I thoroughly enjoy Battlestar Galactica. I feel that the special effects (when shown) are fantastic, the scripts are well-written, and the characters are all multi-dimensional. I have especially been enjoying this season, and I have yet to miss an episode. That being said, I do have one tiny issue with the show . . .
I can't hear a frakking word they're saying!
I have never seen a show with so many low talkers. They speak quietly everywhere: crew quarters, active hanger bays, planet-side. They even speak softly in crowded, noisy bars (as seen in this week's episode). I am constantly raising and lowering the volume on my TV just to catch a fragment of what they're saying. It's almost like I'm watching a British sitcom! Now I know why this show hasn't been nominated for any type of award. It's because the judges get so frustrated adjusting the volume up and down that they just give up and turn off the TV.
The biggest culprits of this low talking are Edward James Olmos as Admiral Adama and James Callis as Baltar. I expected this from Olmos, who displayed this same trait when he starred in Miami Vice back in the 1980's. Callis, on the other hand, has gotten more mumbly and quiet as the series has progressed. This season he is barely understandable and I really have to concentrate to understand what he is saying. The rest of the cast is just as guilty of this quiet speech, but not in so great of a degree as the two I pointed out.
Look, I know that the vastness of space and the plight of the refugees can subdue some people, but it would be nice if they could speak up when they talk about the vastness of space and the plight of the refugees. The volume buttons on my remote control will thank you.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-29-2007 @ 11:21AM
nerds said...
YES PLEASE! I always thought it was just me but man I am always turning the volume way up on my TV's cheap speakers.
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1-29-2007 @ 11:21AM
David said...
Admiral Adama has lines in this show? :)
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1-29-2007 @ 11:22AM
Akbar Fazil said...
I dont think it is the actors or even the mix on the show. It is scifi channel and the way they broadcast the sound.
I have the same issue and when episodes aired on SciFi compared to downloaded episodes from the UK and purchased DVDs, scifi broadcasts come out the quietest.
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1-29-2007 @ 11:29AM
Tanya said...
I agree! I thought it was just my tv!
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1-29-2007 @ 11:39AM
MJ said...
Out of curiosity: Do you experience the same problem when watching DVD's of the show? I'm an avid BSG fan and have never experienced this problem.
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1-29-2007 @ 11:47AM
Steve M said...
Closed captioning always helps.
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1-29-2007 @ 12:53PM
gwangi said...
I was under the impression that they were all mimes and didn't have any line.
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1-29-2007 @ 1:13PM
matthew m. barnes said...
there is definitely some low talking... but i've never not been able to understand what they're saying. it's just dramatic effect.
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1-29-2007 @ 1:32PM
Joey Geraci said...
The sound is pretty damn annoying. The one thing I noticed is that the sound was a little easier to understand coming out of my (pretty nice) PC speakers when I recorded it and watched it later, than when I watch it live on my regular (small and crappy) TV. I am pretty sure this is a BSG thing, not so much the actors as the technical people to prepare the sound for the episode. It is really annoying though.
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1-29-2007 @ 1:40PM
Adam said...
I always found Oz on HBO to have this same problem. Mostly, it was the character of Said, who would often speak in his low, intense tone. I'd have to crank the volume way up to hear him.
I think it's also an element of modern acting, this tendency to whisper and mumble everything. No one really projects anymore.
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1-29-2007 @ 2:48PM
Doogla61920 said...
You all need to get a miracle ear hearing aid, or hook your damn televisions up through a Dolby 5.1 (or higher) surround sound system with decent speakers. I can hear everyone just fine on Battlestar Galactica!
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1-29-2007 @ 2:56PM
R-Bro said...
Same problem with Isaiah Washington on Grey's Anatomy. It's bad enough he hardly speaks, but when he does you can't hear him! Damn low-talkers...
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1-29-2007 @ 3:05PM
Scott said...
BSG is not the worst offender in this area. The last 2 seasons of "The West Wing", I thought I was going deaf. Every other show on TV, I could hear just fine. But with TWW, hardly a scene went by that I didn't need to hit the "back 10 seconds" button on my TiVo or turn on the captioning for. Again, no problems with any other show, on NBC or elsewhere. Then, this year with "Studio 60", IT'S BACK! Actors swallowing their dialogue, badly-miked sets, badly-mixed levels of ambient sound, I don't know what it is, but Sorkin's shows are the worst offenders (yes, I know Sorkin had nothing to do with the last few years of TWW). "Battlestar" has a few problems like this, but nowhere near "Studio 60" level.
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1-29-2007 @ 3:29PM
Curt said...
Are all of you old? Because I hear em just fine without messing with my volume.
They make pretty decent hearing aids these days... check em out
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1-29-2007 @ 3:35PM
Richard Keller said...
Stop with the 'are you old' and hearing aid comments. Enough of the commenters said that they noticed the same thing, so I'm thinking that it's not an age thing.
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1-29-2007 @ 3:52PM
Vito The TiVo said...
How old are you people? How old are your TVs? I've been watching Battlestar since day one and never thought the voices were too low. I think maybe I could think of a time when I missed a word, when it was an odd unexpected word. But television on a whole is for the most part mixed so you don't even have to look at the screen. Soap operas being the most obvious with their repeating dialogue and music stings so women could watch while they work. I don't know, I just don't hear it.
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1-29-2007 @ 4:16PM
Chuck said...
OMG - I thought I was the only one. My biggest problem is with Dee. Who seems to keep saying stuff and I only catch a little of it. She whispers everything, so I turned up the sound in hopes of catching all of the dialog. Glad someone mentioned it.
I think the problem is getting worse on some programs and has to do with Direction and Editing. They should be catching this stuff in the editing room.
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1-29-2007 @ 4:30PM
Akbar Fazil said...
I still stand by my claim that this is due to the levels that scifi channel broadcasts.
I have no issues when playing the same episodes through different formats.
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1-29-2007 @ 4:40PM
CJ said...
I do have a problem when I turn on sound system with the TV. (Gotta have the surrond sound for the battle scenes!) I find myself turning down the bass to hear the actors talk.
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1-29-2007 @ 4:49PM
Jon said...
They do talk quietly, but I think it is made worse by a low volume level. I think at one point the audio level was too loud, because I always had to turn the volume down when I switched to the Sci FI channel. Then, I think they got some complaints, and overcompensated by setting the volume level too low.
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