Well, as some weird song states, “it’s been a long road,
getting from there to here.” I think this should do it for my long look at
Battlestar Galactica. Hands down, this is one of my favorite shows ever. So
much was done right with the themes, acting, action, and effects. Since I’ve
talked about my favorite episodes, I need to end this run of the BSG-verse with
my ranked list of favorite characters. Before I get there, I want to quickly go
through the pros and cons of the show. Yeah, you can go to my other posts for
that, but here’s a quick summation of them all.
PROS
BSG came at the right time for me. It took the basics from
the original show and did its own thing with it. We weren’t running into weird
aliens or planets that also housed human life here. Ron Moore and David Eick
tried to create a world that felt like our own current one. The show touched on
a lot of themes like politics, religion, faith, survival, morality, and
technology. It helped that the acting was well done and that the characters
were pretty interesting. While they were our protagonists, they weren’t perfect.
They would stumble and fall from time to time, but they would do their best to help
one another.
The action was also pretty well done. If there’s one thing that
actually didn’t change much from the original show, it was the Galactica’s look
and the Viper’s look. The space battles felt like current-day dog fights. While
the CG wasn’t as great with things like the robotic Cylons, it was good for its
time. It even got better as time went on. Finally, I think we can all say that composer
Bear McCreary brought a certain style to the show with his music.
CONS
While the show was great, it did have its issues from time
to time. You would get an episode here and there that would just miss the mark.
Luckily, they’re only a handful, and even then, there is usually something good
to find in them. Case in point, “Black Market” has a nice moment between Apollo
and Tom Zarek, two characters I always liked see interact. You would also get
some plot lines and characters that wouldn’t pan out well. Yes, I’m talking about
the “love-square” Lee, Starbuck, Dualla, and Anders had. Also, Starbuck… wait,
I’ll save that for later.
Also, it felt like things weren’t as grand in the latter
part of the show. I don’t know how much of that you could blame on the writer’s
strike at that time, but its possible that played a part. A part of me also
feels like there was more to say with the show. Maybe another season wouldn’t
have been possible. At least BSG got to go out on its own terms. Most shows, especially
sci-fi shows, don’t even get that chance. Other than all these things, this was
a great show.
FAVORITE CHARACTERS
Yes, it’s the moment I’ve been dreading. I’ve got 13 characters
(13 Colonies, remember), so let’s start with the tall, loyal dude known as Helo.
13. Karl “Helo” Agathon
Helo (Tahmoh Pinkett) was a character who was supposed to
have a short shelf life. He was originally supposed to die in the miniseries,
but he had a following and made it to the show proper. Helo was just a good
guy. There’s not much to say about him. You could say that he and Chief Tyrol
(who almost made it on the list) were the regular working dudes. He stood up
for Sharon/Athena and stood up for other characters like Kara. He was probably
the most loyal dude on the show. He had good interactions with everyone and his
relationship with Sharon/Athena was an interesting one.
12. Anastasia “Dee” Dualla
I’ll admit that Dee (Kandice McClure) being the only major black
person on the show made me gravitate to her. Also, she was quite a looker. Now that I’ve
got the superficial out of the way, Dee was just a nice character. I liked how
she interacted with folk like Adama, Lee, and Billy. Yeah, she broke Billy’s
heart, but he wasn’t long for this show anyway. She also seemed to say the right
stuff at times. Heck, even though I’m not a fan of the Lee/Kara thrist from
season 3, Dee had some nice moments in that arc. Unfortunately, she also had a
shocking demise on the show. Overall, Dee was cool… and now, I will go cry in a
corner for a few minutes.
11. Tom Zarek
I was surprised when I saw that Richard Hatch was going to
be on a the show. Apparently, he was trying to get BSG brought back in some
form over the years, but nothing took. Then, this show comes along and he ends
up being an interesting part to it. He was a political rival to Roslin and Adama
at times. You never knew what side he was really on either. He could be helping
out Roslin or trying to plan her downfall and take the Presidency for himself.
He was that type of guy and Hatch did that character well.
10. Admiral Helena Cain
Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) may not have been around long,
but she definitely left an impact. She also left behind one big Battlestar
called the Pegasus. She was a character you were pretty interested in during
her time around. She did some pretty messed up things during her time as leader.
We would hear about and then see what these things were in BSG: Razor. She was
kind of what Adama could be if he didn’t have folk like Roslin, Kara, Tigh, and
Lee to keep him in check. It also helped that we had a Trek alumni on board and
Michelle Forbes was up for the job.
9. Samuel T. Anders
Anders (Michael Trucco) was just a good guy. He was definitely a better fit for the tornado known as Kara Thrace. He also seemed to be a good leader since he led survivors on the ravaged Caprica during Season 2. He really didn’t get to wow me until the 4th season, though. Without spoiling anything, he finds out a lot about himself. Instead of letting that news cause him to do some terrible things (well, there was one bad thing he did), he used his newfound knowledge to help the fleet. He even came in as a godsend to the Galactica in the end. Maybe playing Pyramid can do wonders…
8. President Laura Roslin
Yep, Roslin (Mary McDonnell ) made it to the list. While she
could be an annoyance at times, I think it has to do with the fact that she was
President. Some of the decisions she made weren’t that good and she could be a
hypocrite. In other words, she was the model politician. Still, I thought she
was an interesting character. The writers would take her down interesting
roads. I also liked her interactions
with the Adamas. Her romance with the admiral helped pull her over into the
like pile.
7. Romo Lampkin
Even though this character was limited, Romo Lampkin came in
at the right time. The trial of Gaius Baltar was probably saved (imo) partly because
Lampkin was just an interesting public defender. He even pulled Lee (who needed
something new) into a new profession that actually suited him. He may have been
a little weird, but it all worked for him. He even makes good appearances in
Season 4. Mark Shepard tends to throw his all into roles and this one is
probably my favorite of his.
6. Lee “Apollo” Adama
Yep, Lee is this far down the list. While Lee Adama (Jamie
Bamber) was cool in that “daddy’s boy” way, that was all he was. He had some
good moments to shine, though. He knew when he needed to stand up for certain
things. I also liked his interactions with characters like his father, Dee,
Zarek, Lampkin, Roslin, and especially Kara. Yes, I didn’t like the thrist they
had in the 3rd season, but I did think they had chemistry. I just
don’t think they made a good couple. Also, the dude knew how to wear hats. He
was a pilot, lawyer, politician, commander, and homewrecker on the show.
5. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace
Oh Kara… Kara, Kara, Kara. Kara Thrace (Katee Sackoff) was
the premier pilot of the Galactica’s Viper squad. Outside of her pilot skills,
she was a mess. She and another person (Tigh) were folk who would just grate on
you at times. While she wasn’t a good person at times, she was an interesting character.
That being said, the luster of Kara did start to wear off in during my re-watch.
They just took her down a route that didn’t work for me in the third season.
Luckily, she was more or less herself in Season 4. I loved her interactions
with the crew and the Adamas. She was was
pretty much the surrogate daughter Will Adama never had. It also helped that
Sackoff did wonders with that character.
4. Six (Head, Caprica, and all in between)
So, which Six am I talking about? Is she Baltar’s lover, the
“angel” from God (a name he doesn’t like), that scientist lady, the… biker
chick (?), or the leader of the Cylon rogues? I’ll go with all of the above and
then some. Tricia Helfer had the big job of bringing all of these characters to
life. While some felt like off-shoots of others, you could tell she tried to
bring her all in each role. It seems like the Six was the most adaptable Cylon
since the others had certain roles to
fill. Six was just everywhere and ruled every scene she was in.
3. Colonel Saul Tigh
Talk about a character who did a complete 180 in five years!
There’s no good way to say this, but Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) is an ass. Luckily,
he did become the cool type as time went on. He seemed to rub folk the wrong
way, he wasn’t that good of a leader, and his relationship with Ellen TIgh was
so toxic. Still, he was loyal to Adama even when he got shocking news in Season
4. He was a guy I shockingly began to like during my rewatch. Since I got to watch
the show in full, everything about Tigh finally made sense to me. I loved his
interactions with everyone like Adama, Kara, Lee, and the crew in general.
2. Gaius Baltar
Well, we’ve gotten to ‘ole Gaius Baltar, the wunderkind of
the fleet! I’ll freely admit that I wasn’t a fan of Gaius on my first watch. He
was just too much of a coward for me back then. Even when I felt that way,
James Callis still did a great job with the character. These days, I still see
Baltar as a coward, but he also just seems to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time. He also got unfairly treated at times. He’s not evil, he’s just has
the worst luck. He had moments where he fell, but he also stepped up to the
occasion and did good things. He was definitely the show’s wild card and you
never knew what they would do with him.
1. Admiral William Adama
Finally, we have the old man himself: Admiral William Adama
(Edward James Olmos). He was the military leader who had to lead what was left
of humanity to “ the promised land.” He wasn’t a perfect leader. Heck, I can
think of a few moments where that awesomeness lost its luster. Luckily, it was
just a few. Everything else he did in word and action was cool. Edward James
Olmos brought this new version of Adama to life and made him into one of my
favorite leaders in fiction.
………………………………………………
Well, that’s all she wrote on this show. If you’re
interested, I definitely recommend BSG. If any of you fans have any
favorite characters or least favorite ones, let me know. And now, I think I’m
going to get back to working on my other blog, getting my Greek on, and chillin’.
Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
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