Come on guys, best sci-fi program ever, and not a thread about the space battles?

[pagad]

Yeah. BSG does some pretty frakking awesome ones.

I still think the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage is still the best. Watching Galactica charge out, civilians in tow, roll on her side and give the Cylons hell while the civvies jump to safety.

Galactica battles, past and present! Go!

[Starstruck]

I liked the mission that Starbuck planned that had Lee sneaking up the middle and planting a bomb in the sweet spot Baltar somehow picked. Is that the same mission you're referring to?

Also, liked the battle where Galactica and Pegasus teamed up.

[pagad]

I liked the mission that Starbuck planned that had Lee sneaking up the middle and planting a bomb in the sweet spot Baltar somehow picked. Is that the same mission you're referring to?

Also, liked the battle where Galactica and Pegasus teamed up.

That's the Battle of the Tylium Asteroid. Or so Battlestar Wiki would title it. That's the Viper strike against the Cylon mining facility.

No, Ragnar Anchorage is waaaaaay back. It's the denoument of the miniseries, and still the best space battle, I reckon.

[Serenity]

Good science fiction doesn't need any space battles. They can be fun to watch now and then, but I'd rather have the limited time spent on the characters.

However, BSG usually strikes a good balance. For example, I liked that "Resurrection Ship, Part II" doesn't focus on the battle itself, but only shows snippets of it to concentrate on the meat of the story. It's not just about action for its own sake, like many other - and thus boring - shows. But sometimes, especially later in the series, they also went over the top with unnecessary battle/sfx porn. The one in "He That Believeth In Me" for example is totally unnecessary and merely exists to resolve a cliffhanger, no matter how well it may be executed. It's too independent from the rest of the episode. Unfortunately, there is a trend of "bigger and more", which isn't good for the show.

[Adobe]

Can't get much better than Exodus Part II.

Something about sacrificing a Battlestar always makes me... um... I've got something in my eye.... excuse me a second... /sob

But seriously though, I'm almost afraid to think of what Adama would be capable if he had an entire fleet of Battlestars under his command.

[Neakal]

The battle in Scattered is still one of my favourites. Within the context as well as feel of the episode, I really really felt they were in a bad situation (separated from Fleet, Adama shot etc...) and the sense of emergency and the need to hold the Cylons back just a bit longer was very apparent in that episode.

I mean, in Scattered and Valley of Darkness I was going like "Oh god(s) not ANOTHER crisis. The old man won't hold for longer! Somebody do something!"

Galactica's decent in Exodus and Pegasus' destruction are indeed great battles and I was Wow when I first saw it. In retrospect however I couldn't help feeling that Pegasus getting rammed was something of a tactical and practical cock up. At least it gives me an excuse to mock Lee for that. "Oh a Basestar. Lets ram a Battlestar to it!" :)

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

Like Serenity, I'm not much into the whole "space battle" thing. If it has strategy behind it -- rather than just line-em-up-and-shoot-em-down BS -- then I'm more into the space battle than anything else.

Frankly, having watched Babylon 5 and the pains they've gone to portraying actual space battles and strategies (as realistically as they possibly can in television, anyway), I find the battles in BSG to be rather... well... lackluster and uninspired.

They're, uhm, nice... but certainly not the reason why I watch the show at all.

[pagad]

Good science fiction doesn't need any space battles. They can be fun to watch now and then, but I'd rather have the limited time spent on the characters.

However, BSG usually strikes a good balance. For example, I liked that "Resurrection Ship, Part II" doesn't focus on the battle itself, but only shows snippets of it to concentrate on the meat of the story. It's not just about action for its own sake, like many other - and thus boring - shows. But sometimes, especially later in the series, they also went over the top with unnecessary battle/sfx porn. The one in "He That Believeth In Me" for example is totally unnecessary and merely exists to resolve a cliffhanger, no matter how well it may be executed. It's too independent from the rest of the episode. Unfortunately, there is a trend of "bigger and more", which isn't good for the show.

This is not the point! The point is about having some lovely sfx-rendered space fighting once in a while! :p

Seriously, though, I do get your point. Character drama and storyline is the meat and potatoes of BSG.

At the same time, however, the lovely Galactica is an aircraft carrier in space. She is a warship. This is still the core of the series, as most of the action happens on Galactica.

Once in a while, even with a show as deep and complex as BSG, it is neccessary to turn off the brain and enjoy the space-candy. Galactica desperately holding off the Cylon hordes is better than any massive-scale Star Wars lightshow. BSG has, in my opinion, the most finely crafted sci-fi space battles of any TV series or even movie. And Pegasus fighting off three basestars by herself in The Captain's Hand is one of my favourite BSG moments, ever. Ship's simply badass. Maybe Mercury class battlestars should come with a notice in the CIC - "Is Not Glorified Battering Ram. Use Guns Responsibly"

So, ahem. Basically, the work of Gary Hutzel et al. needs as much love as the scriptwriters. And Joe, I must disagree with you - it is the battle sequences that drew me to BSG. Despite everything else, they're still my favourite element of the show.

[Zar]

Once in a while, even with a show as deep and complex as BSG, it is neccessary to turn off the brain and enjoy the space-candy. Galactica desperately holding off the Cylon hordes is better than any massive-scale Star Wars lightshow. BSG has, in my opinion, the most finely crafted sci-fi space battles of any TV series or even movie. And Pegasus fighting off three basestars by herself in The Captain's Hand is one of my favourite BSG moments, ever. Ship's simply badass. Maybe Mercury class battlestars should come with a notice in the CIC - "Is Not Glorified Battering Ram. Use Guns Responsibly"

I'm not an expert, but I totally agree with you. Despite that I'm a big fan of Star Wars and I never watched Babylon 5, I thing BSG battles are superb and definitely better than anything else I have already seen, specially because of strategies and "realism". Obviously that we can't get perfect battles all the time and sometimes they are unnecessary, but they usually make my eyes pop out :D

IMO, the rescue party of Exodus II was amazingly well crafted, both visually and strategically as was the Battle of the Tylium Asteroid and Ragnar battle. The scene in which Galactica jumps into New Caprica atmosphere to launch the vipers was a big surprise and one of the most exciting battle scenes of the entire series. Not to mention the CGI effect of the fire around Galactica being sucked by the vacuum left by the FTL jump.

In retrospect however I couldn't help feeling that Pegasus getting rammed was something of a tactical and practical cock up. At least it gives me an excuse to mock Lee for that. "Oh a Basestar. Lets ram a Battlestar to it!" :)

I think that was a pretty good tactic. Desperate, but the only way to go. Lee's decision to ram Pegasus over the cylon base ships was the only way to protect the already defenseless Galactica and buy some time so they could jump away. I personally think that Pegasus could handle the base ships for a while in regular way, but without putting Pegasus between the base ships and Galactica, on a collision rout, it could compromise Galactica safety.

Pegasus was almost without crew to handle a major battle and they were prepared to abandon ship, so sacrificing Pegasus over Galactica was the right thing to do, strategically and plot wise.

Additionally, for the first time I actually thought that Galactica could not resist the cylon attack and I love it, because sometimes I ask myself how they can survive after so many hits.

One thing I love too see when Galactica is on battle is the defense batteries. The absence of a frakking unrealistic Star Wars style deflective shield is awesome, but is also increases the feeling that all they can do is hold on for a while, before they can jump to somewhere without cylons.

[pagad]

I think that was a pretty good tactic. Desperate, but the only way to go. Lee's decision to ram Pegasus over the cylon base ships was the only way to protect the already defenseless Galactica and buy some time so they could jump away. I personally think that Pegasus could handle the base ships for a while in regular way, but without putting Pegasus between the base ships and Galactica, on a collision rout, it could compromise Galactica safety.

Pegasus was almost without crew to handle a major battle and they were prepared to abandon ship, so sacrificing Pegasus over Galactica was the right thing to do, strategically and plot wise.

*armchair strategist time*

Were I Lee Adama, from a strategic point of view, I would have brought my planes with me, for a start. We all know what Pegasus can do with her squadrons. The civilians would have been fine with an emergency jump co-ordinate if neccessary. The Cylons were kind of pre-occupied.

Pegasus + Vipers could well have held off the four basestars attacking Galactica while Galactica bugged out. That's pretty basic. The Admiral didn't want another Garner, so why did he promote Lee...?

Consider:

The Fleet has lost its most potent force. Battlestars are not exactly replaceable.

More importantly:

The Fleet has lost Viper and Raptor production capabilities. They're frakked in that regard. Unless during the one year of peace they transferred some of those capabilities to other vessels. That would have been the sensible thing to do, but, y'know, so would promoting someone other than an angst-ridden Viper pilot to command the more powerful of either battlestar.

Yeah, good battle, though. Even if I got a bit weepy at the end. Damn you, fat Lee.

[Zar]

I watched the battle again yesterday and now I'm more inclined to agree with you. When Pegasus arrived, the 4 cylon base ships headed into it's direction, leaving Galactica. So Lee could make some different maneuvers to avoid collision and jump after Galactica.

I don't know why, but I thought he had used the Pegasus to create a wall between the base ships and Galactica, but I was mistaken about the position of the ships.

[crood]

To be honest, space battles and CGI don't really come to my mind when I think about the show. I think about the drama and the mysteries.

[pagad]

I watched the battle again yesterday and now I'm more inclined to agree with you. When Pegasus arrived, the 4 cylon base ships headed into it's direction, leaving Galactica. So Lee could make some different maneuvers to avoid collision and jump after Galactica.

I don't know why, but I thought he had used the Pegasus to create a wall between the base ships and Galactica, but I was mistaken about the position of the ships.

I think what bugs me most is the degree to which the battle was a device on the part of RDM et al. to remove Pegasus from the fleet. The battle was created around the desire to destroy Pegasus for the sake of the series and budgetary reasons. While some might argue that it was necessary in the regard, I felt that so many people saw it coming that it was a bit predictable. As soon as the Admiral says "No, Lee, stay here with the civvies" it was thoroughly predictable what would happen next - set in stone, almost. I think there would have been a certain romanticism in Pegasus and Galactica trekking to find Earth together as sister ships, and while Pegasus was fleshed out a bit more in Razor, it felt kind of superfluous knowing Pegasus was already doomed. What's the point in making a big thing of Lee taking command, if we know what he's going to do with it?

[Zar]

I think what bugs me most is the degree to which the battle was a device on the part of RDM et al. to remove Pegasus from the fleet.

While I agree it was device to remove Pegasus, it doesn't bother me. What really bugs me are recurring CGI scenes, like the top view of Galactica with two small ships passing by or the combat landing with all vipers in the same position. Does someone knows how much cost a second of BSG CGI scenes compared to studio scenes?

To be honest, space battles and CGI don't really come to my mind when I think about the show. I think about the drama and the mysteries.

I don't watch the show because of CGI and battles, but I like them a lot and like someone said before, they are pretty well balanced with the drama.

[Adobe]

I think what we all need to agree on here is that Fat Lee always made bad decisions, and this was really no different. Fat-fingered eating style, fat-fingered relationship with his parent, fat-fingered relationship with his wife, fat-fingered battle tactics, etc, ad nauseam.

Really, really ad nauseam.

[UnRep]

Lee really does get some stick for losing Pegasus doesn't he.:lol:

[Seanathin]

Pound for pound when your outside with the ships BSG is probably 3rd in sweet space battle behind B5 and DS9. What makes them stand out is what is not shown. They do so much with radio chatter, and people in CIC, that the battle feels more personal and real, the damage and the loss is more palpable.
But really nothing beats the fights near the end of Babylon 5's 4th season, I can only imagen what they would have looked like redone with modern CGI.

[pagad]

Looking back I have to say the opening battle of He That Believeth In Me is actually one of the best. It's brilliant! The way they handle the battle in the CIC, Tyrol yelling himself hoarse at "these frakking nuggets", the fields of flak Galactica is throwing up, the Raptors launching missiles at the basestars, the missiles streaking off the basestars and going all over the place. It's just damn good space warfare, and it's actually one of the strongest influences on the really big battle I wrote into my fan fiction.

The only problem I have with it is one of the Raiders (the one that crashes into Pyxis) has a really-cannot-miss shot at a Viper and just flys straight behind it, missing. It's just a bit "buh?"

But that moment, the one with the Raider scanning Anders, that's one BSG moment that I can't forget. The terrified/amazed look on Anders face and the way the Raider seems to sense something different about this particular Viper is just superb.

[Jason525]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z1Id9rIaWnY

[Asiriya]

The battles are what initailly drew me to the programme, and it was as I watched the show that I discovered it was deeper than what was shown, and thus my love grew.
I find it annoying that there are so few fight scenes, and that those that there are are barely shown, ala Resurrection Ship. I know some people loved that episode, but I really just want to see the battle unfold. He that Believeth did that in a way, I hope in Caprica they can take it further as the Cylons launch attacks or vice versa, though I imagine drama will intrude :/

[pagad]

The battles are what initailly drew me to the programme, and it was as I watched the show that I discovered it was deeper than what was shown, and thus my love grew.
I find it annoying that there are so few fight scenes, and that those that there are are barely shown, ala Resurrection Ship. I know some people loved that episode, but I really just want to see the battle unfold. He that Believeth did that in a way, I hope in Caprica they can take it further as the Cylons launch attacks or vice versa, though I imagine drama will intrude :/

Nice to see a similarly-minded person regarding this. :) I like the way the Res. Ship battle was presented - but there was no build up like there was in, say, The Hand Of God, no physical run-up to the attack. Suddenly you see Galactica's batteries firing and Pegasus in the distance and that's pretty much it.

Incidently, the first piece of BSG I saw was when the miniseries was on Sky. I was idly channel popping and saw the incident where two Raiders blew up Galactica's helpless Mk.VII Viper squadron, and it was easily the coolest thing I'd ever seen on television. Without that I doubt I'd have gotten into it.