BSG S04E20 - Daybreak, Pt 2

The Opera House was a metaphor for the Galactica.  Of course!

Wow, what can I say other than this was a brilliant episode?  The siege on the Cylon colony was thrilling; honestly, with the way this series goes, it was impossible to tell who might survive.  Yes, we know there are top-billing cast members, but we've seen before that none of them are really safe.  And who knew Lee had such dreamy hair?

The scene where the Galactica jumped into the Cylon colony, with the Cylon guns pumping the old girl to bits.  It was a pretty powerful scene!  No pun intended.

And as I alluded to earlier, it's fitting that the Opera House was only a representation of Galactica itself.  And that it all ends up coming down to Baltar realizing his destiny that he's been struggling to discover since the beginning.  This episode is, basically, one giant catharsis.  I am satisfied.

And for the record, I haven't even finished watching the episode at this point.  I'm typing live.  There's still another 45 minutes or so to go; even without the answers, I'm happy with this ending.


Ugh!  Except for the frakking chief!  He always messes things up.  Although I understand, I mean, Tory (is that how you spell her name?) did blast his wife out of the airlock.  I never liked her character anyway.  Okay, going to stop typing until the episode is completely done.

Okay.  Still not quite over, but I'm pretty satisfied with the ending, still.  A little sad, actually.

Well, I don't know if I'm going to end up watching Caprica.  I want to, but we'll see if I get around to it.  I am looking forward to the new series, Blood and Chrome, however.  It should be a good one!

Cheers, Galactica; you had a good run.

BSG S04E19 - Daybreak, Pt 1

Battlestar Galactica has never failed to let me down.  And I even mean those times where I didn't like where the show was going, and the episodes were really preachy, or nothing happened in them (see: Islanded in a Stream of Stars).  BSG just goes and ramps things up another notch, and delivers a killer episode.

Caprica (Before the fall)

"Daybreak" is no exception.  While not much happened in this episode, it didn't happen in style.  If you know what I mean.  This was purely a character development episode - yes, that's right, the second last episode was developing characters.  We got to see some of the heroes (and the not-quite-heroes) in their original element as the episode opened with scenes from Caprica, likely only a few weeks (or months?) before the Cylons attacked.  We got to see what drove the characters before it was all about simply surviving.

Other than that, it was another pure setup episode.  No answers yet, but I am hoping we get those in the next episode (which is really sort of two episodes, as it's a two-hour long finale).  And it seems like BSG is ending the series on a strong note, going back to one of its core strengths from the early seasons: the impossible mission.

They have to go rescue Hera, in what is likely to be a suicide mission.  Galactica's last hurrah, I suppose.  Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode, even though it was just meant to set up the last part.  Like I said, it was really cool seeing the characters pre-war, worrying about things like Baltar's dad stabbing nurses (yes, this happened!).  Oh, and it was great to see Lee back in his Colonial uniform at the end.  'Bout time he ditched the suit, as good a story line as that is (or was).

Bring on part two...although bring it on when I have two hours to spare, please.

BSG S04E18 - Islanded in a Stream of Stars

Alas, poor Galactica. I knew her, Saul!

I know I'm almost at the end of the series, because this episode was pure set-up.  Nothing actually happened in the episode itself except to set the stage for the finale.  We learned a couple of things, but nothing of importance.  The episode was just filler, the show runners giving us just a taste of things but delaying the final answers.  If you haven't figured it out by now, I didn't really like the episode.

Well, I liked parts of it.  I liked that Kara finally came to terms with the fact that she really DID die and come back - and that it was confirmed in the same episode that she's not a Cylon.  Unfortunately, the best answer we get as to what she is was that she's an Angel - which I don't think is the case; there's a larger, better answer coming up in the finale, but again, this is just a tease to set it up.

I think that's why I didn't like the episode.  Everything was just so blatantly prepared for the finale.  We learn that Sam, while hooked up as a Hybrid, controls the Galactica's systems (AND its FTL drive) because of the Cylon technology.  So they unhook him; but then guess what!  Kara hooks him back up at the end; of course she doesn't know that it's possible he can make the Galactica jump into FTL.  She just wants answers.

And of course Adama just decided to evacuate the Galactica moments before Sam is reconnected.  It's all a little too perfect, at least for my liking.  I don't know what I would prefer though, because you do need to set things up somehow.  I think I would have preferred something a little more subtle, maybe?

Maybe something more like what Doctor Who manages: insert a tiny clue early, and then completely blow your mind when it becomes evident how important that clue really is.  Yeah, I think BSG is a little short on mind blowing than its earlier seasons.

Still, looking forward to the last two episodes.

Bloggable Topics

Last night, I finished a complete draft of my nefarious "Pocket Watch" story!  And in actuality, it's not about a pocket watch anymore.  It's quite different.  It's also quite weak - but the point is that the story is on paper (well, computer) and just needs some editing.

Some other stuff:

• I finally got a hold of the last three episodes of Battlestar Galactica - look for some reviews, probably around March
• I finished watching Dexter!  I didn't know the last season was only 12 episodes.
• I have a review to type up of that Star Wars book that I finished less than a month ago
• I have some things to say about Kevin J. Anderson
• Currently I am reading John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars and am enjoying it.

So look for all that and more coming this month on my blog.

Battlestar Galactica #17: "Someone to Watch Over Me"

Good Lords of Kobol, I watched this episode what seemed like ages ago.  I haven't had the time to type it up until now.  So here we go, with notes at the end.

I'm so glad that heavily serialized TV shows have episode recaps; it's been a long time since I last watched a season 4 episode, but thankfully all I needed to remember was that Anders is in a coma, and Boomer's back (and in the brig).

I almost forgot that Boomer hasn't had any kind of reuniting with the Galactica crew - it makes sense that the crew's first reaction is to lock her up (she had after all shot The Old Man).  Anyway, about the episode: I should have realized this was going to be a Chief Does Something Stupid episode from the moment the Cylons said they were going to try Boomer for treason.

Thankfully that wasn't the only story in the episode.  ti revolved aroudn a strange piano player sticking his nose into Kara's life.  After a while it became apparent that he is actually Kara's father, though I was surprised to learn that A) she doesn't recognize him until she plays the notes Hera drew, and B) that he wasn't really there.

I guess people just figured, "Kara's crazy!"

I'm curious to know what the significance is of the song Kara played, and why Cavill wants Hera.  Also, the episode got insanely nuts.  You'll see in my notes below, which I took as I watched the episode..

• Creepy shot of Kara's burned corpse in the mirror!
• Toothpaste is the prize for doing a good job amongst pilots <- Good touch of realism that's been missing for a while
• Really driving home the dullness of their current lives
• Adama hasn't forgotten what Boomer did - linking back to season one.  Tying up loose ends, good.  Also Chief still has feelings for Boomer?
• Not sure I like the "mysterious piano player" who's suddenly in Kara's life
• Flashbacks to Seasons 1 & 2!
• They're doing a good job showing the ship falling apart, but this really should have happened a lot earlier
• WTF is Cylon Projection??
• Kara seems to have mellowed out a LOT
• That burned corpse is just the right amount of creepy
• Oh Chief, don't do anything stupid...
• I'm thinking the piano player is Kara's Dad <- wrote that one about half-way through
• creepycreepycreepycreepy Boomer!!! <- seriously she was the creepiest in this episode.  So terrible.
• Aaaand more music-activating weirdness.
• This is officially nuts
• Holy Frak!  So that must have been her plan all along, to steal Hera
• The Chief is just not good at decision-making

Now what?

It's been a few days since the novel writing thingie ended; I've been on a cool-down period from writing for those few days, feeling a temporary burn-out.  The creative bug is back, and I'm trying to ease myself back into Writing Mode™.  This means that  I *should* be ready to start the editing process of my novel Monday or Tuesday; if not, I deserve a swift kick in the pants.  Expect an excerpt by Friday.

You'll notice I didn't say "expect the first chapter by Friday", because I finally decided what I'm going to do with the novel.  I'm going to turn it into a short story, and write a bunch of others to make a little anthology.  I will probably dig up older stories I have lying around somewhere and polish those a bit.  I have one piece that needs some work but I put off doing it forever because I thought it was too daunting at the time.  Now?  Not so daunting, but it still requires major work.

(I am most definitely NOT taking part in that ABNA thing.  I sincerely hope that somebody (anybody) I know does and has success, though.  And by "somebody I know" I also mean Internet acquaintances, not just in-person-friends.  Look I'm just trying to say I'm not hinting at any one specific person, and I'm only saying this because that's how it looks the way I wrote it.  I should just stop right there.)

Now that I've made my decision, I need to have a plan in place.  So here it is, and it includes EVERYTHING that is remotely related to writing.

• Complete a short story anthology, with 10 stories at minimum.  If I end up writing more than 10, that would be gravy.  I haven't worked out a completion date yet, as it depends on how many stories I have now vs how many stories I still need to write.
• Publish said anthology via CreateSpace / Amazon.com Kindle store.  Make available as a regular PDF as well
• Finish my episode reviews of Battlestar Galactica Season 4, and start a new series of reviews for Caprica.  BSG should be finished by the end of December no problem (I believe I have 4 episodes left), Caprica can wait until January / the new year.
• ???
• Profit

The last two items are clearly a reference to a well-known joke.  Or maybe not well-known, as I feel the need to point out that it is a joke / reference.

BSG Season 4 Episode 16 - Deadlock

Another clunker, I'm afraid, this one seeing such amazing scriptwriting as "Adama looks at the walls and ceiling." What was interesting was Ellen's return - but I'll get to that in a moment.

The underlying theme of the episode is the blending of Cylons and humans, made painfully obvious to us as Cylon work crews work to repair the Galactica (which leads to the aforementioned stare fests from Adama).  The Cylon-Cylon pairing of Saul and Caprica 6, which led to a pregnancy, falls apart as they lose the baby.  The Cylons are posting pictures of models lost during the war, the same as the humans.  It's already started - the Cylons are a part of the fleet.

That was pretty much the important part to this episode.  The other part was Ellen's return.  Presumably we were supposed to get some more answers like last week's episode, but she instead returned to her previously petty form from before she died.  She's apparently the same Ellen as before, but slightly different.  As far as answers are concerned, Anders' brain reactivated or something so we'll probably get more next episode.

From what I understand there are only four more episodes to go, so I hope that the fact that Baltar's followers got big guns leads to something fun.  Well, fun for the viewers, it'll probably not be so good for those on the Galactica.

Final note for this episode: while it was pretty bad, the scenes after Tigh loses his unborn child are VERY well done and acted.  Those scenes were probably the best of the episode.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 - Episode 15 (No Exit)

No Exit, or my preferred title, Info Dump, is about as boring a show as you can probably imagine.  There is absolutely no drama or tension in this episode.  No, scratch that.  There is a little of both, but it's so hard to find it over the huge information dump that it barely registers.  So let me help you find it.

Drama
Anders, who last week was shot in the head, is struggling to survive.  As a fortunate happenstance of getting shot in the brain, he's starting to remember everything about the Final Five's life on Earth.  He gathers the other three together for story time.  So where's the drama in this info dump?  Quite simple: will Anders finish the story before they have to remove the bullet from his brain?  Will he die before he gets to the good part?  We'll never know (until next week)!

Tension
We found out at the end of last episode that Galactica is showing a lot of stress from battle damage.  I have to admit, the tension was hard to find - but it's there.  When the Chief offers to use Cylon biotechnology to fix the dying ship, The Old Man flat out refuses and insists on an entirely human crew.  Eventually he relents after seeing how much damage there really is (and after learning construction crews cut corners in the first place), and allows Tyrol to proceed with using whatever methods necessary to repair the ship.

Oh, in case you missed it, the tension was between Admiral Adama and Chief Tyrol about whether or not to use Cylon technology.  See what I mean?

Anyway the episode was satisfactory enough in that it gave us some more information, but nothing really happened.  Hoping next episode is better.

Oh dang, I almost forgot the best part of the episode: John Hodgman as himself playing a brain specialist.  He was awesome.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4: The Oath + Blood on the Scales

I am so happy for these episodes, a two-parter that started with The Oath and ended with Blood on the Scales.  I'd still say that Revelations was the better episode, but these two are so far the best "bottle" episodes (to use the parlance from The Next Generation companion) of the season.  By that I mean that they didn't do a whole lot to advance the story arc, but they had killer action.  They reminded me a lot of the Pegasus arc.

So as at the end of the last episode, Gaeta and Zarek are up to No Good.  Gaeta is angry about the Cylons joining the fleet, and Zarek - well he just wants to take control of the fleet altogether.  They begin a coup, and take over the Galactica with a surprising show of force; Gaeta is disgusted by Zarek's methods, and is trying to keep bloodshed to a minimum.  But, Zarek explains, that's impossible if you want to actually take control.

Some cool things happened in this episode:
- We finally see Zarek for what he is: a monster.  He was introduced as a revolutionary prisoner in season 1, and despite some glimpses of a good person coming through, he's finally revealed himself as the villain.
- Some awesome action sequences for Lee - been a long time coming since he dropped the uniform for the suit.  I doubt he's going to re-enter the military, mainly because...
- Zarek murdered the Quarum, so Lee is the last remaining member.  I think that makes him Vice-President.

And quite possibly the finest moment: Roslin, aboard the Cylon base ship, is under the impression that Adama is dead and the revolutionaries have won.  Desperate and angry, she unleashes everything on Zarek:
Do you hear me? I will use every cannon, every bomb, every bullet, every weapon I have down to my own eyeteeth to end you. I swear it! I'm coming for all of you!

You have to see the clip for yourself if you haven't already - it's awesome and scary.  The episode also marks the end of Zarek and Gaeta - a shame on two counts.  For one, Zarek was a good foil for the President.  I doubt there will be much conflict on that front beyond "what do we do with the government?".  Two, Gaeta was a good character.  Well, that's pretty much the only reason for number two.

Looking forward to the next episodes, which look like "answer" shows.  Previews say that Anders (one of the final five) starts remembering everything, and Ellen is resurrected. 

Battlestar Galactica Season 4: Episode 12

Here we go for Episode 12, A Disquiet Follows My Soul.

Despite the numerous amount of depressed people, it seemed like the fleet was going to move on from the disaster that is Earth (though you have to admit, it's not as bad as New Caprica) and move on to answering some more questions.

Except it's not that easy.  The government is at a stand-still (though it's being pushed into uproar by a mischievious Tom Zarek), and the President is still in hiding.  Adama shows that he's got more conviction brushing his teeth than half the crew on Galactica and tries to push her back into the public, but she realizes that her life is too short to really give a flying frak about anything.

And Adama is looking seriously cheesed at all the trash laying about the Galactica.  Despite all but giving up at the end of the episode (sort of...that's not entirely accurate but I don't know how to describe it), he looks like he's about to explode into some AdamaRage on the crew in the next episode.  The crew is languishing and I know he wants them to step up their game.  Good to know he still trusts Tigh, despite being a Cylon - I highly doubt he would be so tolerant 4 seasons ago.  More great character growth!

But what I've been trying to get at is that this episode served up some excellent story telling in using the classic plot mover, "if all is well throw in another obstacle!"  There was a small uprising involving the Oil Tanker leaving the fleet, but they got it back by force.  However at the end of the episode Zarek and Gaeta are clearly up to No Good.

Their shenanigans are my benefit, because there will actually be some intrigue in the remaining episodes beyond just answering all the lingering questions.  The fleet is way too comfortable right now - depression and suicides aside - and the season needs some new conflict.  The debate over the Cylon/Human alliance is it, and I'm hoping for some good stories.  They've still gotta top Revelations!

Battlestar Galactica Episode 11

Continuing on, with Episode 11: Sometimes a Great Notion

The aftermath of finding a dead planet, the survivors of the 12 tribes and the rebel base ship are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation at hand.  Well, I assume the rebel base ship is doing the same - we never see them really.  Morality is at an all-time low - I think that is well-represented by the President's utter depression.  I believe she is representing the entire fleet with her feelings.  The greatest tragedy out of all of this is D, who shoots herself despite appearing to be extremely happy.

Starbuck finds her decaying body and crashed Viper, which leads us initially to think that she is a Cylon.  But that's still not clear, which I appreciate, because I always thought it was too easy for Starbuck to be one of the Final Five.  There's got to be another reason - maybe that's not actually her?  But she burned the body, so I don't know.

In the end of the episode Tigh realizes that Ellen is the fifth - which is what I guessed a few episodes ago.

So I was right - this episode was not as good as the last one, but it is starting to answer some questions (while asking new ones - thanks!).  I can't wait to see more.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4, Episodes 9 & 10

In my continuing series of reviews of the episodic Television programme known as Battlestar Galactica, I have watched the next two episodes - The Hub and Revelations - and correspondingly have reviews to share.

9. The Hub
- I liked the way they approached the continuation of this one, showing us what happened prior to finding all those destroyed base ships and the wrecked Raptor.
- They've unboxed Deanna - good.  Hopefully this means we'll get some answers out of her!
- I particularly enjoyed the moment when she "revealed" that the President was a Cylon.  It was a moment where my line of thought was, "Okay, she's gotta be joking!  They're playing up the suspensful music too!" and it turns out that was indeed the case.  I like that they didn't take a commercial break to reveal that she was just joshin'
- Not sure what to make of Roslin in this episode.  Her visions, her decision to save Baltar...I just don't know.
- Speaking of Baltar - for some reason I thought he already revealed that he gave up the access codes.  Good to know he's not feeling guilty about that anymore, that he's moved on.  Just trying to figure out what he was getting at as far as telling the Centurion about the Cylon God and whatnot.

10. Revelations
- You can feel the apprehension from the Four in the fleet when Deanna announced she wanted them to come forward.  Though I don't understand why Tori was there - at least the other three had reason to be on the flight deck.
- I think Tori must be programmed differently than the other three.  She at least seems the most "Cylon" of the four of them.
- Holy crap, Tigh is actually revealing himself to Adama?  This is nuts.  I seriously stopped the video right after he revealed himself and suggested sticking him in an airlock.  I am in unbelievable suspense.
- Wow.  President Adama (Apollo) has some balls.  I understand though - they probably all feel betrayed so being so callous when it comes to killing a Cylon who you thought was human is easy.  He would have sent Tigh out the air lock if Kara didn't stop him.
- I didn't think they'd actually get to Earth already!  I was thinking it's an end-of-the-show type of goal.  But now that they're there, it's in ruins.
- Which means the rest of the season should be devoted to answering tons of questions, which hopefully means they'll still have some exciting episodes left.  This was the best episode yet this season, I hope not to be let down.

Battlestar Galactica Episodes 7 & 8

I've watched another two episodes since last week - and they're dealing less with the religion crap and telling more action stories.  Good in my books, because that's what turned me away from BSG for a bit.

7. Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
- The humans and the rebel Cylons are set to start an alliance in order to destroy the resurrection hub, which means that the Cylons would no longer be able to come back to life.
- The Cylons also want to "unbox" the 3s (played by Xena) so they can find the Final Five.  I don't think I've ever seen Tigh so terrified in the lifetime of the series.  The funny thing is that his suggestion to just "blow up the whole thing" is still quite in character, while at the same time hiding his identity as a Cylon.
- I really wish Tori was never introduced as a character.  I don't care that she's one of the Final Five...I don't like her character.
- I feel bad for Mr. Gaeta.  I didn't really think it would come to losing his leg, but then again, it was probably hella infected because he was lying with a gunshot wound for what...10 hours or something?  Maybe it was 4.  Anyway also crazy that he didn't want to be put under while they removed his leg...that's just weird and freaky.

8. Sine Qua Non
- I keep wanting to type that out as Sine Qua Nom Nom Nom
- Admiral Adama is the man in this episode - Thank God. Oh sorry, I meant Thank Gods.  Gotta keep in line with the show.  Anyway the point is it's nice to see The Old Man finally getting some decent screen time.
- Wait what?  Caprica 6 is pregnant with Tigh's child?  That is crazy.  ALTHOUGH if I'm not mistaken he is halucinating / seeing his dead wife's face instead of the 6's.  So that might have something to do with it.
- I'm starting to get the idea that Tigh's wife might be the final model.  But I don't think that's right because the final unrevealed Cylon is purportedly still in the fleet.  Maybe it's Geata?
- It's interesting to see Adama recognize that he is no longer objective about the rescue mission - I say that because I recently watched the season 1 episode where he sacrifices resources to rescue one pilot and refuses to give up.  It's nice to see some growth.
- Also I am more than sure that it's going to be the Caprica 6 that steals Hera from Athena.  She shot the wrong model.

BSG Season 4, Episode 6 - "Faith"

The second half of "The Road Less Traveled", there's a lot more action happening in this episode.  And a lot less Baltar.  This is all good in my books, and the episode was definitely a good one.

- I particularly enjoyed that this episode advanced the plot.  It didn't seem like last week's episode was doing much, if anything at all - in fact I feel that they could have edited the sequences of "The Road ..." into "Faith" and still gotten the same results.
- Nana Visitor was in this episode!  I suppose it's the Ronald Moore connection?  Anyway it was nice to see Major Kira again, even if she was just playing a one-off cancer patient.
- Adama was in about 2 minutes of screen time in both of these episodes combined.  It seemed out of place for him to suddenly show up at the end of the episode.
- So I think this means that the Colonial fleet will now have a Base Star at their disposal?  Albeit a damaged one, it still gives them an extra means of protection.

I've got one more episode ready to go, and then I have to download the rest of the season (and convert it to ipod friendly formats).  I'm glad I decided to do this!

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 -_Possible Spoilers_-

Despite the fact that this show has been over for more than a year now, I still haven't finished watching season 4.  I last watched episode 4, where SPOILERS Callie is blown out of the airlock by one of the Final Five.  I'm now onto episode 5; the fifth Cylon is still unrevealed, incidentally.  Way to drag it out guys.

Anyway I'm going to do an episode-by-episode account of my thoughts.  Here we go, for The Road Less Travelled.

- Never have I been more appreciative of a "last time on..." sequence before an episode.  I was partially concerned that I might not remember what transpired in the last 4 episodes.  The good news is, I don't have to sit through 4 extra episodes of Baltar being Priest Gaius, and they showed me all I need to know.
- The bad news is that I remember why I didn't worry too much about watching the rest of the show.  This episode so far is a lot of theological nonsense from Baltar and the reactions of the crew on board the Demetrius realizing (or remembering?) that Starbuck is insane.
- Speaking of insane, half the good pilots are on this mission to find Earth.  What would happen if Galactica was attacked?
- The one bit of continuity that I really like from season 1 through to now is how much the Leoben model messes with Cara's head.  I mean, nothing's more evident of that than during their "marriage" in season 3, but the two of them have some sort of connection - and it's been there since the first season.  It's a nice touch.
- I really hope the Baltar stuff is going in an interesting direction, because so far it is absolutely the most boring part of this episode for me. 
- Thank goodness Helo grew a backbone.  All episode long he's been caving to Starbuck's demands and doing the whole "following orders" bit, but he finally stood up for what he thinks is right.  I'm glad, because I've found his character can be a tad whiney and a bit of a pushover.

To be continued eh?  I think I'm going to save the next episode for next week, so I can appreciate the build-up.