I like that Lee proposed giving up technology because it makes for an interesting discussion, but I think it should have been a point of conflict. Since when have the 50,000 survivors ever agreed on anything in BSG? A pro-tech faction could have broken off and left Earth, or some catastrophe could have prevented the remaining humans & cylons from building a new civilization.

@Lake Desire

There’s an interesting interview with Jane Espenson over at AfterElton, and she talks about the potential problem of their (so far) only queer and poly characters being villainous. At least we know that the writing staff for Caprica is aware of the issue, so I am hopeful.

@Marie

The technology of the colonies and cylons cannot continue to exist . . . It’s not a matter of “we can’t communicate with him, toss him!” – it’s a matter of starting anew.

There’s never really any solid reason given for why they absolutely have to abandon tech. Lee just kinda feels like it would be a good idea and everyone else miraculously goes along with it. I find it telling that they don’t consider the life of Sam (and other people who require technology to live) as a worthy reason to continue to use technology. The message that sent to me was that the lives of disabled folk were considered expendable for the supposed greater good of the abled.

RE: Gaeta and Cain. The problem was not that the show tried to correlate their sexuality with evilness, it’s that the only queer characters depicted in the show were evil and had to be killed. There are no positive portrayals of queer characters (given that Hoshi was never written to be queer, it was tacked on after they completed filming season four) on the show. Quoting from here: “[If] there is no context for this group outside of the token character you’ve included, [that] means that the weight of your opinions, feelings, etc. about that group only have an outlet through that character.” If Moore et. al had done a better job writing non-heterosexual characters into the show, then Gaeta/Cain wouldn’t have mattered because they wouldn’t be the sole representations of queerness on BSG.

And I’m excited that there will be a nice scene between Felix and Gaius; they’re two of my favorites. It’s funny that when I saw this original post I immediately thought of Gaius, and then realized there was no feasible way to read him as disabled. I just relate to his apparent absence from himself during periods of stress, even though I don’t have a HeadSix.

I also agree with the people who thought Felix Gaeta’s final storyline fit with his character development and that we weren’t supposed to see him as the bad guy. Even if (almost) all the characters did in the end. Something I liked about that show was that sometimes all the “really good” characters–Adama, Kara, etc–would just NOT GET IT and sometimes never see the other side. In Gaeta’s case it was only very slimy Gaius Baltar who ended up telling him, genuinely, that he knew Gaeta and that he was a good person. In a scene which totally made me cry.

The sexuality stuff, I am ambivalent about. On the one hand, when they addressed it, it came up as a matter-of-fact thing. However, it was only shown directly in the “extras.” I bet most fans watched those, honestly, because they (um…we) were an obsessive bunch. But still, the same sex kissing not shown in the normal series. (Indirectly I think it was portrayed from the beginning. I was certain in season one that Gaeta had a serious crush on Baltar, and there was speculation for a long time was that the character was gay.)

His behavior during the coup was the much more ambiguous, I thought.

As for Anders – again. I just don’t read it as a disability issue. The technology of the colonies and cylons cannot continue to exist. The Hub is destroyed, leaving Anders the only Hybrid. It’s not a matter of “we can’t communicate with him, toss him!” – it’s a matter of starting anew.

As for Admiral Cain and Gaeta and the “Homosexuals are bad” – still not buying it. There’s never an explanation for why they are gay. There are explanations for why they do bad things. It’s not the classic “they were abused and so they’re evil Gay Villains!” – Cain lost a sister at a young age, to the the cylons. It’s not surprise that should would torture a cylon period, let alone one who betrayed her trust in such a way.. Gaeta is shown repeatedly to play sides for whatever reason, and his change isn’t all that out of line with his character – disability or no disability.