“The Cold Equations” is a classic science fiction story that carefully juxtaposes shopworn clichés with a scientifically rigorous premise, leading to an inevitable conclusion that no one wants, but the reader is ultimately forced to accept. When first published, it caused a minor controversy that manages to spark debate even today.
Battlestar Galactica had a chance to do something similar last night, and instead it walked away. (some spoilers below the fold).
The last few episodes of BSG have been well-wrought character studies and even if they barely moved the main plot forward, they were enjoyable enough – even though every episode has made it harder and harder to like any of the main characters (Helo is self-righteous, Adama and Roslin are opposed to torture, except when they want to torture someone, etc.).
Last night’s episode was gut wrenching and it seemed aimed at rigorously pursuing its conclusion to a heartbreaking but inevitable end. Both Tyrol and Adama were right – but we had competing truths that, in such an extreme situation, couldn’t really be reconciled. But then the creators blinked, and we were given a five minute, uber-happy coda that was tonally out of place.
Perhaps, if the show had at least spent five minutes transitioning between the depressing but inevitable story that we were presented with, and the overly happy “as long as we have labor unions, humanity is worthy to survive” moralistic ending, it might have worked.
But instead, the ending felt forced, as though Moore and company refused to accept the logical conclusion of the premise of this episode and the entire series. They’ve rewritten the ending of “The Cold Equations” so that the pilot ignores the laws of physics and yet somehow everyone lives happily ever after.
Still, it was 90% a good episode, marred only by an ending that hadn’t been earned and did not really, truly follow what had come before. But since Moore & Co. think the bizarre boxing episode was the best episode this season, I’m worried this is going to occur more and more.
I totally understand your gripe with the ending. I was even harsher, feeling like I had wasted an hour when everybody underwent their instant conversions. But I cannot think of how the writers could have written themselves out of that hole in a believable manner without dedicating at least three episodes to it. I’m not patient enough to wait for two major plots to advance at the same time.
I should say, the scene where Tyrol and Baltar discuss Baltar’s roots was, I thought, brilliant. That scene alone was almost worth a whole episode.
This seems to happen to a lot of miniseries. And book trilogies, etc. They author/writer digs herself into such a hole of character complexity and interesting plot twists that she finds herself unable to pull out of it without dragging it out interminably.
This was my main gripe with Orson Scott Card’s “Memory of Earth” series. In the second to last book, everything is rushed and wrapped up in a way that seems far too forced. Interesting ideas aren’t given the space they need to be worth pursuing. As it was, I was so irritated with the resolution in the second to last book, I never did bother to read the final book where Card apparently attempts to shoehorn in the account of Christ’s visit to the Americas.
But it even seems to happen with much less serious productions, like Nickelodeon’s Avatar series. Not a show that I would ascribe much depth or meaning to in the first place, but the story was engaging enough, as were most of the characters. Then they tried to rush everything for a big season finale where the revelations and last-minute conversions just fell flat.
Anyone watch the last episode of Cheers all those years ago. Same old lame story.
Very few people, it seems, really know how to finish well.
Great write-up, Ivan. And thanks for the link to the The Cold Equations. The criticisms of it over at Wiki seem to jibe with what I wrote (http://colossus.mu.nu/archives/217005.php) about how Adama and the leadership could be so short-sighted (stupid, really) about overlooking obvious necessities … like FUEL … and its most obvious needed welfare.
I disagree that there is ever an inevitable end when people are negotiating, Ivan. I think you comparison to “cold calculations” fails because of that. Of course I’m a firm believer in robust free will… I could see a determinist making the same comparison you did and meaning it. In other words, if humans don’t have robust free will and are causally determined beings then perhaps an awful fate would have been inevitable.
In fact, I thought the resolution brought was very much in harmony with the characters (Adama, Roslin, and Tyrol). Ending with Tyrol sacrificing his wife or something would have been unthinkable based on what we know about him. But I Adama carrying out his threat would have been in line with his character too had Tyrol not given in.
I am ever a believer in the existence of win-win resolutions to disputes so I found the ending to this tale pretty easy to believe (even if the time frame for the resolution was far too compressed).
Geoff J –
there is, of course, free will. But the ending of the show was unearned and cheap. And while I prefer win-win situations, sometimes they just don’t exist. The ending of the episode was shoehorned in, forcing a happy ending. Perhaps that’s the fault of the set-up and the writer’s inability to resolve well, but the ending mostly succeeds only because it plays to our inherent desire to have a happy ending (plus, the political statement it made may have helped certain segments of the audience accept it).
My comparison with “The Cold Equations” only goes so far, and you’re taking it a bit too far. The comparison comes more from the reader’s desire to have a happy ending NO MATTER WHAT, and the story’s refusal to give it to us. Battlestar Galactica failed by giving us an ending that made little sense given the overall scenario.
I used to love watching Battlestar Galactica when I was younger, but somehow haven’t been able to get into the new show. Perhaps when it comes out on DVD, I might make time to watch some of the episodes and see if how it goes.
Brain D. –
The main problem many people I know have with getting into the new BSG is the initial mini-series. My advice to most people: either skip it at first (and be a little lost for awhile) or else slog through it and get to the main season. The first episode of the series proper – “33” – is one of the finest hours of television ever. But the mini-series is really only watchable when Edward James Olmos is on screen. (Mary McDonnell was good but wasted in the initial mini-series).
The mini-series is actually a lot better when viewed after watching a few episodes of the series proper.
Ivan: Battlestar Galactica failed by giving us an ending that made little sense given the overall scenario.
This is where is fundamentally am disagreeing with you Ivan. You seem to be assuming that a resolution doesn’t make any sense. I am assuming it does. Now as I said in my first comment, I do agree that a resolution doesn’t make much sense on the implied short timeline the show gave us; but given enough time I think the final resolution was believable and very much in harmony with what we know about the characters that played the key roles.
Geoff –
okay – I more or less agree with you there. As I said in my intial post, IF there had been at least a few more minutes give over to transitioning between the two (say a five minute scene with Adama and Roslin after Tyrol had been released – and Tyrol has not been immediately sent to the President – where Adama reflects on how much like Admiral Cain he has become and Roslin realizes what a jerk she has been), I wouldn’t have had as much trouble accepting it. As it was, it seemed more like “instant conversions” (as one commentator put it).
Perhaps a better comparison would be between this episode and the first episode – “33” – where a very tough but inevitable choice had to be made as well, and where competing truths became irreconcilable in such extreme circumstances. Sunday’s episode – “Dirty Hands” – flinched and took the easy way out, IMHO, whereas “33” made a tough choice that no one is still sure was the correct one.
I agree Ivan. I’d initially tried to watch the mini-series but gave up on it quickly. (It was terminably boring) However, like you, I was entranced with the first season and re-watched the mini-series and found it very good.
I think Sunday’s show was pretty sloppily written. I didn’t mind the plot. It was quite interesting. However honestly any manager worth their weight should have recognized the problem of an exhausted worker class. Likewise Adama and Roslin should have been worrying about what was going on. Plus we knew from the Helo episode that they have all these refugees. Why not put them to work? There are some big inconsistencies that are starting to drive me batty.
Beyond that problem though I think the show would have truly benefitted from both having more connection to the plot as well as showing Adama and Roslin grappling with the issues.
BTW – ditto to Ivan’s comments in #10. I didn’t find the resolution problematic either in terms of the plot or the characters. It simply was poorly transitioned as was the whole initial strike. The problem was simply sloppy writing and not a bad plot. I’d have to say it was the sloppiest writing since that whole hostage taking in the bar from last year.
I have a hard time figuring out why this show is even being discussed on a supposedly LDS blog. Compared to the original version, which had the Council of the Twelve, we couldn’t find much LDSness in the new one. The profanity “frack” and occasional references to the “gods of Kolob” seem to be about it. And there is so much sex that I am less than thrilled with having it in my home.
We’ve been netflixing it, because I had read about it here, and since my husband likes it, we’ve gone through the first few disks, but I am not particularly impressed. Nowhere near as good as Babylon 5 or Firefly.
So the LDS connection is…..?
tenuous at best. But still fun to discuss.
https://www.millennialstar.org/index.php/2006/02/12/ligbattlestar_galactical_ig_and_mormonis