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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA |
Series Overview
Commander Adama - Edward James Olmos President Roslin - Mary McDonnell Captain Adama (Apollo) - Jamie Bamber Lt Thrace (Starbuck) - Katee Sackhoff Dr Baltar - James Callis Number 6 - Tricia Helfer Lt Valerii (Boomer) - Grace Park Colonel Tigh - Michael Hogan Chief Tyrol - Aaron Douglas Billy Keikeya - Paul Campbell 
OTHER SEASONS Mini Series Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Razor OTHER TREKS THROUGH SPACE Babylon 5 Star Trek The Next Generation Deep Space Nine Enterprise Space 1999 
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Series OverviewFollowing the success of the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA mini-series it was inevitable that a full series would follow. What was not clear was whether the quality of that two parter could be translated into an ongoing series. The truth is that this first season (and be certain that there will be more) outstrips its parent and provides excellent drama in almost every one of its thirteen episodes. It maintains its sense of gritty reality and total believability from start to finish. There are plot arcs that run throughout the series such as the fate of Helo on Cylon-Occupied Caprica, Boomer's coming to understand what her problem is and Gaius Baltar's mental visions of Cylon Number 6. The star of these is the ongoing power struggle between President Roslin and Commander Adama. The central performances of Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos anchor the show firmly and the supporting cast grow in stature throughout. All of the minor characters are given depth and have real flaws and that adds to the believability. The writing is excellent from the outset and sets this show up to be one of the very best genre shows broadcasting at the moment. Top33The first full season of this completely redesigned version of the 70's sci fi show finds the fleet on the run, relentlessly pursued by the Cylons. 33 minutes after each faster than light jump, the cylons appear and attack, necessitating another jump. The crews haven't slept in days and everyone is getting a bit ragged around the edges. When one of the civilian transports gets left behind on a jump it is a great blow to morale, but when the cylons fail to appear on time then the question becomes, was the civilian ship infiltrated by the enemy and being tracked? When the ship reappears with the cylons right behind it, the decision has to be made whether to sacrifice 1300 people for the sake of the safety of the fleet. This is a tremendous start to the new series. It immediately sets up the atmosphere of desolation, exhaustion and desperation that the survivors are caught up in. There is, in fact, barely any plot here at all. It's all about how the various characters deal with the situation, the pressure and the exhaustion. The actors are well up to the job of putting that across, the characters very quickly established for those who haven't seen the intial mini-series without any introductory dialogue or explanatory scenes. They reveal themselves by what they say and do. There are no standouts here, either. The general level of the cast is excellent, though none of the characters is given more screen time than others in which to shine. The one jarring note is the ongoing interplay between Gaius Baltar and the Cylon Number Six in his head. Is this imagination, some sort of mental link, the onset of madness? That it babbles on about babies and God and guilty secrets just distracts from the main story going on around him. It is, however, the only quibble and a not particularly major one at that. It's too early to say, of course, but if the quality level of the mini-series and this first episode is maintained then this is going to be a very good series indeed. TopWaterLt Valerii (Boomer to her friends) wakes up soaking wet and armed with a bomb. She shortly thereafter discovers that another six bombs are missing, just before they explode and wipe out 60% of the fleet's water supply. The high council try to make plans to deal with the situation whilst Boomer tries to understand what is happening to her. Meanwhile, on Cylon-occupied Caprica, another Boomer has just rescued her old flying buddy Helo. The edgy and dark tone of the show is now firmly established in this second episode with lots of shaky camerawork and naturalistic acting. Sadly, the plot is as shaky as the camera. That the ship is sabotaged and a crisis looms is fine and the cast do a good job with that, but Boomer is a confused character. Clearly a cylon, she is setting bombs all over the place and then getting all worried about finding bombs all over the place. It is to be hoped that her situation becomes a bit clearer in future episodes. There's also not a lot of action here either. An episode about character is fine and last week's 33 showed exactly how plot, action and characterisation could be woven together into a strong whole. Here there is lots of characterisation, no action and little enough plot. At one point a card game is shoehorned into proceedings just to make sure that Starbuck's character actually had some screen time (though precious little to do). Adama and President Roslin are circling each other like a couple of wounded prize fighters and their relationship is going to be one to watch, played out by two very accomplished actors who put some of the supporting players firmly into the shade. A step down from last week, then, with muddy plotting, but hope for better to follow. TopBastille DayThe discovery of water hasn't completely resolved the crisis in the fleet as it is in the form of ice, the conditions are hostile and a large workforce will be needed to dig it out. The inmates on a prison ship provide the solution to the workforce problem, but when Apollo goes aboard to ask for their help, offering incentives towards their freedom, his offer is refused by a one time freedom fighter (or terrorist, take your pick). Then the inmates break out, take hostages and Adama sends in the marines. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA bounces straight back to quality with this tense prison break drama. Yes, the idea of a prison break is totally cliche, but the level of the characterisation and the battle of wills and morals make it seem almost brand new. It is in the character of the freedom fighter/terrorist that the story finds its depth. Richard Hatch (the original Apollo in the original show) is impressive as a man who is a reviled as he is revered and whose morals may be breaking up under the weight of his own ego. When Apollo says that he has read the man's book, you can hear the groans from a million scriptwriters, but it actually sets up the confrontation in which more than one person learns something. Jamie Bamber is growing in stature as Apollo with each episode and proves more than capable of carrying this episode on his shoulders. More episodes like this and fewer like Water please. TopAct of ContritionAn accident in one of the landing bays kills a number of pilots. Starbuck is given the job of training new ones, but her history with Zack, Apollo's brother and Adama's son makes it impossible for her to carry out her task until she has unburdened herself. Then there is the small matter of the group of cylon raiders that have suddenly appeared during the trainees' test flight. The accident in the landing bay that starts off this episode is so unbelievable that it almost makes you want to switch off, but that would be a very big shame because Act of Contrition is a superb piece of character drama. The backstory of Zack's death was told in the mini-series and it isn't just wheeled out here to get some dramatic confrontations going. Emotions run high as the memories of Zack's funeral collide with the modern day events in a plethora of flashbacks. Yes, flashbacks. Flashbacks can mess up a show if they are not handled carefully (see LOST, but this is an example of how they can be used to convey inner emotions in a way that dialogue alone cannot and how they can deepen the story by contrasting with other times. What is not said here is as important as what is. A script like this needs quality actors to pull it off and the cast rise to the challenge. We would expect no less from Edward James Olmos, but Katee Sackhoff also comes up with the goods as the conflicted, pained Starbuck. It's not just a lot characters feeling sorry for themselves either. Intercut with all of this are flashes of Starbuck's viper cracking up in the atmosphere of a nearby planet, hints of a future that come to pass when the cylons choose the least convenient moment to appear. This is BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's first cliffhanger ending and it's a very good one. TopYou Can't Go Home AgainPicking up exactly where Act of Contrition left off and Starbuck has parachuted onto an inhospitable moon. Apollo and Adama refuse to leave her behind, wasting time and fuel on a visual search that has no chance of success. Just when she thinks things can't get any worse, Starbuck finds an alien raider sharing the landscape with her. Another tense and time-driven episode that ratchets up the pressure and creates conflict between the two leaders of the fleet. The scripting is tight, surprising and full of interpersonal angst and argument, just the stuff for the cast to get their teeth into. The younger cast are maturing with each story and the leads are as dependable as ever. Not even halfway through the first season and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is proving to be one of the best sci fi shows on television. TopLitmusAnother explosion onboard Galactica means that it is time for the general public to know that Cylons can look like humans. The inquiry into the bombing centres on the deck chief, who is hiding his relationship with Lt Valerii. The Lt Valerii on cylon-occupied Caprica continues to deceive Helo, but for what purpose remains to be learned. The plot here is seriously close to that of The Drumhead from STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION, but the edgy style, the quality of the writing and the reality of the characters all go together to show a major change in the quality of the two episodes, even if the points made are pretty much the same. Gaius Baltar's condition remains the one unconvincing aspect of the show. He's been seen acting strangely by enough people now to ensure that he got locked away, but he's not on screen long enough to mar an otherwise excellent episode. TopSix Degrees of SeparationNumber 6 appears, but for real this time and with proof that Gaius Baltar was responsible for blowing up the defence computers before the destruction of the colonies. It hangs on a photograph being computer enhanced and Baltar works desperately to clear his name. In the meantime, the Number Six in his head has disappeared. OK, so the enhancing image plot gimmick is straight out of Kevin Costner film NO WAY OUT, but it so perfectly fits in with the sense of paranoia that has run throughout this series and provides again the ticking clock element that drives the tension along so nicely that it would be churlish to complain. This strand of the show, however intriguing, is pushing the show further away from reality and towards fantasy. Even cylons can't just disappear. The strand with Helo and the cylon Boomer on Caprica is also progressing, with the pilot now being hoodwinked into mating with her. Where this strand will take us is also intriguing. TopFlesh and BoneA cylon is captured on board one of the ships of the fleet and claims to have a nuclear warhead stashed to go off in a few hours. Starbuck is given the job of finding out where the bomb is and sets about using every torture method that she can think of. The cylon battles back with information about his God and how he can see the future. With only minutes to go, the President steps in personally. The clock is running again, but that really isn't what this episode is about. Firstly, it is about the right of torture. How far is too far when the lives of thousands of people are at stake. Are the enemy subhuman and to be treated like that? The parallels with Guantanamo Bay and some of the problems in Iraq are clear for all to see. The duel of wits between Starbuck and the Cylon is interesting, but never really amounts to anything more than a slight shaking up of her view of the enemy, but President Roslin's handling of the situation and final decision regarding the Cylon is classic stuff. The revelation that Adama may be a Cylon is fantastic, even though we don't believe it for a second. Only the Gaius Baltar thread continues to mar proceedings. His Cylon detector picks up Lt Valerii in a second, but he chooses not to tell anyone? Where is the sense in that? It makes none that I can see. TopTigh Me Up, Tigh Me DownAdama locates Colonel Tigh's wife amongst the survivors of the fleet and reluctantly brings her aboard. She is bad for the Colonel, sleeping around and making him drink and Adama needs his right hand man too much to let him get dragged down by her. He orders the cylon test to be carried out on her immediately. The fleet has another problem when a cylon ship gets damaged and starts acting strangely. Much more a character episode than others to date and quite easily the weakest one that we have had so far. Ellen Tigh is a truly awful character and anyone could see that in a second, so why the Colonel was ever taken with her remains the only real mystery. Her behaviour at the dinner is beyond any sense of reality. Also beyond the pale is the Baltar thread, which continues to be a thorn in our side. Not only are we (and Starbuck) treated to the less than pleasant sight of the man apparently pleasuring himself (Number 6 only being in his mind, of course), but he has decided that it would be easier if he pretended every Cylon test was a negative and has still not given up Boomer. Interestingly, the Boomer model on Caprica is starting to act like the one on Galactica, apparently falling in love with Helo and breaking ranks with the Cylons to escape with her man. TopThe Hand of GodAn ore processing plant that might have been able to supply Galactica and the fleet's fuel needs for two years is found to be overrun by Cylons. Adama decides that the time has come to strike back and determines to take the ore. Starbuck organises a plan whilst Apollo must prove himself in battle and Gaius Baltar must provide the target, even though he knows nothing about ore processing plants. Another fine episode that takes it plot and pares it down to the minimum. An operation is coming, everyone reacts according to their character and history. The operation goes ahead. It's simple, but excellently scripted and excellently played by the principals. The joy of the beleagured humans finally getting to strike a blow against the Cylons is infectious. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA makes up for last week's aberration and continues its run of quality dramas. TopColonial DayThe elected representatives of the 12 colonies come together for the first time in Council. Gaius Baltar is Caprica's representative. When the terrorist leader from Bastille Day manoeuvres a vote on a new Vice President and has himself put forward and the President's chosen man turns out to be as charismatic as a lump of wet clay, Baltar is bumped up to VP candidate. In the meantime, Apollo and Starbuck have an assassination attempt to worry about. Politics and science fiction are not usually the best of bedfellows, but the situation with the fleet in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has been so well drawn as to allow this episode to work. Admittedly, the idea that Baltar could be elected to the position of Caprican representative without effort seems ridiculous and his rise to power is a bit rushed, but the show is only 45 minutes long after all. That aside, it is far more interesting and fun than it has any right to be and there are lots of interesting developments set up for the future. TopKobol's Last Gleaming - Part 1Galactica's scouts find a planet that could possibly be Kobol, the birthplace of the human race and the stepping stone to Earth. Convinced that ancient prophecy is not foretelling the future, President Roslin wants to use the newly activated Cylon raider that Starbuck saved to go back to Caprica and get an arrow that will show the way. Adama wants to use the raider to destroy the Cylon base ship that has just destroyed one ship and sent another crashing onto the planet. On Caprica, Helo is now aware that his Sharon is a Cylon and is not best pleased whilst on Galactica, that copy of Boomer is trying to kill herself. The penultimate episode of any show is a set up for the season finale and is never one of the best and so it proves here. The multiple plotlines are nicely set up for the next episode, but there is no story in and of itself. Best to just wait and see how it all works out. The move into mythical, religious territory is an interesting one and extremely well handled. TopKobol's Last Gleaming - Part 2Starbuck has taken the Cylon Raider back to Caprica. Adama is not best pleased and decides that the President must be removed. He sends troops to board her ship. Boomer is sent on a mission into the heart of the Cylon Basestar where she finds out the truth about herself. On the surface of Kobol, Baltar finds out what the future holds for the Children of God. All of the plotlines that have been building up finally come together in the season finale, but the only one resolved is the attack on the Basestar. We won't mention that they stole the whole of this directly from INDEPENDANCE DAY. Now that Boomer knows herself to be a Cylon her response is....but that would be telling. It's a hell of shock though There are possibly a few too many plotlines going on at one time and the narrative is forced to jump around at times, breaking some of the tension, but on the whole the quality that this show has shown throughout continues right to the very end. The only problem is the ease with which both Starbuck and Boomer fly right through the Cylon defences. Whilst the transponders that they have might mark them out as Cylons it seems wholly unlikely that neither ship would go unchallenged when not conforming to whatever everyone else is doing. It's a hell of a place to leave the story and it absolutely guarantees a second season. There is no way that we can be left at this point and not know what the future holds for the crew of the Galactica and the members of the fleet. Top |
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