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The BSG Diaries: part 4 - SciFiNow

The BSG Diaries: part 4

The final verdict on BSG’s first season.

0028Having started the week – unsuccessfully – trying to build a Cylon raider out of tin foil, a motorcycle helmet and cat innards, I came to a frightening realisation: I’ve a whole load of Battlestar Galactica episodes to watch. Casting this distracting task aside (for the time being, anyway) I soldiered on with my viewing marathon. A few hours of watching later, and I can now proudly say that BSG’s first season is well and truly behind me. It’s been one heck of a ride.

In my last blog post I had just watched ‘Six Degrees Of Separation’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. The next episode in my quest was ‘Flesh And Bone’. Now, this is an episode not afraid to delve into the murkier side of politics – in this case, interrogation tactics – and I was quite taken with the way in which Starbuck connected with her Cylon prisoner. This was also the first episode to present one of Laura Roslin’s strange visions, so with this and Starbuck’s dilemma I certainly had plenty to muse over during the credits roll.

Next up was ‘Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down’ and – deep breath – I didn’t really like it. I can totally buy the fact that Colonel Tigh has a wife that is extravagant, class conscious and a bit of an old lush, but what I couldn’t get my head around was the structure of the episode in which she was introduced. This episode was tonally very different to the ones before it, and I found the subplot involving Roslin’s Cylon suspicions of Commander Adama a bit bizarre. So not a great episode, but no harm done.

‘The Hand Of God’ took a militaristic focus and saw Apollo enjoying some meaty scenes as he is faced with the task of a attacking a Cylon facility. With the threat of diminishing fuel supplies lingering in the background, the suspense in this episode was palpable at times. But for me the real gem of this season has to be ‘Colonial Day’. I love the almost Earth-like location of the ship Cloud 9, and seeing Roslin butting heads – politically, that is – with a now very popular Tom Zarek was so engaging. I was also glad that the events on Caprica reached a crescendo, when Helo comes to the realisation that Boomer is a Cylon. Out of all the episodes I’ve seen, this one has the nicest balance of politics and sci-fi action.

Despite this previous episode being a tough act to follow, ‘Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part 1’ kicked off the season finale in grand style. Roslin and Commander Adama are once again at loggerheads, this time regarding Roslin’s faith in the gods, and Boomer’s identity crisis is also expanded upon. Whenever these events got too heavy there was always Gaius Baltar to fall back on, who I might add was on wonderfully womanising form. ‘Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part 2’ had me hooked from the get-go, and it ended on a cliffhanger that has left me dying to watch season two. Everything from Starbuck’s mission on Caprica, the crash survivors’ exploits on Kobol and Boomer’s shocking betrayal/mission are still hanging in the balance. It will be interesting, especially in the case of the treacherous Boomer, to see how theses situations pan out.

Battlestar Galactica’s first season is an exercise in great television: it is smart, works on numerous levels and already feels classic. With that in mind I simply can’t wait to see what season two brings.

To read my previous entry in this blog series, hit the link. Let us know your definitive thoughts on this show’s first season below.