Vox Populi is pleased to offer another television rewatch after a successful run last year with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This year we will attempt to fully bring into scope a television series praised for its multiplicity of political viewpoints veering from its historical context and connection with religion to the present day from a modern American perspective. Battlestar Galactica has often been described as a narrative in connection to America’s War on Terror stemming from September 11, 2001 to, as some citizens believe, the American purview today. The sci-fi series originated in 1978 and was brought back on the air in 2003 by creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eickin. Notably, Ronald D. Moore is most acclaimed as a screenwriter and producer on Star Trek. With his work on Deep Space Nine, Moore, prior to Battlestar Galactica, utilizes the science fiction narrative to connect with contemporary American culture. Now amongst a time of political upheaval as we come upon the 2016 election season that will bring in a new President of the United States we are most thrilled to broaden the discussion via a television show about American politics. We will be discussing our political history, feminism, language, writing and time travel in relation to Battlestar Galactica seasons 1 through 4 which aired on the Sci-Fi channel from 2003 to 2009. Each lecture presented will be paired with a screening from the season it is discussing along with readings centering around the topic of discussion. Following the lectures and screenings there will be a round table discussion with all lead lecturers focusing on the featured season. The round tables will have specific topics in order to cover, though we also encourage the audience to join in on the discussion. As the lectures help illuminate much of Battlestar Galactica Universe the Round Tables will help further highlight other themes from within the series including philosophy, religion and science fiction genres.
We have some returning lecturers and some new people coming into the group. Each bringing to the discussion in their own interests from art, history, nerdom, television and writing; Ann Cornell, April Aguillard, Beth Heinly, Derek Jones, Kate Kraczon, James Myers & Jonathan McCabe.
Cosplay welcome. Ambrosia for all who attend. There are spoilers. As we conduct the rewatch in chronological order our conversations will sometimes branch off into upcoming seasons. Stay tuned, we will be airing round table discussions on Vox Populi’s iTunes channel.
Description of Battlestar Galactica via Wikipedia:
“Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978 and was later followed by a short-run sequel series (Galactica 1980), a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games. A re-imagined version of Battlestar Galactica aired as a two-part, three-hour miniseries developed by Ronald D. Moore and David Eickin 2003. That miniseries led to a weekly television series, which later aired up until 2009. A prequel series, Caprica, aired in 2010.
All Battlestar Galactica productions share the premise that in a distant part of the universe, a human civilization has extended to a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies, to which they have migrated from their ancestral homeworld of Kobol. The Twelve Colonies have been engaged in a lengthy war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons, whose goal is the extermination of the human race. The Cylons offer peace to the humans, which proves to be a ruse. With the aid of a human named Baltar, the Cylons carry out a massive attack on the Twelve Colonies and on the Colonial Fleet of starships that protect them. These attacks devastate the Colonial Fleet, lay waste to the Colonies, and virtually destroy their populations. Scattered survivors flee into outer space aboard a ragtag array of available spaceships. Of the entire Colonial battle fleet, only the Battlestar Galactica, a gigantic battleship and spacecraft carrier, appears to have survived the Cylon attack. Under the leadership of Commander Adama, the Galactica and the pilots of “Viper fighters” lead a fugitive fleet of survivors in search of the fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth.”
Season 3
Sunday, November 20th, 2016, 1pm
Episode 19 & 20 “Crossroads Part 1 & 2”
Ann Cornell & James Myers, Co-Hosts of Not Nearly Nerd Enough
The Not Nearly Nerd Enough podcast was born out of a years-long friendship and even more years-long passion for geek and nerd culture. Co-hosts James Myers and Ann Cornell met at work and bonded over their love of movies, books and TV. While they shared many fandoms, each introduced the other to new, nerdy gems.
With Not Nearly Nerd Enough, James and Ann – who are often joined by friends and community members from the Philly region — appreciate and debate various current topics in the fandom realm. The podcast is both a labor of love and a learning experience and they are thrilled to be able to produce it in their home base of Philadelphia, where they were nominated for a Philadelphia Geek Award in 2015 (http://www.phillygeekawards.com/nominees/not-nearly-nerdy-enough/)
In their non-podcasting hours, Ann works as an editor for a series of suburban Philly newspapers, and James is a communications specialist for a leading healthcare professionals’ union. They also enjoy participating in international scavenger hunts and besting each other in fanfiction writing competitions. They are always playing Yellow Car.
Smegging Motherfraker: Language and Real World Reflections in Battlestar Galactica… and Beyond
The ’70s sci fi series that spawned a cult franchise, Battlestar Galactica rebooted in the early aughts of the 21st century much to the acclaim of space nerds everywhere. While receiving critical acclaim and awards and inspiring a new generation of rabid fans, the show failed to achieve widespread commercial success. Nonetheless, its influence is seen and felt throughout pop culture in the last decade and a half and many modern political and cultural themes are reflected in the show itself.
As Mark Peters noted in his article, “The Lingo of Battlestar Galactica,” “I looked at Cylons closely for the Oxford University Press blog, and based on all the uses and variations I found, it’s safe to say the Cylons have taken their place at the table of well-known fictional races, along with hobbits, wookiees, orcs, Klingons, Vulcans, and undecideds.”
It’s pop culture cred cemented, BSG also ranked first in the TechRepublic’s list of Top 10 Sci-fi Curse Words (frakkin’ yeah it did).
Ann and James will explore the language of Battlestar Galactica — both terms unique to the show and with roots in the real world — and how it connects and intersects with the greater pantheon of sci fi television and films. They’ll also look at how BSG parses our own real world culture and politics and reflects back its funhouse mirror perspectives on humankind’s better angels and bitter demons.
They will cap it off with an examination of Battlestar Galactica’s reverberations throughout our wider pop culture and modern media diet.
Suggested Readings:
Schwartz, Terri, “Ron Moore reflects on ‘Battlestar Galactica’s’ legacy for its 10th anniversary“, Screener, January, 15th 2015.
Faraci, Devin, “What Battlestar Galactica Had To Say About Ferguson“, Birth. Movies. Death., August 14th, 2014.
Folch, Christine, “Why the West Loves Sci-Fi and Fantasy: A Cultural Explanation“, The Atlantic, June, 13th 2013.
McFarland, K.M., “How to Invent a Language From The Guy Who Made Dothraki“, Wired, September 28th 2015.
In an effort to raise awareness for our friend James Myers and the terrible disease he is currently fighting, multiple sclerosis (MS), we are accepting donations at the event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. You can donate online as well with this link: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Donate
