Written by Anne Cofell Saunders
Directed by Rey Villalobos
“He was hit by friendly fire…it was me…”
The first half of Sacrifice is run-of-the-mill hostage taking. Competently done, but simply by-the-numbers regurgitation of a time-worn genre…much like Black Market.
However, once Starbuck’s reconnaissance mission is frakked, all hell breaks lose…and it becomes another episode entirely!
Sacrifice is about the things we’re unable to take back, and the moments in time we can never relive. Sesha Abinell can’t resurrect her husband, Billy can’t win back Dualla, and Starbuck can’t stop the shot that hits Apollo…they can only commit themselves to actions that lead directly from past events. Abinell takes the Cloud 9 bar hostage, knowing the outcome…Billy plans to try and take one of the hostage taker’s guns, knowing the outcome…and both Admiral Adama and Starbuck think they know the outcome of their actions…but they’re wrong. As the President mourns over Billy’s body in the morgue, in one of the most intense scenes in all of Galactica, she tells Adama: “it wasn’t worth it.”
Some sacrifices aren’t worth the blood required…and some are. After a rather slow and uninspired start, Sacrifice manages to demonstrate this truism rather well.
7
Written by Lawrence O’Donnell Jr.
Directed by Tim Matheson
“A venti coffee for Ernie, here!”
The Last Hurrah is trippy. It’s about two people overwhelmed by the positions into which fate has so rudely tipped them…and how the people around them force them to deal with it.
Teri Polo plays the overwhelmed Helen Santos to a tee. With each detail of life as the First Lady forcing her into a smaller, tighter world, she becomes more and more annoyed. Gate houses? Secret Service details? A massive staff to cater to every need? This is a girl from the do-it-yourself, middle class suburbs…why is any of this necessary? To make matters worse, her husband is trying to start up a new administration, while trying to stop World War Three on the side…no time to hold the wife’s hand.
And so she puts aside her qualms, and takes control of matters. She decides her kids are going to a public school…she finds one she’s happy with…and realizes that she simply needs to make decisions one at a time — ones that will provide the maximum benefit with the least amount of strife. The problems are only as big as you think they should be…unless your Amy! Watching the new First Lady put the shrill staffer in her place ? the first since Bartlet way back in season three — is a joy to behold.
Arnie Vinick’s situation is worse. The world seems to have left him behind — even his own staffers are moving on, oblivious to his need to do something productive…to prove his age doesn’t matter…to prove he can contribute…
…until the moment the coffee attendant treats him like the cipher he secretly thinks he’s become!
He’s adrift, thinking of another (futile) run for President, ignoring efforts to set himself up financially…and then, Santos pulls off a brilliant play of brinkmanship to get him to accept the post of Secretary of State!
Watching Alan Alda drive himself crazy — wondering if the entire world is plotting to pigeon-hole him — is simply amazing. The loopy nature of the plot (and Vinick’s near-mental implosion) reminded me of several episode of Alda’s alma mater, MASH: mental chaos woven into a sharp, tight plot, with Jimmy Smits smiling his way through an ever increasing devious-yet-ingenious streak that’s manifested itself since election night.
It might not be to everyone’s taste, but The Last Hurrah is a wonderful attempt at something twisted, cute, AND substantial — imagination on full burn, even in The West Wing’s twilight hours. With two episodes to go, we get an Alan Alda showcase that truly lives up to its title…
9
