[jewels]

I'm being lazy: here's what I wrote to the folks in that thread, and anyone else with the time to read:

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2003 12:09 pm__ _Post subject:
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Guys and Gals:
thank you for all the jokes and Tux, BST, Larocque and Malkyte: thanks for refocusing the effort to get back into why I and possibly many of us (if I can be stereotypical for a second) joined any of these boards in the first place: I believed the original premise of the BSG story had relevence and important things to say to the people of our time. Sadly that point was lost on the current production leadership.

I think Scifi shot themselves in the foot in not doing a remake in the style of having say Starbuck and Apollo tell the story of the original pilot, having younger actors playing the younger them in flashback style. I see it as a grievous marketing mistake on Scifi's part. Then they could continue the story from 2 points: movies for the TOS cast & the next gen. and a "bridge" series for remaking the original series (I don't think you have to tell all the same stories to do that, which is why I'm calling it a bridge. The fleet obviously had many adventures over the intervening 25 yahren which weren't highlighted in the 17 episodes that we have).

I think the direction that SciFi has taken is the riskiest marketing thing they could have done: They alienated an extremely loyal fanbase, the people who reminded them that the property existed. And then they screwed everything that actually worked about the show in the first place.

I'm going to dwell on one point of TOS that made it's dark premise into a strength: The HOPE.
Their civilization had just been decimated, but they stood on what they had left: a rag-tag fleet and their faith that the 13th tribe existed and had a colony somewhere from which their society could rebuild and fight back. They approached everything from that faith and that hope. It was genuine and there was no deceit involved. Repeating for emphasis: Their hope was genuine and their faith was in a place that though they could not see it--they were certain it existed. Earth was not a lie, not fictitous--it was a real place, a possible to attain goal.

Without hope we would not have any heroes today: the self-involved don't have time for the greater good. Our TOS heroes understood hope and understood that the society's survival outweighed the individual. They were good as gold because they'd been through the sacrificial flames and come out a little more purified, focused, the dross burned off. But still human enough to chase a girl, be frustrated at an enigmatic light being or an inane council vote. Tigh could still confront Adama and have a patrol ready to launch regardless of how the discussion went. That last example wasn't about protocol, it was doing the best you could for your best friend. And it was about retaining his friend's hope so Adama could lead the people with hope.

That theme of Hope still resonates strongly for me. I think it is what sets humankind apart and gives us our strength and dignity. It is something that we still search for, and can't go a day without. It is ultimately why I believe a continuation is the only way to be successful.

Thank you all for stoking the Hope fire for me again.

September 17, 1978 I sat down with a few million friends for 3 hours of excellent TV somewhere in the heavens. As we know it turned into 3.5 hours as we ended up seeing a first step towards peace that, ironically two sparring brother earth tribes struggled to make. Somehow that wasn't a coincidence: somehow even that played into the hope of this wonderful fictional sister civilization, so far away, which Leslie, Glen, the entire cast, crew, writer, sfx and costume teams were giving us. There are things worth the struggle; there is reason to hold out hope. It was a very special show. It deserves better than it has gotten. And so do the viewers.

Sorry that rambled so much. Thanks for reading my piece.