BSG “Daybreak, Part 2” – My Final BSG Review, Part 1

When I sat down to start writing this review, I realized that it was going to be a hard one to do, in part because of how much there is to discuss about the BSG series finale, but also due to the reality that this would be my last time writing about this incredible series. After thinking about the various aspects of this finale that I wanted to write about, I realized that it would be best to divide this up into a multi-part review so that I could really delve into the episode’s various storylines and yet still keep the piece from becoming too weighty a read. To start off this first part of my review of “Daybreak, Part 2”, I want to touch base on two elements of BSG I haven’t mentioned previously, the work of the VFX team and the music score of Bear McCreary.

Gary Hutzel’s VFX Team and Bear McCreary – The magic behind the cameras

One of the common complaints about the last few episodes of BSG has been the minimal presence of its hallmark CG animation from the team lead by visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel. In “Daybreak, Part 2”, it’s clear that Ron Moore and David Eick wanted to save the CG effects budget so as to create the visual feast seen in this two hour finale. Indeed, there were times where the CG sequences had more the quality and feel of a blockbuster film than a TV series episode. Without question, BSG’s talented team of CG artists have once again raised the bar even higher for episodic television visual effects, a fact I expect the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will once again recognize when they hand out the Emmy awards for this season. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Battlestar Galactica – Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

For those who have been mesmerized by Ron Moore and David Eick’s series “Battlestar Galactica”, today is a day that is certainly filled with contradicting emotions of happiness and sorrow as expressed by Juliet at Romeo’s departure. The sadness felt by BSG fans is obvious as today marks the end of that journey we all undertook with these characters four years ago in their search for a new home and with it, a new life and beginning. On the other hand, the sweet aspect of tonight’s airing will be the culmination of all the events that we’ve witnessed so far into the final outcome, along with the expectation of addressing the numerous questions this series has wrought over its duration. With tonight’s finale, the writers will finally be bringing out the dessert carts so we can at last see what choices they’ve made for how they want to end this resplendent meal.

I wanted to write this piece before watching tonight’s episode because I do expect these emotions to percolate up to the surface, as it should if the drama and the story told therein are to live up to the expectations fans understandably have of this series’ finale, if not the legacy of storytelling this series has fostered over the course of its four seasons. And while I’m sure that there will be much for BSG fans to discuss and theorize about at the conclusion of tonight’s episode, I wanted to share my own personal thoughts before I watch the end of this series. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

So What Political Stripe Are You?

Although this is not a political blog, as my readers have seen, I do blog on occasion about so-called “political issues” simply because from my standpoint, all of us are affected by the decisions made by those in office and as such, there should be a vested interest in what they do year round and not every 4-5 years (or if you’re in Canada, every couple of months as the case seems to be lately. But I digress). Invariably, such discussions often lead to the question of what political party do you support – are you Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat. Personally, I don’t affiliate with any party as I do with specific issues and how each party addresses them. In some ways, you could say I’m a special-interests group of one.  Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

BSG “Daybreak, Part 1” – The End Is Found In Where We Began

It is often said that to reach the end of any journey, one needs to look back and see where it all began. It’s from this vantage point that the first part of the BSG series finale “Daybreak, Part 1” starts out and in doing such, provides us with some greater insight into these characters and through it, the significance of the choices they’ve made and probably will make in the final two hours of this remarkable drama series.

Watching the flashback scenes of what life was like on Caprica, we now learn that many of the series characters had in fact lost much of what mattered to them well before the fall of the thirteen colonies. The Kara we see traipsing around the apartment getting the place ready for her first dinner with her fiancé’s brother is almost unrecognizable from the Starbuck character we’ve known from the start, making the psychological impact of Zack’s death and her sense of responsibility for her part in it that much more palpable than it was before. When Adama wraps his arm around Kara later in the episode, reminding her that no matter what has happened she is still his daughter, serves to reinforce this reality, that those who knew Kara when she was engaged to Zack have seen the tectonic shift in her emotional grounding. Adama’s gentle words to Kara at this point also serves to remind her and all of us that the bond they have over that shared grief transcends any concerns over the nature of Kara’s existence, that such issues ultimately don’t change who she is or what she means to those around her. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

What Is The Value Of Homework?

One of the things I remember about high school was having all these hardcover textbooks that I would trudge home with in my school bag. And more often than not, when I would drop my bag on the hallway floor with this loud reverberating thump, my mom would ask me why on earth was my bag so heavy. My answer to her query was always the same – I needed those heavy books to finish all the homework assignments handed out to me that day.

I’m sure this is a memory most of you have as well from the rites of passage through the hallowed halls of the high school education system and beyond. And yet, looking back on it now, I can’t help but wonder if our parents worried or obsessed over homework to the degree that parents do these days.  Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

BSG “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” – Finding One’s Place To Call Home

As the penultimate episode of the BSG series, “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” is unlikely to be remembered as one of the series most dramatic or memorable episodes in terms of specific moments or events. However, as we’ve seen in the previous episodes following the discovery of Earth, the focus of the series in this last leg has been an internal examination of how the principal characters are dealing with the new reality of there being no real collective goal for them to rally around. This particular episode continues on that approach and in doing so, shines a light on the very heart of the series – how will these characters find their new home.

The scene in sickbay between Adama and Roslyn sums up this episode’s message best when Roslyn starts discussing the idea of home, that perhaps it’s not so much a specific physical space but more a state of mind and the individuals who populate your life. Looking out from that lens, it becomes apparent that Roslyn is one step closer to her proverbial death bed because she’s realized that, for her at least, she has come to the end of her search for a home. In some ways, her journey is like Gaeta’s in that it’s only when she is nearing the end of her life that she is finally able to free herself of all the burdens – of tending to the fleet as a sheepherder does to his flock – and is now able to take out her emotions from whatever internal box she’s kept them in all these years and at last experience genuine peace. Her admission that it’s only been in the last few months that she has been able to feel this sense of contentment replacing that feeling of longing is a stark contrast to the realities that have been plaguing the rest of the fleet’s population. In some ways, this is becoming the thematic reality for the series – that the fleet’s population will never gain a home in the collective sense. Instead, the concept of home is something that needs to be resolved on an individual, internally-driven level. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Interview with Ridley Scott – Insights Into the Process of Storytelling

This week, I found a great resource for those who are interested in learning more about the process of creative storytelling. Fox Searchlight arranged an interview with director Ridley Scott for a few of their interns where he shared his thoughts and experiences on how he goes about creating a filmed work. For myself, I found this informal talk with the renowned director of such films as “Blade Runner” and “Alien” (can you tell I’m a sci-fi fan?) to be both a source of inspiration and knowledge for my work as a writer/director for the internet drama series I also co-produce, “Star Trek: Unity”. Of course, I think Sir Ridley Scott’s presentation would be of great interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about how he approaches directing the films he’s made, if not the creative process of bringing a story to life.

The interview is split into four parts, all of which I’ve embedded into this entry for easy viewing.

NOTE: The interview features some coarse language during the course of the conversation. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Twitter and Me – My Trip ‘Round The Twitterverse

(Twitter icon bird set, created by Mirjami Manninen, can be downloaded here)

It’s been about a month now that I’ve been using the Twitter social-networking platform and I have to admit, it’s been an interesting study of how human communication is evolving through our interaction and usage of new software communication platforms. Now to be truthful, I’ve been wary of starting up a Twitter account because like anyone else viewing it from the outside, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Indeed, the most common question posed when someone hears you’re “on Twitter” is what exactly is Twitter. The most common explanations are that Twitter is a “micro-blogging platform” due to its restricting entries to no more than 140 characters or that’s it’s just another social networking outlet to stay in touch with a group of friends/acquaintances. Although my experience with Twitter is still new and thus, rather limited, I think this other definition sums up Twitter best – Twitter is whatever you make it out to be. Confused enough? Well, let me share my own experience with this platform to shed some light on this.Click to continue reading the rest of this entry