Of Battlestars & Bonus Scenes

As the comment from Marauder a few weeks ago correctly surmised, Battlestar has settled into some "filler" episodes between mid-season and end of season finales, but their writing is still very strong, and they aren't afraid to push the characters around so we can find out a little more about them. I love that they never overplay the emotion in this show, but it is still there. Adama's recollection of his failed marriage were beautifully played, and was a great way to show that even great leaders have their doubt moments. The older actors really do shine in this show, with Adama, Roslyn and Tighe getting better writing and acting moments all the time.'

The move to Sunday nights has apparently yielded one success, the renewal of the show for a fourth season, or 13 episodes of it at least. Why they would dally with such a critical show to their line up does make me wonder, although we all know that critical success doesn't always mean ratings success, but sometimes you have to have a flagship to pin your credibility on, and god knows that Sci-Fi's original movies certainly aren't it.

But like embracing the dark side, the Sunday night timeslot has come with a price as they push for a broader viewership (but are wise enough to not mess with the scripts). One is the horrible pop-rock guitar that you get as they break for ads. It's bloody awful, and completely in defiance of all the subtle emotional and musical cues the show tries so hard to maintain. No wonder I prefer downloading and watching it later.

The other is the "bonus scene" concept at the end of the episode. Bonus scenes are fun for the fan boy, but as any good director's commentary will tell you, they are generally left out for good reason. The scenes haven't been to bad, but how are we supposed to treat them? Like deleted scenes, or as if they are BSG canon?

Take the first version after the Helo centric episode "The Woman King". It was a good scene, and quite a reveal for Helo, but I'm left confused as to whether to consider that this as a revealed event or not? Should we now assume that Adama knows of Helo's deliberate thwarting of the Cylon-genocide, and accepts it? Or is it an unspoken deleted scene, known only to the audience.

I may have to check back into the episode podcasts and see what Ron E Moore thinks of all this bonus stuff but lets assume he's smart enough to not bite the hand that feeds. What do you lot think?