io9
Later this evening, I will be joining a group of anonymous Battlestar fans at an undisclosed San Francisco location. Ice cream will be eaten. And then the screen will glow, and I will begin to liveblog the awesomest science fiction television moment of 2008. The fourth and final season of Battlestar! Look for the liveblog under the fold, starting roughly at 10 PM PST. I will be continuously updating throughout the show, just so you can get that "I was there with the ice cream" feeling.
First observation of the evening: people with wine and a Tivo are hard to organize.
OH: Omigod it's starting — hold my hand!
I've never gotten the whole Starbuck as artist subplot. She draws giant circles everywhere?
OH (from a lawyer): Goddamn lawyers!
OK they are officially saying that they are cylons, OK? Tyrol and crew know they are cylons.
Damn I like a show that starts out right away with a nice battle. And there's Starbuck! Spouting bullshit about Earth!
Great to see that spiny Base Station again. And the president looks all commanding on the bridge.
Tigh shoots Adama? Everybody in the room stands up and screams NOOOOOOOO! Dudes, I call dream sequence.
This is what I like: seeing Anders having doubts about whether he's a sleeper agent. This season is going to be interesting.
OK, are those new cannons on the Battlestar? I don't know if I've seen them before. Nice explosion.
"600 souls on that ship," says the president. So we've already lost 600 people 10 minutes into the show.
Anders freaking out is a great new twist. I love this bit with the Raider giving him the eye. Did it scan him? Activate him?
OH: NICE! Yeah! They just wanted to do that to him!
Everybody cheers as the moaning credits come up.
Entering the realm of Baltar worshipers. Baltar IS a sex god. It's the nubile hottie religion. Looks good — shiny lights, ladies in Stevie Nicks outfits, beads — just like Burning Man! "Well I could stay for a bit!"
Starbuck homecoming ain't so fresh. Only Lee wants to hug her. She found Earth, but unfortunately she's also been gone in nowhere zone for 7 months. Wow, so confusing. Thank god we're back in the sex god zone now.
"I'm praying for your sick son," says Baltar. I like how he works the messiah thing in such a craven way. But Six is looking a little too corporate in that red suit. How 'bout a little imaginary cylon nookie? Luckily he can use his hot monotheism to get some love from one of his nubile disciples.
Monotheistic sex is the best!
Why would anybody think Starbuck WASN'T a cylon??? Seriously dudes what the hell. She's been gone for 7 months, came back in a ship that is a perfect duplicate of her old Viper, doesn't remember anything, and is babbling about gas giants with rings. What would the explanation be if it's not a cylonic resurrection?
Tigh says: Baltar's cylon detector was a crock! He should know.
During the commercial break, we hit on some possible explanations for Starbuck. If she's not a cylon:
1. She was grabbed and sent back by V'ger
2. She's a clone
3. She was the first hybrid
"Gaius can you hold me?" Now it's time for all the hot folk rock looking ladies to be sad about the dying kid. I wish somebody would play a Cat Stevens song right now.
When you say, "I guess the one true god doesn't want him to live," it's like the ultimate passive aggressive monotheist moment.
ANYBODY STILL HEARING THAT FRAKKING SONG? Thank the one true god, no.
Anders connects the dot: "Maybe I was programmed to leave my gun safeties on."
Tigh has a good point about the difference between knowing you are a sleeper agent and not knowing. That's the one difference between the final four and the original Boomer. Damn, this is totally my favorite subplot.
Now the president is visiting Caprica Six. Six is wearing quite a nice little teeny spaghetti strap dress. Perfect jail outfit. Why doesn't she just make out with the president instead of talking mystically about her programming. "I try not to think about your creamy neck, President Roslin." Get rid of that hetero programming, Six, and make your move!
Gaeta Gaeta Gaeta!!!!!! He is the hottest.
OK back to the plot. Duh nobody believes you Starbuck. You are either a frakkin cylon, or something made by V'ger.
So now Starbuck also has a mystic mumbo jumbo relationship with the course to Earth? Why is she even on the bridge? SHE'S A DAMN CYLON.
Fucking awesome new Iron Man commercial. Oh wait, is that an ad for the Marines? What am I watching? Ad for movie or ad for something else using the movie? So confused. So it's an ad for Sci Fi Channel?
"Should I believe my heart or my eyes?" asks Adama. I will not make the joke about believing your ass. Because it's not even funny.
Hey, so the President is staying in Adama's quarters? Whoo, Adama.
I feel like every episode has one Adama or the other handing a gold chevron to somebody and saying, "We need you in the fleet."
"I've had some feelers from the government — there's a position opening up," says Lee. Well, at least Dad knows something about feelers from the government . . . heh heh.
A lot of this episode is all, "What if your friends were Cylons? Would that change how you feel?" It's like a Cylon tolerance training film. "Don't hate on the Cylon . . . they could be your kids!" I want to form PFOC, parents and friends of cylons. We can carry a special banner and march in the Cylon Pride March!
WTF is Baltar on about "Take me make me suffer"? He's having a conscience attack? Wait, is he putting on a show or does he really believe what he's saying. All I know for sure is that he is Mr. Extra Super Creepy.
As Baltar shaves, someone cries, "Well THANK GOD." Seriously getting rid of that beard was a good move. Too bad Baltar is about to be totally creamed by this dude with the dead kid. Luckily he has the power of nubile folk rock girl on his side!!!
I really would be OK if I never saw another scene of Baltar's face being wet from tears, sweat, shaving water, or blood.
Wow, folk rock girl is a total ninja. Piped!!!
That was quite the smiting.
OK fuck little Derrick and his being spared. Let's get back to the whole Burning Man naked girl cult sex.
Love this scene with Anders being all sensitive and Starbuck being a dick. "Is it possible they grew another me?" asks Starbuck. Another cool question. Anders says, "It doesn't change who you are."
Lawyers in the room observe: "Actually it does change who you are."
I love Starbuck telling Anders, "If you were a cylon I put a bullet through your head." Doesn't she remember the whole Leoben thing? She can shoot Anders but he'll keep coming back.
Everybody here thinks Starbuck can't be a cylon.
WHAT IS REVEALED??? Asks everyone in the room. WHAT THE HELL????
OK, here are our theories:
1. Final cylon will be Adama's wife. She'll come back and we'll discover that Lee is the first hybrid.
2. Starbuck is a hybrid. Her dad was on the front in the cylon war. This makes her whole thing with Lee kind of incestuous and ookie.
3. Adama is a cylon
4. It's too obvious to make Starbuck a cylon
5. They might bring a new character in to be the fifth cylon, and that would totally suck
I just want to point out that the plot next episode about the Raiders being lobotomized is super interesting.
Now our conversation has degenerated into speculating which person among us is a cylon.
That is all. Good night, and sweet monotheistic dreams about sentient lobotomized spaceships!
Comments
sure hope NBC doesn't black you guys out!
anonymous? what do you have to hide?
@HeyThereKiller: Argh! I think the Powers That Be would have told us, but you never know.
Ooooh boy! BSG finally back. I'll be watching it tomorrow morning, yay for P2P.
There must be some kind of way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
Theres too much confusion
I cant get no relief.
Hopefully no one from the east coast will spoilertize?
@MercuryPDX: I thought that's why Annalee posted early. Us commenters have to earn our keep.
snape kills dumbledore
he also stole his ice cream.
anyone else think the header photo looks liek a zombie christopher walken getting ready to take off in an X-wing?
You didn't watch the live stream at 9 am PST? For shame!
It's an amazingly good start but I will say no more than that. Needless to say, crazy good.
What is this show? Is it like a new version of Battle of the Network Stars?
@moff: You're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wow, over here I get 3 hours of my life back.
well that was great!
Now to download the season finale of Torchwood
Ah, finally got my fix!
Eh, the liveblog may be top it even without CG (after a few drinks at least).
Yay, liveblogging in my time zone! (I wish I had some ice cream)
Already saw it. Not going to spoil anything big for most you of you who haven't, but I will say one or two things. First, that most of the footage used for the teasers is from this episode. Second, that there is a MAJOR mindfuck within the first 15 minutes. Third, it is a return to season 2 quality. Fourth, Baltar does something that most wouldn't think him to be capable of. And lastly, Snape killed Dumbledore.
Oh noes, I dare not look, Annalee! Ill patiently await it's DVD release in my country...
So, is this thread intended to be spoiler-free until 10 PM EST, then? And if so, could a new, spoilers-allowed thread be created? Because I was forced to watch the premiere alone, and damned if I don't want to talk about it.
Sorry, that should read "10 PM PST", not EST
ahhhhhh sooooo good. West Coast, i would like to tell you all about it, but i will refrain. Even though i am of the opinion that anyone reading this when BSG is on is ridiculous.
unless, you are crazy and you check your laptop during commercials like i do. sigh
I'm all for keeping this thread spoiler-free for the West Coast. That said, an open, spoileriffic thread for people who watched already would be sweet. I'm with midwest_product -- this needs talking about!
I'm watching....no liveblogging appearing. Oh well. Are we past the WC premiere yet? Who's gonna kick this off?
Where were you guys at 12ET when they streamed the premier live on Scifi.com?!
@Pterodactyl:
It's still only 8:56 PST. About an hour to go.
@Kiamat: I only heard about that later and was freaking out for the rest of the day. Instead of breaking down and looking at spoilers? I actually watched the first half of Phantom Menace on Spike. WHYYYYYYYYY.
No spoilers from this SF kid who got up extra early to finish a report for work so he could watch at 9am sans interruptions from The Office....not having cable sucks, but comcast cable in SF sucks bigtime. I'm trying to find a bar that'll allow for weekly frak parties, but alas none have taken the bait yet.
I guess our host isn't going to be showing up again until WC airing starts. I suppose I can hold out twenty more minutes after waiting a year just to see that one episode...
I think Gaeta is the last skinjob.
This is the best liveblog ever.
I totally got my friend who's never had an interest in watching BSG interested in the show tonight!! More precisely, Baltar and his wacky adventures, along with what happened in tonight's episode, convinced her that she ought to watch it.
It's 1AM where I'm at. It's hard to throw out vague comments without being too spoilery when I've seen it hours before you guys.
BSG is much more fun to watch with a crazy fangirl who's never seen it before. My friend's comments and reactions were priceless.
Nice explosion.
"600 souls on that ship," says the president.
And ultimately caused by the raider that spun out of control after Apollo and Starbuck shot it down. Shades of the Olympic Carrier?
...and is babbling about gas giants with rings.
Jupiter? Saturn? And her "triple star" has to be alpha Centauri, right?
monotheistic + polyamory = the best sex!! (well, at least none of the hippies mind being in the same bed with a dying kid and a naked, post-coital couple... that's got to be one step away from orgy.)
4. wormhole? (wormhole that also reverse-ages inorganic material???)
Do wine and ice cream mix?
@Tim Faulkner: Red wine and peanut butter ice cream.
@Annalee Newitz: At first, I thought: GROSS! But now I'm thinking: I NEED TO TRY THAT!!
"I try not to think about your creamy neck, President Roslin." Get rid of that hetero programming, Six, and make your move!
Hetero programming my ass, a Six totally already hooked up with Helena Cain. She's clearly down with the cougars. Maybe they're saving that for the series finale.
You know they kept the beard just for his entrance into the "Commune" as they draped the purple/burgundy blanket around his shoulders. I thought a donkey was going to pop out of an airlock to complete the image.
If it's his last scene, I wouldn't mind seeing Baltar's face wet with blood again.
I hate "To Be Continued..." episodes. Unless I already have all of them saved on TiVo, that is.
@Midwest_Product: I like the way you think!
@Wesman: Agreed. Cliffhangers suck. We waited for months for you, show! Don't give us this now!
(But on that note, how hilarious was Baltar before all the almost-death?)
And hey, wine and ice cream is classier than the coconut rum (with orange juice) and ice cream I started on during Phantom Menace and kept up during BSG.
@darundal: Baltar does something that most wouldn't think him to be capable of.
You mean shave?
(But if he washes his hair, I'll be worried. Personal transformation can only go so far before it tips over into madness. MADNESS!)
@Wesman: I wish I could return to the innocence of silent movies when the kids really thought the hero went over the cliff instead of bailing just in time... Cliffhangers are bad enough but one which carries no suspense whatsoever is sad.
Not only does the cliffhanger carry no credible level of mystery, it doesn't appear there's much of a short term story arc happening that would warrant a "To be continued..." It's basically saying: there are more episodes.
@tinpantithesis: You're right, I was waiting for Baltar's Chorus Line of ladies to break out into song with "Jesus Christ Superstar" before he shaved the beard.
@Wesman: Does that make Gaeta Judas?