T:TSSC:
I read somewhere this week that there is a 3 ep "mini-arc" that really explores the psychological toll the war against the machines is taking on Sarah. That arc supposedly concludes tonight, before we start ramping back up the main plot with lots of people dying and more hardcore action. While I don't mind the more contemplative eps, coming back from the hiatus with them probably wasn't the best move business wise, and the plummeting ratings seem to go along with that. All that said, I would like to see:
- More Cameron. A little more. She reasoned with a snack machine.
- Ellison pulled apart like taffy. Sadly, no.
- More Derek. Nope.
- More funny. Not really.
Dollhouse:
- The dolls are going to be backup singers for a pop tart. How about some funny? There were some funny lines, actually. More from Topher than the tarts, though.
- No imprint glitching. Not in the sense that "glitches" caused the mission to go awry.
- More Acker. Some nice moments from the lovely Amy.
- Eliza did a nice job last week. How about making that two in a row? She sang pleasantly enough. However, she was also a "southie," and seemed a little "tough girl" for a random backup singer.
- Another airing of the Eliza Hulu commercial, which though not as good as Alec Baldwin's, cracks me up. Yep.
- Again, a legit reason why the client would use a the Dollhouse, vs. just a merc or security guard. I think so. Client is old friend of Adelle, which helps. And there was an excuse about the diva not letting "real" security too close.
BSG:
- I think we're going to get the skinny on just what the frak Starbuck is. Wheee! (My guess? Some type of "reincarnated" version of Starbuck, with all her memories and personality downloaded, a la Cylon technology, into a new "shell" created from the ovaries taken from her back in "The Farm." This is possible because her long-lost dad was Daniel, the "other" Cylon -- 7, the "sensitive artist type" -- that Cavil killed). Didn't get the full explanation, but it appears that I was onto something with this theory, since Starbuck was obviously "projecting" the piano player, her dad. And her story paralleled that in the ep of another "hybrid," Hera.
- More of the same, because this ramp to the end has been unbelievably good. Oh yeah, this was good. Dark, tragic, and goooooood.
- More Gaius, the harem and Head Six. Nope. But everything else was awesome.
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Eh...I wasn't all that impressed with BSG this week, actually. Some real holes in the writing kind of took me out of it.
ReplyDeleteHow does Helo not know that Boomer is not Athena? He is around Eights ALL DAY LONG...he doesn't know which one is his wife? For that matter, wouldn't Hera know? Or is that why she stuck a bottle in her mouth so quick when she picked her up from daycare?
All that being said, I still liked that storyline better than Starbuck's tonight (which is strange, cause I do love me some Kara Thrace)..
I mean, yeah, Kara's dad is obviously Daniel...but you saw that end coming a mile away, right? They even got an actor who looks a little like Eric Stolz, since that is who is playing the role in Caprica. The fact that Hera wrote the notes to the song was cool, but the rest of it seemed very anvil-y to me.
Plus...how much more do we really know about Kara now than we did when this episode started? We still don't know how/why she was "resurrected." She didn't wake up on a baseship, like all the resurrections we've seen, so we can assume that it works different for hybrids, but that is just an assumption, certainly not anything we learned in that episode.
It's not like I expected to find out EVERYTHING tonight, but at this point (only FOUR MORE HOURS TO GO...ugh), I was hoping for more than just incremental plot movement.
That being said, a bad episode of BSG is still better than 99% of other TV out there...
Interesting. I like the contemplative, character studies on BSG as much as I like the Answers! eppys and the Action! eppys, for the most part. And at this point, I can overlook some plot holes (for example, a MAJOR one is how the hell Sharon and Ellen found the fleet when they "escaped" last week? And if Sharon, working for Cavil, knew where to find the fleet, then why not just attack when there was a mutiny going on?) I can buy the kid not knowing (it was only a few minutes before Hera was probably drugged), but Helo? Ehhh, that's more difficult. He was horny! I kid, but you're right. But I think they made a passing attempt at explaining that last week when Tyrol instantly recognized Sharon -- with the subtext being that Cylons can only truly recognize the difference between models. And the Galactica crew were totally strung out from missions to find a habitable planet, and might not have all their wits about them (they also played this with showing how hard it was for Kara to keep her shit together with just the routine missions).
ReplyDeleteYep, I saw the "dad" thing coming, and the end wasn't exactly the Sixth Sense (woah! he's dead!, even though I called that one at first glance, too. But before I get carried away, I didn't anticipate the ends of Fight Club nor Usual Suspects, so take that for what it's worth). Of course, I would have wanted all the explanation for Kara, but I trust in the writers that they will give us enough in the end. What we did learn, is that she can pseudo "project." That her dad is 7th Cylon. That she, along with Hera, are the only two human/cylon hybrids. ("All this has happened before, and will happen again"). That Kara, by virtue of this recognition, can finally find some peace with what she's lost and the family trauma that's been driving her. So even though there weren't some detailed "plot" machinations that put forth exactly what Kara was or is, I liked the emotional aspect of it, and was glad our girl some measure of happiness.
And yeah, I always say the same thing, often about shows I adore (like Buffy, Dexter, Angel, Mad Men, Farscape, Sopranos, Deadwood, etc. -- a "slow" or "bad" ep of this IS better than much of the drivel that gets far more viewers. Except for "Black Market." Cuz that sucked balls).
I think we're in for quite a ride the last 4 hours. I liked the comedy soap opera (along with the requisite BSG heartbreak) of last week, just like I enjoyed this week's Tyrol and Kara character pieces. But everyone's mileage may vary.
Also, I'm not musically gifted (as I think you have said you are), but have you read the EPIC three part treatise by Bear McCreary on his blog about this episode? Holy shit, was it insightful, and it shows you just how much love and thinking goes into the nuances of this show. I'm posting a link to it tomorrow, but if you haven't read it, you should.
I hear ya...I guess that since we are so close to the end, when I heard that this ep was going to focus on Starbuck I built it up in my head to be the "What the Frak is Going On With Starbuck" episode, so I was disappointed that we didn't really "learn" anything about her that we didn't already know. I wasn't even thinking about the fact that while the fact that her dad was model #7 may not be news to me (or any viewer who has been paying attention), it is in fact news to Kara.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the "slower" episodes, when they are done well. I just thought that whole story line was too heavy handed...the name of the CD (or whatever they listen to in the future/past) was "D___ Thrace: Live at the OPERA HOUSE" or whatever, and they made it so obvious that this was her dad she was talking to, but then they tried to treat it like some big reveal at the end.
Enough whining...bottom line is that I have been spoiled by this show, and I am always MUCH harder on shows that I love.
I will definitely check out Bear's blog...dude is a genius, and you're right, he loves this show. It's one of the things I've enjoyed most about being a fan of this show, how everyone involved is so fiercely PROUD of it and loves the show so much.