Battlestar Galactica

Though things have been busy around here lately, I have found the time to slowly continue working our way through Battlestar Galactica. We are currently 2 or 3 episodes away from the end of season 4 (the first half), and knowing that things are ramping up to the end of the series, I have begun to think about some of the overarching themes of the show. Adding to this, I have been reading a lot about the way fans deconstruct and relate to various tv-shows, so I am deep in the analytical mindset.

Some of the things that I really like about BSG is the characters, the fact that they aren't all shiny, perfect and new. The characters are broken and hurting, complex and definetly not nice. They are real people and it is painful to watch them struggle with hard situations in which there are no right answers. This is particularly true for Laura Roslin, who I think is one of the most interesting characters. She was recently pointed out as a wonderful female role-model, demonstrating that you don't have to be butch or physical to be strong and effective.

Religion is obviously one of the big themes of the show. The writers have focussed mainly on the emergence of a powerful and seductive new monotheistic religion and the effect this has on the polytheistic people of the fleet. Interestingly, this feeds directly into the way that people have traditionally dehumanized followers of different faiths, as this new religion comes from the Cylons. The Cylon's humanity is repeatedly questioned throughout the course of the show, and as the new religion gains more ground among the human fleet, we see more human-like interaction between the humans and Cylons.

Finally, in the last episode we watched, Laura Roslin and Bill Adama finally admitted their love to one another, making the relationship most integral to the plot a romantic one. Interestingly for a modern show, these characters do not fit into the young and sexy mold. This, in my opinion, is awesome and I fully approve! (Please don't spoil me for what happens next. . )

So does anyone have any thoughts on any of these aspects of BSG? Other shows?

Book Review

Well, I've finished another book that I got over Christmas, Naomi Novik's Throne of Jade - Temeraire Book 2.  I read the first Temeraire book over the summer, and really enjoyed it.  The second book lived up to all the promise of the first, with an imaginatively written world.  Novik's China was particularly creative, with the integration of dragons into their society showing that she thought about the realities of daily life in detail.  This made for very satisfying reading.

I was very pleased with the development of the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence.  In the first book, Temeraire is treated as a young child and over the course of this book he clearly matures and forces Laurence to see him as a fully independent individual.  This made Temeraire a more interesting character rather than simply a curiousity.  

The plot rockets along, engaging and very exciting.  I found it hard to put the book down and really enjoyed the political intrigue.  The writing was clear and colourful and lots of fun to read.  All in all, I really enjoyed this book.