The Galactica can withstand direct hits from nuclear missiles detonating. The Colony’s guns, while obviously have an effect, weren’t going to do the job quickly.
I thought the idea of the ending was great, but the tying up of some of the threads was a little weak. Starbuck’s end could have worked if exactly what she was was set up better. But because she was basically a one of a kind being, with properties that were, prior to the finale, unprecedented and largely unexplained, it just felt tacked on.
Cavil listening to Baltar’s speech, without any real threats being made, wasn’t really in character. If the 5 had promised ressurection first to shut him up and get him listening, that would have been one thing.
The Chief strangling Tory to death and screwing everything up though, was perfect. Oh, you thought everything was going to be all flowers and hugs? Yeah… NOOOOOOO!
As I previously mentioned, I thought the opera house thing was screwed up. Roslin and Athena should have never seen Hera again or something equally momentous, given the power of the vision (I mean, Athena freaking KILLED SOMEONE because she thought the vision was of a Six stealing her kid). Yeah, it got them to do some stuff, but it was never clear that it was stuff they wouldn’t have done anyhow, and there were lots of other sequences that could have also have had visions.
Totally don’t get this. Cavil was alone in a room full of armed enemies. Talking was his only chance - anything else just gets him shot all the quicker.
-Joe
As some folks pointed out in other threads, it would make sense if the ending were about 50,000 years ago, coinciding with homo sapiens’ exodus from Africa, or maybe even closer to the present, to coincide with ancient Egyptian. That would explain why there are so many similarities between our culture and theirs, and why they had to abandon their technology, if there were already established societies they wouldn’t want to screw with excessively. Of course, that wouldn’t work for Hera as mitochondrial Eve, but then, I’d have liked a slightly better reason for Hera to be so damn important anyway.
Starbuck disappearing… I’m torn. I’m not sure what else Ron Moore could have done with it, but it’s still a bit unsatisfying.
Well, since Suzanne Pleshette has passed, my first idea couldn’t work.
I’d have liked them to have spent a few years on the planet before letting go of technology and their ships. While I was generally satisfied even with the unsatisfying bits (e.g., poof goes the Starbuck), and can shoehorn/fanwank a lot of curiosities into line, the thought of everyone packing a few seeds and settling on remote bits of a strange planet (with no idea of its long-term climate) seems shockingly stupid.
While I appreciate the nod to everyone voluntarily setting up shop on Earth Mark II, that none of the gang --note, a rather riotous and crabby gang to boot-- raised their hand and asked about, say, the value of indoor plumbing, an x-ray machine (or the machine that goes BING), water purification, or any of the not-so-violent contrivances of life. Just a quick look at the American colonists early attempts lets you know most of them (if not all) are doomed from the get go. Maybe Hera got adopted by the Clan of the Cave Bear, but everyone else was heading towards a cold, miserable, early death.
So, yeah, maybe have that pretty cool take on the old series opening happen *after *the colonists are set up and slightly self-sustainable.
Oh, and I’d have liked an end-of-credits scene that flashed forward another passel of years, with Mr. & Mrs. Headbot reading another Nat’l Geo Headline: Archeologists Find Alien Ship!. Or did Adama send his Raptor off on autopilot?
Also, talking is Cavil’s thing. Expecting him to suddenly become man-of-action is like expecting Baltar to be a stand-up guy.
At the moment, sure. But he had a hostage and also a colony full of fellow centurions and skinjobs that vastly outnumbered his foes, all ready to keep storming the ship.
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl;
Oh, and I’d have liked an end-of-credits scene that flashed forward another passel of years, with Mr. & Mrs. Headbot reading another Nat’l Geo Headline: Archeologists Find Alien Ship!. Or did Adama send his Raptor off on autopilot?[/QUOTE]
I was discussing this with a friend and he made the comment that Tigh probably set up a Still as soon as he got to the planet(and probably started selling his own brand of Whiskey, no less). I replied that it would be funny if there was another article in the national geographic that said something like “Archeologists locate 150,000 year old still nearby Eve site. Scientists Baffled”.
Oh, and tobacco. Those of us who quit smoking over B-star’s run know all too well how many colonists were smokers. While all the colonists are struggling to grow enough food to last through the first winter, some shmuck is going to be planing tobacco? No, survival trumps nicotine, but you’re going to have a hell of a lot of pissed off colonists, leading them to want to build machines to fight for them, leading to…
Yeah… I was bugged by the idea of giving up all the technology as well. Such a colossally stupid decision, as well as irresponsible. The issues with robots keeps occuring precisely because people don’t remember what happened the last time. You park the BSG in orbit, with records intact, detailing precisely what the dangers are. You don’t toss it into the sun, as well as all the records, so that your children thousands of years from now can make the same mistake all over again, and again, and again.
And how long was it before a mother died in childbirth, or parents had to see half their kids die from what used to be easily preventable childhood diseases before they were kicking themselves very, very hard for being such monumental idiots?
Pristine farm life is a fairy tale. It sucks.
I wouldn’t have even tried to make the last planet earth, personally. Just another nice planet, where they can set up shop with the knowledge they need to hopefully make things right. Not the purging of all knowledge in a misguided attempt to forget everything.
SOP is to bury it on the moon. If it won’t fit (or you don’t want to put it there), send it out by Saturn and/or Jupiter. But make sure to put a beacon on the moon, too.
I was waiting for them to bust out the Scrabble tiles when they showed up on the planet. And play “What a Wonderful World”. ‘Tired television producers’ indeed.
Cavil abducts Hera. Unbeknownst to Cavil, but beknownst to us, Cottle infects her with his Cylon killer virus thingie. All Cylons in the universe die.
Galactica makes it to Earth on her last jump. The colonists move as much technology to the surface as they can. Eventually their descendants are believed to be gods, influencing various cultures, such as the Greeks.
Aside from the little 150K years later thing at the end (which I did not mind toooo much)…would have preferred if they had moved that shot of Galactica sailing into the sun to the very end of the show…would have had more impact IMHO
I forgot, Baltar is killed trying to save Hera. After Cavil escapes with her, Adama looks at Baltar’s lifeless body (YEA!) and says, “He wasn’t a bad guy.” Lee looks at Adama and replies, “He was an asshole.” 
Weekly World News 
I quite liked the ending, although it could have taken a leaf out of this webcomic’s book.
Death to Baltar by one thousand Arrows of Apollo!
I always figured those journalists were on Colonial one to begin with. After all, it’s the presidents space ship and it was on it’s way to a public event, the decommissioning of Galactica, before the war broke loose.
I thought it was the Sec. of Education’s ship – it was only designated Colonial 1 after she took office.
I never got the kerfuffle. At any given time, wouldn’t there be lots of journalists in the air (or road) traveling to and fro assignments. What’s the big deal?
The kerfluffle was, although it was well-established where the journalists came from (covering the Galactica decommissioning ceremony), fans became increasingly vocal in their disbelief that all of those journalists would remain journalists. Since the fleet was short on manpower for… everything, really.
It never really bothered me, but always seemed to inflame the same simmering nerdrage as evidenced by complaints of how unbelievable it was that they’d send their ships off into the sun in the finale rather than stripping them down to brass tacks to build, er, something. And so, I thought it deserved a home here, in this thread amidst its brethren kvetches.
I don’t know why, but I laughed till I cried when I read this. I guess I am just one sick dude.
My life BS tolerance is pretty damn low, so I guess can relate to the frustration. That is what happens when one thinks/philosophises too much, which Calvin did best.
The Dingo/Pod ending would be better if it ended with the “Circle of Life” song.
And now we finally the orgin of the word “Frack”!
I have this “thing” about hippies, so the VERY ending with “Fracking Hippies” made the whole series worth it for me