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SecretMethod70 · 03-24-2007, 12:27 AM

So I was thinking about this whole situation with Apollo and, while I don't think his actions are necessarily out of character, I can definitely agree that the writers could have done a better job in working up to this. It's not the fact he's going against his father again that bothers me, nor is it the fact he felt compelled to hand in his wings in favor of his idealism. The problem comes in that it happened so fast, particularly considering who he's defending.

I could believe all of this happening in a matter of 3 episodes were the issue something like the worker's rights issue that Tyrol was dealing with. But this isn't worker's rights, this is Baltar. While I do think the general concept of Apollo believing in Baltar's right to a fair trial is believable (as well as his belief that if he doesn't stand in and help guarantee it, no one will), the storyline would have benefited from a more gradual transformation.

Nonetheless, I'm definitely not ready to say the show has jumped the shark. While I think season 3 has been the weakest, I don't think the show is unrecoverable by any means. (Of course, if they're going in the direction I think they're going, plenty of people might disagree with me.) Most importantly, I think the problems lately have a lot more to do with execution than general plot.

So, yes, these last 3 episodes certainly could have benefited from a little more past development. It's easy to have really high expectations for a show like BSG, but I think it's important to also remember that it is made by people, and that means there will be problems, including occasional out-of-character moments or story lines. I'm absolutely positive that if I wanted to I could watch any of the other shows I enjoy and find the same problems at some point.

And that's how I got myself to be open to enjoying BSG again after the low point of Maelstrom. It was a matter of accepting the episodes for what they are and moving on from them. The execution of Maelstrom still upsets me, but what's done is done - much like Apollo's sudden shift in character, which could have been handled more believably. Once those things are chalked up to human error and accepted, I think the show is on a definite upswing. It's just that the transition was less-than-perfect. Let's hope they learn from these mistakes for season 4.

03-24-2007, 12:27 AM	#628 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	So I was thinking about this whole situation with Apollo and, while I don't think his actions are necessarily out of character, I can definitely agree that the writers could have done a better job in working up to this. It's not the fact he's going against his father again that bothers me, nor is it the fact he felt compelled to hand in his wings in favor of his idealism. The problem comes in that it happened so fast, particularly considering who he's defending. I could believe all of this happening in a matter of 3 episodes were the issue something like the worker's rights issue that Tyrol was dealing with. But this isn't worker's rights, this is Baltar. While I do think the general concept of Apollo believing in Baltar's right to a fair trial is believable (as well as his belief that if he doesn't stand in and help guarantee it, no one will), the storyline would have benefited from a more gradual transformation. Nonetheless, I'm definitely not ready to say the show has jumped the shark. While I think season 3 has been the weakest, I don't think the show is unrecoverable by any means. (Of course, if they're going in the direction I think they're going, plenty of people might disagree with me.) Most importantly, I think the problems lately have a lot more to do with execution than general plot. So, yes, these last 3 episodes certainly could have benefited from a little more past development. It's easy to have really high expectations for a show like BSG, but I think it's important to also remember that it is made by people, and that means there will be problems, including occasional out-of-character moments or story lines. I'm absolutely positive that if I wanted to I could watch any of the other shows I enjoy and find the same problems at some point. And that's how I got myself to be open to enjoying BSG again after the low point of Maelstrom. It was a matter of accepting the episodes for what they are and moving on from them. The execution of Maelstrom still upsets me, but what's done is done - much like Apollo's sudden shift in character, which could have been handled more believably. Once those things are chalked up to human error and accepted, I think the show is on a definite upswing. It's just that the transition was less-than-perfect. Let's hope they learn from these mistakes for season 4. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling