Is it elitist of me to prefer stories about the fleet leaders, the Cylons, and the viper pilots?
The scene where Adama decided to execute Cally was one of those "wow" moments. I absolutely believed Adama would have done it, too. And I thought it was great that when Tyrol gave in, Adama gave in, too. Knowing when he's made a mistake, admitting to it, and doing something about it is the mark of an exceptional leader. Tyrol and Adama were both right, after all. No one should have to work under conditions like those. But they're running for their lives, and the survival of the human race is at stake. Duh.
I'm disappointed (or perhaps more accurately, skeptical) that Adama and Roslin would be completely oblivious to the fact that a large part of the population had turned into slave labor. They are both very aware that perpetually exhausted and downtrodden people aren't going to do their jobs well, and it's not like the colonies were destroyed, like, last month. And since I'm complaining, I'll also admit that I find labor disputes dull. (Important, but not scintillating entertainment.) I also thought that the Seelix-as-pilot subplot that was so happily resolved made it seem like this huge social problem that was just uncovered was suddenly all better.
So we just had a big episode about Helo, and then we had a couple of big episodes about Tyrol. It's like the main cast is kind of taking a back seat for awhile. (Maybe that's why the past few just haven't excited me.) At least we finally got some rather delightful Gaius content. I thought his attempt to morph into a pamphleteering Nelson Mandela man of the people was pretty amusing. And the scene where he regaled Tyrol with his Aerelon accent was a hoot.
Bits and pieces:
— This week's survivor number: 41,400. Did we have a couple of births?
— The glimpse of a prosthetic arm in the teaser was a deliberate hint that someone was going to lose a limb. What happened to Danny, by the way? Did he indeed lose his arm?
— My Triumphs, My Mistakes was probably intended to sound like Hitler's Mein Kampf.
— Since I seem to be bitching a lot, let me add that I'm also pissed at Roslin for suppressing Gaius' idiotic revolutionary pamphlet. Burning books brings out the worst in me. Isn't free speech for everyone?
— During the scene when Roslin was telling Tyrol that everyone was working under horrific conditions and no one was having a good time, she and Adama were drinking wine. Good way to make their point.
— Speaking of which, it appears they're still eating algae. What kind of wine goes with algae? I guess any good green wine will do.
— This week's bonus scene was Tyrol and Cally bitching about the fact that no one from Colonial One was tapped to refine tylium. May I say again that I'd really like the producers to rethink this bonus scene crap? It adds nothing to the series. In fact, I think it actually detracts.
Quotes:
Adama: "If your quarters become cramped, you're always welcome in one of my beds. (pause) In a manner of speaking." A double entendre, Adama? Really?
Gaius: "Do you honestly believe the fleet will ever be commanded by somebody whose last name is not Adama?" Excellent point.
Gaius again: "I was born and raised on a dairy outside the town of Cuttle's Breath Wash on Aerelon." Cuttle's Breath Wash. Is he telling the truth? We may never know.
Adama: "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back on the road to finding Earth."
You know what? Me, too.
Thought-provoking and mildly depressing. Two out of four stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
Another epsiode in a row about Tyrol. Well the last one was really about Adama, but still with lots of Tyrol. I find it good that "filler" episodes are about the secondary characters because it's easier to accept that they have thier own issues and seeing some of the more importnat characters investing themselves into ill or disenfranchised people wouldn't be that believable.
ReplyDeleteOn that note I hope the trail of Gaius is coming up. It's also funny how both he and Rosline were channeling Hitler (Mein Kampf and book burnings). So are they telling us both sides are wrong here?
This was by far and away my favourite of the last few episodes - I found the 'downtrodden masses' plot very interesting. And it shone some light on the problems that were apparent in society before the Cylon attack. Though I again wish people could be as accommodating and 'good' in real life as we see here.
ReplyDeleteI also love the fact that Gaius is in essence from Yorkshire (about 50 miles from where I was born). Great accent!
Excellent stuff, though i am glad that we will be getting back into the meat of the story soon!
While the downtrodden masses idea was interesting, it seems a little late to be doing this kind of worldbuilding to me. Baltar seems like a very unlikely spokesman for it as he's always been supremely self-centred. It also seemed weird that Roslin has never thought of this before, since she seemed genuinely surprised and willing to look at ways to fix it. Why hasn't her VP been pushing her on this? It seems like more his sort of issues than Baltar's.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by how strangely low tech and unsafe Galactica's industrial processes seem to be. Maybe they were developed using Cylon labor and they haven't fully adapted to depending on humans?
Surprised they did another Tyrol episode right after, but the episode clicked for me very soon into it.
ReplyDelete@magritte: "Maybe they were developed using Cylon labor and they haven't fully adapted to depending on humans?"
Wow neat, I didn't consider that.