BSG Ending – Part II

Last time on Beemsville, we discussed the Battlestar Galactica Series Finale (at least to a point) and the precarious proposition of television show endings.  Having written about some elements I enjoyed and appreciated, this section of the critque may seem a bit more…  critical.  But lest I open myself up to raging fanboy attacks, let me once again profess my affection and admiration for the show.  BSG has been one of my favorites because it’s smart, challenging – more than bubblegum for your brain on a Friday night.  BSG has time and again proved worthy of serious critical analysis…  But don’t expect too much of that here; I’m just going to whip some stuff against the wall and see what sticks.  Spoilers after the bump.

Battlestar Galactica – An Ending

Finally got the chance to finish watching Battlestar Galactica the last week or so, including the two-hour finale last night.  I was almost dreading the viewing, for several reasons.  First off, the initial several episodes of the final season were very bleak and in some respects tough to watch.  I was worried Eick and Moore may have lost the plot and were spiraling towards infamy.  Second,  BSG has been the best show on for several years and even if some elements had begun to feel played out as they entered the 4th season, I was sad for it to end.  Finally, I was worried about the actual ending.

TV shows have had some pretty terrible endings.  Consider X-Files or The Sopranos. You also have shows that simply don’t have endings, they have one last episode that ain’t much different, except it’s worse because the show has lost its momentum and creativity, which is why it’s been canceled or pulled in the first place.  Or they become these awful maudlin exercises with the cast taking their final tearful bow.  Occasionally you have endings that are satisfying and memorable.  MASH of course, and Seinfeld, and Family Ties (I always get choked up when I think about Michael J. Fox finally making it back to 1985 in time to take that truck down to the lake…)

BSG set the bar pretty high.  You always knew, by the way they structured the episodes, followed a pretty tight narrative line, and frontloaded certain characters with an array of portents, destinies, and thematic signposts, that Moore and Eick had an ending in mind.  With all the great press and awards the show has received (though ridiculously, no Emmys for anything other than special effects), with frakkin’ Whoopi leading a retrospective on BSG at the United Nations, you might have some concerns they’ve started taking themselves too seriously.  Always a problem in the entertainment industry.  And yet the writer in me can appreciate total commitment and immersion into the story.

So what’s the Beemsville take on Battlestar Galactica’s ending?  Read on after the bump.  Massive spoiler alert, naturally.