The United Nations already feels like its own alternate universe — one snatched from the 1970s, with its retro-disco architectural design and Swingtown decor — but when I walked into the assembly room where Sci Fi and the UN’s Department of Public Information was holding a Battlestar Galactica retrospective, the illusion was sealed: In front of each of the 200-plus delegate seats (you know, the ones with the mics and the translator ear thingies) was a placard from each of the 12 Colonies of Kobol.
Sci Fi turned the United Nations into the Quorum of Twelve. Which may be the third coolest thing I’ve ever seen.
While the idea of the UN hosting a retrospective on Battlestar Galactica might sound a little odd, as the night went on it started to make perfect sense. From the very beginning, BSGhas dealt with moral issues — what it means to be human, the rule oflaw vs. the military might, the arguable merits of armed insurgency –issues which find themselves on the UN’s docket almost every day. AsRobert Orr, the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Planning put it,"You’ve got people thinking about issues that we try and get peoplethinking about every day."
Moderated by Whoopi Goldberg (pictured, left), who prompted the conversation like agood bartender/stand-up veteran ("The UN is more than a building withfantastic curtains…"), the panel — featuring Edward James Olmos (pictured, right),Mary McDonnell (pictured, center), and executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick– discussed topics ranging from torture to women’s rights to thepitfalls of technology. The only questions from the crowd of 300 or sowere taken from a whip-smart batch of high school students. And it wasnever less than interesting, very often fascinating, and once,powerfully moving.
When one of the UN’s representatives talked about how part of theirmandate was to safeguard the human rights of everyone, regardless ofrace, gender, ethnicity, and station, Olmos got a little heated. "Younever should’ve invited me here," he said, before blasting the UN forcontinuing to use race as a term of separation, of division amongpeoples. His voice rose, steadily, as if years of social activism wascoming to a head on this night. Then, directing his attention to thehigh schoolers: "Adults will never be able to stop using the word’race’ as a cultural determinant….There is only one race: the human race. SO SAY WE ALL!"
I swear to you, everyone in that chamber shouted it right back at him. Because the Admiral asked us to.
And Mary McDonnell leaned over and gently wiped a tear from Olmos’ cheek.
There are many reasons why I’ll miss Battlestar Galactica when it wraps up this Friday. But not the least of which is that it’s allowed me to witness moments like that.
Who else is shedding a tear at BSG’s exit?
UPDATE: The video for the entire panel can be found here. (Thanks, Teresa!)
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I would have love to be there and say proudly: So say we all!!
BSG will be greatly miss.
When are Edward James Olmos or Mary McDonnell ever going to find work as satisfyingly brilliant as the work they were given by the brilliant Ron Moore and David Eick? It is going to be a sad day when these two legends aren’t on our televisions Friday nights.
So say we all!
It’s so sad!!! I can’t believe BSG is going to be over! There will never be another show like it. And if the Emmy’s don’t recognize that this year, they’re a bunch of fraking morons!
Seriously? “The United Nations already feels like it’s own alternate universe”. I give the frak up if writers for EW don’t know or don’t care about the difference between it’s and its.
SO SAY WE ALL!!!
So say we all indeed. If I don’t cry, it will be a miracle.
how can we see this?
So Say WE ALL
SO SAY WE ALL!
Seriously… if we can’t see this, is there a transcript out there for this?? Can you give us a link?
So say we all!
That’s frakkin’ awesome!
Thanks for calling me a whip-smart high schooler but I was the proud UN staff member in a WTF? What The Frack tee and cracked the COMIC-CON joke during Q&A. I am only recently a fan, I have watched the entire series in only the past 3 months. It was the issues discussed at the “QUORUM” that got me hooked for 85+ hours and not just starbuck.
I asked the most engaging question of the night, it was about capital punishment. I compared the airlock to walking the plank. It got Mary (President Roslin) and Edward James (Adama) to not only get into character a bit, but to reflect on their characters in retrospective.
Fans of the show will find the TRANSCRIPT showing both actors have strong beliefs in direct contrast to the characters actions in BSG. Issues of abortion and religous beliefs were addressed as well.
Madame President Roslin blew me a kiss and thanked me for the question.
Sincerely,
Eric from NY
p.s. I was there and stood up yelling SO SAY WE ALL right back to Adama!!!
I don’t suppose a clip of the UN shouting “so say we all” back to the Old Man will be on youtube any time soon? (fingers crossed so very tight…)
It sounds like Olmos went a little overboard. I’m sure none of the women got all heated when they mentioned “gender.” It’s a fact that the human race is made up of different ethnicities, but those differences should be celebrated, not abhorred. Olmos has the right idea, but it sounds like he aimed his anger in the wrong direction. Of course, I’m just basing this off of what you wrote. Maybe I’m getting the wrong idea out of context.
I read on that the Sci-Fi Channel will be recording the session and a transcript will be released.
You get to see me nervous and sweating as I ask the question. Those lights were hot and I needed a drink of water plus my heart was racing a mile a minute. You try talking in front of 300 people plus ROSLIN and ADAMA. I can’t wait to see my 15 seconds of sci/fi fame. Yikes!!!
Seriously though, afterwards I got Edward James and Mary to sign my placard for the event. Mary said to me, “So that was you with the question, I hope I was able to answer it all.” Edward told me he was, grateful to be there in “international territory”.
Edward James Olmos was right when he commented that he hoped when we are on our deathbeds that the 85+ hours were not a waste of time. It wasn’t.
Marc Bernardin was so right, this was really something to behold and I am sad to see BSG go Friday.
Thanks Sci/Fi network and the UN for this event.
-Eric from NY, but for one night from the colony of LEONI
I will be! BSG is television at its finest.
So say we all! EJO – you could not be more correct.
I wish I had been there! Scifi has been used to discuss contemporary issues. I have been a fan of BSG since the beginning. I will miss it
I wish I had been there! Scifi has been used to discuss contemporary issues. I have been a fan of BSG since the beginning. I will miss it
I think you meant SyFy
I will be bawling like a baby for sure!
Olmos spoke at my school (Columbia College) a few weeks ago. Anybody who has heard him speak shouldn’t be surprised at all by his race comments. His whole point is that race is an illusion that science has proved a falsehood. It’s a method used to seperate us and allow discrimination against others. He is all about celebrating culture and diversity.
Olmos’ point was there is only one race — the human race — and for hundreds of years people have been misusing the term to justify the oppression of people from other cultures (e.g the “White race,” the “Black race,” the “Jewish race”). Make them different and it becomes easier to oppress them. Olmos said he believed his appearance here was the most important one he’d ever attended in his life.
Later Ron Moore told me he’s aware he’s standing on the shoulders of giants in the industry like Rod Serling, who stopped writing politically controversal modern-day dramas and instead couched his thought-provoking teleplays in science fiction allegories (“The Twilight Zone”).
Having an opportunity to compare and discuss these real-life lessons from the fantasy of “Battlestar Galactica” with the reality of the problems on our planet today in the chambers of the United Nations is a profoundly worthwhile endeavor.
Adama’s proud. (Certainly Olmos was; I’m sure Lorne Greene would be, too.)
Here’s a thought:
When a TV show becomes such a landmark within popular culture that it begins to emerge as a lightpost (shout out to Doc Jensen right there) for not just pop culture but society as a whole and serve as a source of discourse than one can only accept the fact that we are witnessing history. It isn’t about what Paris Hilton is doing or what is going on with the Real Housewives of NYC. It’s about reflecting on our human experience and for one would like to think that BSG has allowed us, at least for a brief moment, to examine the human condition and what it means to be just that…human.
you can watch the event here:
http://www.un.org/webcast/SE2009.html
SO SAY WE ALL
i can’t believe bsg’s ending. there’ll never be another show this good, this relevant, this profound.
The tears will be flowing on Friday!
Man oh man… I will deeply miss this show. I still find myself watching the mini-series when I have the spare time. I must’ve seen it 7 or 8 times already. I haven’t been so moved by a show since “The Wire”. I really think they could have easily squeezed another season out of the show but I guess we’ll never know.
I sincerely hope they do another movie down the line (beside “The Plan”). It’s the characters I’m going to miss the most!
Lastly, as a latino, I can identify will Olmos’s strong points of views regarding race. Many people don’t understand what a ‘Latino’ is… we are a mix of Native America (North and South) and White. And a lot of us are deeply divided on the inside. ¡Salud! to Mr. Olmos! Thank you sir for speaking up! My regards everyone who was a part of the show! One of the best ever…
So say we all.
I will be crying while watching the marathon…the last episode I am going to DVR until the whole series comes out on dvd. SO SAY WE ALL!!!!
Hate that this wonderful show is over. I am really going to miss it.
This has been one of the best shows on TV.
So say we all !
SO SAY WE ALL!!!
I don’t want to see the end, but I have to know how it ends. The most human show on TV without a doubt. So say we all!