Syfy is airing a full-series marathon of BSG.
Here’s why the best way to watch is to never finish.
For the show’s first two-and-a-half seasons,BSGis spectacular and groundbreaking entertainment.
Justin Stephens/Syfy/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
The show opened with a perfect four-minute hook (below).
Then one abruptly shows upand “she” looks and acts nothing like what we expect.
Steely Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos).
Drunken executive officer Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan).
The moral yet cancer-struck President Roslin (Mary McDonnell).
The selfish and brilliant Baltar (James Callis).
Sure, there were occasional duds (the notorious “Black Market”).
But time and time again, showrunnerRonald D. Mooretook bold chances that somehow worked.
(Note McCreary’s score in this sequence, punching miles above the weight class of basic cable.)
Another peak is when the show made an abrupt one-year time jump.
Again, a massive risk that paid off.
Here’s the time-jump scene.
The episodes “Exodus” Part I and II concluded with spectacular action and heartbreaking twists.
And that’s right where you arguably should end your watch.
You will want more after “Exodus.”
Who wouldn’t?BSGwas fantastic.
And there’s nothing wrong with watching the rest.
There are some fine moments along the way.
It’s not an ideal ending.
Much is left unresolved.
If you venture further, at first things are okay.
Then the missteps began (spoilersahead).
There wasStarbuck’s deathand mystical resurrection.
The jarring decision to use “All Along the Watchtower” as a recurring beacon.
But the trial didn’t feel like enough, Moore has said.
The story felt like it needed something else.
So the decision was made to make five longtime human characters secret Cylons.
“I had a nagging sense that it wasn’t big enough,” Moore explained.
And we leave one for next season.'
In the case of another, Aaron Douglas' Tyrol, the move created plot holes.
Here’s the reveal of four of the five.
As Tory (Rekha Sharma) put it, “yo tell me this isn’t happening.”
The firstBSGseason was only 13 episodes, and the result was perfect.
