As hesitant as I was knowing that Starbuck would be played by a woman this time, I like the new Starbuck a lot. She puts a new spin on the character, but there are shadows of the old Starbuck that show through. This episode had quite a few of these character moments for Starbuck.

I have to agree: I was a little worried about Starbuck, but she's a great character played perfectly by Katee.

As far as ambrosia, they haven't referred to it much in this series, but they did a lot in the original...

I will forgive the patching issue and belive that spacesuit has some property that would keep it in place.

I took a careful look at this scene when the ep was rebroadcast. It's a very brief shot, but she wraps a piece of fabric (something from her suit I presume) around what appears to be a chunk of tissue/meat from the Cylon, making a patch with enough structure to it to wedge in the hole. I think it's quite likely her patch could work.

As for being able to fly the thing, it's not a completely alien craft - Cylons were originally created by humans, it's not unreasonable that there are design legacies. Yeah, it's stretching it that she could still outfly Apollo...

As for putting the whole fleet at risk, one issue not discussed as a motive for the search is that she is apparently the only qualified military flight instructor left. Lose her, you lose or at least greatly reduce the ability to train new pilots, and they are dangerously shorthanded. Add that on top of the personal issues, and I can believe that Adama could convince himself that he was justified. Would have been nice to make that explict, though.

As for putting the whole fleet at risk, one issue not discussed as a motive for the search is that she is apparently the only qualified military flight instructor left. Lose her, you lose or at least greatly reduce the ability to train new pilots, and they are dangerously shorthanded. Add that on top of the personal issues, and I can believe that Adama could convince himself that he was justified. Would have been nice to make that explict, though.

P.S. Does it seem to anyone else that the theme song is different between the U.S. and U.K. version?

Agreed. My thinking was that Starbuck *is* the fleet's only qualified flight instructor. They probably should have been searching, and considering that Adama is not a very transparent man -- he says what he does and does what he says -- rather than wasting energy trying to disguise what he's doing as a "military necessity" he just goes ahead and does it.

Agreed. My thinking was that Starbuck *is* the fleet's only qualified flight instructor. They probably should have been searching, and considering that Adama is not a very transparent man -- he says what he does and does what he says -- rather than wasting energy trying to disguise what he's doing as a "military necessity" he just goes ahead and does it.

Not "is not." Sometimes editing can be a bad thing.

-Joe G.

Agreed. My thinking was that Starbuck *is* the fleet's only qualified flight instructor. They probably should have been searching, and considering that Adama is not a very transparent man -- he says what he does and does what he says -- rather than wasting energy trying to disguise what he's doing as a "military necessity" he just goes ahead and does it.

if i was commanding i would go back for her (and not just because she is cute) because who else is going to teach ppl how to fly those old rust buckets...

I don't know. How about Lee "Apollo" Adama, the guy in charge of all the fighters on the ship? If all else failed, Big Adama had plenty of flight time and could impart the essentials while his son handled the bulk of the training time.

No, I don't think you can pretend that Adama had reasonable military justification for what he did. He did it (and everyone clearly knew it) because he considered Kara his daughter...nothing more, nothing less. What everyone else probably decided was that they needed HIM more than any other single person in the fleet. In every other case, he's been a steady hand, willing to make tough decisions and yet also willing to work with the civilian government. ADAMA is the human asset the fleet truly can't replace, and as such if he occasionally needs slack to be cut (even a lot of it), the rest of the military will do it because they're loyal and the civilians will do it because I don't think they could imagine running and protecting the fleet without him.

I don't know. How about Lee "Apollo" Adama, the guy in charge of all the fighters on the ship?

He's not a flight instructor. Being a good pilot doesn't mean you can be a competent instructor. A fairly big deal was made out of the fact that there were only (IIRC) three qualified flight instructors in the fleet, and all but Kara were civilians - she tried to get Adama to have someone else do it, but she was the only one for the job.

(I teach karate. I've met some amazing pracitioners who can't teach, and I can teach reasonablly well but my own technique is mediocre.)

Of course Adama had his own personal issues, and you make a good point about how irreplacable he is. But Kara's value to the fleet is also very high, just adding to the complications. :-)

this is the best show on TV. It reminds me alot of Babylon 5 where a story is set and is followed till the end

I was thinking exactly the same thing the other day: they're crafting a great story arc here, made up from independently watcheable components, though I think that's going to be less and less the case. The caprica subplot in particular would already make no sense to someone not following it (it's hanging on by a thread for those of us who *are* watching it ;-) ).

Now Andromeda...I actually have been watching it for the last couple of seasons (I skipped a year after it got too much religion), and I'm still lost and just going along out of morbid curiosity to see where it goes.

Now Andromeda...I actually have been watching it for the last couple of seasons (I skipped a year after it got too much religion), and I'm still lost and just going along out of morbid curiosity to see where it goes.

But with BG i have no idea what will happen because the only thing that can happen is for them to make a bad situation a little better. And that is the makings of a great show! :)

But with BG i have no idea what will happen because the only thing that can happen is for them to make a bad situation a little better. And that is the makings of a great show! :)

Yeah, I mean, the terrorist from Bastille Day might get a cylon pregnant, the guy stuck on caprica w/ the cylon might become the V.P. of the colonies, Baltar might assasinate Starbuck, The Chief from the flight deck might find out Adama is a Cylon, and Adama being a cylon will assanate the new VP (the terrorist from Bastille Day.)

But with BG i have no idea what will happen because the only thing that can happen is for them to make a bad situation a little better. And that is the makings of a great show! :)

Yeah, I mean, the terrorist from Bastille Day might get a cylon pregnant, the guy stuck on caprica w/ the cylon might become the V.P. of the colonies, Baltar might assasinate Starbuck, The Chief from the flight deck might find out Adama is a Cylon, and Adama being a cylon will assanate the new VP (the terrorist from Bastille Day.)

PS: these are NOT real spoilers.

Do you have a fever?

What are you smoking and where can I get some?

Yeah, I mean, the terrorist from Bastille Day might get a cylon pregnant, the guy stuck on caprica w/ the cylon might become the V.P. of the colonies, Baltar might assasinate Starbuck, The Chief from the flight deck might find out Adama is a Cylon, and Adama being a cylon will assanate the new VP (the terrorist from Bastille Day.)

PS: these are NOT real spoilers.

Yeah, I mean, the terrorist from Bastille Day might get a cylon pregnant, the guy stuck on caprica w/ the cylon might become the V.P. of the colonies, Baltar might assasinate Starbuck, The Chief from the flight deck might find out Adama is a Cylon, and Adama being a cylon will assanate the new VP (the terrorist from Bastille Day.)

PS: these are NOT real spoilers.

Not real spoilers, but very well done. :)

-Joe G.

this is the best show on TV. It reminds me alot of Babylon 5 where a story is set and is followed till the end

this is the best show on TV. It reminds me alot of Babylon 5 where a story is set and is followed till the end

Lately, I had the occasional slip of saying Babylon 5 when referring to Battlestar Galactica.

I think this is a good indication that Battlestar Galactica is well on its way to being the second best sci-fi show ever on television.

Now, contending for the title ... I guess we'll see.

this is the best show on TV. It reminds me alot of Babylon 5 where a story is set and is followed till the end

Lately, I had the occasional slip of saying Babylon 5 when referring to Battlestar Galactica.

I think this is a good indication that Battlestar Galactica is well on its way to being the second best sci-fi show ever on television.

Now, contending for the title ... I guess we'll see.

Bab5 still in the lead in my book, but BG might give it a run for its money depending on where it goes over the next year or two.

That BSG is on what, its 4th or 5th episode here in the States and is already being considered a possible contender...

That speaks very highly of the cast and crew behind BSG.

Okay, less typing, more working

Starbuck is obviously one of the most important people left in the human race; probably top 10. She's the best pilot they have in protecting the rest of the fleet, and has the ability to train others in protection as well. The idea of risking all others for one life may not be such a wrong thing in this case (within reason of course.

Starbuck is obviously one of the most important people left in the human race; probably top 10. She's the best pilot they have in protecting the rest of the fleet, and has the ability to train others in protection as well. The idea of risking all others for one life may not be such a wrong thing in this case (within reason of course).

It seems people are overlooking that she's not just teaching people how to fly, but that she's teaching them how to fly in what amount to "Model A's in space".

By contrast, the prisoners value to humanity is much less than most others, too the point they might become a liability that cannot be tolerated. It could be possible that realizing you are one of only 40k+ humans left alive would cause a lot of the prisoners to forget the past, and become functioning members of society, but what about the others? Can you afford to feed and shelter a person who is contributing nothing to the survival of the species? Do you trust a man convicted of murder to ever roam free in your general population again, when there is even a chance he may kill again? What if he ends up killing someone like Starbuck?

Not to mention that if anger, temperament, disposition, and even the criminal mind have any roots in genetics, wouldn't you remove that from your population if you could? Even if your population is on the verge of extinction, it probably still serves to not let these people reproduce.

Not to mention that if anger, temperament, disposition, and even the criminal mind have any roots in genetics, wouldn't you remove that from your population if you could? Even if your population is on the verge of extinction, it probably still serves to not let these people reproduce.

Not to mention that if anger, temperament, disposition, and even the criminal mind have any roots in genetics, wouldn't you remove that from your population if you could? Even if your population is on the verge of extinction, it probably still serves to not let these people reproduce.

(Must resist urge to trigger Godwin's Law; Muust...resiiist...) A Eugenicist, eh? Given the reference to "criminal genetics", I'll take a relevant example: Australia was originally founded as a penal colony. If your logic held true, it should be either a land of cutthroats or a total third-world backwater; last time I checked it was neither.

Nevermind the fact that the line between "vicious killer" and "fearless hero" is often very thin, especially in wartime. Maybe with the right upbringing, those murderers' sons would become great warriors, possibly even the saviors of humanity.

It seems people are overlooking that she's not just teaching people how to fly, but that she's teaching them how to fly in what amount to "Model A's in space".

As a result given the fact that while she killed the brain but left the body pretty much intact(note it wasn't dead, just lobotemized) and the body kept the mechanical manipulations from the human ships it becomes kinda possible that she could fly it.

I'm willing to give them some more slack on the cylon fighter for one reason. The cylons don't really seem to be that good when it comes to R&D outside of genetics. Look at the fact that the humans are doing quite well in battle with 50 year old tech that the cylons likely had access to when they left, it seems that technologically the cylons have made very few advancements in the meantime. As a result all the tech the cylons have (ie the cylon fighter) were likely just slight external modifications of existing colonial tech so past a makeover allowed by a pilot who could be made to fit into just about any design it was pretty much the same ship.

As a result given the fact that while she killed the brain but left the body pretty much intact(note it wasn't dead, just lobotemized) and the body kept the mechanical manipulations from the human ships it becomes kinda possible that she could fly it.

But if the situation at the end of that episode would be a painting it would be a masterpiece :)