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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 1 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 OverviewThe first full season of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA gave us a cracking climactic finale in which Commander Adama was shot, a Raptor crew were stranded on a cylon occupied planet and the President and Apollo were both in prison. That's a hell of a jumping off point, but season 2 proves to be every inch the equal of its forerunner and even manages to take the bar higher. At the central core of that is the three episode mini-story Pegasus, Resurrection Ship - Part 1 and Resurrection Ship - Part 2, a trilogy which gives us some of the finest episodes of television science fiction ever transmitted. The whole season is full of gritty drama, great storytelling and action. The younger actors continue to grow into their roles (Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff both get standout moments) and the writing is of a quality that allows everyone to give of their best. The central performances of Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos continue to be the central plank around which the others orbit, but the plots increasingly focus on the other, lesser characters to the point where this is now truly an ensemble show where every character is important. Whilst there might be occasional lapses in logic (The Farm), the number of poor episodes can be counted on the fingers of one finger. Even the lesser episodes (Final Cut, Black Market) are a cut above the norm for other shows and when it is good it is so very good. With Season 2, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has entered into the very highest echelons of television science fiction. Such a show is to be cherished, but most importantly enjoyed for the fantastic entertainment that it is. TopScatteredThe Galactica is in uproar. Commander Adama lies critically wounded, a crew have crashed onto Kobol, President Roslin is in prison, Adama's son Lee with her. Worse yet, a cylon baseship has appeared and the fleet must make a run for it. When Galactica appears alone, it becomes clear that the rendezvous point they were using was not the same as the rest of the fleet. The only way to get back to the fleet is to jump back to Kobol and hold off the cylon attack for as long as it takes the computers to calculate the new target jump. Season 2 of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA starts up at the exact same moment that Season 1 ended and with the same urgent, edgy energy. Chaos reigns, highly trained people take decisions that are hard and the clock is running down as the cylon computer viruses hack into the system and break down the firewalls, cylon fighters shoot the hell out of the ships and its vipers and the calculations for the next jump continue to be made. It's exciting, edge-of-the-seat stuff, action-packed but with time enough for character work as well. It is hard to believe that the fleet could have a different emergency jump destination than the main ship. Also, surely they know where the fleet has gone and where they have gone and so can calculate the jump between the two points without having to go back into the war zone. TopValley of DarknessA cylon vessel made it through the Galactica's defences and crashed onto one of the hangar decks. Following the jump to safety, centurions come out of the ship and head for tow targets where they can override the controls to the airlocks, vent the atmosphere and kill the entire crew. The Galactica's guns could then be used to destroy the fleet. In a darkness created by a cylon computer virus various ragged groups fight for their survival. On Kobol, meanwhile, the downed crew are fighting for their own survival. Another pulse-pounding action story continues directly from Scattered. There are elements of ALIENS here as the soldiers make their way through dark corridors with potential death around every corner. Tension is high all around, although the intrusion of the ongoing stories of Starbuck and Helo on Caprica and the downed Raptor team on Kobol do distract from the central story. Considering the number of corpses that the cylons leave littering the decks it will be a wonder if there will be enough left to crew the ship at all in later episodes. TopFraggedThe downed crew on Kobol are no longer being pursued, but learn that the cylons are building guided anti-aircraft batteries to shoot down the rescue team should it arrive. The only solution is to attack, but the Lieutenant and the Chief disagree on how that is to be aranged. On Galactica, Colonel Tigh allows the government leaders to meet with President Roslin, thinking her confused by her illness, but his plan backfires. The third excellent episode in a row confirms just how this show has grown in stature. The situation on the planet mirrors the power struggles happening on the ship, but adds to it the action of fighting the cylons and inevitable countdown of getting the job done before the rescue team get there. Even with all this going on, it is all about the characters and the performances live up to expectations. This is subtle, multi-layered, grown-up stuff. TopResistanceColonel Tigh is losing it badly and most of the command staff know it. His orders bring about shootings on unarmed civilians. When Apollo and President Roslin stage a breakout, they find aid on all sides. The rescued crew from Kobol have to come to terms with news that Adama has been shot by the cylon known as Boomer. The imposition of martial law and the resistance to it that comes from the civilians seems unlikely source material for this tense episode. The inability of Tigh to deal with the escalating problems makes the killings that come a sad inevitability. His frustration comes out with a shocking physical attack on the innocent deck chief who was Boomer's lover and there is another shocking attack at the end of the episode, this time on Boomer herself. All of this is strong character stuff because there isn't a lot of action for a change, but that isn't important as the story is compelling and the actors prove their worth again. Even Starbuck's falling for the leader of the rebels that they come across on Caprica manages to dodge cliche. TopThe FarmThe rebels on Caprica attempt to stage an assault on a refuel station, but are ambushed. Starbuck is shot and wakes up in a hospital. She slowly comes to realise that all is not what it seems and the purpose of the place is more shocking than she could have guessed. Helo's copy of Boomer holds the key to getting her back, but can the humans ever trust her again? I suppose that it had to happen sooner or later, but this is an episode of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA that is not only unconvincing but is downright dull. It is clear that the hospital is being run by the cylons from the very beginning and so it surprises that Starbuck doesn't twig to it sooner. She is then able to wander around freely without anyone picking her up. As the hospital is described as being important it is completely unbelievable that there wouldn't be even a single centurion guarding her. It is to be hoped that this drop in quality is going to be temporary. TopHome - Part 1President Roslin announces to the fleet that she is going back to Kobol to find the way to Earth using the Arrow of Apollo that she expects Starbuck to bring back to her. She invites others to follow her. A third of the fleet listens to her call. She organises a team to go down onto the planet, but there are likely to be cylons around. Commander Adama makes a decision regarding the now-split fleet. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA bounces right back from the disappointing The Farm. Not only is there the politics of the situation to contend with, but there is also the drama of the arrival of Boomer aboard Roslin's ship and Apollo's reaction to meeting a copy of the cylon that gunned down his father. On top of all that there is the action on Kobol. This is all quality stuff and right back to the level that we expect. Jamie Bamber is especially good as Apollo dealing with the Boomer situation. Only Commander Adama's reactions to the loss of a third of the fleet fail to ring true. It's a two-parter so the story has more of a chance to breathe, which is just as well as there is quite a lot of it. We can't wait to see where it will go next. TopHome - Part 2Following his decision to unite the fleet, Commander Adama takes a single raptor assault ship and goes in search of Roslin's party. The reunion is an emotional one, but there are plots being run that will end Apollo's life. The cylon Sharon makes a decision that will affect them all and the tomb of Athena is opened, to an effect that none of them might have expected. the conclusion to this two-part story is satisfying in almost every way. We have to say almost because the whole Gaius Baltar talking to imaginary cylons plot strand is back to annoying us in the way that it did all the way through Season 1. He may not be mad, but he is certainly driving us in that direction. The slapstick moments here undermine, rather than enhance, the believability of the show and are out of step with everything else that is going on. The rest, though, is excellent with the emerging religious aspect not interfering with the show, but giving it a whole new depth to explore. It is good to see Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell talking together again as they are both making these roles their own and form an unshakeable rock to the rest of the proceedings. The writers too are having a field day with the possibilities of the show. The ongoing cylon Sharon saga continues to bring pleasant surprises. This week we see Adama's reaction to seeing her again, and the deck chief's and, after saying that she doesn't remember killing Adama, she alludes to a conversation that was made after she was dead. Is there a hidden meaning in there? One thing is sure - we can't wait to find out. TopFinal CutUnrest amongst the civilian fleet in the wake of the shooting of innocent people under Colonel Tigh's brief spell in command starts to get out of hand. President Roslin comes up with the idea that giving a reporter unhindered access to the Galactica would present a human face to the guardians of the fleet. The reporter given the job takes it up zealously and learns a whole lot more about the goings on aboard Galactica than anyone might have suspected. Telling stories through the eyes of the press has been done before and usually not very well. It's a gimmick and this show doesn't need gimmicks. Fortunately, the gimmick doesn't get too much in the way of the story. There is a lot of story to tell as well. Pilots are on stimulants to stay the course, Sharon the cylon has a near abortion and Colonel Tigh is receiving death threats that are sure to be carried out soon. The biggest secret of all, though, the reporter doesn't reveal until the very end. Lucy Lawless of XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS appears as the reporter and is the usual hard-nosed, but ultimately reasonable character that is the norm for TV reporters. She integrates well enough with the regulars and everyone gets a chance to shine for a few moments. TopFlight of the PhoenixThe Deck Chief is suffering from having the replacement Sharon on board and a drunken encounter with her current lover Helo doesn't help his mood. He decides to build a new viper from scratch. In the meantime, the ship is hit by the remains of the cylon virus that infected the computers and Sharon is able to tell them that it is the prelude to a massive attack on the ship. She may prove to be the key to the ship's survival, but can she be trusted? This is the usual mix of excellent character work and pounding tension, especially when the huge cylon fleet or raiders appears and starts to home in on the helpless Galactica. This sustained tension is what the series does especially well and this is just another fine example of that. The building of the new viper is less successful as it appears to be built over the space of a weekend by a single man, but the presentation of the ship to the fleet by the President is curiously moving and just proves how much the audience has invested in these wonderful characters by this point. TopPegasusThe Pegasus, a more modern, larger and better armed battlestar appears out of nowhere to the delight of everyone. The commander, Admiral Cain, outranks Commander Adama and immediately takes command of the fleet. Dr Baltar discovers that the Pegasus also has a cylon prisoner and has been trying to extract information through a regime of torture and rape. When the chief interrogator arrives on Galactica to start the same regime on Sharon, the Deck Chief and Helo try to stop it and end up killing the man. They are sentenced to death by the Admiral and Adama readies his ship to go to war against his own superior officer. In the language of the show 'Frakk me!'. This is absolutely incredible stuff, even by the very high standards of this show. The arrival of the Pegasus is a time of celebration and the handover of power to the new commander is always going to cause friction, but the discovery of the brutalised cylon on the Pegasus is a shock and the events that it sets into motion are amazing. When the credits roll with two fleets of vipers eyeball to eyeball there's a cry of pain that we have to wait a week to find out what happens. This is compelling, brilliant, amazing writing, wonderfully played by everyone, including new arrival Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro in later seasons of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION). Anyone who thinks that science fiction is just about silly spaceships and funny robots ought to be forced to watch this. Incredible stuff. TopResurrection Ship - Part 1Apollo and Starbuck manage to stage a stunt that distracts both sides of the fleet long enough to stall the shooting war. The pictures that Starbuck has of the cylon fleet reveals that the mysterious ship at its heart is a resurrection ship, holding copies of all the humanoid cylon models. A plan of attack is drawn up, but both sides also make plans to kill the commanding officer of the other side as soon as the firefight is over. The shoe just keeps on improving and whilst the cliffhanger here isn't a patch on last week's, the set up means that the third part of this story is something that just cannot be missed. The revelation that the cylons can only download their personalities over a set distance and the fleet is now too far away from the colonies and hence the need for the following ship is very clever stuff. If that ship can be destroyed then cylons killed will really be killed. Admiral Cain has turned out to be a monster even worse than the cylons. Not only does she require the systematic torture and raping of the captive cylons, but the story that is told of what she ordered done on the Scylla causes genuine goosebumps of horror. TopResurrection Ship - Part 2The assault on the cylon battle group goes ahead and the resurrection ship is destroyed, but Apollo is left floating in space after the destruction of his ship with a hole in his space suit. The victory is also the signal for the officers to carry out the assassinations of the opposing leaders on the orders of the two commanders struggling with what they have become. A stunning ending to this three-part tale is what was required and that's what we get. The opening scene is sufficiently intriguing, the battle sequences are devastatingly good, but once again it is the plot and character developments that make the show. Adama goes to an unexpected source for advice, Admiral Cain seems to know Starbuck's mission and seems to welcome it, both Starbuck and Cain's XO are having difficulties with their mission. There is even time for Helo and the Chief to get a revenge beating and for Gaius Baltar to once again betray his people for the love of the same woman. Once again, the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA shows just how to combine spectacle, character drama, driving action and tense plotting into a seamless, wonderful whole. How could we have ever doubted it? TopEpiphaniesPresident Roslin lies dying and issues an order for the abortion of the Sharon cylon's baby. Cylon sympathisers strike at a mining ship to show that they want the military to talk peace with the cylons. Baltar visits the cylon he rescued from the Pegasus to discover that she is now the head of this movement. He also realises that there is something in the blood of the baby that might prove to be extremely useful to Roslin. President Roslin is one of the major forces in this show and to allow her to die would leave a very big hole where she used to be, thanks to the performances by the always impressive Mary McDonnell. The blood of the baby proving to be a universal panacea strikes as being a plot device too far and Baltar's reaction to Roslin's reservations about him (handing a cylon a nuclear warhead) is beyond comprehension. As for the rest, it is the usual strong character work, but this time in support of a plot that doesn't quite live up to the show's very high standards. TopBlack MarketMiraculously back on her feet, President Roslin decides that it is time to start tackling some of the fleet's problems other than Cylons. The first of these is the black market. When the commander of the Pegasus proves to have been involved and is killed as a result, Lee Adama is given the job of finding out who was responsible and shutting down the whole operation. That proves to be hard on him as he is involved with a single mother and child and has not exactly been whiter than white in that department either. As soon as Roslin announces that she is going to deal with the black market economy you know that this is going to be one of the (thankfully rare) occasions where the subject matter is too dry for even this show to make something of. Before long there's a dead captain, Lee Adama has been garrotted, his girlfriend has been taken and he is in no mood for a sit down chat about the rights and wrongs of of the free market economy. The plot is a real piledriver with not one single moment wasted. That Apollo's recent brush with death and more distant events in his past are given screen time as well and yet don't distract or detract from events for even an instant shows just how good the scripting of this show really is. Jamie Bamber also rises to the occasion of an episode built solely around him. How he has grown into this role since the original mini-series. Even the normally annoying Gaius Baltar grows a pair and stands up to the President for once. This doesn't mean that we're getting to like him, though. Just another fine episode in this very fine show. TopScarIn every military force there's a hot shot. In the colonial fleet it's Starbuck, always has been, and in the cylon fleet it's a raider known as Scar, a warrior killed and resurrected so many times that he hates the humans as much as they hate him. With the resurrection ship destroyed, Starbuck determines to kill Scar for good, even if it costs her own life. Starbuck's been a screw-up from the start. A great pilot, yes, but a bit of a failure in every other measure as a human being. She drinks too much, hates authority (not good when you're in the military) and has now lost her edge through her relationship with the survivors on Caprica (around the time of Resistance and The Farm). There's a new hot shot coming up behind her, questioning her decisions as Commander of the Air Group and what's really galling is that she's right. Starbuck's losing it and she knows it. It's Katee Sackhoff's turn to shoulder the show and she does a good job of it, although Starbuck is becoming a bit more of a caricature than a character. Some of the emotional turmoil that she goes through is surprising (her clinch with Apollo), but some of the rest is just a bit samey. The flashbacks to her time on Caprica are just there to underline the point for the hard of thinking. The messing about with the timeline, flashing backwards and forwards through the events, is a very effective tool when done well and sparingly. It is done well again here, but it is being used every episode it seems and is beginning to get a little wearing. Having an opponent as good as Scar out there makes for a fascinating duel with drama and some great space action sequences to boot. It doesn't all hang together quite as well as some of the other episodes, but when the general level of a show is so high it's going to take a much greater problem than that before anyone starts complaining. TopSacrificeA group of civilians all of whom have lost loved ones take a room full of hostages and demand that the prisoner cylon Sharon be delivered to them for execution. Amongst the hostages are Lee Adama, the President's aide Billy and the woman who has come between them. The President and Admiral Adama agree to no deals with terrorists, but without a deal it is not likely that everyone is going to get out alive. A tense hostage situation is always a source for good drama, but throw in the love triangle and Apollo being shot in an abortive rescue attempt by Starbuck and the scene is set for another excellent episode. Whilst it is true that there isn't a lot new beign said over many other hostage situations in many other shows, it is said with skill and power. The regular principals are also helped by a fine performance from Dana Delany as the head hostage taker. It makes a big difference that the ringleader is a woman rather than a man and she manages to capture the mix of righteous anger and embitttered revenge. The emotional fallout of the siege is both surprising and heartfelt. Once again BATTLESTAR GALACTICA shows that it can take an unoriginal subject and turn it into great drama. TopThe Captain's HandWhen a couple of ships from the Battlestar Pegasus go missing on a recon mission the commander decides to take the Pegasus after them. Apollo and Starbuck both believe that it's a trap and the commander is making a mistake and when three cylon Basestars appear and launch nuclear weapons they are proved correct. Character drama merges in with large scale battle action with the usual skilful balance. As Apollo and Starbuck fight to come to terms with his shooting in Sacrifice, they come into conflict with a commander who is clearly not fit for the job (played with solid dependability by John Heard). The big battle at the end is dramatic, tense, exciting and everything that we have come to expect from this quality show. On top of this, the President's decisions with regards to abortion and the falling population of the fleet mirrors current concerns about the erosion of public freedoms in the face of the terrorist threat (as well as the ongoing debate over abortion itself). The emergence of Gaius Baltar as a credible alternative candidate for the presidency is a dramatic twist that looks likely to take the show in another direction as we head towards the end of the season. TopDownloadedThe Six model that died when Gaius Baltar's house was destroyed is resurrected in a new body, as is the cylon way, only to find that he is with her in spirit. Weeks later, the Sharon Valerii model that was shot on Galactica (Resistance) is resurrected, but insists on believing that she is more human than cylon. These two are brought together on cylon occupied Caprica in the hope that one will heal the other, but a terrorist plot forces them to admit that they are different and might be different for a reason. A complete shift of focus and change of pace that takes the audience by surprise, but still manages to come up with an episode of subtlety, complexity and drama. The reversing of the Baltar/imaginary Number 6 scenario actually works quite well, not least because James Callis gives a subtly different performance to underline that this is Number 6's view of him rather than the reality. The bombing that acts as a catalyst for the union of the two not-quite-cylons might be melodramatic, but works within the context of what is happening. The Valerii model on Galactica gives birth to her baby and events there are equally subtle and complex and come to final, chilling line as Baltar's imaginary Number 6 promises that the cylon revenge on the fleet for the loss of the child will be absolute. TopLay Down Your Burdens - Part 1Starbuck finally gets to launch her rescue mission to pick up the resistance fighters from Caprica. Their landing meets stiff resistance, but the cylons make a suprising tactical move and a new model is revealed. On Galactica, the Deck Chief is messed up but good following his relationship with the Sharon model and wakes from a suicidal dream to beat up on one of the deck hands. He receives counselling from an unorthodox priest. Election time is approaching and the discovery of a planet that could support life (barely) gives Baltar the platform he needs to challenge Roslin. It's two-part season finale time and so this episode is all set up. The events on Cylon-occupied Caprica are the most surprising and lead to the not-unexpected, but still brilliantly played revelation of the latest cylon model. The political manoeuvring proves once again that politics is a very hard subject to make compelling, but the issues are at least complex enough to be interesting. TopLay Down Your Burdens - Part 2(This is a review of the extended episode available as part of the season 2 DVD boxset) Starbuck's team return to Galactica and the cylon amongst them is unmasked, but he doesn't care. He has a message to deliver, a message that will change the direction of the fleet forever. Roslin fears that she is going to lose the election and puts in process an effort to steal victory. When she is caught, Adama makes her see sense and Baltar wins. He orders the immediate colonisation of the new planet. One year later, Baltar is living a life of debauched luxury whilst the colonists remain in a city of tents scratching an existence from their new home. Their mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore when the cylons return in force and the fleet is forced to flee, leaving the human race to surrender. Wow, talk about your downer of an ending. Once again the human race engineers its own defeat with the singular help of Gaius Baltar. The episode should have ended with Baltar ordering the colonisation of New Caprica and the suicide bombing of the traumatised Number 6 (that being a shocking moment of complex, messy human emotions) as the coda of life on the planet a year later seems like an add-on. Sure it gives hints of what is to come (episodes about life under cylon rule whilst flashing back to the lost year to find out why Starbuck and Apollo are so angry with each other and why so little progress has been made), but it feels like part of another season after the climactic end to this one, creating a sense of letdown. Roslin's just a teacher, the Adamas command near abandoned ships, the chief and his beaten deck hand are soon to be parents and there is no sign of Helo and Sharon. The return of the Number 6 model will mess with Gaius Baltar's head some more (and some interesting writing has turned him from a pathetic self-seeking figure into a tragic pathetic self-seeking figure) and the return of the Sharon model that loved the Chief (see Downloaded) is going to throw a spanner in the works of that relationship. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is about to move off in an entirely new direction. It will be interesting to see if the quality of this season can be maintained by it. Top |
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