Battlestar Galactica: Islanded in a Stream of Stars

I am still willing to trust Ronald D. Moore and the writers of the Sci Fi channel’s Battlestar Galactica, but I am getting worried that they will not be able to wrap up the series with any meaningful satisfaction. Here we are with only 2 episodes left and we still seem to be introducing more twists and questions than answers.

Hera is increasingly becoming the key for both sides of the conflict to obtain salvation. The episode starts off with a projection of Hera perched atop the information management table in the Combat Information Center (CIC), positioning Galactica next to a basestar and several heavy raiders.

I don’t know whose projection it was, but it seems likely that it was Laura’s since we peer into her dreams several times during the episode. The other mystery was whether or not this symbolic foreshadowing gesture was a symbol of union or a symbol of conflict. I tend to think it is the latter, since the scene takes place in the Combat Information Center. And I for one would much rather see Galactica go out in a blaze of glory rather than see her abandoned and parted out to the rest of the fleet’s vulture captains.


I am totally confused as to the role that Baltar will ultimately play. He has been a scientist, a traitor, a politician, a religious zealot, and will he ultimately become a savior? I had forgotten until this episode of the dream shared by Six, Baltar, and Laura. What does it all mean? Will they somehow be the catalysts to bring Cylons and humans together with Hera’s help? I do think however, that Starbuck knew deep down that Baltar would somehow expose her “secret.” Either way, he made her come to terms with it.

In Boomer’s first scenes with Hera, I completely despised her. She was an unfeeling monster as she threatened to inject little Hera on board the raptor. I don’t know how they got the little actress who plays Hera to show such emotion, but I totally fell for for heart wrenching sobs. Boomer must have too as she seemed to soften. Hera further brought out Boomer’s motherly instincts as they shared the projection of Boomer’s dream house. I expect this relationship will come into play later as evidenced by Boomer’s reaction when she drops Hera off at Cavil’s daycare center.


There were some odd moments in the episode as well. The first was with Starbuck and Lee in the hall of death. Both actors just seemed uncomfortable in this scene and a little out of character to me. Perhaps they are setting the stage for a re-coupling of Lee and Starbuck, but I hope not. Although I feel for Lee being essentially alone now, I just like the relationship between Starbuck and Anders so much better.

The next out of character moment was when Helo was pleading with Adama to let him go looking for Hera. I don’t know if Tahmoh Penikett just didn’t convince me in this scene or if it just seemed too far out of Helo’s mindset. I will just have to chalk Helo’s mental state up to losing his daughter and being on the outs with Athena.

The medicinal marijuana scene was also a little unbelievable to me. I just don’t see a hard-nosed military man like Adama sitting around smoking a joint in the middle of sick bay. But hey, Doc Cottle walks around smoking all the time, so what the heck. I guess I just didn’t find it dignified to see the president and the Admiral getting high and sharing secondhand smoke with the rest of the patients.

So Sam has essentially become a hybrid now. I am thinking he could save the Galactica or at least pull her back together for a final fight. The Cylon goop didn’t seem to work, but my bet is that with a higher intelligence directing it, it will do the trick to strengthen and repair the ship. But what did Anders mean when he called Starbuck the harbinger of death? A harbinger is someone or something that foretells or foreshadows the coming of something. What or who is Starbuck foreshadowing death for? Another one of those mysteries that needs to be answered.

My prediction however is that not everyone will be satisfied with the wrapping up scenes. There is no way to satisfy everyone. So, prepare yourself to be thrilled and disappointed. Hopefully the void created by Galactica’s absence can be filled by upcoming Galactica movie “The Plan” and the spin-off series Caprica.

TV Review: Battlestar Galactica

Deleted Scenes and a Theory

I have been working on a theory about Battlestar Galactica from the Sci Fi channel, that I hope you will indulge me on and give me your comments. Follow me for a second while I walk through the evidence and then give my analysis.

In the episode “No Exit,” Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) shows the damage in Galactica’s hull that he discovered in “Blood on the Scales” to Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos). He warns him that they shouldn’t even attempt a jump until it is repaired because the ship may not survive it. Tyrol believes that corners were cut when building Galactica, things that now are compromising its structural integrity.

When Adama reinstates Tyrol as Chief, he gives him specific instructions that the repairs be carried out by an all human repair crew. Later though, we find out that the damage includes extensive micro fractures. Tyrol believes that the only solution is to use a Cylon compound, an ORGANIC, as in living, compound, to repair all of the “fracturing.” Adama, of course refuses this. And why wouldn’t he? He has massive mistrust of Cylons, forged from many years of fighting them. However, when he discovers fractures in his own quarters, he relents and instructs Tyrol to use the compound on Galactica.

Also in "No Exit,” we realize that the Cylons are also deeply split. Brother Cavil (Dean Stockwell), as we now know is considered to be one of the 1st “children” of Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon) and the rest of the Final Five. But, he is resentful of his body and even of his maker. He is a man/machine bent on revenge.

The Five are also split. Since Ellen has returned to them, in “Deadlock”, they take a vote on whether or not to leave the humans or to stay with them (BTW, does anyone know how Boomer (Grace Park) knew where to find the fleet? And if she can find them, why hasn’t Cavil attacked?). Tory Foster (Rekha Sharma) and Tyrol vote to leave (interesting, since we have come to believe that Tyrol is once again invested in saving Galactica), while Samuel Anders (Michael Trucco), based upon his pre-operation comments, and Colonel Tigh vote to stay. Ellen is the swing vote.

After the whole love triangle with Ellen, Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer), and Saul, Ellen decides that the Cylons should leave. Her decision was based on emotion and spite rather than rational thought and she later recants. You will also remember that it is believed that Cylons can only conceive if love, twoo wuv, is what bwings them toogethuh (oops, sorry, wrong show). Jane Espenson, who wrote "Deadlock," was asked why Caprica Six’s baby died. She answered with another question: “Did the baby die because Tigh, witnessing Ellen's gesture of sacrifice, fell in love with her all over again and deprived Six of his love in that moment?”

I think the Cylons are just as emotional and irrational at this point as the humans are. Ellen even accuses Tigh of not wanting to leave Galactica because he loves the ship and Bill more than he loves her or Caprica Six.

Now for some things you may not have known. There were some deleted scenes from "Deadlock" that I think are pretty critical. You remember the scenes with Gaius Baltar (James Callus) in Dogsville. They were a little confusing. In the deleted scenes however, it is explained that many marines were lost during the mutiny and there are just not enough of them to maintain order. The marines were forced to retreat from Dogsville. Adama is finding it difficult to maintain order aboard Galactica.

In the absence of the marines, the Sons of Ares seize most of the food supply, with the exception of the small stash controlled by the cult formerly led by Baltar. Adama needs a force to help keep the civilian population under control. Adama and Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) debate the possibility of bringing Centurions on board to provide security. Adama is firmly opposed to this, even though the ship is slowly being infused with Cylon material, because he fears, among other things, a civilian uprising.

Enter Baltar with “the last human solution;” to arm the cultists. The decision facing Adama is to either allow criminals to control the food supply, or allow Baltar and the crazy cultists (good name for a band?) to act as a civilian security force. Adama obviously believed that the human solution was better or at least the lesser of two evils and arms Baltar’s followers to the teeth.

What is a fracture? A split, a rift, a parting of two entities that were once a whole. Cylons and humans once lived together. Bringing in the mythology of the tribes, Cylons, or at least the skin jobs, are referred to as the 13th tribe since they are "children" of the Final Five.

Galactica is a representation of the human-Cylon relationship. I believe the writers are trying to tell us that Humans cannot survive without bringing their lost children back into the fold. Just as Galactica was deteriorating and would have eventually been lost without an infusion of Cylon, so too will the human race be lost without a reuniting of Cylons and humans.


Cylons too are lost without the humans. Resurrection technology is lost. Perhaps it could be rebuilt, but it is lost for now. Cylons once had the ability to procreate but have lost that ability. They are missing something that can only be obtained from the humans. Whether that be technology or a Cylon/human baby, who knows, but it seems to me that Galactica, once again is showing the way for human and Cylon alike to survive.

To me, this indicates that Cylons and humans will unite and become one race with a shared destiny. After all, Anders did reiterate a theme during his bullet-induced visions that has been common throughout the series: “This has all happened before, and it will all happen again.” The Five were all once human, perhaps a thousand years ago, but they were all once human. (BTW, where is Hera?) And if you needed any more convincing, we have the words of Adama himself. At the end of “Deadlock,” he and Laura see a Cylon putting up pictures of Cylon dead. In classic deadpan Adama delivery, he states that the integration has already happened.

Only time can ultimately prove me right or wrong, but I think that the separatist Cylons will not leave the fleet and we will see a further blending of Cylon and human technology and ideology. Cavil and his group will have to come around to the point of view of the separatists and rejoin the Final Five “makers.” If he doesn’t, he and his followers will be lost, spiritually and physically.

Does this mean that together they will find another planet to live on? Personally, I don’t think they will find one before the end of the series. But in my opinion, they don’t need to in order to bring closure to the series. Now that Earth is gone, all they really need is to eliminate the threat of Cavil (either by conversion or destruction) and then find a New New Caprica.

TV Review: Chuck

"Chuck Versus the Best Friend"

Don’t get me wrong, Chuck on NBC is one my favorite shows, but I never know when to take it seriously or to just laugh something off. There was a little bit of that going on last night. Do we take the spy game seriously or do we take it as a comedy and laugh off the inconsistencies?

The show opens with a flashback to young Morgan (sporting an Alf t-shirt, awesome) getting beat up by a girl he likes. Chuck comes to his rescue even back then. That sets up the pattern for the entire show: Chuck has always rescued Morgan, who has never grown up.

Back in the present, we find Morgan still troubled by his breakup with Anna Wu, where he and the boys are planning a little spy mission of their own. The real spies, Casey and Sarah must then engage in a little spy vs. spy action; scratch that, make that spy vs. nerd action. Two of the best lines of the whole episode come during this scene, the first when Jeff informs us that 80% of his female encounters have been without the nerd herd’s knowledge (Chuck is more worried about the other 20% . . . rightly so). The second, Casey’s line, comes during the surveillance mission:

Morgan: “We have visual acquisition of the target.”
Lester: “The subject is on the move.”
Casey: “The idiots are on the move.”

During their spy mission, Chuck flashes on Anna’s new boyfriend, who is a major smuggler, so much so, that he is on the CIA’s radar and in the Intersect. Ok, is Chuck just a major magnet for trouble, or is LA just that dangerous that everyone routinely rubs shoulders with smugglers, spies, and other assorted terrorists. This is one of the areas that I am willing to suspend belief, as it is the premise for the show. I do think the writers mix up this formula enough that it doesn’t get too monotonous. Either way, the mission parameters are great; Chuck must “befriend his best friend’s ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.”

This episode also has the return of Captain Awesome. I love his mix of confidence, laid back attitude, braininess, and naivety. I laughed so hard when they first introduced him in the Pilot. BTW, did you know that Captain Awesome has a blog?

Here come the little nitpicky comments. Chuck always blows the “covert ops” sections. Why would Sarah ever task Chuck with planting a bug? A little too formulaic to me. Next, after Morgan is discovered as the spy/stalker, a Triad member walks right up to the bug. How did he even know that he should look for a bug? Are all smugglers that sophisticated? Speaking of the Triad members, I for one didn’t buy that Morgan was ever in any real jeopardy. The 2 male Triad members just didn’t come off as very threatening in their actions.

As for being in jeopardy, did anyone ever believe that Chuck was in danger of being blown up? Ok, I was surprised that he was driving the remote, but why wouldn’t he have just stayed in plain view to drive the car away? Obviously it was just to set up the whole cheesy hand-holding scene between Chuck and Sarah (formulaic). Don’t get me wrong, I want to see them together as much as anyone else, but it just came off as a little too easy.

Speaking of easy, why did the Chinese ambassador’s guards focus on Casey and just let Chuck by to uncover the bomb? And why did they believe Sarah was CIA when moments before they didn’t believe Casey’s credentials? It didn’t add up . . . too easy, too neat, but hey, you have to tie up the loose ends quickly in a 1 hour show. That’s why I don’t know when to take the series seriously. I am willing to overlook things in the name of comedy, but other things seem to be glaring holes.

To wind up the show, I liked the idea of the continuing bromance between Morgan and Chuck. It was mostly believable and a nice relationship. Chuck seems to be dependant on Morgan as his only “family,” but Chuck has a sister. What about her? If there is a family relationship between Morgan and Chuck, it would be one with Chuck as the older brother who always has to rescue his younger brother from his own stupidity. Not much of a two way street.

As always though, an entertaining show with plenty of action and comedy to keep me coming back for more.