posted
The time has come! We, hatrackers all, must come together and decide the great questions of the internet! We must combine our collective intelligenceseses to solve those most perplexing of mysteries, those conundrums that keep even our wisest of scientists and most popular of sports stars awake at night! It is up to US!
This is the first of a potentially weekly thread which will discuss and debate the pros and cons of two similar but disparate nouns. This is, for all intents and purposes, a great debate, a fight to the death between two heavy weight contenders. All hatrackers must jump in with their opinion. There can only be one victor! The debate for this week (drum roll and fanfare, etc., etc.) is:
Firefly VS. Battlestar Galactica
(Please, keep ad hominen attacks to a minimum. Additionally, try to stay as much on topic as possible, which may prove to be decidedly IMpossible, because after all, this is Hatrack. Also, try not to jump into tangential debates such as New vs. Old Battlestar Galactica or Firefely vs. Farscape; these topics may covered in future threads. Finally, I'll weigh in with my own opinion, not that my own opinion really matters, once there's a good discussion going: I wouldn't want to sway the vote right from the get go.)
With that said, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!
[ February 15, 2007, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: His Savageness ]
Posts: 194 | Registered: Feb 2005
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Like my 'pa always said when my nana asked him if he wanted apple pie or cherry pie.
Yes please.
You cannot choose between two good things. I watch both.
Concerning this debate, I submit that you are comparing apples and oranges. BSG is solid drama. That Firefly manages to show a not so shiny world in such a light nature puts an exclaimation point on how dark and claustrophobically hopeless BSG can be. It is like comparing Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Interview with a Vampire sure they are about similar things and fall roughly in the same category but they hardly have the same capacity for debate as DarthAsthma Vs Spork might.
Interestingly BSG and Firefly share quite a few fans as well as, incidentally, the same cg people.
Posts: 686 | Registered: Sep 2001
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Don't worry, Stark Trek will have its day in the ring.
quote: I submit that you are comparing apples and oranges
That would be a good topic for a future debate, although I prefer the great "banana VS. cantaloupe" argument.
Posts: 194 | Registered: Feb 2005
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There both good, but this mostly comes down to a numbers game. 14 episodes and a movie can't compete with a miniseries and three seasons.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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If I had to have only one or the other, I think I'd go with Firefly. BSG gets points for being longer-running, but I love the lightness of Firefly. They really are complementary, though, and wonderful in their own ways.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I'll have see BSG before I make any judgement. I think that Start Trek should not be involved in this discussion, because after having seen Firefly, Star Trek just looks childish. I imagine Battlestar Galactica will make me feel the same.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Jun 2002
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I've never seen BSG, and I just watched the first four episodes of Firefly this afternoon. So I think we all know which I'm going for.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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As a big fan of both shows, I'd vote for Firefly in a heartbeat. It's extraordinarily consistent- out of 14 episodes and a movie, I'd say there's only one episode that falls to the level of mediocrity, and at least five that are among the greatest episodes of television ever produced. BSG is much more hit-or-miss, and the overall quality of writing isn't up to Firefly's standard (especially in the current season). But both shows have wonderfully complex characters played by some of the best actors in the business, and both are great science fiction.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Firefly every time. I've never seen BSG, but Firefly is one of the greatest shows of all time. In fact, I really want to watch an episode right now, but it's late, and I should really get to bed.
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Firefly will beat BattlestarGalactica as easily as CaptainJack's BlackPearl will smack down Picard's Enterprise. Speed, wit, joie de vivre, and hot women with BAD attitude always win over angsty plodders planning girly soap opera plots.
Edited out 'luck' cuz it takes a LOT of luck for Adama and Picard to survive getting out of bed, and an unbelievable amount of luck for their crews to survive the day.
quote:Originally posted by aspectre: Firefly will beat BattlestarGalactica as easily as CaptainJack's BlackPearl will smack down Picard's Enterprise. Speed, wit, luck, joie de vivre, and hot women with a real BAAAD attitude always win over angsty plodders planning girly soap opera plots.
Yeah! What he say...
As a bona fide Browncoat (that's coat, not trousers) I have to vote for Firefly. However, it's more than that - the only BSG I've seen really didn't grab me. I watched the opening episodes of season one, and left it there. However the Firefly episodes we watched as A FAMILY* and wolfed them down in two or three sittings and were left wantng more. I suppose I was disappointed that the New Battlestar didn't have more members of the A-Team as crew.
* those who know Mrs_Maven will realise she has little interest in SF TV. It must be compelling as good entertainment on many levels to spark her interest as well as mine.
Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Mucus: It is like asking whether cavemen or astronauts would win in a fight...
Cavemen would win, of course. They have greater strength and agility. An astronaut's brain won't be of any use when a caveman puts a rock through it.
Posts: 413 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I've never seen Battlestar Gallactica, but I'm still going to have to vote for Firefly, because I can't imagine any sci-fi TV show being better than Firefly.
Posts: 930 | Registered: Dec 2006
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I'd vote for firefly. I think BSG is a great show, but I just don't enjoy it as mush as firefly. I TIVO BSG,and I always get around to watching each episode...but sometimes it is a couple weeks before I get around to it. I would always watch firefly within a day of it airing (if not live) because I simply couldn't wait to see what Joss was going to do next.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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I haven't seen the actual BSG show, but couldn't even get through the miniseries/pilot, it was so dark and ponderous. Loved Firefly, though.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Attention Jatraqueros! Only two days of voting left before the polls are closed and a new topic opens up! Be heard now before it's too late; your vote does count!
So you know, the current results (as near as I can tell) are:
Come on BSGers! Rally and let your voice be heard! Extra points will be awarded to those arguments I consider to be extra persuasive. (I'll wait until the end to award those extra points. Right now Tarrsk and aspectre have made point worthy arguments in favor of Firefly. Amenecer has made a point worthy argument in favor of BSG.)
All right, all right. I guess I'll have to say "Firefly", in that I've seen two episodes of it (and enjoyed them very much) and have never seen any "Battlestar Galactica". In a real vote, I'd abstain due to my lack of understanding of the issues. But in this case . . . yeah, let's just go with "Firefly".
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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We all know my pick, from above, but I now realize that I was supposed to justify it somehow. Actually, I'm just looking for bonus points, but since these two goals coincide... well...
So, here are the reasons why I like BSG better:
Special Effects
I've seen most episodes of Firefly (and Serenity), and everything BSG's put out. Twice. At least. In all of my viewing, the SFX team for BSG is astonishing - they have more than once made me go "Oh holy FRAK! LOOK at that!" From the depth and clarity of the space battles (think "Resurrection Ship, Part II" or "Exodus, Part II") to the walking chrome toasters, BSG firmly dominates in terms of quality. And quantity, but who's counting?
Overall Story
This might be a bit of an unfair comparison - I apologize. But I personally prefer story arcs. Big long complicated backstories are even better. While watching Firefly, I felt more like it was a series of standalone episodes; there were few continued storylines and, more importantly, nothing that compelled me to watch the episodes in a given order. BSG, well, has a pretty basic premise: keep the humans alive and away from the Cylons. But most every episode deals with this arc, including the bad ones. I think I figured out how to say this simply: Firefly leaves me with the "Well done, mates!" feeling of a one-time deal, whereas BSG makes me need to tune in next to see what happens.
Drama vs. Comedy
It is like apples and oranges, and more often than not, it'll depend on one's mood. I'll admit that I can't come up with a reasonable basis of comparison for this. That said, I personally think "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" is funnier than half of Firefly.
Writing, Acting, and the Like
Firefly's a witty show. It's cleverly-written, and it probably could have done a lot more if it had had the time. Unfortunately, it didn't. The actors played well off one another, but I don't think they had the time to fully come together the way BSG has. A look between Mal and Inara just doesn't hold the same weight of a look between Roslin and Adama - this may just be two seasoned actors living up to their potential, but it also certainly has a lot to do with the working relationship and trust the actors have developed with one another.
I know I won't convince any of the Browncoats, especially those who haven't seen BSG. And that's okay - I just want some extra points to compensate for BSG's extraordinarily poor showing here. Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I'm a big fan of the underdog, I'll vote for Battlestar Gallactica. (and yes, that's pretty much how I decide everything)
Posts: 2596 | Registered: Jan 2006
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world in such a light nature puts an exclaimation point on how dark and claustrophobically hopeless BSG can be. It is like comparing Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Interview with a Vampire sure they are about similar things and fall roughly in the same category but they hardly have the same capacity for debate as DarthAsthma Vs Spork might.![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
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