Critical Myth

Television has become the medium of today's modern mythology, delivering the exploits of icons and archetypes to the masses. Names like Mulder, Scully, Kirk, Spock, and Buffy have become legend. This blog is a compilation of the reviews written about the tales of our modern day heroes.

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Location: NJ

Monday, October 09, 2006

Battlestar Galactica 3.1: "The Occupation"

Written by Ron Moore
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan


It’s been a long wait for fans of “Battlestar: Galactica”, but the third season is finally here. In a number of interviews leading into this season, the producers discussed how a strong premiere was needed to show new viewers why the series has such critical acclaim. I can’t think of a more thought-provoking situation to start with than the Cylon Occupation. Whether or not Ron Moore saw this as the perfect platform for taking the series to the next level, I cannot say. I can only sit back and be amazed at the chances being taken.

This first episode is dominated by exposition, but given how much time has passed since the relatively familiar world of “Lay Down Your Burdens”, it’s not a bad writing choice. This is almost like a pilot episode in tone, laying out the conflicts as they now stand and fleshing out the changes to familiar characters and relationships. There’s a lot of information to communicate in a short time, and Moore manages to do it well. More to the point, it gives the new viewer enough information to understand the nature of the story, while answering some lingering questions for the more experienced audience.

Most of the conflicts match expectation. Adama wants to mount a mission to free humanity on New Caprica; Lee is less certain, having lost much of his fire in the past 18 months. Tigh is running the insurgency on New Caprica, with allies like Tyrol, Anders, and Roslin, and they disagree about methods. Baltar is a puppet president ruled by a fractious Cylon council. None of these details are particularly surprising to long-time fans, but it’s the starting point for a massive amount of drama.

The plot for this episode centers on Tigh’s decision to step up the war against the Cylons by using suicide bombers. The target is the first contingent of New Caprica Police, an all-human police force trained and directed as faceless terror troops against the rest of the human population. From the Cylon point of view, they have all the best intentions at heart: they believe God wants them to find a way to live with humans in peace. Their methods, however, are harsh, making it clear that the reforms introduced among the Cylon after “Downloaded” are not universally accepted. They might be following a new path, but the old desire to dominate and eliminate lingers.

With all this intrigue designed to set the stage for even more disturbing plot twists to come, it’s amazing to think that other plot threads managed to stand out so dramatically. Starbuck’s situation is particularly surprising and unsettling. If the Cylons have changed because of their discovery of love, then it has expressed itself in a particularly nasty way for Kara. She has been abducted from her husband, held captive in a fake house, and forced to deal with a psycho’s manipulation. All horrific enough, but as with so many elements of the story, the ability of the Cylons to resurrect in a new body means that any violence against them is moot. It makes a hopeless situation even worse.

As fan of complex shows with a science fiction twist, all of this would be enough to hold my interest. However, Ron Moore takes it to the next logical step by introducing more than a little social commentary. Just as the Cylons question each and every choice and fight amongst themselves, the insurgents are divided over the idea of suicide troops. The humans are, after all, supposed to be our heroes.

But the heroes in this case are, from a certain point of view, terrorists. While the details are different, the question is still raised: if a population feels oppressed by an unwelcome occupying force, what measures are reasonable to resist and fight back? What targets are acceptable? There are clear analogies to the situation in Iraq, and one could debate the particulars of such an analogy for days without losing steam. The purpose, however, is to ask questions that might otherwise never come to mind. If there is one flaw in the execution so far, it’s that the Cylons are still too overtly evil, making it impossible to see them as anything but a threat to be resisted at all costs.

As I said, entire chapters could be written on the psychological, sociological, and philosophical aspects of this episode. Certainly the writers don’t back off with the second season of the season, either, and things are unlikely to resolve quickly or easily. As difficult as this material might be for the average audience (and it is unapologetically dark), it might be the turning point in the fight for humanity’s survival. After all, the survivors of New Caprica are likely to be the most resilient, and there’s no telling how this will change the Cylons.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Battlestar: Galactica”, so it might be something of interest. Go to
http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

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