TVs All Time Best Villains #21 Gaius Baltar

[Bana871]

Not only is Gaius NOT the embodiment of pure evil, but being the embodiment of pure evil actually you a BAD villain. Who were you more interested in as a child, Darth Vader or the Emperor? The Emperor did embody pure evil, and that made him rather dull in comparison to Vader, who had much more complexity. Good villains are tragic and human, they are definitely evil but not because they were born that way, because circumstances put them where they are. This list was just stupid.

[XvxBERSERKxvX]

Baltar Wasent a Villian, he was neutral. lol

[Doperwtje81]

Embodiment of evil? Baltar is a coward and an egotist, but he's not 'evil'.

[aradioactivedonut]

i think characters like roslin or starbuck were more evil than Baltar e.g., the execution committee and when gaius almost bled out on the basestar.

[spaceblaster09]

Clearly these people never actually sat down and WATCHED Battlestar Galactica. Give me a break, Gaius, the "embodiment of evil"? No frakking way.

[UmairsCrazyGameVids]

Wow, embodiment of evil? I found that he was the most human of all the characters and had the most depth. What would anyone else do in his situation? What the ****?

[Malda123]

since when he is villain? watch the show next time...

[Kissmybaritone]

I think he counts more like the embodiment of idiocy more than pure evil.

[bassdemon16]

It's clear to everyone that he wasn't pure evil... He's not even a villain. These people are talking shit.

[patmweav]

Baltar wasn't really evil, in fact, by the end he was a pretty good guy. Baltar had flaws, some of which led to some very bad things happening, and was a bit selfish at times, but I feel like a big part of the series is how he's being guided along a path that he doesn't really understand, and is sometimes forced to be the scapegoat for the greater good.

[mrslovvet]

Baltar's not evil...that's the whole gd point of his character. He's neither good nor evil.

[Deadman6990]

This is some BS. Never, and I mean never, in all my time watching BSG did I ever think of Baltar as a villain or as "evil".

[CER3BRALhitman]

Oh and btw, Baltar never betrayed the human race. He didn't willing give them the defense codes, and he had no choice but surrender on New Caprica. His only crime was his selfish and narcissistic behavior, but really most people would have done the same or worse, not to mention he more than redeemed himself by the end. He may not have been "good" (lol, no one truly is) but the "embodiment of pure evil"? lulz.

Balar is one of the best TV characters of all time. So is Ben for that matter.

[CER3BRALhitman]

Ben Linus = Awesome

Gaius Baltar = Awesome

[JulyForToday]

Baltar = Funny, lovable, despicable, deplorable, and very smart

Ben = ^-- All that too..

Michael Emerson = one awesome dude

TV Guide = mentally challenged reporting

[tommygunz55]

hahahaha do we even need to comment on the fact that he's not a villain?

[ldoddrell]

Gaius Baltar isn't a villain. The people who put him on this list have obviously misunderstood who and what Gaius Baltar was in BSG. Yes, unwittingly gave the Cylons access to the 'defence mainframe' but he was always, mainly, about self preservation. Look at it this way, the Cylons had become more advanced than the Colonials and with resurrection had everything they needed to wipe out humanity without Baltar. He just made it easier. He was part of "God's plan".

[UphyXx]

Dr Baltar is not a villain! he's the best character on the show.

[hotredtiger316]

To an extent I agree. He is one of the best characters if not THE best.

The one character who appealed to me on a personal level is Kara Thrace, both vulnerable and strong, defiant of authority yet passionately loyal to her superior officers, friends, and fellow Colonials. She's sexually aggressive, yet afraid to risk giving all her love to who should have mattered most to her aside from Sam Anders -- Lee Adama.

She was ultimately a tragic figure given new life to help her friends find Earth.

[hotredtiger316]

There is something else I wanted to also say about Starbuck that I know doesn't quite belong in a comment about Baltar, Moore and Eick's variant on Starbuck eventually became a fusion between the original Starbuck and his son, Dr. Zee, from the original series and Galactica 1980.

And it should have occurred to me sooner rather than later that Moore and Eick would come up with a far more sober variant of the One True God's Angels in their version of BSG, and give Starbuck the means to find Earth.

[hotredtiger316]

But with Baltar, again he is arguably the best character on the show in that he is misogynistic, brilliant, cowardly, self-preserving, nymphomaniacal, arrogant, and at times far too smart for his own good; yet ultimately he found a part of himself willing to sacrifice his life to save Hera Agathon's life in the Colony Hub during the events of Daybreak, proving he was never a villain all along; but that he was merely a pawn in the chess game of the One True God depicted in the series.

[Nemesis000000]

Embodiment of pure evil... what a joke. I like what Micheal Emerson said though, he seems to have actually watched the show unlike the commentators.

[kionizer]

He is actually a top 25 villain. It only seems like he doesn't do all the bad things he does, simply because he charms his way out of them. He may play the part of an innocent bystander, but that is just how he plays it. He is literally the most conceded guy on the show that could care less who lives and who dies as long as he lives. Every time...when he begs for his life; it is just a method to gain sympathy.

[LionelMessi1337]

Baltar, the embodiment of evil

This is why you should never trust shit like this "top list". Epic fail.

[Tuberoth]

Serious lol? Baltar doesn't even come close to being a "villain".

[Hermmanos]

What is the guy who plays Benjamin Linus on about? Him and Baltar are nothing like each other. The guys who made this list obviously haven't takena glimpse at the show, nor has the actor who plays Linus.

[tacitworker93]

great tv to watch - online at caprica streaming online -dot - com

[iwatchcapricagrabid]

Watch Caprica Online :

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[bradpotter49]

I love watching BSG in blue ray

[tomcatdcn]

Gaius is not a villain...

[RAIDERS58th]

Frakking idiots have never watched the show. Baltar isn't the embodiment of evil. He's just weak and all too human. This is frakking stupid.

[kiikasi]

Gaius enjoys the high life and likes to stay alive. He is also an integral part of the build up to the deus ex machina at the end.

[IceEevee]

HAHAHA!!! Evil??? Gaius? That's a good one...oh wait! This is serious??? Oh, wow...that's just frakked up.

I wouldn't call Baltar "Evil" or anywhere near it. Sure, he's not the good guy...but...he's not evil.

And its not like he leaked information knowingly.

[wiseye61]

lol, what is this!? baltar isnt evil...

[wicklowmania]

He's not a frakn villain in the first place!!!

[Nightavenger2]

@wicklowmania Ok so you could place Clarence Boddicker of Robocop, Shang Tseung of Mortal Kombat, Ken Castle of Gamer, Malignant of SLeeping Beauty, and Green Goblin (Norman Osborne) as frank villains.

So would you say Gaius falls into a complex type villain like Magneto?

[dagojr]

I love that Gaius is on the list, but they claim he is the "embodiment of pure evil"? Did they even watch this show?

[antilliesanimation]

WTFrack??? poor gaius. As much a victim as anyone else. Even more so because he has to live with the guilt and shame of being responsible for the near end of the human race. He may be a bit of a nob but not the embodiment of pure evil. What utter tosh.

[Trajan1967]

Who's cooler than Gauis Frakkin Baltar!?? Gauis gets all the chicks!

[maxi060188]

Baltar isn't evil, he´s just misunderstood.

[dmix09]

the end is right on

[pdjcommerford]

He's not evil, hes not good...

[AuroraLamia]

He's Neutral :P

[BDaMonkey]

He's not evil. What the hell is she talking about.

[edej001]

what the frak? Gauis isnt a villian.. he didn't know caprica six was a cylon when he gave her the codes.. and when they were at new caprica he only signed the paper for the exicutions because he had a gun to his head.

i think he is more misunderstood!! hehehe

[QCzar]

Emerson (Ben from "Lost") is way off on this one.

Comparing Baltar to Ben is like comparing GW Bush to Charles Manson. Baltar's unforgivable acts stem largely from his own arrogance, self-serving nature and overall incompetence, not "evil".

It's those pulling the puppet strings (like Head Six) that spur him to do the really wicked things he ends up doing. No, he's not an innocent victim, but "pure evil"?

Regardless, this list would be incomplete without Gaius Frakkin' Baltar.

[kmvoss]

He embodied pure evil? That is the dumbest shit I've heard in awhile. Did they even watch the show?

[DazTubez]

I agree, they obvs have never seen it.

[Shipgate]

Yeah that pissed me off. He's far from evil. He's just socially inept and a coward who wants nothing more than to live.

[aradioactivedonut]

@kmvoss no, they read a recap... this is how shows like these churn out this crap... its not like they actually have the time to watch every show.

[Kitscoma]

Moral ambiguity for the win!!!

[ImAMassiveBender]

He's an absolute legend, way the best character. He's not evil, he says what we're all thinking, or maybe I'm just an evil schizophrenic.

[zprodigy]

I dunno if he's so much a villain. He's a soppy character wh sort of stumbles into doing bad things, but he's just representative of cowardice in general.

I would have liked to see some truly "mwu ha ha" moments, but BSG doesn't have any truly bad characters (well, maybe Doral)

[SpartanPanics]

These poeple are idiots. Hes obviosly not evil...at all. Hes very human as far as flaws, but hes not evil. But what the guy that plays ben said, i agree with.

[Chiggs58th]

Baltar isn't evil. He's an egocentric, spineless asshole but he's not evil.

[gariadara]

in the end, he started to grow a spine. he's come a long way.

[Chiggs58th]

I loved his final scene and line "I know about farming... you know". He then breaks down and cries. Very touching if you know anything about his past. He was, by far, the best character in the show.

[Gladius8]

Yeah, I love that scene too : ) He was the main reason I watched all this series, and for sure, he is the best character in the show : )

[Chiggs58th]

So true.

[xpcheeze]

I agree. He is completely self-serving, but not evil. An ass, yes...but not evil.

[Slashur]

He's actually from aerilon(reference to aries) but you're right about him wanting to be from caprica and leaving at 18

[KuchmaxD]

Hes not Caprican... he is Geminon and wanted to be from caprica so he left his family and moved to caprica at 18

[Nemesis000000]

He's from Aerolon, actually. Gemenon is the highly religious planet, Aerolon was the salt of the earth farmer planet.

[BaltarstarBlog]

James Callis actually commented on this a while back. He said it's obvious these people don't watch the show and that Baltar is not the embodiment of evil. I have to agree. I mean, Baltar is weak, narcissistic and a nymphomaniac, cowardly and has caused the destruction of mankind - but not on purpose, and he isn't actively cruel.

I think he's a very human character who represents human weakness. To call him the embodiment of evil is just really odd.

[Stormtjakka]

You said it...

[Femvamp1]

@BaltarstarBlog I agree completely (and a year late but hey - whatever) It was the true genius of BSG that there were no "evil" characters on the show (well except for maybe Cavil) just very human ones (yes even the Cylon's basic flaw was that they were a little too human.) Baltar wasn't evil just very very flawed, maybe the most flawed character on the show.

[mgsfan103]

@BaltarstarBlog I agree, people clearly dont watch the show as Baltar is in no way evil. He is narcissistic and extremely selfish but he is not evil, he simply does what is best for him 99% of the time rather sacrifice himself for others. Hence why it is such a huge turn at the end of the series when he joins the Admiral on the suicide run when he himself is getting nothing of benefit out of it and may very well die.

[Stingmon21]

Is Baltar really a villain? I mean if you compare him to more contemporary villains from shows like buffy and star trek, he doesn't fit the mold. Granted, he's done some evil things but it's not like he was trying to get the colonies destroyed. I'd say Head-Six is the villain and he's just her pawn or minion.

[TurnXTop]

gaius should be higher on the list, he's English

[melancholygeek]

That is indeed an important quality for a villain!

[vikio452]

lolol, he's not really "English", he's "Caprican". That's one more thing to add to the list of things that are "not his fault" - his accent.

[Blacknarcissa]

@TurnXTop LOL. Nice comment. I actually wrote an essay for Film Studies about how the tradition of English villains. xD