Dias Ex Machina Games

So turns out it was Jesus?

Seriously. That's how we're ending it?

I have watched every single episode of BSG and I have always stated it was overated. I get very defensive when people call it the best sci-fi on TV ever. Do they have to history. Other shows have won more awards and lasted longer. I always thought BSG's characters created all new cliches and their tendency to always act selfishly became predictable and weak.

I loved the first hour of the episode and although I got emotional throughout, the last half left a bitter taste in my mouth. With amazing direction, great acting, awesome special effects and unmated music, the ultimate failure of the ending and the series lies with a preachy and patronizing creator. So hammer a massive deus ex machina over our heads and go into a sermon about how we should abandon technology and embrace a monotheistic god is a slap in the face to any progressive human being as well as anyone who worships a polytheistic faith.

Beyond creating massive logical holes, the ending of BSG felt like Ron Moore abandoned any measure of paying the show off and turned to his faith to guide him, like the entire series was a lead up to a religious awakening, and although this may be acceptable to a country that's 75% religious and mostly Christian, it doesn't sway with me. Despite shedding a tear and many of the feats of these characters, the final fanfare made me more confused and although brilliantly directed, the message of its final scene echoed of preacher hoping his flock would see the wisdom of embracing god as way to temper your soul in the face of unstoppable progress. Thanks Ron for your four year sermon, but I have a little more faith in mankind in spite of the gods he chooses to place above him.

How should it have ended?

That is not my responsibility. I would have preferred something more vague, even more obscure. To come right out and aknowledge a monotheistic god as the solution and declare one as proof at end of the story not only insults most science fiction fans, but it also pisses in the pot of the billion or so odd people that endorse a polytheistic faith.

I wonder if you will like Caprica.

OK....You asked....

I think Ronald Moore needs to leave his preaching for the pulpit and his arrogance at home. When he slapped audiences with his blatantly condescending treatment of the BSG finale, he set in course a dangerous path of religious bias which I see in the beginning threads of Caprica. By declaring a monotheistic god as real and true in BSG, insults science fictions fans that would prefer more science and less piousness in their fiction. It removes any shred of believable storytelling in Caprica knowing that, in the end, those that believe in a monotheistic god are right. Way to insult those that don't subscribe to a monotheistic faith or those that don't subscribe to religion at all. If you hated how BSG ended, don't bother yourself with Caprica.

"Looks like somebody skipped Writing 101, when you learn that a deus ex machina is a crappy way to end a story."
George RR Martin on the end of BSG.

Someone should have told Moore that this type of plot device more or less died a thousand years ago.
BSG and Caprica are in the same setting and if Caprica was a separate series unrelated to BSG, I would judge it on its own merits. Since Caprica doesn't authenticate or establish God as fact in its pilot, I would be posting a different review for it. I enjoy such elements in stories when done properly. But the two shows are connected and since a real monotheistic god is established as fact at the end of BSG, it means all the monotheistic discussions (preaching) in Caprica is backed up by an actual, authentic monotheistic god. Mentioning spirituality and discussing religion is vastly different then presenting an actual god as fact.

I understand where the cylons got their belief from. I would even accept it. But at the end of BSG, they confirm a monotheistic god's existence, and that weakens the potential conflict between religions in Caprica. Now if all the polytheistic gods in this universe of BSG and Caprica made their presence known, I would consider that fair play and I would recant my criticism of the show. At the end of BSG, we don't have that. We have a singular god being referred to as singular. They do refer to it. Even if it is not directly said, it is inferred given who is saying it (Baltair, Angels, etc). If I had seen Caprica before the finale of BSG, I also think my opinion would be different...but that's not what happened.

Moore is a good writer. I respect him and his approach to many of this ideas (he even got a lot of respect from me for his subtle jab at his own work on CSI last week), but his treatment and direction of the BSG finale soured the end of series and unfortunately, soured Caprica as well, being they are connected and deal with similar subjects.

Let me also add...

If BSG had or if Caprica does acknowledge multiple gods, even to the point of conflict, that would be something I would tune in for. I have contemplated giving Caprica another chance when it premiers next year. I had issues with BSG from the get-go when it was obvious every single character on that show was a PTSD sufferer. Caprica doesn't have that handicap.

After BSG ended, I almost suspected Moore was preaching. If I had discovered he was devout in some faith, I may have shouted such an accusation. As it turns out, he's a non-practicing catholic like I am (I'm a little further away, I suspect). Although I will say that BSG was not always innovative or brilliant (a conversation I won't begin here), I will say it took chances. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I won't recant my opinion of the ending of BSG. I still stand by the view that the last hour was weak. I still think that if BSG hadn't authenticated a monotheistic god at the end, then Caprica would be stronger, as it would have balanced the playing field between the two faiths.

If they do end up balancing the field, then I would definitely return. The problem there is that the moment you add in one other god, the setting stops being monotheistic and the polytheists win; it instantly throws the team to the other side. Follow that logic. Of course, they could also throw in the monkey that the god at the end of BSG was the last of the polytheistic deities or, stranger still, not a god at all, but an unusual third party (aliens, time travelers, etc)...yes, I understand that the latter point would be dumb.

My other conceit is that if BSG was a total fantasy, then the monotheistic god would not have to be related to ours. If BSG had ended without the "future Earth" coda, we could dismiss the setting (dismiss is not the right word but let's stick with it) as much a fantasy as Star Wars or LOTR and accept it.

I watched BSG and will probably watch Caprica because with the loss of shows like Farscape and Firefly, quality science fiction is falling by the wayside, forcing me to suck of the drops of Stargate and Terminator: TSCC. By next year, Caprica may be all we've got...that and Stargate Universe (oohh, pinch me). I probably will still watch it...because it’s a drug and I'm an addict...

Thanks for the replies. I think the last hour was weak too, especially after the action. Now they're all farmers. At least there is peace, of a sort. The cycle is completed. The mythology of BSG the TV series can now be referenced for future stories. I had been worried that the entertainment industry is merely mining past myths, but I am happy because we are making our own myths too.

I don't mind either mono- or polytheistic truth in science fiction. As long as there is consistency. Conflict is still possible even if there is truth. Texts were available from polytheists, and the prophecy was from the Colonies' deities. I liked the supernatural and extraordinary elements, and Kara talking to her dad, and Lee bidding farewell, were favorite scenes. Sometimes it was lame, but the finale was well done (in that regard).

I can relate to the monotheism being annoying. For example, Neo's death in the Matrix trilogy. The first movie was great. Hackers and computers, martial arts and guns. After that, the PCs must have lost the first DM to a car accident, and the group wanted to honor his memory by finishing the campaign. From the remnants of the notes that remained, some of which were heretofore unrevealed until the DM's parents stepped in, the ending could be played out. Finally there were only two PCs, and the last one did what had to be done.

The movies don't sound that bad when I think about it like this.

Oh, right: BSG finale. I agree with your arguments. I was interested to hear what you thought.