How long to you have to watch Battlestar Galactica...

[Orrex]

before "frak" stops sounding incredibly stupid? And "godsdamn" doesn't sound any better.

The real problem, from a narrative standpoint, is that these lame affectations totally derail every scene in which they're uttered, because Adama will be cruising along, convincing in his righteous anger, and he'll roll out one of those pieces of half-baked geek-speak, and it all goes to hell.

Honestly, it was less lame in the original series, because at least that one was campy from the outset.


:grr:

[RoyGBiv]

1. Well, for me ...

... about half way through the first season.

[Orrex]

4. Each time, it's like someone's tapping me between the eyes with a french fry

[JTG of the PRB]

2. It only took me a few episodes.

It's part of their lexicon. That's how their culture talks. At least, that's how I got over how goofy it sounded. :shrug:

[Orrex]

3. Nah, I don't buy it

These are the only two departures from basic mass-media American English? Tonight Tigh actually said "don't go there," so I'm supposed to believe that they have access to trite 21st century colloquialisms but can't find any good words to use for profanity?

No way!

[JTG of the PRB]

5. Well, as far as frak goes, they had to do something that sounds somewhat similar to English.

What better way to do it that with a four-lettered word that start with an f and ends with a k? The idea is right there. Making up a word that was completely unfamiliar would have lost the intent along the way.

That's just my opinion though. It makes sense to me, but I know that's not how everyone feels. Guess I'm just too much of a geek. :P

[Orrex]

6. Why not say 'fork,' then?

Also, if they use "frak" in place of "fuck," then everyone in the fleet is a bigger sewer-mouth than Sam Kinison. I mean, it's "frak this" and "frakking that" and an occasional "godsdamn it." I would hope that a star-faring civilization would be sufficiently imaginative to come up with more than two bad words!

[Connonym]

7. i would imagine the military, especially during war, would swear like sailors

and hell, aren't they just space sailors? so I guess swearing like sailors works.

[Orrex]

8. Then there'd be a lot of jokes about space seamen

I don't mind the swearing, in itself; what bothers me is the lack of imagination. Years back I worked in a pizza kitchen with a guy who'd just arrived from Italy. He could swear with enough range to make the ceiling tiles wither and drop.

But two swear-words just isn't enough for a sustainable civilization, I say!

[HeresyLives]

9. The doctor smokes,

even while operating. They've never heard of the concept of psychiatry, and goodness knows they all need help with everything they've been through.

They are different than us and must appear so, yet have to be similar enough on TV to identify with. It's a dramatic device,that's all.

[Orrex]

10. Right, I get that. But it's a *cheap* dramatic device. That's my complaint.

Other details like the ones you've mentioned go a lot farther toward establishing the differences.

[HeresyLives]

12. What's an expensive one?

:rofl:

To be honest, a lot of the scenes in earlier years just made me think 'what are a bunch of Americans doing in space'?

Because that's what it would look like, a space version of Dallas or something.

Then someone would say 'frak' or 'godsdamnit', and it was a quick and obvious reminder.

Everyone I know now uses 'frak', because it's acceptable in many circumstances where the original word wouldn't be.

[Connonym]

16. that cracks me up

I love Doc Cottle. I was hoping he was the final Cylon.

[WolverineDG]

22. This has all happened before

:hide:

dg

[progressoid]

11. Yeah, I gotta say there are a couple things that kinda bug me.

"Frak" does seem often derail the scene. I'm also bugged by all of the corners of papers being cut off for some reason.

But I still watch it. Beats a lot of the other shit on the tube.

[Dogmudgeon]

13. On the contrary ...

... I think that the Galactica maledicta illustrate how stupid OUR use of cuss words is.

It isn't (merely) a plot device, it's also a meta-commentary on our own ignorance.

Fact is, the Galactica mythos is probably the most intense, coherent, and ironic parody of the modern world AND its mythology that has ever been constructed. Yes, it even out-does 1984.

They tore out one of Saul Tigh's eyes and then gave him the capacity for deep self-reflection. They played religiosity back and forth until no one is sure whether the series is pro- or anti-. The Chief is traditionally, in the service, the guy who keeps the unit or base together, but Chief Tyrol is painfully schizophrenic. And they even chopped off one of Felix Gaeta's legs to illustrate how utterly juvenile the term "lame" is.

There are people who have gotten their PhDs writing about Star Trek; Battlestar Galactica will probably be an even more fertile ground for rhetorical analysis. Frakkin' A.

--p!

[Orrex]

17. Yeah, just like they're still talking about 'shazbot' and 'na-noo, na-noo'

:eyes:

[RoyGBiv]

20. What you said ...

The depth to this show is stunning. It's the reason I started watching it, fearing at first they were just going to take the original and put some flashy special effects in it.

I was *wrong*.

[IndianaJones]

14. is this a scene by scene remake of the landmark 70's tv series? nt.

[HeresyLives]

15. No, not even close.

[Pryderi]

18. When I saw the "Starbuck" was a woman, I stopped watching.

[RoyGBiv]

19. Starbuck is awesome ...

... a far cry from the one-dimensional standard set by the original character.

[Deja Q]

21. The role WAS one dimensional and Dirk Benedict added something more to it.

The new Starbuck is a one dimensional actor thinking she's playing a layered role...

See, one cannot make their own characters. They HAVE to be pegged onto an existing name. Like that dreadful "I SPY" movie - once you change the premise and character identities and motivations, it's not the same show anymore, nor should it be tied into it.

Nothing against PC decisions, they took the cheesy road to make some sort of BS statement.

[RoyGBiv]

23. No they didn't ...

You might want to read up on why Starbuck is a woman. Your reasoning has nothing to do with the actual decisions the producers made.

As for one-dimensional ... you've *seen* the show? More than one episode that is?

Starbuck's character is about as far from one-dimensional as a television show produces, and there are plenty of critics, writers, and casual observers who agree.

I'm not even sure what this post is about, frankly. Clearly it isn't about the current BSG.