BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Season 2A Part 10; NSCR/9.23.2005. Mid-Season Ending

[DonTadow]

Without the civilian input and humanity, the Pegasus is a strict millitary ship. The Pegasus and Galactica both handled the aftermath of the Cylon differently, but neither is wrong. I can understand hte Pegasus crew and captain. She needed to keep a very stern and strict ship. Insubordination and rule breaking could not be tolerated as the only way the crew would be able to focus would be to make sure that their dedication to the ship was important. She had to make sthe crew realize that the "duty" was all there was left in this world and that it needed to be important if they hoped to survive. We might see them as cruel but I think that was the facade they've given themselves, and had to present to Galactica. True, they became hte monsters they were running from. Perhaps that is what they think they have to do in order to beat them.

 

[Jarrod]

Overall: Cain is a nutbar - but one you can understand. She is a military leader without any civilian gov't oversight and without any humanity to defend. She is without hope. She exists only for vengeance. She represents the dead-end militarist path Adama would have taken but for Roslin's command to run and make babies.

Quoted for truth

This is why you need civilians around the military. Without the presence of a group that is not military but still "human", you end up with "Us pack, others not" mentality. The Cylons are toasters, _at best_, and therefore worthy of nothing. The Galactica crew are a bunch of softies - note the conversations about marking kills. Roslin is some wannabe that's not worthy of even listening to...

I just want to know what IDIOT let the interrogator and his guards into Sharon's cell without any of the Galactica people around. Though it was probably "You're relieved", more's the pity.


The bad part is that this is a fight that Adama can't win. He's outnumbered, out-moderned, and outgunned.



On a completely different note, a friend of mine mentioned that Sky-1 in England was going to keep playing the eps straight through... anyone know if that's true?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Isn't shooting mutineers and cowards in wartime a time honored practice?

And the more I watch this one the more I think it's all part of the overreaching plan of the cylons. Everything is playing along perfectly to turn Baltar into a total Cylon tool. Not that he isn't a tool already. Maybe this is all destiny though, which is why it's all pulliing together like it is. January is a long way off.

What rank is the CAG of Pegasus? He was treating Apollo like a punk from the start so I'm wondering if he's a higher rank?

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Isn't shooting mutineers and cowards in wartime a time honored practice?

Yep. That being said, there's a rather large gulf between your XO telling you your plan is a bad idea, and mutiny.

I rather suspect Admiral Cain is no longer entirely sane. (Of course, I haven't watched it yet...my VCR Fu was not up to snuff on Friday night...)

What rank is the CAG of Pegasus? He was treating Apollo like a punk from the start so I'm wondering if he's a higher rank?

He's almost certainly senior to Apollo; he's young for his rank, IIRC. At the very least, he could have seniority in grade...i.e., they're both captains, but Pegasus' CAG has more time being a captain, and is therefore senior, and can give orders, etc.

More likely, he's a colonel. A carrier group in RL is made up of several squadrons of planes, each commanded by a commander (0-5, aka lieutenant colonel in the Army/Air Force) or lieutenant commander (0-4, aka major), and the CAG is a captain (O-6, aka colonel). By an amazing coincidence, a carrier is also typically commanded by a captain, and they theoretically work as a team.

Of course, BSG has flag officers as starship commanders, so the analogy breaks down at that point (that they use a confusing mishmash of Army and Navy ranks doesn't hurt nearly as much). But, odds are that the Pegasus' CAG is a colonel, same as Tigh.

Brad

 

[Steel_Wind]

On a completely different note, a friend of mine mentioned that Sky-1 in England was going to keep playing the eps straight through... anyone know if that's true?

Yes. But that's only because Sky-1 has yet to show a single episode of Season 2.

So they are playing them "straight through" only because they have not started their Season 2 yet.

Now - if they are starting Season 2b earlier than the SciFi channel....well... BSG is already the best reason for Bittorrent I've been able to discover.

 

[Eosin the Red]

He's almost certainly senior to Apollo; he's young for his rank, IIRC. At the very least, he could have seniority in grade...i.e., they're both captains, but Pegasus' CAG has more time being a captain, and is therefore senior, and can give orders, etc.

I think on one of the podcasts or articles it talks about Apollo being a test pilot for the military rather than a squad commander so in that sense even if Apollo outranked the CAG of the Peg - he would still be expected to defer command. Couse, you wouldn't place one in a directly subbordinate position under any but the most duressed situations.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Yes. But that's only because Sky-1 has yet to show a single episode of Season 2.

So they are playing them "straight through" only because they have not started their Season 2 yet.

Now - if they are starting Season 2b earlier than the SciFi channel....well... BSG is already the best reason for Bittorrent I've been able to discover.

From what I had read initially they were going to show them without a delay but I read some brits complaining on a forum about having to wait until January so I'm not sure what is up.

Also, the more I think of it after watching it again I think the only way out of it for Galactica is for Pres. Roslin to order Cain to stand down, which she will refuse. Then some of her crew will relieve her under the orders of the President or a promoted Admiral Adama. I mean they can't all be evil on a generally well written show like this one, that's too heavy handed and cheap. Then there will be stories with some of the crew members of the Pegasus interacting with the Galacitca crew and the differences and stuff will lead to interesting story ideas.

If not we will probably get the EVIL Pegasus overwhelming the obsolete Galactica only to be saved by the wonderful Cylon 4 of 987968943, aka Sharon, with another LAN cable jammed into her arm. Or the poor 6 model will be helped by Baltar to somehow infect the EVIL computers of the Pegasus saving the good guys from the Pegasus, thus further making the genocidal cylons out to be wonderful people.

Another question. Would it be wrong to cut the arms off a older style Cylon if it was in the brig? It's a true robot instead of a synthetic cyborg creature that mimics humans save for the arm based LAN ports and the spine that glows during particularly hot sex.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Flexor, since you seem eager to place this all in the propper moral context (apparently the one where torture of a sentient being is ok because its evil), perhaps you (or someone else who's followed the show more than I) could clarify something for me - did the humans try to commit genocide on them first? My general impression of the new BSG background plot was something along the lines of "Humanity creates cylons as robotic slaves, Cylons get sentient and uppity, humanity tries to correct its mistake by destroying them all, cylons get away and start self manufacturing, cylons come back and return the favor."

Now this is just based on various previews and internet complaints about what they changed, so any corrections to this impression would be greatly appriciated. But it would help me clarify the moral context of the discussion.

 

[dravot]

From what I had read initially they were going to show them without a delay but I read some brits complaining on a forum about having to wait until January so I'm not sure what is up.

My google fu brought up the following:

http://www.greatlink.org/dcisV2.asp?url=http://www.greatlink.org/shownewsitem.asp?item=4858

UK fans awaiting the broadcast of Battlestar Galactica, Season 2, may have to wait a bit longer.

According to TV Zone Magazine (Issue 193), "the second season’s UK premiere [on Sky One] has now been put back to January 2006." Previously, the now defunct BBC Cult TV site reported that Season 2 would start in September/October.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Flexor, since you seem eager to place this all in the propper moral context (apparently the one where torture of a sentient being is ok because its evil), perhaps you (or someone else who's followed the show more than I) could clarify something for me - did the humans try to commit genocide on them first? My general impression of the new BSG background plot was something along the lines of "Humanity creates cylons as robotic slaves, Cylons get sentient and uppity, humanity tries to correct its mistake by destroying them all, cylons get away and start self manufacturing, cylons come back and return the favor."

Now this is just based on various previews and internet complaints about what they changed, so any corrections to this impression would be greatly appriciated. But it would help me clarify the moral context of the discussion.

The Cylons started that war too. I believe that the first episode of the miniseries states that humans created Cylons as helper robots, but that one day the Cylons decided to kill thier masters and that started a war that ended in a armistace. I suppose they got more advanced than the human were aware, rewriting thier programming secretly I guess. This all lead to the creation of a space station that would be a meeting place for negotations between humans & cylons. Of course the Cylons didn't show up until they were on the way back to nuke the 12 colonies out of existance in a devastating sneak attack.

And I question just how sentient a group mind unit like the cylon humanform models are. How much of an individual they are. Are they truely thinking machines or do they follow very advanced algorithims that control thier behavior. Six even showed that they are not fully emotionally capable like humans are in a scene from last season. There are limits to their programming aparently. That is why I think they created a modified version of the Boomer model to integrate it with the humans for a period and attempt to experience the full range of human emotion and behavior with the goal of then reconnecting that unit to the whole and expanding the capabilities of the entire line. And they also have other reasons for her in terms of manipulating the humans via thier emotional reponses to other humanform creatures.