Show Meets World

It’s hard to say whether the premiere episode(s) of Season 3 (Occupation/Precipice) have become too-obvious political statements about the real world, but this topic sparked a discussionat our BSG get-together Friday night.

One strong argument contends that the show’s emphasis on a war with blurred boundaries, an occupation whose support is faltering from within its own ranks, the detaining of civilians indefinitely and without charges, torture, suidice bombings, religious conflict– is a too heavy-handed political analogy to our current situation in the Middle East. One of our friends pointed out that this direction detracts from the show’s powerful emotional pull created by character conflicts, etc.

Isuggest that while the writers are surely aware of all of these connections, the show addresses issues that its audience is already deeply involved in and connected to. Since these problems are very relevant to many of us right now, it can be argued that this is what makes good t.v.

To get down to it, I’m not turned off yet by the political analogies. I immensely enjoyed (and was shocked, pleased, horrified, and amused by) the season premiere, and unless the show forgets itself and drastically changes, I’m going to be poised in front of the t.v. every Friday night, awaiting more brilliant storytelling.