Watching order
Because there are some issues with watching this, here is the order.
Copying from the site in case it ever goes down, but this info came from here: http://thunderpeel2001.blogspot.com/2010/02/battlestar-galactica-viewing-order.html
It's probably more confusing here on trakt, so go to the above linked site for a better layout.
The Miniseries
Night 1
Night 2
Season 1
1.01 33
1.02 Water
1.03 Bastille Day
1.04 Act of Contrition
1.05 You Can't Go Home Again
1.06 Litmus
1.07 Six Degrees of Separation
1.08 Flesh and Bone
1.09 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
1.10 The Hand of God
1.11 Colonial Day
1.12 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I
1.13 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
Season 2
2.01 Scattered
2.02 Valley of Darkness
2.03 Fragged
2.04 Resistance
2.05 The Farm
2.06 Home, Part I
2.07 Home, Part II
2.08 Final Cut
2.09 Flight of the Phoenix
2.10 Pegasus (56 minute extended version)
2.11 Resurrection Ship, Part I
2.12 Resurrection Ship, Part II
2.13 Epiphanies
2.14 Black Market
2.15 Scar
2.16 Sacrifice
2.17 The Captain's Hand
Razor (101 minute extended version - not the 81 minute broadcast version)
Important note: This was originally broadcast just before Season 4, but chronologically it fits here, telling more of the Pegasus's story. Some people argue it's better to watch after Season 3, as originally broadcast, but it makes most sense to watch it here.
The reason that the placement of Razor is a hotly contested issue among BSG fans is because of a bit of dialogue at the very end (in the last 10 minutes) which sets the tone for Season 4 (barely even a spoiler). Everything else in this TV movie is not a spoiler.
So why place it here, and not where it was originally broadcast, if there's any sort of issue? Because, chronologically, the story is set here, and by the time you reach the end of Season 3, the story of Pegasus will feel like ancient history. Indeed, that was the complaint echoed around the internet from fans after Razor originally aired -- it had nothing to do with what was going on in the story at that time.
As a result of this, most fans agree it's better to watch Razor here. In doing so, you'll appreciate the story more and it will have greater emotionally resonance. In short: I highly recommend that you follow my advice and watch it here.
There is one small caveat, however: In order to deal with the above dialogue issue, and so not to unintentionally alter the tone of Season 3, I have two, very specific instructions that I recommend that you follow for your absolute optimum enjoyment.
I will try not to spoil anything with these instructions, so pay attention. You need to press MUTE on your TV (and/or turn off any subtitles) in the following two moments. Both of these moments occur in the last 10 minutes of the story, so you can relax and enjoy the first 90 mins before you need to worry.
Press MUTE when:
and shortly afterwards:
That's it! That's all you have to worry about. Two very small moments, and even if you don't unmute it, it's not a huge spoiler, it just unintentionally alters the tone of Season 3 if you don't, so do try your best to follow my instructions.
2.18 Downloaded
2.19 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I
2.20 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II
The Resistance
A 10 episode web-based series bridging seasons 2 and 3. (25 mins.)
Season 3
3.01 Occupation
3.02 Precipice
3.03 Exodus, Part I
3.04 Exodus, Part II
3.05 Collaborators
3.06 Torn
3.07 A Measure of Salvation
3.08 Hero
3.09 Unfinished Business (70 minute extended version - Note: Not included on Region 2 DVDs, but is included on ALL Bluray releases.)
3.10 The Passage
3.11 The Eye of Jupiter
3.12 Rapture
3.13 Taking a Break From All Your Worries
3.14 The Woman King
3.15 A Day in the Life
3.16 Dirty Hands
3.17 Maelstrom
3.18 The Son Also Rises
3.19 Crossroads, Part I
3.20 Crossroads, Part II
Razor: Yes, this again. (Well this is where Razor was originally broadcast, after all.) Remember the last 10 minutes where I told you to MUTE two small moments? Well, guess what, now is when you get to go back and hear what was said. Watch the last 10 minutes of Razor here.
Season 4
4.01 He That Believeth In Me
4.02 Six of One
4.03 The Ties That Bind
4.04 Escape Velocity
4.05 The Road Less Traveled
4.06 Faith
4.07 Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
4.08 Sine Qua Non
4.09 The Hub
4.10 Revelations
Season 4 Continued (aka "Season 4.5" or "The Final Season")
4.11 Sometimes a Great Notion
The Face of the Enemy
A 10 episode web-based series (although it plays together like an intense mini-episode). (36 mins.)
4.12 A Disquiet Follows My Soul (53 minute extended version - only on Bluray releases)
4.13 The Oath
4.14 Blood on the Scales
4.15 No Exit
The Plan (DVD/Bluray movie)
A stand-alone movie that shows (approximately) the first two seasons from the Cylons' perspective. (You finally get to see "The Plan", mentioned all those times in the opening sequence!) Although The Plan was originally released after the show had finished, it is generally agreed that it should be watched here, so that everything is all tied up when you do reach the end.
4.16 Deadlock
4.17 Someone to Watch Over Me
4.18 Islanded In a Stream of Stars (62 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases and Region 1 DVDs)
4.19 Daybreak (150 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases and Region 1 DVDs)
The Plan : This is where this DVD/Bluray movie was originally released (after the show had finished). It seems universally agreed that it's preferable to watch this after No Exit, instead of after you've finished the entire series, but there's no harm in waiting until now.
Then Caprica the series: http://trakt.tv/show/caprica
Three episodes in and I'm already seriously annoyed by the characters' irrational choices and unrealistic behavior. Keeping secrets or lying for no good reason, promising one thing and doing another, etc. And they keep doing it over and over. And I'm not even mentioning their almost casual reaction to discovering a magic mirror that serves as a gateway to another realm. After such an experience any real person would start to seriously question their f****ng sanity or at least have a panic fit and leave that house to never come back again. I know I would. But no, these kids are like: "Wow, magic door. I guess that's nothing to be seriously alarmed about." Even after losing their father in a horrific and traumatic event it doesn't seem to bother these kids at all that they just almost lost their mother too inside this magic mirror maze. And these are just a few examples on the top my head. There's much more where that came from.
It's like watching an '80 horror movie where someone in an already dire situation hears a scary noise and decides to go towards it instead of running to safety. And sure, that was okay then. Maybe fun even. But today, these 30-40 old "proven devices" have become just that: old. Really old, both literally and figuratively. But apparently 30-40 years was not enough time for these writers to come up with something different or original.
It's a shame really, because I think the story overall is quite interesting. But it is starting to become almost unbearable to watch when the only reason the characters behave the way they do is because it's the easiest way to move the plot into a certain direction. It's lazy writing like this that makes characters unbelievable and unrelateble.
D&D have done it again! (created a disappointment)
While the Tencent adaptation had some flaws, notably very poor pacing and some downright bizarre acting and editing, I think it was an overall better experience. Netflix cut the runtime significantly, which could have been an improvement, but they did it to the point of skipping several important developments in the story. Yet, they found ways to waste precious minutes on scenes that dragged on longer than they should have, some of which didn't add anything to the story. It's only because I watched the Tencent adaptation that I was able to appreciate some of the ideas in the Netflix adaptation, since I knew what they were covering in spite of the skipped story beats. If I hadn't, I'd either feel like I was just watching a series of spoilers, or be confused about the point of it all.
Many positive reviews are downplaying negative ones for being pedantic and expecting a direct adaptation from the books, but this is feels reductionist and disingenuous. I think it's fine to diverge from the source material, but it should be done thoughtfully. In my opinion, the Netflix adaptation fails on its own merits. Some of the changes seem to be done in the interest of simplification, but this introduces plot holes, some of which must have been done against the recommendation of scientific advisors on staff. For example, I don't think the sophon was capable of unfolding itself (Trisolaris spent an unfathomable amount of time and energy building them), yet in this adaptation the sophon does it on a whim just to create a menacing eye in the sky? Why not just starve the planet of sunlight then and finish the story right there? Originally, the eye was observed during a failed Trisolaran unfolding attempt, alluding to a sentient threat gaining access to our universe from another dimension.
Tencent gave the viewer many episodes to theory-craft why "physics doesn't exist", what the motive could be for targeting scientists, who or what could be behind it, the purpose behind the game and so forth. The characters slowly whittled down the possibilities and eventually unveiled the truth. The show drip fed information to the viewer through the eyes of the characters which often became relevant much later, such as the flying blade. It went into philosophical thought experiments that conveyed the existential dread of the situation, like the turkey scientist and the farmer. It also covered several interesting physics concepts in a way that was easy to process and yet showed respect to the viewer.
Netflix? Nah, it's aliens bro, it's right there in the trailer on YouTube. There's no respect for the viewer, so there's no attempt made to even cover concepts like cosmic background radiation. It did cover a few at least, like FTL communication with entangled sophon pairs, the staircase project, etc. Netflix did also foreshadow some concepts that do come later in the books, sometimes with just novel covers shown on screen, some in dialogue, such as the Fermi Paradox and the Wallfacer project.
I believe the Oxford Five were created to be more relatable to the viewer than Wang Miao, but I think this again shows little respect for the viewer. They achieved this in part in the laziest way possible, such as having many of them just curse in every scene. I don't think it's necessary to relate to every character, and it can certainly be done in ways beyond superficial means like gender and race like what was attempted here. The story is about the science of it all, the universe, and this extends beyond the lifespan of a single person who likes to go drinking at a bar with friends. Most of us aren't top-tier scientists, we're not going to think like Oppenheimer or Feynman, this is fine. I found my immersion broken at several points when I saw the protagonists succumbing to irrational ways of thinking. To be a successful academic at such a high level would likely entail some core beliefs about the world and ways of thinking that wouldn't come off as people reading emotional lines off a script.
Is this D&D adaptation as bad as GoT S8? Definitely not. It's several points better, but the bar is pretty low. There were some redeeming moments, a few funny lines in almost every episode, I particularly liked some parts of the last one.
I do think it can still be worth a watch. However, I highly recommend starting with the Tencent adaptation, or reading the books first. Those are more of a journey, whereas this comes off more as a poorly written fan wiki with spoilers. I think this version can really rob you of the awe inspiring ideas in the source material and Chinese adaptation. My hope is that some people will find this version interesting enough to delve into the source material.
