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ancarett made me think about Gaius Baltar (is his middle name Julius? Please tell me it is!).
I can only tolerate Baltar in small dozes. A few minutes of him in an episode is just the right amount. If I find out that an ep next season is Baltar-centric, I’d bring a book with me and peek at the TV for the glimpse of The Arms, but I won’t squee with joy. His nervous tics and selfish antics get on my nerves a bit. He is entirely predictable: you know exactly which way he’ll jump in any circumstance (unlike Farscape’s Rygel who was both funnier and much more unpredictable. He could sell the crew out, but he could also do something altruistic). I don’t know why I don’t find him more interesting, but I admit he rather bores me. Maybe it’s because he largely stares at half-dressed Tricia Helfer while the rest of the cast members do a good job of ignoring her. I guess he is just not “main character material” (I found Scorpius in Farscape a lot less annoying than Baltar and quite interesting, but the one Scorpy-centric ep, The Incubator, is on my least-rewatched list).
I enjoy watching Zarek, who is clearly Not A Good Guy, but he does seem to be a lot more sane and together than Baltar, a lot more Realpolitik. Maybe I like him more because Zarek might be Bad, but he is also Strong. Baltar is hugely weak, and that gets nothing but my contempt (though you can see remains of a rumpled charm when he plays cards with Starbuck early on, or when he makes a political speech).
However, that makes me wonder. Is the Six he talks to a manifestation? Cylon chip in his head? Astral projection? ;) What makes me wonder even more, will RM ever specify (it doesn’t seem important to the plot, does it?). I am also amused at the thought that all his advice, whether selfish or spur-of-the-moment turns out to be correct. The decision to ditch that man in the mini as a Cylon agent, motivated by his desire not to be found out? Guess what, the man IS a cylon. His advice to blow up the Olympic Carrier, motivated by his fear of info on it? That ship was Cylon occupied. Shelley Godfrey was a Cylon, the Cylon detector works, and the explosion in Ep 10 is where he said it should be. Is he just lucky? (unlikely), are the Cylons helping him (chip theory), or is he so brilliant, he can’t help himself (I think that’s the most likely one).
Also, the reason he gets away with weird mumbling and what not, and no one notices the shifty-eyed behavior is because he is that world’s Einstein and the people can’t see past the reputation. Any outsider (e.g. if a member of Farscape was dropped in the BSG world) could tell there was something really wrong with him right away, even if they knew he was supposed to be a genius, because they didn’t have an emotional, ingrained view of his greatness.
Re: Baltar’s potential crush on Starbuck. He is not used to rejection. He chases because she rejects. When she is uninterested in him in bed, it cements his interest humongously. If she went “Gaius, you were the best ever smoochy smooch” he’d have no interest in her. Six, after all, also appeared as an aloof cool woman and he was fixated on her.
ancarett made me think about Gaius Baltar (is his middle name Julius? Please tell me it is!).I can only tolerate Baltar in small dozes. A few minutes of him in an episode is just the right amount. If I find out that an ep next season is Baltar-centric, I’d bring a book with me and peek at the TV for the glimpse of The Arms, but I won’t squee with joy. His nervous tics and selfish antics get on my nerves a bit. He is entirely predictable: you know exactly which way he’ll jump in any circumstance (unlike Farscape’s Rygel who was both funnier and much more unpredictable. He could sell the crew out, but he could also do something altruistic). I don’t know why I don’t find him more interesting, but I admit he rather bores me. Maybe it’s because he largely stares at half-dressed Tricia Helfer while the rest of the cast members do a good job of ignoring her. I guess he is just not “main character material” (I found Scorpius in Farscape a lot less annoying than Baltar and quite interesting, but the one Scorpy-centric ep, The Incubator, is on my least-rewatched list).
I enjoy watching Zarek, who is clearly Not A Good Guy, but he does seem to be a lot more sane and together than Baltar, a lot more Realpolitik. Maybe I like him more because Zarek might be Bad, but he is also Strong. Baltar is hugely weak, and that gets nothing but my contempt (though you can see remains of a rumpled charm when he plays cards with Starbuck early on, or when he makes a political speech).
However, that makes me wonder. Is the Six he talks to a manifestation? Cylon chip in his head? Astral projection? ;) What makes me wonder even more, will RM ever specify (it doesn’t seem important to the plot, does it?). I am also amused at the thought that all his advice, whether selfish or spur-of-the-moment turns out to be correct. The decision to ditch that man in the mini as a Cylon agent, motivated by his desire not to be found out? Guess what, the man IS a cylon. His advice to blow up the Olympic Carrier, motivated by his fear of info on it? That ship was Cylon occupied. Shelley Godfrey was a Cylon, the Cylon detector works, and the explosion in Ep 10 is where he said it should be. Is he just lucky? (unlikely), are the Cylons helping him (chip theory), or is he so brilliant, he can’t help himself (I think that’s the most likely one).
Also, the reason he gets away with weird mumbling and what not, and no one notices the shifty-eyed behavior is because he is that world’s Einstein and the people can’t see past the reputation. Any outsider (e.g. if a member of Farscape was dropped in the BSG world) could tell there was something really wrong with him right away, even if they knew he was supposed to be a genius, because they didn’t have an emotional, ingrained view of his greatness.
Re: Baltar’s potential crush on Starbuck. He is not used to rejection. He chases because she rejects. When she is uninterested in him in bed, it cements his interest humongously. If she went “Gaius, you were the best ever smoochy smooch” he’d have no interest in her. Six, after all, also appeared as an aloof cool woman and he was fixated on her.
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Me too!
Date: 2005-07-14 03:42 am (UTC)Re: Me too!
Date: 2005-07-14 01:46 pm (UTC)And his random "I am thinking of it just this second" explanations mainly leave me shaking my head, thinking: are they really as dumb as you think they are? But apparently the answer is yes.
Re: Me too!
Date: 2005-07-15 09:15 pm (UTC)Yeah it always bugged me that they didn't just consult someone with knowledge on Tylium mines about the target. I mean, the Cylons have only been evolving their own tech for 50 some-odd years, so I'd imagine that their mining operations would still bear some semblance to Colonial.
The Baltar episode didn't bore me that much, to my surprise. Normally as soon as Baltar shows up on screen and that annoying music plays, I roll my eyes and start ticking away the seconds until the scene's over. I think it's because Baltar's scenes are such a drastic departure from the normal mood of the show that it interrupts the emotional narrative, but if he's got his own episode that isn't a problem.