We're Not Alone!

I don't know how many of you read Slashdot (I don't recommend it, actually - most of the posters seem to be insane at this point), but in any case, there was a post up there that I couldn't resist looking into: "The Law and Politics of Battlestar Galactica."

Fans of the show Battlestar Galactica might be interested in our interview with writers and producers Ron Moore and David Eick. Three law professors at the blog Concurring Opinions have an hour-long interview with Moore and Eick about the legal, political, moral, and economic issues raised by the show. The interview is available in audio files; alternatively, people can read a transcript of the interview (Part I) and (Parts II and III). Part I examines the lawyers and trials in the show, how torture is depicted, as well as how the humans must balance civil liberties and security. Part II examines politics and commerce. It explores how the cylon attack affected the humans' political system, and it examines how commerce works in the fleet. Part III examines issues related to cylons, such as the humans' treatment of cylons, how robots should be treated by the law, how the cylons govern themselves politically."

I guess we're not the only ones in academia looking into the "social science" end of sci-fi. The interview touches on a lot of what we've been grappling with, and it's perfect for our discussion of "Exceptional Circumstances," this week's theme. How about a robopocalypse (yeah, that's right, a robopocalypse) for exceptional?

Also, callback to last week: "Is there anything morally wrong about beating a machine?" - Ron Moore in Part I-B.

And back to last week's movie:

Moore (jokingly): First of all, what's Blade Runner? It figured into our discussions from Day 1. Very influential.
Eick: And yes, Deckard is a replicant, for the record.