Recap: Battlestar Galactica: (Un)Happy Hour on Galactica!

It’s Sunday night, the weekend’s almost over and everyone’s a little bummed out by the looming Monday morning … but for me, it’s not that bad anymore, thanks Sci-Fi! I’m getting used to this 10 pm Sunday night Battlestar Galactica thing, and dare I say, I love it! It’s the cherry on top of my weekend sundae. Mmmmmm, delicious.

Last week left us with many questions and I’m looking for some answers this week. This week brings us the episode, “Taking a break from all your worries,” and while I don’t think they’re heading down to Cheers to throw back a pint, I hope they’re sticking to the frackin plot. But hey, whatever, I’ll just settle for an episode of fun-filled Baltar torture. Who will be the Jack Bauer stand-out on Galactica? Roslin’s pretty pissed… Adama’s ALWAYS pissed…Starbuck could go back for second romp, and that would be torture enough for him…hmm, I smell fear… onto the recap!
I’m hoping that after this episode, the Apollo/Starbuck/Dualla/Sam love quadrangle will be over – but I think that’s wishful thinking as we open at bedtime on Galactica. It opens with an eerie lullaby performed by a very Jesus-looking Baltar. I half expected Freddy Krueger to come out from a dark corner and slash him apart – yeah, the lullaby was that disturbing. Even more disturbing than Starbuck and Apollo’s relationship…

Baltar’s imaginary cylon is helping him commit suicide in his cell. Hello Guards? You have one job: watch the prisoner! Damn, Baltar’s attempt appears to be successful and he winds up in the cylon bubble bath of resurrection. Huh? Is this one of his delusions? Gods, I hope so. I desperately wanted to know at least one more cylon model. I guess beggars can’t be choosers, but come on… Baltar?? That just seems too easy… but of course, it’s all in his head. Baltar is fine. False alarm. Nothing to see here.

With the surviving humans’ favorite hang-out Cloud Nine blown to bits, someone creates a new hot-spot on Galactica where everyone can escape, blow off steam, throw back some shots and well, run into everyone else on the ship. Maybe they need two bars on Galactica?? I miss Cloud Nine, but damn, this new bar is happening: girls (okay, one girl) dancing on tables and it’s only a short stumble home — no drunken space-driving. Nice!

Chief and Apollo are getting their drink on while Chief complains of his marital woes. Good idea Chief, I’m sure coming home cocked will make everything WAY better at home. I wouldn’t mess with Callie… remember Boomer’s fate?

Friendly Reminder

Anyway, from there we head to The Meeting of the Minds, I, with guest stars, Gaeta and Doc(they always throw Helo or some other underling in there to make it look more democratic), they are deciding the best way to get answers from Baltar. The doctor explains that Baltar is refusing to eat and that combined with sleep deprivation is not helping. President Roslin makes it clear that she wants him fed and talking… easier said than done… Meanwhile, Col. Tigh says that he’ll “put security cameras in his cell” which is code for “heading to the cool new bar where chicks dance on tables”… hey, we all now he loves the sauce.

Apollo’s drunk-ass stumbles home, and with whiskey-filled balls, doesn’t take any crap from Dualla. Right before he passes out, we find out that they have a dinner date the next night, sounds like fun night with the happy couple! I wonder if they opened a new TGIF in the Rec Sector – best frozen algae drinks in the galaxy! But really, don’t they only have algae to eat?? Did I miss something? Maybe a nice ambience accentuates the flavor.

Good ol’ days

On the other side of Galactica, Roslin pays Baltar a little visit and in an homage to his assholeness, she behaves in the same way as he did when the roles were reversed last season. Roslin tells him that she doesn’t want to see him suffer. Wait…why? Madame President, please don’t disappoint! Oh, she just wants answers… Baltar claims he knows nothing about the cylons or the temple. She then confronts him on colluding with the cylons and spotting him with Caprica before the colonies were attacked. He denies, denies, denies…

To my great delight, Baltar doesn’t budge… and you know what that means!? Well, I don’t know either, but I’m hoping it involves Baltar begging and pleading for mercy and apologizing for his despicable behavior against humanity! I have never seen President Roslin soooo pissed… and she is so good at it. I loved the rage! Be afraid Baltar, be very afraid… intense!

At The Meeting of the Minds, II (starring the good doctor), Adama brings up an “experimental” interrogation method they could use on Baltar. Oh, Admiral, I like the sound of this… hallucinogenic drugs (even better!)… dangerous (sign him up), now we’re talking… bring on the guinea pig.

In Starbuck’s bunk bed, she and Sam are discussing their crappy marriage and how much of a whore Starbuck is. Sam somehow links her trampiness to her “special destiny” and their destined marriage. Oh, Sam, what is wrong with you? S-Buck says she “maybe” is in love with Apollo after her HUSBAND asks. Sam tells her to go to him. Huh? What about their destined marriage and all that bullshit? Oh my gods, I hate this story line.

But then we have more… over at Apollo and D’s happy household, Apollo’s running to the bar… again. D translates “bar” as “Starbuck” and gets mad. Apollo turns things around and makes their crappy marriage and his adulterous activities HER fault, blaming her insecurities. Ugh. Captain A-hole. With this, D breaks down and sends him to Starbuck too. Yay! Starbuck and Lee are free to love! Now, can we move on?

Baltar’s being experimented on and soon enters one long, bad trip. In his drug-induced state, he’s floating, arms stretched out like Jesus being crucified – holy religious undertones BSG, what next? Through his interrogation, we find out that:
• He doesn’t think he’s at fault, no surprise – he was sought out by Caprica Six, and didn’t know her intentions to destroy humanity.
• She saved him from the nuclear blast, but we still don’t know how.
• This experimental interrogation looks like it SUCKS .
• He was looking for the final five cylons, not the Eye of Jupiter in the temple.
• We didn’t find anything out that we didn’t already know.

I actually started to feel bad for him as he confessed that he wanted to be a cylon so he’d be absolved from his sins and have a new beginning. Plus, he has NO friends. But alas, Baltar is not a cylon, or is he? I guess it’s still possible, but highly unlikely. I don’t know where my sympathy for him is coming from. I really liked him in the first season, when he was cute, quirky, sometimes helping humanity, and humping an imaginary cylon.

Onto Meeting of the Minds, III, no special guests allowed at this one, must be really important. Yes, they have to convince Baltar that they’re not just going to kill him after he gives them answers… yeah, good luck with that!

They call on his whipping boy on Kabul, Gaeta, to help them out. It seems to work at first, with Baltar helping out with algorithms and all that stuff, until he spots the security camera. I guess Col. Tigh didn’t head straight to the bar after all, should’ve given him some credit, he really was installing a camera! Baltar freaks and goes off on Gaeta and his “innocence”. Baltar whispers something in Gaeta’s ear, sits back down and soon gets a pen to the jugular. Yup, Gaeta wanted to kill him the whole time – that’s why he went to visit him on the night of Baltar’s attempted suicide. What does Baltar know about Gaeta? What did he whisper?

Apollo has a change of heart and wants his marriage to Dualla to work. They go to the local (only) bar, where they, of course, see Sam and Starbuck working on their marriage too. Their “work” consists of shot after shot of whiskey. Hey, whatever works! They exchange their trademark awkward looks and with that, I’m hoping the story ends… oh, how cute, happily ever after…

At the end, I’m reminded that Caprica is on board. I completely forgot about that. Will she reunite with Baltar? My DVR cut off the extended scene and the scenes for the next episode. Also, BSG isn’t new until Sunday, February 11…what the frack??

Is anyone else sick of the Starbuck/Apollo not-so-forbidden romance? What do you think Baltar was whispering to Gaeta? Do you like the new Sunday night spot?