Adama tells Roslin that his father used to break pencils before trials. I'm very curious to know whether this detail will feature in the new Caprica series. If any of the writing staff is reading this, make sure it does!
Hey, it's Dean Stockwell!! His presence reminds me that I've recently been wondering what this show would be like if Donald Bellisario wrote for this version as well. And hey, we'd have less NCIS. Would that be a bad thing?
I'm starting to think I'm getting to be one step ahead of things. When Stockwell came to see Tyrol, he told him that prayer was a waste. I cannot abide priests who discount prayer. It seemed to me that the only good reason in this universe to say that the gods don't hear is if you don't believe in the gods at all. For instance, if there is only the one Cylon god, then praying to false gods is futile because they will not answer. Lo and behold, the priest is a Cylon! So I was absolutely right! Though this priest later goes on to further elucidate that he finds the concept of the supernatural to be a superstitious construct.
In this episode, the elections are held. I'm going to sound extremely picky again, but I just cannot help it. Why are the elections being held so late? We were told in season one that Roslin's term would end in "six or seven months" which time coincided with her death by cancer. When she did not die, the elections should have been held right then. Why did they wait another THREE MONTHS for it? I simply do not understand that.
Nor do I understand why Roslin failed to mention during the debatesthat Baltar was in collusion with Cylon terrorists. She obviously believes it a key reason he can't be President. She even rigs the election because of it. So why not just tell the people that?
I was really disappointed with the whole rigged election story. Firstly, because it undermines Roslin's character. She is becoming more and more unstable. I bet she wishes Tom Zerek were her opponent now! Secondly, because it is far too easy a shot at the 2000 American Presidential election. This connection however does not really hold. I do not understand why the Twelve Colonies have a one man-one vote system, but America does not. Our President is chosen by electors. Therefore, this episode calls to mind ideas that Bush stole the Presidency which is simply untrue. Whether or not the populace voted for him is irrelevant. There is no popular vote for President in this country. We are not a democracy, but a democratic republic. Electors' votes are cast on an entirely different day. Looking at things in this light, truly every American election for the past 100 years at least has been rigged. We are made to believe a lie that our votes matter, but they do not. Nor do I want them to. I would however like to see electors chosen differently. In any case, the storyline just felt false to me, like an attempt to be relevant.
What is going on with Tyrol? He's having nightmares. He attacks Callie (oh no!). At least she forgives him, even with her jaw wired shut. The one saving grace of the silly epilogue was that they end up together, with one on the way. But what do the nightmares mean? I truly hope that he doesn't end up being a Cylon. Do Cylons even have dreams? Does this get back to the Phillip K. Dick question about electrick sheep?
I don't understand why the Cylons suddenly abandoned Caprica. Did Starbuck make any attempt to free those in the "farms" when they left?
When the Caprica Dean Stockwell arrives, Tyrol accosts him because he realizes he's a Cylon. When the two are put in the same room, they confess to being Cylons. Um... I guess nobody in this universe has ever seen identical twins. I just realized today that they are so set against there being duplicates of people. Wouldn't the Cylons have an easy excuse just saying they are twins? I know in this case it was all about a "message of truce" from the Cylons. I'm just wondering.
Why did they name the planet they found New Caprica? Why not New Picon or New Virgon? What's so special about Caprica? If I were of one of the other Colonies, I'd resent that Capricans are foremost in everything. The only reason I could really come up with is that with the action finally moving off Caprica, the show can now switch between Galactica and NEW Caprica.
The whole nuclear bomb story makes no sense to me. Baltar was told by the Six in his head to get it, then convinced to give it to prisoner-Six. Then she blew up Cloud Nine. Um, why? What was gained by that? I do not buy that it all comes down to that radiation signature being what lured the Cylons to New Caprica. There are at least 7 Cylons still in the fleet. Are we to believe that none of them had contact with the others? And if it was simply the bomb that brought them, why did it take over a year? If this is truly the reason, then I am even more disappointed. That bomb story basically went nowhere.
I questioned during the miniseries the logic of the zooming shots in space. Were we to believe someone was actually shooting this stuff? Well, then we got the most indulgent moment in the history of the show, when debris from the explosion HIT THE CAMERA in space! So now we are supposed to believe there really is a camera shooting this. If so, where is it, and who is it? On another show I might not mind. Given a certain tone, this can work. But here it just feelt so out of place. The camera became a character, and that immediately took me out of the world again. It raised far too many questions. Undoubtedly, I'll turn on the commentary (which I haven't yet) and Ron will be saying how much he loves that shot.
I absolutely hate the "one year later" thing. It is such a lazy storytelling device. I also resent that we are back once again to Baltar making decisions with his, shall we say, joystick. I find this sort of thing sexist. Settling New Caprica is a terrible idea. It smacks of other science fiction stories I've seen where the entire crew somehow finds itself moving down to a ship something and it turns out to be an alien plot (see for example numerous TNG episodes, such as "11001001"). I can't believe they were so surprised that the Cylons found them. I don't like Kara with long hair. It's like just when I couldn't dislike her enough... And why did Adama grow that stupid mustache back? And what's with Lee's hair? Roslin's back to teaching again. How nice for her. Again, a missed opportunity to put Boxey back in the show. And President Gaius Baltar? He may just be the worst genre President since Lex Luthor.
They are supposed to go to Earth. Anyone who knows stories knows you NEVER turn away from your course and settle somewhere else. If the mythology is indeed tied to Judeo-Christian history, and leaving Kobol is the expulsion from Paradise, surely the journey to Earth is the quest for the Promised Land. In Abraham's case, he stopped in Egypt and settled for a time. There he ran into problems. Or when the sons of Jacob settled in Egypt, only to soon have their people made slaves. New Caprica is Egypt. The Colonists are now trapped in a snare of their own making, subjugated by Cylon overlords. And this Biblical interpretation is the only thing I find remotely interesting about the scenario. I am bored to death of it otherwise. I frankly don't care a lick about New Caprica.
To summarize, the episodes started out all right, but once part 2 began in earnest, my interest waned. I spot several circling fins. Not knowing how it all turns out I can't be sure, but this episode may be the point where BSG ultimately FTL-jumps the shark.
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