Battlestar Galactica Goes to the Dark Side

Posted on October 7, 2006

Photo from Battlestar Galactica season 3Season Three of Battlestar Galactica premiered last night and we were literally on the edge of our seats. BSG is going to a very dark place this season, it appears. Starbuck is being held captive by a Cylon who appears determined to make her his loving wife, Colonel Tigh has been tortured for months to the point where he thinks suicide bombings are a good idea for the Resistance Movement, a number of humans have turned into collaborators, and a few of the Cylons themselves aren't so sure that wiping out entire human race is a good thing.

Meanwhile, on the Pegasus, Lee Adama has grown soft and fat over the past year with no real army to command and Captain Adama has grown a horrifying moustache. As the Resistance Movement struggles to make headway against the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, the leadership of the fleet considers leaving the colony behind or going back to rescue them.

As always, the drama was gripping and the acting was powerful. But we have to question how incredibly political the show is becoming: discussions of suicide bombers, collaborators and the justification for hiding weapons in a mosque temple are threatening to swamp the narrative in a fairly obvious commentary on the War in Iraq. Commentary is fine, but most of us are tuning in to shows like Battlestar Galactica to get away from the news. So long as the writers make the commentary less obvious -- and leave the Capricans some hope for the future -- then the show will continue to entertain.

A word about the "add a baby to the show when we run out of plot ideas" problem: why is that tired concept showing up so early in the series? The plethora of new infants is another element that could make the show jump the shark this season. If we wanted to see a soap opera about infants, mothers and families, we'd tune into Lifetime. More action, less babies.


More from Watchers Watch