Battlestar Galactica: By Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part OneIs it just me or have the past 11 or so weeks just flown by? It seems like just yesterday I was tuning in for 33 and Water and now, here we are only one episode left from the end of season one. And, what a great ride it's been in the first season for
Battlestar Galactica. (And the best news--unlike the original, we will get a season two.)
I'll be honest here--I was really looking forward to this episode. I've heard a lot of good buzz from the fans in the UK who saw this episode weeks agao. I've stayed away from SPOILERs for specific details, but the general buzz on-line that this one was not to be missed.
All I can say is--I'm hopeful that part one was about putting pieces in play and part two is about knocking them all down. I have a feeling that Ron Moore and company intended this to air as a two-hour movie rather than a two-part story with a week's gap in between. Because this first hour felt like it was tying up a lot of things and then spinning them off in a new direction.
Like the Baltar/Kara/Lee triangle. As the teaser unfolded, I thought we were seeing some flashes of moments from Lee's life. Becuase for a good bit of the teaser, it seemed as if we were being teased that Lee and Kara had finally got together. Then, we find out it's not Lee, but Baltar. This serves as a catalyst to not only send Six off on a jealous tangent (after telling Baltar last week that it was OK for him to sleep around and not even really seeming to mind when he hooked up with the female reporter) and having Lee get his nose out of joint. Interesting that in a lot of ways what Baltar and Starbuck do here in terms of fraternization is exactly what Boomer and Tryol were doing as the season started--and we see the dim view that Tigh and others took of that relationship. Somehow, I don't get the feeling that Starbuck and Baltar will become a long-term thing. I can't imagine Six allowing that to continue--again, in light of her jealousy here. To the point that she manages to slam Baltar's head into a mirror and he ends up hurting himself. As Ron Moore brings up in his podcast, this puts the whole Six/Batlar thing in many disburbing new lights--if she's not real, that's disturbing, but if she is, she has a lot of control over his body. Or is she really there?
Meanwhile, Baltar's journey into the non-redemption continues. The scene were Baltar goes to Boomer and encourages her to kill herself was really well done. Baltar's manipulation of her--to cover his own tracks--was very well done. And I have to wonder--did Boomer really miss or did some part of her Cylon programming make so she couldn't kill herself and thus, not complete her purpose on
Galactica?
And the question continues to linger--is Roslin slowly slipping into the same madness and ego-centricity that Baltar is? Think about it. Roslin believes that the fleet has found Kobol. She sees a vision in the map and believes that she is fulfiling prophecy. So much so that she betrays Adama's confidence that he has no clue where Earth is in order to forward her own agenda--she wants to be the Moses of the fleet, leading her people to the promised land. Also, you have to wonder if the Cylons aren't manipulating Roslin. A few weeks ago, a Cylon agent says they will find Kobol. And then when they apparently do, the Cylons have a base-star there waiting. Could the Cylons have jumped ahead and been waiting for the fleet to fall into their trap?
Roslin's telling Starbuck that Adama lied about where Earth was was a great moment. As was Kara's calling to ask Adama about it. The episode ends with Starbuck following the instructions of Roslin to go back to Capria, retrieve the Arrow of Apollo and return it. That way, Roslin can fulfill her destiny. Somehow, I have a feeling not everything is going to go smoothly and that a lot of relationships have been damaged by the events set in motion here.
All that said, I'm eager to see where the final hour of the season takes us. I'm hoping for a bang to end the season.
Arrested Development: Sword of DestinySometimes this show is just too hysterically funny--like with this week's episode "Sword of Destiny." The references to FOX reducing the order of episode for this year and the huge ads for
Family Guy that pop up on screen were great (And interesting that
Family Guy will take over AR's slot in a few weeks) . Good to know
The Simpsons aren't the only show that can get away with this. And that FOX apparently has a good sense of humor about the whole thing. I loved everyone's comments about the order reduction doesn't look good and then the company having to lower costs to survive--are these hints that the show might just make it after all? Meanwhile, Ben Stiller guests star as a rival magician to Gob and hilarity enuses. I can't believe FOX didn't make more of Stiller's guest appareance on the show.
Also, the ending where George Michael's attempts to make a
Star Wars video of his own and falling into the hands of the FBI were classic.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/28/2005 11:10:00 AM |
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