March 16th, 2009
Jimmy Akin doesn’t think BSG will hold up well:
I don’t think BSG will hold up that well: In the effort to make the characters realistic and flawed, it’s gone too far.
I think in future viewings, a couple of years from now when the immediacy of the first run has worn off, the characters will too often come across as cartoons of the gritty, profoundly flawed hero type (like Wolverine became in the comics). It won’t be possible to take them seriously because they are so over-the-top flawed and are constantly being put in situations designed to milk the maximum amount of emotion out of a situation, no matter how implausible the results.
I’m just trying to get a rise out of you–Akin’s post is typically thoughtful and well-considered. For my part, I have no idea how Battlestar Galactica will hold up, but for a different reason: The series is so tied to 9/11 and the West’s conflict with (radical) Islam that it’s not clear to me how this period will be remembered/regarded in the future and without knowing that, no way to know what lens BSG will be viewed through.
(Important note: I don’t think that this is a shortcoming of the series by any means. It’s clearly an attempt to seriously grapple with the issues of the day in a serious manner. If that limits its long-term playability, so be it. I’m not complaining.)
You should read Akin’s post, though. Very smart, very interesting writerly stuff.
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