I have been making a very active attempt to reduce the number of TV shows that I watch. As a result, there are only a few shows that I allow to hold my interest. By far, my favorite show on TV right now is the new Battlestar Galactica [scifi.com].
It's got a compelling plot. It has incredible special effects. It has real people, instead of caricatures of people. It has realistic physics. And it's not encumbered by endless amounts of technobabble. I just love watching it, and I often find myself watching an episodes again a few days after I first saw it - because I enjoy it that much, and to make sure that I didn't miss anything the first time. And of course, I was not going to miss the season premiere on last Friday.
It didn't disappoint. There are lots of relatively complicated plot arcs that are continually evolving, which kind of makes it difficult for viewers to get into it if they haven't seen it from the beginning. However, it never fails to surprise. The writers always manage to come up with a plot twist that I never would have seen coming, but which makes perfect sense.
Of course, it's not completely perfect. I would have to say that the actor who plays Apollo is pretty weak.
*Spoiler Alert!*
The plot twist that I never would have expected was for the President to suggest to Commander Adama that he take Admiral Cain out. I can honestly say that I was shocked.
I haven't seen the previews for the next episode yet, but I assume that the majority of the next one will contain the assault on the Resurrection Ship, and the plotting of Adama and Cain against each other.
I have to say, though, that the problem I forsee is that both Adama's and Cain's plans for taking each other out rely on the success of the assault on the Resurrection Ship. Both of them intend to have their own agents terminate the command of their opponent in the euphoria immediately following the battle. That raises a flag with me.
For one thing, the battle will not be a cake walk. There will be two battlestars going up against two Cylon basestars. I would expect there to be heavy casualties and massive amounts of damage done to the battlestars, even assuming that they win that particular battle (which is defintely not a given). It is entirely possible that in the aftermath of the battle, the personnel on the bridges of the battlestars will be too busy firefighting to be celebrating any perceived success.
The other problem is that both Adama's and Cain's plans are dependent upon their ability to relay the kill orders to their agents on the opposing battlestars. This assumes that the communications systems on both the battlestars will be operational. It also assumes that the command elements will be still functional to give the kill orders. If I were going to be implanting a team to terminate a command element on another ship after an upcoming battle, I would want that team to be capable of operating autonomously.
So, there are no shortage of ways for Adama's and Cain's plans to fail. And this is what I expect to happen next week.
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