Crossroads, Part 1 (319)

[Mainer82]

Can we try and stop with the semi spoilers, i've tried my damn hardest to avoid them, and for those complaining about previews, it's pretty simple... don't watch them!!! Makes it so much more exciting when you come to watch the episode.

As far as this episode. Wowzer, fantastic. Tigh was excellent in this episode, i love him when he's playing the drunken capt'n.

Tigh is good no what he's doing. I enjoyed his performance on new caprica, especially during the mini-episodes which I hope are on the S3 DVD.

[Skydiver]

It is a valid issue about spoilers. Tags should be used for any upcoming episodes, even previews.
Tags should also be used when discussing pertinent plot points of previous episodes.

[the fifth man]

I really enjoyed this episode. It was one that was so easy to get into. What sucked most though was when that "...to be continued.." came up on the screen. I couldn't believe the ep was over already. I can't wait to see how this concludes next week.

[wiseowl777]

ok, i agree abt the previews for spolier things... but ppl who have not seen all the episodes upt o now shouldnt be suprised if they are in a room talking abt that episode that they havnt seen yet. im not abt to click on the "unending" chat room bc i havnt seen it yet, or ne of the episodes b4 it. if its pertaining to the next episode then yes spoliers but nething before should be fair game.

[Desperado]

Spoiler, shmoiler. What the frack is going on with Lee? And what sort of court allows a pilot to play lawyer. Puhleez! This trial is ridiculous. Not high drama. Just low-down nonsense.

For starters, in any democracy worth it's stripes, the health of the CINC (Commander-in-chief) is a state secret. Adama was in his rights to censor Roslin's testimony in the interests of natinal security. As a former journalist covering heads of state, I have first hand knowledge of this. Frankly, it would have been better, more dramatic, to handle Roslin's cancer metastasis sub rosa. Then we have another mystery within and cover-up. Oooh! Cool.

The minute Lee sniffed the tea, the Kamala Kat was out of the bag. C'mon. writers, try to be a little subtle. Not so obvious, please.

Ditto with the radio fiddling. The bar scene where Roslin’s chief of staff was fiddling with that red radio was a dead giveaway. And yes, the old cliché of radio signals from Earth traveling to deep space announcing, "We are here." Has been used ad nauseum as a plot trick. The best use, IMO, was in Carl Sagan's book and that abyssmal movie verison of it, "Contact". At least Dr. Sagan got the physics right. He used the very first TV broadcast signal of Hitler at the Olympics as the signal. Makes sense since broadcast wave don't warp time-space. FIFO, first in, first out.

So, if the Colonial fleet is picking up stray Earthly broadcasts, they would be seeing them as through a time machine, same way Hubble views back to the origins of the Universe. And, some crappy little radio would not be the receive. Neither would random individuals of the hull of Galactica. The energy loss as signals travel through a planetary atmosphere then out to space is significant. Add to that the influence of interstellar radiation, gravitational and other astronomical phenomena, and it would take a very sophisticated listening post to pick them up.

So, BSG fans, I think this episode just went completely off the rails. And, as a parting challenge, why would Roslin go back to sipping Kamala when she has Hera available as a blood donor to treat her cancer. DUH! Hey BSG guys. Don't you think we actually watch this stuff? C'mon, get with the program. Cut the metaphysical crap and start giving us unique and character-honest scripts instead of relying on old, hackneyed and cliché scifi tricks. You should not take fan loyalty for granted.

[Skydiver]

And what sort of court allows a pilot to play lawyer.

LOL

well, it worked for JAG for years

The podcast is finallyup so there might be answers there, but i'm willing to bet that it boils down to the need to get the major players in one room, interacting with each other and creating the drama

[USA1290]

LOL

well, it worked for JAG for years ...

I do have a question re: the court itself. I missed the why.
What I wanted to know was it said, why Baltar is before a military tribunal? It looks like a court martial to me. I remember Adama & Roslin were discussing what law to try him under-one of the planet's laws or Colonial [Federal] law.

Wouldn't Baltar be entitled to a civilian judicial trial=judge & jury? I realize they may not have a civilian judge available. Haven't they mentioned in early episodes, jury trials in the Colonies? I was wondering also, with thier court system, what re: the appeals process? I'd think a single judge first & then a tribunal for appeal.

[Berg417448]

And what sort of court allows a pilot to play lawyer.

A military court martial.

[Berg417448]

I do have a question re: the court itself. I missed the why.
What I wanted to know was it said, why Baltar is before a military tribunal? It looks like a court martial to me. I remember Adama & Roslin were discussing what law to try him under-one of the planet's laws or Colonial [Federal] law.

Wouldn't Baltar be entitled to a civilian judicial trial=judge & jury? I realize they may not have a civilian judge available. Haven't they mentioned in early episodes, jury trials in the Colonies? I was wondering also, with thier court system, what re: the appeals process? I'd think a single judge first & then a tribunal for appeal.

We don't know that all of the judges are military either. 5 ship captains were chosen by lot to be judges and we know that many of the ships in the fleet are not military ships. Just because they wear a uniform doesn't mean they are military. Pleasure cruise ship crews wear uniforms too. We just don't know for sure.

[USA1290]

We don't know that all of the judges are military either...Pleasure cruise ship crews wear uniforms too. We just don't know for sure.

OK, thats makes sense. I was thinking that, some were from BSP & a couple were from BSG & just hadn't seen them b4.
Thanks for replying! Appreciate your time.

[Skydiver]

the judges were chosen from a random lot of the ship captians.

as to military trial, well most 'crimes against humanity' trials end up having a military flare - and if ron moore goes into detail as to why he hasn't yet, i'm about halfway through the pod cast

he did say, however, that roslyn DOES have cancer again, so it's not some lie on her behalf

[ShadowMaat]

I thought they were all civilian ships except for the Galactica, although I admit I haven't paid much attention to such details... and we haven't heard an awful lot about them except in a statistical sense during jumps and whatnot.

I like the blonde lady with the scar/birthmark on her cheek. Hope we get to see more of her.

[Lady Snow]

I thought they were all civilian ships except for the Galactica, although I admit I haven't paid much attention to such details... and we haven't heard an awful lot about them except in a statistical sense during jumps and whatnot.

That's what I thought as well - one would think that we would've known if there were another military-sort of vessel, particularly when Admiral Cain showed up.

I like the blonde lady with the scar/birthmark on her cheek. Hope we get to see more of her.

Indeed. I'm beginning to enjoy anyone who can curb the Admiral's enthusiasm for a while.

[Berg417448]

I thought they were all civilian ships except for the Galactica, although I admit I haven't paid much attention to such details... and we haven't heard an awful lot about them except in a statistical sense during jumps and whatnot.

I like the blonde lady with the scar/birthmark on her cheek. Hope we get to see more of her.

You may be right about all of the other ships being civilian. I just used the word "many" because while we don't know all of the ships in the fleet but we do know that many are not military.

[unowhoandwhy]

I think, first of all, that Admiral Adama is a hypocrite. He allows a man like Tigh to do whatever he wants (including murdering his own wife!) and yet won't accept the word of his own son and tells him he has no integrity. I wanted to smack him... really, really hard, with a big stick!

Although, it will be interesting to see if Lee stays Mr. Adama. I would think that in a time of war that there really wouldn't be a choice. Qualified & experienced pilots are too rare a breed to let one go like that, no matter what sort of hissy fit he & his daddy the admiral are having... which brings me to another question - how long is Lee going to be allowed to have those cushy quarters when a) he is no longer in the military and b) he is (THANK THE GODS & LORDS OF KOBOL!!!) not living with anyone?

Am I the only one that cheered when Dee packed her bags & left? I hope they stay separated, because I think they are the universe's most boring & unbelievable couple! Honestly, they only had chemistry when it was that unresolved sexual tension while they were working out together & every scene they have had since then has been yawn-inducing.

It is very interesting to see that Laura's cancer has come back. I am thinking that perhaps Hera's blood didn't have that much to do with her previous cure, especially since they have been unsuccessful with treating anyone else with it. It is also interesting to see Laura referring to Hera as "it" when she is half-human and all humanoid. The more I see of Roslin the less I like her. That doesn't mean I don't think that the actress isn't very good, quite the contrary in fact, but I don't like the sneaky, underhanded way Roslin has of doing things and think she is, at best, a complete hypocrite. A "Do as I say & not as I do" sort of person.

And wow, is there no one with organizational & leadership skills left in the Fleet other than Helo? Acting XO to Acting CAG to pilot to Acting CAG and back to Acting XO again, all in one season?! Go Helo! lol

Also, I am confused about Anders... he is in uniform?! What is he doing for work? He is obviouslly not allowed to just hang out and look cool, so what is he doing to earn his cushy spot on Galactica?