Battlestar Galactica, episode 7: "Six Degrees of Seperation"

Fenster

I'll make it a public poll this time as someone turned up last week before the episode aired and put down a few votes for "I'd rather watch Andromeda!"

I'm looking forward to this episode. In just about every TV guide I've flicked through for this week, Six Degrees of Seperation has made their picks, so it must be something good.

Nukem

It was crap!

Yeah i got it right.Before 6 you posted the pollp
Good man Fenster-Looks good alright cant wait to see it.il vote later

Sorry this deserved an edit was just channel flicking and saw futurama on and it was "Cylon and Garfunkal" singing

RuggieBear

It was crap!

strange episode....but twas ok.....

ixoy

It was great!

Lots and lots of crazy Baltar! W00t! He was great - and there was so many funny lines - "Wait! You haven't washed your hands!" HAH or "Let's dispense with the foreplay.." or "Why don't you open the top button" when everyone can see HAH!

Nice also how Baltar was more composed at the end. Does he believe? I don't think so. But this new development enables people to humor crazy Baltar and get him doing the work of the Cylon. The beauty, the bit I love so much, is that Baltar IS guilty. Hah!

Caprica... not much happened but we had so much fun with Crazy Baltar that I didn't mind. Ohh and incidentally it's good to see the Chief is finally becoming suspicious of GalacticaBoomer - but was it he who did the grafitti?

Stark

It was great!

Fussy bitch that I am, I am proud to award this episode 5 stars even though I was rooting for "Madame President" to be squatting on the toilet bowl with her knickers down when Baltar burst in The whole Baltar/Six thing was played exceptionally well tonight. I especially liked the interesting question posed by Baltar at the end - "Was there ever a real Shelly Godfrey?" followed by the answer to all life's intellectualism, zip with the trousers.

Helo and Boomer - mmm, passion. Hopefully some sex scenes to follow, Helo is such a ride, I want to see skin

I don't think it was Chief who did the grafitti, doesn't seem like his style (even though we don't yet know him well). It was more likely Six or Boomer herself in another blackout.

I'm surprised they didn't notice the fake photograph sooner, it was very obvious - the dull expression and the way he was wearing the exact same t-shirt he was wearing that day. Almost looked like he was posing for a mugshot

A huge improvement over last week.

Fenster

It was great!

I know who did the grafitti. PM me if you want to know, but its a big spoiler.

Fenster

It was great!

For the episode itself, it was great, but I really don't know what to make of it. I'll say more after I watch it again.

RuggieBear

It was crap!

Fenster wrote:

I know who did the grafitti. PM me if you want to know, but its a big spoiler.

Get ye back you vile tempter..... :eek:

\must resist.....

Fenster

It was great!

Give in... :cool:

Haruspex

It was okay...

As ixoy stated, some great lines in tonight's brilliant Baltar showcase.

Loved the comical Baltar/Six opening sequence and his incredulity that his beloved Six could be standing there for all to see and hear.

That she disappeared from his hallucinations in the empty house for the duration of her copy's stay on the Galactica was also an inventive touch in making him feel truly dazed, confused, isolated and alone. Felt the ending was resolved too quickly though. I know it was his "test" set by Six but I didn't foresee such an easy resolution to his situation. I want the guy to suffer I guess!

As regards Cylon-occupied Caprica, will this subplot ever dovetail with the main plot? Maybe I'm too impatient...

And to please Stark and TCamen tonight, we even had a fleeting few scenes with Apollo! Bet that made ye happy!

Looking forward to the Good/Bad/Ugly, c0y0te!

Peace

It was okay...

Scene with Baltar in the command centre... very funny... Ok so where is she?

I'm thinking Helo is never going to get off the planet. Planet Boomer will have ti kill him first because if he ever got back to Galactica he'd expose the sleeper boomer. Who knows, maybe he'll figure it out put 2 in her head just before he takes off into the sunset, but i have more respect for the writers and reckon he's a dead man walking.

Also, how the hell did shelly godfrey dissapear... where did she go and how did she do it?

TCamen

It was okay...

And to please Stark and TCamen tonight, we even had a fleeting few scenes with Apollo! Bet that made ye happy!

It did make me happy

Then again, it was a cracking episode in general, so Apollo was just the cherry on top. Like others have mentioned, Baltar & comedy do well together, some very funny moments, especially the bathroom scene with Gaida. Really thought it would be some random woman when Gaius threw open that stall.
"No more Mr. Nice Gaius!" classic line

Six is a pretty rockin' headwrecker when it comes to Gaius & making him do what she wants. Go Six!

I'm still liking the Caprica scenes, mostly because those CGI Cylons are nice to look at, and it breaks up the ship-based stuff quite nicely too. I'm sure it'll all come together towards the end, and we're over halfway now, so not much longer to wait!

Some interesting developments with Boomer being all cutesy with the Raider, and the Chief noticing it. Plus her mirror grafitti-- someone knows her secret!! :eek: I'll go with Boxey, just cos we haven't seen him in a while, and I'm sure he's important :rolleyes:

The small Tigh/Starbuck scene was fun too, short & sweet!

Overall, thumbs up! :cool:

c0y0te

It was great!

Ask... and ye shall receive (hmm - appropriate given the religious slant this evening as well!!).

OK - lets get to it....I gave this an 'amazing' vote and felt good doing it, even though it had its flaws. I compare this to having recently watched 'the incredibles' - it has flaws, it aint perfect - but tis better than most things you will ever see in animation/comedy/family drama this year so go watch it. Its worth it!! OK - back to the review...and this week I'm adding a new category (see below).

The Good:-

The Setup - Great title, great setup. The idea of bringing another 6 onboard just yielded so many wonderful opportunities to play with Baltar and his ever increasing insanity. Any opportunity to see these two (three?) together is welcome.

You can see her? - Holy crap I laughed out loud at that one. That scene must have taken ages to plan, and it was played out perfectly. The conversation between Adama, Tigh and his reactions.. wonderful stuff.

No more Mr. nice Gaius - The script writers were on fire at this point. Another laugh out loud moment, and the setting (a toilet).. perfection.

Potty Whispers - And speaking of setting, that whole scene was great craic. It was possible to discern his desperation as his whispers got louder and louder, and of course 6 just had to walk in.

Lab Rat - I thought the idea of Baltar (the scientest, the genius, the technological wizard), standing in a lab panicked beyond reason, resorting to ever more futile efforts to kill the image on the screen was brilliant. He tried, and he tried - and he still couldn't blow the image down. Sheer panic, great viewing and a decent bit of acting there.

Hello?... Hello? - My favourite bit of the entire episode. He resorts to calling in favours from el presidento, and works up to the condemnation we all know is coming, to be greeted with... silence, because she has dropped into the arms of morpheus on the other end of the line. Again - great script. You watch, and you laugh, and you really feel for the poor sod as the noose tightens around his neck.

Zipper Religion - What a way to return things to the status quo, after all he has been through, even through the panicked and desperate prayers, throught the realisation that he was being played from the start, right back to the point where his dick rules his head, yet again, and he hops right too it, regardless of the consequences. Nice.

Unfortunately - this episode had its flaws, but I'm happy to say nothing too nasty.

The Bad:-

Cylon, and thanks for the memories - A dissappearing, tall, georgous blonde and no one notices? A week after the other lad tried to blow the place to hell and back? Please.

Twice is not a charm - So we had one cylon trying to blow the ship into little itty bits last week, and now we have another just wandering in to do her dirty work... which means... go on, you can guess the rest... that the big bad cylons know EXACTLY where the fleet is, and yet are not reducing them to little pieces. Anyone else think this is a bit odd?

Finding God - I'm not particularly religious, but that aside, it seems a bit pedantic at this point to keep pushing the GOD THING. It may pan out, but right now I'm loosing interest in the fixation and repetition.

The Sleeper Awakens? - So BSG Boomer gets all drippy over the cylon raider, and goes off into trance like semi-orgasmic meandering all just so that the chief can *suddenly* get his suspicions aroused even further? Please - another case of pushing the plot a bit tooooo hard I reckon.

The Ugly:-

Lonely Hearts Club - The scene between Adama and 6 was progressing nicely, and I was buying it right up until the point where she starts in on him, goes for the kiss etc. It was incongruent with her character, it was overkill simply so he can then begin to 'suspect' her motives and ask for her to be kept on a watch? Too much script kiddies. You should have left it with the tear and the weeping out of shot, with Adama in repose as usual. The kiss was a mistake. It just doesn't work.


The Incomprehensible:-

I'm adding this section in from now on when I come across something which only the more observant of you may be able to solve. A problem if you will, a continuity issue which I perceived that I simply cannot explain, but perhaps you can (Fen - are you listening? )....

Boom Boom Baby! - OK, so we have Helo and Bad-Boomer gettin' it on down planetside. This I can see coming, but I can accept in due course. What I cannot fathom is how Bad-Boomer has ANY KNOWLEDGE of the relationship between BSG-Boomer and the Chief, unless someone is going to tell me we are heading down the 'hive mind' or 'shared conciousness' route - which I really hope we dont :rolleyes: ... This strikes me as a continuity issue or just plainly a mistake, but I'm open to suggestions


So thats it. Hope you find it amusing. Feel free to post/challenge/debunk.. thats what we're here for!

c0y0te

Cina

It was okay...

Great episode, I felt there was a few episodes that weren't able to live up to the brilliance of episode 1, but this episode was great.

ixoy

It was great!

c0y0te wrote:

Twice is not a charm - So we had one cylon trying to blow the ship into little itty bits last week, and now we have another just wandering in to do her dirty work... which means... go on, you can guess the rest... that the big bad cylons know EXACTLY where the fleet is, and yet are not reducing them to little pieces. Anyone else think this is a bit odd?

In keeping with my theory that this is some sort of giant test - they can wipe them out when wish to, but are keen instead to see how humans react to the varios scenarios they throw their way. Testing the Lords of Kobol faith against their own perhaps.

Finding God - I'm not particularly religious, but that aside, it seems a bit pedantic at this point to keep pushing the GOD THING. It may pan out, but right now I'm loosing interest in the fixation and repetition.

Again, it's in keeping with what we know of the Cylons. God is central to their philosophy and humans, it seems, have been judged and found wanting, particularly with their inferior faith. If it's the reason for their zealotry then it's only fair they continue to push their agenda.

The Sleeper Awakens? - So BSG Boomer gets all drippy over the cylon raider, and goes off into trance like semi-orgasmic meandering all just so that the chief can *suddenly* get his suspicions aroused even further?

Again no problem really. If anything's going to trigger the Cylon within, it's going to be the sight of pure Cylon. It makes sense the Chief would be working on it too and talking more to her.

Lonely Hearts Club - The scene between Adama and 6 was progressing nicely, and I was buying it right up until the point where she starts in on him, goes for the kiss etc. It was incongruent with her character, it was overkill simply so he can then begin to 'suspect' her

Don't think it was remotely incongruent to herself. What we saw of Boomers this week indicates that the Cylon models are in communication with each other. Hence CapricaBoomer knew what GalacticaBoomer was up to.
Similarly, BaltarSix has been talking to RealSix. BaltarSix has learnt that the best way to gain power over a man seems to be through seduction. She wants to try and gain power over Adama so naturally she'd try the very thing that's worked so well before - only it doesn't work so well with Adama. Thus they've now learnt a bit more about how human minds and emotions work and the principal players on Galactica.

Stark

It was great!

Lonely Hearts Club - The scene between Adama and 6 was progressing nicely, and I was buying it right up until the point where she starts in on him, goes for the kiss etc. It was incongruent with her character, it was overkill simply so he can then begin to 'suspect' her motives and ask for her to be kept on a watch? Too much script kiddies. You should have left it with the tear and the weeping out of shot, with Adama in repose as usual. The kiss was a mistake. It just doesn't work.

I thought it was good. It was obviously deliberate on her part, as part of her "plan for Gaius" and of course we've already seen that she's a perv. As for Adama, well men have needs don't they? Even if you were Mr. Super Commander, could you resist Six? I'm just surprised he didn't let her go for it with the tongue, but I guess the writers still want to keep some bit of super-humaness about him.

Boom Boom Baby! - OK, so we have Helo and Bad-Boomer gettin' it on down planetside. This I can see coming, but I can accept in due course. What I cannot fathom is how Bad-Boomer has ANY KNOWLEDGE of the relationship between BSG-Boomer and the Chief, unless someone is going to tell me we are heading down the 'hive mind' or 'shared conciousness' route - which I really hope we dont ... This strikes me as a continuity issue or just plainly a mistake, but I'm open to suggestions

I've a nice simple answer. The cylons aren't retarded. I mean come on, do you honestly believe that even if there's no shared connection whatsoever (which we've seen to be untrue because they instantly transfer conciousness when killed) that they weren't monitoring Sleeper Boomer in some way? What's the point of having her there otherwise?

GuanYin

Fenster wrote:

I know who did the grafitti. PM me if you want to know, but its a big spoiler.

Strange, so do I, in fact I have pretty much the details of the rest of the season.

I wonder if its the same details.

Nukem

It was crap!

That grafiti really was a nice touch! very unexpected.Have my theroies not spoiling by PM'ing Fenster, The bit in the control room was blood hilarious.
Couldnt belive it for a sec thought he was having one of his moments!!!!!!

Poor guy freaked off his tits-didnt see the pres apologizing to him proper(1-1)
But in the end he lived by the zipper-cant complain can he

Was an ok Ep.Want more guns and stuff,Caprica is still flat and boring storyline taking ages again.

koneko

It was a simple line, but I really liked it:
"He gave it to me before he died"
Gaius: "What, as opposed to after he died?"

He was on top form in this episode, really cool. Some of it dragged a bit, I agree the scenes on Caprica better build up to something really good because they're just not as entertaining so far.

Scruff

gaaahh!!! i missed it and i'm going to miss the repeat too.
dont suppose anyone recorded it and can send me it on a cd?? i'll reimburse costs and give you loads of good karma!

Johnny Storm

It was crap!

There were plenty of "toaster" cracks too.
As mentioned above the "you didn't wash your hands line" was the highlight for me.
Also did anyone notice a Homer Simpson-esque shriek of frustration as Balthar tried to smash up the computer?
Getting a bit random here but if you pressed the red button on your sky remote after the program they were showing brief interviews with the Balthar actor. His accent and mannerisms very very like Tony Blair.... That might explain a lot....

c0y0te

It was great!

Ioxy,

I'm not convinced about the communication between cylons theory.. but I like where you are going with the 'experiment' route:).

The reason I don't subscribe to the instant/shared communication between cylons is that there has been no evidence of it to date.

On planet - bad-boomer has to shuffle away in order to meet up and talk to the others.

In the mini-series, the same thing happened when they cylons eventually arrived to pick up the straggler left behind at the arms depot.

On ship - the appearance of 6 was not necessarilly as a direct result of Baltars little hissy-fit and head-6 storming off. If you think about it, she has been manipulating him from the start, and probably *knew* that this other 6 was coming because that was all part of the plan, and therefore engineered his 'state of mind' at the right time.

Tenuous I know :rolleyes: .. but I've yet to see any actual evidence that there is shared communication.

I do like the petri-dish idea tho.. that would explain the planetside rubbish and the reason for not attacking immediately, however - it will wear thin unless an objective is met soon.

c0y0te

Ivan

It was great!

I'm curious as to why either Six or all of the Cylons seem to be building up Baltars reputation. Between the attempted bombing and the attemped character assasination...

As Six put it, no one could accuse him again, of betraying the Humans.
Is this some how connected to his "Cylon detector"?

I was very disappointed that they wrapped it all up in one episode, really should have played it out for another episode at least. But then, I'm sure they have other things planned.

Am I the only one who likes the Caprica storyline?
Its interesting, watching the Cylons study Helo. But then, surely he must be getting suspicious of all that is going around him. I mean, he killed a Cylon with 2 hits, then hid under a bridge while two Cylons searched for him, just overhead.

Is he really that dumb?
I'd like to see more of the Cylon ship.
And who wrote 'Cylon' on boomers Mirror?

Great stuff so far, gets 'amazing' from me.

hardCopy

c0y0te wrote:

In the mini-series, the same thing happened when they cylons eventually arrived to pick up the straggler left behind at the arms depot.

Not sure about the rest but when Adama killed the first human-like guy in the depot he realised that the guys consciousness was trapped due to the storm.

Stark

It was great!

The reason I don't subscribe to the instant/shared communication between cylons is that there has been no evidence of it to date.

On planet - bad-boomer has to shuffle away in order to meet up and talk to the others.

In the mini-series, the same thing happened when they cylons eventually arrived to pick up the straggler left behind at the arms depot.

On ship - the appearance of 6 was not necessarilly as a direct result of Baltars little hissy-fit and head-6 storming off. If you think about it, she has been manipulating him from the start, and probably *knew* that this other 6 was coming because that was all part of the plan, and therefore engineered his 'state of mind' at the right time.

Tenuous I know .. but I've yet to see any actual evidence that there is shared communication.

Cylons of the same model share communications links.

c0y0te

It was great!

Stark - on what do you base that statement?

Which part of the mini series or the eps to date demonstrates this.... and please NO SPOILERS if you happen to know this because of something else that happens later in the show!!

so - gwan...prove it to me, you know you want to

c0y0te

endplate

It was okay...

Hi there folks it's my first time writing on the BSG forums. I've been watching since the beginning and I think the series is brilliant. This is what I think is going on.

6 wants Gaius to build the Cylon detector cos it'll give her access to a neuclear warhead. And with 6 driving Gaius mad he'll probably eventually decide that blowing the bomb is the easiest way out of the mess he's created and then disablying the BSG for the imminant attack by the cylons.

I still can't really figure whats going on planetside but I'm enjoying watching whats going on but like most of you I wish it would speed up a little. They have a plan for Helo but what it is is confusing but everything that has gone on makes sense so far ie the kidnapping of boomer so she could be battered up it's all part of their plan but why? I don't know and to be honest why are they bothering after all they did bomb the planet in the beginning with the intention of killing everybody

I think the similar cylon models are networked ie all the 6's know what the other 6's are doing and the boomers etc.

The inside of the cylon raider is taking a long time to dry out don't you think

I do overall think the acting is brillant the charactors are very believable the storylines are strong and very gripping and I do look forward to monday nights

Haruspex

It was okay...

Now please correct me if I'm off the mark here but haven't the Cylons had years to plan their strategy before they re-emerged on the spacestation in the mini-series? It's looking like an elaborate chess game with each move meticulously planned. Six on Caprica; Boomer on Galactica - they've been in place for quite a while, building up trust amongst the humans while infiltrating their systems.

In this way I don't think they share a communication link but have been pre-programmed to act in a certain evil Cylonic way. In "Water" Boomer planted the explosives in the water tanks not because she was ordered to do so but this is possibly something a Cylon would do regardless and knows this will hurt the fleet.

What I cannot fathom is how Bad-Boomer has ANY KNOWLEDGE of the relationship between BSG-Boomer and the Chief

We really don't know when this relationship started. Certainly long before the Colonies were annihiliated and that would have allowed information to be exchanged between the copies. Such prior information and planning is guiding them now, not any recent communication. What do you think, c0y0te?

TCamen

It was okay...

We really don't know when this relationship started. Certainly long before the Colonies were annihiliated and that would have allowed information to be exchanged between the copies. Such prior information and planning is guiding them now, not any recent communication. What do you think, c0y0te?

Re: Boomer & the Chief, this is exactly what I was gonna say. I mean, we've had Adama say before that he tolerated the relationship because Galactica was gonna be de-commissioned and it was peace-time etc. I don't think there's ever been a statement to say how long Boomer & the Chief were seeing each other, but I think it's fair to say that the Cylons know about it, because it was most certainly going on when the Cylons returned & attacked all the Colonies.
I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the Cylons knew up to that point everything that Galactica-Boomer knew.
The test will surely be if Caprica-Boomer displays any knowledge of Galactica-Boomer's break up with the Chief....

Edit: Just occurred to me-- Also, crew members have said before that many people on board Galactica knew about the Chief and Boomer...perhaps another Cylon agent on Galactica passed on the information.

c0y0te

It was great!

Prior knowledge - maybe :rolleyes: .. I suppose I could live with that.

However, the shared communication thingy just doesnt' wash with me yet. We have to assume the BSG is at least 30 to 50+ light years away from Caprica at this point (given the time period and the number of FTL jumps since the first episode). Communicating over those types of distances, cylon model to cylon model just doesn't seem feasible to me.

c0y0te

ixoy

It was great!

c0y0te wrote:

However, the shared communication thingy just doesnt' wash with me yet. We have to assume the BSG is at least 30 to 50+ light years away from Caprica at this point (given the time period and the number of FTL jumps since the first episode). Communicating over those types of distances, cylon model to cylon model just doesn't seem feasible to me.

But given that we assume the Chief and Boomer were screwing around before the attack, then CapricaBoomer doesn't need any form of communication - light speed or otherwise.
The only one who needed communication, as I see it, was BaltarSix chip with RealSix. Since RealSix was on the ship, there was no lightspeed communication needed to communicate and transfer info with BaltarSix. And there's no indication that they were talking to CapricaSix or had any need to. It's all still plausible.

GuanYin

ixoy wrote:

But given that we assume the Chief and Boomer were screwing around before the attack, then CapricaBoomer doesn't need any form of communication - light speed or otherwise.
The only one who needed communication, as I see it, was BaltarSix chip with RealSix. Since RealSix was on the ship, there was no lightspeed communication needed to communicate and transfer info with BaltarSix. And there's no indication that they were talking to CapricaSix or had any need to. It's all still plausible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Helo do all the talking regarding Boomers relationship with the Chief? AFAIR Boomer just looked down at the ground as he tripped over his tongue mentioning it.

In that case, no prior knowledge is needed as she just played along and eventually just shut him up all together by sticking her tongue down his throat.

I think (and this is a guess, not a spoiler) I see whats happening on Caprica, I reckon they are monitoring Helo and his personality and response to different situation, perhaps they are trying to figure out his personality traits in order to create a cylon model 13.

Peace

It was okay...

OOOOrrrrrrr.... since the real enemy they need to defeat is the military group of the fleet. The civilians will be easy to pick off after galactica is destroyed. Actually some ships would not survive at all if galactica left them.

They are probably learning from Helo's responses to the situations they are putting infront of him.

It would be better for the Cyklons to know what the military will do in certain situations to enable them to trap Galactica. I would imagine the Cyklons have learned from the incident with the space station/nebula type thing where galactica and the fleet got away. Simply attacking them will mean Galactica and the fleet will FTL the frack out of there and the Cyklons will have to start their search over again.

Tactics my good man, tactics. Or are they after some tictacs?

ixoy

It was great!

syke wrote:

I think (and this is a guess, not a spoiler) I see whats happening on Caprica, I reckon they are monitoring Helo and his personality and response to different situation, perhaps they are trying to figure out his personality traits in order to create a cylon model 13.

Actually that's an interesting idea. It's in keeping with my belief, stated over a number of threads, that this is just a massive test. But more interesting is the idea they may use this as the basis for a new Cylon - it would make a great way to end Season One. As far as I can make out they're running a series of tests, including on Galactica, trying to understand humans, working towards some mysterius will of God.

Speaking of God, Six's explanation of God was slightly simplistic. Given that they're cybernetic in origin, perhaps part of the Cylon's problem is understanding methods of faith and humanity, human diversity. So they engineer these tests to understand us, understand them, and better appreciate abstract concepts like spirituality. Again, bringing them closer to God...

c0y0te

It was great!

I like the theory of Model 13.. that at least might explain all the bollox on the planet... but I've yet to be convinced of any inter-model communication.

Regarding the conversation with boomer-helo, she did respond... but even leaving that aside, the idea that baltar's 6 could have somehow communicated at will with the other 6 after her little hissy fit with Baltar - just doesn't wash with me.

I like evidence, things I can explain etc... and so far I don't see them. Then again - that doesn't mean I'm seeing the 'whole' picture yet. There is a spoiler thread for anyone who wants it.. but I've managed to avoid peeking so far

c0y0te

delly

It was crap!

The scene in the command centre was gas. I thought to myself that he's never gonna get out of this one, therefore i was little bit disappointed tbh by the net result. Nothing was really achieved other than Baltars rep being increased (i think he has 3 greenies now).

I thought the picture analysing scene was a tribute to that film with Gene Hackman and Kevin Costner (i think), you know the one where he turns out to be Russian.

And finally, a note to Baltar, talking to six and other people thinking your crazy is one thing, but engaging in the funky chicken with a fantasy is quite another. I can see him now wandering around the ship with his pants around his ankles.

Stark

It was great!

Actually that's an interesting idea. It's in keeping with my belief, stated over a number of threads, that this is just a massive test. But more interesting is the idea they may use this as the basis for a new Cylon - it would make a great way to end Season One. As far as I can make out they're running a series of tests, including on Galactica, trying to understand humans, working towards some mysterius will of God.

That would tie-in nicley with Baltar's comment at the end of this episode - "was there ever an actual Shelly Godfrey?". And maybe implicitly - "was she also a total horn-ball? "

Bluehair

It was great!

Personally I'm finding the whole re-imagined BSG fantastic. I haven't been eagerly anticipating the next episode of anything this much in a long time.

There's obviously a lot more going on than meets the eye and thats whats so intriguing about the whole thing.

Could 'God' possibly be a person? (or an advanced Cylon?)

One thing struck me though as to why the Cylons are playing around with the surviving humans so much... Is the BSG their best hope of finding and destroying the mytical 13th Colony and so ensuring humanitys final defeat?

Praetorian

It was crap!

I was disappointed with this episode for the reasons stated above.

Haruspex

It was okay...

Bluehair wrote:

Could 'God' possibly be a person? (or an advanced Cylon?)

It's interesting to note that the Colonists always refer to the "Gods of Kobol" while Six refers to just "God" in the episode.
Is there some punishment being meted out here by the Cylons on the Colonists for worshipping multiple deities? It's intriguing and I hope they explore this quasi-religious aspect a bit more!

Johnny Storm

It was crap!

Haruspex wrote:

It's interesting to note that the Colonists always refer to the "Gods of Kobol" while Six refers to just "God" in the episode.
Is there some also punishment being meted out here by the Cylons on the Colonists for worshipping multiple deities? It's intriguing and I hope they explore this quasi-religious aspect a bit more!

I agree 100%. Lots of possibilities for some adult, thought provoking, metaphysical jiggerypokery. Even the original BSG series got into some arcane stuff towards the end (before they completely lost the plot)
However, they might be a bit scared of really tackling esoteric quasi-religious issues head-on due to their need for acceptance in the American market.
Are the Cylons a metaphor for the religious right in America?

c0y0te

It was great!

Let me first say that I *really* hope there is no moral payoff at the end of series. The way its going is challenging enough, keeping with the physical reality, the adult themes and the gritty camerwork... but the risk raised above (about keeping the americans happy) is a real one.

Good shows get cancelled regularly in the US due to their unfortunately lack of faith in anything *different*. If shows don't conform to bog standard crowd pleasing moral orthodoxy - they generally get canned by the networks because they don't get the audience figures.

This season has started off well, and looks promising, but it's still season 1 of a new show so it's future is in doubt, unfortunately. You only have to look at the track record of challenging sci-fi such as Babylon 5 or Farscape, both of which got cancelled, and only due to lots of pressure were they rescued (in one form or another).

My fear is that season 1 will all wrap up nicely, keeping the americans happy and massively dissappointing us.. but I shall keep the faith until episode 13 because (niggles aside) this series has been the most captivating piece of sci-fi I've seen in a long while, which I belive could be worthy of sharing the same sentance space as Babylon 5 and Farscape!

c0y0te

soma

Bluehair wrote:

Is the BSG their best hope of finding and destroying the mytical 13th Colony and so ensuring humanitys final defeat?

Speaking as someone who was an absolute BSG-nut as a child, I'm puzzled at the complete lack of reference to the 13th colony in the episodes..?

I didn't see the pilot/mini-series - did they mention it much..?

Also seeing as this is a re-imagined BSG (actually so far the only re-imagined thing I strongly dislike is that starbuck is now a CHICK!!! nnnooooooo *LOL*), if they get to earth (surely 'when' if the series lasts long enough) I wonder how advanced (which year..) Earth will be.... there's room for another twist there altho I'd probably prefer the timeline in the original.

Johnny Storm

It was crap!

soma wrote:

Speaking as someone who was an absolute BSG-nut as a child, I'm puzzled at the complete lack of reference to the 13th colony in the episodes..?

I didn't see the pilot/mini-series - did they mention it much..?

Also seeing as this is a re-imagined BSG (actually so far the only re-imagined thing I strongly dislike is that starbuck is now a CHICK!!! nnnooooooo *LOL*), if they get to earth (surely 'when' if the series lasts long enough) I wonder how advanced (which year..) Earth will be.... there's room for another twist there altho I'd probably prefer the timeline in the original.

You bet they mentioned the lost colony and in an appropriately cynical, twisted way!

IMHO the worst thing about this BSG is that it IS a remake. I cant understand why they didn't start from scratch.

I agree with you that arriving at Earth could be very dodgy but on the showing so far I have a reasonable level of faith that they will continue to surprise us. I personally hope they will keep Earth for season 4 or 5 - oh yeah!

Johnny Storm

It was crap!

c0y0te wrote:

Let me first say that I *really* hope there is no moral payoff at the end of series. The way its going is challenging enough, keeping with the physical reality, the adult themes and the gritty camerwork... but the risk raised above (about keeping the americans happy) is a real one.

Good shows get cancelled regularly in the US due to their unfortunately lack of faith in anything *different*. If shows don't conform to bog standard crowd pleasing moral orthodoxy - they generally get canned by the networks because they don't get the audience figures.

This season has started off well, and looks promising, but it's still season 1 of a new show so it's future is in doubt, unfortunately. You only have to look at the track record of challenging sci-fi such as Babylon 5 or Farscape, both of which got cancelled, and only due to lots of pressure were they rescued (in one form or another).

My fear is that season 1 will all wrap up nicely, keeping the americans happy and massively dissappointing us.. but I shall keep the faith until episode 13 because (niggles aside) this series has been the most captivating piece of sci-fi I've seen in a long while, which I belive could be worthy of sharing the same sentance space as Babylon 5 and Farscape!

c0y0te

I wonder what proportion of the target audience in USA has already seen it on bittorrent? and what their reaction has been to date?
Apparently Ronald Moore has asked potential US fans not to watch it on BT because it will impact ratings/ad revenue when it does air over there.

Fenster

It was great!

The original "The Hand of God" featured the fleet recieving transmissions from Earth. If the remake stays with the original...

Sooner or Later

It was okay...

I went for "great" rather than "amazing".

Loved the scenes in the bathroom and in the command centre, Baltar's increasingly frantic and increasingly futile attempts to destroy the computer, some great lines ; "No more Mister nice Gaius", "You haven't washed your hands". Also the twist with the grafitti.

But.. the Caprica plot is beginning to drag. I agree it is some kind of test and I like the idea of a 13th Cylon, but just how naive is Helo? He has killed several centurions and yet the Cylons seem to be only devoting a minimum of resources to catching him. Shouldn't he find that suspicious?

As to why the Cylons want Baltar to be above suspicion, I would guess because they intend to make him do more treasonous stuff. A cylon detector that implicates innocent people and lets the real cylons get off scot free?

secret_squirrel

It was okay...

One implication of sherry bobbins or whatever realSix's name was turning up - was - was it even Dr G who betrayed humanity?

Isnt is possible there was a cylon shagging every brainy Guy with security clearance. realSix certainly implied that she was sleeping with the other doctor.

Wouldnt it be ironic (and evil and in keeping with the show) if chipSix was manipulating Dr G with the guilt of something he's not even responsible for?

And God is sooo obviously the cylon overmind/mainframe. Either that or the curly haired bad guy from the original series.... (nooooooo)

edit: and how long before someone says Rock Me Dr Gaius??? Cue guest appearance from Falco.

Belisarius

By Virtue of centering on Gaius/Six its a solid episode.I ranked it as "great" though that feels a little gushing. Gaius swings from Playboy arrogance to helpless Panic with ease. Strangely he's the most convincing and human character in the show. But still minimal plot advancement either on BSG or Planet Crapella is really starting to grate.Im starting to think the cylon plan touted in the opening sequence is of the five year variety.
And while i did enjoy this ep, I gave it a good on the poll,Its the same basic plots over and over again.So much is being neglected.I want to actually see some of the hapless refugees kick a fuss,Let the president sink her teeth into something...

Stark

It was great!

The storyline on Caprica isn't that slow compared to the likes of say Angel Season 5 where we waited a full season and still didn't much satisfaction as to "why the hell would the senior partners give them their whole LA office?".