Battlestar Galactica

Frak to the Yeah! I just watched the advance screener of the fourth and final season premiere of Battlestar Galactica and you guys are going to love it!!! I was at the office watching it on my computer and yelling things out loud ("Oh no you didn't!"and "No frakkin' way," and "Holy mother frakker!"). It's that good. Of course, I can't tell you anything about the episode, or Ron Moore will hunt me down and shoot me out of an air lock.

But, I can tell you that no one was revealed as the 12th Cylon. You didn't think they would tell us in the first episode, did you? So, we have an awesome photo gallery of the first 11 Cylons that have been revealed, and want you to help us guess who could be the last Cylon, and why?

Check out the photos here, and make sure to post your thoughts below. Or, cut to the chase and cast your vote from six likely canddiates.

Watch the 8-minute "What the Frak Is up with BSG?" recap of Seasons 1-3 here.

Also, is anyone having a BSG premiere party? Tell us your story. —Erin Fox

Holy frak! Starbuck is back! I still haven't decided if I think she is alive or if she's some sort of spirit guide that's working with Lee to take the last of the human race to Earth. "Don't freak out. It really is me. It's going to be OK. I've been to Earth. I know where it is. I'm going to take us there." And if she really is "alive," her ship was blown to bits, so where did she get a new Viper? Either way, I'm pretty excited that whichever way she's returned, she has returned and her higher purpose has been revealed. Which means her "death" wasn't in vain, so that makes me happy.

Tigh, Anders, Tyrol and Tori are four of the five remaining Cylons, or at least they think they are. I'm not quite sure that I buy it. Anders, Tyrol, Tori… sure. I've got no problem with any of them, and I think that the fact that Anders and Tyrol were freedom fighters on New Caprica and so anti-Cylon is especially ironic and exciting. But I really don't get how Tigh could be a Cylon. He was alive as a human when the old metallic Cylons disappeared during the first war, 40 years prior to when they reappeared and attacked regular Caprica and the rest of the human planets. Heck, he's served with Adama for 40 years. Unless he was an original prototype for the skin jobs, which the Cylons were working on way back before they disappeared, I just don't understand how it could be possible. I'd be more inclined to believe that the Cylons were just somehow frakking with him and they implanted a weird chip in his head when they held him captive on New Caprica. The only other thing that even remotely makes sense to me is if they took a human that was already alive and could somehow make them into a Cylon. Either way, they've got a lot of explaining to do next season.

I did love that the Cylon music was actually Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Anders was humming the words "all along the watchtower" right before he talked to the Chief, and then Tigh quoted the tune early on in the episode. Then when they were all being drawn together they each had a segment of the song stuck in their heads. "There must be some kind of way out of here," said Chief. "Said the joker to the thief," said Tigh. "There's too much confusion here," said Anders. "I can't get no relief," said Tori. Very interesting. Maybe the Galactica crew is closer to earth than they realize. I love the version of the song that they played over the end of the episode. I really need to get a copy of that. And maybe a clip of Adama telling Roslin to "get your fat lazy ass out of that rack," to put as my morning alarm clock.

When the simultaneous power outage among the whole fleet, which was restored when the foursome actually said the words that they were Cylons, Roslin also suffered from a splitting headache. Could that mean that she is actually a Cylon, too? Or is it just because she has Cylon blood in her from her transfusion from Hera? It would make a lot of sense considering that she also had that freaky dream along with Six and Athena. Her being a Cylon, despite her age, wouldn't surprise me as much as Tigh. I did think Tigh's reaction to discovering that he was a Cylon was pretty awesome. His "the ship is under attack, let's get back to work" attitude impressed me. I'm surprised that the other three followed suit; I'd have probably curled up for a few days. But for all Tigh's flaws he does know how to give a pep talk: "My name is Saul Tigh and if I die today, then that's who I'll be."

And if all of that wasn't enough, there was also that intense trial of Gaius Baltar. I kind of love that he was found not guilty. As Adama astutely told the President, "Not guilty is not the same as innocent." Baltar going free means that basically he has to live in human society as an outcast, and find shelter among his few supporters. He'll live the rest of his days in fear of being lynched by an angry human who lost someone because of him. That's much more messed up than just tossing him out the airlock. Sure, dying in space is a painful way to die, but to have to live under these circumstances could be some sort of excruciating torture for him. I just loved the horrified look on his face when he realized that Lee and Lampkin were leaving him on his own. Priceless.

Gaius shouldn't really be mad at Lee for abandoning him though. The younger Adama is really the main reason that Baltar even has his freedom. Lee's speech about forgiveness for all of the heinous crimes that were committed in the name of survival was well thought out and very important considering that while so many laws have been bent, the rules are so stringent for Baltar. I think that Lee's dear old dad recognized the hypocrisy and realized that while his son was giving testimony that would free this awful man, it wasn't because he liked him or because he respected what he had done, but because it was the right thing to do in order to keep a society with some structure in these times of war.

Lampkin, though, totally played Lee to get the win — by putting him on the stand and keeping the cane around so that Lee would feel bad for him and stay on the defense legal team. Scheming and underhanded… somehow I don't think we've seen the last of him.

At the end of the day, Lee, like Tigh, realized that despite all that had been going on his life, he was a soldier. Apollo hopped back into uniform and into a viper to help out his crew. Was it to make him feel less guilty for letting Baltar go free? Was it to make up for not wanting to save the humans when they were trapped on New Caprica? Maybe a bit of both, but either way, he did what needed to be done.

Now the whole fleet is under Cylon attack, just as they've reached one of the signposts for Earth. Did Kara bring along a whole army with her from whatever land she's been in? Because that looks like what they'll need to fight off all of those Cylons, since they are basically sitting ducks unable to jump for a while. I just can't believe that we have to wait until 2008 for more new episodes, though I am excited that we'll be getting another full batch of 22. I watched this episode a couple of weeks ago, and my head is still spinning. Maybe by the time the new ones roll around, I'll have figured out where Kara got her ship, or come up with new theories about Tigh or Roslin, or both. I can't wait to hear what all of you thought of the episode.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not God, the God or any derivation thereof."

How crazy is it that Baltar has groupies? Despite the thousands of people who died under his "reign of terror" there are a loyal few that believe that he has some sort of superhuman ability to save sick children or ailing people. That's nuts. Though I think Baltar is sort of a reprehensible and selfish human being, I don't know that he should be responsible for the 5,197 humans who were killed, left behind or lost on New Caprica. He just has an overactive self preservation gene and bizarre sympathy for the Cylons. Since he and Six have some sort of connection… was Six hallucinating Baltar? And if so, how did she get the info on Tigh? Was it just something she sensed?

Her prompting didn't exactly help Tigh on the stand. It sent him into a bout of drinking and curiosity about the strange music that only he and a few others hear. I found it quite unsettling to watch him confess to the death of Ellen. Though he sweetly first tried to clear her name by saying that Ellen was "faking" her involvement with the Cylons. But stating "I would do anything, say anything, to see that man die a painful death," wasn't exactly helpful for the prosecution.

I was also quite shocked by the revelation that Laura's cancer had returned. I didn't see that coming, and sadly, wasn't even suspicious when Lee checked her tea. I seriously thought that maybe he thought someone was trying to poison her — like that he didn't trust Tori for some reason. How horrible was it that it was Lee who brought that info out into the world, especially after Roslin whispered to him "Please, don't do this…." There's got to be some guilt there.

While I am intrigued by Lee's decision to defend the "lowlife pond scum" known as Baltar, I sort of understand why he'd want to go against his father and defend his belief in the justice system. But he's not getting much support from his family; Dualla actually admirably up and left him. I didn’t think I'd say this, but I was more intrigued be her character at that moment than during any of her fits of jealousy earlier in the season. Lee's actions also upset the elder Adama. Their heated exchange was incredible:
"After what you did to Tigh, you are the last person I would consider to confide in."
"Me? I didn't do anything to Tigh. He was drunk. It is really not my fault."
"You told Lampkin about Ellen."
"I didn't even know about Ellen."
"Yeah, right."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"I'm calling you a liar and a coward — one who doesn't have the guts to go after a man himself, and instead you hand this shift to a stranger and let him stab Tigh in the back…. For what? That traitorous piece of garbage Gaius Baltar who doesn't even deserve a trial?"
"Are you done?"
"Yes."
"Then so am I. I will not serve under a man who questions my integrity."
"And I won't have an officer under my command who doesn't have any."

Phew! I know that a coworker of mine has complained to me about Mister Adama's snappy wardrobe that suddenly became available after he handed in his wings…. But honestly I don't really care where he got that suit from because, well, the girly side of me thought he looked very pretty, and there must be a tailor somewhere on the fleet… or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

So much left unsettled and hanging. What is up with the President's dream? What is up with that music? Will Tori brush her hair? Will Tigh rise from his drunken stupor? Will Helo consent to letting Hera give blood to save the President? Could Helo keep his job as XO? He's the only one that seems to sense the coming storm. I can't promise that all will be answered next week, because with this show every question answered brings up more questions — and that's just the way I love it.

I know this was another quiet episode, and some might argue that it was "filler" before the big two-part finale/trial of Gaius Baltar, but I really liked it. It had sort of a Shakespearean quality to it with the whole father vs son showdown. It was like the elder Adama was simultaneously trying to protect his only remaining offspring from danger by grounding him, all while blaming Apollo for being the death of Starbuck because he was the one who let her fly when she wasn't up for it. Somehow, by keeping Apollo grounded because he was clearly still grieving and calling Racetrack by Starbuck's name, that made up for that. Instead, Adama put his son right in the thick of the messy "celebrity" trial, and on the opposite end of it. Loved the last scene between father and son, when Lee calls his father on wanting him to be the family's military legacy instead of pursuing the law. How appropriate was it that the admiral was picked to serve on the tribunal?

Lampkin totally knew what strings to pull to get Apollo to be his puppet. He seemed to somehow sense the underlying resentment that Apollo has having for the military life foisted upon him, and his still grieving state. Maybe that is just because I don't trust Lampkin. I'm still not sure what was up with the glasses and why he took them off when he was talking to Caprica Six. Was he removing them to show that he was being honest with her, and truly sharing some emotions? Did he steal those, too, from someone before Roslin? I didn't dwell too much on Lampkin and his thieving ways because I was just so happy to see Six again. I've missed her and her conflicted Cylon qualities.

Emotions were running truly high, especially around Cylons, in the wake of Starbuck's death and on the eve of Baltar's trial. And plow guy, er, sorry, Kelly, started trying to off the Cylon defense team by setting detonators on vipers and at Lampkin's door. I understand with Cally's anti-Cylon sentiment that Athena jumped to conclusions that she was the one planting the bombs (in the bonus scene), but instead it was a mostly anonymous flight crewman who took complete responsibility and basically sentenced himself to death, telling Apollo that he was unwilling to reform his ways.

That sort of tension is one of the things that this show really does well. Building up these situations with acts of terror brings up the need for a justice system even in these times of war, instead of just letting there be martial law. You really get a sense of what it would be like to be on board one of these ships, trying to decide whether to follow Baltar and the words that he speaks in his missive, or to side with the preexisting government that kept the pre-Cylon society running. Each week I feel conflicted about what I believe is right, and what is wrong, and with Baltar's trial heating up, that feeling is probably about to get significantly worse.

Lastly, tonight, though Kara wasn't around and it was two weeks after her death, the impact of her loss was felt throughout the ship. Adama remembered her through her commendations and disciplinary warnings as well as her quirky sense of humor. I loved that picture of her with the fake mustache. She truly was the closest thing Adama had to a daughter. Lee finally worked up the nerve to put Kara's picture on the wall where she had previously requested, as well as the aforementioned flub when addressing his flight crew. Poor Sam got so drunk that he fell off of a viper and broke his leg. With the uncertain way that they left their relationship, guilt and anger is probably weighing pretty heavily on him as well. I liked the simple way that Lee and Sam put aside their differences at the mourners' wall. Not really accepting her absence and not providing a shoulder for each other to cry on, just a simple "I'll see you around."

I've seen the final two episodes of the season, you won't get any spoilers from me (in fact, I tried extra hard not to even speculate much!), but let's just say, they are pretty frakking great. Well, that's if they don't cut too much. My favorite scene from tonight's episode ended up as the bonus scene at the end of the episode, the face-off between Cally and Athena.

I might have to learn how to do more with my video camera than just zoom in. Scifi.com is running a current contest for fans to send in four minute video clips, that can be original scenes or mockcommericals whatever. They've made some real Galactica clips and sound effects available to make your video look as professional as possible. Cool right? Even better, David Eick will be judging the submissions and the one he likes best will be show on Sci Fi during an upcoming episode of Battlestar! If you ask me, that's pretty frakkin' awesome!

Umm… what the heck just happened? Did kickass Kara Thrace just go gently into that good night? I mean, I get that she found peace and Not-Leoben helped her see the light and the way to find her true destiny and all. But out of all the ways I ever imagined Starbuck dying, this was the last possible thing I would have ever considered. She basically committed suicide. I always thought that someone as badass, argumentative and disobedient as Starbuck would go down swinging, or chasing down some toasters. I know the whole point of the episode was to show how she had changed and come to terms with whatever lay beyond for her in the place between life and death, but I'm still surprised.

In fact, I'm still in disbelief that she's actually dead. I know, I saw as well as Apollo that her ship exploded into pieces, but I'm just so shocked. I had heard the rumors that something was up with her, but seriously, I thought it might be revealed that she was a Cylon, or that the Cylons would recapture her or something. Or I was secretly hoping that maybe she was just lost for a few episodes or something, but this… this has me floored. I warned my boss Dan on Friday when I saw the trailer that I was not going to be OK at work on Monday if they killed off Starbuck. I had finally caved and watched the preview for this week on the Sci Fi site. After he told me that he found Starbuck annoying — and I glared at him — he said that like most trailers, if I thought she was going to die, that probably meant she wasn't. Yeah, he's going to be subject to one moody Angel come tomorrow morning.

I was doing OK — if you count sitting in stunned silence OK — until they flashed to Adama's face and then his destruction of his model ship. The woman he often treated like a daughter had clearly been troubled and he didn't command Lee to ground her. Instead, he and Lee both thought that whatever hallucinations and nightmares Starbuck was having weren't bothersome enough for her to need further help. In times of war, it probably seemed like a wise decision, but I'm sure that Adama feels guilty. The good admiral isn't responsible, but I'm sure he'll continue to be hit hard by this. At least their last exchange was a pleasant one — which, considering that it was Starbuck, probably should have been a warning sign. She gave him the tiny statue of the Goddess Aurora: the goddess of the dawn and the one responsible for fresh starts.

The younger Adama will probably be quite shaken for a while, too. Kara was right, their relationship had truly come full circle. After all they've been through, he was back as CAG trying to keep her spunky self in line. But the caring look he gave her when he offered to be her wingman seemed to speak volumes. Sure, he's happy now with Dee, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still care a lot about Kara.

And poor Sam, when he gets back from his trip he's going to be devastated. Whatever their relationship was, he obviously was still in love with her too, and really the only one who seemed to know the extent of her frakked up relationship with her mother. He tried to save her by taking her away for a while, but stubborn Kara won out, as usual.

And Kara's mother, getting to know her certainly shed a lot of light on why Starbuck grew up the way that she did. The former military woman toughened up her child by hitting her over the head with a broomstick, slamming her hand in doorframes and verbally berating her. I guess in her warped mind she thought that by pushing Kara she'd make her stronger and capable of fulfilling her capacity for greatness, but I've got to wonder if Kara's mother knew that in order for her child to fulfill her destiny she'd have to sacrifice her own life. And if that wasn't Leoben in her mind, who was it?

Will we ever get more answers about what Starbuck's destiny really is? Will she ever reappear in another form? Could it still be that she is a Cylon and will just download into another body? Or will her death somehow help the humans to find Earth? Or was the whole destiny thing and her need to die all just in her head, and what she really needed was psychiatric help, like Helo suggested? I'm guessing that since she did those paintings as a child, it probably isn't solely the latter, but on this show you never know. I'm just not sure that this show will be the same without her.

So for now, I offer up my moment of silence in honor of the late Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. May the gods be with her.

Wow. This was another one of those episodes that tossed me around and made me question all of what I believed. It is amazing to me that this show can do that to me on a regular basis. Did Baltar, who I love to hate, actually have a point? It should be wrong that I feel some sympathy for that devil who pretty much sold out the human race, but when he actually changed his accent and went with that deep gravely voice from his original colony, I got chills. It really hit home for me since as a teen I spent a great deal of time trying to rid myself of a Maine accent before I went to college in the big city so that I would better fit in. Is it wrong to want options, to not have your destiny be predetermined by your birthplace? Tyrol wanting his son and other children from the poor colonies, to be more than just a deckhand or a tylium refiner seems like a perfectly natural course of events. I didn't blame Galen one bit for calling a strike after the aspiring architect Danny severely damaged his arm doing a job that he'd been drafted into.

But then Adama gave his impassioned speech and I thought that he had a good point too. "Understand me. The very survival of the ship may depend on someone getting an order that they don't want to do. And if they hesitate, if they feel the orders are sometimes optional, then this ship will perish and so will your son and the entire human race." I so thought that Cally was a goner for a minute there, same feeling I had last week, but Tyrol gave in. But I don't know that Cally will be so proud when she realizes that her husband mostly caved in order to save her life. She seems like the rabble-rouser in the family and definitely the one of them who was initially influenced by Baltar's words.

No wonder Roslin was so gung-ho to get the additional chapters from Gaius' book before they reached the masses. Again, I almost felt bad for Gaius (such a strange feeling) when Roslin began to have him stripped down to find the pages. Thanks to Six he handled it so well, "Perhaps you'll consider writing a blurb for the back cover." Again, chills. But his jail house journal caused quite a ruckus and was what brought the whole issues of classes to a boil. Zeno and his crew had been running on empty for a long time, working non-stop since the original Cylon attacks to keep the fleet going, but having someone like Baltar bring the class issue up, elevated the situation from bad to worse. "Do you honestly think that the fleet will ever be commanded by someone whose last name is not Adama?" Strong words from someone who went from farmer to president of the colonies. But it definitely seems like there is a class system among the humans, that seriously needs to be addressed before the situation gets worse. I felt for that little eleven-year-old kid who alternated between anger at the poor work conditions to almost eagerly asking Tyrol if he could be the one to turn the entire assembly line on. It is almost as if he was resigned to his fate, but yet proud of the fact that he knew how to work every machine on the fuel refinery ship.

It is a little disconcerting that the entire fleet barely has enough fuel to jump away, and mistakes, like a Viper crashing into Roslin's ship, could have been much more costly if there were an attack by the Cylons. So I get why Roslin was so adamant that people just keep on working. I thought her agreement with the reluctant union leader Tyrol was probably the best way to handle the situation all things considered, though it still seems like she got the better end of the deal, for now at least. I think it would be great to see her getting her hands dirty with the laundry. Then again, there is a party of me with a dirty mind that loved Adama's comment to her, "You're always welcome in one of my beds." Nice. I love that the writers of this show slide little things like that in there, alluding to sort of a sexual tension between the two of them, but not actually bringing it to fruition.

Another week with no cylons (aside from the Six in Baltar's head)… or at least none that we know of. The absence of them is keeping me so on edge for when they eventually return. God, I love this show.

On a side note, while I missed seeing Baltar (James Callis) and Six (Tricia Helfer) at the NY Comic Con this weekend, I did get to speak with Jamie Bamber on the phone. He's quite delightful and gave me a little preview of what to expect the rest of the season.

Fear not my Galactica faithful. I haven't abandoned you. I just got to watch the episode a few minutes ago and I need a minute or two to collect my thoughts, because frankly my head is spinning. Could it be possible that Baltar raised a good point?

Anyway, to tide you over until I get to post my full write-up here's a little bonus quote from my recent interview with Jamie Bamber (yes, I do have the best job). He's talking all about how much he loves all you diehard fans, especially the ones that know all the true science stuff.


"I've met quite a few at a few conventions now. They are an amazingly loyal and affectionate bunch. I really have to emphasize that. They get a hard time for being geeks, but they take the mickey out of themselves quite a bit for being geeks. But fundamentally they like stories and they love to throw themselves in. They are quite child like in that way. That's a great thing. I think when we all go to the movies we do become children for a couple of hours as we surrender to someone else's imagination. They do that unashamedly, which is very endearing."

Another Cylon-free episode, but yet, still good. These just make me so much more worried about their return. Which is why I found Apollo's speech to the troops to be especially necessary. Even his dad seemed proud of him for insisting that his crew stay active and avoid becoming complacent. Heck, even Starbuck respected him for it, though she did have to get in a dig about it being too late. And it is a good thing that the pilots were ready to go at a moment's notice, so that they could stage a huge nail-biting rescue attempt.

I so thought that something was going to go wrong for either Chief or Callie when that airlock opened. Thanks to all of your help a few weeks ago, I'm now up on what would happen if you were floating out in space, and it wouldn't be pretty. No wonder Callie and Tyrol had to be rushed into Doc Cottle's care. That hyperbaric chamber must be very surreal to be in. That shot from Callie's angle made me have a little bit of a claustrophobic feeling. That's not good.

The other reason I thought either the Chief or Callie was doomed was because for the last couple of weeks Tyrol has alluded to problems between the couple. Seemed very ominous, but for the moment they look to be alright… for the moment. At least Chief got to tell Callie he was sorry for assigning her to the crap jobs just so he could be with her more. That's kind of a sweet sentiment, misguided in this case, but sweet.

I'm surprised to find out that there is daycare on Galactica. I would have figured that Callie and Chief had some sort of split schedule worked out. Guess not. At least Nicky won't be an orphan or raised by pilots, or the nice civilian couple that Callie picked out.

I wasn't as enthralled with Adama's flashback/hallucination/whatever about his former wife. It makes me realize how this strong guy can be soft-hearted enough to really remember his divorced and deceased wife. It was somewhat sentimental and really gave him a chance to find a way to bond with his son. But I just want to know more about him and Roslin. Did they just talk that night on New Caprica? Or did things go further, but now they are trying to keep it a big secret? The implications for two of the most powerful people left in the fleet engaging in a different kind of relationship could cloud their judgement.

I did think it was interesting that tonight's bonus scene played into that extra bonus scene that aired at the end of the last episode, where Dualla and Gaeta are speculating on the amount of time that Madame President and the Admiral have been spending together. It seemed like it was only a matter of time until someone picked up on that.

Another delay due to an awards show, which is fair warning that there will be a delay on Oscar night, too... that's the problem with this new Sunday-night time slot, at least for me. However, I've got to say that after working in the office all night covering a boring music show, Battlestar Galactica is quite a sight for sore eyes. I happily stay up extra, extra late just to see what is going to happen. This show never fails to disappoint. Maybe it was because it was so late at night and my house was silent, but this episode had such a sense of an eerie quietness to it because it was lacking that immediate Cylon threat. Which can only mean that there is a storm brewing somewhere.

I know that you all probably imagined me jumping up on my couch and clapping when it looked like Dualla was dead, but you'd be wrong. Instead I sat there, shocked and riddled with guilt. I'm not Dee's biggest supporter, that's for sure, but I don't necessarily want her killed off; I just want her to be a Cylon. I actually even liked her tonight. She was back to her old fun self, flirting with her husband and playing around with the guys in the bar. And she wasn't all defensive when Tyrol was bashing the Sagittarons for their backwards ways.

She disagreed with the Sagittarons' refusal to take medical treatment; it's just too bad she was wrong about which doctor to choose. She didn't want crazy Doc Cottle because he's unreliable, but it turns out that Doc Roberts was actually much worse. A doctor who's single-handedly trying to wipe out an entire ethnic group is probably not your best option. I hope that this fleet has some better medical staff available somewhere, or maybe they need to set up some sort of training facility, because lack of medical care could eventually contribute to their downfall.

Of course, it is Helo who is stuck down in Dogsville helping the new refugees settle into their camp. He immediately was recruited by Mrs. King, a depressed mother who lost her son after the doc treated him. Helo, being the sensitive stand-up guy that he is, investigates her claim and discovers the horrifying genocidal truth. But of course, since Helo is the man who always seems to take the less popular side on ethical matters, his concerns about Dr. Roberts' practices fall on deaf ears. Even the normally considerate Adama dismissed his "unfounded" accusations, and after the doc cured Hera, even his wife seemed skeptical. I'm not surprised that Tigh was up in arms about Helo verbally attacking one of his old buddies, since Tigh isn't exactly the best judge of character. I loved that Helo hauled off and punched Tigh. Totally the highlight of the episode for me.

Well, that and getting to see Tom Zarek again. If he fears civil unrest should they give Baltar a trial, that doesn't bode well. While Zarek is often outspoken and a little bit of a rabble-rouser himself, he is truly a man of the people and has a better sense of how the colonists react than Laura does, who spends her time dealing with policy and men like Baltar. I hope she takes her veep's words into consideration before rushing into trying Gaius for treason. She did seem unsettled by the look of terror on Zarek's face.

Speaking of Baltar, I really also enjoyed the role reversal between him and Six. Having her be the one with the daydreams/fantasies/hallucinations of Baltar was fun, as was watching Roslin try to figure out what the frak the Cylon was doing when Six was kissing Baltar.

As for the bonus scene, when did that conversation between Adama and Helo supposedly happen? Before Helo got assigned to the camp? That could explain why he landed the unglamorous gig. Or was is it during the episode, and that's why Adama was reluctant to take his side when he came up with the information about Doctor Roberts? I'm sort of torn about these bonus scenes because they've been good and intense, but then I spend way too much time trying to figure out why they weren't included and where they supposedly fit in the timeline. Let me know what you think of these extras.

First off, sorry for the delay, but I was working on SAG Awards stuff, so I didn't get to watch the Battlestar episode until extra-late. I was going to write last night, but you guys deserve better comments, and I love to give this show a little time to settle in my head and get under my skin. As it was, I had a hard time falling asleep after hearing that creepy opening "lullaby" of sorts. That ranks right up there with the "One, Two, Freddy's coming for you" song from the Nightmare on Elm Street films. Plus, I spent way too much time lying in bed thinking about being dumped out of an airlock. I imagined it kind of like drowning: You are gasping for air and floating farther and farther away from the surface, slowly and eventually passing out, just like in that David Bowie song. That is, until I told my husband and he's like, "Yeah, just like drowning, until your head explodes from lack of oxygen." Lovely. Now I can't get that out of my mind, and it totally rules out any intergalactic travel for me ever. And I so wanted to live like the Jetsons. Oh, well.

I've got to give some super-extra credit to the writers of this show. They consistently know how to tug at my emotions and make me feel things I don't want to feel for characters. Like Baltar. I love to hate him. He's lied, he's partially responsible for nearly wiping out the human race (knowingly or unknowingly, he still did it), and he is just basically a self-centered ass who will do anything he can in order to save his own skin. Even after being recaptured by the humans, he really doesn't understand what he did wrong. "I did not collude in the genocide of my own people." Um, maybe he didn't know for sure, but he told Caprica that, "I always knew I was different… special," and he looked mighty disappointed to find out that his dip in the Cylon regeneration pool was just another fantasy brought on by a suicide attempt. However, I actually felt a smidge bad for him when the humans tortured him in order to get information on the Cylons. Roslin screamed at him and reminded him of his crimes against humanity and threatened to toss him out the airlock (brains exploding… not nice). And while she flatly told him, "I have no wish to see you suffer," she seemed more than a little gung ho to test out the military's hallucinatory drug.

There was one particular moment — when they held him down, stuck a needle in his neck, and he just laid on the gurney bathed in light — where I thought he looked a lot like much of the religious Jesus imagery. I couldn't help but wonder if that was on purpose. I'll make a note to ask Edward James Olmos (who directed this episode), if I ever get to speak to him. If it was purposeful, are we to think that maybe Baltar, who is supposed to be the chosen one, is really on some sort of grand mission to blend the human and Cylon race and act as some sort of a prophet? Maybe, maybe not. I still kind of think he's a bit of an ass, but I was impressed that Baltar knew about Gaeta helping the resistance, that he picked up on the fact that the humans were taping him and that he didn't tell the humans all of the Cylon secrets. And at least we got confirmation from Six that while he's not one of the final five, he still has the luck of the gods.

Who are the final five? I'm dying to know, at least one. I agree with the poster last week who said that the picture that is out there on the Internet is probably filled with stand-ins in hooded cloaks. I'm guessing that the producers don't want the cast members to know if they are a Cylon or not until the last minute. Could it be Gaeta who attacked Baltar after he whispered something in his ear? I know Baltar's cutting comment, "Who is the real traitor in this room?" was upsetting. But it didn't seem like enough to provoke him to stab him in the throat while the cameras were on. Is it wrong that I am hoping that Dualla is a Cylon? I still feel bad that Apollo is so mistreating her (he even accidentally lost his wedding ring while drunk), but I just can't warm up to her as a character. Her being a Cylon would explain so much, and would be interesting given the amount of knowledge she has about the human military and the Adama family.

On to our star-crossed lovers, Apollo and Starbuck. For now, they've decided to stay with their respective spouses, which is probably for the best. I love them together — it is all sexy and hot — but that simmering romance that is always going to lie just beneath the surface is equally delicious. Was anyone else surprised that Starbuck seemed to be the one that had it more together? She was upfront and honest with Lee, telling him to figure out who or what he really wanted, and she didn't even hide her feelings from Anders, who might be the best husband aboard Galactica at this point. He's adorable and told Kara how long he had waited and worried about her when he was on New Caprica, and even encouraged her to go after Lee if that was what she really wanted. It must have killed him on the inside to ask, "Do you love Lee?" And then her heartbreaking response, "Gods, Sam…. Maybe." But in the end he got what he wanted, his wife back — at least for the time being. Best line of the night had to be right after Kara and Anders had sex, in very close and very public quarters, and she questioned why he was so willing. "Your strange two-timing bitch of a wife calls you up for a quickie and you're on the first shuttle?" I love her.

While Anders and Kara's relationship is probably far from perfect, it is significantly more fun than Lee and Dualla's. At least Anders and Kara seem to have fun together and enjoy each other's company. Lee and Dualla's romance always seems depressing. He goes out drinking alone in order to avoid her. Apollo's conversations with the Chief, who is fighting with Callie, were much more interesting than his conversations with his wife. He asked Tyrol about Sharon, and they discussed what "normal" truly is. But Dualla and him just bickered and then sadly tried to comfort each other.

The juxtaposition between Apollo faltering and desperately trying to find a way to save his marriage and Gaius' floating in the water and desperately clinging to anything to stay alive was very well done. Who knows what the outcome or fallout from their decisions and acts of desperation will be. I just know that all of Roslin's lies are going to come back to haunt her big time. She's already taking flack for lying about the hybrid baby, and now Caprica Six is calling her out, too. That extra scene was totally worth it just to see the look on Laura's face when Caprica wouldn't take her word about the airlock because she had said the same thing to Leoben before he suffered that awful fate. Oh, yeah, those Cylons keep their memories — and they talk — and eventually one of them is going to try to take down Madame President. Big time.

I'm really grateful that this show is back, after that suspenseful finale. I'm personally a little exhausted by the whole new night and time slot, since most shows I follow that air at 10 pm on a "work night" shows are past my bedtime and get watched the next day. But with that out of my system, this episode proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a show worth losing a little sleep over.

The whole Lee-Kara-Dualla-Anders thing is really frakked up. Lee asking his wife to go save the woman he truly loves? Um, that's like pouring a whole bucket of salt into an open wound. And she does it, and gets what as a reward for saving the surly Starbucks' ass? A hug from her husband? I don't even like Dualla, but I'm feeling really bad for her. Anders wanted to save his emotionally unavailable wife, and nearly got himself killed in the process, but that was his choice. Dualla really didn't have a choice. Disobey her superior officer and husband and get reprimanded on both levels, or save a woman whom she truly must despise.

By contrast, Helo killing his Cylon wife Sharon so that she could download herself onto the Cylon base ship and find and save their stolen child seems downright romantic. Actually, it was a pretty big leap of faith, considering how little he really knows about the download process. Adama was right to be ticked off that all of their secret military information could be found out if her brain was somehow downloaded into the Cylon mainframe. Madame President, on the other hand, had less of a right considering that it was partly her fault that Helo and Sharon were driven to these extreme lengths. At least Helo called her out on it. "If you hadn't lied and stolen our baby in the first place, we wouldn't be here at all." Did you catch Adama silently holding Helo's arm back so that Helo wouldn't physically attack Roslin? But being that Roslin is a no-nonsense kind of president, she had a quick comeback at the ready, "I certainly played my part in bringing us to this moment. There is plenty of blame to throw around, and I accept it. But now all our lives are in the hands of Sharon Agathon. All we can do is hope that your wife is worthy of the unconditional trust you place in her."

Turns out that Sharon is totally trustworthy, and she manages to completely snow Caprica into believing that she's done with the humans since they mistreated her. The mom in me loved that Hera recognized real Sharon, even though Boomer is genetically identical. The action fan in me loved Caprica hauling off and snapping Boomer's neck. I wonder how Caprica is feeling now that she helped Sharon escape to find help for baby Hera, and Caprica got herself captured by the humans in the process. I can't help but wonder if her holding cell will be right next to Baltar's. That could be awkward.

Speaking of Gaius, according to the Six in his head, he is supposed to be the chosen one, yet he helped D'Anna find the Eye of Jupiter marking that would allow them to see the faces of the remaining five Cylon models, and got pretty much squat out of the deal. He didn't discover what he was desperate to know, if he himself was a Cylon, and he got decked by Tyrol and taken back aboard Galactica as an unconscious prisoner. I'm sure his crimes against humanity won't be so easily forgiven now that he's back.

But the humans have the marker that they wanted, even though it makes me wary of Starbuck. She's been drawing a particular image since she was a child, and it just happens to be the Eye of Jupiter? And Leoben, her Cylon "mate" of sorts said that she "had a destiny and it had already been written." That doesn't bode well. Is it possible that she is one of the final five? If Leoben knows about her destiny and the image she is drawing is tied to the path to Earth, it seems like a likely, yet horrifying, scenario. Then again, it is possible that Leoben was just messing with her mind, and that maybe Kara is just special and chosen to help the humans find a new home. Maybe I'm being naive.

The only one who knows for sure if Kara or Baltar are Cylons is D'Anna, and she's been boxed up and sent off to cold storage indefinitely. Harsh, but clearly this spirited Cylon who was consumed with the idea of discovering these identities at all costs is not one to be trusted. Loved Cavil's line, "Your model is fundamentally flawed." That's so awesome that I'm sure some cheesy reality show will steal it to use as their exit line.

But just because she's boxed doesn't mean that D'Anna or the lovely Lucy Lawless are gone forever. There are always flashback sequences. Plus, Cavil said that her model's stay in cold storage was indefinite, but he didn't say permanent — so there is always the possibility that she could resurface.

All in all, a pretty great way to come back for the second half of the season, in my opinion. I can't wait to see what other obstacles come up on this really bumpy road to Earth.

I want to just re-watch the reaction shots in this episode, because there were some great ones:
— The look on Apollo's face when Anders told him, "I know my wife. I know how she is. We've been married a year and a half. Do you think you’re the first?"
— The expression on Adama's face when he discovered that Laura had lied about Sharon and Helo's baby being dead.
— The disbelief when Boomer told Sharon that her baby was still alive.
— The hurt look on Caprica's face when she found out that Baltar and D'Anna were cavorting and leaving for Earth without her.
— The pissed glare that Roslin gave when she found out that Adama was going ahead with the nuclear launch.
— And best of all, the shock, disgust and disbelief by Adama when he found out that Baltar was still alive and on a Cylon ship.

Oh, then there was the expression on my face (and that of the entire audience at the screening I attended) when the words "To be continued" popped up on screen. There was actually an audible gasp. Sure, I realize in my mind that there is no way that the nuclear attacks can happen. There are too many important people down on that planet — Apollo, Starbuck, Tyrol, Baltar and D'Anna. That's a big hunk of the cast. At least most of them have to survive, right?

I am, however, worried about Anders. Was Starbuck trying to suggest him for a suicide mission in order to solve her impossible dilemma with Apollo? He won't cheat, and she won't get divorced. That was some bizarre logic she had there. Which made me think that maybe her suggestion to Apollo to deploy Anders, knowing that he wasn't skilled in this field, might have been her attempt to off her husband. It is either that or she was trying to make nice with her hubby by helping him get a big new job so that he wouldn't be so angry about all the cheating.

I also didn't get why Dean Stockwell thought that wiping out the Galactica would wipe out the entire human race. As soon as the Cylons blipped on to the radar, the rest of the human-filled vehicles leapt out of the neighborhood. Not saying the humans wouldn't be hard hit if they lost the Galacticacrew, but they'd still be around.

I really still can't get over how Baltar felt like he was at home on the Galactica, and how he seemed to think he'd have a chance of returning there at some point. Number Six had some sense, "You know you can't return. They'd toss you out the nearest airlock and throw a party." That is my exact reaction to him, considering that at least once per episode. He's just so icky. And I can't believe that Brother Cavil actually thought that throwing Baltar into the mix would sweeten the pot instead of acting as a tart taste. I thought Roslin put it best: "The less this man says, the better this will go."

I was interested in the whole gods stuff and the eye of Jupiter. I thought it was cute that Tyrol was a non-believer, but yet he found the temple, like it was calling out to him or something. Especially since he tried so hard to blatantly disobey the gods and his parents: "I would dance around naked with porn magazines to defy them."

But the most interesting concept that I thought was explored more in tonight's episode was the idea that the longer the Cylons are around the humans, the more they start to develop feelings and ideas of their own and the less robotic they become. I know that they've been delving into that all along with Sharon. But to also see D'Anna go out on her own with a concept in order to complete her self-serving plan to find the final five Cylon models was a cool twist — as was seeing how hurt Caprica was by D'Anna and Baltar's actions. Her desperate "I loved you when everyone else wanted you dead" comment sounded quite a bit like deep human emotion and less like something a machine would say.

Basically, I thought it was a great episode. The cliff-hanger left me wanting more and not wanting to wait until the end of January. But it could be a lot worse, so I'm trying not to complain too much.

This is the episode I was expecting last week, a real character-driven piece that had heart, but provided a much-needed breather from the heavy-hitting episodes they've been doling out recently.

At first I was annoyed that it was a Kat-centric show, but by the end she had won me over with her determination, even if she was basically committing suicide in the process. Her scenes with Admiral Adama gave him an opportunity to share more of his thoughts on fighting and wartime struggles. "What you did was harder than facing a bullet, and you did it without putting another soul in harm's way." He also showed a softer side when he told her he didn't care about her past or her secrets and then recalling how he and his wife had wanted a daughter. Sweet. He's really such an incredible leader who cares deeply about each and every person who reports to him.

That said, I'll be interested next week to see how many souls were lost in the jump process. They lost two ships, so that had to do some damage to this already spare fleet. It was somewhat haunting to see the faces of the hardworking Battlestar flight crew. They all had deeply sunken eyes and could barely stand by the end of their back-and-forth mission. But I guess the important thing is that their mission to get across was completed, and they've found a food supply, even if it isn't the tastiest of cuisines.

It was also interesting to see Saul back up in the CIC. Did you catch that he almost hesitated before stepping in there, like he wasn't sure if he was ready for it? That was almost as interesting to me as seeing Gaita refuse to applaud Tigh's return. There's going to be another clash between these two at some point, I can just tell.

It was sort of interesting in contrast to Kat's suicide mission to see D'anna, who was basically killing herself repeatedly in an attempt to uncover the identity of the final five Cylon models. She's got a long way to go, since those sketches were more than a little vague.

Gaius, on the other hand, may not have discovered the final five, or found out if he is one, but he did get quite a bit of information from the hybrid about the path to Earth. I'm glad that he was able to decipher the blathering of the hybrid, but it was still weird to see him and D'Anna so chummy. He may suspect that she's up to something — "I'll never understand what you do all day long, living on this thing like fleas on a cat" — but I'm so used to him being devoted solely to Caprica, that it is quite an adjustment.

I don't think there is any way that Baltar could be a Cylon. He seems to hope that that would bring him a sense of identity or redemption, but I think that would be too easy a fate for him. He's just a frakked-up human whose only goal is self-preservation at any cost. He'd never be able to do something like Kat did, and even if he discovered he was a Cylon, I don't think he'd be able to do what D'anna does. He just seems too preoccupied and panicked about whether he'd return or not.

So even though this was a seemingly slower episode (which didn't even acknowledge the fallout from last week's boxing-match meltdown), it still got me very excited for next week's mid-season finale. I just can't wait.

This whole season has been so intense with the Cylon battles and the New Caprica escape that I was kind of hoping that this boxing episode would be a relief from the nonstop action. In some ways it was, as it was more focused on the relationship between Starbuck and Apollo. But their relationship is almost as intense and fiery as an in-air battle, and their boxing bout — interspersed with scenes from the pre-Cylon occupation of New Caprica — was at times very hard to watch.

But before I spend all my time blathering on about the love-life of the younger Adama, let me first give some credit to the best scene of the night: The brutal matchup between Admiral Adama and Chief Tyrol followed by Adama's much-needed speech. "I let this crew, this family, disband, and we paid the price in lives. That can't happen again." Wow. I'm impressed that he owned up to his mistakes and was willing to take a beating in order to ensure that it wouldn't happen again in the future. I just love him, and if I'm not mistaken, so does Madame President. They looked a little cozy down on New Caprica when she was telling him of her plans for a cabin by the lake.

But I digress. The Admiral was right in his initial instincts to keep Tyrol, Callie and their baby on board Galactica, to keep Dualla with him and not with Lee and Saul on duty and not with Ellen. But because Adama can be a softie and wanted his Chief, his son and his friend to be happy, he let them go and let his ship suffer. I'm not sure that it was entirely a mistake. Without Tyrol and Saul heading up the resistance on the ground and coordinating with Galactica, they may never have been able to save the humans stuck on New Caprica. Safety in numbers is important, as is keeping your crew and instruments in fighting shape at all times. If the Cylon invasion taught them anything, it is that those robots will attack when you least expect it and when your guard is most certainly down.

Now, on to Starbuck and Apollo, or Kara and Lee. I had no idea that she did what she did to Lee. But still, she was the one that picked a fight with him: "You have the guts to try and frak another man's woman, but not to fight one." I wouldn't have blamed him if he knocked her out cold for what she had done. The look on his face when he found out that she ran off and married Anders (and that it was her idea) after their night of lovemaking was a mixture of heartbreak and disgust. He practically spit out this line: "Congratulations, Sam, and good luck. You're going to need it." Unbelievable. There is such a thin line between love and hate, though, which is something that Dualla recognized right away. I can't imagine that it is ever going to be easy for Dualla or Sam, knowing that you were the second choice.

I just still can't figure out why Kara didn't grab her chance at happiness with Lee when she had the chance. Was she too afraid of hurting Sam? Was she too scared of actually letting herself be happy? Or was she worried that Lee's proclamations — "My name is Lee Adama, and I love Kara Thrace… I love Kara Thrace, and I don't care who frakking knows" — were just drunken ramblings?

I'm not sure what caused her to snap, change her thoughts on marriage and run away. My guess is she's just scared of a relationship that isn't easy. Lee's question probably put too much pressure on her, so she took the easy way out. "What if this is the rest of your life, Kara? Is this how you want to spend it? Is this who you want to spend it with?"

After that boxing match meltdown and their confessions that they missed each other, is there hope for these two as a couple, or even as friends? And what of their significant others? Will they stick around? Personally, I can't wait to find out.

On a more random note, I would like to thank the gods for the person who decided it was a smart idea to kick off the episode with Helo and Apollo sparring in the ring. That was truly a sight to behold.

And for those of you who live in any of these cities — New York, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles — make sure to enter our Battlestar Galactica mid-season finale giveaway. It's going to be a screening of the episode a whole entire week before it airs on TV, and we've got two sets of tickets available to each one. You've just got to tell us why you think you deserve to go. Enter here.