Episode 1.06, "Litmus"
Directed by Rod Hardy
Written by Jeff Vlaming
Guest Starring Donnelly Rhodes, Jill Teed, Dominic Zamprogna
This particular episode is where they start to really play with the notion that Cylons can look human. A Cylon agent manages to get onboard the Galactica, kill a guard, steal explosives and set them off in a suicide bombing. Appalled that security could be breached so easily, Commander Adama has the master at arms, Sergeant Hadrian, begin an investigation. She demands the authority to conduct an independent tribunal to properly investigate. Adama agrees, something that proves to be one of his worst mistakes.
There is a certain degree of lax in the system on Galactica. This no doubt started when she was a ship headed for retirement. But it has not been weeded out in a state of war and that has some serious implications. First is the ongoing affair between Boomer and Chief Tyrol, the one that Colonel Tigh recently ordered stopped. At the start of the show, they have arranged a secret meeting in what looks like the top of a water tank to do some horizontal tangoing. Later it turns out that the Cylon agent passed through that area by use of a hatch Boomer left open. As we know, Boomer is also a Cylon so it is very unlikely that this was accidental. Chief Tyrol runs a pretty loose operation, giving his crew some leeway if they do their jobs properly. This includes allowing them to set up a still. They repay that kindness by covering for him when the master at arms comes around asking questions. Unfortunately, they don't have matching cover stories and the Chief quickly comes under suspicion, along with Boomer. This is no doubt why the military is so big on structure and procedure. A little sloppiness can magnify into a big problem.
Sergeant Hadrian is a tenacious and very aggressive investigator and quickly has Tyrol and Boomer on the witness stand. Her questioning quickly puts Tyrol in a position where he can either look like a traitor or merely look incompetent. It's not a pretty choice so he invokes the Colonial equivalent of our 5th Amendment so as not to implicate himself. Briefly stymied, the master at arms moves on to one of Tyrol's deck hands, who lies to protect Tyrol and is very quickly caught. It's the science fiction equivalent of the McCarthy hearings. What starts as an investigation into a legitimate problem quickly spirals out of control into a witch-hunt. Just to make it all much worse, the decision is made to finally inform the public that Cylons can look human and are no doubt amongst them. For a fleet of less than 50,000 people, there are a shocking number of press. They do their job though and get the paranoia flowing. Nothing gets persecution and paranoia off the ground quite as effectively as the knowledge that the enemy can be someone you know.
Back on Cylon occupied Caprica, Helo is now alone. Boomer#2 disappeared the previous episode when they were attacked by Cylons. Where did she go? To the have a chat with some other Cylons of course. While Boomer#1 seems oblivious to being a Cylon, the same is clearly not the case for #2. It seems clear that they are testing Helo, although for what purpose we still don't know. There is a bit more action and information about this subplot in this episode but not enough. Every episode starts with the statement that the Cylons have a plan. Clearly this subplot ties into that. We really need some more ideas what that is. I enjoy the mystery but more clues are needed. Right now I'm not coming up with anything that looks like anything and it's starting to be frustrating. Let me be clear, this is an excellent episode. I just want more.
Two characters get some serious love from the writers in this episode. Chief Tyrol gets a lot of screen time and the most development. This is a guy who takes his job very seriously but is a bit uncomfortable with the notion of being the boss. But when things get tough, he's willing to make the hard choice and do the right thing. Adama also gets some great scenes and they just make me love Edward James Olmos that much more. He absolutely owns his scenes. He's playing a supreme commander and he really brings that level of command to the role. This is a no-nonsense kind of guy who is perfectly fine with the weight of command. Tyrol has a lot to learn from Adama.
Once again, this series has delivered an excellent episode. It touches on some themes that are very much in play in our own world. The ramifications of a terrorist style attack that leads to military tribunals with too much power and not enough oversight hits pretty close to home. That's not to say that this show has answers for us but it does do a good job of making the big issues clear by boiling things down to an hour-long story.
It's become apparent to me recently that there are a number of fans of the original series that are really pissed off about this new one. It's really important that you not listen to them. This Battlestar Galactica is one of the best things on television. It is smart, well written, well acted and has depth and thoughtfulness the original never approached. The griping is from a vocal minority irritated that a new version of their beloved series is not a carbon copy with better special effects. But I started out like one of them and the quality of this show has won me over. We don't need more of the same. We already had that and it lasted only one season. I still maintain a certain fondness for the original but great superiority of this edition makes it impossible to ever take the original seriously again. If you listen to those die hard fans, you do yourself a disservice. If you are a fan of science fiction who grumbles that there isn't enough quality sci-fi on television, you owe it to yourself to watch this show. We won't get that many of this caliber and that makes it vital to support it strongly when it hits American TVs in January.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it is embarrassed to admit he watched every episode of Battlestar Galactica 1980. He never wanted a flying motorcycle though. Honest.
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