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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA |
Series Overview
Commander Adama - Edward James Olmos President Roslin - Mary McDonnell Captain Adama (Apollo) - Jamie Bamber Lt Thrace (Starbuck) - Katee Sackhoff Dr Baltar - James Callis Number 6 - Tricia Helfer Lt Valerii (Boomer) - Grace Park Colonel Tigh - Michael Hogan Chief Tyrol - Aaron Douglas Billy Keikeya - Paul Campbell 
OTHER SEASONS Mini Series Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Razor OTHER TREKS THROUGH SPACE Babylon 5 Star Trek The Next Generation Deep Space Nine Enterprise Space 1999 
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Season OverviewAll good things must come to an end and this fourth season marks the end of the journey that is the rebooted BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Knowing that this is the end, the makers have a whole season in which to tie up all the many questions that they have managed to raise up till now. Earth is to be found or not, the identity of the last cylon is to be revealed and the purpose of the Final Five cylons is to be revealed. Oh and there are prophecies to explained, visions to be unravelled and a whole host of personal demons to be dealt with. With all that to shoot for it would be understandable if loose ends were left dangling at the end of this final season but Daybreak Parts 2 & 3 daringly ties up every single plot strand in a tidy bow. Prior to that, however, the season is far more patchy than any of those that came before it. It kicks off well with He That Believeth In Me and there are exceptional moments in the likes of The Ties That Bind (the last half hour at least), The Hub and the midseason cliffhanger that is Revelations. Then the show comes back from its hiatus and, horror of horrors, is mainly dull and hanging around wasting time whilst we wait for the big finale. Except for the double episode story of the Fleet's civil war as told in The Oath and Blood On the Scales, that is, which brings the show right back to the top of its game. What was gritty and realistic becomes dark and depressing and...disappointing. Fortunately, Daybreak Parts 2 & 3 brings it all back from the brink and allows to walk away from the show with memories of some of the finest science fiction ever put on the small screen. TopHe That Believeth In MeThe Cylon fleet's all out attack brings the colonists to the brink of utter destruction. When Anders, one of the four cylons revealed at the climax of a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA sets out its stall straight from the off. Want giant space battles? This episode opens with just that, wheeling cameras, fighters blasting, baseships launching huge barrages and the unarmed fleet ships between going up in flames. The dust has barely drifted away on the solar winds than the questions over Kara's identity bubble up with no real resolution. This meshes with the identity crisis that the four newly-revealed cylons are going through. It's character drama with the usual high level of writing and quality of performance. There are a lot of plot strands to get around first, so the characters don't get as much time as they might normally, but none of that matters. There are moments of shock drama and the episode climax will certainly ensure that we're all coming back next time. TopSix of OneStarbuck holds the President at gunpoint and demands that she either turn the fleet around or kill her. Lee leaves the colonial fleet with all the honour and love that his friends can bestow upon him. On their baseships, the cylons argue over the fate of the raiders that have refused to attack the fleet that might be harbouring the final five. This split will have far-reaching consequences for the whole cylon race. How do you solve a problem like Kara Thrace? Back from the dead with a story about knowing the way to Earth and that they are all going the wrong way, which she is determined to tell even if it means her death, this gives Katee Sackhoff a chance to throw restraint to the wind and go all crazy, an opportunity that she takes with both hands. Her fate also allows Edward James Olmos and Mary MacDonnell some nice moments that both strengthen and weaken their bond. It's all impeccably acted, but the events on Galactica verge on soap opera and are a little unfocussed. There are only so many times that Lee can look conflicted about leaving before it gets a bit repetitive. Fortunately, the cylons are about to save the day. With the decision made to turn the raiders into less sentient, obedient machines, the rebellious Six and Boomer models fight for all cylons, not just the elite humanlike models, and the fight becomes all too physical in the shocking last few minutes. TopThe Ties That BindCallie, the chief's wife and mother of his child, is suffering from depression because the Chief seems to be always somewhere else, both physically and mentally. She is left to deal with the baby and the drugs aren't helping her sleep. When she sees her husband in a bar with another woman she becomes suicidal, but when she learns the truth about him she becomes homicidal instead and that hatred stretches as far as her own half-cylon son. For the cylons as well, feelings are running high. When it seems that an accord has been struck things turn nasty. The ties that bind here hold together two parts of an episode that is on the edge of falling apart at the seams. Plot strands are unravelling in all directions with Lee taking his first faltering steps into politics, Starbuck wandering around in circles in her ship looking for a route back to Earth and three of the four secret cylons moping around Galactica bemoaning their lot. Then Callie finds out the truth and a string of dramatic and shocking twists occur as she decides to kill Tyrol, herself and then her son. This is brilliant storytelling that never quite reveals where it's going until the very end. And then, just to top off the dramatic last half hour, the cylon story takes a murderous dramatic twist. Despite its flaws BATTLESTAR GALACTICA retains its ability to impress, amaze and suprise. TopEscape VelocityFollowing the death of his wife, Chief Tyrol is having problems dealing. Baltar's cult continues to grow daily and comes under attack from a rival faction known as the Sons of Aries. President Roslin attempts to pass a law banning the free right to congregate in order that Baltar's group will not presetn themselves as a target again, but Lee Adama scuppers that attempt, leaving the movement to grow. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has always been excellent at balancing the immediate stories with the ongoing plot arc of the series, but this episode is all about the plot arc and nothing about the immediate story. Whilst all of characters descend through their own personal misery their personal stories don't move any furhter forwards. Colonel Tigh looks for redemption in a vision of his wife that he sees whenever he visits the imprisoned Six, but it is questionable whether he learns anything at all, let alone what. Chief Tyrol drives himself on a self-destructive cycle that might end up taking others with it and President Roslin struggles with her own ill-health, something that has come to affect Adama more deeply. Starbuck, meanwhile continues to go slowly nuts in the search for Earth. Character development has always been a critical, and excellent, facet of this show's success, but all character and no plot makes a dull boy and this veers dangerously close to that. There's only so much of Baltar's religious spouting that you can hear before thinking 'OK, I get the point', and Starbuck shows no signs of movement in any direction, just circling in her own madness. Thank goodnes, once again, therefore, for Mary MacDonnel and Edward James Olmos whose quiet moments are the only moments of peace in the whole miserable universe. TopThe Road Less TravelledChief Tyrol is increasingly interested in Baltar's cult whilst Starbuck's crew begin to seriously question her command after a cylon of her acquaintance shows up with information that might be a step on the road to Earth or an obvious trap. More misery for the characters, but at least there's a little more plot than Escape Velocity thanks to the arrival of the Starbuck's cylon torturer. This story strand is a welcome relief from the really rather dull observation of Baltar's continued rise to Godhood. The main attraction, though, is Aaron Douglas's performance as Chief Tyrol. He has long been the heart of the Galactica crew, but since the revelation that he is one of the Final Five cylons he has been even more miserable than everyone else. It's a performance that is easy to be impressed with, though hard to like. There used to be moments of light in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in amongst the action, the tension, the character drama, but now the cause of intense drama seems to have washed those away and left only a sea of despair. It's harder to watch, harder to like and, whilst still impressive, less than the show deserves. TopFaithThe mutiny aboard the Demetrius comes to a violent conclusion with Gaeta shot in the leg and the ship jumping to the scene of the Cylon civil war. Starbuck receives some cryptic advice from the basehip's control hybrid and both sides find it hard to forgive and forget past violence. The plot arc for this half of the season forges ahead and the personal misery gets dialled down whilst the action steps up a notch, all for the good. That's not to say that characterisation goes out the window, and the sudden, shocking bursts of violence come directly from the characterisation, but the plot is more to the fore and the characters fit neatly into it, driving it along. Even the subplot of President Roslin meeting a dying woman (Nana Visitor from DEEP SPACE NINE) who has had an experience that challenges Roslin's view of the universe proves to be less of an unwelcome distraction than it might have been. TopGuess What's Coming To Dinner?The Cylon baseship arrives back at the fleet without the Demetrius and the Galactica goes to full red alert. Fortunately, contact is made before everyone is blown to hell. From the shaky alliance between humans and Cylons, a plan is hatched that will end the Cylons' ability to download into new bodies and also provide the information that will be needed to find Earth. Roslin learns of the baseship hybrid controller and goes to ask some questions, but before she can get very far, the baseship jumps. The show is on a roll again as both sides of the alliance plot and scheme against each other in distrust and dislike. This feeds through into both the human politics and into the family life of Athena, Sharon Agathon, who fears that the Six model has come to take her daughter Hera away and is willing to use whatever force is necessary to keep her safe. The plot is really rattling along again and whilst there remains a lot of character drama at least it's not the wallowing in misery that has been going on recently. It's hard and brutal, but there's more than just simple despair. We're running in towards the midseason break and the momentum is growing. The show is as compelling as ever it was. TopSine Qua NonWith the loss of the President, Adama refuses to accept her replacement and insists that the searach for the missing baseship continue long past the point of reason. Admitting that he is no longer objective in the case of the President, he hands over control of the ship to Tigh. His son, in the meantime, searches for a new candidate to take over the Presidency until new elections can be arranged. The politics of the search for the President is undermined by the fact that the resolution is obvious right from the very outset. It's a rare thing indeed for this show to be actually predictable. Some of the dialogue is pretty shonky as well, trying to sound like it has deeper meaning. Fortunately, the cast are as capable as ever and manage to minimise this. The rest of the time is spent considering the effects of recent events on the various characters, which means that the focus is lost a bit and nothing moves very far forward. It's fortunate that the quality of the show means that a lapse like this still remains so watchable. TopThe HubThe damaged Cylon baseship has jumped, taking the human crew and the human president with it. It seems that the hybrid controller believes that Cylon immortality is no longer a good thing and so the attack on the Resurrection hub, the central core of the Cylon universe, is planned and executed. If successful, Cylons will be mortal and fear death just as humans do. If they fail, then the knowledge of the newly reactivated D'Anna model as to the identities of the Final Five will be lost for ever and with it, Earth's location. After Sine Qua Non told us what was happening at the fleet following the loss of the President, we now get to find out what happened to her and the series is back on song and in full voice. The plot races along at light speed with the big picture of the attack on the hub being interspersed with the personal as President Roslin has visions of her future and of a man who loves her. Mary MacDonnell has been exceptional since the original Pilot two-parter and again takes the brilliant writing to a whole new level as she learns the truth about Baltar's involvement with the fall of the 12 colonies and reacts to the enormity of it and what it means for her own moral standing as she leaves him to bleed to death. The attack is full of the flawless special effects that we have come to expect, a full on space battle that is just as real and brutal as anything that has ever been put on the screen, big or small. You could argue that a place as important as the resurrection hub would be better guarded both in space and internally, but then you could also argue that the Cylons would never have planned on being attacked by Cylons, but if this is the only apparent flaw in the whole thing (and it is) then you have no worries. Hell, it even finds time to make a joke about the identity of the final unknown Cylon at the expense of President. TopRevelationsWith the resurrection hub destroyed and the Cylons mortal for the first time, unable to download into new bodies, everyone is equal. As the baseship arrives back with the colonial fleet the newly reborn D'Anna takes the humans aboard hostage, but Tigh admits to being one of the Final Five and offers up the others as hostages for the humans. It's a standoff that could see the end of the human race once and for all, but Starbuck might be the key. Trust BATTLESTAR GALACTICA to go out on a high. It's been a bumpy ride at times this fourth season, but all of the plot threads are racing towards one place - Earth. With both sides playing a game of brinkmanship from which there is no coming back and with Admiral Adama collapsing under the knowledge that his lifelong friend Tigh is in fact a Cylon, it's both utterly tense and deeply dramatic. Edge of the seat stuff perfectly melded with character drama, fine performances and excellent writing, this is the show at its very best and reminds us once again just why we love it. And the best is saved for the very last shot. It's the midseason break and it's going to be a long wait until we find out what's going to happen next. TopSometimes a Great NotionEarth has been found and it is an irradiated lump of slag in space, nuked out of existence some 2,000 years previously. This devastating news crushes hopes within the fleet leading to despair and tragedy amongst the crew. Some, though, find more on the dead planet. For the four members of the Final Five there are echoes of a life that they lived on Earth. For Starbuck there is a discovery that will rock her universe and Colonel Tigh believes he has found the identity of the final missing cylon model. The final moments of Revelations were pretty much a downer to go into the midseason break on, but this opener of the final half season is even more of a downer than that. Nobody is unaffected by the cruel twist of fate with drunkeness, pain and suicide all rearing their ugly heads. Hopelessness leads to despair and despair to some very dark places indeed. All of this is impeccably acted, of course by a cast that know their roles inside out by this point, which means that the drama is real and the suffering affecting, but aside from all the misery (a continuing facet of this final season it would appear) the ongoing mysteries still continue to compel and with only a few episodes left in which to give all the answers there can be no doubt that we're all going to be here to the bitter end. TopA Disquiet Follows My SoulThe emotional fallout from the discovery of the devastated Earth continues. Admiral Adama proposes to use cylon technology to augment the fleet's jump capability, but the cylons demand full citizenship of the fleet as payment. With President Roslin refusing to deal with the situation, the government falls to Tom Zarek who stirs up the beginnings of a revolt. The only real fault that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has fallen prey to throughout its four seasons is its occasional forays into the political realities of the situation. Those episodes have proven to be the least interesting and least satisfying. This is one of those episodes. The stories also edge into the soap opera territory that the series flirts with from time to time. Chief Tyrol hasn't only lost his wife, but now he learns that he isn't even the father of his child. Saul Tigh and Number Six get to see their own child for the first time on ultrasound and not a lot else actually happens. There are plenty of hints of dark times still to come before the show finally runs its course, but this proves to be an episode that is very rare in the show - a filler. TopThe OathFelix Gaeta and Tom Zarek make their move for power. Gaeta is perfectly positioned in the control centre to interfere with the Admiral's understanding of what is happening and then his reaction to it. Zarek attempts to take Lee out of the game as well. Before too long there is a full scale civil war going on and President Roslin finally comes out of her self-obsessed depression to try and sort things out. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA comes back to searing life with this blistering episode in which order breaks down and armed aggression runs riot. This is what the show does best, gritty action interspersed with personal character moments and both complementing each other rather than detracting from each other. It's dramatic, exciting, unpredictable and occasionally brutal. The detailing of the fate of even the more minor characters in the story gives depth to proceedings and adds to the veracity of the show. Even the actions of the traitors are comprehensible if not defensible. And needless to say it ends on a killer cliffhanger. One of the best yet. TopBlood on the ScalesWith Galactica in the hands of Gaeta and Zarek, Admiral Adama's forces start to strike back. On the cylon vessel, President Roslin attempts to persuade them that being allies means during the bad times as well as the good ones. Zarek's methods become more brutal and Gaeta begins to wonder about what he has set in motion. The two part uprising story ends in the same fashion as it began, uncompromisingly. The trademarked mix of tension, action, gritty brutality and great character acting is in full force and on top of its game. It's never less than convincing, although one moment of misdirection for shock value is a bit overly theatrical to be truly successful. This sort of episode is the reason why this show has been so lauded since its debut. TopNo ExitApart from a large number of dead people, the uprising on Galactica has left two other casualties. The ship herself is badly damaged and riddled with the damage of age and misuse. The only possible cure is cylon in origin. The other casualty is Sam Anders. A bullet lodged in his head has short-circuited his brain and provided all the memories to explain the secret history of the Final Five and all cylons. To tell it all, however, might cost him his life. If you want to know what the whole plot of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has meant all this time then this is the one episode that you cannot miss. It's also not one of the best by a very long chalk. Can there actually have been a less dramatic way to learn the history of the cylons and what everything has meant than by having one of the characters just explain it all to several others? Thank goodness, then, for the resurrection of Ellen in the cylon fleet (before the events of The Hub) where her revelations about the creators of the cylons are challenged by one of those that they made and who is not happy with the result. That provides the conflict and the drama to counterpart the otherwise dull exposition going on in the medical bay. It's more a history lesson than an episode really, but at least now we know. TopDeadlockThe newly resurrected Ellen Tigh arrives back in the Fleet to find that her husband throughout millennia has fathered a child on one of the children that they created. Understandably a bit miffed, she engineers a standoff amongst the Final Five as to whether they stay on Galactica or take the Cylon basestar and abandon the humans. The power play is destined to have tragic consequences. Ellen returns to the fleet and brings soap opera with her. The love triangle here is the least convincing one in science fiction for a long time. That it ends in tragedy does drag it back a bit from the brink, but not enough. The theme of the show is baldly laid out here with little subtlety. What started out as two races ideologically poles apart in utter conflict must end with them both integrating and using their strengths for ultimate survival. A more blatant use of metaphor for the crisis between the US and Islam it's harder to imagint. It also criminally wastes the talents of the majority of the cast by giving them nothing to do. TopSomeone to Watch Over MeHaving brought Ellen Tigh back to the fleet, Boomer is locked away in the brig and the rebel cylons want to try her for treason, the penalty being death. Chief Tyrol finds that his feelings for her have resurfaced and makes plans to get her off the ship, but she has plans of her own. Starbuck, meanwhile, is fascinated by a stranger who is using the bar piano to compose a new tune. Something's wrong. The show has gone off the boil and is drifting about all over the place with no apparent purpose. Characters sort of relate, but to not great point. By the end of the episode things sort of come together in the last five minutes, but even then Starbuck's visions of her father (and no that's not a spoiler since it is obvious right from the start) seem to have no point at all. It is to be hoped that all of this is leading somewhere because it would be a shame if a show that has prove to be capable of so much were to go out on episodes such as this one. TopIslanded in a Stream of StarsBoomer takes Hera to the head of the Cylons, but is starting to come over a bit maternal for the child who is, in a weird sort of way, hers. Back at the fleet, however, Adama is trying to come to terms with the need to abandon a Galactica that is literally coming apart at the seams. The comatose Anders has been plugged into the Galactica's systems like the controller of a basestar and Kara reveals to Gaius that she once died, something that he then reveals to the whole fleet. Is there any point to this episode at all? If there is then it is well hidden amongst the rambling, shambling group of scenes not even pretending to be a narrative. There seems to be a whole load of set up going on and a single scene right at the start seems to suggest the whole direction that the story is going to go in if the show ever bothers to get back to the story. The Galactica is dying and needs to go out in a blaze of glory. She can be controlled by Anders alone. Hera is held in the heart of the what seems to be the Cylon homeworld. The story seems to suggest itself. The performances remain top notch, but there needs to be a story for the actors to serve. A single nice scene between Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff isn't enough to take the place of that. And will someone please explain what purpose Gaius Baltar serves to the show as a whole because this episode just once again shows how little he is adding to the show. TopDaybreak - Part 1The Galactica is being evacuated and stripped of all useful parts when Admiral Adama changes his mind and decides that nobody is left behind, not even little girls called Hera. He comes up with a rescue plan, a plan that is likely to be a one way trip and see a lot of people not coming home again. It's not a mission he can order anyone on and so he asks for volunteers. The end is nigh, but it is taking a hell of a long time to come. This episode concerns itself with the Admiral's determination to undertake the mission and the calling for volunteers, but that take only a few minutes of screen time. The episode opens with some quite frankly irrelevant scenes from before the fall of the colonies which we hope will become relevant in the final two episodes because they are just extremely pointless filler here. TopDaybreak - Parts 2 & 3Admiral Adama's plan is initiated and Galactica jumps into her final battle. As fighters wheel through space all around, assault teams board both the cylon colony and the Galactica. Hera is regained and for a moment is seems like a workable peace has been reached, but a past wrong derails everything and Starbuck needs to access something deep inside her to jump Galactica into the orbit of a planet that looks vaguely familiar. WARNING! HUGE PLOT SPOILERS ARE UNAVOIDABLE BEYOND THIS POINT. When it was announced that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was to be remade for a new generation there was general lack of interest. In the four seasons, one miniseries and one special feature episode since, this has become one of the best and most highly regarded science fiction shows of all time. It deserves to go out on a high, especially after the past few weeks have seen the show in a holding pattern doing nothing but filling up the time to this point. Shown as a single episode in the UK, this does give the show the send off that it deserves. The initial battle is the kind of thing that impressed us so much at the beginning, huge scale action and tiny, intimate personal moments in the midst of the gunfire. The amount of damage meted out to the ship is excessive to the point of unbelievability and the lack of cylons within the colony seems a bit strange, but those are niggles. The plot rattles along and actually ties in the visions of the opera house that have long been unexplained. In fact this last episode explains almost everything that the audience have been wondering all along. The number Six cylon in Gaius Baltar's head is an angel, as is the Gaius Baltar in Caprica Six's head and also the Kara Thrace who came back from the scorched planet of Earth. Their task was to guide both sides to a point where the cycle of violence would be broken. Hera, the first human/cylon hybrid is really the mother of humanity. The music that the cylons were hearing contains the spatial co-ordinates of the new planet, our Earth, that will become the new home of the Twelve Colonies. Nothing is missed out. It's not perfect of course. Every single character gets to say goodbye and whilst some of these scenes are genuinely moving there are just too many of them. Galactica's last flight, into the sun, is far too short and the fleet that has been our home for five years deserves a better send off. The African veldt also looks like a very cold place. And anyone familiar with THE HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is going to find it difficult to swallow the colonists' final fate without a big grin. Still, it's certainly dramatic enough, well-acted enough and above all dignified enough to make it a fitting end to such a remarkable show. Top |
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