)

Oh I totally agree! I absolutely love the series, one the best I've ever seen. In particular, the characters were so in depth, and you are on the mark, so many parallels in the story to what is on this website.

Some additional themes:
1. The Dawning of a new Civilization. At the end of the series, they land on Earth, and decide the smartest thing to do is create multiple pockets of civilization across the Globe each with a little bit of technology to help them grow and develop - Similar to what Laura discusses in Adventures in regards to the people who created the Monolithic Structures, how the Northern Peoples just kind of popped up in multiple areas, roughly around the same time.
2. Gaius Baltar - probably the most "human" of all the characters, and his transformation throughout the series. His belief that he was "special" and constantly trying to convince himself (wishful thinking) that he had no idea what #6 really was, and that he was directly or indirectly responsible for the cataclysm that occurred. And in the later seasons, he attempts to come to terms with himself, and tries to repent by becoming a voice of change to the system in place.
3. The mechanical, forced, workforce. Where people were forced to work on a ship 18hrs a day, and their children would automatically inherit this, with any hope of branching out, trying something new. So they revolt against it, until the Government realizes (we could only hope this happens in real life) how oppressive the workforce system really was.

 

[Ares]

true :)

i think the 'light' forces are trying all sorts of ways to send us messages and hints on the true nature of our reality, and the human situation at present. It makes sense to think that for those who are not yet open to knowing the 'full & naked' truth, stories and allegories may serve to give that initial spark to their thinking process that could have potential to awaken a few, maybe sufficiently enough to make a difference in the 'end'.

phew, that was a long sentence ;D

 

[shijing]

One theme in this series that really stood out to me was the one that was emphasized especially in the Razor one-shot: 'All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again'. One of the producers said the theme was borrowed from Peter Pan (haven't seen that movie in quite awhile, so I don't remember where it showed up). It highlighted the idea of the time-loop to me (similar to the Matrix), where civilization evolves, reaches a crescendo, and then is struck down and everything begins all over again.

A secondary theme that was also interesting was that of Cylon resurrection, which put a really interesting spin on reincarnation. In the parlance of the forum, they learned to artificially shortcut the return to 5D at death, redirecting the soul into a new body all within 3D. The Cylons themselves remind me of the following quote from session 9/9/95:

Q: (L) Well, if the Grays are cybergenetic probes of the Lizard Beings, and, in effect soulless, does this mean that some of the Lizard beings are also STO?

A: Well, first, no being that is given intelligence to think on its own is, in fact, completely soul-less. It does have some soul imprint. Or what could be loosely referred to as soul imprint. This may be a collection of psychic energies that are available in the general vicinity. And this is stretching somewhat so that you can understand the basic ideas, even though in reality it is all far more complex than that. But, in any case, there is really no such thing as being completely soul-less, whether it be a natural intelligence or an artificially constructed intelligence. And, one of the very most interesting things about that from your perspective, is that your technology on 3rd density, which we might add, has been aided somewhat by interactions with those that you might refer to as “aliens,” is now reaching a level whereby the artificially created intelligences can, in fact, begin to develop, or attract some soul imprint energy. If you follow what we are saying. For example: your computers, which are now on the verge of reaching the level whereby they can think by themselves, will begin to develop faint soul imprint.

 

[Ares]

Posted by: shijing
A secondary theme that was also interesting was that of Cylon resurrection, which put a really interesting spin on reincarnation. In the parlance of the forum, they learned to artificially shortcut the return to 5D at death, redirecting the soul into a new body all within 3D. The Cylons themselves remind me of the following quote from session 9/9/95:

Wow I completely missed that particular one by the Cs. So the possibilities are truly limitless eh :) But then, even if they truly become sentient (even if not a complete soul, just an imprint), I think the treatment towards them will be very similar as shown in the show, or the way we currently treat animals today.

So if nothing is truly soul-less, does the 'thing' that was created somehow get an 'imprint' of the soul that created it? Or does it get imprinted in another way? Would be interesting to know how exactly it happens

 

[Beau]

One theme in this series that really stood out to me was the one that was emphasized especially in the Razor one-shot: 'All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again'. One of the producers said the theme was borrowed from Peter Pan (haven't seen that movie in quite awhile, so I don't remember where it showed up). It highlighted the idea of the time-loop to me (similar to the Matrix), where civilization evolves, reaches a crescendo, and then is struck down and everything begins all over again.

Yeah, just one of many reasons to love BSG. Also, the above exchange reminded me of the dialogue from the season finale of Lost Season 5 between Jacob and his nemesis, who has been dubbed Esau, from the Bible.

Jacob: I take it your here because of the ship

Esau: I am. How did they find the island?

Jacob: You'll have to ask them when they get here.

Esau: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. You're trying to prove me wrong aren't you?

Jacob: You are wrong.

Esau: Am I? They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.

Jacob: It can only end once. Anything that happens before that....is just progress.

 

[vinny]

some vaguely fitting BSG quotes:

Galen Tyrol: But there comes a time when you realize that the engine you've built with your blood and your sweat and your tears is being used for something so foul, so perverted that it makes you sick in your heart. And it's then that you must throw your body on the gears and on the levers and on the machine itself and make it stop. And you have to show the people who run it, the people who control it, that unless we're free, that machine will be prevented from working at all.

Number Six: Wake up and smell the psychosis already.

Samuel Anders: Lighten up a little bit. It's only the end of the world.

William Adama: You're not listening.
Gaius Baltar: I don't have to listen. I'm the President.

 

[anart]

some vaguely fitting BSG quotes:

Those are great...

 

[shijing]

BTW, you know how Starbuck ended up in the series finale, and how almost everyone found it was kind of anticlimactic? What if she just pulled a Fulcanelli and finally achieved the Great Work?.... :D

(I know, I'm just being facetious, but the thought made me feel better...)

Added: Nomad, I think those are great quotes too.

 

[shijing]

I just saw the pilot of Caprica for the second time with a friend last night, and it jumped out at me that the abbreviation for the terrorist group in the series (Soldiers of The One) is STO. Interesting coincidence?

Also interesting is that this group adheres to a militaristic monotheism, the same monotheism that is embraced by the cylons in BSG itself. Further, monotheism is the 'new kid on the block' in a society that is traditionally polytheistic -- not at all unlike the history of our own epoch which Laura put together in Secret History. There is a great dialogue between a government agent and the school headmistress (a secret monotheist) about the danger inherent in monotheism, where he questions the wisdom in the belief in a single arbitrating power which no one can argue against because the one true God is the sole authority on everything, so whatever he says, goes. I wish I had a way to quote it verbatim, but it is quite prescient.

 

[Renaissance]

I just saw the pilot of Caprica for the second time with a friend last night, and it jumped out at me that the abbreviation for the terrorist group in the series (Soldiers of The One) is STO. Interesting coincidence?

Also interesting is that this group adheres to a militaristic monotheism, the same monotheism that is embraced by the cylons in BSG itself. Further, monotheism is the 'new kid on the block' in a society that is traditionally polytheistic -- not at all unlike the history of our own epoch which Laura put together in Secret History. There is a great dialogue between a government agent and the school headmistress (a secret monotheist) about the danger inherent in monotheism, where he questions the wisdom in the belief in a single arbitrating power which no one can argue against because the one true God is the sole authority on everything, so whatever he says, goes. I wish I had a way to quote it verbatim, but it is quite prescient.

I just watched the pilot as well - it's up on hulu. What really jumped out at me was that the new religion's symbol was the infinity symbol, the simplified version of the FOTCM symbol. Very interesting timing.

 

[SethianSeth]

Really happy there is a thread mentioning how great this series is. I have been reading Political Ponerology while watching this show, and the ways it forces questions of pathology onto the average viewer is really remarkable. How do we learn to modify and adapt human values, without corrupting their eternal quality, to account for something other than human acting on the human organism?

Scene after scene highlight aspects of psychopathy: how psychopaths can spot each other in a crowd, how they infiltrate and infect societies as part of a grand scale cycle, playing deliberately on deeply human qualities which remain subconscious for most average people. Lines are blurred, and one is challenged to differentiate between corresponding aspects of the process. Machines, humans influenced by machines, human/machine hybrids, corruption of truth or freedom movements through pathological infiltration. Where else will you find a TV show which dedicates 30 minutes to humanizing a machine, allowing you to become hypnotized by charisma or apparent empathy, and then slam you with the reveal: everything this entity has done can be traced back to "feeding" and preserving the self! The effect is truly haunting.

Not to mention the way the series plays on the theme of human spiritual tradition being naturally polytheistic, and the cylon (machine-mind, authoritarian type) religious structure being the pyramid of power manifested through monotheism. I've been learning much applying my growing understanding of ponerology to the themes/characters of this show. It is very useful to be able to say "Greenbauming!" when you see it, or "charactereopathy!" in the context of a fiction, because it acts as a sort of catharsis while protecting against applying mistaken or incomplete understanding to the real world (which is the reason ponero-cycles go undiagnosed so easily: through misapplication of principles or moralizing interpretations of qualities gleaned from our environment which strike us as "not quite right"). My fiance (still crazy to say that :)) and I have had so many valuable conversations watching this show. We pause and analyze constantly, often linking to people and events we are seeing in the world around us.

If you are looking for useful entertainment (we all need a break from time to time), Battlestar Galactica comes highly recommended!

 

[Benjamin]

I decided to put this here as a semi-continuation of my post in the "Imminent Alien Disclosure?" thread.

After watching the original series from 1978 & 1980, I can say that I have a very different view from when I saw them as a kid. I really didn't remember much of the show at all, except for one image. This one image has stayed with me my whole life and I had even forgotten where I had seen it. It comes from the third episode of "Saga of a Star World".

The story is that the inhabitants of the twelve colonies (tribes) have been virtually wiped out by the Cylons through peace-treaty treachery. The main planet of Caprica has been decimated and the fleet of Battlestars (big ships) have all been destroyed except one, the Galactica. It and 220 smaller ships of every make and model that survived escape and go off looking for the sister-world of Caprica (Earth) where the people of the fabled thirteenth colony live, all while being constantly pursued by the Cylons who have been programmed to eliminate every human in existence.

The convoy comes across a world called Carillon. It is inhabited by a race of insectoids called Ovions who mine the planet, which reportedly has the richest deposits of 'tylium' (fuel for ships), and also run an 'entertainment centre' where species of all sorts are found gambling (which no one seems to be able to lose at), eating everything anytime, watching shows... basically a perfect Las Vegas that keeps everyone's mind 'diverted'.

Eventually it is discovered that the Cylons run the planet in the background and the Ovions are on their side. The Ovians mine the tylium for the Cylons and use the 'entertainment centre' as a way to lure its proprietors to be cocooned as living food for their larvae. On occasion, an elevator will override the the level selected and take the euphoric passengers to the lowest floors which are off-limits usually. Once the doors open, the nightmare begins.

Even though I had forgotten everything about the story around it, as well as remembering this shot a bit differently, this was the only clear image that stayed with me since I was a kid. From what I know now, I can't help but wonder if I was being 'told' something.


This is just a frame lift of the close-up of the larva and a skeleton. Yuck!


If you want to see the original 1978 and 1980 tv series, you can find them on Internet Archive.