Battlestar Galactica Season 3 (Oct 06) (1 Viewer)

[JediFonger]

if he is killed, it'd be harder to establish a connection between cylon+humans assuming sharon is on human's side.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

Indeed, you should hear the producers and directors rave about him in commentary audio tracks.

 

[Everlasting Gobstopper]

Oh, of course, I was just making a lame joke about Saddam's fate.

 

[Yee-Ming]

But seriously, I know where you're coming from, that Baltar is not evil personified, like Baltar in TOS was: Gaius in his own weak way was just trying to survive. Sadly his ego got in the way and made a mess of everything -- had he not run for President against Roslin, they might never have settled on New Caprica and the entire fracking mess could have been avoided. Although it certainly would've been interesting to see how Roslin would have handled a Cylon occupation, had she been in office instead.

I'd guess Baltar's insinuations against Gaeta aren't of any real substance; just trying to tar Gaeta with the same brush simply because Gaeta was his Chief of Staff (or whatever position it was) and therefore any guilt Baltar has, Gaeta in his view must share. Which is somewhat true (e.g. the infamous Nuremburg defence, "orders are orders", does not wash), but still somewhat disingenuous, since the buck stopped with Mr President. I do wonder if there's any truth to Baltar saying he let Gaeta give information to the resistance: it could be an ex post facto self-serving statement, but then again there's no reason nor indication for Baltar to have known about it, unless he really did back on New Caprica. He could of course have deduced that Gaeta was somehow in cahoots with the resistance, since he's now back in the uniform despite serving in a Vichy-type (or Manchukuo) government, but that seems a bit of a stretch (and too complicated to explain or convey to an audience) -- the easier explanation is that for all his sins, Baltar did allow Gaeta to give intel to the resistance. Which if true does indeed give Baltar some redemption. But not much.

 

[Sam Favate]

Some pictures posted from the episode Maelstrom, airing March 4. This is the Starbuck-centered episode that was talked about quite a bit a week or two ago.

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stori...2/05/index.htm (scroll down a bit)

 

[Michael Harris]

Wow, an episode with a happy ending.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

 

[Robert Anthony]

It was nice to see Zarek, finally.

It was a decent episode. It wrapped up a little too safely, though, and the stunt casting didn't help any. Bruce Davison = heavy at this point. You knew automatically how it was going to go down if you were at all familiar with his recent career.

I kept thinking if they'd written this episode to make COTTLE the bad doctor, it'd be a lot more compelling. As much as people would have hated Cottle having a serious character flaw. He's probably the only other character besides Helo who is so intrinsically good.

There were some decent character elements going on. Helo's confrontation with Tigh was almost entirely worth the episode, as was Helo's crisis of conscience in front of Sharon, and watching the crew at the bar do "pop-a-shot" Pyramid while discussing race.

Head Baltar w/six seemed wasted, almost. Especially since I was waiting for Roslin to make the connection between Six's strange behavior and Baltar's equally strange behavior when it comes to miming strange motions and talking to nobody.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Battlestar Galactica 3x14 - "The Woman King"

The thing that made this episode works for me was that it was entirely seen through Helo's eyes. Even "The Passage" cut away from Kat from time to time; it must have taken them a long, long time to get their confidence back after "Black Market." What makes this succeed is that Helo is the main character who we knew the least about. Starbuck's more mysterious, but we've spent plenty of time poking at her secrets. Helo is probably the most straightforward and purely good guy in the fleet. Unlike Adama, he has the luxury of being noble in the face of adversity because it all doesn't rest on him. Every choice we've seen him make since he gave up his seat to Baltar in the miniseries has driven a deeper and deeper wedge between him and the rest of the fleet. That isolation has to take a toll. At the same time, he has the unique distinction of escaping the group-think mentality and seeing the world through a totally different prism. How lucky for the fleet that he has the courage to take that actions that continue to keep him on the outside looking in when those actions are just.
Several dark blots on our own history are immediately conjured by this episode. While Doc Roberts might be Dr. Mengele, the travesty that surfaced first was the Tuskegee Experiments. The latter in particular is a lingering reminder of what can happen when a segment of the population loses their right to be heard. Eugenics is nothing new and — for too long of a time — nothing rare. It makes sense that a government of twelve separate worlds would have differences. It makes sense that without a common understanding, barriers would surface. Helo was able to give a voice to those silenced by those barrier because, for all the barriers of his own, he was someone that could not be entirely ignored.
Colonel Tigh proved once again to be one of the most interesting characters on the show. In a way, Adama's casual dismissal of Helo was more damning. When Tigh antagonized the man, it was driven by something personal. In the hell that was New Caprica, loyalty had to mean a lot. Considering the relationship between Tigh and Adama, it seems evident that for him it meant more than most. He has a simple outlook on life, one that leaves the door open for prejudice when it helps explain complex truths. The quality that redeems him is his lack of pride. He might be a simple man, but he knows it. As much as he hates being mistaken, he is the one most capable of accepting it and moving forward. He didn't resent Helo for being right. And he didn't let his prejudice justify murder. It doesn't make him an exemplary human being, but it does make him a good one.
Zarek's plea to Laura about the trial was fascinating because it marked the wholesale transformation from fringe extremist and troublemaker to part of the institution he was protesting about. I still wouldn't trust Zarek, but I do think his transformation over the series has been fascinating. Weren't the terrorist activities that landed him in prison to begin with carried out on Sagittaron? Hmmm... I wonder if he knew Doc Roberts back on New Caprica?
The main purpose of the Sagittarons in this episode was to reflect as a culture what Helo represents as an individual: the Outsider. "The Woman King" (what a great title; "His Girl Friday" vibes...) reached out to Helo, and made the foreign familiar to him. What Mrs. King did was remind Helo of the colonials' common humanity. Considering the system she was up against, her optimism was rather staggering. Her plea outside his door was a real Mr. Smith Goes to Washington moment, on the most intimate scale.
And then there is Doc Cottle. He is rough in every way that Roberts was smooth. Roberts is friendly and seems to give 110% all the time. Cottle is cranky and miserable and will lie just to get somebody out of his face. But at the end of the day, Cottle is the one you want by your bedside. He might not hold your hand, but he'll "keep the good of the patient as the highest priority." Inconvenient or not, Cottle did his job once Helo planted the seed.
I was a little surprised by Tyrol's overt racism. Considering his relationship with Boomer and the complicated experiences that followed her outting as a Cylon, I would have thought him better than that. Proof that differences of custom and lifestyle can cloud even the brightest of minds.
The upside was that it gave Lee a chance to defend Dualla's honor and really take a stab at being a husband. As wrong as they are for each other, now that he's committed to this road he's making a real effort to anticipate her feelings and needs.
What a great resurrection of the Baltar inside Caprica Six's head. Same dress as before and even shaven. He really gave us a glimpse into her internal struggle over the Baltar Question. It was also a nice touch to have Roslin notice Caprica Six's unguarded interaction with Head Baltar; its really a window into Baltar's interaction with Head Six, which Roslin knows nothing about.
Unlike any other couple on the show, Helo and Athena have a real marriage. Their room feels like they live there. They have real discussions and real interactions. Unlike Apollo/Dualla, Starbuck/Anders or even really Tyrol/Callie they have history that the writers couldn't gloss over between seasons. And that difference is tangible. The Agathon family really is a family. The whole scenario with Hera largely proceeds with discussion. They each know where the other stands, and they mitigate the differences rather organically.
Overall, a pretty tightly focused episode about age-old conflicts and problems handled in a taut, effective and emotionally engaging way. It hit upon themes that resonate deeply with me — which is I suppose part of why we see these story so often — and gave us needed insight into an important character. Like "Black Market" it was off the beaten trail. Unlike "Black Market" it respected the history of the show and its central character. The Sagittaron refugee situation is probably no more connected to the main story than the black market problem was. But because of the way implications for the characters — and because it took place on Galactica — it sure felt like it was.



I've had my fun... now off to bed; gotta be up in five hours

 

[Don S]

This was definitely not one of my favorite episodes. I was actually quite bored by the whole thing. Helo annoys me more than ever now for some reason, even though he was right. The Adama dismissal of Helo didn't even seem close to how I would think Adama would act, particularly in the WAY he dismissed it. It just seemed contrived, as did most of the episode for me. The whole thing just seemed like they were trying to teach a lesson about racism, and in the end, I was simply bored ... Let's move on with the main story line please ..

 

[Jason_V]

Bottle show! Sorry, someone had to say it. As far as bottle shows go, it's was okay. Ten bucks says everything will be forgotten about by next week and never mentioned again.

The one thing that really bugged me was the scene in Adama's quarters with Tigh, Helo and Cottle. Outright racism and bigotry from all three of these characters seems terribly out of character. I could take it from Tigh, but not from Adama. He knows the score and, like it or not, the Sagittarons ARE part of the 41k still alive. You would think he'd be the calm voice of reason as opposed to, basically, the ringleader.

Maybe RDM explains some in the podcast.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Helo is a breath of fresh air in a universe populated by characters who have had their moral fibre warped by the events of the past three seasons. Even Helo does not escape unscatched however, as he is the perennial outsider looking in.

The upcoming Baltar trial is positioned to be even more explosive and divisive than I originally had estimated.

 

[Colin Davidson]

So, was I dreaming or did I actually see one of the shuttles from the original series fly by? It was right after the second or third commercial break, it was a space shot with BSG and other ships then a quick zoom in to a ship flashing by. Sure looked like it to me but went by pretty quickly to be certain.

 

[TheLongshot]

More like, Adama trusts the opinions of Cottle and Tigh far more than he trusts Helo's opinions. Both Cottle and Tigh vouched for Roberts, and Helo didn't exactly have evidence of Roberts doing anything wrong. It doesn't help Helo that he's made some questionable choices in the eyes of the captain.

Jason

 

[Jason_V]

Yeah, I can understand that...but to dismiss what an officer is telling you, whether it be wrong or right? It all seemed too crass. Adama is the man who confided in Sharon and made her part of the crew. He's the man who has the moral compass most of the time. I wonder what would have happened if Laura was brought into the situation. Would she have been more fair-minded?

 

[seanOhara]

I don't buy that. He might trust Tigh more than Helo (though after the first part of this season, even that's like a stretch), but Helo served as his XO for something like a year. For Adama to dismiss his misgivings so quickly is out of character.

 

[seanOhara]

Frackin' double post.

 

[Travis_S]

Renewed for Season 4, according to LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...ck=1&cset=true

 

[Sam Favate]

Good news, although as Moore states in the article, we kinda knew it was getting renewed. What remains to be seen now is whether the proposed direct-to-DVD movie happens and whether the spinoff show Caprica gets greenlit.

So, if the finale is March 25, as the article states, and if next season's premiere isn't until January... That's a hell of a long wait between seasons. 10 months? Whoa.

 

[BrianW]

Adama was right to dismiss Helo's accusations. At the time, Helo had no evidence, and had only two deaths to cite, both under completely reasonable circumstances. That alone should not be enough to overcome dismissal, but Helo also had the testimonials against him.

When you go to an Admiral making accusations, you'd better have the evidence to back it up, or keep your mouth shut until you do.