We Can Do Better

The seventh episode of Battlestar Galactica's second season was sort of aggressively stupid. I was actually considering not watching the show anymore except by the end I realised the silliness was because the writers wanted to end the current story arc now, quickly, by any means possible.

But stupid, you say? Stupid how? Well, stupid is Baltar freaking out because his dream Cylon suggested she wasn't really a chip in his head, not seeing the danger of actually letting the ship's doctor find a chip if there was one, assuming it was impossible for Cylon technology to go undetected in his body by the Galactica's instruments, and not finding out about Sharon's pregnancy until he overheard her and Helo talking about it. Stupid was Starbuck continuing to trust Sharon more than most anyone and justifying it by saying that Helo's in love, even knowing that was exactly the Cylon plan, and even after chewing Helo out for it even before she was captured and mindfrelled by the Cylons on Caprica.

Stupid was Adama attacking the new Sharon after the compassion he displayed for the dead Sharon. Stupid was still no autopsy report on old Sharon. Stupid was Scrooge McDonnell's the president's aristocratic holiday safari on a planet the Cylons know about, but even more stupid was Adama coming down to the surface with a couple other guys because the scriptures said something about being on Kobol extracting a price in blood. I thought he didn't believe the religious crap? Now, I thought it was actually kind of cool Adama was big enough to make up with Roslin and Apollo and Starbuck. I can count on one hand, without using all the fingers, the amount of times I've actually seen that happen in real life, and I'd like to believe people are capable of doing it. But, when you're in charge of the entire human race which is on the brink of extinction and you know there's no-one more qualified to take over for you if you should die, you can wait until after the president's done with her expedition to the Tomb of Athena. Or at least take some marines with you, for fuck's sake--and it's worth noting Adama didn't pay a price in blood. Those looking for an example of someone going to great lengths to mend a rift with a loved one would be better off watching David Lynch's The Straight Story.

Stupid was also, of course, the episode turning into Hercules: The Legendary Journeys at the end, but that stupid was a long time coming, so I'd sort of made peace with it.

Why isn't anyone wondering if Helo and Starbuck came back as Cylons? What was Billy doing while he and the president were separated, and will we ever learn why he wasted time getting a haircut while the president was under arrest?

Speaking of curious haircuts, my sister and I watched Rachel Maddow's interview with Rob Blagojevich last night. It almost seems like it can't be a toupee because it's too obvious. Maybe there's something on his forehead. Actually, picturing him with his hair back and a little pair of wire rim glasses, I think he'd look remarkably like Alberto Gonzales. Now, wouldn't that be interesting?

I am in awe of Rachel Maddow. I think she is, by far, the best newsperson on television. She always keeps her cool, but doesn't come off like a marshmallow the way Wolf Blitzer does. She asks tough questions, but doesn't get red in the face for it like 90% of the anchors on cable news. She's intelligent, and she's fucking quick--she stays with Blagojevich through every asteroid he tries to fly loops around to avoid her. Here's a woman who successfully navigates an asteroid field, lets all the TIE Fighters blow themselves up, all while knowing the odds. I approve.