Hero (308)

[ShadowMaat]

IMO she dreamt it (sort of... between the time she was killed and her "resurrection" - kinda like an NDE or something)
obviously she could never have gotten anywhere near Galactica in the 1st place (let alone onboard) since after the Exodus most of the crew would have know what model#3 looked like

Umm.... I meant when she told the Centurion on the base ship to shoot her in the head. Obviously the sequence on Galactica was a dream, but the base ship stuff wasn't.

And the Galactica dream wasn't her NDE, it was a dream, possibly a prophetic one. The NDE is when she was in the Mysterious Room of Glowy Figures.

[kharn the betrayer]

yup - now all that's missing is a missing limb & wooden leg and we'll have an authentic ole salt sea pirate

I would be fine if he went ARRRG or GARRR a few times >_>

[Huginn]

My thoughts on this episode:

I see a lot of lukewarm and somewhat negative reviews of this episode here. My personal feeling is that this was a good episode, to be honest. Not mindblowing like "Exodus," but good all the same. I think I can see why people were dissatisfied with the episode, however.

When we look at an episode, we look at three basic things: character development, plot development, and details (cinematic style, special effects, conformity to continuity, etc.).

Did this episode have character development? It sure did. We saw Adama struggling with a ghost from his past. We saw a usually stoic individual crippled with guilt, trying to deal with it. We saw Tigh finally begin to conquer his demons. I can go on about Bulldog's ordeal or Roslin and Adama's interactions, but you get the idea. This episode was strong on character.

The details were mixed, though. The effects for the Valkyrie and Bulldog's stealth fighter were excellent. I also enjoyed seeing Colonial missiles in use. However, the continuity is sketchy at best. For that matter, anyone notice how Cottle was able to get Bulldog's DNA records? To have that on file would imply that all Colonial military records (at least of personnel) are on file, which is just plain stupid: wastes space and gives the enemy a gold mine of information if captured. This is not meant to be the all knowing Enterprise computer that has everything down to the formula for an ice cream sundae in memory. That said, it's not a plot-breaking issue, and most of the issues (yes, even the continuity fub) don't seriously jeopardize the development, which is why on the whole, I judge this episode mixed in the detail department.

And the plot development was probably the most lackluster. In terms of forwarding the overarching plot, this episode was very slow. I believe that a lot of people appreciate plot development first and foremost, and this was about as slow as you could get. There were only very minor and subtle advances. We can see that D'Anna is becoming even more obsessed with her visions, and since this has been a running thread since the beginning of the season, we can tell we're getting closer to something coming of it. The only role the Cylons play in being a problem for the fleet is through Bulldog's release (and the scheme we theorize was behind it). Other than that, though, there's squat. We're no closer to finding Earth. The Cylons are no closer to finding Earth. The Colonials and the Cylons are no closer to annihilating the other. This was a hint episode at best in terms of plot, and very small hints at that.

So, in short...character development? Check. Attention to detail? Check-ish. Plot development? Negative. That's what makes people feel like it's filler.

Personally, I don't expect every episode to advance the overall plot by leaps and bounds. The first quarter of this season did that in a spectacular fashion. However, the pins must be set up. It can happen slowly, but we should know it's happening. Here, we did not.

This episode shined in character development, though. For that, I deem it a good episode. But it cannot be a great episode. Sure, it was entertaining, but it is not something that you will remember when we look back upon Season 3 when it's all said and done.

[SoulReaver]

Umm.... I meant when she told the Centurion on the base ship to shoot her in the head. Obviously the sequence on Galactica was a dream, but the base ship stuff wasn't.

And the Galactica dream wasn't her NDE, it was a dream, possibly a prophetic one. The NDE is when she was in the Mysterious Room of Glowy Figures.

whoops misread


well she could tell them she can't remember
like a "memory hole" - why, with that bullet in the head...

[SoulReaver]

For that matter, anyone notice how Cottle was able to get Bulldog's DNA records? To have that on file would imply that all Colonial military records (at least of personnel) are on file, which is just plain stupid: wastes space and gives the enemy a gold mine of information if captured

isn't that the case IRL ? in the USA at any rate - if I ain't mistaken all US military personel have a DNA record

and yes it could give the cylons info if captured but in the present case it did allow the doc to confirm that the guy was Bulldog (thus human) - if not for that record Bulldog might have spent the episode in a battlestar holding cell - which would have made for a much duller episode :|

[gange57]

Yes, it was edited. But, the unedited version is available On Demand. Here is Adama Uncensored.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQTpCcHRA_Q

[Trek_Girl42]

I don't think it was edited in our tv version.

[techjunkie]

Thankfully, I am not imagining things.

I think the b#llsh1T added more to the flavor of the episode. Mmmmmm... tasty.

Tech Junkie

[Trek_Girl42]

There seem to be mixed reviews on this one- personally, I loved it. There was definitly some great character development going on, and very solid performances this week from EJO, Michael Hogan, Carl Lumbly, MM, Lucy Lawless, and Jamie Bamber. It was definitly the type of episode that rides 100% on actor performances.

Loved Carl Lumbly in this- and I think we'll see him back, if not this season, then next year. They've got way too good of a character/actor here to pass up on that oppertunity.

I thought the D'Anna death sequence was fascinating- and yes, I agree, I think that those figures are the final five. Which I think is very cool, I hope that topic is further delved into over the next while.

Great stuff for Adama and Tigh- it's nice to see Tigh slowly getting himself back together, that was a lovely final scene for them, and really some nice development throughout. I think Tigh's road to recovery is off to a good start. Although I thought that eyepatch looked a little weird.....he probably should have gotten one in black.

Also loved the comment on the portrait of Baltar going over the toilet. That is indeed a fitting location.

Can't wait for the podcast to go up.

[Huginn]

isn't that the case IRL ? in the USA at any rate - if I ain't mistaken all US military personel have a DNA record

To have it exist is one thing. To have it on every battlestar in the fleet is quite another. Why would you carry information about people who don't even serve on your ship?

and yes it could give the cylons info if captured but in the present case it did allow the doc to confirm that the guy was Bulldog (thus human) - if not for that record Bulldog might have spent the episode in a battlestar holding cell - which would have made for a much duller episode :|

They could have ignored showing the whole issue on-screen at all. Having the test serves no point in the context of the plot of the episode and barely detracts from the episode, if at all, by being implicit. It was basically a convenient venue for the rest of what happened in the same scene, which could have taken place anywhere. It didn't matter.

But, it's not a big deal. It is entirely possible that, for whatever reason, the Colonial Fleet would have wanted all that information to be on file with every battlestar, but the reasons for this I cannot begin to fathom, and it was reminiscent of so many Star Trek episodes where they always have information about this random person they run into and never have to check back with Starfleet. Then again, impossibly irrelevant information stored in gargantuan memory space was not the most glaring technical oddity in Star Trek history.

[onealcj]

iTunes didn't edit out the bullsh*t out of the episode. Makes the scene better!

[DarkOne]

isn't that the case IRL ? in the USA at any rate - if I ain't mistaken all US military personel have a DNA record

and yes it could give the cylons info if captured but in the present case it did allow the doc to confirm that the guy was Bulldog (thus human) - if not for that record Bulldog might have spent the episode in a battlestar holding cell - which would have made for a much duller episode :|

To have it exist is one thing. To have it on every battlestar in the fleet is quite another. Why would you carry information about people who don't even serve on your ship?



They could have ignored showing the whole issue on-screen at all. Having the test serves no point in the context of the plot of the episode and barely detracts from the episode, if at all, by being implicit. It was basically a convenient venue for the rest of what happened in the same scene, which could have taken place anywhere. It didn't matter.

But, it's not a big deal. It is entirely possible that, for whatever reason, the Colonial Fleet would have wanted all that information to be on file with every battlestar, but the reasons for this I cannot begin to fathom, and it was reminiscent of so many Star Trek episodes where they always have information about this random person they run into and never have to check back with Starfleet. Then again, impossibly irrelevant information stored in gargantuan memory space was not the most glaring technical oddity in Star Trek history.

You are correct....all military have there DNA on record for Identification purposes in case of death and check versus family.

[SoulReaver]

To have it exist is one thing. To have it on every battlestar in the fleet is quite another. Why would you carry information about people who don't even serve on your ship?

The database is unique & comprises all the data. I doubt the US military "splits" its database into different subsets for each battleship/submarine/etc. out there. It would be one hell of a mess if that were so

They could have ignored showing the whole issue on-screen at all. Having the test serves no point in the context of the plot of the episode and barely detracts from the episode, if at all, by being implicit. It was basically a convenient venue for the rest of what happened in the same scene, which could have taken place anywhere. It didn't matter.

oo but it did - the writers wanted all possible doubt about Bulldog's identity dispelled outright (or rather, all doubt about his humanity) ... unlike Baltar for example, where dubiousness about him being human or not still persists & seems rife on the net

Then again, impossibly kinda irrelevant information stored in gargantuan memory space was not the most glaring technical oddity in Star Trek history.

This is not meant to be the all knowing Enterprise computer that has everything down to the formula for an ice cream sundae in memory.

I agree that ice cream sundae data is irrelevant, however personally I would simply refuse to serve on a Starfleet ship if the food dispenser computer didn't have strawberry sherbet & banana split in its database -)

[SoulReaver]

You are correct....all military have there DNA on record for Identification purposes in case of death and check versus family.

Thought as much



probably likewise for most countries, IMO

[SoulReaver]

btw still no news of Jake

I swear to god(s), if he didn't make it back to the fleet I'll never watch BSG again