So did all the die-hard Battlestar Galactica fans out there catch the special two-hour episode this weekend? If you missed it, don’t worry, it’s being released on DVD next week. It’s basically one big flashback, as well as a flashback within a flashback, and in one case, an even flashier flashback. Good stuff! Continue reading
“There must be some way out of here,”
Said the joker to the thief.
“There’s too much confusion — I can’t get no relief.”
So go the opening lines to “All Along the Watchtower”, a song written by Bob Dylan in 1967, popularized by Jimi Hendrix a year later, and recently performed by Prince at the Superbowl. It’s a poem set to music, really, which expresses dissatisfaction with the status quo and portends a coming apocalypse. I’ll reprint the rest of the lyrics at the end of this post, for those who have never read them.
The Cylons are on the Fleet’s heels. Tigh gets drunk, and admits to killing his wife. Roslin gets stoned, and admits that the cancer is back. And some of the crew — Tigh and Anders included — are hearing strange music. It’s all a big build-up for next week’s season finale. But the star of this week’s show was Apollo, who asked me if he could take a moment to sing a little song for his father.
The following is sung to the tune of “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” from the Crossroads soundtrack …
I’m busy this week, so I’ll keep it short …
Everybody’s grieving the “death” of Starbuck. Baltar’s lawyer gets blown up, so now Badger is his new lawyer. (Any Firefly fans out there? Hello?) By the way, I’m going to keep calling him Badger, because the character’s real name, Romo Lampkin, makes him sound too much like a hobbit. Anyway, much of the plot revolves around this new character, who as far as I can tell is a heart-broken orphan that used to be a thief, but was reformed by Joe Adama, the admiral’s father. He’s part klepto, part Columbo, swiping objects from people then discerning all sorts of behavorial and psychological details from those objects. Apollo is assigned to be his bodyguard, and one point, he jumps into a lake to save Badger’s son when the boat he’s on explodes, and they fall in love … no wait. Sorry, wrong story. But seriously, Apollo does seem to fall a little bit in love with Badger, and with the idea of being a lawyer like his grandfather was. So against the wishes of his father — who is one of THE FIVE (yes, five) that comprises Baltar’s tribunal — Apollo volunteers to be Badger’s legal assistant.
BIG TIME SPOILERS IN THIS POST!!!
So only read ahead if you’ve seen this week’s episode of BSG already …
Sorry, I got a bit behind last week. So to make up for it, I’ve written another song parody — this one based, appropriately enough, on The Beatles’ A Day in the Life. It sums up the events of the last two episodes. Please to enjoy!
So … yeah. Great episode. But kind of self-contained, with no real impact on the other storylines or the mythology in general. A racist doctor is killing off refugee Sagittarons, Helo figures it out, nobody believes him at first, then they do, and the doctor is arrested. Presumably, the Sagittarons are the colony that nobody else likes, because of their hardcore fundamental beliefs, including a rejection of modern medicine — which makes them kind of like Christian Scientists, I suppose. Says Papa Adama, “There’s hate, and then there’s allowing hate. Two sides of the same coin, really. We’re guilty of both.” Which I guess is the episode’s object lesson. Whether or not anybody will actually remember this lesson in coming episodes remains to be seen. Particularly as regards Sharon.
Making your way in the Fleet today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all those Toasters, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away? …
As Battlestar Galactica returns from hiatus, we’re treated to a few shocking plotlines that even the writers of Melrose Place would have to applaud …
On the planet, Apollo’s wife saves his mistress’s life, while the husband of his mistress helps him defend the Temple of the Five. Meanwhile, up on Galactica, Helo’s wife begs him to kill her (sort of), and he does. It’s a bold move, but ends up being just crazy enough to work. Athena is reborn on the Cylon ship, and with Six’s help, escapes with a constipated Hera back to Galactica.
This week’s Battlestar Galactica was kind of broody, no? It seemed like all of the plotlines involved frustrating no-win scenarios. Apollo won’t sleep with Starbuck any more unless she gets a divorce, and Starbuck is too “devout” to get a divorce. Tyrol is stuck spiritually somewhere between religious cynicism and the zealous devoutness of his father. Sharon is trying hard to remain loyal to the Fleet, but finding out that Roslin hid her baby from her is making that hard to do. After falling in love with Baltar, Caprica Six is being pushed away from him by D’Anna’s spiritual quest to see the faces of the Final Five. Baltar learns that even with the Cylons, he’s not safe, and that Cavil will happily use him as a bargaining chip. And Adama and the Cylons find themselves in a showdown that could involve destroying the very thing that both of them want so badly — the mysterious “Eye of Jupiter,” which points the way to Earth.