Colonial Day

There's a lot going on in this show. It may not seem like it, but we gain a lot of insight into this universe here.

Does Colonial Day commemorate an actual day, or is it sort of an arbitrary date picked for celebration?

Mention is made here and in precedent episodes of the "Articles of Colonization". I'm sure this

is meant to emulate the Articles of Confederation which governed early America. But was this document written upon their exodus from Kobol? Was it a mass exodus, or were different colonies founded at different times? And if so, why choose 12 different worlds, when you could just pick one planet and divide it up? How large was this colonizing force? Am I thinking too hard about this?

It's good to get on a civilian ship for a change. I suppose I could argue the logic of a cruise ship having FTL capability and being in this fleet, but I won't. I do hope they have an agricultural ship somewhere though. The original show had a media presence as well, so it was good to see that here. I could have done without some of the shots taken at talk radio though. Nice knowing it exists I guess.

Hey! That guy Gray is Pusher from X-Files! He's an actor I don't often see. I think I last saw him in The Saddest Music in the World.

I am so glad we finally are dealing with this Quorum of Twelve. It's a nice continuation of the Council of Twelve from the original. Plus, I've been wondering all season exactly how the other colonies gain representation in this government that seems to be so fiercely Caprican. This show NEEDED this Quorum of Twelve and I'm glad to see it. Was there any doubt that Zerek would get on it? Baltar was kind of a surprise there. Is this also a subtle reference to the original? Wasn't that Baltar a member of the Council when he sold them out to the Cylons?

Zerek makes some good points, not the least of which is the call to elect a Vice President. I'm surprised that the same line of succession that chose the President doesn't have a means for selecting a Vice President too. What would have happened had Roslin died in this past month? I'm also very glad to see a democratically elected Vice President. That's one area where America needs correction. It's in our Constitution that we elect the Vice President (by electors, not popular vote, but that's another issue), but that's not what we do. We let Presidential candidates choose "running mates" and they just kind of get dragged along with the Presidential vote. This is completely wrong. The procedure is quite clear that our Vice President is elected. We need to get back to that. Actually there are a number of things wrong with the way we've been running our Presidential elections, but this is not the forum to vent.

I'm also glad to hear Zerek point out that there is no functioning economy anymore. Not that I espouse his socialist ideas, but perhaps they make more sense in a fleet like that. In any case, I was troubled and confused by the economics of the original series, and left a whole post on the subject. That's why it's refreshing to have Zerek note that and bring it to people's attention.

Why does everyone assume that Zerek is behind all the violent plots behind the scenes? Sure, he was a terrorist, but isn't that prison ship full of people? Couldn't ANYONE be responsible? Don't they limit their investigation by assuming Zerek is involved? And in the end, we learn he wasn't. Though a major problem with the episode is that the whole thread is left unresolved. Somebody was walking around with a gun, but for what purpose? Who was the target? Why was nobody caught?

I like dynamic Baltar! I can see why he might make a decent Vice Presidential candidate. Though isn't it odd that the only delegates who say anything are the ones who end up as candidates? Why don't we hear from the Cancerons or the Geminis? I also don't really see the need for Grey to step down in order for Baltar to run. Isn't an election better when anyone can run? I guess from Roslin's point of view she doesn't want to split the vote and thus let Baltar win. But I'm fundamentally opposed to this idea of a race against two. Might it have been better if each Colony submitted a candidate? Or would that have resulted in every colony voting for their own? And how do the votes work? Is each Colony a winner-takes-all election? So there were twelve separate votes, and then the winners for each colony were tabulated? This is how most Americans think our system works, but is in fact ultimately unconstitutional.

I probably shouldn't be so picky, but I can't think of a "parrallel culture" argument that would result in the phrase "cut to the chase" being used among the Colonials. I've seen no indication that they have a film program. I can let a lot of things go, but idiom usage should really be carefully looked at. Like that "meat's back on the menu" line in Lord of the Rings that people often complain about.

UPDATE: Since finishing the series, I've learned that there is indeed a film program in this universe, but it won't be seen until Lucy Lawless makes her appearance in season 2.