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Battlestar Galactica - (Commentaries from first four episodes)

by Angel Cohn October 27, 2006: The Circle of Death

Oh. My. Gods. Those were the words that came out of my mouth as I saw the little two second preview (in the opening credits – more on that topic later) of Laura Roslin leaning in to kiss (Yes, Kiss!) Gaius Baltar. I sat jaw agape and at the end of another mind-blowing episode am still sitting here with my mouth wide open in utter amazement.

Thank those same gods for letting that unholy union of all that is good and all that is evil and selfish in this world just be a fantasy on the part of the most selfish human being left in the universe. That said, there are only slightly over 40 thousand humans left on the planet and the Cylons have decided to spare this one, and even give him fresh clothing. This wimpy bit of flesh must have some value in this world. His silly babbling at Number Six in order to get her to spare his life (this after he'd been pleading for death on New Caprica) was just plain pathetic. "You need me…. And I need you too. Maybe I should have started with that." Um, yeah. He's completely clueless about how to treat a woman or machine or really whatever she is. The best part of his confinement aboard the Cylon base ship (aside from that disturbingly eerie pulsing red light which I sort of hope will drive him even madder) was hearing the way that D'Anna said the word "controversy." I love a Cylon with an accent!

But while I've grown accustomed to think of the Cylons as bad and the humans as good, it is becoming more and more evident that on this show there are many shades of gray. That line blurred a lot tonight with the creation of "The Circle" by the acting President Tom Zarek. Baltar may be easily manipulated and completely unfit for the office, but it is nearly as dangerous to have someone as opinionated and uncontrollable in such a position of power. Judging people based on their acts of survival, which may have cost human's lives is a touchy and sensitive subject indeed. It's fairly clear that there isn't a "right" answer, but tossing people out the airlock without a proper trial isn't necessarily the humane way to go. Watching Jammer beg for his life through the soundproof glass, knowing that he had indeed tried to help Callie at the very least, was almost as difficult to watch as Ellen's poisoning last week. Those who watched the webisodes know that Jammer was in an emotional state when he began working for the Cylons. It is hard to know what many people would have done in a similar situation. I thought the new/old president Laura's decision, while it will ruffle many feathers, was somewhat sensible. I just can't help but wonder if she'll keep her promise to name Zarek as her second-in-command. Sometimes it is best to keep those troublesome sorts close. At least that's what Adama does with Tigh. He's able to keep a watchful eye on him when he gets too far out of line.

Speaking of Adama, he had the best line of the night hands down. Apollo slyly tried to slip in the fact he taking his dad's advice and exercising into their conversation, "I have a date with a jump rope." [Adama's deadpan patented deadpan stare.] "Hey, I dropped half a stone." Adama's response? "Keep jumping." I (and probably the makeup department) will be glad to have "normal" Apollo back. He was the reason that I started watching this show in the first place.

That said, the reasons for sticking around are many, but chief among them was my adoration of Kara Thrace. The easygoing trigger happy gal of the earlier seasons, who would have fit in well in the Wild West, is gone. Now my favorite little space cowgirl is filled with complex emotions and Katee Sackhoff has taken her to a completely new level. She's understandably angry and mad about being held captive and manipulated by the Cylons into thinking that she had a daughter. But she's also having a hard time accepting the fact that she's back on the ship and she has no one to take her anger out on, hence her screaming at Gaita to beg for his life. Her instant change from wanting to claw Sam's eyes out to kissing him, surely doesn't bode well for their continuing couplehood, but I think if he gives her time and space… a lot of space, she'll eventually come around.

I mentioned before the preview of the lip-lock in the opening credits, which brought my to my random question of the day: What do you think of the fact that there is a sequence before each episode that shows clips of each episode? Do you view it as a spoiler, or something to whet your appetite for the coming hour? I'm still on the fence. I used to hate them but now they've grown on me. I'd love to read what you think.

Now that I've shared my thoughts, I'm going to go back and watch that dream sequence again. I really am still having a hard time processing that one.

Posted by Angel Cohn 10/27/06 11:27 PM

October 20, 2006: A Close Shave

In an episode full of gritty and very realistic battle scenes with a lot of casualties, the thing I had the hardest time watching was Kara and Leoben's kiss. Sure, I had seen Starbuck snag that knife from Anders and knew she'd kill him (though in front of the kid surprised me), but watching him force her to say she loved him and then kiss him was so genuinely uncomfortable it gave me chills. And when Kara encountered Casey's real mother, it was positively heartbreaking. I'm so used to thinking of Starbuck as this badass who is amazing in battle, but to see her softer side is touching. She seemed so disappointed that the child wasn't hers. I just knew that the child couldn't be a Cylon/human hybrid — otherwise what would the big deal have been about Hera? But having the human mother retrieve her presumed dead daughter from Kara's arms was a particularly cruel twist.

Hera is now in the care of one of the D'Annas. But I can't figure out what D'Anna was searching for in the human temple... perhaps the old, psychic woman who told her about the baby's existence? Or was that where they were hiding the nuke?

I found it hard to be too sad that Tigh had to poison his backstabbing wife. Not sure if it made him feel any better that she told him she slept with one of the Brother Cavils in order to free him. He seemed pretty upset by the whole situation, and understandably so. This may sound harsh, but he has always been the one to preach about the casualties of war, and sad as he may be, Ellen is one of them.

Gaius impressed me with his wimpy attitude tonight. He practically begged Gaita to kill him. "I just want to sit here and die." That would be too easy a punishment for him. Baltar needs to suffer for the pain that he's caused the existing human race. I presume that since Laura took back her ship, she's back in charge as interim president. Even though she did lose the hybrid baby, which she originally lied about and hid, she's much more competent than Gaius will ever be. Plus, she realizes her place in society: "This is bigger than us, this is life." Well said, Madame President (or whatever she should be called).

I'm saving my favorite for last. The sky war was absolutely amazing to watch. (Truly, the special effects are a marvel, especially since I can compare it to an unfinished version I saw of this episode.) And the Pegasus did not go down in vain.... It was responsible for destroying several Cylon base ships in the progress. I was actually clapping when Apollo and the Pegasus soared in and saved Galactica before the ship and entire crew were destroyed. Adama had already told his crew how much it was an honor working with them. He was willing to go down with the ship in order to save the stranded humans on New Caprica. He deserved the cheers from the adoring crowd when they had all escaped to a safe (for now) area. The father-son moment was sweet without being all touchy-feely. "Guess you didn't understand my orders?" "I never could read your handwriting." And Adama's mustache shaving was a perfectly subtle way of showing that it is time for a new beginning. This show just does a masterful job of portraying emotions and events without spelling out every small detail. It truly is one of the best shows on television right now, and I just can't wait for next Friday to roll around.

Posted by Angel Cohn 10/20/06 11:55 PM

October 13, 2006: "Don't Make Me Cry on My Own Airdeck"

These cliff-hanger endings might be the death of me. All that discussion and planning, only to leave the episode with Galactica on the verge of saving the entire human race. I was all sniffly when Adama told Apollo, "Don't make me cry on my own airdeck." I'm more addicted than ever, and that's saying a lot.

So here's my weird theory of the night. I don't think that Casey is actually Starbuck and Leoben's kid. It is possible that she was created with the ovary that they removed from Starbuck, but I just don't buy that she's a joint venture. I got to pondering this because D'Anna seems gung ho to find Hera. If there were other Cylon/human babies out there, Hera wouldn't be such a big deal. And feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Number 6 tell Gaius a while back that the Cylons hadn't been successful in producing offspring and that was why Good Sharon (she proved herself trustworthy tonight by shooting D'Anna in the kneecaps so she's good for now) and Helo's kid would be so special? If this thought is true, that's just wrong since it seems like Kara is getting really attached.

I was more than a little excited that Anders caught right on to Ellen's betrayal. I know that she was doing it to save Saul, but why, since Saul was already out of jail, was she granting sexual favors to a Brother Cavil? With her indiscretions and his violent tendencies, he really had no idea how accurate his comment was, "The last thing your son wants is me and Ellen for parents."

Last week's cliff-hanger had me biting my nails wondering the fate of Callie, though I was only mildly worried for Roslin — they just can't kill her off, she's too amazing. I'm glad that the insurgence was able to track the Cylons and save them, though a Brother Cavil model was more than a little miffed to be left to suffer. This from a being who was trying to exterminate a third of the human race. He's lucky all he got was a headache.

Then there's Gaius. He's in a depression and full of self-loathing. Makes sense considering that his easily manipulated mind is one of the major reasons why the humans are in this major predicament. He should be regretful and drowning his sorrows in alcohol because he is one of the most pathetic men in the known universe. There's got to be a moment this season where he has an opportunity to step up and prove himself and I'm really curious to see what he does.

I still can't believe we have to wait a whole week to find out what happens next. This is the problem with getting hooked by watching it on the DVDs; one episode is just never enough.
Posted by Angel Cohn 10/13/06 11:47 PM

October 6, 2006: "How Many Times Do I Have to Shoot You, Anyway?"

I hate to start off my post with the profanity of the future, but holy frak, I missed Battlestar so much! My head is spinning after watching this episode. There's so much to take in from this huge, two-hour episode, and the cliff-hanger ending has left me completely breathless. Wow!

I'm really glad that I watched the webisodes first because they filled in some of the blanks, at least — like giving Jammer's backstory of why he joined the New Caprica police force, and the history of the self-sacrificing Duck. But those took place about Day 67, and this premiere picked up at Day 134, so clearly a lot has happened in that gap.

Tigh was detained by the Cylons and lost an eyeball in the process. They plucked it right out of the socket and showed it to him. But apparently freed from jail, he's got a new perspective on life and that means not only is it OK to endanger innocent humans, it is also fair game to have people do suicide bombings, provided that it somehow distracts the Cylons. Too bad that he seems clueless to the fact that those Cylons don't miss a beat. One of the Cavil Cylons is sleeping with Colonel Tigh's wife and is forcing information about the resistance out of her. Interesting how Ellen is willing to cheat on her husband with one of the toasters but still agrees to get them the information that they need in order to save his life. I guess they are a good pair because they both sort of stretch the moral code in order to suit their purposes.

On the flip side, there is the sweet couple of the resistance, Cally and Chief Tyrol. They've got an adorable little baby, they genuinely want to help the dwindling human population, and yet she's the one who gets abducted by the New Caprica Police and is left running for her life from the Cylons. But I couldn't tell if those Cylon shots were in her direction, or if she was just hearing the other detainees being destroyed. There's part of me that hopes that it is Sam and Sharon who are trying to destroy the Cylons, but they seem to have their hands full with Cylons in another location. I'm so nervous for Roslin and even Zarek.

My other favorite good guys of the night were Gaeta, who was Tyrol's secret source, and vainly attempted to give Gaius a much-overdue wake-up call, and Sam, Starbuck's real husband who is working with the resistance, much like he did on Old Caprica. Unfortunately for Gaeta, Gaius is just a self-serving idiot whose only motive is saving his own skin. He might as well be a Cylon after signing an order to execute nearly 200 people. No wonder the Cylons realized that sacrificing him would probably draw cheers from the humans instead of eliciting the proper display of fear. So much for the Cylons playing nice and creating a peaceful society. Unfortunately for Sam, his wife is being held captive by the creepy Leoben. While Starbuck isn't subjected to the dingy prison cells that the other detainees are tossed in, she's not really much better off with her prettily decorated cell. Leoben's got the idea in his head that Starbuck is really meant to be his life companion. Um, ew. If a girl succeeds in killing you on five separate occasions, it's probably a sign that she's just not that into you. (Did any other Lost fans have flashbacks to Kate and Ben's brunch earlier this week, during that scene when Starbuck and Leoben were dining?) But the fact that he used Starbuck's stolen ovary and created a little half-toaster-half-human offspring with it is just downright terrifying. I loved Kara's reaction to seeing her toddler: "What's that?", "take this with you" and "don't leave me alone with this." I was actually surprised that she sort of came around after the child's accident, and even held Leoben's hand. Very bizarre.

Then in a galaxy far, far away, Adama Sr. and Apollo butted heads about tactics to rescue the remaining humans on New Caprica. I loved Adama's no-nonsense speech. "You are weak, soft, mentally and physically.... I want you to turn around and get your fat ass out of here." He's not really one to mince words, even on the best of days, and in this situation it was totally called for. A father would be able to tell his son that he's losing his edge and fast, especially considering the fact that they finally got word that there are living humans on Caprica and they are in dire need of assistance. Some may question his decision to place so much faith in the Cylon Sharon since another one of her model did try to kill him, but they've really been developing this relationship. I just hope for Adama and Helo's sake that this Sharon is true to her word... at least until she finds out that her baby is actually still alive.

Phew, that's it from me for now. I am so excited for next week. I know there are probably some minute details that I missed, but I fully intend to give this premiere at least a second viewing, and I look forward to reading all your thoughts and comments on the episode.

Posted by Angel Cohn 10/7/06 12:47 AM

The Webisodes
"War is messy, it gets people killed. Good people. Nice people. Get that through your head, or get out. We don't need any babies in this outfit."

Well a lot may have changed since the Cylons invaded New Caprica, but the irascible Colonel Tigh hasn't changed one bit. The webisodes pick up on the 67th day of Cylon occupation, and Tigh is spearheading a resistance movement. But his who cares about the casualties of war attitude rightly has made some of his followers, like Jammer more than a little bit skeptical.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the scifi.com Battlestar Galactica webisodes here are the highlights:

- Chief Tyrol and Cally had a baby, and baptized it.
- Tyrol, Tigh and Jammer try and recruit Duck, who is married to Nora, to join the resistance. But when his wife is killed by a Cylon attack that was brought on by the resistance he instead joins the Cylon's human police force.
- Jammer is taken in to talk to the Cylon Doral who tries to convince him that sharing information about the resistance's dangerous attack plans will actually help save human lives.
- Tigh is making a plan to create an explosion that might cause more human fatalities because of its location.

I thought the webisodes in general were a grim look at the bleak society that the humans have been stuck living in. It's cold, they live in tents, the sun never seems to shine and they fear the imminent threat of Cylon attack. I just can't wait to see how some of my faves, like the outspoken Starbuck or the stubborn Roslin, have been adapting to these circumstances. My guess is not well, which should make for such interesting television tonight.

Random question of the day: Do you think the FCC will have to add "Frak" to its bad word list since it is becoming such a mainstream thing now?