Comments on: After the occupation – the second half of BSG season three http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/archives/16 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:24:29 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: martinmcgrath http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/archives/16/comment-page-1#comment-12 martinmcgrath Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:45:56 +0000 http://mmcgrath.co.uk/2007/04/19/after-the-occupation-the-second-half-of-bsg-season-three/#comment-12 I really didn't have a problem with Baltar's role. We've never seen the reaction of the mass of the people to Baltar - we do know he's the only person to ever have won an election in the fleet and perhaps everyone else sees things the way Adama Jnr. put it - what choice did he really have? To say no to the Cylons would have meant instant death not just for him but for everyone. I thought the most interesting line in the second half of the season was in "Dirty Hands" when Baltar asks someone if they can ever imagine the fleet being commanded by someone who wasn't called Adama. And of course they can't and neither can we. How does that go down with the mass of the people? The only thing that "The Woman King" has going for it is the fact that it reminds us again of the fragmented nature of the BSG polity and the fact that there are a lot of people in the fleet who won't be seeing things as the most common viewpoint characters see things. And the speed with which Helo and Tyrol take the side of the majority against the "elite" suggests that things might not be as stable as they appear. It would be very easy to invert BSG - to make Adama and Roslin out to be dictators hiding behind military force and religious doctrine. A sort of taleban in space... I really didn’t have a problem with Baltar’s role.
We’ve never seen the reaction of the mass of the people to Baltar – we do know he’s the only person to ever have won an election in the fleet and perhaps everyone else sees things the way Adama Jnr. put it – what choice did he really have? To say no to the Cylons would have meant instant death not just for him but for everyone.
I thought the most interesting line in the second half of the season was in “Dirty Hands” when Baltar asks someone if they can ever imagine the fleet being commanded by someone who wasn’t called Adama. And of course they can’t and neither can we.
How does that go down with the mass of the people?
The only thing that “The Woman King” has going for it is the fact that it reminds us again of the fragmented nature of the BSG polity and the fact that there are a lot of people in the fleet who won’t be seeing things as the most common viewpoint characters see things. And the speed with which Helo and Tyrol take the side of the majority against the “elite” suggests that things might not be as stable as they appear.
It would be very easy to invert BSG – to make Adama and Roslin out to be dictators hiding behind military force and religious doctrine. A sort of taleban in space…

]]> By: SCG http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/archives/16/comment-page-1#comment-11 SCG Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:06:08 +0000 http://mmcgrath.co.uk/2007/04/19/after-the-occupation-the-second-half-of-bsg-season-three/#comment-11 I was dubious about Lampkin in his first episode, but the subsequent pair with great episodes. The industrial action episode was good, and I was particularly interested in the idea that the refugees were devolving into a sort-of caste society with inherited skills locking people into their lives. And there was the boy who fell between the cracks, too. But for me it was spoiled by the idea that anyone would take Baltar seriously as a proponent of class action, and as a political messiah. Aside from nutjobs asking him to bless their child, who have we seen who supported the guy? Most people wanted to tear him apart with their bare hands. I was dubious about Lampkin in his first episode, but the subsequent pair with great episodes.

The industrial action episode was good, and I was particularly interested in the idea that the refugees were devolving into a sort-of caste society with inherited skills locking people into their lives. And there was the boy who fell between the cracks, too.

But for me it was spoiled by the idea that anyone would take Baltar seriously as a proponent of class action, and as a political messiah. Aside from nutjobs asking him to bless their child, who have we seen who supported the guy? Most people wanted to tear him apart with their bare hands.

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