Battlestar Galactica

So I finally watched the final (half) season of this series (4.5). Though I bought the DVDs many months ago, I never committed the time to see it (plus, I was a tiny bit ambivelent, since I'd heard it was not quite what fans had hoped for).  It's fitting that I watched over the holiday break, since I started the series 2 years ago during the same break, after having the 1st season DVDs for a year.

I have to say, I was quite disappointed.  I thought the episodes in general were inferior to previous seasons (to the point that I thought they seemed to be written by a completely different group of people).  Also, the plot lines wandered off in various directions that rarely seemed congruent with what happened previously (I wondered if the series was originally planned to be only 2 or 3 seasons, and the additional material had to be conjured and stretched to fill in the additional time).  Worse, the soap factor was off the charts - sometimes I thought I'd stumbled into an episode of As the World Turns - I especially thought Galen discovering that Hotdog was the real father of his son was just stupid, and served absolutely no purpose except to briefly give EJO's son, Bodie, a larger role.  The pregnancy (by Saul) and miscarriage experienced by Caprica 6 also felt like it came right out of daytime TV and ultimately seemed like a red herring (I found myself thinking that, at this point, the writers were throwing darts at a board to decide what to make these characters do next!)

The 2 hr finale was packed with silliness, despite a few genuine moments.  The writers seemed to have no idea what to do with the religious themes that intertwined the series so far, and most of it was vaguely addressed and barely resolved.  I was especially irritated with the strange role of destiny and God's will in the resolution, since it made little sense when considered beside the themes and action in previous seasons of the series.  For example, if the coordinates of the earth-like planet were embedded in a song that Kara knew from childhood, why did the survivors wander around space for 4 years (and if that song "turned on" the human Cylons/final 5, why were they so clueless about it's meaning)?  Also, the all-important feud with the Cylons that drove the action to this point, when viewed in the context of "God's will," seems pointless and without real drama or meaning.  I felt like they should have committed one way or another to the religious themes, instead of just tossing in a concept here and there (like "angels" and "God's plan").
I found myself continually rolling my eyes - Kara Thrace is a ghost?  Ellen Tigh, a slutty alcoholic, is the creator of the entire Cylon race and the inventor of Resurrection?  Balthar's relationship with the spirit of Caprica 6 had been treated all along as a delusion, but suddenly she's an Angel and she's joined by another Angel - him!  The ominous shared vison/dream of Hera being kidnapped by these two is suddenly a rescue, ordained from On High. 

I could go on and on.  The only episode I really liked was No Exit, which featured great acting and terrific dialog, and seemed much more similar to the tone and quality of previous seasons.  I also liked the 2-part mutiny storyline, The Oath and Blood on the Scales (I always wanted Mr Gaeta to have a bigger role, though not like this!) 

Despite these frustrations, I really liked the very last scene, set in the future (our present?) where we are poised to renew the man vs machine battle lines.  I found it quite clever and satisfying, which was especially surprising, after enduring 2 hours of sorely disappointing plot meanderings.  (I just loved the line "It doesn't like being called that.")  If the entire finale had been approached with this light touch, it would have been a lot more fun to watch.

All I have left to watch is The Plan, a sort of bridge movie, that shows what was happening with the Cylons when the series started.  It's gotten very mixed reviews from fans, and many of the best characters, including Kara, are absent.  But it still has to be better than most of the crap I could spend time watching, and it was directed by EJO, so I have to watch it out of loyalty to him, if nothing else!