BSG is stinky

On top of the disappointing 1/2 season of South Park (which Stu amply covers below), the best drama on television is completely lacking 20% of the way into the season. Battlestar Galactica is completely underwhelming. Can't believe I'm typing it but it's true.

I'm not a Star Wars fan but I have a few friends who are (sidenote: all but one of them get laid consistently), and I've heard them complain that the new trilogy feels like the plot volume of one movie stretched out over three. I feel the same about Battlestar season 4. I have no doubt that Ronald Moore knows exactly how BSG is going to end and I'm even more sure it's going to be brilliant. I'm just don't know if he needs 20 episodes to get there. What we've seen in the first four held enough story for one mediocre season premiere. A minor character dies. Blah. Starbuck returns and no one bats an eyelash? Please. Even Baltar is beginning to lose his charm; he's become a babbling, pathetic schmuck as opposed to the glib, egomaniacal schmuck we loved to hate over the last three seasons. The most interesting story in the new season thus far has been the Cylon dispute/possible civil war. And more so than WHO the final cylon is (they've played this card 8 times and it lost its shock value after Boomer) I feel the more interesting mystery is WHY the final five are different.

Most cable shows are serial/episodic hybrids, which gives them an edge: If the story doesn't go anywhere, you can still have a great individual episode. And if the episodic story sucks, the show can still be saved by moving the overall plot forwards. Aye, there's the rub: Thus far, BSG hasn't delivered on either end.

Note: You know how slumping athletes (outside of NY) get a pass from the fans because of all they've done for the team in years past? Well, BSG has earned my trust. No matter how many episodes continue to disappoint me, I have no doubt in my mind that the next one will blow me away.

...and it gets even worse

this season of south park just got 100x less clever...



so much for originality

south park season 12 pt 1 subsector 8 form 26b microfieche

with the conclusion of season 12 part 1, aggrocrag readers will soon finally be treated to a post about something other than south park. ...soon. for now, more 'park it is.

last night's journey to days of field trips yore brought with it the first predictable cartman/butters episode of the series. the formerly novel and always brilliant recipe instantly became formulaic, and some may even say it had echoes of shark jumping (...say it ain't so!). besides that, i was irked by one specific, tiny line that hopefully is not a sign of something bigger to come: the police officer commenting on how annoying the people at the 1800s village are for never breaking character. it was a non-sensible diagetic oversight that played down to a dumb audience--something south park is fantastic at rarely doing. add this to a season without a single real bright spot (besides the 30 seconds of butters singing "what what in your butt," which loses replayability quickly and illuminated their struggles to pick up on potentially brilliant plot lines) (and perhaps the kenny/cheesing episode, which was by far and away the best of the first half of the season but still terrible compared to the classics) and it looks like we may be in for a bumpy ride to the finish.
we should note that it's still the best show on tv.

in other news, matt groening (sp?) interviewing david chase at the writer's guild this past week was exactly as fulfilling as most wga events: i left saying "it was worth the 10 bucks and howevermany hours of my life...but just barely." if you're around in late april and may, though, james l. brooks and judd apatow are coming 'round the bend...

internet money!

this week's south park was a bit disappointing (although the inflection with which them darn canada folk said "more internet money" was hi-larious). we knew they would take on the strike, but not this way. they made it seem like a fruitless battle, while in reality it was a much needed winning effort for the WGA. yes--it may have been a bit early; yes--we may not be fully aware yet of exactly how the internet is going to be profitable, but given that the contracts were up, timing the strike differently was not really an option, and provisions to adapt to change are there.

also, they couldn't have done more with butters status as an internet star? this is what the episode should have been about, and frankly i'll be a bit disappointed if next week is not about butters's jaunt around the talk show circuit.

welps, back to richard rodriguez's days of obligation...