Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog

Charles Oines has recently posted some CGI pictures of the new Traveller miniatures for the Power Projection game. 

Yep… those are fakes.  Just pure digital ephemera without one lick of lead.  Those Zhodani ships are beautiful, though….  And isn’t that an Azhanti High Lightning?!  Wow!

Charles is the second greatest editor to take the reigns of everybody’s favorite gaming magazine.  He left at the apex of the Car Wars glory at the moment of the release of the first Compendium.  Issues 7-1 to 7-3 were the first “big” issues of the magzines, and were quite good– he fielded some of the weirdest articles ever in Autoduel Quarterly history, including Mutant Zone, Ob Racing, and Hoverball.  Volume 7 would have been the best year of ADQ of all time had he not quit after issue three.  With his departure, ADQ entered its deplorable revolving editor phase… and Steve Jackson’s standards would soon take a very noticeable downturn in production quality and standards.  I feel like crying just looking at some of those later issues….

It appears that “CAO”, as he was known in ADQ&A, has had his hand in variety of tactical space combat games since his Car Wars days… even going so far as to publish a recent game that he calls Voidstriker.  Don’t confuse it with his other now-out-of-print game that came out in 1993… also called Voidstriker.  (Yeah… it looks like its hard to shake that twisted sense of humor you pick up working with Car Wars….)

Wow, it looks like CAO has done more than a couple space combat scenes:

Somebody buy this and let me know how it is!

Here we go with the Shadow Hawk.  This mech was featured prominently on the cover of the an early rulebook.  It played a major part in the early days of the Gray Death Legion as well, thanks to the creative  work of William H. Keith.  I always hated it, though: a measly Jump-3 and one each of the dinkiest weapons in the game.

In the reworking below, we bump up that too-big-to-just-be-a-medium-laser to a large laser.  (My weapon inflation of giving the light mechs large lasers of some flavor kinda forces us to do something along those lines.)  Bumping up the AC/5 to an ultra is a decent improvement… and the SRM/2 Streak is a minor one.  (I wanted to beef up the SRM, but I figure changing it would steal some of the Wolverine’s thunder….)  I’d hoped to be able to roll out the improvements with just the savings from Endo-Steel and Ferro-fibrous, but I had to go with the XL-engine instead….

You’d think that with a name like Shadow Hawk the ‘mech would have some kind of stealth capabilities….

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Shadow Hawk SHD-2J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Standard
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  1 Large Laser
  1 LRM 5
  1 Ultra AC/5
  1 Streak SRM 2
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Shadow Hawk SHD-2J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Standard               0      5.50
Engine:        275 XL                       12      8.00
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  184 pts Standard              0     11.50

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         26     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      20/20     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      18/18     
   L/R Leg:                  13      26/26     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 Large Laser            RA      8           2      5.00
1 LRM 5                  RT      2   24      2      3.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 RT)
1 Ultra AC/5             LT      1   40      7     11.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
1 Streak SRM 2           CT      2   50      2      2.50
  (Ammo Locations: 1 RT)
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 CT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         14          55     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                          23       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        9,898,506 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,242
Cost per BV:       7,969.81
Weapon Value:      996 / 964 (Ratio = .80 / .7
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 16;  MRDmg = 12;  LRDmg = 4
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 5/2
                   Damage PB/M/L: 3/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 12

The Wolverine… now that was a deceptively evil machine.  There used to be these tournaments that were run at cons were you’d pick a ’mech from the original technical readout.  There’d then be a series of duels played… and you scored points based on the relationship between the tonnage of the two ‘mechs.  If you could beat a heavy ‘mech with one that weight 10 or 15 tons less, you’d rack up a lot of points.  In those days, the Wolverine was a tough contender that repeatedly upset the expectations of its opponents: the long ranged autocannon couold usually get a shot and the SRM pack could ensure the catching of any stray criticals.  The Wolverine was mobile enough that he could shrug off losses on initiative rolls and at the same time profit from them when things when they turned out good.

In the revised version below, we used Ferro-Fibrous armor and Endo Steel technologies to allow for an upgrade to the LB-10X autocannon and an ER-medium laser.  I should probably upgrade the SRM-6 to a STREAK model, but that might be a bit much.

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Wolverine WVR-6J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:     
  1 LB 10-X AC
  1 SRM 6
  1 ER Medium Laser
Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  (Unknown)
Targeting & Tracking System:  (Unknown)

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Wolverine WVR-6J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Endo Steel            14      3.00
 (Endo Steel Loc: 2 LA, 3 LT, 8 RT, 1 CT)
Engine:        275                  6     15.50
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  179 pts Ferro-Fibrous        14     10.00
 (Armor Crit Loc: 3 LA, 1 RA, 6 LT, 4 RT)

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         27     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      19/19     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      17/17     
   L/R Leg:                  13      25/25     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 LB 10-X AC             RA      2   20      8     13.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA)
1 SRM 6                  LT      4   15      3      4.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LT)
1 ER Medium Laser        HD      5           1      1.00
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         11          76     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           2       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        5,698,006 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,271
Cost per BV:       4,483.09
Weapon Value:      1,006 / 1,006 (Ratio = .79 / .79)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 20;  MRDmg = 9;  LRDmg = 2
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 4/5
                   Damage PB/M/L: 3/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 13

Okay, here we go with the Griffin.  That funny little gun he carries really doesn’t look like the other PPC’s in the game.  But it looks even more like what I’d imagine Gauss Guns to look like than anything else I see.  I hate that I’m making so many of these things with XL engines… it’s like my inner Munchkin is crying to get out or something.  But I did manage to control myself enough so as not to tack on additional weapons, endosteel, and ferro-fibrous.  He also carries a piddly standard LRM-10; I was tempted to increase it and say it had a special rotary magazine, but that came off as hokey to me….  Note that this ‘mech rates the same Battle Value as the ER-PPC toting Warhammer I designed a while back.  I wonder how that duel would play out…. 

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Griffin GRF-1J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Standard
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  1 Light Gauss Rifle
  1 LRM 10
Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  (Unknown)
Targeting & Tracking System:  (Unknown)

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Griffin GRF-1J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Standard               0      5.50
Engine:        275 XL                       12      8.00
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  185 pts Standard              0     12.00

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         27     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      20/20     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      18/18     
   L/R Leg:                  13      26/26     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 Light Gauss Rifle      RA      1   32      7     14.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 RA)
1 LRM 10                 LT      4   24      4      7.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 CT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                          5          53     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                          25       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        9,949,656 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,191
Cost per BV:       8,354.04
Weapon Value:      696 / 696 (Ratio = .58 / .5
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 7;  MRDmg = 11;  LRDmg = 7
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 5/2
                   Damage PB/M/L: 2/1/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 12

While it’s not necessarily clear to me yet how to assign the new Level II gear to each of the 12 original Battletech ‘mechs, I think it should be self evident to all men of good will that the Thunderbolt is endowed with the meanest weapon in the game.  The gigantic gun is definitely too big to be a mere Large Laser; that thing is THE Gauss Gun of the classic ‘mechs.  It doesn’t look so big on the mini’s I’ve seen, but let’s do something to set this ‘mech apart from all of the others anyway.

I was going to bemoan the fact that I didn’t intstall CASE for the old girl, but the XL engine makes it kind of pointless to do that….  The Gauss ammo will not detonate, but don’t forget that a stray crit on the gun itself results in 20 points of extra damage!

(One thing I don’t like about the new weaponry is that everything got improved except for LRM’s.  Even SRM’s got Streak guidance technology… but now there’s several weapons that have a longer range now than the old long range missiles.  Maybe that’s not such a bad thing… back in the day we tended to favor LRM’s and probably packed a few too many for our lances.)

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Thunderbolt TDR-5J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          65 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   260 Magna XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets:     None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  2 ER Medium Lasers
  1 Gauss Rifle
  3 Medium Pulse Lasers
  1 LRM 15
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Thunderbolt TDR-5J
Mass:          65 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  104 pts Endo Steel           14      3.50
 (Endo Steel Loc: 1 HD, 4 RA, 3 RT, 2 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
Engine:        260 XL                       12      7.00
   Walking MP:   4
   Running MP:   6
   Jumping MP:   0
Heat Sinks:     12 Double [24]               6      2.00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 LT, 1 RT)
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  200 pts Standard              0     12.50

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             21         28     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           15      22/22     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              7/7     
   L/R Arm:                  10      19/19     
   L/R Leg:                  15      29/29     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
2 ER Medium Lasers       RA     10           2      2.00
1 Gauss Rifle            LA      1   16      9     17.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LA, 1 LT)
3 Medium Pulse Lasers    RT     12           3      6.00
1 LRM 15                 LT      5   16      5      9.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         28          76     65.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           2       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        11,893,311 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,383
Cost per BV:       8,599.65
Weapon Value:      2,214 / 2,214 (Ratio = 1.60 / 1.60)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 31;  MRDmg = 21;  LRDmg = 11
BattleForce2:      MP: 4,  Armor/Structure: 5/3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 5/5/2,  Overheat: 1
                   Class: MH;  Point Value: 14

In response to a fan request to put scans of the classic Road Atlas and Survival Guide’s up on e23, Thomas Weigel responded:

“Car Wars is on my list of things I’d like. How soon that can happen, however, is fuzzy. I still pine for Uncle Al.”

 That makes two positive remarks about Autodueling just this week; maybe we really will see some additional PDF’s for sale this year….

It’s big.  It’s bad.  It’s the amazing 4th edition of Steve Jackson’s “end all be all” Generic Universal Role Playing System.  It’s ready to rock on in the new millennium: this baby takes an already flexible design to a higher level of abstraction.  Let’s take a quick sample of what the fans are saying:

“Going through the changes between 3.0 and 4.0, it’s like they read our house rules hand-out.” — Ian Turner

“3e was more like an erector set where you could build a framework and then you spent a lot of time having to fill in the blanks with GM fiat. 4e is much more ‘complete’ where anything that can be done, I can reproduce.” — Mark Skarr

“Ultimately after spending hours and hours on a character I will realize that NOW I have a CHARACTER concept I can use in any game system.”  — LemmingLord

“[It's] the perfect RPG recipe: Here’s a ton of rules and options to cover just about anything. Pick what you want, ignore the rest. Season with whatever house rule additions and mods you like. And feel free to wing things whenever you please.” — tbone

“The 4e rules spell out that each GURPS game is most about genre. Not reality. Not combat, or worlds even, or rules when you get down to it. You think of the style of book, TV show, movie, comic or whatever you want to emulate, and choose the rest based on that. To me that was the key to running GURPS after years of D&D.” — jimminy

While many game masters are thrilled with with new internal consistency and streamlining, there’s always, especially in this age of the internet, a crowd of vocal naysayers ready to pick at it.  Let’s take a quick look at what they’re saying:

“The intellectual buy-in too high, the requirement to build everything yourself too demanding, the learning curve for new players too great.” — Taliesin

“The problem is everything but the kitchen sink is dumped on the new user - it’s like handing a cook a cow and asking him to grill a steak.” — Infornific

“A combination of ‘icky-feeling’ paper, a nasty smell, sub-standard art and a layout that just throws every single advantage / skill / whatever into a messy cross-genre jumble ended up hugely turning me off to the whole 4.0 launch.” — Ian Turner

GURPS Character Assistant software and the free Skills Category PDF can help navigate this gigantic system, but even with that you can’t expect to please everybody.  While some people are erroneously attempting to detail all of their NPC’s to the same standards they require for PC’s, others are getting bogged down at the thought of having develop an entire pantheon of abilities using the moderately technical GURPS Powers toolkit.  However, the real issue is that some people just haven’t had their minds illuminated  to the power of a few simple Enhancements and Limitations.  But once they do… let me tell you, it’s like scales falling from their eyes:

“Not having really used powers in 3e, or the enhancements and limitations, this part was the one that took more time to sink in, but it was also the key to what made GURPS better for me. Something as simple as Attractive (Takes Preparation, 1h) is just an example.” — Gudiomen

That said, there are yet some valid criticisms among the unconverted.  Lo, I say unto you… a crappy index and a mediocre GURPS Lite present not a small barrier to those that seek the true path of gaming goodness.  Fortunately, the imminent Dr. Kromm takes responsibility for this and doesn’t try to pass blame onto the sycophantic proles that Steve Jackson Games has conned into doing the grunt work:

“In an effort to get the GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition out on time and have GURPS Lite, Fourth Edition ready to go with it, we had to divvy up tasks. I was busy proofing the final PDFs for rules consistency, so we had no choice but to assign the index and Lite to others . . . and I wasn’t available for those guys, because as I said, I was busy.”  — Kromm

Oh great and powerful Kromm… please tell us more about the genesis of our most esteemed and finely crafted rpg…  Tell us dark secrets….  Tell us, for example… why cinematic super powers get so much emphasis in the Basic Set.

“Books like Psionics and even the much-maligned Supers far and away outsold books like Old West and Espionage. Had GURPS Traveller and GURPS WWII fans been more numerous and bigger spenders, I can assure you that 4e would have looked quite different.” — Kromm

What…?  Huh?  A different game?  Can you be more specific?

“Things That Would Not Be: Less attention to Affliction, Binding, Innate Attack, and exotic and supernatural advantages in general. Fewer cinematic and supernatural skills in the core rules. Possibly no chapter on magic, either. Tech and artifacts chapter would omit enchantment, gadgeteering, and weird science. Iconic characters would have lacked odd abilities and been strictly baseline humans. Lots of little things like Transcendent appearance, wildcard skills, the vampire template, and essays on high-powered and cinematic gaming wouldn’t be there.

“Things That Would Be: Character weight and size would cost points and be tied into ST, HP, Move, jumping distance, etc. A longer list of mundane Talents would compensate for fewer exotic abilities. More templates for generic historical jobs. More and more detailed weapons, especially WWII-era firearms. Mapped-out tactical combat would be the assumed default. Rules for injury and dangerous enviroments would be more exacting and extensive. Tech and artifacts chapter would dwell primarily on vehicles, vehicles, vehicles.

“One could safely say that instead of getting Basic Set, Third Edition plus all of Compendium I but only bits of Compendium II, all heavily influenced by Psionics and Supers with a view to Powers being an early supplement, you would have seen Basic Set, Third Edition plus all of Compendium II but only bits of Compendium I, all heavily influenced by High-Tech and Vehicles with a view to WWII for 4e being an early supplement.”  — Kromm

Thank you great Kromm for revealing these truths to your vile and insignificant fan base….  [Much groveling and bootlicking ensues.]

But mighty Kromm… I’m still overwhelmed….  There’s just so many options in GURPS 4e.  I don’t know what to do with it.  Why did you put all those rules in there?  I have to roll on the Shock and Awe table every time I crack a GURPS tome!

“I put all of those rules in there so that 1,000 different gaming groups could run 1,000 different, custom-fitted rules-light versions of GURPS. I didn’t really imagine that there would be people who would want to turn on all of the switches.” — Kromm

Thanks be to Kromm, for his benevolence truly knows no bounds.  We truly crave such reassurances about the design of our beloved system.  For there can be only one true system, and all others are as unto pale imitations and are as yet feebleminded drivel.  We thank Kromm for his ceaseless efforts to bring true excellence unto gaming.

“We’ve found a good third-party scanner, and have streamlined the OCR process significantly. I wouldn’t be suprised to see Car Wars PDFs available later this year,” said Paul Chapman, the Marketing Director for Steve Jackson Games.

This is really good news; this could be a turning point for a modest resurgence in interest in the game.  In the meantime, the complete run of ADQ is available at e23.  Also, the obscure GURPS Horror/Autoduel supplement Zombietown USA is available even as we speek.

Apparently throwing an object from one vehicle at another fits the legal definition of a missile launcher– and anyone caught attempting such will nab a minimum sentence of two years if the judge doesn’t throw it out!

Of course, I find it interesting that the ice maintains it’s forward velocity when its thrown.  It doesn’t just drop to the ground at the place where it went out the window.  It’s just like a motorcyclist who is thrown off and then skids to a stop a long way.  I actually observed something like this the other day when a barrel fell off a truck.  It rolled along in front of my car in the other lane for a several seconds as I slowly begain to gain on it and passed it.

Weird.  I never took physics, so I’m impressed by such things….

But it’s good to know that in some states, a cup of ice is considered to be a micro-missile launcher.  It just goes to show you how paranoid these EDSEL politicians are about giving the slightest inch on our constitutional right to bear vehicular arms.

If Joss Whedon gave us the greatest Boba Fett story ever told, then the makers of Galactica have at least climbed up to the level of rehashing tried and true sci-fi moments in the later half of their second season.  They have it all: a crafty foe, a confusing nebula, a heroic sacrifice….  Let’s take a look at the action.

Here the Pegasus takes a beating in a surprise attack.  With the hyper drives disabled, she’ll have to stick around to duke it out:

She pulls herself together and now she’s come about.  “Fire!”

And the Base Star takes a lickin’ in return:

Not bad….  As you can see they do a lot of darkly lit shots really close up– you need explosions to see any details most of the time.  It’s hard to get a feel for the tactical arrangement of the ships.  From the details of this show, the big ships apparently just move into point blank range and unload on each other while fighters buzz around.  It looks like Star Fleet Battles being played by people with absolutly no tactical abilities.  (It remains to be seen whether Galactica will ever deal us an epic space battle to come close to matching the classic duels of the original Star Trek episodes.)

I’d much rather be able to drink in a nice slow long shot of a gracefully arcing vessel.  And so many people have died in this series at this point, the sacrificial death of another flawed leader just doesn’t have much dramatic punch.  (Not like when Spock or that Guy-I’m-Not-Going-To-Mention-In-Case-You-Haven’t-Seen-The-Movie-Yet died.)

The series is doing okay.  Once again I get to a point where I’m not much concerned with what happens next.  The cheap tricks that they use over and over to resolve tough plot impasses get increasingly tiresome: I just don’t get the kind of pay off I’m looking for.  On top of that they’ve sallied forth into the area of suicide bombers, torture, rape, “treasonous” news reporters, stem cell research, abortion, and vote counting.  Traditionally sci-fi has dealt with these types of social issues more metaphorically… and I cringe whenever they trot them out.

The main thing that hurts the series is the overall lack of humor and tact.  Joss Whedon was able to effortlessly give us satisfying stories that forwarded an overall dramatic arc on his Firefly series.  When things took a surprising turn, it always felt inevitable– it did not feel like a cheap serial writer’s hack job.  Also, he could deal with difficult topics while still making you laugh.  Amazing.  The more I see of Battlestar Galactica, the more I appreciate the genius of Joss Whedon.