Written by Jeff Vlaming
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
“He was used to dealing with machines. Command is about people.”
I’m getting the impression that Battlestar Galactica has been treading water ever since the conclusion of the Pegasus/Resurrection Ship trilogy.
The Captain’s Hand isn’t bad television at all. It’s solidly directed, beautifully acted (another astounding showcase for the talents of Katee Sackhoff and Jamie Bamber, and a nice turn by character-actor John Heard), and the space battle in the final act — complete with inverted Pegasus — is best described as awesome. But it’s yet another run-of-the-mill plot: the newly appointed commander who can’t handle his new job, the conflict with his XO, and a finale where the XO steps up while the CO makes a grand, redeeming final gesture.
There’s nothing wrong with unoriginal plots — statistically, you’re bound to recycle ideas many times. However, this is third week out of the previous four when a straightforward plot from a generic TV or film drama is grafted onto the Galactica format. It’s as if the writers have driven themselves to exhaustion, and are using plot crutches to support themselves until they catch their second wind.
The engaging sub-plot about the abortion, and Baltar’s use of the President’s new policy to announce he’s campaigning against her, is what gives this episode the advantage over the re-treads of the previous weeks. This is a Galactica-centric issue that receives good exposure, and doesn’t come up with any easy, happy answers. That’s the kind of story Galactica does best.
I just wish it would do it more often, especially with only three episodes left to go this season…
8
Written by Deborah Cahn
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
“You show up here…. asking me about a pardon we both know is out of the question…. I think you don’t know why you came here. You’re a woman with a lot of options. You’re acting like the world’s backing you into a corner…. Maybe you should… pick something. What do you want?”
Does The West Wing realize it’s ending? I hope so, because they manage to pull off another corker of an episode…this time ONE WEEK before it leaves the airwaves forever! Is the writing staff trying to mock NBC? Are they trying to torture long time fans and blinkered critics with this final push of amazing storytelling? Whatever it is, Institutional Memory is as good as anything The West Wing has done on its best ever days.
We all thought it would be Toby that would be the last man standing, crying in the wilderness as the Bartlet Administration fades into history. Instead, it turns out to be CJ, who simply can’t let go because she doesn’t believe she can be this good at anything else EVER again!
Watching her come to terms with her situation is the dramatic equivalent of shock-and-awe. She has one of the brightest futures of anyone leaving the White House…she has a man who has loved her and waited for her for eight years on her doorstep…she has the President-Elect all but begging her to stay and help guide his new ship…and all it does it throw her into a feedback loop of work and bureaucracy. She’s determined to plough ahead, even as Margaret is virtually packing her out of her own office!
The list of gorgeous scenes is endless: CJ’s interrogations by Margaret, her meetings with Santos & the ersatz Bill Gates man, her rapprochement with Toby…and that final, stunning, heart-wrenching discussion with Danny, as she realizes that the future IS bright, and that she simply has to make a choice!
I’m going to stop here, because there’s only so much gushing I can do without sounding like an idiot…and I haven’t even mentioned beginning a petition to secure the amazing Allison Janney a fifth Emmy Award!. Institutional Memory serves a valuable, glorious purpose: it reminds us that we must move on, along with The West Wing itself…but we can always cherish and build on its past glories.
10
