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

[Yee-Ming]

I'd concede that, which is also why I characterised the last two eps as "arguably" being standalone eps -- this one had a teensy bit of main arc information. Not enough IMHO, especially since the last ep had none at all, and indeed come to think of it the one before didn't have much either (if any?). Hence, the overall feeling that the main arc has been marking time. Hopefully next week things get back on track.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

There has been some discussion of Baltar by third parties in the last few episode s but if the main arc and focus is now getting to Earth that has been missing.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

There's the problem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the show creators have vowed to never find Earth in order to avoid stirring up bad memories of Galactica 1980.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I agree. Most of the complaints have centered around "not getting back to the main storyline" but I think in some part they are misdefining what is the main storyline. To me, it is traveling through space under desperate circumstances, not knowing how to get there or how long it will take. I also think the way to present that story best is how the characters deal with crises, both big (food, fuel or water shortage or disease) and small (two people caught in an airlock or [cringe] individuals dealing with personal relationship problems with no way to run away.

Do we need more "we've found another beacon" episodes to make "progress" in the search for Earth? I certainly don't want them to get to Earth. I'm not saying that things could've been handled better like the Lee/Kara/Anders/Dee relationship that was beaten to death. But the show is certainly at its best when it focuses on the deep characters of Adama, Roslin, Cottle, Zarek, Baltar. Even if it's a "standalone" episode which seems to be a taboo word around here.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

The show has suffered in the last few episodes from Baltar not being seen and the Cylons going missing. We have gone from having separate stories in a Base Star to nothing. No news, no raids, nothing but Athena and Six on Galactica.

The point that was raised about B5 mixing the macro and micro stories much better is excellent. Part of that was because the 5 year arc was written and thus known from the start. Ron Moore is being much more dynamic with BSG and that has to make it harder to tie everything up for the audience.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Whilst I don't disagree entirely with Charlie's observations, Andrew sums it up quite elegantly in stating why I feel the show has been marking time the past few episodes. Again, not saying I didn't like the extended backstory we've now seen on Adama, but it would've been nice to see some "main arc" bits and pieces.

I'm in two minds as to whether I want to see them find Earth. On the one hand, if new BSG ends without them reaching Earth, it'll feel incomplete. On the other hand, I know that no matter how they present it (i.e. they find Earth of today 2007, of 4000BC or AD20,000), it won't seem right. Then again, RM might just surprise us all.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

I think the problem is that most fans got annoyed by the Love Quadrangle Of Death subplot that dragged on for many episodes. At this point, people are desperate to see big battle scenes with lots of explosions just to get the quadrangle taste out of their mouths.

I like the (non-quadrangle) "filler" episodes, but I think I understand where the fan angst is coming from.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

I just want to take this moment to express appreciation for the HTF community, as this is the only place with a BSG discussion of this quality. Other forums are either BSG-centric and full of trolls whining about the series in much the same way MMORPG fans whine at developers, or they are forums in which it is not possible to maintain an ongoing discussion on BSG because there simply isn't enough interest.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

How about a character driven episode that focuses on Baltar and perhaps something from before he met six that made him the person he is or about he and six on Caprica that may show us more about what he knew or didn't know? If it tied in to the start of the war or the development of the Cylons pre-war it would directly affect Baltar and the main arc.

Plus a Baltar episode would be fun and we'd get to, perhaps, watch the actor have some good screen time.

If I could choose what I'd love to know more about it would be how Baltar got out of his house and escaped a nuclear blast wave.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

Good episode.

I knew there would be more to this story than the previews let on.

Baltar's little manifesto is gaining traction in the fleet precisely because social stratification really is occurring, and folks at the bottom of the food chain are understandably anxious about what that means for their future. If Roslin fails to do something about that social bifurcation, or fails to do enough about it, then Baltar's little printed diatribe will continue to spread like a meme throughout the fleet and cause even more trouble when the trial starts.

This brings up an interesting point: when society is squeezed, the people who have the least to give up get squeezed the hardest. That's not right and that I think is exactly what burns in Tyrol's craw.

Tyrol was right to call a strike on the fuel processing ship, even if doing so got him in trouble. He went too far in extending the strike to Galactica, although I can understand why he would do it (especially with Baltar's little tract stoking his fears). This is good, of course because it shows that Tyrol is far from perfect even if he is an idealist.

Speaking of human flaws, Adama was right to be upset, right to take extreme measures, but like the chief he also went too far. Coercing dissidents by threatening their spouses is the kind of thing done by the worst dictatorial regimes and organized criminals.

I can't wait for next week's episode. Finally we get back to main story elements.

 

[seanOhara]

The episode was better than Espenson's first outing but it was far from good. Roslin reverts back to her season 1/early season 2 nutjob personality and Adama just goes along with it as she dismisses perfectly reasonable complaints out of hand, but then they back down and compromise in time for us to have the big huggy happy ending.

And where was Zarek during all this -- everything we know about his politics suggests he should've been hounding Laura as much as the Chief.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

These stand-alone eps are frustrating because they totally defy my usual review strategy.

Battlestar Galactica 3x15 - "A Day in the Life"

One of these days, Gaius Baltar might actually go on trial. In the mean time, we are treated to yet another stand alone episode based on a classic human dilemma. Like the others, it came seemingly out of nowhere. Unlike the others, the conditions that spawned it have existed since the start of the series.
There is a very real argument to be made for people just having to grit their teeth and bear it when the very survival of their society is at stake. But when such a condition exists indefinitely, the question must arise: how long must they grit their teeth and bear it? At what point is continued survival under such conditions no longer worth surviving at all?
I've never been all that interested in Marxist debates over class conflicts between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. I will admit that the clash becomes quite dramatic when the sample population is only around 40,000 people.
It was an interesting highlight of the unique position Tyrol occupies in the fleet. He is an articulate, educated, intellectual whose job demands technical skill, people skills, and real leadership ability. When the fleet's in an immediate crisis, the decisions are usually handled by the de facto triumvirate of Adama, Tigh, and Tyrol. And yet, he is support staff. I never really thought twice about the fact that he might aspire to some higher placement in the fleet, but it makes sense he'd be frustrated at hitting a cement ceiling at cleaning up after Starbuck's screw ups.
Also interesting was Roslin's growing respect for Tyrol's opinions. Because the role of deck chief is so directly tied to the military functions of the ship, Roslin hasn't had the interaction with Tyrol that the admiral and colonel have. Likewise, Tyrol had a real learning curve adjusting to the way big league politics are played on a fleet in crisis. His early stabs at the problem didn't take a complete enough look at the situation.
I also liked the way Adama dealt with Tyrol's strike. Had push come to shove and he started executing ringleaders, the fleet would have torn itself apart. Had he immediately given in to Tryol's demands, the fleet would have made it a regular occurrence and the fleet would have let itself die. By making Tyrol play his game, he made it clear that Tyrol only had a shot of getting what he wanted by working with the system, not against it.
Even with the rather dramatic situation of child labor and Dickensian working conditions, this episode worked on more of an intellectual than gut level. It felt the Ron Moore the Star Trek writer tackled this story, and from my view that's not a good thing.

 

[Dave Mack]

Hey, I'm a union guy (Backstage on B'way) and have also worked some real crap jobs in the past like janitor (as well as really good ones...) but even I was wondering, "Where are the damn cylons already..!?!?!" Felt like I was watching "Fist" or "Hoffa".... Enough. Let's think a little bit bigger, eh...?

 

[TheStever]

WoW! I really enjoyed this stand alone episode. I didn't like the quick resolution - everything will be better now wrap-up in the last 5 minutes, and even thought this one would have been a good two-part story.

I do miss the cylon confrontation and story continuation, but Baltar was great in this episode, again.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Even the original series figured out you can't keep up a series with the Continual Fights with the Cylons. They tried something different with the Beings of Lights story line and who knows where that would've went. Babylon 5 had an encompassing arc but figured out you could'nt just do stories about the Shadows, even they had an episode dealing with the Dock workers going on strike. There has to be some stories of how the inner working of the fleet are affecting morale toward the larger storyline. The Original never touched upon inner fleet strife and it was one of it's biggest problems. I guess if they went to 13 episodes a season , every show could be an arc show, a 20 ep season will have some standalones.

 

[JediFonger]

wasn't every single episode of the original BSG a "miniseries" or an event? it wasn't a regular series like the way normal TV was done.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

No they had 22 episodes , some wer broadcase as 2 Hour Movies , like the 2nd Episode Lost Planet of the Gods, and Greetings From Earth, they were split later for syndication.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

I liked this episode more than the other recent stand alones. It dealt with something thats been a potential issue since the day of the attacks and gave us some further insights into Tyrol and Baltar. Baltars part in the discord is interesting as he has a similar past to some of the workers but as the intellectual he sees spark and throws gasoline on it to try see how much discord can be created.

I didn't like how fast this was resolved, it was very Star Trek like. Adama and Roslin seemed very 2 dimensional and not quite themselves.

 

[Don S]

I agree with all of your points, particularly the quick ending and the out of character dismissals of the prez and Adama. I think that in addition to inciting discord, Baltar has another motive, one of winning public favor with his impending trial looming... Seems a good move on his part.

 

[TheLongshot]

The difference with B5 is, one, the standalones were mostly in first season and two, when they did have a standalone later on, they usually had a B plot that was integrated with the arc. You never really felt like you got that far away from the main arc.

Now, we've had three epsiodes that have gotten away of what seems to be the main plot, which is Baltar's trial. While elements have been included, I don't think the B plots in this case are all that strong. The A plots overwhelm everything.

Now, saying that, this epsiode was pretty good overall, even if they did seem to tie things up in a neat little bow at the end. Considering how far apart everyone seemed to be for most of the episode, to all of a sudden have everyone down and talking rationally about this seems a little far fetched.

Jason