Battlestar Galactica: Current Episode (No Spoilers!)

[Evan van Eyk]

While the episode was very good, it had some holes. I read that the show has no military advisor, but Moore, etc do this up from their own knowledge base, as he said. Well, it shows in this episode.

First of all when Cain enters Galactica she does not ask for permission to come aboard, which is a major faux pas in military protocol - one that does not match the military hardliner she is presumed to be. Nor does her ignorance of the presidency. While I can see that she does not like the idea of a teacher being president, it is not her decision and I cannot believe that she loved all the presidents up to now.
While I would say she is not CO of the fleet at least it is questionable that she is. The President of the Colonies made Adama Head of the fleet, no matter who steps on Galactica's deck, legally Adama remains CO of the fleet unless the President says otherwise. She even could make Dee the head of the fleet, its her call, no one else's. But I guess that can be argued, and maybe Adama wanted to avoid such struggle.
What I liked was the depiction of Cain's arrogance, she welcoming Galactica to the Colonial Fleet.
What I did not like was her age. She seems far to young compared to Adama. Also it is strange that there is no real Captain onboard Pegasus but she is CO. I always was of the impression that this was uncommon in western military, which the colonial one seems to derive from.
What simply put was wrong, was the "interrogation team". Why did nobody know of this? Again they'd had to ask for permission to come aboard and before off-ship personnel can interrogate a prisoner they would have to report to the CO or XO first. I mean you cannot simpoly come aboard a ship, enter high-security area and do what you like. And then they simply left - how? Why? Again it shows that the production team is not versatile in military protocol, I think. At least they's had to ask for launch clearance and had needed the deckcrew to get the Rapier to launching position and I doubt any of the Chief's personnel had helped them, especially since hte officer was dead, so noone could have ordered that.
Then Cain's remark about "detached service" - although I am willed to add that to her derangement. How "not-detached" can you get, when detached means flying in formation with Colonial One and all humanity?...

What I did not understand as well, was the lack of remark about the attempted rape. Adama should have said something. After all rape is a crime and I assume it is in the colonial military as well, so Tyrol and Helo stopped a crime and not commited one. I think Adama gave up to quick, letting them go...


I think the only solution now left open would be for Roslin to promote Adama to a rank higher than Cain or make clear that she appointed him CO of the fleet. Or maybe Fisk mutinies or something...

[Tobian]

Strictly speaking it is hard to know how their military operates and who holds what rank/ability/responsibility, because they are not from earth and are separated by several thousand years of history. Comparably I suspect predynastic Egyptian armies worked somewhat different to 21st century american military one's

[Calcoran]

What I did not like was her age. She seems far to young compared to Adama.

Thank you! I'm kind of struggling on a French board where I usually lurk, trying to make them agree that she's a little too young to be an admiral. She could have been an Xo, all right, promoted because her captain got killed in the first battle against the Cylons, why not. But an established admiral? Come on.

What simply put was wrong, was the "interrogation team". Why did nobody know of this? Again they'd had to ask for permission to come aboard and before off-ship personnel can interrogate a prisoner they would have to report to the CO or XO first. I mean you cannot simpoly come aboard a ship, enter high-security area and do what you like. And then they simply left - how? Why?

Again, Cain could have ordered it. She probably told Adama: "I want my interrogation teem to check your Cylon. You will give them access to it.". Adama:" I can assure you she is rather cooperative, there should be no need for an interrogation team". Her: "I read you report, and I'm inclined to think that you've grown really soft on that matter ... as well as others we'll have to discuss. You will give them access to the Cylon an leave them alone with it".
How they flew away? Not sure ... maybe they had some other BSP personel waiting near the raider? Remember the BSP men enjoying BSG's booze, from whom Helo and Tyrol learnt about the interrogation?

What I did not understand as well, was the lack of remark about the attempted rape. Adama should have said something. After all rape is a crime and I assume it is in the colonial military as well, so Tyrol and Helo stopped a crime and not commited one. I think Adama gave up to quick, letting them go...

I don't think they've come quite as far as considering a Cylon as a person, even Boomer, even on BSG. And I don't think raping a toaster is a crime (even in the most puritan US state ) ... nor is it a crime (AFAIK) to boink one of those ... what's their name again? "Real dolls" or something.
This is what they think they're doing. Boinking a toaster. Of course, we consider it differently, as do probably Helo, Tyrol, and probably Kara and Gaius ... but humanity as a whole in this show is still in the "Cylons=Toasters" mode. IMO of course .

[Evan van Eyk]

I always had the impression that Adama regarded them at least to be alive. He was rather broken after Sharon shot him ( this why-scene in the morgue ) and after all she saved his live ( on Kobol ) and that of humanity just one episode before.
Rape is not only a crime because of the harm done to the victim but when you let it happen discipline goes overboard - whcih seems to be the case judging what the BSP pilots say. So this was, I don't know, a little unconvincing.

Oh and besides legally it would be quite difficult to prove she is not human, since she has the exact same DNA - so much the same that they cannot tell a difference to a ordinary human being. So who knows maybe she was ony conditioned to be a human... And it was especially cruel since Baltar explained to Cain that the Cylons suffer just like a human being.

No matter what I always found that an intriguing topic of BSG that the "good guys" regard alive cylons as not even subhuman but as a thing, not even really alive... We will see what happens in the future.


BTW I checked imdb and it says Forbes is 38 - which is really young for an Admiral - unbelievingly young - but she does a good job still.

[Calcoran]

I think Moore tries to show us how it feels in a war, where "the enemy" has killed so many of your compatriots/tribe/whatever. It's easier to think of the enemy as loathable killing machines, rather than people like you and me ... it's probably safer too ... in the short term of course .

Terry Pratchett says something quite interesting in one of his books. It goes something along the lines ... oh heck, off to lspace.org to find the exact quote ... gosh, can't even find it. Anyhow, it goes along the lines: ''In most languages, the word for mankind means 'The True Human Beings', whereas the word for the tribe on the other side of the hill usually means 'The Buggers Who Are Not Like Us'. If only they'd tried something like 'The Other True Human Beings' ..."

Sorry for butchering a Pratchett quote . Anyhow, you see what I mean?

[Tricky]

I was a little surprised that no Galactica personel were present during the interrogation; not even a guard.

As to the Six on Pegasus, while she may have been a sleeper agent, she is still a cylon, like Sharron II. And like Sharron II, she apparently has the same 'free will' that the human type Cylons have. Remember, the Six on Caprica showed several emotions/moods, while they were 'testing' Helo. So, even though she is built to outthink and outsmart us, she is still vulnerable to the same pressures and stresses that we are. It's not like she could hide in her programming forever.

So, do you think she's the only Cylon on Pegasus?

As an aside, I think they should do a change up soon, throw us Human-type Cylons that we have seen before, but with different hair color, facial hair, may-be ages? (My friend has noted that Galactica's XO's wife looks alot like Six, but older.)

[Calcoran]

She's quite a bit smaller though.

Mind you, there are supposed to be 12 human cylon types ... we have seen:
- 6
- Sharon
- M. Communication
- Leoben
- The doctor on Caprica?
- The journalist ... D'anna, was it?

We also have at least two highly suspicious people who could very well be Cylons:
- Ellen?
- Dee?

I think we could see a bit more of the male Cylons, it's been a while since we last saw them.

[JALU3]

I think we could see a bit more of the male Cylons, it's been a while since we last saw them.

I doubt that we will . . . those producers are thinking about that Fanboy quotient you know . . . for better, or for worse

Now if only they can get a military advisor.

[Tricky]

Now if only they can get a military advisor.

Yes, but most of the Military advisors for the 12 colonies died in the attack !

(And, yes I know that you meant The Producers should get an advisor, but this is supposed to be a different culture, so who's to say that their military has anything similar to any Terran military?)

[Evan van Eyk]

Moore said

They had one for the miniseries and shaped the military there quite like what we have today. And most of my points were observed in other episodes, e.g. Adama requests permission to come aboard when rerturning Ellen to Tigh and stuff like that. But as I said the overall episode is very good, it just has some hole that I am not used too with BSG.