Well, it frakkin ended.

[Hammerskjold]

Those who watched, thoughts?



Spoilers below warning.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
First half of the show IMO, sci-fi action gold. 110% badass scenes overload.
Humans fighting alongside red striped Centurions, against old style and new style centurions on the Cylon Colony assault\rescue mission.

The second half\denouement felt a bit uneven to me. The last 5 minutes though, I like it. It's hinted but still relatively ambiguous whether or not the cycle can be broken, Head Six seems to think so, or at least thinks there's hope.

[Jester]

Those who watched, thoughts?
Spoilers below warning.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
First half of the show IMO, sci-fi action gold. 110% badass scenes overload.
Humans fighting alongside red striped Centurions, against old style and new style centurions on the Cylon Colony assault\rescue mission.

The second half\denouement felt a bit uneven to me. The last 5 minutes though, I like it. It's hinted but still relatively ambiguous whether or not the cycle can be broken, Head Six seems to think so, or at least thinks there's hope.

Similarly spoilers.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I said, after the finale to last season, that if Starbuck wasn't the fifth cylon, then they had some explaining to do. Well, they did, and they didn't do it, and I think I'm happy with that decision. It leaves something unreconciled about the whole story, something extraneous to the 'cycle' that we have no accounting for. Perhaps she is god, or something equally strange.

I liked the episodes overall. I did see the ending coming to some extent, but even so, the sheer impact of "150,000 years later" was quite impressive. Not quite as shocking as the one at the end of season two, but still dramatic. They did the ending to the Matrix trilogy better than the Matrix trilogy did, especially since you know why you should give a flying frack about this cycle.

I wept openly at the death of Laura Roslyn / Marriage of Roslyn and Adama. A fitting, though humble, end to the most touching relationship of the show. Likewise the 2nd most touching, the grand arc of Saul Tigh, who is probably the only character story to really reach beyond its initial confines into something entirely greater.

The "great miss", where all the plot, character and myth arcs all come together in one stunning moment at the comm, and then to see it unwound by human tragedy in the most elementary sense... very well done. Poor Galen, so often the one who throws the wrench into the works, who has to live with the guilt.

Cavil died perfectly. Hearing Dean Stockwell, well, Frack himself, was simply stunning.

Overall, a fittingly epic and highly appropriate end to one of the finest science fiction series of all time. It was not transcendent, and it does not alter my fundamental judgement that they never did top the miniseries. But they didn't let us down either, and for a show of this quality, my hat is off to them.

-Jester

[Hammerskjold]

Spoilers alert WARNING WARNING.











.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I said, after the finale to last season, that if Starbuck wasn't the fifth cylon, then they had some explaining to do. Well, they did, and they didn't do it,

For the storytellers to even have the spheroids to attempt what they did, aka having their cake, and eating it too. But yeah, I came to a similar conclusion too. They handled it well enough for me. Sometimes better a mystery than a po-faced heavy handed explanation.

I liked the episodes overall. I did see the ending coming to some extent, but even so, the sheer impact of "150,000 years later" was quite impressive. Not quite as shocking as the one at the end of season two, but still dramatic. They did the ending to the Matrix trilogy better than the Matrix trilogy did, especially since you know why you should give a flying frack about this cycle.

I was getting real antsy at first, looking at my clock and the scene before that fast forward jump. If it ended with Hera smiling on 'Earth', I'd probably shout 'FRAKKKK THIS!!!' It'd be a real downer for me if it all ended so saccharinely. Thankfully it didn't. While some folks didn't like it, I thought those real life clips of the progression of robotics was great. It worked in this context IMO.

... the grand arc of Saul Tigh, who is probably the only character story to really reach beyond its initial confines into something entirely greater.

I'm going to be slightly more generous here, and say through out the series almost everyone seems put their best effort in, even the actors that played characters who didn't have a lot of screen time managed to add something special. But if there is a character that deserves a 'grand arc' title, I would definitely agree Saul gets that nod.

Poor Galen, so often the one who throws the wrench into the works, who has to live with the guilt.

Cavil died perfectly. Hearing Dean Stockwell, well, Frack himself, was simply stunning.

With Galen in close second, at least in my book. Maybe that's because his character voiced my sometimes wish out loud, badly paraphrasing here,' humans, cylons, I'm sick of them all for now, I think I'm going to take a break and live out a hermit.' The guy can't catch a break especially when it comes to women in this lifetime at least.

If I was Cavil in that particular moment, I'd probably do the same. Damn final five can't even do a simple all hands in the hybrid hot tub download without something major frakking up. The final 5 has less connection stability than an AOL account. It's enough to make a guy say Frakk this and overdose on lead.

Overall, a fittingly epic and highly appropriate end to one of the finest science fiction series of all time. It was not transcendent, and it does not alter my fundamental judgement that they never did top the miniseries. But they didn't let us down either, and for a show of this quality, my hat is off to them.

This guy seems to like it as well.

http://www.space.com/entertainment/090319-...-galactica.html

And he sums up my feelings on it much better than I could.

"Science fiction works best when it's done as an allegory," Reisman said. "That's what's so powerful about the new show. They take on a lot of contemporary issues."
.....

"The new mission drives at the gray area, where you assume what's right and wrong, and it forces you to reexamine your concept of that," Reisman said. "Well, couple that with some good spaceship shoot 'em ups."

So say we all. :D

[Kevin]

And some spoiler filler from me as well

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I actually guessed pre or early humanity earth for the final destination back when the whole find earth stuff started, but the show took them to earth (the first time) too soon for that to work then. So getting them there later worked for me and I was alright with how they got there as well.

I was alright with the 150,000 years later as well. At first I wasn't so sure when I saw it. I didn't really want a preachy message that I had some worries about with all the lead ins about god, but the delivery was good so it fit the show well. It's not like it's an uncommon theme in sci fi to talk about the robots taking over, you can find plenty of stories of that, some dating back well over half a century. As other mentioned, they do still end with a small note of hope that the cycle will be broken.

It was a good series. Good sci-fi good drama. Good character development. There were unexpected twists I didn't see, but they generally made sense when you saw them and while it's never easy to end something of that magnitude, they did a good job. Focusing a lot of the attention on the characters and wrapping up their little bits was a solid way to go. I also think Kara was explained well enough.

I also enjoyed the little "riding off into the sunset" deal for Galactica itself. :)

[--Pete]

Hi,

Just a minor aside:

It's not like it's an uncommon theme in sci fi to talk about the robots taking over, you can find plenty of stories of that, some dating back well over half a century.

As a matter of fact, the first use of the word 'robot' is in a play, R.U.R. by Karel Čapek, 1921, in which the robots take over.

Just a FYI:)

--Pete

[Kevin]

Hi,

Just a minor aside:
As a matter of fact, the first use of the word 'robot' is in a play, R.U.R. by Karel Čapek, 1921, in which the robots take over.

Just a FYI:)

--Pete

I knew there was work from the 30's with robots taking over, I seem to recall something in the 1890's even where mechanized creations took over as well, but I wasn't sure at the time of posting and didn't feel like looking it up. So I took the safe route of a shorter timespan, even though I couched it in a long time frame term by using century. I knew there was pre WWII stuff, but I keep forgetting that war started over 70 years ago now. A little quirk of mine is that when I think about "history" as I learned it, not as I lived it, everything dates from about 1985 or so unless I recalculate it. :) Not completely sure why that is, as it doesn't correlate well to when I learned most of it (I was 10 in 1985). But that is just where my memory for X years ago is calibrated when I'm not really thinking and talking about something in the past. So when I said over half a century, my mind was thinking 1935ish. Which is still over a decade off from the first use of the word robot and still nearly half a century off if my memory is right about the concept of mechanical creations taking over humanity being put into print. :)

[--Pete]

Hi,

A little quirk of mine is that when I think about "history" as I learned it, not as I lived it, everything dates from about 1985 or so unless I recalculate it. :)

I know exactly what you mean, except that for me, the 'magic' year is 1964. Anything prior to about '57 is 'history'; from Sputnik to Nov. 22, 1963 is 'current events'. But anything following that day is just plain 'life'. I suspect we all have our own calenders, and just because Billy Idol is 'recent' in mine doesn't make it wrong:)

So when I said over half a century, my mind was thinking 1935ish. Which is still over a decade off from the first use of the word robot and still nearly half a century off if my memory is right about the concept of mechanical creations taking over humanity being put into print. :)

Didn't really mean to 'correct' you -- I just mentioned R.U.R. because it came to mind. It was one of the few sf things we studied in high school literature, and I still remember discussions from that time. I had discovered Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, and other such sf gods and found myself defending the value of sf to people who thought of it as 'trash' with half naked women and space ships on the covers. Besides, it's a good story, worth reading even though it's a screen play (though I'd love to see a good college production o it).

--Pete

[Hammerskjold]

Spoilers Alert, DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER MY ARMS ARE FLAILING ABOUT DANGER

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I actually guessed pre or early humanity earth for the final destination back when the whole find earth stuff started, but the show took them to earth (the first time) too soon for that to work then.

One of my favorite scenes of many, in the whole series. When the surveying crew is on the 'first earth'. Roslin quietly saying 'Earth...'. And the Geiger counter noise pretty much confirming what we're seeing on the screen.

It's not like it's an uncommon theme in sci fi to talk about the robots taking over, you can find plenty of stories of that, some dating back well over half a century.

I do feel that one of the unspoken major character in the whole series are the Centurions. IIRC, the Colonials created them and treated them as a slave-soldiers. When they rose up and say enough is enough, meatbags! They're obviously going to be portrayed as the bad guys by the hu-mainstream media. Uppity chrome-backs don't know their place. Where's my frakkin sammich, toaster?!

On a more serious note, really, I do like how they handled the Centurion story. It can be viewed allegorically, and literally with the continuing advancement in A.I. and robotics. Maybe in the future Asimov's law of robotics might actually be in the law books. And will be cited in the case of R.O.S.I.E vs Jetsons.

As other mentioned, they do still end with a small note of hope that the cycle will be broken.

'Small' being the key word. At the time of this writing, we have let's see. UAVs armed with Hellfire missiles. Rumbas. Rumba tech used in a military capacity. A.I. continues to be developed in the area of human\machine interaction. Plans of robo-nannies to take care of the elderly. (Kinda like Caprica taking care of Baltar's father. But more utilitarian and not as femme-botty, for now at least.)

To me the key in breaking the cycle lies in one question. Can we respect sentience? The warning the final 5 was bringing to the other colonies was suppose to be that iirc, if they create artificial life they should treat it with respect.

Looking at how we treat each other in history, never mind A.I and walking toasters. The answer seems to be real shaky and tenuous at times. The Colonials IMO only bought some extra time by jettisoning the technology they brought with them. The big question still remains what will they (we) do with the technology? 150,000 years later (probably give or take a few centuries) , we're already nearing the start of another 'here we go again...'

I also enjoyed the little "riding off into the sunset" deal for Galactica itself. :)

Hehe. Touche'.

[Jester]

Good to hear the endorsement of Karel Čapek. I once read War With the Newts on a recommendation, and it remains one of my favorite works of science fiction.

-Jester

[--Pete]

Hi,

I once read War With the Newts on a recommendation, and it remains one of my favorite works of science fiction.

I love that novella, but haven't thought of it in decades. Thanks for the reminder, I'll have to see if I can locate a copy in the local library.

--Pete

[Taem]

The whole series was great - fantastic actually. There is, however one thing I suppose I'm confused on; the way I understand it, the original Cylons were created on Kobol by humans, and 4000 years before the events of the mini series, the Cylons all left to establish their own colony, the 13th colony on the proverbial Earth. 2000 years before the events in the mini-series, Kobol experienced some kind of natural catastrophe which caused the remaining human inhabitants to leave and eventually founded Caprica. So it is at this point that I am confused on quite a few details, so let me clarify some definitions first from what I understand:

CYLON-TYPE#1: Humanoid-Robotics Hybrid with artificial intelligence capable of breeding; created on Kobol
CENTURION: Robotics with artificial intelligence; it is suggested the Cylon#1's built them
CYLON-TYPE#2: Humanoid-Robotics Hybrid with artificial intelligence not capable of breeding (requires Resurrection Hub to procreate); Ellen Tye refers to this model however as "Centurions"; created by Cylon#1's, but at an unknown date in the time line

After Samual Anders was shot, before he enters into a semi-catatonic state, he claims the Cylons#1 were the creators of the Centerians and used them as their work-horses which is part of the reason they rebelled. He also states that the Cylons#1 created the Cylons#2, but does not state why.

So Humans find Caprica and create AI in the form of Centurions? Or did the Cylons give them Centerions? How did the humans on Caprica forget about the skin-jobs when they coexisted with them in Kobol? Maybe because 4000 years had passed I presume.

When Elen Tye rejoins the fleet and recants her tale of her previous life on Earth#1, she tells them the final five tried to warn the human colonies on Caprica that the Centenarians were planning an attack. So even though the humans had lost all knowledge of Caprica, the Cylon#1's somehow knew where Caprica was, even though it had been 4000 years since they last had contact with them on Kobol and leaving for Caprica had never even been mentioned to them? Also, does this mean the Cylon#2 were considered to be Centurions by the Cylon#1's? How did the Cylon#2's find Caprica? How did they "forget" about Earth#1's location when they led the assault on it?

[Taem]

SPOILERS AHEAD

* CAUTION *

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Alright, so I really enjoyed the ending, but didn't feel the second half quite fit into the storyline very well. First off, let me say I thought the story arc regarding Kara, and to some extent Baltar and the #6 "visions" was expertly crafted and fit the mantra of the reimaged storyline perfectly - that they were all angels; cool! So "god's" hand in everything can explain away a lot of inconsistencies, nice touch. The fight between Galactica and the home base was one of the best moments of television IMO.

So my main gripe is with how the survivors all decided to give up their technology to live on Earth#2. I just don't buy that. Consider that amoungst the survivors, there are bound to be those who have lived abord ships other than Galactica and probably have not experienced the stress they have, teenagers who want to bring along their favorite PDA book or video game. Consider all the medical archives, information that is essential to survival all being left behind - illogical. Consider they just landed on this planet and can never be certain that the Cylon#2's didn't survive that final attack (I'm sure there are other base-ships out there), thus they could eventually find them on Earth#2 and if they weren't prepared, they would be taken over since the Cavil made it perfectly clear the remaining Cylon#2's were looking for a new home themselves. Consider the hostilities of a new planet, and not having weapons to protect against unknown elements, such as wild animals just seems illogical. Consider there's not enough study done to even know if that planet's sun wasn't going to go supernova like Kabol's did, or that some meteor might smash into the planet, it seems logical that for survival's sake, they might not consisder keeping ships in space. Consider that even if half the fleet agreed with Lee, the other half probably did not. It also crossed my mind how after being in a situation like what they experienced, quite a few of the survivors have Post Tramautica Stress Syndrome, however it seems to me someone who has lost everything would become a horder, keeping everything they can for fear they'll loose it; everything they own has sentimental value (my mom is a horder and grew up moving from place to place her whole childhood). Giving up all their technology seems completly illogical to me, and while some of the survivors might comply, I honestly don't see all of them complying which brings up the paradox, why haven't we found ancient guns or computer components in some cave somewhere? I know it's their story, so I'll go along with it, but the inconsistencies that cannot be pawned off on divine intervention just don't add up. I enjoyed the ending well enough, but felt it was too campy and tried explaining away too much with divine intervention. I would of preferred it if they found a different planet entirely, or if it had to be "our" Earth they found, that they would have shown some resistors leaving with their own technology, helping the inhabitants of Earth from time to time when they needed it but vowing to remain obtuse, hence UFO's. That would be a fantastic tie-in IMO. Just my 2-cents.

[Occhidiangela]

OK, so when I go the video store next, should I rent this Bstar Galactica series, all seasons in sequence?

I saw the original when it came out in the late 70's, enjoyed the hell out of it. Sorry it ended.

Is the remake better? Is it good enough, better or not?

[Jester]

OK, so when I go the video store next, should I rent this Bstar Galactica series, all seasons in sequence?

I saw the original when it came out in the late 70's, enjoyed the hell out of it. Sorry it ended.

Is the remake better? Is it good enough, better or not?

Better by far, unless you really, really, need your Lorne Greene fix. The miniseries and first season especially are wonderful, and the whole thing is good to the end.

-Jester

[Hammerskjold]

OK, so when I go the video store next, should I rent this Bstar Galactica series, all seasons in sequence?

Yeah. There are more or less, some stand-alone episodes. But the series is episodic.

I saw the original when it came out in the late 70's, enjoyed the hell out of it. Sorry it ended.

I saw the original when I was much younger, and watched it again in re-runs a couple of years back.
If I have to give a cold eyed, more objective take on it. I have to say that while the original isn't all bad,
most of the enjoyment I got out of it mostly came from nostalgia. The budget they had to work with, and some of the 70's cheese did not age it well for me.

Is the remake better? Is it good enough, better or not?

I'm going to have to give you a weasel answer on this one. It depends. (I'm obviously biased here since I'm a big fan of the new series.)

I'd say the new series is part mythic parable, part military-political drama, part soap-opera, part techno-thriller, part kick-ass action sequences. There is some episodes which I would call 'filler', but comparatively speaking. IMO A filler episode of BSG is probably still better than most of the other crap on TV.

If you do stick with it until the end though, it might be surprising how the new series incorporates parts of the 70's version.

[Occhidiangela]

Better by far, unless you really, really, need your Lorne Greene fix. The miniseries and first season especially are wonderful, and the whole thing is good to the end.

-Jester

OK, maybe I can add this to things my son, wife and I can watch together.

We've been having trouble finding movies we all like, this may fit the bill.

Otherwise, it's me taking it one episode at a time over a few weeks to get it all in.

Thanks to you both, you and Hamm, for the teaser and the reviews.

Occhi

[Hammerskjold]

SPOILERS

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

So my main gripe is with how the survivors all decided to give up their technology to live on Earth#2. I just don't buy that.

This might be the source of this era's big nerd war, reminiscent of Kirk vs Picard. ;P

I haven't quite made up my mind on it yet, though I think the creators left themselves some wiggle room when Lampkin was talking to Adama sr. IIRC, Lampkin was surprised how amenable everyone is to the idea, and Adama replied don't underestimate the desire for a clean slate. And Adama did say something like '...with some small provisions.'

If anything would sway me more to the 'yeah, I think most of them would go for the re-settlement without high tech options' side, is that many of them might be sick and tired of living in ships. Even if that ship is not as stressed out as Galactica. (Preceeding your good observation here.)

Consider that amoungst the survivors, there are bound to be those who have lived abord ships other than Galactica and probably have not experienced the stress they have, teenagers who want to bring along their favorite PDA book or video game.

That's a good observation. Without knowing too much of their tech, I'm going to make a wild stab at it anyway. Regular analog books will probably be more prized than a PDA book or video game. Although we saw reporters using cameras and recorders, radios etc. They will probably have a hard time with charging\recharging\powering these kinds of gadgets on Earth2. It will probably be cave painting and parchment for awhile, and not digicams and mics.

Consider all the medical archives, information that is essential to survival all being left behind - illogical. Consider the hostilities of a new planet, and not having weapons to protect against unknown elements, such as wild animals just seems illogical.

They probably brought whatever med archives they could (in the form of Doc Cottle and co.), but they're probably just as concerned in finding out if there are new diseases or medical compounds unique to Earth2. The Colonials seems advanced in some areas, but medically they seem to be only marginally more advanced than we are. Eg: They don't have a cancer cure either. The cylon blood transfusion was only a temporary fix to Roslin's condition.

Consider they just landed on this planet and can never be certain that the Cylon#2's didn't survive that final attack (I'm sure there are other base-ships out there), thus they could eventually find them on Earth#2 and if they weren't prepared, they would be taken over since the Cavil made it perfectly clear the remaining Cylon#2's were looking for a new home themselves.

There are probably still other Cylon base ships out there, but they've probably got other problems in the immediate future. Their colony is destroyed, Cavil is dead, no resurrection. They could try to locate Earth2, but space can be a big and hostile place, and do they really want to take a chance with no res scroll left.

Galactica is out of commission, and the rebel Base Star is the only ship left that can take over that duty. But that's out of the question, since it was given to The Red Stripes Centurions who said bye. The usual drill seems to be if a hostile shows up, everyone else starts jump procedure. While Galactica defends until everyone has jumped. Even if some of the armaments were transfered to other ships, it's probably doubtful they could do any serious defending.

So it could be argued both forces after the assault\rescue mission, are at least in pro-longed stalemate.

Consider there's not enough study done to even know if that planet's sun wasn't going to go supernova like Kabol's did, or that some meteor might smash into the planet, it seems logical that for survival's sake, they might not consisder keeping ships in space. Consider that even if half the fleet agreed with Lee, the other half probably did not. It also crossed my mind how after being in a situation like what they experienced, quite a few of the survivors have Post Tramautica Stress Syndrome, however it seems to me someone who has lost everything would become a horder, keeping everything they can for fear they'll loose it; everything they own has sentimental value (my mom is a horder and grew up moving from place to place her whole childhood). Giving up all their technology seems completly illogical to me, and while some of the survivors might comply, I honestly don't see all of them complying which brings up the paradox, why haven't we found ancient guns or computer components in some cave somewhere?

Good points, the short answer is they probably have a limited time and budget to wrap up the series.;)

Another shorter answer is storywise, if a group decided to keep some colonial high tech and ships in orbits, the final 5 minutes would not have had the same impact.

The hoarding aspect is an interesting point, and it could be a whole other angle to explore, but again they only have 3 hours or so to wrap up. For the sake of devils advocacy here though, do they have much to hoard at this point? A lot has likely been used up after the first attack on the colonies, same thing after the New Caprica evac.

They probably brought some sort of weapons and weapon ideas, but ammo for guns might be in very low supply after the final assault-rescue mission. And without much ammo, not to mention repair parts and gunsmiths, the guns might as well be salvaged for the metal to make knives, spear, bows, etc.

[Hammerskjold]

OK, maybe I can add this to things my son, wife and I can watch together.

Just a potential heads up here, the new series does have scenes of violence and sex, drinking, etc. But imo not necessarily gratuitous. But it's not rated G for a good reason, so if your son is of a young age. I'd watch a couple of episode without him before deciding if it's appropriate for his age\maturity etc etc.

Shorter version, it's not quite like Star Wars\Trek, there's some serious heavy stuff that could be too much for a young person. Iirc it's rated as pg-13 and up.

edited for grammor-errer

[Tamorrax]

Spoilers as well.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

So my main gripe is with how the survivors all decided to give up their technology to live on Earth#2.

Not really buying this also. Maybe after having been on ships for four years and eating algae-derived "food products" the thought of real food caused everyone to conveniently forget about the hard labor that would be involved in obtaining this "real food". Not to mention the high chance of messy death by wild animal.

Apart from that, I have mixed feelings about the ending. First hour was epic, though Cavil's death left me slightly confused. Why shoot himself instead of say, Tigh? Boomer's death was very sudden, just like the last one, and left me slightly disappointed, since I expected her to die blowing something up--going out with a Boom, I guess.

And! Red striped Cylons SO CUTE. :w00t:

Second hour has some good moments and some awkward moments. Any moment with Lee was awkward. Was totally disinterested in the Kara/Lee drunk-adultery bit.

I wept openly at the death of Laura Roslyn / Marriage of Roslyn and Adama. A fitting, though humble, end to the most touching relationship of the show.

This did not have the emotional impact I expected it to have. For me the Adama/Roslin relationship peaked when she was jumped away by the hybrid and Adama waited for her in that lone raptor. Their reunion was nothing short of epic. It was almost all downhill from there, except for that episode where Madame Airlock declares war on the entire fleet after hearing that Adama is dead.

Surprisingly, the few moments that stood out for me were the bits with Baltar and Caprica, especially the last part where Baltar admits that he knows about farming. Yep. Baltarstar Galactica, I salute you.

[Jester]

Just a potential heads up here, the new series does have scenes of violence and sex, drinking, etc. But imo not necessarily gratuitous. But it's not rated G for a good reason, so if your son is of a young age. I'd watch a couple of episode without him before deciding if it's appropriate for his age\maturity etc etc.

Shorter version, it's not quite like Star Wars\Trek, there's some serious heavy stuff that could be too much for a young person. Iirc it's rated as pg-13 and up.

I'll second that. There are some very dark issues dealt with, including but not restricted to rape, torture, murder, and genocide. Not for young kids.

-Jester