TV Recap: Battlestar Galactica - Occupation/Precipice

Last night’s season premiere of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was like welcoming a trusted friend home. Someone who’s been gone for far too long, and whom you can presume to always come through. Admiral Adama and crew all came through for us with a spectacular return to a universe that enthralls geeks and their better halves each week. If you still haven’t caught on, please do yourself a favor and borrow the DVD set from a friend. Do it now, watch it the rest of the weekend, and then catch a rerun of the season 3 premiere. This is the best show on television, and it’s a travesty to miss out. My wife gets me to watch that ‘My Super Sweet 16’ junk on MTV or ‘Men in Trees,’ and she loved the premiere of BSG. I’m hoping this means a marathon to get her caught up soon. Pizza, beer, my wife, and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ makes for a great frackin’ evening.

Two episodes were shown last night, making for a two-hour premiere. If that weren’t enough, both episodes are packed with information and pure greatness.

Kara “Starbuck” Thrace has been separated from her husband, Samuel Anders. She is now “living” with the Cylon model Leobon Conoy. Silent and with waning stoicism, we see that her four month captivity in a pretend home is starting to wear on her. The Cylon’s seem to be trying to do what they did with Helo all over again, but a fundamental flaw is evident. They want her to fall in love with Leobon, yet they just can’t realize trust is a major part of love. While they espouse the sentiments of love and human emotions, the Cylon’s still don’t get it. Proof that they may believe what they’re selling, but it doesn’t matter because they’re still machines.

Yes, Starbuck is weary…but she still has some fight left in her. In the only true Starbuck moment of both episodes, Kara stabs Leobon through the neck. This made my wife instantly love the character, so I’m sure you can see why I asked her to marry me. Leobon returns, but this time he brings a surprise, Kara’s daughter. Supposedly this happened when Starbuck was in the breeding farm on Caprica with Dr. Simon, where she woke up one morning with a new scar on her stomach. I’m a bit confused as to why the Cylons needed Helo to fall in love with “Caprica Valeri,” when this shows it to be completely unnecessary. I guess the Cylon’s really want copulation to work out, not that anyone blames them. That’s if Kacy is indeed Starbuck’s child, and with all new characters it’s wise to be suspicious. At first Kara rejects her daughter, but when she’s hurt and hospitalized Starbuck seems to warm up to her. This seems a little too convenient, and I’m convinced it’s all a manipulation. Also, don’t think for a second that by putting her hand in Leobon’s Starbuck has gone soft. She knows how to play her part, and as she told Helo in her apartment on Caprica…fighting is what she knows.

On New Caprica Colonel Tigh has been put in detention. In order to get him out, his wife sleeps with Brother Cavil, a Cylon model. Once out, he immediately joins back up as leader of the insurgent force along with Chief Tyrol and Anders. Chief has been getting inside information in recent weeks from a member of President Baltar’s staff. He doesn’t know who it is, but the information is reliable and important. Their latest info is details on a graduation ceremony being held for the humans who’ve joined the “New Caprica Security Forces,” a police force working with the Cylons. Because the traitor Gaius Baltar is to be at the ceremony, Col. Tigh wants to bomb the event, even at the cost of human life. Now, there is an obvious relevance to today’s world in all this. It’s uncomfortable to be watching BSG and want the insurgents to go through with their plans to disrupt the Cylons, even if there is some collateral damage. It’s amazing to me that the writers and actors can actually make the decision to suicide bomb a graduation ceremony a viable one. These are desperate men, just trying to keep hope alive until The Old Man can return to save them. We condemn the acts of terrorists around the world, and rightfully so, but I admit to seeing real merit in Tigh’s argument. Chief Tyrol sees how wrong it is and tries to talk Tigh out of it, but the Colonel tells Chief that as long as Baltar is there the suicide bombing will take place. Is it the right move? From a military standpoint, and with what’s available to the humans, it might be. Col. Tigh tries justifying himself by saying he’s sent men on suicide missions before, what’s the difference between a Raptor never to return or a man walking into a building? There’s obviously a major one, but the Colonel has been pushed over the edge.

The insurgent agent goes through with the suicide bombing, but President Baltar is not there. Unfortunately, Chief’s inside man doesn’t get him the message of Baltar’s change of plans in time…so the bombing was for nothing. It’s at this point we learn that Lt. Gaeta is the informant. Another piece of information the insurgents get is jamming frequencies used by the Cylons, which they hope to use to get in touch with a reconnaissance Raptor.

As the insurgents work against the Toasters, the Cylons begin to fight back. Discussion of harsher punishment is debated, and finally it’s decided that something has to be done. At first they begin rounding up confirmed or suspected insurgents, one of which is Chief Tyrol’s wife Cally. The resistance continues as contact is made between the Battlestar Galactica and New Caprica. Plans begin for a rescue mission. In retaliation for recent acts the Cylons decide to execute 200 people. Forcing President Baltar to sign the order, they round up the people (including a brief appearance by Tom Zarek).

Meanwhile, on the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus Commander Adama has become soft. He’s literally become a soft doughy poof of his former self. His father, Admiral Adama, calls him out on this. Both ships are running with a skeleton crew of rookies, with a CAG who rightfully shouldn’t even be flying yet. Admiral Adama is intent on fulfilling his promise that they will return to rescue the rest of the human race. But Apollo argues for the “sure thing,” a rag tag group of about 2000 people who weren’t on New Caprica and jumped with the battlestars. The Old Man tells his son that while it may be a mistake (it’s surely a high risk endeavor) he can not just run away again. This may mean death, but he’s willing to risk it. When Galactica makes contact with New Caprica and gets details on what’s going on, Admiral Adama formulates a plan. It’s a pretty ballsy and brilliant plan, which should be expected. Adama plans to use the Cylon Sharon to lead the group of marines to New Caprica. Lee thinks it’s an unwise move, but a moment of thought reveals to anyone watching how brilliant the idea is. Sharon will not be suspected or stopped by the Cylons, she’ll be able to move freely.

On New Caprica the insurgents prepare for newly reinstated Lt. Velari’s arrival. Unbeknownst to them, Col. Tigh’s wife has made a deal with the Cylon’s and steals their plans. When Sharon and the marines arrive, the Cylons attack. We then cut back to the group of 200 who have been rounded up for execution. As their led out of the trucks, one of the NCP members who’s a friend of Chief Tyrol cuts Cally free and tells her to run. Then a group of centurion model Cylons comes up; we go to a close up of Laura Roslin and Tom Zarek. Gunfire is heard and we go to black.

It cannot be stated enough how amazing ‘Battlestar Galactica’ is as a show. More than sci-fi, it’s a masterful human story of hope and survival. I’ve been a huge fan of the human model Cylons, as it adds a bit of depth to the show. It’s easier to discount the Cylons as just a bunch of Toasters when they’re machines, but these anthropomorphisms make things more interesting. We now have some Cylon models that have fallen in love with humans, and have differing objectives from their “twins.” The evolution of these Cylons is intriguing, and we’re going into a Base Star in a few episodes to find out what daily life is like for them.

There’s a lot that happened in tonight’s premiere, I urge you to watch it if you haven’t already. If you have, please feel free to watch again. I’ve done so twice tonight, and if it weren’t for eventually needing sleep I’d watch a third time. By the way, someone should tell Col. Tigh he doesn’t need to smoke cigarettes that aggressively. Every one he smoked was all mangled up from his manhandling.

So, what did you think? Can we trust Sharon? Is Ellen Tigh going to get a major beatdown by her husband? Will the rookie Viper pilots be able to pull off their mission? Can this show get any better? And will Apollo do a few sit-ups? Next week the exodus begins, and while the New Caprica plotline has actually been far better than we hoped, it will be nice to have BSG back to where it belongs. Surviving in space in a desperate hope to find earth.