Difference between revisions of "Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV Series)"

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In various episodes of the popular show [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(U.S._TV_series) ''The Office'' (U.S. TV series)], there are recurring jokes surrounding the character Dwight Schrute and his admiration for Battlestar Galactica. Dwight is often chastised for his allegiance to his favorite show, but he remains loyal in his devotion. In one episode he wears a Battlestar Galactica sweatshirt, and in another episode he paints a model of the Battlestar Galactica ship. <ref>[http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_recurring_cultural_references The Office: List of recurring cultural references]</ref>
 
In various episodes of the popular show [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(U.S._TV_series) ''The Office'' (U.S. TV series)], there are recurring jokes surrounding the character Dwight Schrute and his admiration for Battlestar Galactica. Dwight is often chastised for his allegiance to his favorite show, but he remains loyal in his devotion. In one episode he wears a Battlestar Galactica sweatshirt, and in another episode he paints a model of the Battlestar Galactica ship. <ref>[http://theoffice.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_recurring_cultural_references The Office: List of recurring cultural references]</ref>
 
== Ethical Issues ==
 
== Ethical Issues ==
 +
===Robot Slaves===
 +
If the Cylons are intelligent human like machines do the humans have a right to enslave the machines? It all comes down to whether or not we perceive these machines to have feelings or a soul. If the machines are advanced enough to rebell and able to blend in with humans seamlessly then enslaving robots is unethical. While they might be different from humans in the sense of their creation they are still beings in this environment and deserve the right and treatments that others have.
 +
 +
===Genocide===
 +
As a whole there are a lot of reasons genocides are bad. Whipping out an entire population just because you don't like them is not acceptable. There are other ways ways to deal with issues like these such as dividing up land.
  
 
=== Autonomous, self-learning AI ===
 
=== Autonomous, self-learning AI ===

Latest revision as of 13:44, 20 April 2019

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Picture of the Main Cast of Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica (2004) is a re-make of a 1978 post-apocalyptic science fiction TV series. The pilot episode, originally a mini-series, aired on the Sci-Fi channel in December 2003 and the series ran until March 2009.The series takes place in a universe where humanity creates a race of self-aware, artificially intelligent automatons known as Cylons, who are capable of mimicing the appearance of humans. After a devastating assault on the human worlds, the last vestiges of humanity flee into space searching for a haven from the Cylon attacks, protected solely by a warship, or Battlestar, known as the "Galactica". Throughout the series, complex issues such as religion, politics, and the meaning of what it is to live are explored.


Plot Synopsis

The 2004 miniseries follows the adventures of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol after a nuclear massacre by the Cylons.

The Twelve Colonies is a place established by a tribe of people who left the "birthplace of humanity", otherwise known as Kobol. The Cylons are intelligent robots utilized as slave by the people of the Twelve Colonies to fight human wars. The Cylons eventually rebelled and fought to a truce, so they withdrew into the depths of space. The truce between the Twelve Colonies and Cylons lasted for approximately 40 years. Each year on the anniversary of the treaty, humans sent a representative to a neutral ground to meet with a Cylon counterpart. However, for 39 years, no representatives showed up. Finally, on the 40th year, a blonde Cylon in human form arrived and decided to announce a full genocide on the human race. In one day, the Cylons killed billions of humans by way of nuclear attack and only a select few survived to escaped into space on an old warship, the Battlestar Galactica. The ultimate goal is to search for the long-lost "thirteenth" colony that only exists in stories: Earth. [1]

The show has a total of four seasons, and the war between the humans and Cylons builds with each episode. In one of the episodes, the humans find out that the Cylons look just like them and have been among them the whole time. There are five humanoid Cylon models that exist called the "Final Five." However, the human Cylon models don't know that they are Cylons until the time is right to infiltrate. The entire show is a constant battle between human and Cylon, catering to the audience's emotional connection to the characters. In the last couple episodes, Kara Thrace, the supposed "Harbinger of Death" resurrects and manages to lead the surviving humans and their Cylon allies to a planet Adama deems "Earth." The actual "Earth" was revealed to have been originally occupied by humanoid Cylons, but they created their own robots who ended up waging a nuclear attack against them. This then made the planet uninhabitable. At the season finale, viewers are left with the on-going theme from the series: "All of this has happened before. But the question remains, does all of this have to happen again?" [2]

Pop Culture

In various episodes of the popular show The Office (U.S. TV series), there are recurring jokes surrounding the character Dwight Schrute and his admiration for Battlestar Galactica. Dwight is often chastised for his allegiance to his favorite show, but he remains loyal in his devotion. In one episode he wears a Battlestar Galactica sweatshirt, and in another episode he paints a model of the Battlestar Galactica ship. [3]

Ethical Issues

Robot Slaves

If the Cylons are intelligent human like machines do the humans have a right to enslave the machines? It all comes down to whether or not we perceive these machines to have feelings or a soul. If the machines are advanced enough to rebell and able to blend in with humans seamlessly then enslaving robots is unethical. While they might be different from humans in the sense of their creation they are still beings in this environment and deserve the right and treatments that others have.

Genocide

As a whole there are a lot of reasons genocides are bad. Whipping out an entire population just because you don't like them is not acceptable. There are other ways ways to deal with issues like these such as dividing up land.

Autonomous, self-learning AI

What is it to be alive?

The show never answers this question as humans die left and right, and cylons never really seem to fully vanish.

Do just human lives matter?

External Links

References

  1. Sify: Battlestar Galactica
  2. Wikipedia: Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
  3. The Office: List of recurring cultural references