02.26.07
Posted in Reviews at 3:55 pm by Administrator
Written by Jane Espenson and Anne Cofell Saunders
Directed by Wayne Rose
Over the past two seasons, one of my main comments on “Galactica” was the somewhat shallow exploration of the day-to-day struggles for survival. There were the broad actions involving the Cylons and the issues explored on New Caprica, but the situations within the Colonial Fleet as a whole were either vague or ham-fisted in nature. The Colonials seemed to have a fairly reasonable way of life, given the tense nature of the exodus.
This episode goes a long way towards changing that impression, and I love it all the more for it. Perhaps the best element is the growing sense of a caste system based on colony of origin. We see, for the first time, a difference between wealthy colonies and poor colonies and how that translates into the upkeep of the fleet. Questions of entitlement vs. necessity are directly raised and addressed, and the ensuing agreements are simply part of a long-term process of change. This is a far better look at the tensions within the fleet than, say, “Black Market” or “The Woman King”.
At the heart of the discontent is Baltar, who has apparently learned a little something from his former Vice President, Tom Zarek. In fact, Baltar’s new message and method is so close to the Zarek model that Zarek’s absence is the one major sticking point for the episode. Of course, one might assume that Zarek was working behind the scenes in some fashion. He could have defused the situation easily by supporting the current government, but he chose to stay out of it. That could be translated as silent approval of the worker revolt. (The reality, of course, is that Richard Hatch was probably unavailable for the episode and couldn’t be written in.)
Whatever the case, this probably pertains more to Baltar’s trial than the abortive Sagittaron plot that made such a mess of “The Woman King”. Baltar is using the growing tension in the fleet to divert attention from his own crimes against humanity. If anything, he’s shifting the blame to an “aristocracy” led by Roslin, Adama, and their Caprican ruling class. Those stuck in blue-collar jobs under horrifying conditions already resent those living in clean, spacious quarters, and Baltar knows that. And of course, he knows very well how heavy-handed Roslin and Adama can be when their authority is questioned and the needs of the military are threatened.
Baltar has now positioned himself as a grass-roots champion of the working class. Never mind that he was the one in charge when so many of the New Capricans were ravaged and abused by the Cylons. The fact that Tyrol was able to restore a sense of worker rights to the fleet can now be traced directly to Baltar’s visionary “book”. Like Zarek, Baltar might be staging a comeback for himself. For Baltar, it’s a desperation move, but one in keeping with his genius.
This episode also dismisses the notion that the events of New Caprica are a thing of the past. Tyrol’s character motivations are still firmly rooted in his role as union organizer on New Caprica, and much of his dissatisfaction since the Second Exodus had to derive from the attempt to pretend everything was back to status quo. For that matter, looking back on many of the so-called “filler” episodes this season, they are all linked by the subtle awareness that the fleet has yet to really deal with the New Caprica legacy. Roslin and Adama have been dealing with the cracks in the “everything’s normal again” façade, but it’s building towards something major. Zarek’s warning about Baltar’s upcoming trial is precisely in line with this undertone.
Because this episode is as much about attitude and selective interpretation of information as it is about the issues within the fleet, we get to see sides of characters that are consistent yet unusual. This is in contrast to “The Woman King”, where many character shadings felt forced or unearned. It’s unfortunate that other characters were left out of the story. For that reason alone, this might have worked even better as part of a season arc. Rather than focusing on relationship issues (which seem awfully silly in comparison), the writers could have focused on the dynamic interplay of fleet tensions and conflict with the Cylons.
As it is, this is still a great episode that should play into the rest of the season rather well. It even ties into the larger series concerns in a subtle, indirect manner. It shouldn’t take long to consider that the vital importance of one refinery ship should make it an easy target for the Cylons, especially those still hidden in the fleet. Other ships are equally vital to basic survival. The fact that such ships have not been targeted or destroyed could be another hint that the Cylons need the Rag-Tag Fleet to exist, at least for a little while. It might also be a plot hole, but considering how well everything else in the episode worked, I’m willing to give the writers credit.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
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02.19.07
Posted in Reviews at 7:39 pm by Administrator
Written by Mark Verheiden
Directed by Rod Hardy
As of the writing of this review, “Battlestar: Galactica” has been renewed for a fourth season. The number of episodes for the fourth season seems to be unclear; David Eick has indicated that it will be 13 to 22, with the final number under negotiation with Sci-Fi Channel. The slump in ratings, largely due to the inexplicable move to late Sunday night, probably will factor into that decision. Whatever the case, fans need not be concerned yet; unlike “Farscape”, this series has too high a profile for it to be cancelled in the middle of the night on a sleepy weekend.
This is of interest because episodes like “A Day in the Life” wouldn’t happen in a 13-episode arc. Or rather, they tend to be rare. The writers are usually forced to focus on stronger season arc elements and tighter character threads. An episode devoted to character exploration is usually left out of the cut, or the content is watered down as a minor subplot. There’s less time to get caught in blind alleys (like the previous episode, “The Woman King”), but there’s also less time for intriguing character study.
Interestingly enough, all of the promotion for the episode seemed to focus on the airlock situation with Tyrol and Callie. Yet it quickly occurred to me, watching the episode the first time through, that their story was there to support the real action: the struggle within Adama’s mind. And that led me to the realization that we haven’t learned much about Adama from his point of view. We’ve gotten a lot of exposition, and a lot of opinions about “the old man”, but this is direct information.
If some of this is old information, particularly in terms of the Adama family dynamic and the effect of Bill’s absenteeism, it’s given new life through unique presentation. More to the point, father and son find a new level of respect for each other as a result. While Adama’s planet might hit this spot in its orbit year after year, circumstances bring Lee into the right place at the right time for a bit of rapprochement. It’s good to see the character move out of the Polygon of Tortured Love and into something that should challenge his moral assumptions.
The other nice touch to the episode is the treatment of Adama and Roslin’s unusual but incredibly sweet relationship. Their personal theme is one of my favorites pieces by Bear McCreary, and it is used well in this episode. Had the two of them agreed to a relationship at the end of the episode (or acknowledged openly the one they have), it would have been far less satisfying. Instead, they take an incremental step forward, with Adama still unable (or unwilling) to let go of past regrets. Unlike the Polygon of Tortured Love, this is a relationship that can be savored for its maturity.
While it was hardly as elegant, the struggles between Galen and Callie were at least realistic and give a bit more credence to Tyrol’s sudden aggravation in “Taking a Break From All Your Worries”. It’s interesting to see characters suffer through the typical issues that come with parenthood under the strained conditions of the Rag-Tag Fleet, and since they were tangential to the episode, they didn’t become a major distraction.
Episodes like this manage to communicate one of the more difficult aspects of the series’ premise: how does one live when civilization has been stripped away and every day might be the last? The overwhelming nature of humanity’s ordeal is easy to forget, but it is front and center in this episode. Consider for a moment the discussion, however brief, on the effect of the genocide and exodus on the legal system. Roslin openly admits that it has been a mess, and that the trial of Gaius Baltar now brings every shortcoming of the current status quo to light.
Shortening the fourth season may help the series survive through tighter plotting and active pacing, but it would be a shame to lose episodes like this in the process. More than that, this episode is an example of using existing situations and continuity elements as foundation for a something new. If the writers managed to do this more often with the non-arc episodes, longer seasons would hardly be a problem.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
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02.12.07
Posted in Reviews at 11:16 pm by Administrator
Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Michael Rymer
Writing is always an organic process. This is definitely true when dealing with a medium like television. Long-range plans are changed based on external factors and the realization that certain ideas don’t necessarily pan out as one might have hoped. In the case of “Battlestar: Galactica”, we happen to be witness to one such situation.
As Ron Moore and others have already mentioned in podcasts and elsewhere, the original plan was to center the upcoming trial of Gaius Baltar on a messy situation involving a group of Sagittarons on New Caprica. Gaeta, Zarek, and others would be implicated. Scenes had been filmed in earlier episodes to develop and lead into the circumstances of the trial. However, when the time came to work out the details, the writers realized that the Sagittaron subplot wasn’t panned out as intended.
This led to an interesting revision of existing, completed episodes. For example, in “Taking a Break From All Your Worries”, Baltar confronts Gaeta with something in his cell; this was originally supposed to be related to the Sagittaron subplot. Similarly, this episode contains a number of references to Sagittarons that seem out of place, as if the issues had been gathering steam over time.
In fact, many of the scenes in the recap in the teaser related to Helo’s current assignment and the bigotry towards Sagittarons never made it into previous episodes. This tactic is quite annoying, because it doesn’t play fair with the audience. It creates the impression that the issues in this episode were developing over time, when they were purposefully cut out of the story. That starts the audience off on the wrong foot.
All of that said, the episode itself manages to recover from this lack of context. Sure, the negativity towards religious Sagittarons feels like something out of left field, because in essence, that’s what it is. Why there would be an influx of Sagittaron refugees this long after the flight from New Caprica is never explained. More to the point, the most religious colony had previously been Geminon. All we know about Sagittara is that Zarek and Dualla come from that colony. (For that matter, it should be interesting to go back to the first issue of the recent “Zarek” comic mini-series to see if the details are remotely similar.)
The Sagittarons in this episode are similar to extreme versions of Christian Scientists who reject modern medicine. As mentioned already, the venomous bigotry that results is a bit awkward because this detail was never discussed in previous episodes. But this does present Helo with a particularly simple case of right vs. wrong, a situation where his unpopular moral fortitude can be justified. As someone clearly sidelined for violating orders in previous situations, Helo gets a simple opportunity to play the hero and uncover something to restore his standing in the fleet.
Because of all the changes to the overall story arc, the episode seems a bit out of place. Bereft of any real connections with the overall progression of the story, it becomes an isolated character piece for Helo. His character development doesn’t particular go anywhere, either, since the story relies on a fairly conventional plot about exposing hidden prejudices. It’s interesting enough to see that applied along religious or ideological lines rather than simple racial or gender lines, but it does come across as overdone. Ultimately, the episode has some interesting and worthwhile scenes, but the end effect of too many rewrites left it less than satisfying.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 6/10
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