#Caprica fans remember

[spockvarietyhour]

Paula Malcomson in Fringe's "Stoaway"

[sgiandubh]

Lights, camera, shit show

I was just cleaning my OL folders (all those Chinese paintings and scrolls do take a horrendous amount of space, heh) and I just stumbled upon something I completely forgot to share and discuss with you. I found this particular article during my solitaire lurking months and I remember being befuddled by it for a long time, then thought I've lost it for good.

I don't remember ever seeing it shared or discussed in here, either and if, by any slim chance, I am wrong, kindly forgive me. That professional website is now closed, but its content is still available to browse:

Anyway, there goes: https://www.studiodaily.com/2018/06/outlander-dp-stephen-mcnutt-asc-csc-saucy-scottish-show/

We discussed Terry Dresbach and her inebriated rants, Vanessa Woman's devastating impact on set as Intimacy Coordinator, RDM's jealousy and many other aspects of life on the OL set. Rumors likely to have originated there peppered our shipping trail like flickering lights in a sea of darkness. So yes, we dissected these things to death. But not Stephen McNutt's interview to Studio Daily, on June 22, 2018 - please keep in mind the date, it is essential!

Stephen McNutt is a well-established professional and a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), as he hails from British Columbia. He also has a consistent track record of previous work with RDM, both on Battlestar Galactica and Caprica (its prequel). Therefore, one has to immediately suppose he was handpicked and brought on set by the same RDM, of course: set a very low bar on your expectations, I am warning you.

By the grace of RDM, he was one of the main Directors of Photography for OL during Seasons Two and Three. IMDb is not the best source for corroborating things, because they credit him with 13 episodes in Season Two (including La Dame Blanche- he is the Blue Room guy!), but only one for Season Three (First Wife), which is completely wrong. I even had to check some opening credits on Netflix (at reduced speed, ugh), because he speaks at length of A. Malcolm, something that would have made little sense otherwise. He was there, of course: and his is a first-hand account, heavily loaded with both innuendo and TPTB bullshit, up to the point of complete incoherence.

We focus on the three final questions:

This is a study in bullshitology, right here. The question asked is very clear and very technical: how did you approach those famous love scenes?

The answer is a mumble jumble of retcon, deflections, slips and overall impossible scramble for a logical explanation. I am doing a line by line, because this is almost too good to be true:

'(...) But as far as Cat and Sammy making love (...)' : um, hello and excuse me, I thought the question was about Jamie and Claire?!? And then we are delusional and can't fucking separate, when your own henchman, the Director of Photography no less, seems to be totally unable to do so, too? Hello? Also: 'Sammy'? 'Sammy'? What. The. Total. Fuck, and I LOLed then and I am still LOLing now. Terms of endearment overheard on set - but no, here comes the 'friendship' shite, hitting the narrative fan with Mach 5 speed. Objective? Explaining in a plausible way the hugging and 'keeping warm'. And I am sorry, but this begs the question: what the hell did this man see on that set? And how many people did see the same, hence the need to release such a gratuitous lie, for pure retconning purposes?

'They are not an item at all - I think she just got married'. Oh, fuck my life, man: you are such a terrible, terrible liar! Remember, that interview was taken in June 2018: after the OZ EFH and just about when C. was gleefully answering 'oh, God forbid!' every time she was prompted by press about her marriage plans. How can somebody with a pretty high trophic level and personal rapport to both S and C be totally unaware about C's marital status at the time? How can a long time acquaintance and coworker of RDM say no both to a friend and to a current boss (same person, the worst case scenario) asking for a favor, in that particular context? It also goes to prove that the shit show plot mainlines never originated with S and C and that the Remarkable Week-end was already planned for quite some time. By TPTB. With the full knowledge of RDM.

Let's suppose Mr. McNutt was so deeply engrossed in his work as not to notice all the people who must have congratulated C on set. I mean, I know who our (spinster) colleague from Accounting is currently banging and that guy is (mercifully) not among our staff (I totally wish them well, btw). Maybe because nobody congratulated C on that fakegagement? Also, you know them well enough to confidently say 'they are not an item', but don't know she was not married at the time and state an enormity with the same confidence? What in the name of the hoo-ha did I just read, here?

'I was always in such amazement of that.' In amazement of exactly what, Mr. McNutt? Surely not a woman holding hands or keeping warm with her gay co-star on set, huh? I mean, I need the best American English dictionary, here:

Again: what the heck did this man see? What comments did he hear? Surely, 'amazement' is a very precise choice of wording, with particularly enlightening synonyms:

Hence the need to end the demonstration with a deflection: 'They would just have fun.' You know, there is no such thing as a virgin whore, Mr. McNutt: you either are in such astonishment or you think your pals, good old S and C, such a funny girl, were having, well... 'fun', what else? You can't logically have both in the same paragraph!

And there we go: 'a very collegial atmosphere on set'. The answer is pure fool's gold, if you ask me: 'Nobody goes to sit in a trailer or says they aren’t showing up that day. '

And I laughed. And I laughed. And I laughed. I really don't know what this man is talking about. I never heard McTavish telling S to get out of that trailer ('nephew'). I never read the 'two very loved-up birdies' in a trailer a-rockin' Anons. I never watched that 2015 Anglophile SDCC interview, when S mentioned listening in their shared trailer to Erasure's Oh, l'Amour and C immediately reacted ('oh, did you just admit to that?'). But unlike me, McNutt must have been legally bound by a big cojones Non-Disclosure Agreement and morally bound by loyalty towards RDM, his friend, boss and benefactor.

This. All of the above. This is the real reason for all the bullshit you've just read: explaining a real, shocking love story by socially progressive regulations, allowing the cast to be 'much more happy'. I would laugh some more, if this was not sinister and cruel, in fact.

It is Love. A deep, strong one. But the seeds of the adverse narrative were planted early and deep, forcing even decent people like this guy to lie and smear himself a bit in the process. What we see and hear now are but better worded and more refined consequences of that fateful January 2016 morning in LA. And since I am allowed the dubious luxury only a healthy distance in time allows, let me remind you a simple, fun fact about this interview who stated they were never an item:

About ten months after McNutt uttered these words, the fandom was hit by the Covfefe Pics.

I rest my case.

[jeanie-beanie-98]

Felix Gaeta is autism coded ( at least to me)

Now I understand a lot of what I’m about to say they seem like me projecting (it probably is) but there’s just so much to this character that seems INCREDIBLY autistic (I say this as a person with autism). Now keep in mind that not every person with autism has the same experiences, and that we’re all on a spectrum. Therefore, there are no symptoms that are one size fits all. With that in mind, there are so many moments in the show that signify ( at least to me) that he’s at least neurodivergent.

Needing a routine or structure

For many autistic adults, there is a strong need for a structure or a routine in order to get through the day. It’s incredibly helpful when we have our thoughts, organized and set up in a way that makes life easier to manage. For example, during my last semester, I realized that I have sensory issues when it comes to touching charcoal. For my class, I needed to create a charcoal portrait. Therefore, I had to wear gloves the majority of the time in order to make it easier for me to finish. As such, for those days, I had to plan to have those gloves in my backpack.

In the second season, episode eight, Final Cut, ( when interviewed by Deanna) Felix talks about training his whole life so that he can be assigned to working on Galactica. Now this is just a fan theory, but what if he wanted this due to the fact that he wanted more structure? A place where he not only has a comfortable routine, but a place where he could make a difference?

Trusting the wrong people, but having good intentions

So one thing that I’ve experienced as an autistic adult is that there are many times where I have misread a person or a situation and thought that said person or situation was good. Autism affects communication, after all.

One thing that I’ve noticed about many people both in the show and in the fandom is that many people get rather annoyed that Felix had trusted a lot of shady people, for example :

Gaius ( as much as I love him and ship him with Felix)

Sweet Eight

Tom Zarek

I’ve seen the common complaint that people think he’s stupid. But to me, this signifies that maybe he doesn’t understand social cues completely. For example, there in the episode, Unfinished Business, there is a scene where President Roslyn and Admiral Adama were both listening to Felix excitedly info dump about the infrastructural plans that would be implemented on New Caprica.

Once he left, Roslyn states that, “ I’d never thought he’d leave,”

to which Admiral Adama replied,

“ he’s a good kid.”

Never in my life could I relate more to a character! There were so many times where I thought people liked me, or listening to me because they cared, only to find out from others that those people made similar comments. And that’s not all. There were many times where I thought that I was doing the right thing by trusting these people. I remember distinctly going to therapy in order to understand social cues. I don’t always pick up on things like facial expressions, sarcasm, or different tones in voice. So when I saw that scene, everything clicked to me that maybe just maybe, Felix Gaeta was autistic. Which leads me to my next point: his strong convictions and morality.

Doing what he thought was right

So an intriguing point that I’d like to bring up is that with a lot of autistic people (myself included) have a strong sense of justice, as well as a strong sense of morals. So oftentimes, if there is someone who we think is someone doing something wrong, we call them out on it ( even if it’s not socially acceptable).

All throughout the first three seasons of the show, it’s been established that the Cylons are the enemy of humanity. Sure, there are plenty of shades of gray within the show, but for a long time, both sides were fighting each other.

Now there are plenty of nuanced character characters, such as Gina, but Felix never got to truly know all of them. So, from his perspective, he just sees innocent human civilians and soldiers getting killed by Cylons left and right. And with the betrayal from Sweet Eight, it was no wonder that he developed a hatred for the Cylons.

Imagine trusting someone with your life, only to find out that they had been using you the entire time to kill off other people. Imagine caring about someone, only to be used by them over and over again. It was even a point that multiple characters throughout the series had brought up- his naivety.

This happens to autistic adults a lot! This has happened to me a lot!

Hell, this man was kidnapped by his own peers, accused of collaborating with the enemy ( with two jurors being Cylons) , and nearly murdered for even looking like an enemy.

Eventually , his leg is shot off by a cylon!

And after the whole thing with finding out that earth was a nuclear wasteland? And losing Dee?!

To see the leaders that he looked up to *suddenly* side with the beings who he knew killed his people was probably the final straw. And I don’t think that he liked rebelling against Admiral Adama either. He cried when holding the pins in Adams’s office. He tried to give him a fair trial by bringing Romo Lampkin in. It was like watching an angry son trying to understand his parents.

Now, both Loius and Gaius brought up Felix’s moral center quite a bit! In webisodes, Louis mentioned how that’s what he admired about Felix. And during the mutiny, Gaius tells Felix that he’s an honorable man who wants to do the right thing.

I genuinely believe that if there was an episode where if he was formally diagnosed, and he actually received help, he wouldn’t have spiraled the way that he did. And maybe just maybe, things could’ve turned out differently for him.

And while many of his actions were very screwed up, I can’t help but feel for him. While yes, Felix has his flaws, his flaws are essentially what humanize him for me. His flaws and his mannerisms show his humanity, but to me, they show that Felix is a very well written, complex autistic coded character.

And I think for me, that’s why he’s so relatable.

[silviakundera]

Joy of Life Episode 28 liveblogging

It's my first time watching, so don't tell me secrets.

So now we know what Commander Yan's deal is, the whole 'you saved me as a child, now I'm indebted to you for life' trope

Incredibly boring of you Commander Yan tbh. DO BETTER.

That's a nice golden finger for the wicked witch of southern qing, though.

Sister RuoRuo will step to anybody

Commander Yan bores me now. Just get on w your dick measuring and leave so Fan Xian can spar with some one less basic

otoh his step mom breathes and I'm 😍

The key saved him. Indestructible like the case!

I'm with uncle wu. You about gave me an ulcer and you didn't put the fake key back

WHATS IN THE BOXXXXXX

If it's empty i stg

is it another box?

what is it ????????????????????????????

Emperor is as bored of these guys as me

Password??? OMG WHATS IN THE BOX

she left what... guns?! a rocket launcher?

Read us the letter to uncle.

OMFG this is edging. I hate edging. very annoying 2 me in life as well as fiction

Chen Pingping gotta know everyone's buisness. ah map guy just tell him, it's ok

mom is trolling uncle from the grave

UNCLE IS SMILING 😃😃😃😃😃😃

awww the relationship between uncle wu & mom has me feeling something

He's been the trustest, weirdest friend for these 2 outsiders

HE MISSES HER 😭😭😭

those sounds definitely are gun like

letter for anonymous. OMG NO FOR HER SON. that's wild.

there's no time traveling???? ???? ????

HUH. I'm so confused. We opened the forbidden door? they're ... in stasis? cryogenic pod? I'm super confused.

So... all of this is real (not a stasis VR world) but in the future. People like her went in stasis and woke up to rejoin the remnants of human society who survived the last ice age? So who else in the cast remembers a prior life? 🤔

He's a strange experiment of memory digitization? like Caprica? So he has a digital memory of someone dead from another age? So she gave birth to a son.. and implanted him with the digital consciousness of some guy from the prior age? sure, who doesn't like Frankenstein, it's a classic

Is Uncle Wu actually a robot? I mean why not, since apparently the genre has flipped to sci-fi

[friendshiptothemax]

In an earlier post I said I ship Sam, Kara, Helo, Athena, Chief, and Boomer in nearly any combination

and that is genuinely true, here are my thoughts on every ship (I think, let me know if I missed one), ranked. Top four are hardcore faves, bottom two are “ehhhhhhhh not my thing,” middle chunk is varying levels of “the show did not intend for me to ask for this and yet here I am”

Starbuck/Sam — yes, the otp, the best. I love this ship and if you do too, I don’t need to explain it. Don’t @ me, Lee fans.

Starbuck/Helo — I ship them as both best friends and college fuck buddies. They had sex in a cave in the only BSG comic I consider canon. He’s one of the few people she can let her guard down around, and it’s wonderful and perfect.

Helo/Athena — I love this ship. It is so sweet and so pure and they are the grandparents of every living being on Earth so you will show some respect. The whole world is against them but they don’t care because they have each other.

Chief/Boomer — Chief’s one true love, Boomer’s tie to her fake human past. This ship starts as happy as it’s ever going to get and it’s all downhill from there and I love every moment. If BSG were on today, would there be a lot of thinkpieces about how it being problematic (because in a lifetime neither of them remembers he was ~*~spiritually~*~ her father)? Probably! Do I care? No 

—

Chief/Sam — it goes without saying that if Chief and Sam were on that Final Five ship for like 2,000 years, they have fucked. I’m sorry, they just have, I don’t make the rules. Also, like, Sam and Galen are the two nicest Final Fivers, I just like the idea that they have his very close bond that transcends definition. I wish we could have seen more of the Final Fivers in their original lives and how they related to each other. Also, New Caprica Resistance era? Emotions were high, Sam/Chief fic from that period is also yes good.

Helo/Boomer — he had a crush on her, she knew it, I think it’s interesting to explore worlds where things went differently!

Chief/Helo — the dynamic between Chief and Helo is so goooooooddddd! Initially they are super pissed at each other but then they develop an understanding I love it so much. Honestly this show could have used more Helo and Chief moments in general, and I love any fan fic that wants to dig into their whole thing.

Athena/Sam — they played Sam being drawn to Cylons in the period between him being activated and being Hybrid-ed, there’s something interesting to me about him being drawn to Athena in that way.

Starbuck/Boomer — they were friends before the attacks, Starbuck fucks around, it could have happened!

Helo/Sam — my two sweet princes! They’re too much a similar archetype for this to be, like, my main thing (I tend to go for -- boss bitch and her nice boyfriend, but in this case it’s just two nice boyfriends), but they’re my two favorite characters so I still dig it

Athena/Boomer — yes good. So much potential in this, so many different ways it could go depending on when it happens. I am pro-clone-fucking and I will not apologize

Starbuck/Athena — sure, she’s her best friend’s wife, but they could have some chemistry, why not, you could convince me.

Boomer/Sam — you’d have to do a fair amount of work to convince me about this one? Maybe like on Caprica before she totally buys into being a Cylon? I guess that has some interesting thematic parallels to his whole deal. But it just all feels like a lot of work to get to, but if someone gave it to me, I’d read and enjoy

—

Starbuck/Chief — I am thoroughly neutral on their dynamic. I could be wrong but I can’t think of any truly interesting moment between them.

Chief/Athena — this to me is kind of a betrayal of Athena’s whole arc because I feel in a way Chief represents a choice Boomer made that Athena broke with. Athena cheat on Helo with someone, sure! Athena cheat on Helo with Chief, no thank you.

[nicoleanell]

HEY WHILE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BSG AGAIN!

Do... do people who are binging Battlestar now know about the webisodes?

It’s very much a relic of An Era in television, but they are CANON and tie pretty hugely into the show. They were released like in 10 parts, about 2-3 minutes each, usually right before the show came back from a hiatus. They’re imperfect but IMO should be part of any viewing. And they’re on Youtube!

The Resistance: This is set between 2x20 and 3x01 on New Caprica, midway through the occupation. Centers on two minor characters, Duck and Jammer, who have a brief, prominent role in S3 and gives more background to them and the choices they make.

The Face of the Enemy: Came out before the final half-season but technically set between 4x11 and 4x12. These are Gaeta-centric and lead into his S4 arc. Notable for, uh, making his bisexuality and relationship with Lt. Hoshi canon, which was sadly an afterthought.

(I should also mention there was a set of Razor Flashbacks webisodes too (the best I can find is that Dailymotion link). They have something to do with Young Adama, but I’ll be honest, I remember these the least because I was already not a big fan of “Razor”. I think they were mostly repurposed from scenes that were cut and then expanded on them a little.)

[glowyjellyfish]

I just started rewatching Battlestar Galactica. Well, when i say just started, I mean i started two nights ago and I just finished season 1, so.

Firstly, at the beginning everyone is a tiny innocent baby and a sweet summer child (yes, even after their civilization gets destroyed. Sweet summer children all.), except Starbuck who is more of a tiny magnificent chaotic asshole.

Secondly, Baltar is one of my favorites and I think he’s among the best characters I have ever seen. His character development is phenomenal; I’d say he’s a stunning example of a redemption arc, but I’m not sure it totally counts when he was never really a villain at all. Arrogant, self-serving, and dickish, yes, but never deliberately evil. I love watching him break down and get built back up again, it’s a highly entertaining and often poignant roller coaster. And of course, he’s also just a delight to watch. I wish something like this had come up on the show, but I am convinced that people in the fleet--especially on Galactica and Colonial One--are well aware that he talks to himself and frequently disassociates, and chalk it up to trauma from being on Caprica during the attack. Sometimes I like to think that he 100% has that trauma and some degree of PTSD and Head Six took advantage of that state to set herself up in his head, but I’m not sure whether to make that headcanon or if it’s just a nice theory.

Thirdly, Gaeta is my favorite and I love him to pieces. The first time I watched when it first aired waaaay back in the day, I was rooting so hard for him to be a cylon, and I’m still slightly bummed that he wasn’t. I can’t complain about what he got as a consolation prize, going out with a bang and loads of juicy character development, with the added bonus that Anders also got some great character development. (Um, I should probably explain real quick that I read somewhere back in the day that when the writers were choosing the Final Five, it was kind of a toss-up between Anders and Gaeta, and they chose Anders. I felt validated that he was at least at the top of the list, and since I also loved cylon!Anders it proved to be a pretty good second choice for me. Believe me though, I wrote so many fanfics about how Gaeta might still be a cylon somehow, most of them super bad.) His whole development arc is less of a roller coaster and more of a long slow painful train wreck, and it’s gonna hurt so much but ugh I love it. Right now, at the end of season one, he is still such a sweet summer child, like my god he still has a crush on Baltar and hasn’t been disillusioned yet! And turns out I still firmly ship it. Gaeta’s got such a crush, poor boy, and it was so sweet and destroyed my little shipper heart at the end of Six Degrees of Separation when after a whole episode of everyone turning on Baltar and telling him they never trusted him and him freaking out, Gaeta came along and exonerated Baltar and told him he always believed in him. Awwww New Caprica’s gonna kill me, I swear. 

Chief and Tigh are also up there in terms of my favorites, and there’s always gonna be something wonderful about a rewatch and all those scenes where they’re talking about people being Cylons and suspecting people of being Cylons and hey guess what you two. Guess what.

On this rewatch, I really enjoyed seeing Lee acting as the compromise between the military and politics. I vaguely recall that that’s a major part of his character going forward, basically everything that isn’t Starbuck, father issues, or Love Quadrangle Of Doom, and am curious how I’m gonna see it now. Originally, I found him good for a hero character and reasonably interesting, and I seem to recall liking such plots as him quitting the military way more than other viewers, but he’s never been one of my favorites.

...I also feel obliged to point out that in these trying times it is very hard not to 100% agree with Tom Zarek. If he was a little less murdery, man. Of course, I should also point out that unlike some other viewers--no, I don’t remember specifics, I probably read opinions on a forum 15 years ago--I felt like the season 4 mutiny was bringing up some extremely valid points that needed to be addressed (even if Zarek was mostly using them as an excuse to coast to power and Gaeta was airing his grievances in the worst possible way when what he probably actually really needed was a lot of intense therapy) so perhaps this is nothing new. 

I’m also excited and scared for the President Baltar plot coming later, but in these times I am fairly certain my feelings will be “you guys are big babies. Oh boo hoo, your legally elected president is genuinely intelligent and charismatic and just happens to be rather self-centered and self-serving and shitty at governing, oh noooo he had to be held at gunpoint to sign death warrants for dissenters… grow up.” I… can’t take most “super evil villain becomes president oh no” stories seriously anymore, literally all the ones I am aware of were better than reality.

I don’t feel like it needs to be said, but Starbuck, Roslin, and Adama? All perfect and amazing, of course. They’re not my favorites, but that’s mainly because they are popular main characters, and I tend to prefer unpopular sideline characters and characters that need defending or merit lengthy essays. Everyone loves those guys for good reason, they don’t need me supporting them.

Also I forgot how precious Dee and Billy were, and how their relationship added interesting layers and angles to loads of plotlines. Makes me bummed about Billy (though I know it wasn’t the show’s fault), and then bummed that Dee got entangled in the Love Quadrangle of Doom, and then… kinda fridged to be honest. I wonder what would have happened with the Final Five if Billy was still around, would it have been Billy there instead of Tory? Or to keep the gender ratio and a touch of diversity, would they have gone with Dee? Would that have made them more or less likely to choose Gaeta over Anders, then? My gut says less, but who knows? It sure would have been rad if Dee got that much character development unrelated to romance, though.

It’s also weird how much I still keep trying to add things to the show’s arc and mythology to make it make more sense to me, personally. Like, logically I know that the whole thing is that god as spoken of by the cylons is 100% real, the head characters are literally communicating with people on his behalf, the opera house is the CIC and all the prophecies and stuff are leading to humans and cylons living together and interbreeding on Earth to make us. But I’m constantly trying to add things like “maybe the lords of kobol were twelve or thirteen original cylons on kobol 2000 years ago, and maybe they’re the head characters, like they ascended their physical bodies or something, and maybe the physical characters who look like the head characters are like the reincarnations of them or of the original humans they were modelled on, and the whole story is very similar and playing out again which is why certain characters have visions and stuff, but there have never been human/cylon hybrids before and that’s what god wants in order to end the cycle and/or because god is love god wants them to love each other and stop killing each other please? Maybe?” Shrug, I know some fans hate how spiritual it went, and I’m not one of them. I just prefer the slightly more humanist angle of reincarnation over literally just “god did it”. 

However, I am really enjoying just taking Head Six 100% at her word and watching her manipulate the fucking shit out of Baltar to get him reliant on her and in the position she needs him to be in. It’s kind of amazing. And also, fascinating to consider Leoben in Flesh and Bone in the context of knowing what happens to Starbuck. He absolutely knows that she’s going to lead them all to Earth and die in the process. I don’t think he knows any details at all, but it’s really interesting to watch assuming that he knows her fate. And I am not sure the show ever really explained why Leoben knows this stuff. Does he have visions? His own head person? Does he just sit and listen real hard to the Hybrids and interpret their sayings? ...I guess I do find it weird that the show chose to go so hard on making him creepy as fuck to her on New Caprica, and then apparently didn’t know a lot else they wanted to do with him, but we’ll see how I feel as it goes along.

Anyway, I think I’ve exhausted my most coherent array of thoughts. 

[blue-mint-winter]

About Roslin and Baltar’s trial

I’ve been thinking about Roslin’s reasons behind putting Baltar on trial, because I’ve seen many different opinions on that and whether she was right or wrong. The show itself suggests a few times that she’s doing it for revenge, while her fans are taking her side. I think as always on BSG, the truth is more complicated than that.

To preface this, I am in the unique position because I am a big fan of both characters. Roslin is my favourite female character and Baltar is my favourite male character on the show. Watching their separate stories is so much fun to me and when they have scenes together is always a special delight. I love seeing how their paths cross, how they run in parallel, how they are foils to each other, everything about them is interesting. There is a symmetry to them as they exchange their roles in the show which I deeply enjoy and appreciate. They’re both very human characters, flawed, imperfect, but striving to be better. I don’t see Roslin as some paragon of virtue because she’s clearly not and never was. She made too many awful decisions for that, but she’s made quite a lot of good calls too. A lot of her ruthlessness comes from a sense of vulnerability. She can’t afford to show kindness or mercy to the enemy and potential threats have to be dealt with or the humankind won’t survive. That’s her M.O. She’s an iron lady, not some bleeding heart of a naive schoolteacher.

Season 3 of the show is all about New Caprica. Even when the characters are lightyears away from that planet, they still carry it and what happened there in their hearts. New Caprica tainted them all and left wounds they all spent the rest of the season healing. But there is one wound left for the last - Gaius Baltar. He is the symbol of New Caprica. He gave people the promised land but it turned into a living nightmare. He was a shitty president even before the Cylons came, so it was easy to place all the blame for NC squarely on his shoulders. However, it wasn’t as if he was voted in and people followed him there, rather it was the other way around - people wanted to go to NC, so they voted for him. People trusted Baltar because he was a genius scientist, because he claimed he cared, because he was an attractive political alternative to Roslin. Humanity made a bad choice, but it is easier for them to erase the physical reminder of that mistake than admit to it. Hence the ubiquitous hatred for Baltar in the Fleet.

But Roslin’s not just an average citizen, she’s much closer to Baltar. Of course she regrets not going through with stealing the election. She had a chance to prevent all this tragedy from happening and she didn’t. She chose the higher road in the end, to be the better person and she let Baltar win. Her own nobility doomed humanity. That’s a bitter pill to swallow. It must haunt her. And I think it certainly informs her ruthless decisions in S3, like ordering the Cylon genocide. NC taught her that morals can and should be sacrificed for the sake of survival. She doesn’t want to make that same mistake again.

S3 features a fascinating reversal of roles between Roslin and Baltar. It starts with him as the puppet president and her a powerless schoolteacher. Their first scene together is when he visits her in detention center where she’s held. The show never makes it clear whether Roslin was tortured and how (I suspect food and/or sleep deprivation), but she knows others were. Regardless, she is a victim of the occupation, unjustly imprisoned. Her name is on a death list, signed by Gaius Baltar.

There are many things Laura Roslin is and I believe that one of those is vengeful. She remembers everything good or bad, and she also holds grudges. One of those grudges is for Cylons who she has a certain propensity to airlock. Not unfounded of course. That combined with her regret for not stealing the election and her belief that Baltar is a traitor and traitors should be killed is a deadly combination for Gaius.

The graphic demonstration of Roslin’s grudge against Baltar is the entire episode 3x13 Taking a Break from All Your Worries. The tables have turned, the reversal of roles is complete, but what’s done is the same thing. Roslin’s doing to Baltar what was done to her. From the very beginning of the episode we have Baltar in prison, making the noose. It’s night but the guard wakes him up when he nods off. That’s the start of torture - sleep deprivation. Then Roslin’s first visit to his cell is a purposeful replication of his visit to her cell on NC. Through the episode, she continues with various methods of torture, to interrogate him and get the admission of guilt that she so desperately wants from him - which will justify what is done to him illegally. Which will validate her despicable actions against him, because he would admit to actually deserve them. But just like Roslin did not give Gaius the information or cooperation he wanted on New Caprica, Gaius doesn’t give in to her brutal methods here. Another similarity between them is that he didn’t wish her to suffer on NC and her crying when she has him tortured. Torture horrifies both of them and I think for Roslin that was a moment when she became horrified at herself and what she was doing. No Cylon was making her do this. Her conscience woke up and it couldn’t be silenced. (Still, Gaeta got only a slap on the wrist for murder attempt on the prisoner. Interesting how Roslin’s justice works when she can better empathize with Gaeta for wanting to kill Baltar, than with Gaius who she’s deliberately putting through the exact same things she’s personally gone through. As if she can transfer her own horrors to him and finally be free of NC.)

The last on her list of things to reenact is the death warrant. Adama offers to have Gaius quietly disappeared, just like Roslin was supposed to be killed back on NC. Out of sight, out of mind. But Roslin decides to give Baltar the trial for several reasons. I think the most important one is that she wants him dead for being a traitor but she also wants the moral high ground. His torture already made her too close to being like the enemy. When Baltar is tried and found guilty - and in her belief he cannot not be found guilty - he will be legally sentenced. She will not have his blood on her hands. She will not kill him just because she has the power and means to, not as a whimsy of the President. He has to be objectively judged and sentenced to death that he deserves for his own actions. Roslin fully believes her own judgment of Baltar is correct and objective. She refuses to acknowledge her own subjectivity when it concerns him. That’s why she allows the trial - because she is convinced it will go the way she wants it and Baltar will be sentenced to death. The last factor of why she decides to put him on trial is that she’s wanted to do this since she learned about his involvement with Six before the attack. She couldn’t have done it before because the only proof she had was a memory that resurfaced when she was dying and heavily medicated. It would’ve been just her word against his. But occupation of NC gives her all the reason and proof to finally convict him for his crimes. It’s tangible, real, it didn’t happen only to her. Everyone was there, everyone suffered. She has the public with her on this.

As an aside, it’s pretty hypocritical that Zarek gets away scot free. The man was the political mastermind behind Baltar’s presidential campaign, but because he got lucky and Cylons didn’t shoot him when he refused to cooperate and then he was with Roslin on the death list, he gets a free pass from her. A lot of help he was, rotting in a cell for the whole occupation. But now he’s her pal, he gave her back the presidential seat so all is cool between them. Even more hypocritical that Roslin banned Zarek’s secret tribunal killing collaborators right and left, but for Baltar she recreates it and makes it public for everyone to watch/listen to on radio.

It’s almost funny how Baltar makes Roslin lose her cool, how easily angry he can get her. She’s completely unobjective when it comes to him. He writes a book and she’s frothing mad. She imprisons a man because he read that book. She jokes about burning the book. She humiliates Baltar to make him stop writing, she lies to make him feel small, powerless, unheard. That’s how deep her grudge against him goes. If Adama is the equivalent of Zeus, Roslin fits the characteristics of Hera to a T.

One thing I really love about the show is that in the end, it doesn’t present the ideal solution to the issue of Baltar’s trial and punishment. I’d say that the actual message is that of mercy, but there’s no whitewashing his character. Baltar during and after the trial is shown at his smarmiest, but the justice is blind. It doesn’t care about likeability of the accused, it cares about evidence.

Was Roslin right or wrong? Was it right that Baltar was exonerated? What would be a just punishment for him? That’s left for the viewers to ponder about. In my opinion, the majority of S3 already showed Baltar’s punishment. Let’s not pretend that he was having a picnic when everyone else was suffering. He’s been imprisoned, horrifically tortured TWICE, he’s been almost killed multiple times, he tried to commit suicide. He had little to no control over his life, all he could do was to cling to it. His own guilt and self-loathing poisoned him and his love with Caprica Six. He’s lost everyone he cared for and became the most hated man in the universe. He was betrayed by Gaeta. And Baltar’s informal punishment isn’t going to go away just because he was freed by the court. Season 4 barely started and already someone attempted to murder him.

I spent hours writing this meta, so sorry if I rambled too much. I’ve just got a lot of feelings and opinions about the trial, Roslin and Gaius.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Thoughts on The Orville 2x03 “Home”

In case you missed the headline, I’ll be giving some thoughts about the latest episode of The Orville, so I’m going straight into a spoiler break since this was a watershed episode for the series. (Also, it’s a long review.)

The non-spoiler tl;dr - The Orville delivers its best episode to date - beautiful, intense and sad. If this was a Trek episode it’d be ranked in the top echelons.

“Home” was the episode some Orville fans were dreading. That’s because since last summer there had been rumours that Halston Sage, who plays security officer Alara Kitan, would be leaving the show early in the season. Lots of rumours as to why - some negative ones connecting it to her briefly dating the show’s creator and star, Seth MacFarlane; other, more realistic ones, suggesting it was due to her being committed to movie work - there was some talk last year about her possibly having been cast as the Dazzler in an upcoming X-Men Universe film (far as I know that has not been confirmed). The rumours were further amplified by reports of new cast members coming on to the show.

Regardless of the behind the scenes reasons, “Home” was the The Orville for the first time arriving at a moment experienced by Star Trek and Doctor Who and others - the departure of a major character who had become beloved by fans. Fortunately, Alara is not killed off. She is given a medical condition that makes it literally painful for her to remain aboard The Orville, but, while her departure is sad, it is still hopeful and of course the door is left wide open for her to return someday (Captain Ed Mercer pretty much says this on screen). So this wasn’t The Orville’s “Face the Raven”, but rather more its “Hell Bent”, to compare with the last departure that impacted me this much, that of Clara Oswald in Doctor Who Series 9.

Except the episode is in some respects far darker than “Hell Bent.” After a first half that proceeds at a leisurely pace and continues the show’s trend towards introspective, character-driven storytelling (which may prove to be its undoing if the ratings are any indication; the Nielsen families appear to be disinterested in a science fiction version of This is Us), the episode does one of the most abrupt 180-degree tonal turns I have ever seen. It goes from a rather straight family-dynamics drama as Alara tries to reconnect with her family - having returned home after learning that exposure to Earth gravity threatens to leave her unable to withstand the crushing gravity of her homeworld, a plot point springboarding from real-life issues astronauts have experienced after spending months in space - to a violent, revenge-horror story straight out of a Stephen King novella.

Viewers are lulled into a false sense of security as we get to enjoy a Star Trek doctors reunion as Robert Picardo (Voyager’s EMH, and here playing Alara’s father for the second time) teams up with John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox from Enterprise) - I have forgotten the character names so I’ll use the actors’ names here. The moment Billingsley is revealed as a villain by forcing Picardo at gunpoint to stick his hand into a vat of boiling sauce (leading to graphic injuries) is one of the most chilling things I have seen - because it was so unexpected (remember this is still technically considered a comedy series, and within the same hour we had Patrick Warburton appear in a thankfully-brief B-story plot as “comic relief alien of the week”). Although I shied away from comparing “Home” with “Face the Raven” a moment ago, the twist in this episode was in many ways as shocking and unexpected as the moment we realized that, after a rather light-hearted adventure, that Clara was going to die. The mood change is that sudden in “Home”, too. And the episode offers several moments where it is legitimately uncertain that Alara would survive. Recall that TNG had its own security chief who was killed off - Tasha Yar - so history could have repeated if MacFarlane wanted to revisit this as he’s revisited so many other aspects of TNG.

The villains’ motivations are clearly defined, if perhaps controversial to some viewers. As previously established in the episode “Firestorm”, Alara’s people are primarily academics, and Alara’s dad caused a scientific report by Billingsley’s son to be rejected. The son committed suicide after, and Billingsley and his wife have plotted to basically murder Alara’s dad and her family in revenge - but not before Alara’s dad publicly recants his rejection and they perform a bit of torture on his loved ones. (Including threatening to cut off one of Alara’s sister’s fingers with garden shears - remember this is still technically considered a comedy series.) Fortunately, Ed chooses that moment to arrive on the planet; it’s a bit of a deus ex machina, to be sure, but it comes across more as a relief than a plot device.

The rest of the episode turns into a fight-for-your-life scenario which has an unusually violent resolution, with Alara and her family pretty much on their own, due to her crewmates being restricted by the gravity of her homeworld. Ed, in particular, is gunned down by Billingsley, rupturing a special suit he wears to keep from being crushed by the gravity. While Alara fights off the couple, it’s up to her dad, injured arm and all, to get Ed to safety in time.

And then there’s the ending. After killing off the bad guys - the show pulls no punches on that - we get a hope spot as the Orville’s Dr. Finn has worked out a way for Alara to stay aboard the Orville (even though its description makes it sound more cruel to Alara than helpful). You expect the episode to end there, with status quo retained, but it continues and we suddenly learn that Alara has decided to stay with her family - having reconciled with them after surviving the attack. This actually felt like it was a last-minute addition to the episode, perhaps supporting the suggestion that Halston’s departure wasn’t planned in advance. But it works really well. For those who shipped Ed Mercer and Alara, there are a few things to hang on to, but for those who oppose the shipping, the episode also provides an alternative interpretation of Ed being seen as a surrogate father to Alara due to her inability to connect with her own. I won’t get into shipping debates right now; I’ll just say over season 1 and the start of 2 there’s plenty of evidence to support both sides.

Regardless, the final scene in which Ed opens a gift Alara leaves him - a jar of pickles - actually made me tear up. The only problem is that the whole running gag of Ed asking Alara to “open a jar of pickles for me” whenever he called upon her super-strength had actually been abandoned by the midpoint of season 1, which aired well over a year ago, though fans had kept it alive through fan art, etc. If they’d had Ed make the joke again in one of the first two episodes of Season 2, or even earlier in “Home” (there’s a scene where it would have fit, or Alara could have mentioned the joke to her family), it might have had more resonance for people who perhaps had only recently started watching. Without the context, it comes off as a bit of a non-sequitur. But, for someone who knows the context, it was a beautiful moment.

One major kudo has to go to the special effects. Xelaya is, without a doubt, one of the most beautifully rendered planets I’ve seen in televised sci-fi, certainly on par with the likes of Caprica on Battlestar Galactica (and that was mostly just Vancouver repurposed; it looks like the Xelayan city was all-CG). I was reminded in fact of some of the beautiful alien cityscapes of the Mass Effect video game series, especially Andromeda. It made me want to see more of the city - I was rather disappointed when they quickly moved the story to a quiet vacation island for the “family under siege” part of the story. My hope is that if they spent that much time, effort and budget on rendering Alara’s homeworld, it’s a sign they’ll be returning there again before long. There is also a beautiful sequence where Alara daydreams about riding the Xelayan equivalent of a wild horse. I mean - this is a beautiful-looking episode, top to bottom.

“Home” wasn’t a perfect episode; I like Patrick Warburton but I did not like his “Alara placeholder” alien character. And I mentioned my issue with the jar of pickles reference. And despite the claim that the episode was airing with fewer commercials it felt like there were more interruptions than usual (this episode probably will play better on DVD or streaming). But I still think this was the best episode the series has done so far. It has set a high bar, and aside from having lost one of its stronger characters (Alara was the heart and soul of "Firestorm”, my previous choice for best Orville episode, and was also involved closely in many of the show’s best moments), the series is going to have to work hard to reach it again. I will say that if you’re still unconvinced that Seth MacFarlane can step away from the whole Family Guy/Ted thing and deliver an episode that, had it been a TNG episode, would have been ranked among the top instalments of that series, “Home” might be enough to convince you that the guy is on to something.

[ramajmedia]

Titans Season 2 Cast & Character Guide | Screen Rant

Get to know all of the heroes and villains that'll be appearing in Titans season 2. It's perhaps fair to say that Titans' debut season garnered a divisive reaction among fans. Opting for a no holds barred approach, Titans was a grittier take on the teenage DC superhero team that many will be used to and charted the initial coming together of Robin, Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy as they attempted to unravel the mystery behind the shadowy organization hunting them down.

Titans season 1 ended on a huge cliffhanger, as the team were overpowered by Rachel's father, Trigon, but some viewers were left underwhelmed at the distinct lack of action between the four titular Titans throughout the first season. Several trailers have now emerged for Titans season 2, and the show appears to be taking a very different approach, embracing its comic book origins and bringing the Titans team firmly into focus.

Related: Titans Season 2 Review: Heroes Step Out Of The Darkness & Into A New Home

Interestingly, the Titans season 2 trailer has glossed over Trigon completely, instead showing the characters long after season 1's finale, as Robin remembers the old Titans days, builds a brand new team and comes up against Esai Morales' Deathstroke. With characters old and new to explore in the coming episodes, here's a full guide to all the cast of Titans season 2.

The focal point of season 1, Brenton Thwaites will continue to lead the Titans in season 2. Seemingly splitting into two distinct timelines, Titans will explore Robin's past as the leader of his original teenage superhero team, and Dick's present as he attempts to construct a brand new version of the Titans. In the present, Dick burned his Robin costume, which could potentially lead to a transformation into Nightwing.

Thwaites portrayed the son of Orlando Bloom's Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the Australian actor had several long-running TV roles in his homeland, most notably as Stu in Home and Away.

Rachel acted as the central plot device of Titans season 1, as baddies rushed to capture her and the protagonists strove to protect her. Season 2 looks set to retire that game of cat-and-mouse, and will see Rachel learn to control her powers and become one of Dick Grayson's new generation of Titans. Rachel has her comic book-accurate appearance in Titans season 2, complete with a red gem in the middle of her forehead.

Also Australian, Raven is Croft's first major television role, but the actress has previously appeared in 2016 science fiction effort The Osiris Child, and, much like her co-star, enjoyed a recurring role in Home and Away.

Now that Kory is aware of her extra-terrestrial heritage, new sides to the character will surely emerge in Titans season 2, with the latest trailer suggesting some trouble after members of her own race arrive on Earth. How will Kory's past impact her blossoming relationship with Dick Grayson? And will she be able to juggle her new responsibilities as a member of the Titans with whatever mission her own people thrust upon her?

Anna Diop has enjoyed a varied career thus far, appearing on TV in the likes of 24: Legacy and Greenleaf, while more recently scoring a part in the new Jordan Peele horror, Us.

Ryan Potter's Beast Boy was arguably underused in the first season of Titans, but he still enjoyed a compelling personal arc, as viewers learned his Doom Patrol origins and watched on as he hopelessly fell in love with Rachel. Unfortunately, Gar has barely featured in the Titans season 2 footage released thus far, suggesting that the character will remain more a source of comic relief than a central member of the Titans.

Cast in his Titans role after an audition for Tim Drake's Robin in forthcoming DC movie, The Batman, Potter will perhaps be best known as the voice of Hiro Hamada in Big Hero 6, a role he subsequently continued on the TV spinoff series. On the big screen, Potter also starred in the 2018 romance film, Running For Grace.

Related: Titans Season 2 Could Be Great (If It Properly Introduces Nightwing)

The exuberant and immature Jason Todd is returning in Titans season 2, this time bumped up to the status of a series regular, rather than recurring character. Todd's enthusiasm for crime-fighting sees him declare the return of the Titans live on TV, but the season 2 trailer also shows him coming to blows with Dick Grayson - an inevitable clash given their vastly different attitudes to both vigilantism and Bruce Wayne.

Curran Walters has previously appeared in several smaller TV roles, with parts in New Girl, Too Close To Home and Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever. However, Walters is also set to feature in Do Not Reply, a high school-based horror venture from Daniel and Walt Woltosz.

Although only introduced at the midway point of Titans season 1, Donna Troy quickly became an integral member of the cast, helping to link Dick's past and present while acting as his moral compass - not dissimilar to her own Justice League mentor, Wonder Woman. Donna looks set for an even more prominent role in Titans season 2, featuring in both flashbacks and the modern timeline, where she can be seen fighting alongside Starfire in the new Titans setup.

Prior to Titans, Leslie had recurring roles in The Man In The High Castle, Shots Fired and Graves, and has made single-episode appearances in the likes of Hawaii Five-0, 90210 and Elementary.

Batman briefly appeared in Titans season 1, but this was mainly during a dream sequence created by Trigon in Dick Grayson's mind. The real Caped Crusader will instead be played by Iain Glen. Grayson appeared to despise his former mentor in Titans season 1, but the famous duo look to be on better terms now, with Wayne encouraging the formation of a brand new team of budding superheroes under Dick's leadership.

Iain Glen will, of course, be most familiar to viewers as Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones, the brave and loyal knight forever consigned to the friendzone by Daenerys Targaryen. Outside of Westeros, Glen boasts an impressive resume that includes the Resident Evil movies, Tomb Raider, Downtown Abbey and Spooks.

Taking over main villain duty from Trigon in Titans season 2 is Deathstroke. This DC villain was memorably played by Manu Bennett in the Arrowverse and was originally slated to feature in the DCEU, before plans were drastically changed. Cinema's loss in TV's gain, however, as Deathstroke will be on the hunt in Titans, seemingly as part of both the past and present timelines.

Viewers may remember Morales from his starring roles in NYPD: Blue, Caprica and, ironically, Jericho. The actor also recently turned up in the Netflix series Ozark, which has been renewed for a third season.

Related: Predicting How Titans Will Do Jason Todd's Red Hood Arc

Minka Kelly as Dawn/Dove - A key part of season 1, Robin's ex-flame, Dawn Granger, will return in Titans' second season and find herself in disagreement with current partner, Hank, about whether to continue their crime-fighting lifestyle. Kelly has previously starred in Charlie's Angels, Parenthood and Almost Human.

Alan Ritchson as Hank/Hawk - Clearly still jealous of Dick Grayson's tryst with Dawn, Hank Hall is battered, bruised and ready to give up crime-fighting for good...if his girlfriend will let him. Ritchson is no stranger to major franchises, having previously appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies as Raphael and as Aquaman in Smallville.

Joshua Orpin as Conner Kent/Superboy - An exciting new addition to Titans season 2, Superboy (and his dog) were seen at the very end of the first season, escaping captivity. This clone of Superman looks set to come to the Titans' rescue in their fight against Trigon. Another Australian addition to the Titans cast, Orpin is a relative newcomer to the world of film and TV.

Chelsea Zhang as Ravager - Ravager is the daughter of Deathstroke, and can be seen in the Titans season 2 trailer training alongside Dick Grayson. However, Ravager's exact loyalties are sure to come into question, despite her father being largely absent during childhood. Zhang's most prominent previous acting gig was as Brittany in Andi Mack, but she can also be seen in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

Related: Titans Season 1: Ranking The Episodes

Chella Man as Jericho - Not winning any father of the year awards, Jericho is another of Deathstroke's children - one that is rendered mute in the DC comic universe by an enemy of his father's. Jericho has the ability to physically possess others via eye contact. Chella Man is best known as a YouTube personality, and has been a prominent, inspiring voice for representation of disability, sexuality and gender in the media.

Drew Van Acker as Aqualad - Aqualad is apparently part of the original Titans lineup, but no one has seen or mentioned him in the present timeline, leading some to suspect that the superhero's death may be behind the split of the first Titans' grouping. Van Acker will be familiar to fans of Pretty Little Liars as Jason, and he also starred in Training Day as Tommy Campbell.

Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves - The presence of Lex Luther's sidekick in Titans season 2 is surely connected to the introduction of Conner Kent, and may even set up the supervillain himself for an appearance in later seasons. Aside from a single-episode stint in Doctor Who, Gumede's biggest role came in the British soap Coronation Street, playing the abusive Kirsty. She also competed on Strictly Come Dancing, the UK version of Dancing With The Stars.

More: Titans Is Better On Netflix Than DC Universe

Titans season 2 premieres September 6th on DC Universe.

source https://screenrant.com/titans-season-2-cast-character-guide/

[blackgirlslit]

A Quick Interview with author Sophia Chester

1. What's your name, age, and where are you from? 

Sophia Chester, 32 and I'm from Cambridge, Maryland. 

2. You've written and published two books so far. How did you get into writing?

I've always loved to write. Nothing gave me more pleasure when I was younger than to be given a free writing assignment in my language arts class. I wrote a lot when I was younger. But somewhere along the way, I lost confidence in my ability to write and I just stopped. But then in 2012 I decided to do NANOWRIMO for the first time. I wrote this fantasy short story that will never see the light of day. I was really surprised why the quality of my writing. I remember thinking “have I always been this good at writing?” Then I thought, what if I tried to write something better and also be a little bit more organized. I wonder what would happen?

 3. Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer? Do you have other aspirations? 

It was always a small dream of mine to be a writer. When I was little, I would look through the scholastic book fair pamphlet and wonder what it would be like to see my book listed in there next to the GooseBumps books. I'm old as dirt. This was the 90's before self publishing online was a thing. You had to snail mail your story to an editor or an agent and hope that they would give you a chance. Really those types of opportunities seemed so out of reach for me. Heck they still do and its 2017! As far as other goals, I'm pretty good at clerical work. I'm hoping that I can snag some sort of full time office job and then I can write on the side for fun.

4. Where do you draw your inspiration from when it comes to writing? Are there any authors in particular that inspired you? 

I draw inspiration from many different things. I love the sci-fi space opera anime genre. I grew up watching Robotech/Macross which was my first entry into the space opera genre. I've watched a lot of anime over the years. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has to be my all time favorite anime title. Consuming all of these fantastic animated stories over the years has given me a lot of inspiration. This particular space opera series Legend Of The Galactic Heroes has been a huge help to me with putting the world that Cosmo lives in together.The Legend Of The Galactic Heroes is a political space opera series about these two feuding political factions that are fighting for there right to live in space. The show has a lot of long scenes where are people siting in chairs and doing a lot of info dumping. But it still a good show and it gave me a lot of inspiration.

About the Book

5. Both of your books take place in space. What made you choose the genre of sci-fi for your writing? Are you a big fan of sci-fi books/movies/comics? 

After I wrote my messy NANOWRIMO short story I decided to give up on it and write something else. But originally while I was writing my NANOWRIMO short story I had binge watched the rebooted version of Battlestar Galactica. Then after I finished that, I decided to catch up on Mad Men. So here I was trying to think of what I wanted the setting for my story to be and I was stuck. I was in a big sci-fi mood after watching Battle Star Galactica and I was in a retro 1950's mood after watching Mad Men.

6. Your fist published book, Cosmic Callisto Caprica & the Missing Rings of Saturn is about an aspiring space detective that gets caught up in the journey of searching for her nanny Wendy, who disappears along with other women on the Titan spaceship. She also has to find the missing rings of Saturn. How did come up with such a unique plot? How long did it take you come up with a finished draft? 

I just decided that with my next story, I would combine both of elements of Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica which came to be a 1950′s styled story in space! Then I had my second dilemma. What am I going to do with this interesting set up? Should I make the story contemporary? Should it be romantic? Then I started to list all of the options that I had for my story. I just became fixated with the option of turning my 1950's space themed story into a mystery. I said to myself “has anyone ever written something like this before and with a black female protagonist no less?” I just fell so deeply in love with this concept that I decided to go with it. I worked on The Missing Rings Of Saturn for about two years. My manuscript changed so much from 2013 to 2015. I got rid of some characters. I changed the names to a lot of the locations. But I finalized everything for my story by 2015.

7. Is the character Cosmo based on anybody you know or she a character that is based on yourself? 

Cosmo is special. She is everything that I wanted in a black female protagonist. She's smart, beautiful, resourceful, and brave. Really when I was first coming up with Cosmo, I remember thinking to myself, “is she to much?” Is she too smart, too pretty and maybe too courageous. Then I remembered all of the white male protagonists whose stories I had consumed over the years. They were strong, dashing, and able to take on any situation and not once had I questioned there abilities. So, why should I questions Cosmo and her ability to solve mysteries in space?

8.In your other book "Rocket Romance" you have two different stories. One is about a martian visiting earth and falling for a human girl despite the intolerance of others around them. Is this story a symbol of how interracial dating is frowned upon, xenophobia, or about how people seem so keen to hate and isolate people who are different? 

Honestly its about all of the above. I don't wanna spoil to much about the story.

9. The other story is about a couple named Kat and Leo having issues because of Kat's independent attitude and outgoing personality. The summary states that Leo may go off to find someone else who is "gentler and more feminine." Did you want the topic of gender roles in relationships to be something readers would think about and discuss after reading it?

I guess you could interpret the story that way. My main character is very rough around the edges. She’s not a dainty girl but life's circumstances has caused her to be more tough.

Last questions 

10. Do you plan on writing any more books any time soon? Are you working on anything right now? 

I’m currently working on the sequel to "The Missing Rings Of Saturn" right now.

11. Can you tell readers where they can contact you (tumblr/twitter) and where to find and purchase your books?

You can find me on facebook- Cosmic Callisto Caprica, Tumblr- sophiaslittleblog Twitter-SophiaTheAuthor Youtube-SophiaTheAuthor and both of my books are available for purchase in digital and in print on Amazon.

Thank you so much for doing this interview @sophiaslittleblog !

Followers, be sure to follow her and check out both of her books available in print and digital on amazon! Links and pictures are below!

https://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Romance-Sophia-Chester-ebook/dp/B06X6FJTKZ

https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Callisto-Caprica-Missing-Saturn-ebook/dp/B01CAIOB8G/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M0AXD8Q6GMXWXVWDJGB6

-Victoria

[friendshiptothemax]

a ficlet

As if being stuck in the Pegasus brig awaiting military execution wasn’t bad enough, Galen had to spend his last hours listening to posturing, macho bullshit. Huffed breaths from Agathon as he ran through a calisthenics routine so exhausting it wore Galen out just to listen to it. The man was already ripped enough, it didn’t seem fair for him to spend his last hours so pointedly demonstrating to Galen that now that he’d won the heart of a Sharon, he wasn’t going to let her slip through his fingers again.

Never mind that Galen’s Sharon and Agathon’s Sharon were two different women. Agathon must have known it on an intellectual level, but to Galen, it was deeper than that. Molecular. Fundamental. This new Sharon was no more Boomer than she was Cally or Starbuck or Dualla in the CIC or any other woman in the Fleet. How could Agathon not sense that as deeply as Galen did?

A rhetorical question. Galen knew how --

Agathon was human, and Galen was not.

“Hey,” Galen said, breaking their silence. “Was it true you met Samuel T. Anders on Caprica?” He had always planned on finding some way to casually ask Starbuck, but this seemed as good a time as any.

At this, Agathon finally stopped, wiping his brow as he leaned against the bunk. “Big C-Bucs fan, Chief?”

“Sam and I knew each other a long time ago.” Not a lie. “Probably doesn’t remember me, though.” Also, not a lie. How long had he tried to wake up Saul? Ellen?

“Kara’s hell-bent on going back for him,” Agathon said. “But things were looking pretty rough on Caprica when we left.”

“Sam was always a pretty tough son of a bitch,” Galen said. Wasn’t his first apocalypse, after all. And if he died—well, who would know if John just resurrected him in a shiny new body, fresh off the assembly line for Starbuck to pick up and bring back to the Fleet? Maybe, just a few hours from now, they’d run into each other, wrapped in those fluffy post-Resurrection bathrobes.

“Guess so,” Agathon replied. “Hope you see him again.”

“You mean you hope we don’t get executed for treason?” Galen asked, and morbid as it was, Agathon cracked a smile. How often do you get a chance at literal gallows humor?

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Bastille Day, A Reactionary Post

Battlestar Galactica S.1 E.3, Episode Review

Tigh as a functioning alcoholic The episode opens up with Tigh starting off his day with a couple of shots. And just how easily it is for him to function on a normal level with that alcohol running through his veins.

It's interesting to note that despite finding water in Water they are down again or hadn't found enough water. This is a nice and wonderful contrast to a little known sci-fi show that RDM previously worked on called Star Trek Voyager. In which they never ran out of torpedos, food, water and had a endless supply of scuttle crafts. Just ask Chakotay about that last one.

Solving the water crisis...with criminals I love Laura here. She takes charge here as President. There still is a power struggle here between her and Bill. And she doesn't back down, nor does she defer to him here. Even though things are better between them and they have started to bond and find some common interests. It is vitally important for her to maintain power. That she can and will.

Also her response to Billy suggesting Anastasia go with the crew to the prison ship. Mary McDonnell is a master in reactions. Later her teasing Billy is just too adorable.

Laura's hair

Looks like they are still trying to figure out a good hairstyle for Laura. It's better than the mini but looks very farrah fawcett circa 1970's. Not my favorite style for Laura. That'd be season 2 "Laura is dying so she doesn't give too much attention to her hair" so it looks pretty natural.

Choosing sides: Lee, who do you want to be? A Battlestar Commander like Daddy or the President like Mommy?

Lee is a young man who really doesn't know what he wants to do. He has a strong set of morals but I think at this point he doesn't really know who he is. And here he finds himself torn between his father and Laura.

Honestly I'm not quite sure why Bill has such a big bug up his ass about Lee being Laura's representative. Maybe it's a bit of Bill not wanting to lose Lee to politics. Despite having both of his sons follow him into the service, one is dead and the other one seems to be contemplating what he wants out of life. And that just may not be a commander on the battlestar.

Although maybe Bill's point of choosing sides may have to be that Lee will have to pick on whether he wants to be a pilot or a politician. He can't be both. Which of course I agree with Bill on that he can't. But for now Lee will do a bit of both before he has to ultimately decide on who he wants to be.

"If they volunteer but these men are not slaves and I will not have them treated as such."

Also knowing what I now know about Lee. It’s not hard to see Lee being swayed by Laura. She’s very much for democratic rights at this stage in the show and that’s something that’s very much at the core of what makes Lee tick. So she’s someone for him to look up to verses his father’s rigid stance on democracy (he really doesn’t believe in it) especially when he lives in world where taking and giving orders is life. In that world there is no room for democracy.  

I am Tom Zarek and today is the first day of the new era I remember when I was first watched the show last year. There was such a big deal with Zarek's introduction scene that I knew he had to be someone but he wasn't any kind of actor that I had recognized. If you had watched the original BSG then you'd recognize him as the original Apollo.

Apollo verse Apollo

I could never get a handle on what exactly Zarek wanted. Here he pumps Lee for information on any weaknesses between Roslin and Adama. He appeals to Lee's strong morals to sway him towards his agenda. I suppose my assumption would be that Zarek wants power and to gain control of the fleet. Although why, I'm not exactly sure. To have power? Because he's power hungry?

The thing about Zarek is that he always brings up some really great points about the current political situations whenever he pops up. He's got a point that Laura was never elected and that there should be elections. However, he's waaaay over dramatic about it and he is completely wrong that her presidency is illegitimate. Laura's assent into the presidency was in fact legal with her being the next in line for the presidency and there for legitimate.  

The thing about Zarek is his way of going about things to prove his point. He more often than not uses violence to force change and for what reason? For Power?

Boomer and the Chief: a forbidden love story

It's only obvious to everyone that Boomer and the chief are hitting the sheets or rather hitting the deck plates. Their illicit affair is having consequences.

“Your his superior officer, we're at war this is a combat unit and your his superior officer. Put a stop to it. That's an order." 

Tigh is finally putting his foot down and as we later learn Adama knew about their affair and let it go on. Another way that Tigh and Adama differ. Tigh doesn't let anyone get away with their shit. Adama is a softie at heart and really just wants people to be happy. And if that means giving them more room to do their thing than they should then so be it. Also the Irony of what is being said here to what happens in season 4.

Caprica City, Caprica I have to wonder if Caprica is so yellow due to the radiation from the bombings or is Caprica naturally that bright and yellow.

“He's your son.” “He's your advisor.”

Mom and Dad fighting over their kid already. You send the kid in to deal with the situation and what does he come back with? Not the solution that you had in mind. Much like a later episode (which is considered the worst episode of BSG, and you know what I'm talking about) Lee's solution to the problem is not to actually resolve the problem. Instead of dealing with the prisoners he decides oh. Let's let them go and be free men. Even if none of them have earned it. Even if some (lets face it probably all) of them are dangerous.

Lee's compromise is that they are dependent on the rest of the fleet for food and fuel. Yes that's true but what's stopping them from hijacking a transport to their ship and wreaking having on the rest of the fleet. Nothing. 

I will give him that yes, I agree. They should eventually have an election once the remainder of Adar's term is up. But on the downside of this...actions have consequences and the result of Lee's actions means that ultimately Gaius Baltar becomes president. And in a strange twist of fate New Caprica and this shit that happened there is precipitated by Lee.  

Kara and Tigh and the water that was not booze. I love Kara here and her little fake out. By giving Tigh water out of a flask and everyone (including Tigh) thinking that it's booze. This is really Kara's way of coming to common ground with him. Not necessarily resolving their issues but at least they are in a better place than before.

Laura and Lee, 

“The truth is I have cancer.” “I’m going to fight this but there is a great need for secrecy. Whether or not I survive this illness it is a great importance to me that there is a future for the people. And I fear that knowledge of my illness will erode hope. So this has to stay between you and me.” - Laura

“You can count on me.” - Lee

irony...oh Lee.

Love that dialog "Stay Frosty, there Billy." I feel like that was a saying back in the day. Stay frosty. I love it even if I don't know what it means. Stay cool maybe? Don't let shit get to your head?

"Where's your mommy?" - Saul "Dead. Where's yours?" - Useless kid who I forget his name, oh yeah it’s Boxey. What the hell kind of name is that!?

- I swear this kid is so useless except for giving awesome one liners and thank goodness he's gone from the show after this episode.

"Zeus is calling." The first time that Adama is called Zeus, god of Olympus and god of the gods. A pretty fitting title since this show loves mythology and religious references. Adama is the father of humanity (Olympus) and father to those under his command (god of the gods). And the man with (along with Laura) holds the power.

The Sad Bill segment

why so sad?

What I liked about this episode? I was never the biggest fan of Apollo's character but after seeing the whole entire series. I do think I like this episode better than the first time I saw it. We also get introduced to a wonderfully slippery Zarek. Who we always know has nefarious motivations but does bring up excellent points. He's power hungry and able to read people.

What I didn't like about this episode? Wasn't much that I didn't like except maybe the focus on a character that I don't care for all that much. Meaning whiny Lee.

[timclymer]

Breast Cancer and Battlestar Galactica

In October of last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and rushed into surgery three days later. Thus began a journey that would change my perceptions of what’s important, and the strange realization that life is a fragile miracle not to be taken for granted. It made me more determined to hang on to life, something I saw on a science fiction show called Battlestar Galactica.

President Laura Roslin is a character on the show, who’s steely resolve to deal with a larger catastrophe comes partially from her private battle with breast cancer. When faced with the eventuality of her demise, many things she used to be afraid of seem suddenly trivial. It was what allowed this reserved, 43rd in line for the presidency, schoolteacher to step into the role of President of the Colonies with hardly a shiver after they are attacked by merciless machine creatures and their homeworlds are destroyed.

The story revolves around taking control of your life, on both a personal and larger level and it came along during a period when I felt completely out of control. This science fiction epic has seen me through to the cancer survivor I am today. It’s so very much about taking control, but also taking time for yourself, taking care of yourself and the consequences of ignoring your body and spirit in pursuit of success, money and power. Roslin, prior to be diagnosed, was a workaholic. Her transformation is startling, as is anyone’s who realizes they are mortal and their time on this plain is finite.

How The Idea of Breast Cancer, Science Fiction & Battlestar Galactica combined into a website, writing, blogging and a really fun hobby… Breast cancer and Battlestar Galactica caught me totally off-guard and sealed my allegiance to this complex science fiction television show. The fact that the President of the Colonies had cancer on a SciFi show was an odd combination to propose, but Ron Moore put it out there and thus into our reality. President Laura Roslin is diagnosed early on in the series with the deadly disease, and told that her options are few and her chances slim to none. In the midst of this personal tragedy, she is thrust into an immediate fight for her life and has to assume the mantel of presidency while keeping secret her other silent enemy. Publicly, she works with Commander Adama for the betterment of humanity as they flee Caprica; privately, she battles the betrayal of her body as the cancer spreads. She has to be devastated, but like many of us, she rises to the immediate challenge – getting the remains of civilization to safety – fighting privately with her fears and demons.

Three operations and too many frakkin cancer treatments later, I have emerged a breast cancer survivor and a woman acutely aware of how little time God gives us. The oncologist shook my hand a couple weeks ago, bid me good luck and told me to make an appointment for 30 days out, three months out and so forth. She handed me a prescription for hormonal therapy pills, a number to call if I got upset and a business card if I had any questions. I was burned, in pain, peeling, wearing a wig, and recovering. Life was supposed to continue on as usual, right? I felt like I’d been beat up by a bunch of Cylons. I wasn’t the same person who went to the doctor in October, so that was impossible? I think this is the same with anybody who’s survived a life-threatening illness.

What you do with that change is what makes the difference in your world. Roslin has taken on leading the people to Earth as her personal quest while stealing a few moments of private time and holding the political structure together. We see bits and pieces of that with the President, in between fighting with Adama and fending off Tom Zarek – she reads, practices some form of candle therapy and seeks counsel from a spiritual person. She is also being ravaged by the medications and pain killers; and, we are left to wonder if she’s chosen the right path. She didn’t want to die like her mother; will she die anyway?

As a survivor, it’s a question I ask myself often. I’ve taken all of the advice, made a choice, survived a course of treatment. Was it enough? Will it come back and kill me in six months, a year, two years? Unlike Roslin, I caught mine earlier on. Like Roslin, I have no choice but to live my life to the fullest with whatever time I have left. Thank God, I’m not Roslin, because she has to spend the bulk of her time running from the Cylons. I just need to please my boss for eight hours and drive home. Somehow, amidst all that chaos, she manages to snatch a couple minutes for herself. And, that’s what’ it’s all about. She borrowed one of Cmdr. Adama’s books, so we can presume she spent a bit of time reading it. That’s time for herself, and that’s so extraordinarily important.

Breast Cancer and Science Fiction – Whole Again! If you’ve been where I’ve been, and maybe you’re still there, take heart and take flight. Let them do what they must to save your life, but don’t let them steal your joy. As they work on your body, take your mind to the next level, an alternative universe, a parallel dimension, to a battlestar or starship and beyond. That’s what science fiction and fantasy will do, take a person out of the doldrums and allow them to soar on the wings of imagination.

When things get rough, focus instead on your love of science fiction or whatever is your passion. Like sitting in a hot tub, it will relax you enough so that when your attention returns to the problem, it’s more manageable. While I was sick, it became breast cancer versus science fiction. I have always loved Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager & Enterprise, and I rapidly got hooked on the new SciFi channel offering, Stargate Atlantis, and because they addressed something I was in the midst of fighting – breast cancer – was fascinated by Battlestar Galactica.

I lived for Friday night; they weren’t going to treat me again for two days, and Stargate and Stargate Atlantis were coming on. Then, in January 2005, the much-hyped Battlestar Galactica series joined my mix. What would happen to the President? She was dealing with it and functioning. She was still alive and so was I. When I was too sick to move, I’d watch these shows and remember what I used to adore. – writing fan fiction, reading and watching science fiction and fantasy on television and in the movies and dreaming about distant galaxies. It’s been that way since I was five. And, I realized that I had put that on the “back burner” for years as I worked and lived, that is, until I was invited into hell through cancer.

I pondered what could I do that really meant something to me. There was nothing I could do about what the treatments except think about something else. — something fun, different – something I had a passion for that would replace the misery. Without passion for a subject, any subject, life quickly becomes an endless march towards death. And, I definitely didn’t want that. I had become a work-a-holic. I suspect that Laura Roslin was one as well. I have no idea how that happened, but with that knowledge, I had the power to change it. If you see yourself in this boat, you have the power to get out before it sinks with you in it.

My new philosophy is, “Do what you need to do to sustain your existence, then live to do what you enjoy to live your life.”

Take the clarity I’d gained with breast cancer, combine it with my love of science fiction, and – presto, magic – step into a lifestyle that includes time for oneself, loads of laughter and a boatload of merriment. Unfortunately, our stalwart Battlestar president doesn’t have this luxury. She can only snatch a few minutes here and there, but she does that. If, in the middle of a run for her existence, the President in Galactica can take a few moments for herself, what’s our problem?

Science fiction fans with cancer – take heart!

I know there are many science fiction fans out there who are cancer survivors. They say you are a survivor from the moment of diagnosis. There are 10 million cancer survivors today, so you’re not alone. Even if only one other fan reads this and enjoys my website, blog or piece of fan fiction, I will have accomplished my goal. To make you laugh; make you think; encourage you to do something that’s not about making money and business, something you would work at even if you’re never got paid a cent for doing it, something to take you mind off whatever ails ya!

My passion is science fiction and fantasy and my wish is to share that with others who may be suffering and need a break.

Source by Judith Brandy

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/breast-cancer-and-battlestar-galactica/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/187035442310 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

[blue-mint-winter]

BSG 1x02 Water rewatch

ok, so the main plot of the episode is that Sharon is a Cylon sleeper agent, believing that she’s human. She blacks out and sabotages ship’s water resources. What really makes this episode work is her desperate denial of being responsible for the sabotage, despite all the evidence. She woke up all wet, with a stolen detonator in a bag, of course it was her!

Sharon confiding only in Tyrol puts him in a tough spot, as he balances between his loyalty to the ship and his love for her. Also, he provides her with the excuse that someone’s setting her up. They both don’t want to believe she’s capable of treason, even if all logic points in that direction.

What I found really admirable was her fighting the programming when she was ont he mission to find water. The programming made her report that she found nothing, but she must have realized something was wrong, that she blacked out again because she insisted on one more sweep and managed to break through the mental blockade she had. The human side of her won against the Cylon :)))

The other Sharon is interestingly the opposite of Boomer - she’s a Cylon pretending to be Boomer to get closer to Helo and possibly infiltrate the resistance on Caprica.

Sam Witwer’s character’s codename is Crashdown lol (too bad it’s not Starkiller).

Water is the title and main issue of the episode and it features prominently - while the Fleet is plagued by the shortage of water to the point of rioting, in Baltar’s dreamscape there’s a luxurious abundance of water, with Head Six bathing in a jaccuzzi and a nice view from a balcony on the lake. Also, Helo on Caprica is soaked to the bone in the torrential downpour. And Tigh measuring how much alcohol he’s got left in the bottle.

Apollo is still bothered by the destruction of Olympic Carrier. He thinks leaders should question themselves, to make sure their decisions are right. It’s interesting how he approaches first his father, who just tells him to move on and live with the consequences. “Leave the second-guessing to the historians”. That works for a grizzled old soldier but it doesn’t satisfy Lee. Then Roslin broaches the topic of Olympic Carrier with him, she offers him understanding and shares the feelings of guilt. Lee tries to act tough and parrots what his father said to him, but it doesn’t fly with her. Roslin tells him a story about president Adar and that leaders need to remember and learn from their mistakes even if they can’t admit to them publicly. And most importantly, she has a tangible proof that she’s doing this - the reminder note in her pocket. Roslin connected with Lee and put his mind to rest over this issue, which his father couldn’t do with his “man up” approach.

Most other shows just wouldn’t give a crap about the emotional aftermath of destroying an ally ship overtaken by an enemy or literally anything that should have an impact on the characters. BSG doing it in such a competent manner is like a breath of fresh air.

Roslin’s friendship with Lee is so nice. They just click :)

Also, Adama organizing a ceremony to make Roslin feel like a president??? And then he gives her a book as a gift? awww

Baltar gets Gaeta assigned to him to help with organizing “Cylon scanning” operation which is really bullshit. Gaeta is a fan of his and also dangerously competent. Baltar gets rid of him by entering a card game with Kara. Some light flirting occurs and I gotta give the man this - he is a smooth operator. Also, they bet with civilian clothing and drinks.

Funnily enough, Billy’s the opposite of Baltar in this episode, as he tries and miserably fails at flirting with Dee. But she seems to find him cute, so it’s not all bad.

Happy ending because they found the water, but it’s also sinister because that last shot of Sharon is her definitely overcome again by Cylon programming. The threat isn’t really gone.

[homesolutionsforev]

Breast Cancer and Battlestar Galactica

In October of last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and rushed into surgery three days later. Thus began a journey that would change my perceptions of what’s important, and the strange realization that life is a fragile miracle not to be taken for granted. It made me more determined to hang on to life, something I saw on a science fiction show called Battlestar Galactica.

President Laura Roslin is a character on the show, who’s steely resolve to deal with a larger catastrophe comes partially from her private battle with breast cancer. When faced with the eventuality of her demise, many things she used to be afraid of seem suddenly trivial. It was what allowed this reserved, 43rd in line for the presidency, schoolteacher to step into the role of President of the Colonies with hardly a shiver after they are attacked by merciless machine creatures and their homeworlds are destroyed.

The story revolves around taking control of your life, on both a personal and larger level and it came along during a period when I felt completely out of control. This science fiction epic has seen me through to the cancer survivor I am today. It’s so very much about taking control, but also taking time for yourself, taking care of yourself and the consequences of ignoring your body and spirit in pursuit of success, money and power. Roslin, prior to be diagnosed, was a workaholic. Her transformation is startling, as is anyone’s who realizes they are mortal and their time on this plain is finite.

How The Idea of Breast Cancer, Science Fiction & Battlestar Galactica combined into a website, writing, blogging and a really fun hobby… Breast cancer and Battlestar Galactica caught me totally off-guard and sealed my allegiance to this complex science fiction television show. The fact that the President of the Colonies had cancer on a SciFi show was an odd combination to propose, but Ron Moore put it out there and thus into our reality. President Laura Roslin is diagnosed early on in the series with the deadly disease, and told that her options are few and her chances slim to none. In the midst of this personal tragedy, she is thrust into an immediate fight for her life and has to assume the mantel of presidency while keeping secret her other silent enemy. Publicly, she works with Commander Adama for the betterment of humanity as they flee Caprica; privately, she battles the betrayal of her body as the cancer spreads. She has to be devastated, but like many of us, she rises to the immediate challenge – getting the remains of civilization to safety – fighting privately with her fears and demons.

Three operations and too many frakkin cancer treatments later, I have emerged a breast cancer survivor and a woman acutely aware of how little time God gives us. The oncologist shook my hand a couple weeks ago, bid me good luck and told me to make an appointment for 30 days out, three months out and so forth. She handed me a prescription for hormonal therapy pills, a number to call if I got upset and a business card if I had any questions. I was burned, in pain, peeling, wearing a wig, and recovering. Life was supposed to continue on as usual, right? I felt like I’d been beat up by a bunch of Cylons. I wasn’t the same person who went to the doctor in October, so that was impossible? I think this is the same with anybody who’s survived a life-threatening illness.

What you do with that change is what makes the difference in your world. Roslin has taken on leading the people to Earth as her personal quest while stealing a few moments of private time and holding the political structure together. We see bits and pieces of that with the President, in between fighting with Adama and fending off Tom Zarek – she reads, practices some form of candle therapy and seeks counsel from a spiritual person. She is also being ravaged by the medications and pain killers; and, we are left to wonder if she’s chosen the right path. She didn’t want to die like her mother; will she die anyway?

As a survivor, it’s a question I ask myself often. I’ve taken all of the advice, made a choice, survived a course of treatment. Was it enough? Will it come back and kill me in six months, a year, two years? Unlike Roslin, I caught mine earlier on. Like Roslin, I have no choice but to live my life to the fullest with whatever time I have left. Thank God, I’m not Roslin, because she has to spend the bulk of her time running from the Cylons. I just need to please my boss for eight hours and drive home. Somehow, amidst all that chaos, she manages to snatch a couple minutes for herself. And, that’s what’ it’s all about. She borrowed one of Cmdr. Adama’s books, so we can presume she spent a bit of time reading it. That’s time for herself, and that’s so extraordinarily important.

Breast Cancer and Science Fiction – Whole Again! If you’ve been where I’ve been, and maybe you’re still there, take heart and take flight. Let them do what they must to save your life, but don’t let them steal your joy. As they work on your body, take your mind to the next level, an alternative universe, a parallel dimension, to a battlestar or starship and beyond. That’s what science fiction and fantasy will do, take a person out of the doldrums and allow them to soar on the wings of imagination.

When things get rough, focus instead on your love of science fiction or whatever is your passion. Like sitting in a hot tub, it will relax you enough so that when your attention returns to the problem, it’s more manageable. While I was sick, it became breast cancer versus science fiction. I have always loved Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager & Enterprise, and I rapidly got hooked on the new SciFi channel offering, Stargate Atlantis, and because they addressed something I was in the midst of fighting – breast cancer – was fascinated by Battlestar Galactica.

I lived for Friday night; they weren’t going to treat me again for two days, and Stargate and Stargate Atlantis were coming on. Then, in January 2005, the much-hyped Battlestar Galactica series joined my mix. What would happen to the President? She was dealing with it and functioning. She was still alive and so was I. When I was too sick to move, I’d watch these shows and remember what I used to adore. – writing fan fiction, reading and watching science fiction and fantasy on television and in the movies and dreaming about distant galaxies. It’s been that way since I was five. And, I realized that I had put that on the “back burner” for years as I worked and lived, that is, until I was invited into hell through cancer.

I pondered what could I do that really meant something to me. There was nothing I could do about what the treatments except think about something else. — something fun, different – something I had a passion for that would replace the misery. Without passion for a subject, any subject, life quickly becomes an endless march towards death. And, I definitely didn’t want that. I had become a work-a-holic. I suspect that Laura Roslin was one as well. I have no idea how that happened, but with that knowledge, I had the power to change it. If you see yourself in this boat, you have the power to get out before it sinks with you in it.

My new philosophy is, “Do what you need to do to sustain your existence, then live to do what you enjoy to live your life.”

Take the clarity I’d gained with breast cancer, combine it with my love of science fiction, and – presto, magic – step into a lifestyle that includes time for oneself, loads of laughter and a boatload of merriment. Unfortunately, our stalwart Battlestar president doesn’t have this luxury. She can only snatch a few minutes here and there, but she does that. If, in the middle of a run for her existence, the President in Galactica can take a few moments for herself, what’s our problem?

Science fiction fans with cancer – take heart!

I know there are many science fiction fans out there who are cancer survivors. They say you are a survivor from the moment of diagnosis. There are 10 million cancer survivors today, so you’re not alone. Even if only one other fan reads this and enjoys my website, blog or piece of fan fiction, I will have accomplished my goal. To make you laugh; make you think; encourage you to do something that’s not about making money and business, something you would work at even if you’re never got paid a cent for doing it, something to take you mind off whatever ails ya!

My passion is science fiction and fantasy and my wish is to share that with others who may be suffering and need a break.

Source by Judith Brandy

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/breast-cancer-and-battlestar-galactica/ via Home Solutions on WordPress