[Palladin]

Okay, guys, this is a spin-off of a recent topic that came up in the BSG thread, but pretty much shares a common audience, and I thought deserved its own thread. Here are the posts/exchanges that led into it:

Quote:
Originally Posted by vfxproducer /forum/post/14165091


Yes. You'd think that it would have been addreesed somehow, with even just a throwaway line, but nothing so far. One of the many inconsistencies from the writer's room.

Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy /forum/post/14165153


Before condemning them for their "inconsistencies", why not just wait and see how that character, as well as other "neglected" plotlines, unfolds? The writers may have scheduled that plot development for later in the season. After all, they had plenty of fish to fry in the run-up to the mid-season finale, and only 42 minutes a week to do it in. Have a little patience; they seldom disappoint.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vfxproducer /forum/post/14166697


I'd say they dissapoint about 20% of the time, actually. They do far better than most TV shows, but not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy /forum/post/14167125


Huh. I find I'm virtually never disappointed with this show. I never said it was perfect, but as far as television is concerned, it comes closer than about any series in recent memory not named LOST, IMO. Many times I've closed an episode thinking how lucky we are that it even got made in this day and age when quality is consistently sacrificed for ratings share.

Quote:
Originally Posted by philw1776 /forum/post/14169015


I'll take your 20% and raise to 60%, STILL better than most everything except LOST. Love the cast of BSG. Gonna miss 'em.

Quote:
Originally Posted by moob /forum/post/14169313


What season of Lost? Season 1 was on the same level of BSG, but seasons 2 and most of 3 were just awful. Season 4 was nearly where one was (I absolutely loved the Desmond episode).


But I think BSG will probably go down as the best show on television as far as I'm concerned, so I'm probably biased.

There are some craptastic episodes of BSG though. Black Market, Woman King and A Day in the Life come to mind. The only episode of season 4 I didn't love was Sine Qua Non.

Quote:
Originally Posted by loco /forum/post/14169544


Totally agree, moob. BSG has been consistently better than Lost, IMHO. I thought Seasons 2 and 3 of Lost were almost all horrible with the exception of maybe 5 or 6 episodes. Season 4 was very good and drew me back in, but I'll never really forgive Lost for Season 2 especially. The Tailies. LOL, let's introduce a bunch of new characters and then kill them all off!


I do think BSG faltered in the middle of Season 3, though, mostly the standalones. A Day in the Life was the worst ep of the series, I think. However, it recovered nicely for the last four episodes, and I've loved Season 4 so far. Sine Qua Non was unfortunate, though. A lot of people didn't like The Road Less Travelled but I did, mainly because I really enjoy Leoben doing his mindfrak thing.

What both shows do exceedingly well when they're on their games is throw their audiences for a loop with some unexpected twist that turns everything on its head. And you don't get the impression it's done just for the sake of surprise, but that it's just a natural progression of the story.

Quote:
If you guys don't mind, I think this topic warrants being the basis of its own dedicated thread, so I'd like to co-opt what Arch and VFXproducer started, and Moob and Loco expanded upon. We've got a week to kill until July 4th rolls around, and as an active poster with regard to both shows, its pretty clear to me that these series share a common audience around here. So to give both shows an equal footing, I'm going to 'rip' this to a whole new thread so that it has a singular focus, and call it "BSG vs. Lost, The Battle of the Sci-fi/Drama Bands."

So that's how we got here. On the very most general level, I tend to think of BSG as the more 'intelligent' show, and Lost as the more 'fun' show, and while I tend to disagree with moob as to the second half of Lost Season 3 which I enjoeyd a great deal (with a few notable exceptions, like The Adventures of Nikki and Paolo

), I'm trying to see if there is a consensus between both shows among us, to help us delineate the strengths and weakenesses of each.


________________________________________________

Palladin


Chance favors the prepared mind

 

[archiguy]

I'm just impressed with all the work that post took.

 

[Palladin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy /forum/post/14171275


I'm just impressed with all the work that post took.

Don't be. I just sat back, kicked my shoes off and let the Magic Box/ Monster from the ID/Cylon do all of the work.

As an aside, was bored the other night and just flippin' channels when I ran past one of the 'Big Momma' flicks (and I do mean ran, never seen either), and spotted a familiar face as a henchman with black spiky hair in a suit, our old friend Martin Keamy, not looking nearly as bulked up.

.


__________________________________________

Palladin


Chance favors the prepared mind

 

[dc_pilgrim]

Lost messes with my head a lot more that BSG does. Almost entirely on the strength of the Ben character.

 

[archiguy]

They're fundamentally different shows. While Battlestar, as does all good sci-fi, seeks to hold up a mirror to our society and asks us to look at big, substantial issues from a different perspective, LOST is just trying to entertain the hell out of us, but in a far more intelligent manner than most TV. They're both pure serials, a fast-approaching-extinction genre that I happen to love. That means commitment from the audience, and difficulty growing the audience they have. From a network perspective, that's classic good news and bad news. They will face a steadily diminishing audience, eventually whittling down to the True Fan Core, but that group will be far more loyal than other episodic series meaning they'll be there from start to finish, every week, no matter how long it goes on. BSG and LOST have both reached that core group at this point. (In fact, RDM of BSG said last fall that they've stopped trying to grow their audience, they've got who they've got, and this season is "for the fans". Dang, I like that!)


The other nice thing about pure serials is that they can set an end date, like these two shows have done. The writers then know exactly how many minutes they'll have to finish telling their story and can plan for it. The result should be a tighter, more focused effort that will highlight the series' strengths and minimize their weaknesses. We'll have a better feel for how all that worked out for 'em about this time next year.

 

[hondo21]

I've never watched a single episode of the new BSG. I just had no interest in watching it on Comcast analog cable, where Sci-Fi channel had terrible quality. Then I never got around to getting the DVDs either. But I recognize the widespread positive comments and I like Sci-Fi in general, so in theory I'd like to watch it all systematically some day, preferably on Blu-ray.


I'm a LOST fan, having watched every episode. I agree that Season 2 was somewhat disappointing, but I thought Season 3 was pretty good stuff for the most part, especially the second half, and Season 4 was very good.

 

[petergaryr]

Let's see:

Lost is a story about people caught in an impossible situation that has elements of science fiction entwined in the plots. There are strong interpersonal conflicts among major characters. There is a strong desire to go home.


Some characters have been killed by a mysterious entity.


The flow of stories range from frantic action that furthers the plot, to "filler" episodes that often concentrate on personal issues of a character or characters.


The continuity of the series is interrupted by breaks of many months. However, we know there will be an end date for the series.


On the other hand, Battlestar Galactica is a story about people caught in an impossible situation that has elements of science fiction entwined in the plots. There are strong interpersonal conflicts among major characters. There is a strong desire to find a home.


Some characters have been killed by beings with a mysterious agenda.


The flow of stories range from frantic action that furthers the plot, to "filler" episodes that often concentrate on personal issues of a character or characters.


The continuity of the series is interrupted by breaks of many months. However, we know there will be an end date for the series.

 

[CPanther95]

Overall BSG is consistently the better show.


How they end the shows will be critical for the final assesment though.

 

[gadianton]

Before the most recent seasons for BSG and Lost, I would have said I enjoyed and looked forward to BSG more than Lost. However, during the most recent season that has flipped. It feels like BSG this season has been a lot of set up and moving the pieces in place for the mid-season finale and the final 10 eps.


Lost on the other hand, seemed to advance the plot and answer some long-standing questions, while at the same time introducing more questions.


Maybe it is just because Lost is still on the upswing with a couple more seasons to come, where BSG is in the resolution phase with this last season.


Either way, both are excellent shows.

 

[cavalierlwt]

I agree with the assessment, BSG is more intelligent, Lost is more fun. They have a lot in common though as far my opinion of them goes: I think both series are going to have very unsatisfying endings. Nothing against the writers of either show, but I feel like the incredible buildup simply can't be matched with an appropriate finale, especially in the case of Lost.


The other thing they both have in common (IMHO) is the way the protagonists at first seem helpless, overwhelmed, outmatched etc, but gradually wind up dishing out more punishment to the 'bad guys' then you realize at the time. It's only looking back do you realize how badly the Others and Cylons really fared in their misadventures. Don't get me wrong, The Losties have certainly suffered and Humanity has been brought to it's knees, but in both cases the big bad enemy have really gotten their asses handed to them by an adversary who seemed pitiful in comparison.

 

[cavalierlwt]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_pilgrim /forum/post/14172891


Lost messes with my head a lot more that BSG does. Almost entirely on the strength of the Ben character.

Ditto. That guy's level of manipulation goes a million layers deep. I would love it such a person existed if in real life. He could end war as we know it, just make him the head of the UN and let him mindf*** everyone into getting along.

 

[moob]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Palladin /forum/post/14171249



So that's how we got here. On the very most general level, I tend to think of BSG as the more 'intelligent' show, and Lost as the more 'fun' show, and while I tend to disagree with moob as to the second half of Lost Season 3 which I enjoeyd a great deal (with a few notable exceptions, like The Adventures of Nikki and Paolo

), I'm trying to see if there is a consensus between both shows among us, to help us delineate the strengths and weakenesses of each.

Actually, I think we may be on the same page, or at least in the same ball park. The 2nd half was indeed where it started picking up again, and it ended strongly going into season 4, which thankfully took the ball and ran with it. It's just that the first half was so bad, and like you said, the 2nd half was peppered with a few awful moments as well, that I had to use "most."


I do agree that Lost is more "entertaining" though. I had this discussion with someone else, but we were using Firefly instead of Lost (not quite the same because Lost is so serialized...but the symbolism remains clear). Even though BSG may go down as my favourite* show of all time, on any given day, I'd probably much rather watch an episode of Firefly (Lost) to pass the time. I have to be in the right mindset to watch a lot of BSG's episodes, whereas I could just jump right into Lost or Firefly and, along with the drama, I can have a few laughs as well. Maybe it's just me, but rape and suicide bombings aren't really "entertaining" per se. BSG is by far the most depressing show I've ever seen, and I'm not always in the mood for that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 /forum/post/14175020


How they end the shows will be critical for the final assesment though.

*That's what my asterisk was for. They better end it well. From what we heard of the cast's reactions to the finale...it sounds like they did.


I think Lost has a lot more to explain, as cavalier mentioned, so they're finale is going to have to be pretty damn good as well.