A panoply of entertainment on the screen

[icepixie]

Hmph. Get me home, and I hardly update at all. (Although I haven't been doing too well over the last month or two, really, I suppose.) Mundane RL things: Um, actually, there's really just one, and it's how very nice it is not to be sleeping in a cement hammock anymore. It still feels strange not to have a giant hole in the middle of my bed, but believe me, I'm definitely getting used to it.

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I watched the BSG rerun on Skiffy last night, one called "Flesh and Bone." Since it's the eighth episode in, I was expecting to be more confused, and was pleasantly surprised when I could follow most of it. I'm totally lost on the whole Boomer thing, though. There are two of her, okay, and Helo is still alive and kicking on Caprica, which explains the Boomer/Helo shipper icons I've seen here and there despite Galactica-Sharon's relationship with Gimbal-guy (does he have a name?). And Galactica-Sharon is a Cylon, right...so is Caprica-Sharon a Cylon too? I would think so, since she's associating with Six (that is her name, right?) and, to steal from TWoP, Poor Man's Kevin Spacey, but isn't only one of each model supposed to be running around at any one time, and the others waiting in stasis somewhere or something? Is Caprica-Sharon the human they based the Cylon-Sharons off of, but forgot to kill? (I have no idea if that's how Cylons get themselves bodies and personalities, but it seems logical.)

If the explanation is complicated, I'll just get it from recaps, but if it can be explained in a few sentences, someone wanna tell me?

The religion thing is nifty. I wonder how the humans got back into worshiping Greek gods. Do they worship other mythological pantheons? Seems like an odd thing to keep from Earth, really, although it does fit rather nicely with how their colonies are named.

My complaint about the handheld cameras remains. For god's sake, GET A FREAKING (er, "frakking") TRIPOD. People. Oy. I'm gonna stop watching if the cameras don't quit bobbing around so much. Once in a while on Farscape was okay, especially for an episode that really benefitted from it like CDM, but I don't want to have to take Dramamine to watch a weekly TV show. And this show? Does not benefit from wacky camera work. When it's used, the scene usually isn't going for crazy, and that's really the only time it's justified, IMO.

I just realized from a visit to TWoP that season one was only thirteen episodes long. Or they only have thirteen episodes recapped, anyway. Hooray, my chances of catching up on all of them (well, if they quit with the nausea-inducing camera work) at some point this summer just doubled!

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I also rented the first two episodes of Carnivále on DVD from Blockbuster. The first episode was sort of slow for the first forty-five minutes, but was sufficiently intriguing in the last fifteen that I watched the second, and I think I need to see the rest of this. I don't love any of the characters yet, but I'm really interested in seeing what develops from the bits and pieces of information we've been given. I hope they tie the two plot arcs together somehow, and within the next few episodes; Hawkins & co. at the carnival are significantly more interesting than Brother Justin at the moment, although he has his moments as well. (He also has William Morris wallpaper in his bedroom. Cabbage leaves. I knew the Kenyon Seminar would leave me knowledge for life.) As an avid Earth 2 fan, I must say I'm ashamed that it took me until the second episode to figure out which character Clancy Brown was; without the long hair, he's just not as noticible.

I love love love the design of the whole show. The colors, the dust, the music, the clothing, everything. Very cohesive, very attractive, and very much a setting in which strange things can and do happen.

It kind of reminds me of a much better version of The Others (the TV show, not the movie) with a generous helping of John Steinbeck. (Like probably a lot of other people, when I think "1930s," I think Grapes of Wrath. Thank you, eleventh-grade English.) All the religious stuff has me thinking GoW, too. Please don't have someone named Rose of Sharon nursing some strange man in a barn at the end, that's all I ask.

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And I watched "Before I Sleep" on a much larger screen than the last time, which was lovely. I think I might finally be getting back into Atlantis after not even bothering to read fic, much less write it or make icons or anything, for months now, so yay! I should do something about those Vorkosiverse crossover and McKay babysitting fics...

That is, when I finish the nine thousand books I got from the library today...absolutely none of which have anything to do with my comps. Oops. I need to order them off Amazon sometime soon, so I can mark 'em up and remember what they're about come March and the Giant Test O' Horrible.

Comments

[pellmelody.livejournal.com]

Ever go to Half.com? Books are MUCH cheaper there than Amazon.

[icepixie]

I was going to go to Amazon Marketplace (I've picked up books and CDs in very good condition there for as low as 75 cents). But I might try there for the ones that inevitably won't be available used...thanks!

[orangetango.livejournal.com]

Yes, Sharon is a cylon. Thing is, she doesnt know it. Some cylons know they are cylons, but some of their clones do not realize it.

[icepixie]

But why are there two of her? Glitch in the programming and there are two Sharon models running around at once?

[orangetango.livejournal.com]

There are simply mulitple copies of each cylon. And they have mulitple copies running around at once. It's intended to be that way. You'll see very interesting plots with multiple clones later on.

[icepixie]

So I'm guessing this is outside the realm of the only-one-copy-of-each-model-can-be-"alive-at-any-one-point rule? Other people seem to be implying that there are varieties of Sharon models, but each of them also has their eleven back up copies.

[nickless.livejournal.com]

There are probably about a gazillion Sharons running around. You see a whole bunch in some of the other eps, at least. And all of them look like one of about five different models, so there's not a lot of variety. I'm guessing they just keep 'em away from each other. With all the different colonies, that wouldn't be too hard.

As for the religion bit - they didn't "keep" anything from Earth. From what I understand, the basic premise is that there is this place called Kobol. Everyone was there together 'cause it was the birthplace of mankind, but eventually the 13 tribes split up and went to their own planets. 12 of them stayed together, but "Earth" went out on its own. Since then they've basically become a legend/myth, 'cause they never bothered to write or call.

So Earth wasn't the basis of their culture, or "first", or whatever - these aren't colonies that originated from Earth, ala S:AaB. The Greek mythology bit was just leftover from the original culture, and with its isolation from the others, its religion evolved farther away from where it started.

Does that help?

[icepixie]

There are probably about a gazillion Sharons running around....And all of them look like one of about five different models, so there's not a lot of variety.

Ah, so there are varieties of Sharon (I feel like I'm describing a plant), so that doesn't break the only-one-of-each-model-active-at-any-one-point rule?

So Earth wasn't the basis of their culture, or "first", or whatever - these aren't colonies that originated from Earth

Duuuude. That makes so much more sense now. Someone explained it to me as Kobol = Earth witha funny name = Origin of all human life in the show. Huh. Interesting that the "Greek" stuff is the original religion from the homeworld. And given that the Cylons are the only monotheists around, I'm totally waiting for the Cylon Jesus episode (if it hasn't happened already). *g* And both Kobol and Earth seem to have some interesting parallels with Atlantis. Oooh, crossover! To make up for not having Fargate, maybe we'll have Battlegate! *eg*

Does that help?

Yes. You're awesome. :)

[nickless.livejournal.com]

gazillion Sharons running around....And all of them look like one of about five different models

I didn't do that right - the part about the "and all of them"? The "thems" should have been "the Cylons who look like humans". Bad referant=bad me.

Ah, so there are varieties of Sharon (I feel like I'm describing a plant), so that doesn't break the only-one-of-each-model-active-at-any-one-point rule?

No, because said rule? Isn't a rule. There are a gazillion Sharons, and a gazillion Sixes, and a gazillion of each of the Cylon models - but there only seem to be about half a dozen models. ie, ya got a billion Cylons, but they all look like one of five 'humans'. (Or they might still be the classic Robot-y model.)

They just do their best to make sure that the Cylons-who-don't-know-they're-Cylons don't actually run into another one that looks like them, therefore making them suspicious (especially now that the secret is out that hey, Cylons can look like people!). Once Sharon starts to suspect, they start to taunt her a bit, actually...

And the Sharon/Boomer on planet knows she's a Cylon (not sure if you were clear on that or not - can't remember the original post), she's just pretending to be human to fool Helo. The ones who know they're Cylons? They have no problem hanging around in huge groups where all of them look exactly the same. One of the earlier eps has a bit at the end where a bunch of Cylons come walking out, and there are about five copies of each one in the bunch. Then a Sharon comes out at the back of the group, and the audience is supposed to go "*gasp!* Sharon's really a Cylon!"

Someone explained it to me as Kobol = Earth witha funny name = Origin of all human life in the show.

Aaah. No and yes. That explains the confuzzlement.

Interesting that the "Greek" stuff is the original religion from the homeworld.

Uh-huh. Although the one thing about the show that I have to pointedly ignore is that so much stuff is so close to stuff on Earth (and specifically, the US), even though the civilizations supposedly diverged way back in the times of the Greeks. (Unless the colony split was way more recent and there's some big Earth Amnesia Coverup to explain why we think the Greek bit was waaaaay back when.) I mean, if you look at "stuff" now - things like military uniforms and draping flags over coffins and card games and books and etc. etc. etc. - it's impossible for me to believe that a civilization in complete isolation from our entire planet would have developed almost exactly the same kind of "stuff" when the split was made soooo long ago. Especially considering that things like funeral traditions vary so widely among cultures ON this planet - why are they so similar on an entire other set of planets? It's like the monkeys-with-typewriters bit, but with fewer monkeys and less time. *g*

That made more sense the first time I whined about it. Anyway, that's the one thing that I have a hard time with on the show, but I'm willing to overlook it. :)

Yes. You're awesome. :)

Heh. It probably helps that the stuff I understand about this show, I understand on a very simple, basic level. Makes it easier to explain the basics, but ask me to go any deeper and poof, it's gone. *g*

[icepixie]

I didn't do that right - the part about the "and all of them"? The "thems" should have been "the Cylons who look like humans".

Ahhhh, okay. So the mini's implication that only one of each model could be active at any one time was totally not true. Good to know.

Then a Sharon comes out at the back of the group, and the audience is supposed to go "*gasp!* Sharon's really a Cylon!"

I remember something like that at the end of the mini, although it was only Six, Leoben, and Poor Man's Kevin Spacey there along with Sharon, IIRC.

Suspension of disbelief about the Earth-like stuff on this show is easy compared to Stargate. Vikings were transported to another planet a thousand years ago and haven't changed a bit. So have Mongolians, medieval English, and lots of others. Right. And they can all speak perfect English. Totally, man. *g*

Heh. It probably helps that the stuff I understand about this show, I understand on a very simple, basic level. Makes it easier to explain the basics, but ask me to go any deeper and poof, it's gone. *g*

Simple and basic is a-okay with me! Although I'd love to read fic that deals with Kobol and the origins of the separate colonies. That would be nifty.

[rensong.livejournal.com]

Oooh, crossover! To make up for not having Fargate, maybe we'll have Battlegate! *eg*

I never thought about such a crossover, but dude, that would be cool. So, you know, feel free to write one... I'll happily beta it for you. ;D (though, pretty please, if you do and Shep/Weir is involved? Try and make it as unsappy as possible? Because john_elizabeth has gotten so sappy that I'm starting to be turned away from the ship...)

[icepixie]

So, you know, feel free to write one...

Haaaahahaha! Dude. No. I will not let myself be talked into more Atlantis/whatever crossovers that I'll never finish. I won't! :D

Because john_elizabeth has gotten so sappy that I'm starting to be turned away from the ship...

Oy, I know. I haven't read a lot of the fic on there recently because of various reasons...traveling and papers being the preeminent ones, but also because of the sap factor and the bad grammar factor.

[rensong.livejournal.com]

I've pretty much just skim over their posts these days. Just, ugh, sap. Someone should start a Crack_van for Stargate Atlantis. Or something.

Or, you know, I just could leave the community and take it off my friends list, but that'd be like taking the easy way out... or something.

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

People already answered your questions, so I guess I don't have much to say except: YAY BSG. It's a great show. I think I may buy myself a TV for next year just so I can watch the next season uninterruptedly. *grins*

[icepixie]

Are you living in an apartment next year? I think those are the only residences where you can get cable in your room, unless something's changed since I last looked at the guidelines.

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Oh, nooo! I'd forgotten about that. Dammit. I hate sharing a TV with random semi-strangers.

[icepixie]

Pssst, Mather 4th floor wellness lounge! With laserhead coordinating it this year, I can guarantee you the TV will be turned to Sci-Fi all night long on Fridays. All the cool geeks will be there, and soon they won't be strangers at all. *g*

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Oooh, sounds good. I know people on fourth-floor Wellness anyway, so that'd be nice. *makes a mental note*