What Sam and Ellen told us

I just rewatched "No Exit" and took about 10 pages of notes to try and sort out everything that Ellen and Sam Anders, and Cavil, told us. The following is a chronological (as it happened in the episode) list of what we learned from them. This is practically a transcript of the episode, minus the parts with Tyrol and Adama trying to get the ship fixed and the little bit with Roslin and Lee planning to rebuild the government, so it's a little long:

First, I thought it seemed important to note what the pre-opening screen text was telling us...

"This has all happened before, and it will all happen again - The Cylons were created by man - (View of old school Cylons, one of them a goldie - Was this from Razor?) - They rebelled - Then they vanished - 40 years later they came back - They evolved - 50,298 human survivors - Hunted by the Cylons - 11 models are known - One was sacrificed"

- The last two parts are a little strange. Was Ellen sacrificed? I don't think they're talking about Daniel, since that would be a total of 13.

- We are shown Ellen downloading/resurrecting on what seems to be a special resurrection pod on a Basestar, directly after she is murdered (sacrificed?) by Tigh on New Caprica.

- In the present day, Anders is getting ready to have a bullet removed from his head, and is rambling about "all the forgotten faces, all the forgotten children. We seek the great forgotten light which...". The scene cuts to Cavil in the forest on Caprica as Anders says "He whose guile stirred with revenge". Anders continues to ramble as he flashes on memories, and mentions having been on that Earth beach before.

- Cut to 18 months ago, and we're back on the Basestar with Ellen talking to Cavil about how "he" named Cavil "John" after "my" father. Cavil is remorseful that "he made me in his image". Does this mean Cavil looks exactly like whoever made him, or exactly like Ellen's father, or just that it's in the image of a human man? The conversation moves to Ellen telling Cavil "You're the same petulant little boy boy I loved so dearly all those years ago". Does Ellen mean "little boy" metaphorically? I'm under the impression, due to later conversations, that Cavil was always in the physical state he was. Was he named John after Ellen's father, yet physically modeled after a different person? Were Ellen and John the daughter and son of the humans who created the Cylons?

- Back to Anders, and he realizes the memories are rushing in. He asks Kara to gather the others for him - The five. She reminds him that Ellen is dead, and he seems to be pretending to have forgotten that only momentarily (meaning, he seems to know that she is still alive, or alive again somewhere, yet hides it from Kara).

- Back to Ellen on the Basestar with Cavil, yet now we're 12 months ago (Slowly getting closer to present day). The conversation is about Ellen's "mortal experience" among the humans, and Cavil says how "you" wrote sleep into our software. Ellen responds with a "we", so Ellen and company (presumably the final 5 at this point) created the Cylons (presumably the skin-jobs). Boomer shows up with lunch - a plate of fruit so pristine, you have to wonder if that apple is poisoned. Ellen assumes there's "a whole ship full of my children beyond the guards". Is Ellen a prisoner, or is her identity necessarily being protected? Seems to be a combo, but only necessary to Cavil's larger plan. Cavil leaves Boomer and Ellen, and Ellen tells Boomer more of what she thinks about John. Ellen tells Boomer to watch and make up her own mind (about how to be the perfect machine, and/or what the right thing to do is).

- Back to Anders who is now speaking to Galen, Tigh, and Tory. We find out that: They all worked in the same research facility (presumably on Earth), Ellen and Tigh were married then too, Tory and Galen were engaged, they had their own resurrection ship in place in the planet's orbit, they knew the end was coming, they did download, the Earth Cylons could procreate, they reinvented resurrection, and Organic Memory Transfer originally came from Kobol along with the 13th Tribe but fell out of use after their people started to procreate. They (The five) worked night and day to rebuild it, and although Galen's work was brilliant, it was Ellen who made (the intuitive leap? - I didn't quite hear this right) that brought the system back online. Tigh asks "What was the plan?" before a ruckus about Sam's health detracts from the question.

- Tigh asks why they went to the 12 Colonies. Anders says because they needed to find the other tribes and warn them to treat the artificial life they are inevitably creating well, and keep them close, but once they got there the humans were already at war with the Centurions... "again". This "again" kind of confused me, because it seems like Anders had to be talking about the first Cylon War, unless he means again as in - the cycle continues. Tory asks how this is possible since the holocaust on Earth took place thousands of years before. Anders says they hadn't developed jump-drives - "We traveled at relativistic but sub-luminal speed. Time slowed down for us for thousands of years". So, it seems like they went into some sort of hibernation/real-time space travel to reach the 12 Colonies to warn them.

- After telling Kara that he doesn't know if he will remember anything about her place in all this, he goes on to talk about how the Centurions were already trying to make flesh bodies (presumably when they got there and the war had started in the 12 Colonies). "They had created the hybrids, but nothing that lived on it's own, so we made them a deal - Stop the war and we'll help you. We developed the 8 humanoid models and gave them resurrection." Just as everyone freaks out about the 8, Sam crashes.

- Cut to now 10 months ago, with Ellen watching some sort of "slide show" on the Basestar. She says "The Temple of Hopes. Built by the 13th Tribe 3,000 years ago when they left Kobol. They stopped and prayed for guidance during their exodus, and then god showed them the way to Earth". Cavil suggests that it was all a plot on the part of the five to reveal themselves. He goes on to tell Ellen that when the star went nova, one of the 3s saw their faces, so he boxed their entire line. Ellen says that boxing isn't permanent, "Not like number 7", and she goes on to deny that it was a plot - "We backtracked the path of our ancestors and found their temple. The one true god must have orchestrated these events." The rest of the conversation revolves around Cavil complaining about the inadequacies of the human body, Boomer asking Ellen if she has remorse, and Ellen explaining the gift of free will and love to Boomer, who in turn questions who she would want to love (and the scene cuts to Galen on Galactica).

- Back in present day, Tigh, Galen and Tory discuss who is the most guilty - The humans or the Cylons they created. Galen says it was they who ended the first Cylon War and bought time for humanity. This verifies when they came back, but what were they doing for the 40 years until the second Cylon War?

- Now 4 months ago, back on the Basestar, Cavil reports to Ellen that they've destroyed the Resurrection Hub and starts demanding that Ellen help her children rebuild it. He mentions "They've destroyed the hub, but they don't even know about the colony. All your equipment is still there." I'm guessing that this colony and equipment is on Kobol, or perhaps it's on Earth? Is it even on a planet? After Ellen insists she can't do anything with out the other 4 of the 5, Cavil threatens to physically extract the information from Ellen's brain.

- On present day Galactica, Anders has come to again, and verifies that Cavil "was the first one we made". John was treasured by them, and he helped them build the others. When Galen questions whether they thought that building more Cylons was a bad idea, Anders replies that Ellen convinced them that the Centurions had a single loving god which changed everything, and the Cylons embracing love and mercy would end the cycle of violence. Anders goes on to reveal that Cavil rejected mercy, had a twisted idea of morality, turned on them, trapped them in a compartment, and suffocated them. When they downloaded into new bodies, Cavil blocked access to their memories and implanted them with new, fake ones - just like Boomer. After boxing them for awhile, Cavil introduced Tigh first, not long after the war, then Ellen. "Back on Earth, the warning signs we got looked different to each one of us. I saw a woman, Tory saw a man. Funny, no one else could see them. Galen, you thought you had a chip in your head." Anders states with certainty that "The 7 was the... Daniel. Daniel died. He was 7." He then tells Tigh to stay in the fleet, and that the miracle, a gift from the angels, is starting to happen, as he is dragged into surgery. The scene cuts to a pregnant 6 as Tigh walks into the room. The baby just started moving tonight. Seems to me they're trying to make us think the 6's baby is part of the miracle. I first thought the baby had to be Daniel, but perhaps that's too obvious. It also seems unlikely now that we know the five resurrect the same way the regular skin-jobs do. Also, looking back to Ellen's conversations with Cavil, it certainly seems like she is trying to remind Cavil about the "one true loving god" to try and convert him to goodness.

- 2 days ago now on the Basestar, and Ellen is asking Cavil why he didn't just kill them instead of sending them to live among the humans. Cavil says he wanted them to experience humanity up close at the point of the holocaust. Ellen points out that that they never died, but instead were made to suffer by Cavil due to his petty human emotions of rage and jealousy. She claims Cavil has always been looking for approval and that she knows what he did to Daniel. Cavil proclaims that the 7 didn't thrive, then Ellen begins to describe Daniel to Boomer, and how his line was destroyed by Cavil as an act of jealousy toward Ellen's close relationship with Daniel. Cavil blames Ellen for creating him in the first place, and Ellen tries to tell Cavil that he wasn't a mistake and that he could be good if he could accept himself for what he is.

- Cutting to another scene, and Boomer is retrieving Ellen to bring her to surgery. Ellen tells Boomer she should have brought something, then tells her to never mind. I totally couldn't make out what that something was. Anybody else know? It seemed relevant!

- Assuming we are now in the present with Ellen, Boomer takes Ellen into a Raptor, and flees the Basestar, rescuing Ellen. I don't think this is part of Cavil's master plan. I really think Ellen showed Boomer the light of her own free will.

The end! There are quite a few more questions in there now, and it's really hard to put all these pieces together in a timeline. Listing it all here was at least helpful for me. Hopefully it was for others out there. What new questions do you all have? What is answered for you? My biggest left over questions from this episode are about that colony where the equipment is that Cavil spoke about, what the five were doing between the first and second Cylon War (if they really did first show up during the first one), how is Daniel relevant to all this (if you have listened to RDM's commentary or read interviews, please don't spoil here!), I have no idea what to think about Ellen's comment about Cavil as a little boy, and I'm generally a little confused about whether the five went to Kobol on their way to Earth, or it was the 13th Tribe before them they are talking about. Are the five the 13th Tribe? The original 13th Tribe? And what are we supposed to think about Baltar's head Six (and the head Baltars) now that the five had similar experiences? Of course there are still other questions from the series as well. *brain explodes*

Colonial Dispatch 1.19.09

Just another spoiler reminder - We will talk freely about any episode that has aired (USA schedule), so if you haven't seen the most recent episode, read on at your own risk. Spoiler warnings will continue to be posted where appropriate when any unaired material is involved.

Episode 4.11 (also known as episode 13 if you include Razor as episodes 1 and 2) is available to view at scifi.com and HULU. The full episode with Ron's commentary is also at sciffy and HULU, and you can easily navigate to previews of episode 4.12 on both sites as well.

New David Eick video blog up at scifi.com: Inserts Action & FX

Tried to find video of Eddie Olmos on a local talk show from Sunday to no avail, but while searching youtube the following video was found (from community coalition) of a little "up close and personal" with Eddie. Love what he has to say about race:



Eddie was also spotted in DC at an Inaugural event, and Watching BSG.com has some pics!

The following interview with Mary and Eddie from TV Guide is kind of moderately spoilery. If you advance the video to 1:04 you will miss what Mary hushes Eddie about, and you might also want to stop the video at about 4:35 to skip a very mildly spoilery (only for the true virgins) remark about how a certain actor performs:



From SciFi Wire:
- "Dualla" Speaks About Last Night's Battlestar Episode
- Battlestar Stars Remember Their Favorite Moments

MediaBlvd Magazine and the GalacticaBS boards collaborated to bring this interview with Ron Moore (very mild spoilers - general discussion of series including the remainder of 4.5) - Ron Moore Answers Tough Questions About BSG's Final Season

More of the BSG series from LA Times:
- 'Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Visual effects with Gary Hutzel
- The Final Cylon speaks! Exclusive interview with Kate Vernon

From DVR Playground - Exclusive Interview: Tamoh Penikett Talks BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and DOLLHOUSE Star John Francis Daley

Entertainment Weekly and Access Hollywood's "Dish of Salt" give us the following video (mild spoiler warning - this seems to vaguely hint at possible future content... I think!):

'Battlestar Galactica': The fifth Cylon speaks



Check out this wonderful study of "The Lingo of Battlestar Galactica" by Mark Peters.

Want to thank the cast and crew of BSG collectively? Grant Gould (awesome Star Wars and BSG artist!) is putting together a "Thank you from the fans" for everyone to sign. The deadline is January 25th for your submission. Click here for more info and instructions.

A solemn farewell to the show from VFX artist "Darth Mojo"

"Sometime a Great Notion" reviews continued...

- Bear McCreary talks about the episode and the music! Bear also spoke with episode writers Bradley Thomspon and David Weddle about the episode's progression.
- BSG “Sometimes A Great Notion” - Honey, I’m Home from tanveernaseer.
- 13th Colony
- Galactica: Variants
- Salon.com
- /Film
- Flick Filosopher
- Screen Rant

If anyone else has a review or comment, post 'em in the comment section!

Battlestar Galactica episode 4.11 reviews and a spoiler notice

Let's start with the spoiler notice. Now that episode 11 has officially aired, we will speak relatively freely about it here without any spoiler warnings, as will also be the case after each consecutive episode airs future forward. We will continue to post spoiler warnings when appropriate for anything concerning future unaired episodes as well as the upcoming Battlestar movie. If you're up to date with the show, you shouldn't have much to worry about, and since we (most of the posters here, even though it's pretty much down to one lately) try to stay away from major spoilers ourselves, you should rarely or never see major spoilers (i.e. leaks) posted or linked to here anyway.

That being said, and since there was some pretty major stuff that went on in episode 11 last night, if you haven't seen it yet I'll remind you now that this post in particular is in the major spoiler category ;)

What follows below is a listing of a few (very mixed!) reviews so far of last night's episode, then I'll give my own first impressions. I think a lot more reviews will be rolling in as so many of us are taken aback. I hope that everyone feels welcome to post their own impressions as well in the comments (or link to your blog posts in the comments)! We'll add more reviews to the Colonial Dispatch posts as they come up.

First things first, and with no delay - If you have seen episode 11, then you may proceed (mild spoiler warning - includes insinuations as to what will be covered in future episodes and some pretty direct answers to some things that may not have been so clear before) to the Ron Moore interview at The Watcher, which discusses 'Notion' and also includes commentaries on the making and writing of the episode by director Michael Nankin and co-writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle.

Reviews and recaps from:

- The ever eloquent Alan Sepinwall
- io9 - A live blog from last night, and entertaining in itself!
- Carmen Andres writes an interesting review from a religious perspective.
- Tim "The Bastard" Goodman at San Francisco Chronicle
- Time Magazine's Tuned In
- LA Times
- Newscoma
- TV Squad
- Buddy TV
- Sci Fi Crazy
- Television Without Pity
- Premium Hollywood
- Entertainment Weekly
- Cinema Blend

___________________________

It was just really strange watching "Sometimes a Great Notion" last night. I kind of felt like someone who had survived a great and perilous journey (that of an avid BSG fan who has had to endure the anticipation of the "great hiatuses"), only to face a new and uncertain future. Hey! That's pretty much what is actually happening on the show right now. Ah - art imitates life, life imitates art.

What made it so strange? Well, I for one had exceedingly high expectations (for this episode as well as the rest of 4.5), yet had absolutely no idea what to expect. Upon reviewing season 4.0 on DVD, one of the things that rang louder than before (or maybe it had just been awhile since I watched it) was D'anna's assertation that only 4 of the final 5 were in the fleet. That made my mind run around in circles like a dog looking for that sweet spot before finally lying down, yet my mind never did lay down completely. I think it kind of surrendered to not lying down at all... until now. At the beginning of the episode, they flash the words across the screen about "only 4 are in the fleet", and that immediately made my dog (tired) mind get back up for a few laps. And holy frak - I totally didn't expect it to be revealed in this episode. I had only heard that the final cylon would be revealed by the middle of 4.5. At first I thought Tigh was delusional, and they would take it another way in the other episodes (still not out of the question I suppose), and quite frankly I was a little horrified at Ron's (and co) choice of the 5th. I can't wait for the commentaries and hope they tell us a little about exactly when and how that decision was made, as well as the editing process involved in the episode (still have to read the interview with Ron at The Watcher linked above). Throughout the course of the day so far, however, my feelings on the fifth have come to almost a complete 180. So many things have sunk in within the past 14 or so hours that have made it make such perfect sense and wonderfully intertwined with so many things from the entire series. I still have some residual feelings of it being a cheap and easy answer, but perhaps that's because I'm so perturbed at myself for not having immediately realized this way back when the final 4 came out.

Looking at the final 5 in retrospect, it seems they all have a key place in the leadership of human society. They aren't in top spots, but they are mostly number 2's; Tory as assistant to the President, Tigh as the XO and New Caprican resistance leader, Ellen as the wife of the XO and key player in the resistance, Sam Anders as a popular professional athlete and leader of the Caprican and New Caprican resistances... and then Galen Tyrol as a head New Caprican resistance leader, a union leader, and the chief in charge of maintaining the main resources of the fleet of survivors. Chief is the everyman's leader, and I hope we see his relevance get filled in even more - especially since he's sort of been on the sidelines lately with just that semi-catatonic maniacal grin.

And Dee. That really pissed me off at first. It still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but apparently it doesn't for the rest of the characters either (art, life, life, art...). It immediately came across as a cheap shot at shock value, but sometimes I have to push back the hyper-critical film school stuff in me and let the geeky, leap of faith, high concept action/sci-fi fan step back in. But perhaps its true to an extent; maybe Ron (and co) are so immersed and attached to the show that the objectivity is a little fogged. When the beginning of the episode was getting so Dee-centric, I found myself starting to think she might really be the fifth, but then I remembered who created this show, and that it had to be a mind-frak (loving lol). Then, BAM! Like a smack in the face if you were still thinking she was the fifth, Dee's gone (yet that still didn't mean she wasn't the fifth). I guess they were talking about killing someone off for a couple of seasons now, but still... it seemed a little out of place. I think my reaction to Dee's suicide made me a little skeptical about the Ellen reveal.

And Kara. What the frak? Totally creepy scene with her finding the Viper and a charred pilot , presumably her, inside. This is obviously one of the bigger questions (where/when the frak did she go, and how/when did she get back?) not answered in this episode, and I like the way this theme is being carried out (although I have to wonder if they had this plotted out when they wrote this episode). Didn't care for the "Frak Earth" graffiti - it was just too literal. Also a little uneasy about the flashes of "other memory" by Galen, Tory, and Sam. Sam on broken air guitar made me particularly squeamish (and I am a huge Anders fan). They got a little too "pointerlicious" when it was straight-up explained to us (as the characters realized it) what the 13th colony was all about and how/why they got to Earth. I felt myself being a little overly sensitive about a lot of things, probably because my emotions are so on edge with this show. Sure I wanted answers, but I think they may have been piled up a bit too much for one single episode. I like the less heady stuff anyway, so I'm hoping Cavil will come back soon and stir up some crazy space (or Earth) fight action - but I still love this show warts n' all.

Some big questions answered, some big questions created, and a lot of questions still lingering. Eager for more.

Webisodes, 11+ hours, and TV Movies?

First of all, I have to say that the midseason finale "Revelations" was perhaps the best episode of RDM's Battlestar Galactica yet. I had always favored "Scar" and "You Can't Go Home Agaian", and perhaps it's because of the newness of it all... but I hadn't seen any other season 4 episode even start to live up to he bar set by BSG from the very beginning until very recently. The midseason final certainly made up for anything the earlier season 4 episodes had lacked, and then some. That's not to say the last few S04 episodes weren't exceptional.

Anyhew...

This is old news mixed with newer news, but it's all pretty solid now... for the most part:

We can confidently expect another set of 10 webisodes in the long season 4 hiatus we've only just begun. *takes deep breath*

Speaking of the hiatus, that is also pretty much confirmed to be significantly long. The "first quarter" of 2009 references are backed by the following from E! Online's report from the midseason finale panel and prescreening (linked in next post):

"I talked to Dave Howe, Sci Fi Channel president, and you guys are definitely going to have to wait half a year for the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. He told me that, "[It will premiere] first quarter next year—we haven't fixed a final date, but we don't want to keep the fans waiting too long.""

- Pfft. We don't like it, but we're certainly used to it at this point.

At least we'll not only be getting webisodes, but also a (slightly) longer end to season 4 as well as one if not possibly three Battlestar TV movies, as Mo Ryan "The Watcher" recently reports.

Apparently RDM talked NBCU into at least 11 hours to be able to get everything he needs out of the script for the season finale. That's "at least 11 hours" and perhaps more, but I can imagine that they would give us too much more. If anything I can see them mincing the supposed TV movie(s?) as extra season 4 episodes like they tried to do with Razor as episodes 401 and 402.

Check out Mo's link above and definitely check out the fellow Blogger blogger (couldn't help that one), Alan Sepinwall, she linked to at The Watcher. His "Revelations" revelations (someone stop me now) are a joy to read.

Now what to do until the webisodes are even rumored to come out? I'll be downloading all the podcasts with RDM's commentary for S04 so far (410 should be out soon) and rewatching. At least once. Maybe twice. Perhaps Thrace :D

Hero

After a long break, my wife and I finally watched another season 3 episode last night, Hero. It was a pretty cool look back at pre-war Adama. The flashbacks added some nice information to my understanding of the state of affairs before the Cylon attacks. As a self-contained episode, I enjoyed it. I'm still not entirely sure what's up with the existential crisis that Xena Cylon is having. I'm sure that will become clear shortly.

BSG Season 2.5: scattered thoughts

Some scattered thoughts on BSG Season 2.5, now that I'm done. Spoilers ahead. Cross-posted at Geek Rebellion.

• The finale was pretty sweet. I dug the jump ahead a year. It was a nice shake-up to the "on the run" scenario that encompassed the first two years.
• Just when I was starting to develop a smidge of sympathy for Baltar, he turns into the worst president you could imagine. That guy is all groin. So, Gada (sp?) is his aide now? Interesting.
• It seems like something happened between Starbuck and Apollo that really put their relationship on the deep freeze. I'm assuming it was something more than Starbuck being rude to Apollo about D.
• Either Apollo put on some real weight for the scenes one year in the future or they did some good prosthetics.
• They sure got complacent after a year of no Cylons. I like that the fleet was so ill-prepared that they had to jump away. Good dramatic tension.
• So, Apollo puts on some weight and doesn't shave everyday and his dad grows a mustache. It's funny the things that can be done to show that a year has passed.
• New Caprica City looks like a little slice of gray heaven. I suppose it's better than living on a ship, but not by much.
• I really dig the Dean Stockwell Cylon. Cool character and well-acted.
• Now I'm really not sure what the Cylon's plan is. Why are they just occupying New Caprica? What's their goal?
• So, the Chief and Callie are having a baby, eh? Good for them.
• Now, it's on to the webisodes and the terrible wait until Sci-Fi starts at the beginning of Season 3 in a couple weeks.

Season 1: Episodes 5-8

A few quick thoughts on episodes 5-8 of Season One, which my wife and I just completed.

• Episode 5, where Starbuck finds the Cylon ship, was pretty sweet. The Cylon ship had a very Yuuzhan Vong feel to it, as a living ship. Starbuck's mechanical manipulations were interesting to watch. At the end, when Apollo saw "Starbuck" on the bottom of the ship, I exclaimed: "That's awesome". It's cool to see confirmation that Starbuck really is that damn good in a plane.
• Episode 6 was so-so. It felt like an obligatory "McCarthy" episode. It had some good plot movement, particularly involving Galactica's Boomer. But, I thought the tribunal was a little stereotypical and rushed. This one just didn't grab me.
• In Episode 7, things really heated up. It was great to see Baltar really squirm. I am simultaneously cracked up and disgusted by Baltar. "No more Mr. Nice Gaius!" He's quite funny, but he's also heavily responsible for the destruction of human civilization and is almost entirely led by his crotch.
  
• I really liked Episode 8. The showdown between Leoben and Starbuck was great. I found myself more sympathetic with Leoben's professions of faith in God than I did with Starbuck's handling of the situation. I think Starbuck's tough-guy act really demonstrated how insecure she is about these human-like Cylons. She doth protest too much. Her prayer at the end was particularly poignant.

At this point, I'm really fascinated trying to figure out what the Cylon's plan is. Why are they so focused on their monotheistic God? Is Caprica Boomer trying to get pregnant with Helo? Is that even possible? I'm sure I'll learn more on the next disc.

Season 1 Episode 6: Litmus

You keep my planes flying. I need my planes to fly.

Will Adama to Galen Tyrol

Once again, spoilers are noted below, so easy on the scrolling if you haven't seen this...

What was already getting messy gets downright slovenly in Episode 6 of Season 1: Litmus. However, I think this episode might have been a misnomer, since there's really not a lot of litmus-ing going on. It just barely touches on Gaius's "project", which is actually much more of a topic in the successive episode(s). Although this episode isn't of a lower quality by any means, it's more of a go-between, almost a little break from the action, from previous episodes to the latter part of season 1. It's more like a "business as usual" kind of episode where the crew seems to have settled in to their situation a bit more. I needed this episode to happen now and I think it was good timing in the production of the season. Even us fans can only take so much excitement before our devoted little fan-hearts give out. Don't get me wrong; this episode isn't a total sleeper by any means. There are several shocking moments to be had. I guess it's just that in Litmus, the action isn't as non-stop as it has been in the series thus far. Phew! Finally the crew (and I) can relax for a moment. Not!

This episode touches on a little bit of politics and law, as well as loyalties and humanity. Of course that last subject is the very foundation of this show. One of the highlights of Litmus is that it really gets us (me at least) thinking about this humanity thing, and what it is that really seperates the humans from the Cylons. The differences at this point are starting to look more like the conflicts between nations at war, which of course is a completely human phenomenon. Basically some more story development goes on here, and my oh my - some very UNcomfortable situations are starting to boil over. As if a whole civilization going into exile from it's home world and being constantly chased by an unpredictable and not always identifiable enemy wasn't uncomfortable enough...


*LITMUS AND SEASON 3 SPOILERS*
This episode might be even more interesting to those who have seen the entire series thus far, particularly concerning events that tie in all the way through season 3. For one, it's hard not to wince when we see Boomer and Tyrol consummate in that back room and think about all the different levels their relationship would have been unproductive. Heh heh. I mean really unproductive. Boomer is still a sleeper at this point too, but you would think she must know by now, especially with all the hub-bub around the ship and all the weird things she's been going through. Basically she seems to be in a major state of denial. More like a clinical state of denial, which, along with everything that Sharon becomes later in the series, makes me question just who is more human; the humans or the Cylons, who are the children of the humans?

Jammer! Oh poor, poor Jammer. It is good to see him again, but I get shivers thinking about his fate. *gasps*

Even though Doral was exposed as an agent way back in the miniseries, and Tigh was one of the select few "in the know" about the skin-jobs until this episode... what I know now about Tigh from the end of season 3 makes me a little hyper aware about how quickly Tigh recognized Doral before he done blowed himself up. It's just kind of cool to think about it all again in retrospect to the beginning of the series. I really believe the final 5 are with the humans to somehow help protect them from the other Cylons, and to look back on what Tigh has done in that respect makes him, and the other final 3 we know of now, seem more like super heroes. Man... who the heck IS the fifth of the final 5?

Even though I'm a girl, I got a little thrill out of seeing Number Six beat the crap out of Sharon, although I probably enjoyed it in a different way than most male fans would. It's just pretty cool to see girls kick ass, even if it's each other's, and even though they're not really human. It was a nicely shot scene, as so much is in BSG. Add photography as another strong point in the production value of this show. I'm having a hard time finding weak points. One little spot might be with a few moments where Grace Park is becoming less convincing as "on the ship Boomer". But geeze! I can't even imagine ever doing the acting job she does, and furthermore, I am more convinced that her degrading performance as "on the ship Boomer" is completely intentional. She's really starting to act more distant as she becomes more isolated from everyone else, as everyone is to each other at this point with the witch hunt and all. But Boomer is really just starting to talk like someone who is controlled by a base ship. A little more like "on the roof with the other Cylons Sharon". In the meantime, "on the roof with the other Cylons Sharon" is doing a fantastic double acting job of interacting with Helo on Caprica. As we know from later in the show... "getting into character" has so many more levels of meaning now with Sharon/Boomer/Athena/Mrs. Agathon/#8.

This episode ties in with season 3 on many levels. The whole idea of the litmus test, and that it wasn't really supposed to work anyway (but then again, it did), all the issues of humanity, the wooden ship Adama is playing with becomes a very symbolic prop later on (isn't that shown in the season 3 episode Maelstrom?), the whole thing with Tyrol and Boomer... okay, NOW we know how Cylons make babies!

*END OF SPOILERS* (unless you follow the links below)

Litmus at scifi.com/battlestar

Litmus at battlestarwiki

Season 1 Episode 5: You Can't Go Home Again

This entry will contain some spoilers for Season 1 Episode 5: You Can't Go Home Again, but I'll mark them where they occur, so scroll down slowly...

You'll have to excuse me because I am still a little weepy after watching this episode again for the *counting* 4th or 5th time. I was really choked up in a good way then a bad way, then good again, etc. This is quite possibly my favorite BSG episode of all time (with the exception of season 4 which hasn't come out yet). I guess I can't really pick one favorite, since different episodes have different elements in them. But You Can't Go Home Again has to be the one episode that really *moved* me. Maybe it has to do with the mood I am in now, or possibly having to do with just being engrossed in the story as I rewatch it all in order.

It's just that this episode is where the story *really* starts to evolve. Make that stories, plural. So much was introduced in the miniseries and the consecutive episodes of season 1 (episodes 1 through 4). We really got jolted right into the action with episode 1: 33. I think a lot of people really favor that episode, which I do as well. The next few episodes are also compelling, but mainly introduce some of the scenarios between different characters to us, and build the characters themselves a little more. But episode 5, the one I am speaking about today, this one brings you right inside the very souls of several of our main characters; primarily Will and Lee Adama and Kara Thrace. A second story is still evolving at this point, which is that of...

*SPOILERS BEGIN HERE*
...Helo and Boomer/Sharon (wait... Boomer is back on the Galactica - right? LOL) who are still "stranded" (okay, I use that term loosely, since it is really just Helo who is stranded) down on Caprica, looking for a way out. Some of the really cool things about this side story are first, the visual reference of Helo putting bread in the toaster not seconds before the other toasters, the walking toasters with bullets, bust in. It may be trite and extremely obvious as an omen, but I just got a good chuckle with that. You've got to appreciate that little pun the writers threw in there. Secondly, the ensuing shootout scene is one of the most awesome shootouts I've seen in film or television. Keeping this as a spoiler only within this episode, I won't mention how Karl and Sharon's experience on Caprica now reverberates throughout the rest of the series.
Back to the matter at hand... Kara is also stranded; alone, with little oxygen on an uncharted gas planet. Everything about this part of the story is just gripping, both visually and emotionally. As unbelievable and unlikely as it might be that she would free herself from the parachute about to drag her over a cliff AND moments after praying to the Lords of Kobol for a break, lo and behold a downed Cylon Raider appears around the next corner... I just don't care that this is all too lucky (oh that destiny of Kara's!). My eyes and my emotions ate this whole episode up like Luke Skywalker craves that exotic hot chocolate drink. This series is all about Kara Thrace for me, so I admit I am a little bias as to why I favor this episode. She is just so frakking lucky, but at the same time, she is so real to me. She is me.

Back on the fleet, tempers flare and the true feelings of some of our other main characters are surfacing. Will Adama has to face his own heart. Tigh and Roslyn may be the level headed ones here, but really I was waiting for everyone to admit that aside from the family issues between Lee, Will and Kara, the real reason they should have ALL been so concerned with getting Starbuck back is because she is the best frakking pilot they got. They are extremely low on talented Viper pilots at this point. Losing Starbuck could be even more dangerous than taking a calculated risk at saving her. My opinion of course, but as conveyed by Lee when sent out solo to intervene the lone dradis: "This bastard is good!", this is obviously a known fact among the Galactica crew. Not to mention the fact that she was the only instructor available to teach the groms.

Everything about bringing Starbuck back in was awesome and too cool. Unbelievable, yes. But isn't this one of the things we love about sci-fi? We know this couldn't really happen, but my belief is suspended. My faith leaped. Add the human emotion to that, emotion we can really feel and relate to, and this made for the some of the most stellar moments in moving picture storytelling for me. The two moments at the end, when Kara speaks to Lee about her "new toy" and after when Kara is in the sick bay and Will comes to face her... I cried. I started to choke when in the beginning of the third act of this episode, Lee and his father had a little chat about what Will would have done if it were Lee stuck down there. "We would have never left" or something to that effect. *choke*

*END OF SPOILERS* (unless you click on the links below)

All in all, this episode was so well constructed and so rich in story... it's no wonder people stick around to watch this thing. As cliche as some elements might be, the timing is so right on it makes the cliches more like integral parts of the story, rather than cliches. Almost every episode in BSG has some great quotables, but this one in particular had tons of them. More proof that the writing, directing, and acting are superb.

Here's some links to refreshers and references for this episode:

You Can't Go Home Again at scifi.com/battlestar (official site)

You Can't Go Home Again at battlestarwiki

Catching up with rj...

Over the course of the last month or so, I started re-watching the entire series again. Actually, it was more like this: somewhere around late April or early May, I popped the miniseries in with plans on watching the whole series again, but I really only got around to watching the mini, then episode 1 of season 1, "33" right after. Then life took over, and I got sidetracked.

Until rj's recent entry. It gave me a good point to catch up to, which is basically the first two discs of the season 1 box set: the mini and the first four episodes.

Egad! I'm not sure how many times I've seen these already, maybe 5 or so... but it continues to overwhelm me... in a really good way. The writing is really so rich, and even in the "less intense" episodes, there's always some arc or element that captivates. This show has it's highs and lows as any other show does, but the difference is that it's lows are pretty high in my own humble opinion. And because it's highs are so high, they kind of set a bar for themselves that's hard to live up to, if that makes any sense.

The emotion of it all is what really sticks to me, as well as the character development. Even though I know everything that is going to happen to these characters by watching from the beginning again, I am no less engrossed. In fact, maybe I can look even deeper now, and see the finer details which show me once again just how expertly written this show is. The tie-ins across episodes and seasons are easier for me to catch, and believe me, there are a lot of them and surely more to be seen. There's so many subtle details but our imaginations are still allowed to glue everything together. It's a lot like Star Wars in these ways to me.

Watching Kara tackle flight instruction again, after her and the Adama family's trauma... it's just so frakking human, it tears me apart. The ways I can relate to Starbuck are so vast it scares me a little, yet this one character in particular (as well as the show as a whole) I just can't get enough of. There's something addicting about this show that isn't like any show I've ever watched before. It's the same kind of addiction as Star Wars for me. Maybe I just have a good story abuse problem.

So, I watched the first two discs of the season 1 box set again, and happened to have the chance to visit with my parents this weekend. I finally gave those two discs to my dad to watch. He really loves science fiction, loves Star Wars like me (although he's also really into Star Trek, unlike me), and he's a writer and editor (did I mention I got my screen writing teacher totally into the new BSG?). I've had some pretty lengthy discussions with my dad about the new BSG, and I think we both recognize that one of the only deterrents that he might come across with it is the violence (less so) and the political references (more so) - one major factor being that my mother is a displaced person from the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, so some political references can be a little touchy in my family. A little too much info there...

Basically, I'm really anticipating how my dad will like it. On the one hand, I think that he will absolutely love it (he loves Firefly and Serenity too BTW), but on the other hand I'm a little scared that he will be turned off by some of the references. I know he will love the SFX (remember Boomer and her co-pilot finding the water planet in "Water" - that one shot with the Raptor skimming on the planet surface - incredible), and I hope he will enjoy the writing as much as I do - the pure genius in the story.

Season 1: First four episode thoughts

My wife and I finished the DVD of the first four episodes of Season 1. The next DVD should be coming our way soon.

The beginning of season 1 was a very strong start. It may be difficult to ever match how blown away I was by the mini-series, but these first four were very, very good. I thought the first episode, 33, was the best.

The water episode was good. I really liked the development of Boomer's split personality. It's also cool seeing the juxtaposition of the two Boomer's. I feel bad for Helo.

My favorite part of the prison riot episode was the last scene, after President Roslyn tells Apollo that she has cancer. I forget the exact exchange, but I believe Roslyn's last line is something like: "Of course you will. You're Captain Apollo." There's just something so great in the way she delivered that line, her smile after she says it and the music. In general, I absolutely love the music and sound in this show. It plays a huge part in setting the awesome tone. I feel similarly about the music and sound in Heroes. So important. And Mary McDonnell is genius in this show. She is just fantastic in that portrayal.

The rookie pilot episode was very interesting. That was our cliffhanger for now as Starbuck plummets away from her Viper.

Oh, and I also have to mention how much I dig Baltar. He is so funny in his own disturbing sneaky way.

I'll report back after we get through the next disc.