TVSquad

This episode turned out to be better than I expected. I'm getting tired of episodes that don't advance the overall story line. However, with an unexpected death, I felt the story line could advance in some areas - a.k.a. the President needing to lean on Adama more now. It was nice to see Adama show (a rarely seen) amount of care for his son. I wish they would go into that relationship more. Speaking of which, Apollo is my favorite character - nice that he's not on the sidelines anymore. They need to let him get in touch with his inner rage and show him to be the true bad-ass he knows he could be. Lastly, the preview for next week ... will "Major" Lee Adama become the next commander of the Pegasus?? -this is the best show on tv. So say we all.

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If you go to the bsg website and look at the latest video blog (the about about constumes), there is a interesting Lee/Costume remark (re: post number 1)

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I liked it, but then again (sorry Tom) I liked Black Market and Scar both... Not perfect, though.

So, Starbuck became (more of) a drunk last week, but I disagree with this comment by Herc over at AICN, "Kara Thrace’s descent into alcoholism causes her to botch a key rescue effort..." But yeah, I don't really see how it affected this event. She didn't seem to be drunk at the time, and she screwed up. It was a bad call to go to the guns, but she waited until she was outed, and then went balls to the wall, as the Starbuck we all know and love would have. Now, I do think this failure (and shooting your best friend is the definition of failure) will probably push her further down the path. I would have much rather seen this episode exist before last week's. It felt that at the end of last week, we got the promise that she's going to get through the worst of it.

Also, I don't like the Duella/Apollo pairing. Just seems like its been forced on us. Maybe its becaue I like Billy so much, maybe its because I'm a Starbuck/Apollo 'shipper, I don't know.

Billy's death, from what I understand from the Podcast, was a necessary evil. Paul Campbell was getting opportunites that he couldn't keep passing up, and there was no logical way outside of death to write him out. As we've gotten into these stories that fit outside of the main Cylon/Fleet dynamic, I think he would have had more opportunites to shine. The scene where he spoke up in the Roslin/Apollo conversation is the perfect example.

I thought Delany was great. I never felt that her stated purpose was really more important to her than the revenge factor, and putting two bullets into a body she knew to be already dead kinda proves that point. She brings some weight to a character that could have been completely unbelievable (I did think the dialogue was weak here, and few actors could have pulled off the performance that Delany did)

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I don't think Starbuck did anything wrong or that alcohol had anything to do with it. It was a crazy situation and Lee was trying to get one of the hostage takers and get a weapon, but in doing so he left himself open to stray fire.

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I agree, when you have a situation like that and everyone's shooting, there's no clear line between goodies and baddies, if you're not careful, friendly fire can happen. *hit just keeps pouring on Starbuck this season, I guess.

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I am really going to miss Billy. The actor had better be up for MAJORly good parts instead of "Frat Boy #3" stuff to want to quit BSG. (I hope, anyway.)

I am HATING the new Lee/Dualla pairing. For one, (I hate to use this phrase, but...) he's just not THAT into her. He seemed more attracted to Starbuck and even the hooker chick than Dee. For another, it turns Dee into a jerk. She's gotten interested in cheating on her boyfriend, inexplicably (to said boyfriend) turns him down, and keeps bugging Lee about "us" when clearly he's not even interested in discussing the subject. It makes her look like she's trading up for a more high-powered model. Ugh. It pains me because I liked the character a lot, and now I can't help but think, "What a bitch. Cries over Billy for two seconds and then she's cooing at Lee's bedside?" And he was being so sweet and protective of her EVEN after she'd just dumped him, for chrissake!

As for Kara accidentally shooting Lee, this is just more guilt to be poured over her head and make her feel like crap and lead to more destructive decisions. *sigh* Note how she was the one hiding in the shadows and crawling away in shame at the end of this episode. While I wouldn't say a K/L pairing is 100% out of the question, I'd say it's about 95% out at this point.

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Jennifer: I never liked the idea of an Apollo/Dee pairing either. Why don't the writers give what most people want in an Apollo/Starbuck relationship? Beats me! On the other hand, I did not care much for Billy's character either (nor for Apollo's for that matter). However, you are right in how Dee sort of screwed him over. She should have been straight up with Billy as you know that she knew how he felt about her. But hey! I'm still bitching about how the whole fleet keeps trashing my favorite actress and most interesting character on the show....Sharon. Like she said, how many times has she saved their butt...five...six times(unquote) and counting! Tim.

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I agree with you Jennifer and Tim. I don't like Apollo/Dualla pairing. First of all enlisted and officers aren't allowed to fraternize. (Well in the real world that is.) I'm sure the old man would not approve. Secondly, Lee and Dee? How sickeningly seventh grade is that?

I was sad to see the character of Billy go. There were lots of possibilities there. I hope the actor didn't decide to leave because he feared being stereotyped. I hate it when an actor leaves one of my favorite shows under those pretences.

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Emily: I do not think it was because he feared being sterotyped. If I am not mistaken, he left the show because he was offered other roles elsewhere. Perhaps he felt that his role on Battlestar was too confining. Tim.

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Well as long as a main character dies in the show I am happy.

Agreed about Lee/Dualla. Dumb pairing.

The episode was just so-so okay until the carnage-fest began. Then it was fairly rockin'.

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I'm at a lost with the Sacrifice episode mainly with Dualla. When we first see her and Billy together, I was actually rooting for Billy because he is our everyman who is ackward, clumsy but has all the right qualities of a good man. I know that sometimes women make stupid choices and choose men who are not right for them or make themselves believe this is the right man in their life but damn it, Dualla made a terrible decision. I'm not sure that there was a point to side with Lee over Billy but for the love of god, Dualla acted as if life goes on and Billy's love was all in the past or acted as if nothing happened.

I loved the character of Dualla for her strength in the background that can be felt when this is chaos about. I loved the fact that she can speaks her mind to Commander Adama (back then). Now, Dualla is worse than Tigh's wife which we know her to be a train wreck waiting to happen...again. I expected better of Dualla. If there was to be a "Sacrifice" the bullet hit the wrong person.

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Yeah, I hear everyone. I actually didn't see the last 45 minutes of Friday's show cause my cable went out, so I'm waiting for tonight's 11:00 reairing. But I couldn't resist coming to the blog. I guess I got a pretty big spoiler, didn't I?

I'm not surprised. His character really wasn't contributing a lot to the show--he had no power and wasn't in line for power, he didn't have any military skill, etc. His character just didn't have a lot of room to grow, and it didn't look like they were taking anything in his direction. Besides, and I'm not trying to be mean (I'm sure Paul Campbell does better with the ladies than me), I always thought he was not at the same level as Dee, sex-appeal wise. Dee is smokin'.

That said, I don't like Lee+Dee that much either, but at least they are two actors who seem like they are on the same level of attractiveness. Lee has been gettin' around (as we were told he would), which is good for him because with the bad acting and his soft voice, I was beginning to wonder if Lee was hiding a little secret in his locker, if you know what I mean...

My real beef, and yes, Dorv, I have a beef already and I haven't even seen the whole show, is this. A lot of us commentators noted that they just didn't seem to have set up the relationship between Lee and Dee before she confronted him last episode (or was it two episodes ago) with the whole, "What's going on between us?" I would have loved to have seen Lee and Dee flirting in just one or two more scenes, somewhere in the series, like we get at the very beginning of this show. You know, show them with their hair down, bumping into each other in the bar, just flirting, casual looks, whatever. Because that whole "What's going on between us?" bit fits in logically, to me anyway, better after this episode than before it. In my opinion, they've written the relationship between Lee and Dee out of logical order, and left stuff out in the process. But that's just me. Happy Valentine's Day.

Oh, and those of you who want Lee+Kara? When you have two main characters who have sexual tension between them, you stretch it out as long as possible. When they pair up, its a classic jump-the-shark moment for a series. Last week was just a tease--I don't think you'll be getting Lee+Kara for a while. But who knows, we already have alien babies on this show.

As for those who think Dee is a bad person for doing this to Billy, I'll say this, and I know you all are going to love this one. Dee is acting as EVERY woman does. Women like to have several guys to choose from and then they settle down with the one who "provides" the most. Men are the opposite--we find that one woman that rocks our world, latch on, and then we look around the room and see if there is anywhere else we can "spread our seed," you know, just casually. You know what I mean? Men and women are opposites. Dee's just acting true to her genes. Yeah, its bitchy, but its not really any different than Lee ready to hit anything, anywhere, anytime. When it sucks is when you are in Billy's position--trust me, I been there. And Billy, it was probably better to take the bullet. Come on, Billy, don't be a hero.

If you don't like that theory, then consider this: as a theme (the way men are vs. the way women are) I think they are using it in the Sharon+Chief+Helo storyline as well. Think about it.

As for the show, I'm sure I'll have something to add after I watch it all, but I just wanted to react to everyone's comments about the relationship. Otherwise, I LUV Dana Delaney. I hope I like this show, even though I can already piece together what I missed. Who knows? Maybe its better when you know what's coming instead of being hit over the head with some of the logical leaps this show takes.

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After "Scar" they can't do a Lee/Kara thing. Kara is hung up on Anders, and won't be getting over that soon. Her starting a relationship with anyone other than him would be entirely against character. So, for now, Lee and Kara will stay friends, but with some lingering attraction and some messy underlying subtext and confusion. (Just like the original series Apollo and Starbuck! Ha!).

Of all the people for Dee to go for...well, it's either going to be Lee or Gaeta, as far as I can tell. They're people she works closely with (and I get the impression that it's really hard for anyone on Galactica to become close to someone outside of work - witness the mess Lee makes in Black Market), and Lee is the one they've shown has a close working relationship with, so...

It ain't perfect, but it does make sense, I guess. And I'm sure thast BSG being what it is, this relationship will get weird and dysfunctional fast, what with professional duties, post-Billy-guilt, etc.

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Tom, first, please don't take my early comment as a slam, just as a little jab. I actually like reading your commentary quite a bit. I don't always agree with it, but I always enjoy it.

Today, I agree with just about everything you said. I'm sure Moore thinks that he's been teasing this Lee/Dee thing for a while, with the CQC fight training, Dee on the radio during Lee's ejection, etc etc, but he didn't really. I like the concept of leaving some things to the imagination, and implying that some events took place, but even that didn't happen here.

I know I'm not going to get Lee/Kara, for all of the same reasons that I'm finally getting Josh/Donna on the West Wing. What I really wish is that some writer could find a way to sucessfully make that type of relationship work thematically and interestingly. Unfortuately, I don't think anyone's hit the nail on the head yet.

Still can wish though ;)

And I agree with you that Dee is believable in her actions. Though I still think its a crummy thing to do. Also, I don't think Chief/Helo/Boomer compares as well, as there were two different Boomer's who (I believe) split off of same shared history.

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I don't really see why some people don't like the baby story line.

I guess I can see the potential for shark-jumping or at least some cheese. But still.

To me it is just about the most fucked up thing that I can think of the Cylons doing to humans (other than killing billions of course). Having half-breeds right on their ship. Tricking humans into impregnating them. Messed up man.

Maybe the idea of the baby story line is cooler in my head than it will end up on paper...

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Wayne, If I may, I will play devil's advocate from the cylon point of view. For whatever reasons the cylons went to war with the humans (reasons the writers are not altogether specific about), one thing seems certain is that they (cylons) are deeply and religiously committed to their plan. Notice how the writers always remind us of the plan? I am not sure what "the plan" is besides the obvious defeat of humanity but it looks like it may center around the baby storyline. It is my opinion that the cylons may wish to evolve into a higher being, They may feel that mixing with human dna will bring them closer to God. The point is that the cylons are not at all that "messed up" when you consider what they feel is at stake for them. As far as being tricked into impregnating Sharon? Sharon could trick me 24 hours a day eight days a week!!! Tim.

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Tim: Maybe I read into something in the past that wasn't as obvious to everyone else as I thought (or maybe I'm plain dern wrong), but I thought that the Cylon plan, specifically re: your favorite mommy and her baby had been at the very least, pointed to.

I'll go back and watch the last sequences of Season 1... Wait... I lent them to my parents in North Carolina! DAMN! Ok, can you go back and watch those last scenes with Six and Baltar on Kobol, but I thought that the Cylons needed the baby because they'd been unable to reproduce (the human way) on their own, and they were theorizing that true love (which, IMHO they are incapable of) was the catalyst of human life.

Or something.

Its late, I'm sick, and I think I might just be rambling for no point :)

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i love Kara/Lee, i just want to say that first.

but (and apparently i'm the only one) i like the Apollo/Dee pairing. i think it's cute and sweet and maybe what Lee (who is WAY too serious) needs. i agree with Dorv - i like to imagine things based on one or two hints in the show. i was a little upset with what Dee did with Billy cause he kinda didn't deserve it (i'm gonna miss Billy) but of all the non-Kara (non-Laura) possibilities for Lee i like Dee (do wish it didn't rhyme). Kara clearly has to get over Anders before she can reconcile her relationship with Lee so while that's going on i'd rather see Lee with Dee than the hooker.

the episode was ok. i miss Baltar & Six - they're my favorites, so when they're not in the episode AT ALL i get kinda sad. they better come back soon. but i love this show ;)

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I heard a rumor that in keeping with Apollo's promiscuities lately, there is going to be a plot-line in the season finale that involves Apollo and Helo. I think they are tentatively titling that episode "Brokeback Galactica."

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I think of a lot of you commentators out there need the main heroine to be with the main hero. Lee and Dualla are very nice pairing. Just because Lee and Kara have a history doesn't mean they should be together. In fact, it would be a bit mainstream soap opera-ish and a bit incestuous if they did. A Lee and Dualla pairing will hopefully get to see Dee's character developed.

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