Battlestar Galactica - Still Relevant?

A lot of people are asking whether Battlestar Galactica, which is now finishing out its fourth and final season, is still relevant now that Barack Obama has taken the helm of the country. I have been pondering the same question. Certainly, the show's gritty sense of desperation and hopelessness seems out of tune with the feel of the new presidency. In his first week in office, President Obama waived legislation which formerly prohibited NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) which participate and/or support abortion from offering support in foreign countries. He set a date for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison, and also ordered that all of the CIA's "black sites" be closed as well. And finally, he re-signed the Geneva Convention, and ordered that all military personnel will follow the official handbook, which is to say, NO MORE TORTURE. Under these welcome, whole-hearted efforts to improve the state of our country, do we really need Battlestar Galactica to hold up a brutal mirror to our face? Science fiction blog IO9 has posted a list of three reasons why it isn't relevant, and three reasons why it is. I think it is too early to say whether Battlestar Galactica will, as IO9 puts it, "become The Day After of our time, serious and intense when it was released but now naive and cheesy". For one thing, the show has yet to fully explore the "this has all happened before, and will happen again" theme. The ragtag fleet searched for Earth for so long, as the shining promised land, but when they finally found it... it wasn't. Let's hope that isn't what turns out to be most relevant about Battlestar Galactica, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

Dollhouse, What?

I saw my first television ad for "Dollhouse" last night, Joss Whedon's new show starring Buffy alum Eliza Dushku. It looked…. I don't know… okay? The premise of the show is that Eliza Dushku is one of a team of "Dolls" who can become any person that their "Handlers" want them to be. When it is time for a new role, the Handlers completely wipe out her personality and skills and basically swap out her brain for a new one. This is strangely reminiscent of the show "The Pretender." (This week he's a fireman! Next week he's the president of an oil company!) I liked "The Pretender," but I was a little baffled when it just… kept… going. It was great, but maybe not "four seasons" great. Of course, the main difference between "Dollhouse" and "The Pretender" is that Eliza Dushku isn't supposed to realize what is happening. But she starts to become self-aware, thus leading to the primary conflict in the show. I'm not really sure where this show is supposed to go. Then again, Joss Whedon's shows are never about the premise and the plot, are they? It's all about the way the characters interact with one another, tossing out snappy dialogue along the way. I well remember reading about this new Joss Whedon show that was "cowboys in space" and thinking, No way would I ever watch that. So, lesson learned - the concept often sounds terrible on the face of it. It's all about the execution. I'm willing to give "Dollhouse" the benefit of the doubt. "Dollhouse" premieres on February 13th on Fox.

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