Galactica Season 3 Discussions ( *** SPOILERS *** )

What made you think that? I haven't seen the preview you saw, so I'm just curious.

So... no sign of Tigh, no-one gets offed... but an interesting episode nonetheless.

And although I haven't reviewed it yet, I thought the teaser at the beginning was a bit misleading because I thought it showed a Cylon resurrecting, which implied that the plan of infecting the rest of the Cylons with the virus worked.

I thought Helo was going to get executed for treason, too... but obviously there ought to be consequences for him and Sharon (Athena) whether or not Adama pursues the matter - people who think the genocide should have gone ahead will obviously have their own suspicions.

Leaking the news that someone's going to die is a very shrewd move on the makers' part: it makes you watch things that much more carefully and have much more concern for the characters you like.

The Baltar thing was interesting too. There's a post on the Sci-Fi BSG forum that suggests that Baltar might become some sort of Jesus figure for the Cylons. In the original series the Baltar figure did, in fact, lead them. His willingness to sacrifice himself for the Cylons, his ability to take torture and tell them he loves them... couple that with some interesting theological debate and it's not utterly implausible as a possible future avenue for the story arc.

And Tricia Helfer just looks so, so hot in the throes of passion. Yum. If I could, with utter clarity, visualise that astride me bouncing up and down, I might be able to ignore torture...

I thought Apollo was going to die from that sickness. I was wrong as it turns out Humans are immune. War of the Worlds anyone? First time I've been disappointed in the BSG writers. They could have come up with something better then that.

As to this whole Genocide thing... not a fan of that move either. I really hope Helo and Athena don't get too much flak and frankly I hope the writers resolve that sub-plot asap.

This whole Baltar as Jesus thing wasn't that unexpected either. It wasn't something I was actively anticipating either though I'm not that surprised by it. Baltar has to gain control of the Psilons. It's his destiny. It's also his destiny to be crucified by the Colonials. Perhaps he will be crucified and resurrected. Infact I'm positive that is how it's gonna happen.

[edit on 11-11-2006 by sardion2000]

I thaught it would have been a great way to go with the series actually. If the Cylons were infected with a major disease that wiped out a large percent of their population. It would give the viewer a reason to identify with the Cylons, and almost pity them, or root for them. Also, chances are it wouldn't kill all of them, just enough to get em pissed off. Plus, they could use Baltar as a means to find a cure, which would open up a whole new series of twists.

I'm not sure that Adama letting it all go by the board and not pursuing Helo is quite in character. It smacks of just ending it all very neatly, frankly.

I don't feel terribly satisfied by the last couple of episodes... but how the hell could they follow up on the first four? Those were among the best I've seen.

Agreed. these last few have been a little disappointing in comparison, but still an excellent show.

And, couldn't the pres force an investigation?

Also, since they now know that Cylons are vulnerable to various human diseases, couldn't they just find some other possible bio agents and use them? At least get some rats together and isolate the one they know works.

Gotta say I loved "Hero". For me, it packed real emotional punch. The scene where Tigh saved Adama totally rocked - he needed an emergency to bring him back from the brink. Nice to see Adama and Tigh patching things up at the end - very moving. And some great writing - "sometimes, surviving is its own death sentence".

I also found it slightly frustrating. Sometimes on BSG they compress things slightly too much for me - like in the second part of Exodus, where it goes (in what I assume to be an ad-break) from beginning the assault on New Caprica to Galactica surrounded by base stars and about to go belly-up. The business with Gaius, Six and Three was treated rather like that.

But have we got a clue as to why the Cylons "don't talk about" the first five models anymore? During Three's between-life experience, she goes to that big chamber and sees five white hooded figures, and clearly discovers something that gives her a lot to think about... very nicely laid out for future development.

A couple of things bother me about Bulldog. Why keep him alive all this time? Why keep him a prisoner? Just to let him go now? Hmmm. And how did he find the Galactica? The Cylons, if they know where the Galactica is, could just jump in with a bunch of base stars and get the job done.

One thought that occurs. If the first five Cylon models were the ones in the KKK outfits, perhaps they've "sublimed"?

Sublimed? You mean like Matter to Energy, Solid to Gas type of Sublimation?

I've been checked out all the various rumor sites and it looks like Baltar will be recaptured by the Colonials in the next couple of episodes. I also think that he will be executed(possibly Crucified?) by the Colonials and that is when he will be Resurrected. I don't think Baltar is a regular Cylon model. I believe he is an Assimilated Cylon-Human who is basically Biologically Human, but has an undetectable Biomechanical Implant that contains the Six personality he talks to and also allows him to Multi-Task(Six asks Baltar if he always was able to MultiTask) and even perhaps Resurrect into a Clone.

Another theory I have is that they will not find Earth this season, or even next one. There are still a few more necessary story lines that need to be followed. The Terra storyline for instance hasn't been touched yet. In TOS, Terra was a planet much like Earth, except it's atmosphere is 90 % thinner than ours making it impossible for the Colonials to live on Terra for a long time and making it extremely hazardous for the Terrans to live in the Colonials environment. In TOS, they had to put them into decompression chambers to keep them alive as our environment was crushing them alive.

Originally posted by rich23
I'm not sure that Adama letting it all go by the board and not pursuing Helo is quite in character. It smacks of just ending it all very neatly, frankly.

I don't feel terribly satisfied by the last couple of episodes... but how the hell could they follow up on the first four? Those were among the best I've seen.

"Covering Asses is the Old Mans Primary Function nowadays" Tigh said to Bulldog.

A couple of things bother me about Bulldog. Why keep him alive all this time? Why keep him a prisoner? Just to let him go now? Hmmm. And how did he find the Galactica? The Cylons, if they know where the Galactica is, could just jump in with a bunch of base stars and get the job done.

Cylons love to play mind games. They love to Terrorize their former oppressors. Personally, I think that Baltar had something to do with that plan. It's just sneaky enough for him. I wonder when his streak of Megalomania will start to show itself?

But have we got a clue as to why the Cylons "don't talk about" the first five models anymore? During Three's between-life experience, she goes to that big chamber and sees five white hooded figures, and clearly discovers something that gives her a lot to think about... very nicely laid out for future development.

I believe that when she is "in between" she is able to access portions of her memory that are locked out to her in the Real World due to hard physical limitations(ei a Wetware Firewall). I assume that this "in between" place is somewhere in a computer or the "in between" place they go to as their consciousness is transferred through "space" to the resurrection facilities.

Perhaps the 5 are stuck "in between" somehow? Perhaps they are blocking the memory from the Cylons that are Real. Maybe they are the ones who control and pull the strings of Baltar and Caprica Six(remember she has a Baltar personality that she talks to).

[edit on 23-11-2006 by sardion2000]

"Subliming" is a term, or at least a concept, I've come across in various SF areas (Iain M. Banks to Stargate SG-1, even Babylon 5) - it's not always called "subliming". The idea is that after a particular level of evolutionary sophistication is reached, a race can move beyond the physical/corporeal level of existence into a (vaguely defined) other realm. Often this means losing contact with/losing interest in, the physical world altogether.

But if the first five models of the Cylons were so immensely sophisticated - being, as Brother Cavil put it (and where's he been lately?) "the best machines they could be" - that they moved beyond the physical almost immediately, that might explain the scene where D'Anna meets the five robed figures after her death.

I can't figure out where they're going with Baltar. If he's a Cylon, he's one of the final five models. Maybe he's the only physical incarnation of his model, and when he realises that, he'll take control of the Cylons? If, as you say, he could resurrect into a Cylon body, how come there aren't others like him running around?

I didn't know they ever reached Earth in TOS. Interesting.

I didn't know they ever reached Earth in TOS. Interesting.

Yeah, they reached it though it was after a considerable time lapse. 15-20 years IIRC.

I think after this season or next there will be another timelapse in that range. 15 years would be ideal as it would start to involve the "coming of age" of the Cylon Hybrid.

The 5 hooded figures clothed in white and white light could be the Beings of Light from the TOS. How they're portrayed is another matter, as in TOS they were in regular contact with some of the main characters on the BSG(Apollo/Starbuck). In this it appears as if their role is reversed, though that is not certain yet. Their intentions are probably much more ambiguous in this series then in TOS.

en.battlestarwiki.org...

Also if they ARE the beings of Light, then it re-enforces my belief that we'll be delving into the Terra storyline soon as the BoL sent Apollo to Terra to try to stop a war. This was shortly after the capture of Baltar as well. They could easily stretch that storyline for at least 12+ episodes with a season ending cliffhanger and perhaps another time lapse.

Well, the mid-season hiatus is almost upon us. In the preview of tonights episode it looks like Athena is in a 'lil trouble. Can't wait. I just wish they would have had this mid-season finale closer to Christmas so I wouldn't have to wait long for Doctor Who to come back on the air. Oh well. Ce la vi.

[edit on 8-12-2006 by sardion2000]

Wow! Another awesomely emotional episode with another Character getting offed.

I can't believe there was no cliffhanger. Good move BSG Writers!

How many Civvie ships did they lose? It's gonna be interesting to see the survivor number at the beginning of next episode.

Saul is back. Took long enough, but I guess they had to do it that way.

It was emotional... but I'm really starting to despise Starbuck. Are there many more ways to be a bitch? And if Kat was really "one of the top seven or eight" characters, I'm Ruud Gullit.

I liked where they're going with the no.3/Baltar thing, though.

And I thought Cylons were supposed to get ill from Radiation that didn't affect humans? Way back at the start of season 1, remember? Hmm. So there were things about the ep that were a little unsatisfying.

There are different types of radiation. Light is Radiation for instance.

This is, of course, true... but what we are being asked to believe is that there are types of radiation to which Cylons are vulnerable whereas humans are not. Now from what I remember of my readings in physics, there are basically three kinds of radiation, alpha, beta, and gamma. Alpha particles are helium nuclei and don't do much damage unless they get inside your body. Beta particles are, if memory serves (and I'm not quite convincing myself here, but I can't be bothered to look it up) are electrons, and again, in themselves, are not that damaging.

The nasty ones are gamma rays, which is a catch-all term for high-energy, high-frequency radiation way out of the visible spectrum. (Of course, ultraviolet radiation, only just out of the visible spectrum, does severe damage to exposed skin over long periods.) So what we're being asked to believe is that Cylons are hardened against certain kinds of radiation, but rather weaker against others...

Of course, I suspect that what's going on here is that we're dealing entirely with made-up radiation, like "polaron" radiation from Star Trek. And while Trek had many years of technobabble to fall back on, much of which was integrated in at least a fairly consistent way, BSG is selling itself on a less obviously fantastical approach.

Hey, it's not going to bug everybody.

Dammit, I forgot to mention neutrons. Anyway, the point still stands.

It's like the difference an EM burst has on Humans versus Silicon Circuits. EM may give us Cancer eventually but a short burst won't hurt us, while the Silicon will get completely fried if it's not powered down. It's a crude analogy, but it's quite plausible that certain radiation types have different effects on Cylons then they do on Humans.

I was just reading some stuff on the BSG wiki and apparently Cylons use Silica Pathways in the brain, whatever that means so the Radiation at the Ragnar Ankorage could have been simply EM.

[edit on 10-12-2006 by sardion2000]

Here are some photos of the next episode of BSG....Simpsons style!

community.livejournal.com...







I'm joking about the next episode part of course. These are just fan pics I think.

[edit on 13-12-2006 by sardion2000]

What's with Elenore Tigh stabbing Saul so many times?

I dunno.... I guess it's a metaphor.