Can't watch SGA after seeing BSG...

[MerryK]

Here, let's just summarize this thread (and others like it)...

BSG fans either love their show and hate SGA (love the darkness, the grittiness, the unconventional storytelling, etc, and wish SGA had it) or love their show and like/love SGA (like the different aspects of each show, and don't think both should have the same style).

SGA fans either love their show and hate BSG (too depressing, too much sex, too soapish) or love their show and like/love BSG (again, two different shows, they can appreciate both).

Really, there's no right or wrong here. As much as you can go back and forth on which show you think is better, none of that matters. BSG could be the world's greatest example of great writing...but if someone doesn't enjoy it, how does that matter? SGA could be the world's worst written show...but if people enjoy it, how does that matter?

We're not talking about facts here, or anything serious. Both shows are for entertainment, though admittedly BSG had more of a goal to make a thinking show. But both shows are trying to entertain, trying to tell a story that will engage viewers. If it works, it's a good show. If it doesn't, it isn't.

Personally, I like watching BSG for the story, and I dislike the way the characters are written and how little humor there is. I like watching SGA for the characters and humor, and am usually ambivalent about the stories. No treatise on how well-written someone thinks the BSG characters will change the fact that I don't like them, and no similar treatise on how one-dimensional the SGA characters are will make them feel less real and special to me. Ditto on the stories.

And really, if you want good story and good characters and humor in one show, neither of these two fit it...go watch Doctor Who.

[TameFarrar]

Since I have read all the short and the long posts most anything and everything I could have said is already here

So I will just say as a fan of BOTH shows ...I get different things from each one and I have no need to *compare* them since to me its a moot point. I lose nothing enjoying both and in fact I believe I gain something from each in entertainment value. I do feel that each show has very separate and individual qualities that the other show lacks, therefore it truly isn't a level playing field from either side. The only thing IMHO that the two shows have remotely in common...is they are both in the sci-fi genre and they both air on the Sci-Fi channel

[globex]

I don't know about you however, I have never in my years of watching Sci-Fi been addicted to a show b4. The show that I am refering is SGA. At first I thought bah sounds like a cheesy name for a show but I watched a few episodes of it and I went on a spree of wanting more and more. Each episode made me wanting more and more(because its that was good!) . Sure there was SG-1 but this was brilliant. I don't know why people hate this show? I would rate it higher than Battlestar gallactica. People have mistaken this show as being a mirror image of SG-1 or a cheap rip-off or its not the same as SG-1. People this is a spin-off(i.e. a brach or a division of the series). Offcourse, you are going to feel alienated if you don't give it a chance.

I watched BSG at first I was bored to hell. However, after watching the 4 seasons(again) it was an OKAY show. But really I would rate SGA higher than BSG for sure.

Battlestar is a terrible Space-Soap Opera

Days of our Galactica.

you are a cylon
no, u are..
OMG, whos the cylon?
Adama is a Cylon,, NO HES NOT
am I a cylon?
maybe its Stephano!!!

by the way, I bought the mini-series, without watching it first (I was really psyched up about this series)... then i made it to almost the last episode of season 1... and got completely bored with the whole.. who is gonna be president thing and lack of robotic cylons. I'm currently using the DVD's as coasters.

This really made me laugh .

[ablevins425]

No idea. I only watched it on DVD myself. What do you remember about it?

Not much but I do remember it starting with talking about the ongoing war with the machines (sorry I can't remember what they are called, sentinals?) and flashes about Earth I think. Oh and the hot blonde girl, lol!

[Shan Bruce Lee]

They're two completely different types of shows. Stargate is a relatively light, plot driven action adventure show, BSG is a dark, character driven drama. I'll give you that they have better visual effects, but then Stargate would have as well if they spent nearly all of their time in the same set. As for actors, Stargate blows BSG completely out of the water, some of the acting in BSG is truly shocking, and only seems half decent because of the way it's shot and the dramatic setting, whenever the actors are asked to do something outside of their comfort zone they flop. The only truly great actor in BSG that I can think of is Mary McDonnell, the rest are pretty poor, half of them are SG-1 throwbacks. The writing I can't really agree on either, the first season was brilliant, but like many others I noticed a steep decline in quality after that. Season 2 was decent, at least watchable, but season 3 was just drivel. I'll admit that season 4 has improved upon season 3, but still poor in my opinion, especially the mid season finale. As for Stargate I think the general trend is up, I thought season one was great, but season 2 almost made me give up on it, season 3 was an improvement, but I don't think Atlantis really hit its stride until season 4, and I'm expecting season 5 to be brilliant too.

I agree with most of this but I personally like the CGI in SG better. There's some stuff in SG that looks terrible, but overall I think it's better. There were a lot of times I'd be watching BSG and get distracted by the poor scrolling star fields when they cut to a close up of a viper pilot, or an aweful background. I think the fact that they use the shaking camera so much helps to hide a lot of it though, and I'll say this - the Vipers look great most of the time.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

It's OK, Bytor. BSG isn't the show for you. If it was, you'd notice how characters truly developed as a result. Tyrol had his marriage with Cally start to disintegrate, changing his outlook on the world from that of the everyday man to seeing everything as the punchline to some sick cosmic joke. Tory started to convert to monotheism. Anders is dealing with not even knowing who he is anymore. Colonel Tigh's decades long friendship with Adama reaches its most intense strain.

If you can't be bothered to think about a show that makes that simple request of you, please don't comment on it. We don't ask the redneck questions about astrophysics either, so it isn't like we're singling you out.

Is that really necessary? I'm sure if people tried a little harder we could all make our arguements without all that.

And as far as that goes:

Tyrol - I'll agree there was some character development there but overall he came across more as a whiney teenager to me.

Tory - She finds out she's a Cylon and all of a sudden she's an evil harlot? Development doesn't happen instantaneously

Anders - I never saw the part where he didn't know who is was anymore, all I saw was that his biggest concern was what his wife would do when she found out. (maybe fall on the ground kicking and screaming like a child? "We're going the wrong way!")

Adama/Tigh - This one really gets me because those were probably two of my favorite characters in BSG... but watching two old Grandpas getting into a scuffle isn't exactly the type of character development I'd expect from a supposedly "darker" show. Maybe if the writers would've had the guts to commit to the dream sequence where Tigh shots Adama...

It's not that I have anything against BSG, it's just the way the hardcore BSG fans always make these sweeping accusations that anybody that doesn't like the show isn't intelligent enough or doesn't "think*" hard enough to get it is condescending (not to mention way off base)

*Distort what they see to fit what you (in general) see (imo)

[Bytor]

It's OK, Bytor. BSG isn't the show for you. If it was, you'd notice how characters truly developed as a result. Tyrol had his marriage with Cally start to disintegrate, changing his outlook on the world from that of the everyday man to seeing everything as the punchline to some sick cosmic joke. Tory started to convert to monotheism. Anders is dealing with not even knowing who he is anymore. Colonel Tigh's decades long friendship with Adama reaches its most intense strain.

character development only counts when u can stand watching the crappy space-soap for more than a few episodes. Saying Atlantis has no character development is just retarded. Look at even probably the WORST example of character development. Ronin. Started off holding Teyla hostage, then civilized a bit from being on the team/Atlantis. And now he's at the point where he's cracking jokes... supposedly he is going to get real Dark in upcoming episodes after being recaptured by the Wraith and tortured.

Meanwhile your idea of character development is who somone is sleeping with in any given episode.

Besides.. sometimes character development is NOT GOOD. If you like a character on the show because of his outlook on things.. or the way he acts (Mckay in my case).... why watch it if it completely changes and isn't the same character you used to enjoy?

[Bytor]

Is that really necessary? I'm sure if people tried a little harder we could all make our arguements without all that.

*

It's ok I can take it, if it makes him feel like a man that's good for him

[P-90_177]

And really, if you want good story and good characters and humor in one show, neither of these two fit it...go watch Doctor Who.

Go watch Doctor Who anyway. Tis the most awesome sci-fi show in the world ever afterall.

Not much but I do remember it starting with talking about the ongoing war with the machines (sorry I can't remember what they are called, sentinals?) and flashes about Earth I think. Oh and the hot blonde girl, lol!

Wow......you realy don't remember it that well do you. But that sounds like the beginning of the mini-series.....sort of. But the facts are mixed up. You really should watch it again. Just watch the miniseries all together and the first couple of episodes of the first season. You'll know after the first few eps whether you'll like it or not.

Oh and they're called Cylons by the way.

[g.o.d]

Mmmm, not really. As someone else pointed out, people take part of and survive terrible wars in real life, as well. And more often than not, the way they survive is by humour, be it dark as night or geniune laughing humour, but humour is what keeps people alive.
The complete lack of humour in BSG is what turned me off it. And the problem is, there's a good chance that the lack of humour is because the writers don't understand that inserting humour into your show doesn't make the situation less dire or less urgent. It jsut makes it more human.

that's what I like. I don't need to watch happy characters like in SGA.

and as someody has already pointed out it's about religion, morality, etc. Will we be better than cylons if we release deadly virus to their resurection ship and wipe their entire race out? Or are we better than them?we created them as our slaves, they became sentient and attack us. Or are they only machines or living sentient beings? etc.
the only question which comes to my mind after every SGA episode is, why the heck am I still watching this crap?

[Bytor]

that's what I like. I don't need to watch happy characters like in SGA.

just because a viewer finds something funny doesn't mean the character or situation providing the humor is automatically happy. If you had a sense of humor you may have realized this on your own. Now go watch to see who Apollo is sleeping with in next weeks edition of Days of our Galactica.

[Naonak]

People seem to hate BSG for the fact that it doesn't follow conventions. It isn't familiar to them, so they lash out and cling to the simplistic shows that require next to nothing from the viewer to understand them.

Now that I've gone and written all that, I've more or less come to the basic conclusion that there are those among SGA fans who don't want to challenge their basic ideas. They're comfortable, and don't want that comfort threatened. Good is good. Bad is bad. Characters are who they are. BSG is more of the show for those who want something more out of it. They are willing to have preconceptions challenged. They are willing to watch characters grow over the course of a series. They are willing to accept that mankind is flawed, and won't shy away from such presentations on television.
Should you fall into the category of the complacent television viewer, then by all means stick with SGA. This is what makes you happy. The shallow end of the pool is for those who aren't strong swimmers. The low dive is for the people who are afraid of taking a big leap. BSG is for those who are willing to go beyond what's comfortable. SGA doesn't do anything daring, nor does it make people think. The ones who actively decry BSG in favor of SGA deserve the show they get.

Oh, for crying out loud... Do you realise how arrogant that all sounds?

That brings me to my next break with conventions, the issue of the non-heroic protagonists. A recurring theme throughout BSG is that we need to be worthy of survival, yet we consistently act like we have no business going on in life when we engage in typical human pettiness. Unlike many scifi shows of the past decade or show, BSG is as much about the human element as it is about the "other".

I don't need my characters to be perfect, but for all Galactica's focus on the characters and "human drama", they don't feel like normal humans, in strong part due to the complete absence of humour over the last couple of years. I don't expect the amount of wisecracks you get on Stargate, just the odd one-liner here and there. "Dark" doesn't have to mean "humourless". People joke, it's human behaviour - as... Pitry, I think, said earlier in the thread, it doesn't detract from any urgency, it just makes the characters more human.

Shaky Camera
Minor issue. It adds to the sense of naturalistic science fiction in the show. This concept is alien to many of the die-hard SGA fans.

Oh, something else we don't understand...

I'll include a link to Ronald D. Moore's comments on the style at the end of this post. Short version of my response: the shaky camera is to avoid the sterile distance that cameras often have from what they show.

And it works well, when used wisely, but it's overused in Galactica.

An even better question for the BSG detractors out there: Where's the Peabody for Stargate?

So? Scrubs and Ugly Betty have also received Peabody Awards in the last couple of years - Ugly Betty is just awful, and as much as I like Scrubs, it's not that good...

the only question which comes to my mind after every SGA episode is, why the heck am I still watching this crap?

Yes, why are you still watching something you hate?

[g.o.d]

Yes, why are you still watching something you hate?

perhaps I'm curious

[P-90_177]

just because a viewer finds something funny doesn't mean the character or situation providing the humor is automatically happy. If you had a sense of humor you may have realized this on your own. Now go watch to see who Apollo is sleeping with in next weeks edition of Days of our Galactica.

While that's true, the humour in SGA is just downright silly. It makes the show unbelievable. Now personally there are many moments in BSG that I find funny myself but I concede that a lot of people don't so instead I'll use SG-1 as an example.

In SG-1 the main humour came from Jack really. And usually the way Jack interacted with the other characters. I said main humour keep in mind. That isn't to say Teal'c, Daniel and Carter weren't often funny in their own right. Far from it. However Jacks humour usually was quite dry and witty and often, if there was a bad guy involved, quite dark.

Now on the SGA side the humour is sort of divided between Shep and McKay. Sheps sense of humour is much like O'Neills. He's the hero and he's the one that says the dry, witty, often dark remarks when the wraith are around and such. However the other side of the coin is McKay. Now don't get me wrong. I love McKay, but often what is meant to be a funny scene with him just ends up being cringe worthy because of how silly it ends up being. A prime example of this is in 'Search and Rescue'

Spoiler:

During the absoloutley awful birthing scene with McKay and Teyla.

[Bytor]

While that's true, the humour in SGA is just downright silly. It makes the show unbelievable. Now personally there are many moments in BSG that I find funny myself but I concede that a lot of people don't so instead I'll use SG-1 as an example.

In SG-1 the main humour came from Jack really. And usually the way Jack interacted with the other characters. I said main humour keep in mind. That isn't to say Teal'c, Daniel and Carter weren't often funny in their own right. Far from it. However Jacks humour usually was quite dry and witty and often, if there was a bad guy involved, quite dark.

Now on the SGA side the humour is sort of divided between Shep and McKay. Sheps sense of humour is much like O'Neills. He's the hero and he's the one that says the dry, witty, often dark remarks when the wraith are around and such. However the other side of the coin is McKay. Now don't get me wrong. I love McKay, but often what is meant to be a funny scene with him just ends up being cringe worthy because of how silly it ends up being. A prime example of this is in 'Search and Rescue'

Spoiler:

During the absoloutley awful birthing scene with McKay and Teyla.

i agree with you up to a point. In fact, I wish Mckay had LESS character development, let me say that again LESS character development. I found him funnier in SG1, with his more harsh attitude. But he is definitely no more over the top than RDA was. David Hewlett is a great actor and can pull off the silliness in my opinion just like RDA.

also, u may not want to mention about how Teyla had a baby to some people in this thread -- and how she sees her job and life in a different way since becoming pregnant.. They may have to use the phrase "character development"!!!!!!!!