December 03, 2004 - Despite Producer Ron Moore's pleas to the US fans to not watch his series before it arrives on The Sci-Fi Channel, those fans who have access to various peer-to-peer file trading systems are viewing the series as it airs on the UK SKYOne channel. Myself, I'm fortunate enough to have friends that are sending me the series on DVD so I can enjoy the episodes in their full 16:9 aspect ratio.

I'm never sure how to react when a new disc with two more episodes hits my mailbox.  I don't hate the series enough to groan when I see the package but I can't find enough enthusiasm about it to get excited over spending an hour and a half of my day to watch them, either.  Of course, curiosity wins out as it always does and the disc goes into the DVD player. 

If you're one of those readers who wants to tune in to Sci-Fi Channel in January and know absolutely nothing about what's about to happen, you have no business reading any further.  You should know better by now and any emails I receive that contain complaints about "spoilers" will merely be laughed at, so don't waste your time or the hard drive space in my email trash folder.  You've been warned.

The series seems to be staying with the idea that the Galacticans aren't getting any break from the Cylons at all.  The events of each episode stack up and the crew of the Galactica, along with everyone else in the fleet, are sleep deprived and stressed out.  Baltar is even more whacked out due to the added stress of having a blonde Cylon living in his head who is starting to get very demanding.

The series has started using a general recap of the mini-series in addition to a recap of what has happened in previous episodes, especially episodes that relate to the one you're about to watch.  The title music is still as non-descript as ever, it leaves no impression and does nothing for the series. The drum beat that accompanies the clips from the new episode is better but still very forgettable. 

Every episode also has a subplot that has no connection to the main episode plots at all.  The episodes constantly cut away to another of the Boomer Cylons back on Caprica, on the run with Helo, the co-pilot that stayed on the planet to make room for Baltar on the shuttle.  I am convinced that the only reason for these cutaways is so they can be cut for more ad time in each episode and no one would ever notice.  I suppose the producers could take all of the material and create a 14th episode out of it that would make about as much sense as these little segments do in each episode.  After 6 episodes I still don't know what the point of this subplot is except to take time away from plots that could probably benefit from having a little more time to play themselves out.  Just for those of you keeping score at home, Helo's a rat in a cage, the cage is Caprica and if it finally has damn thing to do with the rest of the story, I will be very, very surprised.

Episode 3: Bastille Day

The Galactica has found a source of water after losing a sizable portion of their supply in a suspicious explosion in episode 2, Water.  The only problem is that getting the water is going to require a lot of labor, which is something that in short supply.  One of the ships in the fleet turns out to have been a prison transport vessel, ferrying prisoners to Caprica for parole hearings.  Apollo takes a team to the ship to offer the prisoners a deal to volunteer for the job and in return, gain points towards eventual release.  Things spin out of control when a charismatic prisoner named Tom Zarek (played by guest star Richard Hatch) organizes the prisoners and they take over the ship.  Zarek is a political prisoner and the Nelson Mandela-like references are so heavy-handed you couldn't miss them with a blindfold on.  The sheer irony of Richard Hatch playing a political prisoner in the Galactica series he was so vocally against is also nearly too much to bear. 

Jamie Bamber, the actor who plays Apollo in the new series, has been very vocal about his unease with having Hatch appear so early in the series.  He's got a good reason to worry; Hatch takes over every scene he's in and manages to expose every flaw in the casting of Bamber in the role.  Bamber's portrayal of Apollo in this episode earned him the nickname of "Captain Wuss" (among other things that my editors won't allow me to print) from my teenaged son who was watching the episode with me.  Bamber is the ultra-weak link in a talent chain that was pretty weak to begin with.  The only actor that looks like he knows what he's doing is Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama and he looks like he's just waiting for Michael Mann to call and offer him his old job back in the Miami Vice movie.

I have to give Ron Moore credit for putting Hatch in the series and setting him up for what could become a pivotal character.  Sure, it might make some sense politically when you're trying to win over the vocal fans of the original series but you run the risk of having a mutiny on your hands, especially when Hatch shows up and adds a spark that has been missing so far in the series.