[Mars]

He does have a point. If every military base in the US was blown up, there'd still be a hell of a lot of surviving personnel

[BloodEagle]

I'm hoping that that gets explained in the (if they have them (and please let them have them (because I can't imagine this series gaining any headway if all they do is talk about what happened, in expository format))) pre-war(?) flashbacks.

Of course, they mention that one of their groups essentially got themselves nuked for using an AT4, of all things, and I would imagine that any surviving personnel would have attempted to grab gear like that, thus making themselves ripe targets.

As for the NORAD thing: There's no telling how advanced the aliens' weaponry is (though they seem to rely on kinetic force, for their ground troops), and the previously mentioned 'nuke' was declared in-show as 'not being their biggest'.  I would imagine that they have some sort of ground penetrating bomb, similar to the Grand Slam.

Speaking about their capabilities, I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed at the lack of power their mechs display. :/

[NGTM-1R]

They haven't been given a reason to really try either. I remain somewhat hopeful they will turn out to class with an angry Clan light.

[newman]

Again, the show starts 6 months after the initial attack. Those 6 months were likely used by the aliens to take out all significant surviving military personnel/equipment. This could explain why the smaller groups of civies can still move about if they keep their heads low; they just haven't been a priority target. What remains of the actual military is probably bunkered up somewhere..

[Nuke]

Hm, i don't think it's a bad thing to take some elements of a successful show and apply it to another, as long it's well done.
Way better is, to create a own universe with unique elements, to distinguish the show from others.
Basically what BSG did, to avoid being "just another Star Trek ( ST was the dominant franchise back then)" show. And hell, they did it right.

I also don't think that BSG ruined Sci-fi, it is a masterpiece that gave Sci-fi a boost and lured in audiences that previously didn't care about Sci-fi.
What had a negaitive effect on Sci-fi, was the greed of execs to melk the cows of known franchises by trying to copy BSG and the inability of producers and writers to rip off BSG properly and to implement it in their universe.

not trying to say bsg wasnt awesome, its the best thing i ever remember watching on tv. its just that it was so awesome that it completely changed the landscape of scifi. when bsg came around, people were blown away, it ditched geeky aspects of scifi and aimed for a more dramatic tone, which drew in other audiences. so when people who watched bsg didnt watch v, didnt watch sgu, didnt watch caprica, etc, the execs had assumed the shows failed and wrote them off to make room for cheap reality shows that people seem to watch despite the lack of interesting content. the excecs view bsg as the standard for a successful scifi series, dispite the fact that its not really just a scifi series, it crammed in elements of other genres. bsg made the scifi niche seem bigger than it actually was, and when the new shows failed to fill that niche, they were canned.

execs depend on ratings to decide what shows to air, ratings also determine the cost of ad slots during a particular show. profit will be the ad revenue gained during the show minus the cost of the show, and the execs want the remainder to be high. execs love reality shows because theyre cheap, so high ratings are less important, but are still a factor. so another problem is that people are too stupid to turn their tv off when nothing is on (especially those who fill out survey forms).

[BrotherBryon]

I would think that once it was apparent that we couldn't stand toe to toe with an enemy that the regular army would resort to the kind of small unit tactics that the survivors are using. Bottom line is that both shows fail to address the shear number of soldiers and the even larger pool of recent ex-soldiers that would flourish in such situations. According to the writers the only surviving military types after 6 months would be guys nearing retirement age that left active duty decades ago and I just can't buy that. Especially with the walking dead series which is made by the same network.  You can't tell me that a unit of even lightly armored solders wouldn't survive in that series when all they had to do was lock the hatches and run the damn zombies over if they were out of ammo.  I'm sorry but no zombie horde is going to overrun a single M1A1 platoon unless they are taken completely off guard outside their vehicles with no fuel which is highly unlikely.

[newman]

We actually saw very little of that world so far, the plot is focused around the 2nd mas. It's entirely possible they'll run into some smaller units later on.

[The E]

One thing about M1A1's is that they need a ****load of fuel to operate, which means having a supply train with fuel tankers on hand, not to mention having an infrastructure that produces fuel. A Stryker platoon has better chances in that regard (better fuel economy, just as much Zombie-overrunning prowess, more room internally).

In the end, you can't operate modern military equipment on the move for any length of time without the logistics that make them run, and given that in a Zombie apocalypse, you do want to stay mobile as much as possible, that makes them a bit impractical, unless you can secure a safe base from which to operate. Preferably one that is actually an island.

[Kosh]

In the end, you can't operate modern military equipment on the move for any length of time without the logistics that make them run, and given that in a Zombie apocalypse, you do want to stay mobile as much as possible, that makes them a bit impractical, unless you can secure a safe base from which to operate. Preferably one that is actually an island.

Even if it was on an island it wouldn't make a difference, the aliens can probably drop troops from orbit if needed or go for another round of orbital bombardment. Since they rule the skies and space nowhere on Earth is safe.

[NGTM-1R]

In the end, you can't operate modern military equipment on the move for any length of time without the logistics that make them run.

Depends. Anything running on a gas turbine or standard gasoline engine could make use of existing urban and suburban infrastructure for refueling. People forget that we have massive logistical redundancies for such things as fuel and food surrounding us every day. The zombie apocalypse has already removed the majority of the competing users; assuming this stuff will just disappear is part of the basic unreality of these stories.

[newman]

We don't know much about why the aliens are here in the first place. Once we find out (if we find out before the show is axed), this will determine whether or not the plot even makes sense. They could have just very easily taken us all out from orbit. Heck a large enough rock would have done the job. Instead they landed, destroyed most of our civilization, parked large ship things above each city, and used mechs and fighters to hunt down remaining humans while mind controlling some captured kids to collect scrap metal. This doesn't make much sense to me now, admittedly, but naive as I am, I'm still hoping for some awesome plot twist for it all to make sense. I'm what you'd call a receptive audience when it comes to sci fi; I want it to be good so much I'm always willing to give it the benefit of the doubt

[Kosh]

We don't know much about why the aliens are here in the first place. Once we find out (if we find out before the show is axed), this will determine whether or not the plot even makes sense. They could have just very easily taken us all out from orbit. Heck a large enough rock would have done the job. Instead they landed, destroyed most of our civilization, parked large ship things above each city, and used mechs and fighters to hunt down remaining humans while mind controlling some captured kids to collect scrap metal. This doesn't make much sense to me now, admittedly, but naive as I am, I'm still hoping for some awesome plot twist for it all to make sense. I'm what you'd call a receptive audience when it comes to sci fi; I want it to be good so much I'm always willing to give it the benefit of the doubt

No, not all. Even a nuclear strike on a city won't kill everyone.

[newman]

I think you might have quoted the wrong post, as my point had little to do with your (albeit) correct statement.

[Kosh]

I think you might have quoted the wrong post, as my point had little to do with your (albeit) correct statement.

I was pointing to your comment that they could kill us all from orbit, which would have similar effects to a nuclear attack. What limits their use of strategic weapons and why they had to get their hands dirty is ultimately what they want the Earth for. Personally I suspect outright colonization, in which case a nuked out Earth wouldn't do much good and a populace of enslaved Terrans is more useful.

[StarSlayer]

I think you might have quoted the wrong post, as my point had little to do with your (albeit) correct statement.

I was pointing to your comment that they could kill us all from orbit, which would have similar effects to a nuclear attack. What limits their use of strategic weapons and why they had to get their hands dirty is ultimately what they want the Earth for. Personally I suspect outright colonization, in which case a nuked out Earth wouldn't do much good and a populace of enslaved Terrans is more useful.

Um they get a big enough rock(s) and accelerate it along fast enough, yeah they could wipe out the planet.

[newman]

A large enough rock could easily kill us all. Yes, maybe not all of us at once but a large enough rock will cause severe climate and atmospheric changes essentially making the planet unsuitable for human life. I suppose you could still go hunt for survivors if you were in a hurry but really, after a large enough strike I'd be just a matter of patience. Of course if you want the planet as it was just without the humans then you'd probably want to consider options that don't severely change the climate. A biological attack, maybe. Or sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

[Kosh]

A large enough rock could easily kill us all. Yes, maybe not all of us at once but a large enough rock will cause severe climate and atmospheric changes essentially making the planet unsuitable for human life. I suppose you could still go hunt for survivors if you were in a hurry but really, after a large enough strike I'd be just a matter of patience. Of course if you want the planet as it was just without the humans then you'd probably want to consider options that don't severely change the climate. A biological attack, maybe. Or sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

Except that since their needs appear similar to ours making the planet unsuitable for us means making it unsuitable for them as well. I suppose they could launch a bio attack, but that would screw up their enslavement plans.

[StarSlayer]

  We've just gone round robin back to newman's original post, they could have just rock dropped us into oblivion but instead opted for a ground campaign so hopefully the show reveals a plausible reason for it, ie colonization/enslavement.

We don't know much about why the aliens are here in the first place. Once we find out (if we find out before the show is axed), this will determine whether or not the plot even makes sense. They could have just very easily taken us all out from orbit. Heck a large enough rock would have done the job. Instead they landed, destroyed most of our civilization, parked large ship things above each city, and used mechs and fighters to hunt down remaining humans while mind controlling some captured kids to collect scrap metal. This doesn't make much sense to me now, admittedly, but naive as I am, I'm still hoping for some awesome plot twist for it all to make sense. I'm what you'd call a receptive audience when it comes to sci fi; I want it to be good so much I'm always willing to give it the benefit of the doubt

[newman]

Yea, the point is if you control the orbit you've won 99% of the war. Hell you don't even have to drop anything. You can park a large rock in Earth's orbit and say "either you all surrender unconditionally or that nice Texas size boulder is coming down, wiping your civilization out". What option would we have? Certain end of our race vs. at least a possibility of survival through surrender.
They gave this advantage up and (I hope) they must have had a reason for it. It's this reason I'm wondering about. Whether or not they can wipe us out isn't in question, at least for me.

[Luis Dias]

As far as I can tell, they did won the war, just like america "won the war" in iraq back in 2003. 99% victory, that is. Now the show is all about whether if the resistance will prove itself to endure the hunt and for how long.

So it's kinda like an inverse Vietnam.