Written by Toni Graphia
Directed by Allan Kroeker
“I make these demands not for me…but for you, the people. The survivors of the holocaust and the children of humanity’s future. I am Tom Zarek, and this is the first day of a new era.”
My friend James told me today that, if there’s one more episode like Bastille Day, then he’s going to publicly claim that Battlestar Galactica is the best show currently in production on TV. Frankly, he’s right on the money.
And why is he right…?
THE GOOD
*Such an important set up episode, handled with zen-like straightforwardness, and a whole lot of style, courtesy of yet another vet from Star Trek DS9: Allan Kroeker, who shows once again why he’s a maestro of directing. The lighting, the angles, the mood…he sets an amazing tone with simple techniques;
*The entire story behind the episode — the prison hostage drama — is the mother of all drama cliches, yet Toni Graphia’s script concentrates on the brutal realities, with no embellishments. We get realistic prisoners, a truly terrifying rapist, and a wanna-be martyr who is much more than he seems…but he could be completely bats!
THE OUTSTANDING
*Just the briefest moment on Caprica this week, yet its empty, golden-dirt-covered city poses a lot of interesting questions for the future. It also sets up the gory details of the post-apocalypse, with vermin eating dead bodies. Totally ick, but nicely done without giving us full-on gore;
*The acting. The old Apollo (Richard Hatch, from the original series) meets the new Apollo (Jamie Bamber), and together they stick-handle gorgeous dialogue scenes. In the span of 30 minutes, we gain huge insight into these characters, and the actors sell it for all it’s worth. Simply wonderful stuff;
*The scene between Commander Adama and Baltar, with Number Six slipping in and out of terrifying bursts of anger, is just freaky beyond words…especially when Baltar is ordered by his Cylon babe to ask for a nuclear warhead. The resolution of this scene is stunning, to say the least…
THE FRACKING OUTRAGEOUS
*The scene where Starbuck takes over CAG duties, in Apollo’s absence, is just beyond the pale…and thank god!! There is so much raw, frank innuendo, joking, threatening, and confrontation in this white-hot scene that it literally left me open-mouthed. The icing on the cake is Boxey, a child-role that avoids the Wesley Crusher trap by giving us a mouthy, impressionable, blunt young boy not afraid to talk back…and he has the comeback of the season!
Well, I’m going to jump the gun a little and say that, yes, Galactica IS the best thing on television right now. I love it in a way that I haven’t loved anything since Deep Space Nine…which isn’t surprising, considering the number of ex-staffers now working on this glorious show of shows.
If you’re still not watching…WHY?!?
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