Monday, March 26, 2007

Holy Frak!

The third season of Battlestar Galactica has drawn to an end. After the nailbiting cliffhanger of season one, and the "uh oh" ending of season two, it's nice to watch the closing credits with a sense of mild closure. Even though I wanted to throw things at the screen when I saw the little "Returns in 2008" script, it won't be a long, crazy wait. There are even rumors of a TV movie in the fall, so that should feed my Jamie Bamber cravings.

Ah, now, where to begin?

The opening scene with Adama shaving and Roslin in bed gave me giggles. I hope they keep any romance notions on the back burner, because the friendship they have is priceless.

Baltar's trial. With no rumors of the terrific James Callis leaving the show, I knew that Baltar had to either get off, or escape prior to execution. I like that he was found not guilty, because the look of utter abandonment on his face when Lee and the Lawyer left him was priceless. Lee's witness stand speech was one of the most compelling monologues I've heard in ages, and every single point he made was true. Especially his own shortcomings and involment in leaving the settlers behind on New Caprica. Great turn when the elder Adama voted in favor of acquittal and pissed off Roslin. I wonder if she's so intent on Baltar's blood, because she can't stand to admit that she has failed at something along the way. That she's not a saint, either.

The Four. I still don't know if I believe that Tighe, Tori, Tyrol and Sam (doesn't that sound like a blues band?) are really four of the final five Cylon models. It seems too obvious, too easy. But I've heard rumors that one of next season's themes is exploring what it means to be human. Hmm... Either way, we still have one model left.

I so called Starbuck's reappearance. I just couldn't believe that my girl was dead, and that her big destiny was to explode in a ball of light. The look on Lee's face was adorable, when he realized who was in the bogey ship. Although I forsee a less than joyous reunion once she gets back on board the Galactica. They believed her head; she shows up not dead. Um, Cylon, anyone? Even if she's not (and I truly hope she isn't), they'll question it for a while.

Overall, I enjoyed this season more than last season (some of those episodes were very scattershot, like the writers weren't reading each other's scripts from week to week). There was a moment or two this year that made me scratch my head, but many moments that had me either cheering or thinking. It's not a perfect show (if it was, they would have let Dee die a few eps ago), but no show is perfect.

It does, however, continue to entertain me. It also continues to be one of the best written, best acted shows on television. Now if only we could get the Emmy voters to figure that out.

2 comments:

Zonk said...

You know, I haven't watched a single full episode of this new Battlestar. When I saw the trailer and realized they had changed the gender of one of my favorite characters, I just said the frak with it, and never got into the show.

Many of my friends have told me I've missed a great series, but you can't watch everything, and it may be too late now to jump in. Too much backstory to catch up on.

The Four do sound like a Blues band, come to think of it. Now what would the name of their band be?

I'm waiting for the next season of the Doctor myself...

Peggy K said...

I also knew they had to bring back Kara - I just didn't know how. Having her appear so calm and happy at the end there was a surprise. It's not clear to me if she is "real" (if so, where did she get the intact Viper?) or some kind of guardian angel.

Great turn when the elder Adama voted in favor of acquittal and pissed off Roslin. I wonder if she's so intent on Baltar's blood, because she can't stand to admit that she has failed at something along the way. That she's not a saint, either.

That is a good point. Roslin has had to do things that must weigh on her conscience, and she might have hoped that convicting Baltar would absolve her. There is also the fact that she remembers seeing Baltar and Six before the attack on Caprica, which proves (to her anyway) that Baltar was colluding with the Cylons from the beginning.

I'm looking forward to see where they take it next season (I'm looking forward to the new Doctor series too).