Tigh, for one, welcomes our new Cylon overlords.
In this third season premier, Battlestar Galactica showed why it may be the smartest and bleakest show on television. Suicide bombings? Chargeless detention? Warrantless arrests in the middle of the night? Enemy collaborators? Double agents? BSG is not a simple political polemic about Bush and Iraq, but is about posing the big questions and not providing a simple answer.
Is it right to commit electoral fraud to avoid getting occupied by the Cylons on planet Craphole? Right now, Zarek, Roslin and tens of thousands of Colonials are probably thinking that a little fraud wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
While the entire double episode (Occupation/Precipice) was excellent, the scene between Roslin and Baltar in the detention cell stood out as the pinnacle of the episode (as did a similar scene between Roslin and Baltar during the lead up to the election in Lay Down Your Burdens Part 1, mostly due to the killer performance of Mary McDonnell.) Here, Baltar (Baltar!) emerges as the voice of reason, arguing against suicide bombings.
Baltar is a wonderfully self-absorbed character. Every time he has the opportunity to do something selfless, he always chooses to do just that which serves his self-interest over the public interest. Every time he has been offered a chance at redeeming himself, Baltar has chosen to take the easy way out of that immediate situation. And yet, James Callis performs the role with enough humanity to make Baltar more than just a villian. Perhaps the Six in Baltar’s brain is correct and he will serve some larger purpose in the end.
Alan Sepinwall, as usual, hits all the right notes in his blog post: Battlestar Galactica: Eyes for an eye. He also interviewed showrunner Ron Moore: What the frak?
The Chicago Tribune’s Maureen Ryan also spoke with Moore: Ron Moore Talks Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica.
Although they can contain spoilerly bits for upcoming episodes, Moore’s podcast commentaries are worth listening to for more insights into the writing process and choices. For example, Ellen Tigh’s Seinfeld reference was a deliberate homage.