tricia-helfer.jpg
I wish my paranoid delusions of grandeur manifested as Tricia Helfer.

James Parker has a piece in this month’s Atlantic about how L. Ron Hubbard is the final Cylon.

No, seriously.

He also said this:

Battlestar Galactica is presenting all the symptoms of an extended-run high-concept TV series in its decadent phase. An oracular mood, an obsession with identity, a sensation of multiplying meanings—it’s the paranoid style in American TV writing.

Discuss.

Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.

5 replies on “BSG in <i>The Atlantic</i>”

  1. I like it! Mostly because it acknowledges all the things that make Galactica interesting (the naturalistic tone, the hot-button issues, the sex, the “ontological vexation”) while also suggesting that as the show soldiers on to its conclusion, it seems to be losing touch with the very things that set it apart in the first place. What was so gripping about the show when it began was that it managed to be really tough-minded, militaristic sci-fi–but unlike a lot of insular, genre-targeted sci-fi, it still felt emotionally and politically relevant. But now, the show seems more concerned with goofy mystical prophecies, bewildering Bob Dylan references, and fractal-like spirals of overly complex canon. (Seriously, can anyone keep all the Sixes straight at this point?)

    Don’t get me wrong; even now, the show’s one of the best pieces of sci-fi I’ve ever seen. But it has started to feel decadent, vertiginous, and a bit like a majestic fleet of red herrings. And its tone has steadily wobbled closer to that of lesser (and less confident and relevant) bits of sci-fi. After Season 4.0’s kickass finale, though, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for 4.5 to kick the show back into gear.

    All that said, goddamn: Does someone know where I can find a copy of “Starbuck: Lost in Castration”? That sounds AMAZING.

  3. From Lost in Castration:

    “I think a more re-imaginative title would have been F**cked by A Cylon. (Apologies to Touched by An Angel.)”

    “Men hand out cigars. Women ‘hand out’ babies. And thus the world, for thousands of years, has gone round.”

    That shit is amazing. Number Six, you just made my year. Thank you.

  5. I know, that sucks. At least all the Prisoner episodes are online for free now, though–going through a few of those seems like a fitting way to pay tribute this evening, if you ask me.

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