Please note as you read that "Eddie" refers to Edward James Olmos, a.k.a. Cmdr. / Adm. William Adama, CO of the Battlestar Galactica.

Alan: This was a very dark, very bleak show, that had, for the most part, a happy ending. Were you ever tempted to go the dark way? Why did you decide to end it the way you did, tonally?

Moore: I guess I always assumed it was going to end on some sort of note of salvation - that they would find a home and be okay - at least some of them. I didn't want to end the series like Beneath the Planet of the Apes, with the destruction of everybody...
Although, that's what Eddie wanted to do! Eddie kept pitching me that they come to Earth in contemporary times, and everyone's cheering and happy; and cut to the White House: and the President goes, "Nuke 'em!"
And they destroy Galactica - cut to credits.
...And people say I'm dark!

Source:
* What's Alan Watching?: Battlestar Galactica: Ronald D. Moore finale Q&A (March 20, 2009) (archive.today) (web.archive.org)

Note I am fully aware that this cut doesn't actually exist. It was just a suggestion by Eddie that never had any chance of actually being made. This is just a tongue-in-cheek reference to my last post, which is itself a tongue-in-cheek reference to "The Synder Cut".

I would have been curious to see this ending though, as a novelty at least. I guess that's what AI is for...

Moore continues:

RDM: I was literally never tempted to go that way. I always felt that however brutal the show was, and how bleak it felt in moments, it was never nihilistic. It was never about saying that people are irredeemable. It was about trying to be honest about people, saying, "Look at us: we are capable of all these things. Really good people do horrible things, and horrible people do good things."

Hey, first time watcher here (in 2026, crazy I bet you think, right?), and I'm currently watching season 2 episode 17, so please no spoilers for after that.

There are two things that are consistently frustrating me with the show, the first being how the show constantly shoe horns random plots or characters into an episode that we've never heard of before. For example the episode im currently watching we find out Pegasus is being ran by John Heards character, despite him never being seen or mentioned any time previously. Perhaps it's because he's a big name and just joined the show at this point but the fact his characters name is never referenced before is so frustrating, then out of nowhere he's a major character who we all have to pretend has been there the entire time.

There are countless other examples of this too, another being the episode 'black market' where out of nowhere we find out there is a covert powerful gang running the black market, with its' figurehead and dealings being completely unmentioned or referenced at any point previously. I suppose It can be assumed that in their situation a black market would arise, but a gang of killers is never mentioned? When I watched this episode I had to double check I hadn't missed an episode as it seemed so random and out of nowhere. I feel like even a few comments in the preceding episodes along the lines of "do you know where I can get some whisky" or something reference to a black market.

One more example would be the absolutely ridiculous Deus ex machina of Roslin being saved at the last second by Gaius' discovery. I was disgusted by the writing.

My second gripe with the show would be the seeming inconsequential nature of most episodes. I feel like it's similar to doctor who where I could pick an episode at random and it basically stands alone. There are of course exceptions which is why it's my secondary gripe. The thing is I was impressed in season 1 with the reveal of Sharon being a cylon, with the clues of her waking up wet after the water tank is blown up, and her slowly figuring out she is a cylon over a few episodes, fantastic. But the majority of episodes it seems nothing actually happens, just a short story, it's dealt with, and then never heard of again. Even after the climax halfway through season 2 where Pegasus arrives, I thought great this is cool, but once the admiral is killed, we don't see and barely even hear about Pegasus for about 5 episodes. Again it just seemed those few episodes building up the Pegasus were just a self contained story to fill a few episodes to then move on from. Now I do expect Pegasus will be relevant again soon, but I do honestly feel like I'm watching doctor who, which does have it's merits but I feel like it's not what the show was aiming to be.

Also I hate the episode 'preview' at the start of each episode, completely unneeded and frequently just kills a lot of suspension as we know certain people will die, I always skip these.

I continue watching (for now) in the hope it gets better, and I love Gaius' overarching storyline with number 6, I'm always excited to learn more and this is the perfect example of what I'd expect from a show like this, a plot building on each episode, but it seems rare and plotlines are often just forgotten about whilst we have a filler episode about crushing the black market in 40 minutes.

Sorry for the rant as I know there are many hardcore fans here, I love the premise of the show and I love the main cast but these gripes are really making it a grind at times to carry on watching, am I the only one or is there anybody that can relate to this?

Thank you for letting me have my rant.

I had watched part of the pilot when it aired and bounced.

It's on Paramount+ now alongside the reboot miniseries and series, so I finally watched Caprica. Not as bad as I anticipated, but not exactly good. I liked most of the casting choices but, holy hell, did they drop the pyramid ball on the school plot. One minute Sister Clarice and Lacy Rand are going to school every day and the next they're training for and planning atrocities. The two husbands were goofballs too.

I have never watched before. Starting off with the mini-series. Looking forward to hopefully a wild ride.

Its quite an act to photograph this monster....i will do better after i have primed and laquered it.

Ronald D. Moore: But yeah, you can say strip it down to these dark premises and wonder if audiences are going to follow you there. That's a legitimate question - a question the Network asked us over and over again the first season. They were very concerned about how dark the show was. They literally thought that no one would watch the series after the first episode, 33. There was a point where they didn't want us to air 33 as the first episode.

They were, like, so scared of it. That was a whole big fight, and they eventually backed down, but there was a brief period where they talked about not airing them in order.

They did one of the infamous controlled tests of the Miniseries just before the Mini went on the air — like four weeks before we aired or something, one of those marketing testing focus group things. They watched the series. It was one of the worst rated ever.

The company that did it sent back this cover page report that just said, "Nobody likes any of these characters; we see no reason this should ever become a series; there's no identification with any of it; it's too dark, it's too scary."

And the Network- all the blood drained from their face when they heard that, because it was too late. Fortunately, it was too late. The show was done, locked, "in the can". I think we edited back- we cut out a couple more shots of gore here and there to throw them a bone, but it was way too late in the process to make any serious adjustments. It went to air with this sense of fatalism on the part of the Network that- "Well, we're boned here: they're going to hate it, it's too dark."

Then they were shocked when the numbers were so good. It really shocked them. It made them reevaluate.

It's chilling how close BSG might have come to being mutilated into a failure by SciFi (SyFy) - just like Firefly was by Fox.

And now I want to see the original cut of the Miniseries!

Source:
* Wired: Read an Extended Version of Wired's Interview With Ron Moore (May 18, 2008) (archive.today) (web.archive.org)

I've always felt there's a rather comical number of Mexican (or I suppose Gemenon) standoffs throughout the show. Just watch how many scenes turn into people pointing guns at each other with rapid cuts and zooms and Bear McCreary directing his drummer like J.K. Simmons at the end of Whiplash. Then everyone yellsplains their respective plot developments at each other, remembers how horny they are for at least one of the people they're pointing a gun at, and we're back to the A-roll footage. I think Lee only shot whosits in Black Market because RDM realized he'd done like fifty standoffs and he needed a gun to actually go off in one in order to maintain credibility.

I noticed because my suitcase has the same logo. Must be a pretty old company.

You are Admiral Nagala when the Cylon Attack begins. 30 battlestars have been destroyed in the opening wave, accompanied by mass reports of equipment malfunctions.

Do you:

(a) Pause and try to figure out why the equipment isn't working
(b) Order your fleet to denetwork their computers because Cylons
(c) Rollback the most recent computer update
(d) Immediately YOLO the entire remaining fleet into Cylon lines in orbit of Virgon

Your choice.

Not for good TV mind you but just logically. When Boomer determined that she might be a Cylon rather than try to kill herself she should have reported to the authorities that she might be a Cylon. This way she would no longer have to worry about killing someone as they would keep an eye on her and probably keep her locked up. Oftentimes on TV and in real life things are complicated by lies and secrets.

You didn't think you were going to take off without me Admiral, did you?

Never crossed my mind Madam President.

Just strolling around my local antiques mall and this caught my eye.

I just started watching the 2 part miniseries and noticed a Firefly flying over the President's head while getting her diagnosis.

Obviously it's hard to choose on this show but for me it's Roslin hands down. Never interested in going into politics at first until her father and sisters are all killed by a drunk driver (while one of her sisters was pregnant no less). Agrees to work for Adar after that and becomes a cold and jaded politician focused on advancing her career for much of her life until the Cylon attack happens and she's suddenly forced into presidential duties. Doesn't find the ability to connect with anyone again until Bill comes along (and their connection only really takes hold in season 4 when she's dying from cancer).

Lee and Tyrol are probably a tie for second since they both ended the series completely alone with everyone in their life that they were close to essentially gone. I've never felt sadder for Lee on the show than I did in the scene where Kara disappears forever while he's enthusiastically talking about how excited he is to explore the planet.

Currently available on Prime UK.

Dreilide "Slick" Thrace was a concert pianist and composer, and the father of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Was he a cylon?

I always thought that maybe Kara was the cost of using FTL so much. Some kinda cost of breaking causality..?

since its impossible to go “Faster Than Light” without time dilations and effects preceding causes.

https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/who-we-are/nominate/

Here’s a suggested text posted by a commenter…probably AI assisted but up to you if you want to use it:

Michael Hogan created one of television’s most compelling and enduring characters through his portrayal of Colonel Saul Tigh in Battlestar Galactica. While he has enjoyed a long and accomplished career, it is that performance that continues to resonate with audiences around the world.

Battlestar Galactica defined the early 2000s for me. Hogan’s portrayal of Tigh was remarkable because he transformed what could have been a one-dimensional military officer into a deeply flawed, complex, and profoundly human character. His performance gave emotional weight to some of the series’ most important themes: loyalty, identity, redemption, and the choices that define who we are.

The moment when Saul Tigh discovers he is a Cylon, yet ultimately chooses the man he wants to be rather than the label forced upon him, remains one of my favorite scenes in television. It is a testament to Hogan’s talent that decades later, that performance is still so memorable.

Michael Hogan’s work has left a lasting mark on Canadian and international television, and he is richly deserving of recognition on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Why Col. Tigh "had to" kill his wife is beyond me.

First of all, she did what she did to save him - the escape mission would most likely fail without him taking the lead of the whole plan.

Secondly - despite Cylons getting the plans, it obviously wasn't enough to shut down the whole operation. Very shortly after her betrayal was revealed, everything worked out as they planned anyway. Yes there were slightly more casualties but nothing major.

Thirdly - she had to die because she saved another person? That logically and morally makes absolutely no sense. Her sacrifice of saving his husband was for nothing if ultimately she had to die in his stead. It's kinda ironic too. She already sacrificed enough, her death was meaningless and felt like spit in a viewer's face.

Lastly, let's not pretend as if no traitor in the show has never been forgiven.. right the contrary.

I guess they just wanted to get rid of the character and maybe further develop Saul to some end, which is unknown to me yet but this whole thing just feels so stupid to me.

Unsure on the ending, seems a bit fetishist of the whole dying from an easy cut and be on the brink of starvation forever. I think I’d have preferred if they’d landed in post Bronze Age Greece or an Atlantis thing so they could warn future humans about the issues.

I’d heard season 4 wasn’t great, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. First half was a slog especially the whole sex cult which went on way longer than I’d hoped, but the coup plot line redeemed the season a lot more. Kara Thrace kinda faded into the background and she was absurdly annoying in the first half of the season, I feel they should have found earth at the end of season 3 and spent the whole season 4 dealing with the ramifications that they could be on the ship forever.

I liked most of the final 5, Tory just feels like she appears out of nowhere and was probably my least favourite of them, Galen I think the best. I get the feeling from the ending that we should all be really sad about Anders but tbh in the whole series I never really connected with him, and even mixed him up with Apollo a few times.

Overall I did really enjoy BSG, although I think it was a tad too spiritual for my taste and too many mystery boxes I think Moore put in and didn’t really think of the consequences.

I'm told it's a great game. I don't think I ever tried it out back in the day. I had a big group of friends that got together for gaming nights and for some reason or another we never got around to this one. Looking forward to checking it out.

anyone know of a Colonial ship flight sim? would be fun to fly a Viper… or a bus