Battlestar Galactica Rewatch ( Part 11 )

Battlestar Galactica Rewatch ( Part 11 )

"Baltar's Escape"

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After way too long and gap I'm back to the original BSG rewatch and first up

is Baltar's Escape in which the fleets nemesis well doesn't escape, yeah that 

could be deemed a spoiler:)

So once again the council of elders who are a entirely different bunch to the last

council are flexing their muscles and moving to end martial law and with the threat

of the Cylons seemingly a thing of the past they believe that the Eastern Alliance 

can be handled with diplomacy and good will.

Adama is resistant but accepts their decision and of course it back fires when 

Baltar and the Nomens along with the crew of the Alliance ship hijack the shuttle

and capture the council members. They rig the landing bay with explosives and 

trade the lives of the council for their freedom but things don't go 100% according

to their plans and while the Alliance ship escapes the shuttle and Cylon fighter are

recovered and Baltar captured before he can trigger the explosives.

This wasn't a bad episode despite a lot happening that simply really didn't make that

much sense in the context of the story and situation the fleet was in. We know the 

council members have their positions thanks to the loss of the original council during

the exodus but it seems they are being written as total idiots. The Alliance are without

doubt a military entity with an agenda easily proved and no amount of polite small talk

with one commander should pull the wool over a member of the fleet one who not that

long ago saw their worlds burn thanks to trusting words from a known threat.

The upside is that at least one when faced with the obvious truth didn't beg for forgiveness

or understanding but was willing to get in harms way to facilitate a rescue, Siress Tinia

played by Ina Bolin was worth of a position on the council and well matched to Adama

even if that troubled Colonel Tigh:)

Ina Bolin as Siress Tinia

As for the little nitpicks then prison doors with big holes in them and key pads within

easy reach, command staff talking openly in front of prisoners, lacky council security who

should have joined the military if they had any backbone and well the list could go on.

The Centurions in pieces was funny though and quite acceptable, you would want to 

examine the latest models and look for exploits and their part in the rescue plan was

unexpected but made sense. The final point for this episode was clearly indicating that

Baltar is a coward, the Nomens and Alliance were prepared to die and gave a good

analysis of the hostage situation while Baltar went to pieces. It's an interesting character

we've been given, sold out his race for power over the survivors and talked himself

into a position within the Cylons yet at heart a pale shadow of the best the Colonials

had to offer.

I'm in charge, really I am.

Experiment In Terra

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The vipers are tracking the escaping Alliance ship and when Apollo is drawn away the

ship of lights takes him on board and gives him a mission by John ( Edward Mulhare )

to save the people of the planet Terra the homeworld of the Alliance and it's opponents.

The beings on the ship are advanced energy based entities and as such have limited

abilities in the physical world hence working through Apollo who the kinda disguise as 

a native of Terra and they insert him back into the life of one Charlie Watts a military

officer captured and detained on an Alliance world.

Charlie aka Apollo with help from John (unseen by everyone else) tries to convince 

those who recognise the threat of the Alliance that they are going to launch a pre-emptive

nuclear strike but the President is convinced a peace treaty will save them all despite

knowing of the destruction of their colony worlds. Eventually the Alliance launch their

attack but the Galactica flying at light speed arrives in time to destroy all the ICBM's

in flight which brings about what we assume will be a genuine peace treaty.

Terra has forcefields, Galactica doesn't...

I like this episode but like the previous story it really does rely on having at least

one character act really stupid, in this case it's the President who is actively covering

up the slaughter of colony worlds, imprisoning his own people but seems to think

the Alliance will deal honestly and openly with him. Mr President they are not only

winning this war but have got you to aid in their propaganda campaign, yes shades

of Baltar and the cylons but without the selfish agenda.

My biggest issue is why with a plentiful supply of ships capable of long range space

travel and the resources that would bring them are the Alliance bothering with a 

nuclear war on Terra and sticking around. Why not get all the important people to

a colony world, no real need to hide the fact then nuke the planet from orbit, let the

nuclear winter do it's thing and no risk to the higher ups at all. I think in an effort to 

make the story resonate with an audience at that time the MAD scenario and Cold War 

were front and center.

I'd trust him no matter what he said.

Aside from that, I still love the light ship and the snazzy white uniforms. Starbuck

and his wide field stun blaster would have solved situations in dozens of episodes

of any series of Star Trek you care to mention and hey didn't the advanced technology

of Terra look so 70's but Melody Anderson as Amnesia (yet an oldie but a goodie)

was a lot of fun as was Edward as John.

Maybe it was me but it did seem BSG was pulling a little bit of Star Wars with the 

costuming on the light ship and maybe Stargate echoing the same ship with it's 

base line for the city of Atlantis and the Ancients. Either way the light ship is one

of the stand out elements of the original Battlestar Galactica and the simply change

in costuming worked perfectly.