Can’t Find a Better Man

Battlestar Galactica

By admin | Thursday, February 23, 2006 | 9:18 am | 20 Comments

bsg2-17-06I still have hope for Battlestar Galactica, but we are really on the verge of having to give these writers a little bit of an intervention. This show was good because it was different, and now it is really indistinguishable from any number of other programs out there. The writers try and make every episode seem profound and moving, but forget that every once and a while we are just looking for a little entertainment. It’s been so long since we’ve had any hot robot sex, I have almost forgotten why the hell I got hooked on this shit in the first place. There was a time where I would take the ridicule of watching the SciFi channel and laugh that people were missing out on a good show. Now, I am sort of embarrassed that I have managed to stick around this long. Things have become so bad, I am starting to wonder if they should bring back Earth 2.OK, maybe that Earth 2 comment is a little bit of an exaggeration, but there are some problems with BSG. I am pretty sure that I don’t like any character that is on this show right now. I guess I kind of still like Sharon, because there is a whole resurrection ship full of her copies out there somewhere, and you can’t complain about that. And how can I forget how great Gina looked in her glasses with the hair pulled back? But the humans? Forget about it! Say that Earth really is the location of the thirteen colonies. If these asswipes came right now, wouldn’t you want to call the Cylons to get rid of them?

But let’s not talk about the thirteenth colony, because the writers never do, and I guess there are a few certain logistics problems that they have to take care of. The show is called Battlestar Galactica, not Battlestar Galactica and Pegasus, so something is going to have to be done about this other boat. I don’t think it is going to last the entire season, if only because the commanding officers are killed so often, we’ll begin to run out of people in a few weeks. Although I do love how they call Pegasus the beast and refer to Galactica as the bucket. Quite fitting names, don’t you think?

Currently, Admiral Adama has an engineer in charge of Pegasus, Commander Garner. Although they never showed this happen in previous episodes, they kind of wedged it in to the “Previously, on Battlestar Galactica” segment to start the show. The new Commander is having some problems with, take a guess, Starbuck. She had been sent to Pegasus to help with some training missions. Apparently, she is bucking authority and pissing off the commanding officer. It may not sound so shocking to us, but Admiral Adama decides to send his son to oversee things and make sure they are running smoothly.

bsg2-17-06a
Sluts

After he is finished having sex with Dee (I hope they both get herpes from one of the hookers Lee sleeps around with), Major Lee Adama heads over to Pegasus. That’s right; Adama used to be a captain, but is now a major. He showed such great leadership in, uh, umm, getting shot, that I guess his father wanted to set an example. Apollo gets to Pegasus just in time to find out that two Raptors have been lost. Commander Garner blames Starbuck for running a shoddy training program; Starbuck blames Garner because he is paranoid and told the crew not to talk about problems on Pegasus to outside officers. Now that he is a Major, Lee has to show some leadership, so he gets everybody together and tells them to “think outside the box.” Thinking outside the box has become so ordinary that if somebody says think outside the box, you are probably going to be firmly inside the box for quite a while, but the Pegasus crew, led by Starbuck, starts to brainstorm.

If that isn’t gripping you enough, we also have some political intrigue. In another flashback to a scene we never actually saw before, Gina tells Gaius that he has to run for President in the upcoming election. That’s right, there is an election. When Zarek was rattling the cages (and I say that literally since he was in jail at the time), she promised preliminary elections, with subsequent elections in one year. She was dying of cancer at the time, and without the Cylon fetal blood, she was never going to make it long enough to worry about such things.

Roslin, who has a new super assistant Tori, enjoys a very favorable rating. The military backs her, and all her salvation talk got the religious types from Gemnon behind her as well. She has guns, she has god, and that is all she needs. But like I said before, there is an alternative choice, and that is Dr. Baltar, who for some reason had turned the settings on the “British-ness” dial from Gwyneth Paltrow to Margaret Thatcher. Tom Zarek, who failed at his bid to take over the government, wants to work with Gaius. I am sure that he has dreams of running a puppet regime while Gaius is having daydreams of sex with Six. Zarek knows that Dr. Baltar will appeal to the people who crave science over religious fanaticism.

So it comes down to faith vs. science? So far, faith is kicking science’s ass. The prophecies that Roslin believed may have been fanatical, but hey, we saw the results with our own eyes. I wouldn’t mind trying a little more faith if I was the fleet. So if science is going to prevail, we are going to have a wedge issue to divide people somehow. Hmmm, I know, how about abortion!

In the early part of the episode the crew of Galactica found a stowaway. It was a pregnant girl who wanted an abortion. Abortion was legal in the colonies, so there is no reason why it shouldn’t be legal now. In fact, Dr. Cottel has been performing a lot of them. He doesn’t ask questions normally, but this girl is from Gemnon, where their religion says that abortion is forbidden. Roslin has always been about a woman’s right to her body, but she can’t lose the support of the Gemnon faction because of its importance to her campaign.

Personally, I am kind of disappointed that humans have figured out how to travel faster than the speed of light, but still haven’t advanced birth control that much. OK, I guess if I learned the planet was being nuked, I would decide to leave before securing a couple years supply of the pill, but whatever the case, there is a bigger issue at stake here. The population of the fleet is slowly going down. People are going to need to have babies if they even want to sustain their current population. Is it wise to terminate any pregnancies when the survival of your race literally depends on that baby coming out with a push and not a suck? Maybe it’s something to think about. Roslin decides to get some numbers from Gaius, who projects that humans will be extinct in 18 years at the current pace.

Commander Garner is determined to get his raptor pilots back, and time is running out. They will run out of air soon, and because there is so much interference with the electronics they just can’t radio back for help. The Pegasus catches a break and another Raptor team picks up on a distress signal. The problem with this is that there is a theory the first two Raptor teams were fooled by a distress signal. Major Adama tells that to Commander Garner, but Commander Garner knows that it was Starbuck who came up with that idea, and I guess he thinks she is trying to prevent him from rescuing some of his pilots so he’ll look bad. Major Adama and Admiral Adama believe that it could be a trap (especially after Sharon told us last week the Cylons liked to set traps where the sensors have problems), and want to send a team of Raptors to investigate, but Garner wants to send Pegasus.

Since the Pegasus crew doesn’t trust anybody from Galactica, Garner has no problem giving the order to have Pegasus jump to the location of the distress signal and even sends Lee to his quarters with a Marine escort. But soon, Garner has bigger problems on his hands. After they jump, they find the two downed Raptors, but there is nothing bud dead bodies inside. And not one, not two, but three Cylon basestars just jumped into the area, and almost immediately, they start dishing out the nukes. The Cylons must have been really happy to get some revenge on the humans for destroying the resurrection ship. The FTL engines are down on the Pegasus, meaning they can’t just jump out of there, and they are just taking a pounding. I can just imagine some Cylon admiral on one of the basestars slamming on the button to fire the nukes and screaming “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FUCK A STRANGER IN THE ASS. DO YOU SEE?! DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FUCK A STRANGER IN THE ASS!?” but there won’t be any fat Samoan guy running out of the Pegasus saying that they’ve got the wrong guy.

Like I said, Garner used to be the head engineer, and he is trying to give his boys instructions on how to get things running, but there is too much confusion. He has to get down there himself if anything is going to happen. By this time, Apollo had made it back to the commander center and since there are more important matters to attend to, and Apollo knows more about space battles than Garner, Major Adama takes control of the bridge. He is kind of freaked out at first, but he starts to find his groove. With Starbuck and the rest of the Vipers in support, they are able to take out one of the basestars, but they will still need a miracle in engineering if they are going to make it out alive.

bsg2-17-06bNow, the rest of this sequence was almost painful to watch. OK, I guess I have been down on this show awhile, but was there anybody who was watching this who didn’t realize that Garner was going to sacrifice himself to save the rest of his crew? And the way in which he did it, having to move into an engine compartment and turn the handles of some coolant valves, I thought I was in the middle of a Star Trek movie. As a friend of mine said, the only thing that was missing was Garner, fighting of the protests of the people who told him it would be too dangerous, calmly saying “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” I remember the last time John Heard sacrificed himself for the good of mankind in that wonderful thriller Locusts, and it wasn’t much more enjoyable the second time around.

With Garner’s help, Pegasus is able to jump back to safety. Admiral Adama briefs his son on what happened, and for some reason, Lee is sort of defending Garner and his decision-making. I mean, you don’t want to dishonor the dead, and I am sure that Starbuck was a little overzealous in her criticisms, but you should gloss over when somebody messed up that badly. Garner’s problem? He was used to working with machines, and command is about people. And after hearing those words of wisdom, Admiral Adama keeps the nepotism going by making his son Commander of the Pegasus. I mean, he sort of deserved it because of how he got those people out of trouble, and maybe they will respect him for it, Apollo seems more and more like a spoiled kid every week. I guess he’ll have some chances to prove himself wrong.

After leaning of his promotion, Starbuck sort of apologizes to Lee. They had been in a big argument when he said that he was sick of cleaning up her messes. She said she was sick of him kissing ass all the time and whining about how hard his life was with all of the hookers and the promotions. Then he said his life was really hard after he was shot, which really shuts Kara up, but I have to say, at least he doesn’t have that mammoth scar that his father had after being shot. Kara was more than a bit jealous of Apollo and Dee, but she seemed happy. At least she got to go back to Galactica. She can let Lee deal with the idiots on the Pegasus from now on.

It was a tough decision for Roslin, but she decided that she must ban abortions throughout the fleet. Any person having an abortion or helping aid an abortion will be prosecuted. I guess that means that black market RU-486 is going to go at a premium now. Roslin made the decision because of a simple numbers game, but a lot of the fleet is not going to see it that way. It’s going to look like she was pandering to her Gemnon friends to gain their support. I really don’t want to get into this issue, but whatever you think about abortion on moral grounds, I think that banning abortion only for the reason of keeping the species alive is a bad idea. They have some time to try other methods of encouraging population growth, don’t you think? Are they going to ban birth control next? Perhaps force women in the military in non-combat roles to have kids? You know who else was forcing humans to grow babies against their will? THE CYLONS!

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Gaius gave Roslin the numbers, but he knows that this is the perfect time to make his run for the presidency. He understands that the decision was made in good faith, but he says that anytime you take away our liberties, you make us more like the Cylons. Quite ironic that he would be running on this platform considering he loves a Cylon, or really two Cylons if you count the one in his head. It was a riff on the old “Those that would give away liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty or security” that likes to get thrown around these days. Whatever the case, it looks like President Roslin has a new battle on her hands.

What did you think of this episode? Does Lee deserve Command of Pegasus? Is Gaius a threat to Roslin’s election hopes? Are these idiots even worth saving anymore?

About

20 Comments

  1. 1
    Leah3t
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 11:15 am

    This Dee/Lee thing is a mess! She woke up in the morning after a night romping in a tiny bunk with perfectly coiffed hair?!? Now I am a black woman with a similar hair type to Dee and I can assure you- IMPOSSIBLE. Their chemistry also sucks.

    I was glad to see a battle scene again. Though I knew the cylons were setting a trap, I did get a season one level chill to see those big dudes jump out into view.

    I was okay with the engineer going down there. (maybe because i haven’t seen the star trek movies). At least he was kind of able to admit a mistake and get down there and try to do what he could.

    Mostly I was just glad to see Starbuck flying and things blowing up. And that angry Gemenon lady who looks like the other religious lady who blew up. She makes me laugh with her over-acting.

  2. 2
    Chark Hammis
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 11:18 am

    I was torn on this episode. It had inklings of greatness, but the plot direction feels so forced and half-assed.

    But to the good: Though predictable, I loved the rescue attempt finding the two Raptor crews dead, only to have the “OH SHIT!” moment as 3 Basestars pop in and start firing nukes. Pandemonium and blowin’ up ensues. Super-duper.

    The frustrating: “We want Apollo and Dee to start gettin’ busy. Ok, let’s kill off Billy and the whole back story we’ve told about him and Dee over the last 1.5 seasons.” And the Harry Potter Dark Art teacher dilemma (i.e.- Pegasus Captain) trend is killing me. 3 Captains in about as many weeks, all as interesting as the Galactica crew, knocked if as an afterthought? And now Apollo is Captain of the Pegasus? A fighter pilot to warship Captain in a couple months, while the rest of the Pegasus officers with more experience can suck it.

    The whole story is taking on this Star Trek feel– EVERYTHING happens to the same characters whether it makes sense or not. Special Ops Ground Combat Mission? Send in the pilots! Need a P.I? Call in Magnum Apollo! Need a new Captain? It’s Apollo!Need some love interest with a prostitute! It’s Apollo! Need a conlict? How about Abortion! Roslin’s gonna die? The hybrid blood will fix that, no problem.

    What happened to the intrigue, (which, thankfully though lamely, was injected a bit this episode), the quest for Earth, crew conflict that felt genuine, plot lines and characters that extend beyond an episode and the cylon threat? What are the cylons doing these days anyway? They’re just around as a big fat McGuffin.

    I’m still watching, but man- this “take all the short-cuts” season is driving me bonkers.

  3. 3
    nancydrew77
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 11:23 am

    I totally agree with you Chark Hammis. Well said.

  4. 4
    Leah3t
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 11:53 am

    Chark Hammis- GREAT Potter reference!

  5. 5
    Lady J
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 1:02 pm

    Excepting that tasteless push or suck comment, I have to agree with J-Unit. This show has lost it’s way. Last summer it came strong with a story arc that included grim desperation and revelatory wonder. The conflict between Roslin and Adama was archetypal in that he was the Father figure concerned with the practical survival of the people while she was the nurturing Mother looking to realize a dream beyond hope.

    None of that has happened since the winter return. Admiral Cain got off easy to be frank. She wasn’t made to answer for her war crimes and she never truly had to go to toe with Adama. They introduced the concept of the Black Market recently, which expands the view of the society reforming within the fleet.

    The only thing I’m certain of now is that the Cylon plan is going along smoothly. They sent the miracle baby into the belly of the beast for a reason. They knew the humans would be unable to kill it.

    How ’bout Mr. Gaeta? How’s he doing? His issues seemed minimal.

    I notice that Roslin wore pants for the first time ever. When will she use her memory of Gaius/Six against him? You know she will.

  6. 6
    MODULUS
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 1:03 pm

    I thought this episode (while still not as good as season 1) did step it up a notch. And I would like to point out that it wasn’t three commanders in three weeks just three episodes and while yes to the viewers this is repetitious if you paid attention months have gone by in Gallactica time.

    I would have rathered the Engineer captain not die and instead realize he’s unfit for command and that his place is in the engine room and step down. I think that would have been just as heroic as dieing for your ship and still be a little change of pace for us viewers.

    Still the show is good even if its lost a bit of its new car smell. I think they are setting up some interesting things that will really take us to some nice places. Consider it a mid 24 season lull and keep watching for bad-assness.

  7. 7
    Lady J
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 1:04 pm

    Oh, and Barnes going into the breached compartment reminded me of both “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” when Mr. Hyde did that, and “Crimson Tide” when Ricky Schroder had to seal the flooding hatch with men still trying to get out of the compartment.

  8. 8
    Chenthorn
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 1:19 pm

    I am starting to believe that the whole Lee/Dualla thing is happening just to give the writers a chance to show off some new flesh. As far as what to do with the pegasus, it looks to me that the rogue nuke will somehow show up on the ship somewhere and blow it up. Why else would it keep showing up at odd times?
    In all, this ep was ok, but not what I had hoped for a “sweeps” month. Ijust hope they are setting us up for a great season finish.

  9. 9
    MODULUS
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 1:27 pm

    Oh yeah and I forgot to mention: I know this is a “reimagining” of BSG but in the original series the Gallactica was not the only Battlestar in the fleet. If memory serves they had 4 at one time.

  10. 10
    Chark Hammis
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 3:07 pm

    MODULUS– I understand months have passed, but the episodes are still weekly– that’s what I was referring to. But having the writers offhandedly throw in a comment saying it’s been a month doesn’t really satisfy and goes to my point about “short-cuts”. The way they’re mowing through these captains (played by some interesting and legit actors, no less) still feels unsatisfactory to me.

    But you’re right- there were 12 Battlestars- one for each colony (boy, this is sounding nerdtastic)– this whole Pegasus arc is an homage to an original two part episode where they run into Pegasus whose Captain was played by Lloyd Bridges. To be honest, I hope they keep it- it adds another interesting dynamic. Though at this point, I think Chenthorn’s nuke comment smacks of the way this season is playing out-a cheap and easy way to get rid of the Pegasus story element.

    But, it’d be nice to be wrong.

  11. 11
    Lady J
    Posted February 23, 2006 at 11:05 pm

    I can’t remember if the original Admiral Cain was guilty of war crimes too.

    TV people always have neat hair unless it’s a gag. The texture of Dee’s hair doesn’t really have any bearing. It’s pretty much the same as the rest of the cast’s. Roslin was dying and her hair looked the same.

    I find this show’s emotional relationships very hard to connect to. Starbuck was getting interested in Lee, then sleeping with Gaius, then she went home and fell for the basketball player, and as soon as she got back she was flirting with Lee, then she was guilty about the basketball player. WTF? Lee was interested in Starbuck, then he was secretly self-flagellating with hookers over his dead girlfriend, he didn’t want Dee and now he’s shacking up with her.

    How are we supposed to invest in these haphazard, incomprehensible relationships?

  12. 12
    Leah3t
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 6:59 am

    Lady J- True the TV people in general tend to look better than in real life, but one of the things I liked about the show was that it’s populated with real people (with the exception of six)- starbuck is not stick thin, adama’s face is full of pock marks, roslyn is wrinkly. slowly everyone is starting to look all modely and thats less fun.

    you are right on the relationships. couldn’t buy starbuck and the baseketball guy, couldn’t buy lee and the prostite, becuase we don’t get the know these characters at all or in the Lee/Dee case see a relationship grow. He body slams Dee and then three episodes later she’s like ‘are we in love?’ huh?

    Of course I’m just still bitter becuase I wil shipping for Billy and Dee.

  13. 13
    Yota
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 8:18 am

    To all of those who are still watching bsg: I would like to ask all of you to stop watching this crap. If you all stop it will go away. My wife and I stopped watching 2 weeks ago and we are much better for it. We like to check out the blog here to see if anyone still watches and what they think but other than that the show holds no interest at all. You allready know that the “cylons” or “machines that look like you and me” can’t and won’t mount any kind of serious offensive since they lost their “death ship” or whatever you call it. Even if the cylons do attack all the gallactica has to do is go into hyperspace or whatever and just get away. The point is it is a really poorly written show that if it wasn’t for the sci fi channel it wouldn’t have been made in the first place. Has there been anything on that channel worth watching anyways? “Stargate” and all the other crap on that channel? I mean yes I watched bsg for awhile but that was because I was hoping it would be better than the original,more exciting, more special effects things like that but geez it is a joke and so is that whole channel. My advise for those who like this show are to get out of your mom’s basement once in a while, date a woman, and join the rest of us in this reality. However, when you do have a minute to relax try watching the shield on FX. If you do you will understand how bad bsg and all the other sci fi nerd shows are. Thanks for your time and good luck with that dating thing….:)

  14. 14
    Chark Hammis
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 11:11 am

    So the nerd in the basement who watched the show but hasn’t for two weeks condemns the other nerds in the basement for holding out.

    Written like a true deuchebag, Yota. Well done.

  15. 15
    Leah3t
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 12:43 pm

    Chark Hammis – yeah, quitting a show two weeks before others doesn’t quite give you enough credibility to put up a post like that. I’m sure our love lives will be just fine if a person like that got someone to marry them…..

    (though i do agree that everything else on sci fi looks like garbage)

  16. 16
    Lady J
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 12:53 pm

    Silly Yota, scifi is for all the people. My mom lives on the other side of the state. I would never live in a basement. And I don’t date women because I am one and just don’t have any interest.

    The point of watching these shows is to make sure that the tv gatekeepers know there is an audience and keep cranking out new ones. I hate Stargate, but now that Ben Browder is on it, I watch. Ben Browder headlined Scifi’s stupendous, groundbreaking “Farscape” and I want tv honchos to know that Ben Browder comes with a built in fanbase. He will not always do “Stargate” and I will be there for him when he takes his many skills back to an over the top project.

    In conclusion, “The Shield” is a fantastic show. I am riveted and wonder how Aceveda is going to keep IAB from finding out he murdered the guy who mouth-raped him (and thus, that he was mouth-raped). Personally, I think Aceveda should have killed the witness (and their families and friends just to be sure) in Keyser Soze fashion. (But then, I would have chosen the bullet over the mouth-rape and trusted the Strike Team to hunt down my killer and bring in the Ukrainians to inflict bloody torturous death on them.) Mackey has his uses.

    Peace.

  17. 17
    Spectater
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 1:52 pm

    Lady J, at first I couldn’t believe that you left out Delroy Lindo melting like the Wicked Witch of the East to save the ship in The Core. But then I realized that none of the other 3 people who actually watched that movie (because, like me, they were too lazy to find the remote and change the channel) are present. Hats off to you, for your lives are better because of it.

  18. 18
    Yota
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 2:02 pm

    Oh, Chark and Leah you guys are right. I am truly sorry for condeming you. It will never happen again. I will never bash your show because I know now how much they mean to you. To Lady J: Do you know why no one like J-unit reviews the Shield? I mean it is a show that has won emmys and has great writing. Maybe that kind of show being reviewed would bring more interesting comments and discussion. Oh and by the way Chark and Leah: my wife and I are very happily married and share a bond and a give and take that few people could ever know. We do watch tv and enjoy it but we like other things better like making love and raising a family. When someday you two become lucky enough to find the love of your life you may understand what I’m talking about. However, you never will find it at home watching bsg or shield or sci fi anything. You’ve got to get out more!

  19. 19
    Lady J
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 2:50 pm

    ‘Tater: you so right. I have never even thought of watching “The Core.”

    Yota: Recaps for “The Shield” could be awesome given the helter-skelter plots and overall griminess of the show. And the good times we could have with Walton Goggins’ teeth! Or Dutch’s cat-strangling. And now with Forrest Whitaker’s creepy eye-lid and weirdo ways of talking to people… Oh the times we could have… I don’t think Kavanaugh will get Mackey, but it is so fun watching Mackey claw his way out of the corner.

    As it happens, I too like things better than tv. I would have to say that there are only a few hours a week that I needs must tune in. That’s not much to give up in the city that never sleeps. Especially if you tape it, or do other things while watching. And it’s nothing to the Buffy/ Angel/ Xena/ Hercules/ Farscape/ Lexx/ Invisible Man/ The Crow/ La Femme Nikita/ X-Files/ Charmed/ First Wave/ G vs. E days.

  20. 20
    J Unit
    Posted February 24, 2006 at 4:12 pm

    Do you know why no one like J-unit reviews the Shield?

    Mainly because I don’t watch it.

    I will say that I don’t believe there is a high correlation between watching SciFi and one’s ability to find a spouse.

    All,

    I did like this episode a little more than some of the older ones, but as somebody else said, it is OK to have some people not named Starbuck and Apollo involved in some of these stories. I really can’t stand any of the humans, and like Lady J keeps saying, I think the Cylons are setting them up perfectly.

    I have to say, I am very interested in next week’s episode deep in the belly of the Cylon beast. I would match rather be getting insights into what make Sharon and Gina/Six tick than Apollo and Starbuck.

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