The usual reminder: please take preview discussion to the speculation topic. Thanks!

Good to hear the old theme back. And Pusher is pushed out of the veep running. Cerulean blue is like a summer breeze....

Oh. My. GODS. Apollo in a blue towel. I think other stuff happened in this episode, but APOLLO IN A BLUE TOWEL.

fans self. Then rewatches the scene. Twice.

Ok. At first, I thought this was going to be a dull episode, and I'm still somewhat dissatisfied (except for Apollo in a blue towel). I mean, where's the post-traumatic stress syndrome? What's going on in the rest of the fleet? What about those folk who aren't living on either The Rising Star or Cloud Nine?

And they are so setting us up for StarPollo. I don't quite know how I feel about that. Well, if it means more Apollo in a blue towel (or less), I'm happy about it. Of course, I'd be happier if it were ApollHelo, but that's the happy slasher in me.

And Apollo really needs to stop writing checks with his mouth that his ass can't cash.

Hey, lots of new sets!

Nice to see Starbuck has some problems taking down two thugs while she has a broken leg; at least she's not the best fighter, too.

But that shot after Zarek told the Pres he didn't have the assassin killed: they cut away to the dancers, as though foreshadowing that one of them was responsible. It. had. better. be. Tighwife.

Dualla was looking mighty fine dancing. And the ladies will be happy with Apollo-just-out-of-the-shower.

Great episode. Even without any Viper dogfights.

edit: Oh, yeah. Knew that Apollo wouldn't go unnoticed. He's not scrawny Archie Kennedy anymore.

Forget the blue towel...

STARBUCK IN A BLUE DRESS.

Also liked the direct lifted lines from "Patton" when Tom Zarek talked about shaving to be kissed.

More bathroom scenes!

And where exactly was Helo taking off to at the end? I guess at that point the only though he could probably put together was "run fast"

Holy fracking shit.

I saw about five things in this episode that I never expected to see.

1) Helo figuring out about Sharon.
2) Baltar as Vice President
3) Starbuck in a dress?
4) Roslin and Adama dancing? Together?
5) Starbuck in a dress?!?!?

Awesome episode. Absolutely episode. Just goes to prove that this is drama in a sci-fi setting, not a sci fi show.

I liked it. It was nice to see Roslin being a real politician, she did not seem like a glorified kindergarten teacher at all.

Loved shirtless Apollo, but I don't want to see he and Starbuck as a couple (although the actress does). I'd like to see a male/female relationship that's just a strong friendship, bring in another actress for a love interest for Apollo. And it's nothing against Starbuck, she did look great in that dress.

Baltar as Vice President? This should be fun, especially if he starts putting Six in the background.

Also, I'm glad Helo got a clue and didn't try to talk to Sharon and ask what was going on, he just ran, smart.

What is Ellen Tigh up to? And who killed Valence (sp?).

Good episode, nice to hear original theme.

Starbuck didn't turn around soon enough. Intriguing. A very political show, with very little Adama. Nice to see him dance with the President though.

And now I'm wondering more about Six and any other Cylon agents. Baltar has been rescued from a lifetime of blood workups to ... something. She's both jealous and manipulative.

Also, nice to know where all the blue filters from Joan of Arcadia ended up.

I didn't notice but were they Cerulean blue?

I can't help but think the asian guy (Grimes?) that picked a fight with Apollo was going to throw a top hat at him or something like Odd Job (Obscure James Bond reference).

Starbuck in a dress? That was different although when Apollo was asking about her knees, I think his attention was diverted elsewhere.

Run Helo Run!

Intrigue! Conspiracies! Blue towels!

All this and more await you at Floston Paradise™!

I just thought of something: What if CapriBoomer is, well, human? Maybe she's like Baltar's counterpart--a human compromised by the Cylons.

Memo to Zarek: The 80s are over. Please update the wardrobe.

Various thoughts: I like Baltar in glasses.... I know everyone else is going to be talking about Apollo in all of his glory, but Baltar in glasses is more my speed. I'm scared, though, because he's "God's instrument" and a heartbeat away from the presidency and that's just asking for disaster. I mean, how much power do we want him to actually have (glasses or not!)?

Yes, Starbuck cleaned up nicely.

Did the interview mic say "The Colonial Gang"? Must be a nod to The Capitol Gang.

Poor Sharon/CapriBoomer. She throws up, she's famished, and then with a little one on the way, Helo ups and leaves her. It's like Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards or something...

I still hate Mrs. Tigh. Especially now that she's collaborating with Zarek.

I like the way that TighWife is slowly turning her husband away from Adama. Zarek and Tigh would make an interesting partnership.

Happy that Helo found out about Boomer - although he put together that clone theory awfully fast.

I hope that the flirtation between Apollo and Starbuck ends now. But great ep overall. Can't wait to see if Boomer follows through on that action in the preview.

So much to say!

1. I think it's obviously Tighwife. He spoke to her, he grinned at her after, she has a place to stay on the rising star.... Unless this is just a deliberate misdirection, but I think it'd have to be pretty cruel of them to mislead us this badly.
2. Aw! Not Lee and Kara! They have a really cute brother/sister thing going on. Them getting together squicks my mind like incest. Except it's not.
3. So, on the next episode of Colonial Idol: Zarek, our lead idol, faces some heavy competition from crazy genius Gaiiiiiius.... Baaaaaltar! Who will be the winner when these two champs go head to head on... Coloooooniaaaaaal Idooooool!
4. Helo's not too shabby in the brains department! Unlike stupid idiot can't add two and two Tyrol. Poor Sharon, though. I think she really does love him.
5. Man, Apollo is hot.
6. Good to hear the real theme back.

So, in the end, I guess what I want to say is this: I loved this episode. Really.

And Starbuck in a dress!

Oh, yeah, Pusher. I was wondering where I saw him before.

Mrs. Tigh seems to have spent her entire life laboring under the delusion that she's clever and irresistable. She's not.

Richard Hatch seems to have spent the years since the original Galactica series laboring under the delusion that he's a good actor. He's not.

Why don't they ever leave the guards in the room with the prisoner?

More importantly: why do they keep thinking Starbuck is a good interrogator?

If they're really ignoring due process like Apollo was threatening, just drug the guy up to make him talk. tsk.

Because then the prisoner couldn't mysteriously die! Duh!

Actually, I think they just don't have enough people for that. That guard could be doing something useful instead of watching a shackled prisoner in a locked room.

Also, I think they were trying to keep the number of people who knew about an assassin to a minimum. Later on, they mentioned that only six or eight people knew where Valence was being held.

It was cute how she nudged the bottle within Apollo's reach while she limped after the bad guy. Her knee must not quite be up to snuff yet since she has the cane when she's in uniform.

And why the Frack is Baltar the only one doing the blood work? Now that he's on the council and vice president, it's gonna take him 2 extra years to finish the blood work and lie to everyone.

Scotti, thank you. I knew he (Pusher) was familiar, but I couldn't place him.

As for the episode itself...DAMN

Looks like Ellen isn't just a tramp, but is a scheming power whore. Part of me wants to think that it's all something Tigh cooked up to smoke out Zarek. But it's just as possible that I watched one too many episodes of the X-Files.

Do they really expect us to believe that the Pres had Valence killed? A power corrupts riff? That drastic a change is a bit of a stretch--Though Mary McDonnell certainly *looked* like she might have done it, it strikes me as too implausible.

Baltar as VP. Please God, don't give him any interns.

The bar fight was pretty realistic, particlarly for television. The big guys bulk was a problem for Apollo, and Starbuck couldn't just sail in. I did like that she used her cane in several different ways. I did kind of flashback to the ER episode where Kerry took someone out with her cane, though.

I just fear Six at this point. And while it's kind of fun to see Gaius revert to his horndog ways, why would you want to piss off Six? Particularly since ot now appears the the Force is strong within her. I'll now expect her to say at some point "I find your lack of faith...disturbing".

Zarek's line about "I shaved closely in anticipation of being smacked by you" was lifted from Patton. It worked better there. Much better.

Great scenes on Caprica. Fucking awesome reveal at the end. The next two eps are going to be tense for our boy Helo.

My only problem with the ep was not enough EJO. Some Adama snarkiness regarding politics would have been fun. As always, a nice scene between him and the prez at the end.

Now that the fleet has it's own political talk show, they need to pick up CapriBoomer and Helo so they can get their own Maury Povich-style show, where Boomer accuses Helo of skipping out on her and her half-human/half-cylon baby just because he found out she was actually a Cylon (audience: Booooooooooooo!!!!!!)

Adama dancing with Roslin was like watching Mom and Dad make out. And while I was hoping they'd make Billy the Vice-President (hee hee), Baltar's not bad as a second choice. But I'm still upset that Billy was never even considered!!!

Bwah!

I think Billy is just an aide and plus he doesn't really have any name recognition.

I have a bit of shame that my astrological sign seconded Zarek's nomination. Damn you Virgons!!! At least we weren't the worst sign. That sign shall remain unnamed.

And what the hell is wrong with these people? How long has it been since billions died and their planets were changed to a ugly shade of brown and they're all about the ugly politics? Sure a terrorist who favors violence against other humans should be put in a position of power to help the humans escape genocide. Because he obviously cares. He's a people person or at least a people blowing up people person.

And how did they know Valance wasn't a Cylon?

And while I'm asking questions, shouldn't all that space be converted to...I don't know... grow food? Or are the gardens just too pretty.

I had something intelligent to say. Really, I did. About politics and Zarek and stuff.

And then Apollo appeared in a blue towel. No more intelligent thought.

That interrogation scene was like "Law and Order: Ragtag Fugitive Fleet Unit". I mean they have enough reporters, didnt any cops survive? They make the Viper pilots do everything!

If they're going to do Patton references, can't we at least have Adama slapping people around on Galactica?

Oooh... I love this! Who should he slap first?

I liked the bar fight scene except for the camera work. Were we supposed to think the cameraman was in the fight?

And ITA re: Apollo and towel! Love, love, love. Forgot many things after that.

Adama: "Tom Zarek, You Magnificent Bastard, I READ YOUR BOOK!"

The good news is that I can finally stop whining about the lack of a Vice President. The bad news is, it's Baltar...

Some aspects of the political process confuse me. Baltar apparently managed to get elected to the Quorum without campaigning or even filing any paperwork prior to the election. Was there some massive write-in campaign that he was unaware of? And isn't "Quorum" a really bad name for a legislative body? "Well yes, it's the Quorum, but since only three of them showed up, they can't vote on this item because they don't have a quorum".

Is Caprica the only colony whose name doesn't end with "on"?

I was disturbed by the apparent erosion of civil rights -- Apollo ordering the bartender to turn off the radio during Zarek's speech, and all the death threats and intimidation during Valence's interrogation.

It's kind of depressing to think that even after the extermination of the better part of humanity, even after the obliteration of culture and economy, there will still be pundits with their own talk show.

I can't help but think that Roslin's going to regret making Baltar the veep, even if she did do it for the right reasons (those being that he was very popular at the moment and could keep Zarek from getting the vice presidency.) And it's interesting to see how Baltar's relationship with Six appears to be changing once he's got attention, power, and women on tap. Roslin's fencing with Zarek was pretty cool too.

The "gosh, Starbuck, you sure clean up good" trope was a little tired. On the other hand, that was one hell of a barfight, and I like the sheer nastiness potential of an Ellen/Zarek alliance. You've got action, you've got drama, you've got suspense, and now you've got political intrigue.

Apollo and Starbuck really made this episode work for me. I'm not so much interested in all the political workings, though Baltar taking to it like a fish to water was pretty amusing. I loved Apollo's "Are you looking for this?!" with the bottle in the barfight, and how he and Starbuck worked as a team. And I loved the way he said "Hi. Remember me?" to Zarek. Heh.

Lee's face when he saw Kara in her dress was worth rewinding, too. Awwwww, I love those two together. Roslin's giggle at Adama was great, too.

But ugh, now two of the most annoying people in the fleet - Zarek and Ellen - are working together. And I love that Baltar is VP. That is so wrong, it's right.

edit: Please ban me since I'll never be able to follow rules that you don't write down.

Nope. There's Leonis (seen clearly in the ep). Not so clearly, Libris and Scorpia.

And for trivia's sake (original BG - new BG):
Caprica - Caprica
Gemoni - Gemenon
Canceria - Canceron
Piscon - Picon
Sagitara - Sagittaron
Leo - Leonis
Libra - Libris
Aquaria - Aquarion
Virgon - Virgon
Aeriana - Aerlon
Taura - Tauron
Scorpio - Scorpia

Back to the episode, did anyone catch the semi-dejected look on Apollo when Starbuck allowed Baltar to cut in? :D

I think they mentioned that they did, but someone managed to get past the guards.


I actually thought that they were trying to show us that she's NOT, with Apollo getting in the guy's face instead.


Hehehe my thoughts exactly. I wonder how in the world Starbuck (the character or the actress!!) had the self control to look away so dismissively. I mean, it's APOLLO IN A TOWEL!!!!


Well if a cop walked into your bar and asked you to turn off the radio, wouldn't you do it whether you were legally required to or not?

Badass interrogator Apollo.. *drools*


I wonder if or when they're ever gonna show Apollo wearing non-military issue clothes. Though I guess the fact that he was originally only supposed to be on the Galactica for a few hours means that he'd have to trade or buy them off someone.


Really? I thought he looked suitably intimidating. Then again, I might be biased...


No I totally missed that. :(

There isn't that any conclusive proof in the ep that the assassin was even after Laura Roslin. He might have been a fan of hers ( And therefore circled all her appearances ) who brought the gun so he could murder Tom Zarek.

I just don't see how it benefitted Tom Zarek's plans to murder the president at all during the conference. His plan was obviously to become vice-president. If the president were to die right away it would not make him president even if he became vice-president. ( It would reinforce the negative opinion of him [ the public would definitely consider him guilty until proven innocent ] and cause a general revolt which would last about ten seconds until Adama arrested him and asked the council to elect a new president )

Sure, if he looked like Apollo. No wait, I had a less shallow point -- what I was complaining about upthread was Apollo's apparent abuse of power, because (a) although I don't really know what the law is in the Colonies, my guess is that Apollo didn't have any authority to tell the bartender to turn off the radio, and (b) it at least looks bad for uniformed military people to throw their weight around to silence members of the opposition. The counter-argument to all this would be that Apollo was just expressing a preference as a customer, but that's not how it looked to me.

I concur that it looked like Apollo was overstepping his authority, and I thought that was actually a nice bit, since it means he isn't perfect. We also saw his tougher side when he was interrogating the prisoner, so all in all I think the episode was meant to show us that Apollo indeed can let power go to his head at times.

After last week's greatness, this was a letdown. But after last week, anything would have been a letdown to me. It still turned out better than I expected. But when civilization has been destroyed less than 50 days ago, a political radio gossip show is not appropriate, imo. Baltar as VP is going to be awesome.
And I'm glad we're getting more Apollo (and I'm sure many of the ladies enjoyed how much of Apollo we got tonight). He's my favorite character, and until the past two weeks, I've felt he has been really underused.
And it's about time something actually, you know, happened on Caprica other than just running.

How sad is it that when Apollo was in that blue towel, I craned my neck, as if I could somehow see behind Starbuck?

I eat, sleep and live politics, so I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Roslin for president! Down with that cylon-loving commie Tom Zarek!

Did anyone think the little chit-chat about blood not coming off of Starbuck's uniform was more significant than simply an excuse to get Starbuck in a blue dress? My immediate assumption was that that was cylon blood and it either came from Boomer or the Cylon Raider. How ironic would it be if all it took was a cup of Tide and a washing machine to tell who was a cylon and who wasn't?

ETA: Capitalization!

Heh. Saw that. Did anybody else see Cally hanging around Starbuck & Apollo?

Whooo ugly politics already. This is such a well rounded show.

Starbuck looked purty in the blue dress and Apollo looked yummy in the blue towel. But I agree with whoever called the StarPollo sibling vibe. I like both characters but I have no real desire to see them as a couple. That could change though.

Everytime I see Tighwife the desire to have her pitched out of an airlock grows stronger. She grates.

I didn't really buy Apollo as the tough guy in the interrogation room. He looks like an angry kid when he yells.


Hee.

I did! That was nice, because Apollo looks back at them, and then down at his uniform and adjusts it, and it's just all in the body language. Great job by JB, and I really like how it was shot subtly, in the background.

The lighting for this episode was different, brighter. Apollo's eyes looked so, so blue. Alright, I'll stop there. But siiiigh. And I also thought he was good as the badass interrogator, rather scary actually, and really liked the touch with the gun.

How hilarious was it that Baltar actually had his head down during the speeches? Bwah! College lecture hall flashback. I thought it was perfectly in character, too, when he goes "well who do you want me to vote for?" to Roslin. If it doesn't directly involve him, he doesn't give a shit. And I died when that reporter chick comes out of the stall. Too funny.

Baltar as VP is just too bloody funny. I liked him in his galsses too, and I even found him sweet when he asked Roslin who she wanted him to vote for.

The Adamas have already shown that when it's personal good judgement goes out the window. With his 'Mom' in danger from Zarak, a man he once admired who he's now totally disillusioned with, Lee turns into a civl rights defying violent loon. And Starbuck didn't seem surprised. She must have understood how much Roslin means to him not to have commented, "What's got into you?"

I'm seeing parallels between Laura and Lee. Laura was the quiet one on the cabinet, underestimated by those who knew her. Yet here she was steely as hell, a real political operator. And I think Lee underestimated her as well. There's a scene when he's briefing her, just the two of them, and it's like he's only noticing how much of a politician she really is.

It was nice seeing Lee and Kara do stuff together. Working together, getting into a bar fight together, er, torturing together. They're certainly one of the more interesting couples. I didn't care for the flirting at first, prefering them to stay bro/sis/friends, but I soon got used to the idea of them as a couple. I too saw Lee's dejectedness at being excused by Baltar. Lee had no trouble drooling over Kara, and she didn't mind, so I don't think a dead brother is a problem for these two. It's other live men.

Loved the little dig at the beginning to that huge press corps. "With me are the only other two legitimate journalists ..."

Which minor characters are you talking about?


The fact that someone killed Roslin to make Zarek President doesn't automatically disqualify Zarek for the office. He's not responsible for what a crazy fan does. If he was conspiring with the assassin, then he is responsible, which is why they were trying to find evidence that he was.

I love that this show can do awesome action one week and great political intrigue the next.

Did anyone else really, really like Gaius with the glasses? I don't know what it is, but men in glasses...although Apollo in a blue towel was just as nice.

I thought the 'morning talkshow' bit was a little silly, but so was the 'and the people shall rise' speech by Zarek. I mean, I think everone gets that a new day has dawned--talking about revolution a month after the apocalypse is a little much.

I love that our unassuming schoolteacher is a canny political operative--her conversation with Adama at the end was great--maybe some folks really do realize Dr. Baltar is a little *off*.

The Boomer is a cylon reveal was awesome--Now I've got this scene running thru my head: Helo makes it to the fleet, finds Tyrol and says "dude...we've gotta talk..."

ETA: revelation and revolution are not the same thing...although its a pretty funny typo given the sentence, and I see Jane is also a fan of the bespeckled Baltar

Did anyone else think that the last card the pres. read actually had Zareks name on it. She seemed awfully confident he wasn't going to win. Was there an official recounting of the votes? If not, the pres. seems more than willing to cheat.
" Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everthing" - Josef Stalin


Six saying she has Baltars heart. Then he appears to have a pain in his chest.
Imagined pain? Or is there something in his chest like an implant? ( I should have taped this episode I'd have liked to have seen that part again).


I think Capriboomer and Helo will hook up again when he figures out he can't survive on a planet full of Cylons without some help. Even if that help is a Cylon. Beside she's hot I'd overlook the whole her people wiped out millions of my people thing...well maybe not.

It took me this long to realize that Ellen Tigh was Kate Vernon.
Holy Hannah! What happened to her? Although I did think last ep that that old lady still had hot legs.

I usually like more action in a show, but this was pretty damn cool. I really like that Zarek is talking about what a society means when there is no money or currency or a whole lot of property. It's one of those things that I've been wondering about if they'd address or not, and they did so very nicely - many sides, many good opinions. Loved that Zarek was working behind the bar. Good touch, that.

Liked that Starbuck and Apollo aren't the best in hand to hand, and Apollo even got angry. That was pretty cool. Loved Starbuck in a dress.

Another thing I really appreciate was making a plausible outside set for the fleet, and even giving us a reason why it didn't get seen earlier in the season. That's a nice touch. I like that we can have outdoor scenes if we need them in a fairly organic way without it being a holodeck or something utterly stupid.

Finally, Gaius. Hee. I saw him schtupping the reporter in the bathroom coming but it was still a funny bit. He had a nice speech too. It's interesting to me that they're grooming him to be the civilian leader of the fleet, what with Roslin potentially dying of cancer and all that. This seems like one of those plot points that is going to be seasons in the making, but has one hell of a payoff in the end. Kinda cool.

And finally Helo sees the truth. Nice.

Anyway, it was a fun, funny ep with a lot of nice 'thank you for bringing that up' moments. It wasn't the big mac of the show, but it set up a lot. Wish those DVDs would get released soon.
Subject 0, I don't think that Roslin lied about the votes; there were only 12, after all, and they said explicitly what representative cast what vote, so if there were any shenanigans everyone would know as the representative in question would be all 'I did NOT vote that way!' So I don't think that's the case.

Anyone else wondering where they found a full brass band for the celebration?

Well, the new BG has now officially branched off into a reality far, far different from TOS. And it's like comparing hamburger to steak. I don't think I'm going to have any more time-wasting thoughts about, "Hmm...Adama didn't do this in the original series...Apollo wasn't like this." They are now two completely different shows, and this one is better.
And I liked the old one.

I didn't think I'd get into this episode when I saw the previews....but Damn. Excellent show. Lots of intrigue.
Loved Baltar's bathroom scene.
Freaked out when Helo saw the other Boomer.
Can't wait for next weeks Galactica.

Loved this episode! The barfight was great- can't wait to see it again Monday. Felt like a real fight and I loved seeing Apollo and Starbuck work in tandem like that. And I hope if they go in the Apollo/Starbuck couple direction, which I don't mind, they do it sloooooooooooow, with lots of conflicts and problems and flirtation. A little dead brother can go a long way.

I was very entertained tonight. This show is simply well done (occasional cheesy lines aside).

As for Apollo telling the bartender to turn off the the wireless... I ask people to turn off tvs in diners and radios in waiting rooms all the time. It's almost always done and usually the people working there are happy for the excuse. Any idea how annoying it is for a bartender to have ESPN or CNN on all day? Totally didn't occur to me that he was abusing his position at all.