Slashdot Mirror
Galactica Commentary Podcast Available
Kichigai Mentat writes "Apparently SciFi channel is pushing the bounds of your average TV viewing experience with "Battlestar Galactica." First came a full, uncut stream of the first episode, now a full episode commentary podcast available as a Podcast stream, episode-length MP3 file for download, or invividual MP3 files for each "Act." The podcasts are released a week in advance, and listeners are warned about spoilers."
ok, nothing annoys me more then someone renaming a technology, and then everyone jumping on the bandwagon of this new and great thing! it is called a webcast. as in broadcast combined with the web. there is no (i)pod in this stream whatsoever...
Isn't it great when somebody actually get's it...unlike some people.
Wtf is a podcast?
Ah, Wikipedia to the rescue!
Slagborr
The iPod sure is popular, but it does not dominate everything.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I've watched the episode with the Podcast and it was great! I had already seen the episode, and seeing it again with the Director's Commentary definitely added to the experience. I've seen the Director's Commentary for other television shows like CSI, but then I had to pay upwards of $60US per season for the privildge. Giving this kind of material away is fantastic and I applaud the SciFi channel for doing it! Granted, I'm sure this promotion is designed to get me hooked so that I end up buying the $60 DVD set when it comes out, but so be it. I'd like to know that I'll like it before I buy it!
There really hasn't been anything like it on TV in a while, and it is obvious that the producers pay attention to what fans think. I rememeber last year, there were postings on Slashdot about why after all the nuking Caprica didn't have nuclear winter effects, radiation. Now, 2nd season, the characters need radiation shots and the weather is awful (although shouldn't it be cold and icy instead of rainy?)
-
-
--POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT --
-
-
And the Baltar character is hilarious. Like last episode when Starbuck caught him and his imaginary(?) cylon GF doing it doggy style. It was sexy without being UPNish and funny without being stupid and, well, UPNish. I like how they introduce an edgy, troublesome character like commander Ty's wife and don't just send her off at the end of the episode StarTrek syle. Or it was cool when Boomer started getting hot and bothered over the Cylon fighter ship. I could go on and on. I wish the people who were doing Enterprise had had 1/10nth of the creativity. The one episode where they came close to the human level BSG gets is when they had shoreleave on that one planet, and Hoshi got bent over by that big alien guy. It was funny, totally unexpected from that particular character and made them seem like real people.
Have you even the faintest idea what joint stereo is? The difference between left and right is encoded seperately, and last I checked, zero compresses quite well.
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
this is a great idea, and I do think it's pushing the boundaries. Cheers, Dean
>> Is it just me, or is this one of the most boring shows on television today??
Yep, you nailed it right on the head. It's you.
One of the other networks is broadcasting Three's Company re-runs. You oughta check'em out. You'll like it.
I was never a fan of Sliders (corny and illogical), but the SciFi web site tie in was a true gem, with its clever contests and imaginative episode tie-ins. My favorite was the tie-in for the ep where the good guys are captured by the evil Cromags and thrown in a prison camp. The tie-in for that ep was the camp newsletter. Great stuff!
Here is a torrent of the Full PodCast. It's 20MB.
bsg_ep109_FULL.torrentSome valid points. However, I think I'd rather see both a streaming AND a downloadable version. Some of us prefer to download the entire thing so we can listen to it whenever. Being downloadable != backward technology, just a different choice.
The actual MP3 is here. It's not even on a streaming server; you have to download the whole thing. This is a step backwards to 1999 technology.
Dude, you got this so wrong.
A 'podcast' is where you have a program which automatically downloads mp3's by checking an RSS feed, and copies them over to iTunes for your iPod (you don't actually have to have an iPod, but the whole experience is designed with the iPod in mind, hence the name). This is like TiVo for your Internet broadcasts, this is far superior to streaming audio. Streaming is so Marconi!
It's one guy, talking. And he's boring. This isn't Mystery Science Theater 3000. It's more like "shut up, I'm watching the show".
This is like another modern technology you appear to be unfamiliar with--the DVD. Once you've watched a show, you can watch it again with commentary, that's what this commentary is for. Again, via a podcast this is vastly superior to the DVD method (omigod, imagine if this had been around when B5 was on!).
Incidentally, if you're shipping out voice recorded with one microphone, both channels are the same and there's no reason to send it in stereo. Just bloats the file.
Oh so true. Fortunately the guys at SciFi know this (not terribly surprising that a television network would understand the 'vagaries' of audio channels, lol), and made the file mono.
There's absolutely no way I haven't just been trolled...
This is phracking awesome!
The Television Wiki
In a nuclear winter, the first effect of multiple detonations would indeed be a ton of rain, as all the fallout in the air seeds tons of rainclouds. Then, as the dust blanket spreads around the planet, temperatures would plummet and the ozone layer would disintegrate due to the effects of the nitrous oxides released in the explosions. I'm fairly certain most of that constant rain has cleared up, so it should get very dark and cold soon.
-SPOILERS-
Baltar really is great. He's a perfect example of a character who toes the line between the "good" and "evil" sides, without committing too much to one or the other. Unlike a lot of "renegade" characters who never do anything truly objectionable, even though they might work for the other side, Baltar does things we like and things we hate.
I also like the fact that the Cylons are monotheistic and the humans are polytheistic, insofar as they are religious. There's a tendency in our society to see monotheism as a more sophisticated or advanced philosophy, and usually when we see a polytheistic society fighting a monotheistic one, the monotheistic one is the more advanced and "good" side. Mixing it up like this really gives one an insight into how we unconsciously bias towards societies with religions similar to our own.
What they're doing is smart, and I think it will pay off for them. A TV program lives and dies by ratings, which determine the price for advertising for the network or channel. BSG is attempting to grow a fan base to insure that they get high rating. They've already succeeded enough to get a second season.
The little extras they're giving us are just part of their overall campaign. It's a small part, but the attention to detail (such as the behind the scenes interviews with cast and crew) definitely adds to my enjoyment.
I join you in your hope that they will continue to release online versions of all the episodes, but I don't think it will happen beyond a very limited basis. FWIW, I got the miniseries off of BT and watched it last night and ordered the DVD from Amazon about 15 minutes ago. I don't like to think of myself as a pirate, but I'll accept the title of "illegal previewer". =)
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.