Author: luken7

A great writeup on the state of Gaeta and a personal reminder as to why Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. Many folks assume that because it’s on the SciFi channel, and that it takes place in outerspace, that it’s a science fiction and nerd show. Nothing can be further from the truth. If you’re thinking of the original series, it is nothing of the same. Just the original story line to start, but then takes on a life of it’s own. To start, when I heard that Starbuck was recasted as a woman, and the same for Boomer, I was turned off before the series even started. But Starbuck can very well be the most dynamic character (after Adama) on the show, and I’m glad that switch was made.

The Cylons, not just your tin cans anymore.  For lack of a better understanding, they’re essentially just another race of people now that have evolved, look and act human and can now die since the Resurrection ship has been destroyed. And for the first time, a pure Cylon birth will take place. Also, with some Cylons not even knowing they’re Cylons until a switch goes off in them, and refusing to accept their roles as Cylons but to keep their “human” elements.  So the dynamics of this show envelope many scenarios of our society and ask many questions. Such as, with only 40,000 humans remaining, how can you not outlaw abortion? And when (then) Adama wanted to engage the Cylons after the massacre, in what would have surely been a lost effort at the time, her response was that “instead of fighting back right now, what we need to do is make babies”. Don’t remember the exact words but it was a powerful moment and statement. 

So where is the show now? Cylons have split, as there is a civil war going on with them. Some believe that the future is in reconciling with the humans, the others believe that humans should be destroyed. A mutiny has occurred within the fleet over the exact same issue.  New alliances, new enemies, not based on race (human vs. cylon), but based on ideals and beliefs. The remaining episodes of this fantastic show is going to be a nail biter over the next several weeks. 

Talk about the parallels to our world, this show runs the complete gamut of scenarios we face today as a society:

• a reluctant president who was not qualified to lead, but rose to the challenge, while later battling terminal cancer
• a chain smoking doctor, ‘nuf said
• the best strained father and son relationship ever put on screen, only to finally reconcile and understand
• a narcissistic genius scientist who was the everyday flaws of man, causes the fall of humanity
• a vice-president who’s a former terrorist (based on your point of view), based on the ideals of freedom and liberty
• an old fashioned commander that sticks to tradition, has his pilots land manually and never has his ship automated (which is what saves Galactica)
• an alcoholic who is second in command
• suspicions of everyone, who’s a Cylon, who’s not. 
• reconciliation with your enemies, forgiveness and understanding
• are Humans and Cylons that much different? Both grand and both with flaws, both wanting to be more 

And now that they have found earth, we learn that maybe Earth was once a thriving society of Cylons, then there was an attack. That hasn’t been explained yet, but I suspect it was a preemptive attack by humans after Cylons revolted and started their own society. Humans attacked with a scorched earth policy then left to the stars to form the colonies, and start over with new servants. It’s not beneath us in our own world, as history has shown.

So this is a culmination of a drama, medical, emergency and history show all wrapped into one. Then add the best graphics and tele-cinematography on television, and this show simply cannot be beat. I’m not sure what SciFi will do to follow up on this. I heard that there is a prequel in the works called Caprica or something, about life Caprica before the Cylon attack.

Last night’s Battlestar Galactica episode, “The Oath,” about a violent, tragic anti-cylon rebellion in the Fleet, was one of the series’ best. It was also a character study of how a good person goes bad.

Spoilers ahead!

In “The Oath,” a young tactical officer named Felix Gaeta lead a rebellion against Admiral Adama’s leadership, challenging the military government’s choice to ally with the Rebel cylon fleet. Though Gaeta has been living in an ethical gray area for a while, many were taken aback by his sudden flare-up of evil.

via Battlestar Galactica Review: Why Is Gaeta So Bad?.