Apollo and staring down death
 

Like mentioned by others, many scenes were dark, so when Apollo's ship was hit during the final battle, did he lose his weaponry as well as his manueverability? Apollo had no problem jumping in front of the missile targeting Colonial 1, then looping around and destroying it.

Yet. In battle, he appears to freeze (does not respond to Starbuck's call, for one thing) and appears memerized by the spectre of his own death - no apparent attempt to defend himself. Unless this was because Apollo COULDN'T defend himself, this scene does not make sense with what we know of the character. Any one?

By the way, how come only the landing bay was well lit? Too bad more scenes weren't easier to see.

According to the original script (and yeah, they changed a heck of a lot), Lee is fighting and holding his own until he is shot and loses one wing. At that point, he has no way to maneuver, and Starbuck comes in to defend his ship. I don't think he could fire because the Cylon appeared to be coming in from his side and above, rather than in front where he could get a missle lock. I think when it was filmed, it just goes so fast that you miss the details. I'll watch it again today, but as far as I remember he didn't freeze up, he just got hit and couldn't defend himself. As for responding to her radio call, even Starbuck didn't respond when Adama first called her - she couldn't hear him. Maybe it was the same thing for Apollo. :salute:

-Crys-

Series versus conclusion
 

As mentioned in another thread this scene was based on the final battle in the movie "In Harm's Way". The ending had to be changed because the mini needed to preserve the characters for a future mini or series. As a result we have the unbelieveable rescue.

In "In Harm's Way" one of the characters Starbuck (a composite/splice) is modeled on is killed during the recon in the clouds scene in a heroic manner. If the mini had a real conclusion it would have been a good scene to not modify.

The character Apollo is primarily based on, Ensign Jerrod Torrey is also killed in the climatic battle when his PT boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.

Obviously the only original idea Moore had in that scene was "How do I repeat the scenes but keep the two characters alive?"

Answer: 1. Starbuck recon in the clouds is less heroic and she is not "shot down".

2. Now that Starbuck was not shot down she can rescue Apollo who's craft is now damaged instead of destroyed.

Okay - watched it again. They repeatedly showed Apollo, and then a Viper firing, and then Apollo again - the same sequence. They actually didn't show us what Starbuck was doing. I think because we don't have that neato firing button, we miss that it's Apollo doing the shooting. He does just fine until he loses his wing. Then he does indeed stare at the Cylon coming in above him - because he can't face that direction to fire at it. He didn't even see Starbuck coming in to save his butt.

But no - it didn't look like a freeze - just a bowing to the inevitable.

-Crys-

Ah, that was more the meaning I meant rather than the phrase I used, but, hey, when you're tired the brain doesn't work so well.

I wasn't even aware Apollo's wing was gone, as I saw just a flash. Editing even made it look like the next Viper that was destroyed was Apollo's ship - Apollo, Cylon, destroyed ship, etc.

I have to agree with you that the dogfights were fast. For me, they were too fast. I didn't know what the hell was happening half the time, but then I think that was intentional. More of that "realism" that the director was going for. It was right up there with bobbling cameras and weird pans. Oh well - no one said that I liked *everything* about the mini <g>.

Truthfully, though, I like a movie that has so much in it that you find something in subsequent viewings. A lot of my favorites are like that - Aliens, Termintor, Abyss, Independence Day. Lots of action, yes, but also lots of interaction - as in people. That's the part that really hooks me. This is a movie where you have to see it time and time again to pick up all the nuances of what's going on. I love that. For others, if they can't get it the first time, they think that it's not worth the effort. My opinion is the opposite: it makes me want to take the effort, just scratches the surface of my interest, and that's enough.

I'll analize this movie to death, but that's okay too. After all, one has to have something to use as an escape from work and this does quite nicely. :salute:

-Crys-

Commander Eddington
 

This is the character who was killed in the clouds In Harm's Way. He was played by the legendary Kirk Douglas. The character goes on the mission in order to avoid facing a charge of rape. He raped the woman that Rock Torry's(John Wayne) son is going to marry in the film.

Starbuck/Apollo
 

For those following the "In Harm's Way" references Kingfish and I mentioned:

Starbuck is a combination character of Commander Eddington (along with Colonel Tigh), LTJG McConnel (along with Apollo), and Mrs. McConnel.

Apollo is a combination character of Ensign Jerrod Torrey and LTJG McConnel (along with Starbuck).

The above mentioned scenes contained the deaths in combat of Commander Eddington (Starbuck-) and Ensign Torrey (Apollo) in "In Harm's Way".