Limes with Orange

I stumbled upon another Battlestar Galactica personality quiz. My last BSG quiz said I was Laura Roslin, which I was certainly pleased with. But I'm equally pleased with my result from this latest quiz:

Labels: battlestar galactica, quizzes

What New Battlestar Galactica character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as President Laura Roslin You may be ill but you have a job to do. Fate has put you in a powerful position by accident, but it turns out you are damn good at it. You are no warrior, but in the political arena you are without peer. President Laura Roslin 88% CPO Galen Tyrol 75% Tom Zarek 75% Commander William Adama 69% Capt. Lee Adama (Apollo) 69% Lt. Kara Thrace (Starbuck) 56% Dr Gaius Baltar 50% Number 6 44% Col. Saul Tigh 44% Lt. Sharon Valerii (Boomer) 25%

I realize that two BSG posts in a row may cause readers to think I'm fixating on the show. Well, perhaps I am a little since having missed Razor. But it has more to do with the fact that I'm adding friends to the "Walk All Over Me" MySpace site and I'm targeting BSG fans, what with the Canadian release and Tricia Helfer being one of the stars of the movie... it seemed like a reasonable approach. But that means I keep being exposed to cool Battlestar Galactica stuff. So don't be surprised if you find a few more BSG posts in the near future.

Labels: battlestar galactica, quizzes

Okay, so I missed BSG: Razor because of my grandfather's 90th birthday party, but fortunately it's coming out on DVD on December 4th, so I'll have plenty of time to watch it before the new season starts in January. In the meantime, if you're looking for a BSG fix but have watched the old episodes so many times that you know the scripts by heart, then have I got a video for you...

Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 Gag Reel:


Enjoy!

Labels: battlestar galactica, humour

Okay, I've finally managed to pull a clip of Chief Tyrol's gears & levers speech from Battlestar Galactica. Compare it with the clip of Mario Savio's original speech in my Mario Savio post. And you can also compare the texts and contexts in my Gears & Levers post. Hope you find these as fascinating as I do!

Labels: battlestar galactica, politics, tv, videos

One of the more popular posts on my blog is "The Gears & The Levers" where I compare Chief Tyrol's union speech on Battlestar Galactica with the famous Mario Savio "Gears & Levers" speech during the freedom of speech movement at Berkeley during the sixties. (That post is also one of my personal favourites!)

Well, I've finally figured out a way to embed footage of Mario's original speech. When I find a way to pull the Chief's big scene out of BSG, I'll add that to this post, too.




Addendum 5.16.07: You can now see Chief Tyrol's version in my Watch BSG's Gears & Levers Speech post.

Labels: battlestar galactica, politics, videos

I don't know if you remember, but a while back I mentioned this great blog called Galactica Station. For those Battlestar Galactica fans who haven't browsed that blog yet, I highly recommend it. Especially with the long summer ahead and no new BSG for months. Galactica Station is the place to get your BSG fix.

Which is why I nominated it for Best Pop Culture blog in the Blogger's Choice Awards. And yes, I nominated it in a category that I'm already nominated in, but I really think it deserves the award more than I do. But there's a long way to go to get them noticed by the voting public. So here I am providing blatant advertising, wishing I had bribes to offer people to get them to vote (just kidding)!

So at the very least, check out Galactica Station. And if you want to go even further... vote!

Labels: battlestar galactica, blogging, pop culture, tv

Whilst browsing through the Blogger's Choice Awards, I discovered that Jane Espenson has a blog! And it's not just a this-is-what-happened-to-me-today sort of blog, it's Jane's screenwriting advice. (Mentally clapping my hands with glee.)

And I just realized that not everyone knows who I'm talking about. (Sad but true, I guess.) Well, Jane Espenson is a TV writer extraordinaire. A Joss Whedon crony who worked on Angel, Firefly and Buffy (she wrote two of my favourite Buffy episodes, granted I have many favourite episodes but these are definitely amongst them: Earshot and Life Serial), I've recently noticed her name on Battlestar Galactica episodes! (Dirty Hands was hers... the one where I said that the Chief was Savio-like in his glory; I'm rather fond of that line of mine and I'm rather fond of that episode of hers.)

Now I just saw something on her blog that makes me want to imitate a girl I went to elementary school who would get so excited when she knew the answer to something that she didn't just raise her hand but she slapped her other hand under her raised hand (right around armpit level) saying: "oh, oh, oh!" So what's making me want to behave in this ridiculous fashion? Jane has a short story in "Flirting with Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece." Must! have! that! book!

Labels: battlestar galactica, blogging, buffy, pop culture, tv, writing

I am fully aware of the fact that I now have those handy Blogger labels, so you could find the Battlestar Galactica posts on your own. But I just thought I would make things a little simpler (and the links in brackets are to the episode descriptions):

3.25.2007 — Said the Joker to the Thief: What the Frack?! (Season Finale: Crossroads, Part 2)
3.21.2007 — Battlestar Galactica Poll (Re: Starbuck's destiny)
3.18.2007 — There's a Storm Coming (episode 19: Crossroads, Part 1)
3.04.2007 — Starbuck's Destiny (episode 17: Maelstrom)
3.03.2007 — Chief Norma Rae (episodes 15 & 16: A Day in the Life & Dirty Hands)
2.11.2007 — Do The Right Thing (episode 14: The Woman King)
1.28.2007 — Maybe It Was Gaeta... (episode 13: Taking a Break From All Your Worries)
1.21.2007 — Is Starbuck a Cylon? (episode 12: Rapture)
11.15.2006 — Battlestar Galactica Webisodes
10.15.2006 — A New Crew In Town (YouTube music video)

And I know this one was for season 2, but it's still one of my fave BSG posts:
7.02.2006 — The Gears & The Levers (Season Finale: Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2)

I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't start posting at the beginning of the season, but hindsight and all that. And now comes the long wait for season 4... *sigh*

Labels: battlestar galactica, pop culture, tv

Well, I may have been right about Starbuck (thank the gods... of course she could still be a Cylon, so I guess "is Starbuck a Cylon?" could be the "who shot J.R.?" equivalent... but she's back and that's all I care about right now) but holy frack was I wrong about so much other stuff! The Chief?! Seriously... the CHIEF?!?! My "Savio-like in his glory" Chief? Say it isn't so.

And I guess skin jobs have been around for a looong time. And I guess they do have the ability to appear to age. Who knew? (Apart from Ron Moore and the BSG writers, I mean.) But I have to say that I respect Tigh more now, after his little speech (I wish I had it on DVD so I could quote him exactly). Actually, I don't think I ever respected him before, so I should say that I finally respect him. Ironic, dontcha think? The method of reveal was interesting though and I find myself wondering how each of them is going to react in the next season.

But I'm particularly looking forward to watching the unfolding storyline connecting the President, Athena, Caprica Six and Hera. THAT should be good.

Oh and the song, for those who haven't figured it out yet, was "All Along the Watchtower" written by Bob Dylan (I'm not sure whose version... Hendrix maybe?):

"There must be some way out of here,"
said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen they drink my wine, plowman dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No need to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who think that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and that is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view,
while all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

Labels: battlestar galactica, music, pop culture, tv

Okay, so I've mostly mastered the embedding of videos (though I'm still waiting for a fix on the stand up comedian video), so I decided to try my hand at a poll. It might not be the prettiest poll around, but I think it does the job. Now I just need you Battlestar Galactica fans to actually vote!

Is Starbuck Really Dead?

Yes, never to return again.
Yes, but she'll return in flashbacks.
Yes, but she'll come back as a Head Starbuck for Apollo.
No, she's actually a Cylon.
No, I don't know HOW they're going to bring her back but she still has a destiny to fulfill.
I don't know.
I don't care.


View Results

[Make your own poll]

Please feel free to comment. Whether you think my answers are incomplete, idiotic or right on the money... let me know. And thanks for participating in my first poll!

Labels: battlestar galactica, pop culture, tv

*SPOILER ALERT*

A Battlestar Galactica storm. A lot of questions asked but unanswered this week. And I have a feeling that only a fraction of them will be answered next week, with it being the season finale and all.

President Roslin has cancer again? Why did it return? Will they be able to treat it this time? The same way as before? Something new? They wouldn't kill her off, would they? And what's up with her assistant? And what's the deal with that snippet of song? Is Saul finally cracking up? Or is there something more sinister going on? (Someone suggested that maybe Saul is a Cylon, but I find that hard to believe if he's Adama's oldest friend. Just how long have the Cylon's been making skin jobs? And do they program them to show signs of age?)

As for Apollo… well, let's just say that if I were Dee I would have left him long ago. Y'know, I never thought I'd say this but I would be okay if Apollo were the one to leave the show. Which brings me to my theories…

As I've said before, I don't believe that Starbuck is really dead. Okay, so her name's not in the credits. And yes, the survivor count is one lower. But I don't believe that's permanent. Denial? Or good instincts? Only time will tell. Personally, I think her "death" (I'll remove the quotes once we're into episode 2 of season 4 and there's still no sign of her) is a red herring and if somebody is actually leaving the show—and it's not just rumours started to create some BSG buzz—it will be another character, a different character, a less crucial character… or Apollo.

Of course, the most logical other character to remove would be Baltar. If he loses the trial and is put to death, that would make perfect sense. Although we could still have Head Baltar. And Baltar could still turn out to be a Cylon (though I doubt it). But if Baltar is going to stay, how? Will he win the trial? Will the Cylon's take him back? Will he somehow become indispensable?

As for "the storm," I don't think it's much of a stretch to theorize that Helo's instincts will turn out to be correct and there will be a honkin' big fleet of Cylons at the nebula (or something we can't even imagine yet). Whatever it is, next week should be good. And it bloody well better hint at some way that Starbuck could still be alive. Let us talk about that all summer, Mr. Moore. "Is Starbuck alive?" could easily surpass "Who shot J.R." in pop culture history… I swear!

P.S. Love, LOVE, LOVE Mark Sheppard in the role of Romo Lampkin, Baltar's lawyer. Delightfully sleazy!

P.P.S. I just found a new (to me) online BSG resource: BuddyTV. Great articles... check it out!

Labels: battlestar galactica, pop culture, tv

*SPOILER ALERT*

They did NOT just kill off Starbuck. No way can her destiny be to die such an inglorious death. I don't know where Battlestar Galactica is going with this; they probably want us to think that the only way she could still be alive is if she's a Cylon and I don't believe she is. I don't know how else to get out of this one, but I'm sure the writers have a way. She is NOT dead. No fracking way.

No. Fracking. Way.

Labels: battlestar galactica, tv

I finally got to catch up on the Battlestar Galactica episodes that I missed during my film workshop. (It really IS the best show on television!)

"A Day in the Life" was a good enough episode, if not one that will echo strongly in my mind. But "Dirty Hands" was a standout for me. Revisiting that golden moment when the Chief, Savio-like in his glory, paraphrased that famous gears and levers speech that resonates in my head like Shakepeare. ("Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, assume the port of Mars...")

When the young architect student was injured and the Chief started marching with a purpose, I knew we had a Norma Rae moment coming. And it was Norma Rae but better. It was Norma Rae and Mario Savio all at once as the Chief threw himself on the levers and shut down the mill... oops, I mean refinery. It was a heart swelling scene, a Proud Moment, dazlious. (Have I mentioned that my grandad was a union activist? So you see, I come by my socialist tendencies honestly.)

Much as I enjoyed both of these episodes, I want to know when we're going to revisit the burning question of who Deanna saw. What about Starbuck's destiny? And forget the big picture... what's going on with Caprica Six, wasting away in the brig with not a camera crew in sight. Is she being visited by Head Baltar? Enquiring minds want to know. God I love this show!

Labels: battlestar galactica, politics, tv

I was originally going to call this Battlestar Galactica commentary "The Mayor of Dogsville" but changed my mind. I picked my current title because Helo, like Apollo in the original series, is that stand-up guy who always tries to do the right thing, always has the best intentions, always stands up for what he believes no matter who opposes him. Then I realized the title was even more appropriate than I first thought. Circumstances creating heightened tension, racial intolerance leading to violence and death... sound like any particular Spike Lee movie you know?

I suppose it may be obvious at this point to say that I really enjoyed tonight's episode (and not just because it featured Helo). Confession time: even I was glad not to be subjected to the Starbuck-Apollo love quadrangle this week, much as I've tried to be tolerant and defend this storyline to the naysayers. And oh what a lovely tease: the Baltar inside Caprica Six's head is back! I think we'll be seeing more of Head Baltar in the future...

Labels: battlestar galactica, film, pop culture, tv

I originally misread this week's Sunday Seven question as favourite TV episodes, each from a different series. As you will see, that's not really what Patrick intended. But I decided to keep what I wrote anyway because I wrote so damn much!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Name your top seven favorite individual episodes of any single television series. If you feel especially enterprising, give a few lines explaining why you think makes your chosen episodes so good.

1. The West Wing, "A Proportional Response"

One of my favourite shows on TV until Aaron Sorkin left, there are countless episodes that I would call favourites. Here I opted for the one where Charlie was first hired. I love how he keeps insisting that he's just there for the messenger job but keeps getting pulled deeper into the West Wing. And the dialogue at the end provided a wonderful example of what I call a "West Wing moment." After Charlie has figured out where the President left his glasses, and gets yelled at for his pains, he decides that he should just leave. Then President Bartlet pulls him aside...

BARTLET: Listen, Leo McGarry filled me in on the situation with your mother. I'm so very sorry. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of calling Tom Connolly, the FBI Director, and we had the computer spit out some quick information. Your mother was killed by a Westing 38 revolver firing KTWs, or what are known as "cop killer" bullets. Now, we have not had a whole lot of success yet in banning that weapon and those bullets off the streets, but we're planning on taking a big whack at it when Congress comes back from recess.
(beat)
So, What do you say, you wanna come help us out?

CHARLIE: (pause) Yes sir, I do.

After a bit more banter between other characters, Charlie whispers to Josh...

CHARLIE: I've never felt like this before.

Josh smiles...

JOSH: It doesn't go away.

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More With Feeling"

So many Buffy episodes to choose from, I was tempted to follow Carly's example and list all my favourite Buffy episodes, but I didn't want to be a copycat. Given my intense love of musicals and all things Buffy, this particular episode seemed like a natural choice.

3. Battlestar Galactica, "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2"

I've made no secret of the fact that BSG is one of my favourite TV shows, so again, tough to choose. But Chief Tyrol's speech, and its echoes of Mario Savio, made me opt for this one hands down.

TYROL: There comes a time when you realize that the engine you built with your blood and your sweat and your tears is being used for something so foul, so perverted, 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!

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Darmok"

The first TV episode I ever purchased, back when you had to buy them on VHS one episode at a time. Such a brilliant, thought-provoking episode. I attempted to address it in a previous post (The Language of Metaphor), but was overwhelmed by how much I wanted to say about it. So maybe that's a post for the future. (In case you're wondering, the title of this post is from Darmok and means "giving; receiving.")

5. Star Trek: Voyager, "Drone"

Expanding greatly on concepts first presented in the Star Trek: TNG episode, "I, Borg" I found this episode truly moving, especially at the end when Seven says, "You're hurting me," a line that One had used previously in a literal context. Ironically, this oh-so-touching episode also contains one of my favourite bits of funny dialogue from Voyager:

ONE: I was an accident?

DOCTOR: Call it a random convergence of technologies.

ONE: Am I unwelcome here?

DOCTOR: On the contrary. Our primary mission is to explore new forms of life. You may have been unexpected but given time, I am sure you'll make a fine addition to the crew. After all, you've got my mobile emitter driving your neo-cortex so you're bound to make a dazzling impression.
(beat)
That's called a joke.

ONE: Joke. A verbal comment or gesture designed to provoke laughter.

DOCTOR: I see you've got your mother's sense of humour.

6. Rock Star: Supernova, "Week 10"

This may sound like a strange choice, but this was the week when Storm Large sang her original song, "Ladylike." Her performance still rocks my world.


Do you want Storm to come to Calgary?

7. Sex and the City, "An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux"

I wish I'd thought of this one for the Sunday Seven about our favourite series finales. Anyway, I loved how all the storylines wrapped up in such touching ways, while remaining completely true to the characters.

Best line...

CARRIE: I am someone who is looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love.

Sounds good to me.

Labels: battlestar galactica, buffy, memes, pop culture, rockstar, tv

Tonight's episode of Battlestar Galactica was not as compelling a storyline as last week (at least, not for me) although it was quite exciting from a filmmaker's perspective: the interrogation sequence was fabulous and the intercutting between scenes near the end... very cool. I have to say that I think Edward James Olmos is very interesting as a director. But that's not really what I came here to talk about.

I came here to discuss the burning BSG question of the moment: who did Deanna see last week? Tonight's story started me wondering whether it was Gaeta. I mean, the way he woke up and got to the brig just in time to save Baltar... Holy Coincidence, Batman!

Only time will tell.

P.S. For those fair weather fans out there who think BSG's days are numbered, I suggest you read State of Galactica Address over at Galactica Station.

Labels: battlestar galactica, tv

So who did Deanna see? The scene between Helo and Starbuck about Starbuck's painting would suggest that Deanna saw Starbuck. But I think the Battlestar Galactica writers are far too clever to make it that obvious... so I predict that line of thinking to be a red herring. Although it would certainly fit with the observation I've heard some people make that all the hot chicks on the show turn out to be cylons. But if not Starbuck, then who?

And while we're on the subject of BSG, I loved the scene before the opening credits between Helo and Sharon/Athena. Granted, they are my favourite couple on the show (as well as being two of my favourite characters... and yes, I have a wee crush on Helo, so I may be a little biased), but I still say it was damned moving.

Labels: battlestar galactica, tv

Those of you who know me are probably aware of just how big a Battlestar Galactica fan I am... both old and new. Well, I just found out that there are BSG Resistance Webisodes that fill in the four-month gap when the humans were living on New Caprica under Cylon rule. My cousin first noticed "Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance" on the Internet Movie Database. Then some kindly reviewer on that page pointed the way to SciFi.com's Battlestar site, explaining that these were short webisodes.

I don't know if they will stay as webisodes or if there's any plan of putting them together for some kind of two-hour special or if they'll go on the Season 3 DVD when it comes out... I haven't looked into that yet. Right now, I'm just trying to watch them. I'm having some issues and I haven't figured out whether it's my browser or what. The pre-clip commercial plays just fine, but not the clip... very frustrating. Anyway, once I get that sorted out, I'll let you know what I think of the episodes (although I doubt it will be as insightful as my Gears & Levers post, but what can you do?).

Addendum (2.01.2007): I still haven't managed to get these damn webisodes to work. I've tried different browsers to no avail. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Labels: battlestar galactica, pop culture, tv

Boing Boing had a "Battlestar Galacticakes" blurb today which was mildly amusing. But tacked on to the end of it was music video cobbled together by BSG fans (that would be Battlestar Galactica for those who haven't made the hyperjump). It is catchier and funnier than I anticipated. If you like the show, I think you'll get a kick out of this:


Battlestar Galactica: A New Crew In Town

"...You're a frackin' awesome machine,
So much better than the one with Lorne Greene."

Labels: battlestar galactica, music

I finally got around to watching the season two finale for Battlestar Galactica (why it took me so long to watch the season finale to my favourite show is a long and boring story... and by the way, for any Americans who might be reading this, the finale was only aired here in Canada about a month ago. So I'm not THAT late in watching it).

While watching the part where Chief Tyrol gives his union speech, I thought it seemed somewhat familiar. When he got to the "gears and levers" bit, I realized why. The Chief's speech was paraphrased from the speech given by Mario Savio on the steps of Sproul Hall in 1964 as part of Berkeley's Free Speech Movement. Compare:

Chief Tyrol: "There comes a time when you realize that the engine you built with your blood and your sweat and your tears is being used for something so foul, so perverted, 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!"

Mario Savio: "There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

Now I hope you don't see this as Battlestar Galactica ripping off Mario Savio. I think Mario Savio was an incredible man and see this as more of an homage. And I think it's amazingly cool that a BSG writer would be familiar with the Savio speech, identify the perfect context in which to use it and reword it in the Chief's unique voice. Bravo!

P.S. I did a little research and found out that BSG actually got permission from Savio's family to use the speech. Maybe this sounds a little corny (or Klingon-ish), but it kinda makes me proud that they acted with such honour.

P.P.S. Allow me to highly recommend the documentary "Berkeley in the Sixties" by Mark Kitchell. That film is what made me fall in love with Mario Savio in the first place.

Update May 1, 2007: I've just embedded a video of Mario Savio's speech in a new post: Watch Mario Savio's Gears & Levers Speech.

Update May 16, 2007: I've just embedded video of Chief Tyrol's speech in a new post: Watch BSG's Gears & Levers Speech.

Labels: battlestar galactica, film, politics, pop culture, tv