My jaw is sore from the constant dropping during this episode. Let me say this first off - I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY??!?!?! Good god, that is pure torture.And speaking of... Ladies, if the baby-farm episode didn't set your female panic button off then this one certainly will. As their civilization is collapsing you quickly learn so does civility when you are on your own. The Pegasus has a Cylon as well, only theirs is not nearly as well cared for as Sharon. There is no greater fear among women than what the crew of the Pegasus put their version of Six through.
I really have to applaud some performances here regarding these difficult scenes - James Callis as Gaius Baltar brings such a tragic humanity into his trying to settle the imaginary Six, as well as somehow reach the catatonic, tortured, gang raped shell of Six's duplicate... that's just all kinds of immoral, wrong, and evil. Cylon or not. (By the Way, according to Ron Moore's podcast, Six's name is Gina.)
Tricia Helfer's portrayal of the distraught imaginary Six, and that of the abused clone, was hard to watch. Even though she did little but lay there, when she did move it was heartbreaking as her mind finally connects back to cruel reality and a shaky hand reaches for food. You really feel they are far more human than they are getting credit for, but at the same time you have a problem trying to feel sympathy for any form of Six. She's always been so manipulative and domineering, at least the version we know, to see one so vulnerable is almost as shocking as what they did to her.
And when Thorne comes in for Sharon's "interrogation" it's intercut with all the Pegasus pilot's sickening confessions of what they did to their Cylon, you just hope for all that's holy that Tyrol and Helo can run fast enough. Was nice they worked as a team again, but I'm jut sorry they couldn't have found a way to push the bastard into a meat grinder instead of a bolt on the wall. It was an inadvertant killing. It wasn't like they shot him point blank so to hear that Cain ruled singly to execute them is shocking.
Adama's snap was almost audible. He'll take you relieving him of his fleet he's managed to keep together because you out rank him, he'll step aside and let you break up his "family", he'll maybe even let you bad talk his command because he has no choice but to take it - but you do not mess with his people. Watch out woman, you have no idea who you are dealing with. After all isn't there a saying about "An Adama scorned"... there's not? Well there should be, and quite likely will be soon.
Admiral Cain is one bad mammajamma who you can tell has started to prove that other saying about "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is absolutely true. The Pegasus was out there alone, not knowing if they were the last vestiges of humanity or not, as did Galcatica and the rest of the fleet. The difference is whereas Adama let his people go a little off the rule book time to time to keep morale high; Kane kept her ship in strict, if not maniacal, adherence to it. That is a Olde Tyme recipe for tyranny.
When she, at the end of the ep, issues the order to dispatch fighters (btw, "action stations" is really lame) you see the same look of hesitant fear on her CIC staff that Galactica's had when Tigh was in charge and ordered what has been since named the "Gideon Massacre". The actress who plays Cain, and her name escapes me, always manages to play the world's biggest coldest ball busting bitches so I know she's capable of playing it as large as this might need to go.
This is what I love about this show, as soon as you get all comfortable they go and throw it in your face and stomp on you.
Already the spoiler's are coming out for the last half of season two in January, but we'll save those for other posts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-25-2005 @ 4:25AM
Elisa said...
The actress who plays Cain is Michelle Forbes and she's AWESOME! She was awesome in TNG as Ensign Ro and 24 and she's most definitely awesome in this one.
This show just keeps bringing it every.single.episode!
Star Trek might be dead (for now), but good sci-fi is definitely not.
Ugh, I can't believe I'm going to have to wait until January to see how this unfolds. Frag me.
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9-24-2005 @ 9:02PM
A Davis said...
Michelle Forbes (Admiral Cain), also in Star Trek: TNG, the District, and few other shows.
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9-29-2005 @ 3:22PM
anot said...
Right, Michelle Forbes I remember her. I just can't take my eyes off that damn mole of hers on the right side of her face. Guns can be blazing, people dying, but my eyes remain tarnsfixed on that mole....
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9-25-2005 @ 9:29PM
anot said...
Right, Michelle Forbes I remember her. I just can't take my eyes off that damn mole of hers on the right side of her face. Guns can be blazing, people dying, but my eyes remain tarnsfixed on that mole....
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9-24-2005 @ 10:18PM
Emily said...
Michelle Forbes has the right presence to play a meglomanical military commander, but I have a problem with her age. The character would have more clout with me if she were 20 years older.
Baltar talking to himself as much as the Pegasus prisoner is furthering my belief that his "Six" in just a figment of his guilty conscience. For some reason I thought the Cylons were somehow able to communicate (via wi-fi?), I am not sure where I came up with that. Does anyone else remember something along those lines? Therefore, Six being surprised by the tortured Six as well as Sharon's baby are inconsistant to me, but I still love this show!
The almost gang rape raised my hackles. I was screaming at the TV to run, Run, RUN!
January?! Arghhh!!
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9-24-2005 @ 10:47PM
jen segrest said...
He said in the podcast that the were intrigued with teh age differnence between a younger fast-tracked superior and older adama.
They also said in the podcast that the show orginally was 1 hr and 15 in long, and that version will be on the DVDs.
If you love this BSG the podcasts are awesome to supplement the show.
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9-24-2005 @ 11:05PM
Bernardo said...
I loved the episode... a few things that I'm not sure of but people can weigh in.
1) I am wondering if the placement of the Battlestar's was purposeful. First you see the the Battlestar's side-by-side and then Pegasus slightly ahead of the other and then Galactica as just part of the fleet.
2) I'm surprised in the trust factor being so high. Considering all that was learned regarding Cylons being like humans... why trust that Cain is not one herself? For some reason it struck me as being so outrageious but possible that she is a Cyclon. That would also explain the truth behind how Pegasus found Galactica. Could it be part of the master plan to throw the humans off by thtowing another human vessel into the mix and creating all of this conflict?
3) I love the view that Cain has in regards to treating the president without much respect. I loved how the power balance shifte and how Cain welcomes them all back to the Colonial Fleet... shouldn't it be the other way around? They are a fleet of many... but I guess that is the arrogance of someone so high in command.
4) I'm thinking that as the two Battlestars wage a mini-battle, the Cyclons will attack again and they are either forced to pull together or Cain's people will reble against her if she inflicts a lot of damage in a beat down administered to Galactica. Maybe her crew will realize what is really happening and be shocked by the human against human atrocity.
5) I loved how The Cylons are then put in a position of being abused and the horror that Six displays -- but can seemingly forget that her race just obliterated billions of human lives. I love how we are getting glimpses of the other side. I can't wait to see the episode(s) that show the Cylong point of view. I'm wondering (but don't really want to know until the end of the run) if the truth will be reached that human and Cylon behavior can both showcase that both can be unmerciless and brutal and both are guilty of arrogance and violence to achieve their means and that a hybrid mix of ideals is needed -- mutual respect et al., will be needed for true peace.
Those are my five major points this time. I guess I should listen to the podcasts now but I've been holding off so that I could live with certain faults and feelings in my imagination for awhile.
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9-24-2005 @ 11:16PM
Bernardo said...
Oh, and a few more things... I'm not sure why I numbered my thoughts. Operating on four hours of sleep makes it hard for me to type and think...
And, I like the age disparity. I've already been put through the spectrum of experiences where I was the new kid leader on the block and now the one that has had younger bosses too. It is a mix and I think Cain's age is just right for the Admiral part. She's obviously not the fresh out of the class type but not old enough to be out of touch with the last batch ot technologies that existed as the norm prior to the destruction of the colonies. Think about it, Adama is symbolic, along with the Galactica, of a passing age ... we learn that sometimes the older point of view may not be so outdated after all.
I love the shows writing minus some irritating things that I don't like. They are so small that I forget them when I start a new episode! LOL!
I hope this show is on for many years to come!
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9-26-2005 @ 10:48PM
Bernardo said...
Oh, and a few more things... I'm not sure why I numbered my thoughts. Operating on four hours of sleep makes it hard for me to type and think...
And, I like the age disparity. I've already been put through the spectrum of experiences where I was the new kid leader on the block and now the one that has had younger bosses too. It is a mix and I think Cain's age is just right for the Admiral part. She's obviously not the fresh out of the class type but not old enough to be out of touch with the last batch ot technologies that existed as the norm prior to the destruction of the colonies. Think about it, Adama is symbolic, along with the Galactica, of a passing age ... we learn that sometimes the older point of view may not be so outdated after all.
I love the shows writing minus some irritating things that I don't like. They are so small that I forget them when I start a new episode! LOL!
I hope this show is on for many years to come!
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9-25-2005 @ 12:06AM
Dorian said...
One wonders if the only difference between the Galactica and Pegasus' crews (the Pegasus crew being a darker mirror of the somewhat less vile actions of Adama's crew) is that Galactica had a civilian government to offer a different perspective and temper its crew's response to different stressful situations. Remember--Commander Adama wanted to go off half cocked and fight the cylons once upon a time--leaving the civilian ships behind in the process. Roslin, bless her, convinced him otherwise. To Adama's credit he eventually listened. Adama instigated an illegal coup, but his son opposed him with mutiny. In retrospect, Apollo's actions proved quite correct and even heroic. If Adama had managed to dismantle the civilian government, what would have happened to their souls? That's what makes this series fascinating. Its characters teeter on the edge all the time.
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9-25-2005 @ 4:26PM
John Frost said...
I was completely unhappy that the season ended with so many balls up in the air. I can understand a good cliffhanger, but this is going beyond.
I think next seasons episodes need to be 90 minutes long or come with 15-30 web episodes to flesh out some of the storylines.
So far there have been almost no epic space battles like we had in the original series. Where are those?
It may be the best sci-fi on TV right now (is LOST sci-fi?), but that doesn't mean with have to settle for being treated like chumps.
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9-25-2005 @ 10:58PM
Calvin Redding said...
I'm surprised how few people have mentioned Sebastian Spence's (Played Cane on First Wave) appearance in this episode--I assume he is a character they will develop more as he certainly is not the kind of actor to be used as an extra...
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9-26-2005 @ 12:46AM
Tim said...
Calvin - Sebastian didn't play Cain in 'First Wave', he played Cade Foster. Cain was played by Roger Cross (had to check that part on IMDB).
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9-26-2005 @ 6:12AM
mike said...
Seriously, best show on television right now. I read that the ratings haven't been so stellar though, anyone have any updates on that? Is everyone really downloading so many episodes? If anyone could lead the pay-per-episode download future it's Sci-Fi! Come on Sci-Fi!
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9-26-2005 @ 7:15AM
jen Segrest said...
I know someone online who is in the ratings biz, and I'm lead to understand that the ratings for BSG are stellar for Scifi Channel. like a 2.0 share. 2.2 on a stronger week. (Farscape only got like a 1.5 on a good week)
For a large network they'd be dismal, but you can't compare the big six to a small niche cable network. For cable a 2.0 is healthy.
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9-27-2005 @ 2:16AM
Tom said...
In response to an earlier question, it is my understanding that the Cylon internal communication is limited in it's range. Note Sharon III being surprised and happy to see Sharon II was still alive a couple eps back? And it could be that the iteration of Six in Gaius's mind may not be connected to the overall Cylon "network," if you will. She may be little more than an implant with her personality in his brain, not a full Cylon in another place. But who knows?
The thing I love about this show is that, were this any other show, the Pegasus would have been destroyed in a Cylon attack by the end of this episode, with all or most hands lost. Very few shows have the gall to completely alter the status quo...ever. I will be VERY pissed off if they destroy the Pegasus earlier than the end of Season 3, because it just adds SO much. There are so many possibilities here, so many conflicts to explore, relationships to discover, etc. And I think they will keep it around. Mainly because of some of the semi-big name actors. Not huge names, but names I recognize. Ok, not names, but faces. Michelle Forbes, obviously. The XO of the Pegasus I know from somewhere. And the First Wave guy. Even the Pegasus CAG (sp?) I'm sure I know from somewhere. nBSG is quickly cementing itself as one of the highest quality sci-fi shows of all time. I just want to wait and see what happens down the road. If they have been laying the groundwork for some big stuff to go on, or if they're just flailing blind. I think the former. But we'll see.
Oh, and Sharon II's reaction to the attempted rape proves they are human. And I think eventually this is going to cause deliciously fun problems and conflicts.
Oh how I love this series.
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9-27-2005 @ 2:34AM
Dorian said...
Responding to the comment above, of course the humano-cylons are human. They are humans--enhanced humans with partially synthetic, cybernetic parts. Sharon has conceived a child with a human, ergo there must be an identical chromosomal structure between the two. A synthetic "gamete" or egg (is such a thing even possible?) wouldn't combine successfully with a human gamete (sperm) for a viable pregnancy. Sharon's immune system would attack the fetus as an invading pathogen otherwise.
The humano-cylons are cybernetically enhanced, advanced human clones with a capacity for telepathy with one another. They think. They feel. They are sentient. They probably have "souls." They aren't mere cylons. They are altered humans. In fact, following that logic--wouldn't Sharon's baby be born wholly human, just like Helo, without the synthetic/mechanical parts? Synthetic parts can't reproduce sexually. If the writers follow it through logically, how can the baby be born any other way? That would convince the humano-cylons that they are, in fact, human. I'd love to see that.
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9-30-2005 @ 1:54PM
Nick said...
Why doesn't President Roslin just promote Adama to one rank ahead of Adm. Cain and be done with her? Given the show's grounding in our political system, with its civilian control of the military, it seems incongrous for the President and the Council not to have the power to control promotions to flag rank (i.e., admiral or general). I believe in the US military, the President has to nominate officers to be promoted to flag rank, and Congress has to approve. So Roslin nominates Adama to a rank above Cain, and Council approves. Then Roslin and Cain duke it out in a galactic civilian-vs-military cat fight.
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