Pesky Cylons

Without a doubt, one of the best shows on TV is Battlestar Galactica. If you've been reluctant to check out the new series based on what you remember of the version from 26 years ago, just forget it. Purge your memory now.

This new Galactica is about as dark and depressing as any weekly TV show you've ever watched. You get a real sense of the desperation of the survivors and what they're going through.

One of the ongoing themes of the first two seasons has been our own post 9-11 world. The show has dealt with topics of prisoner torture, kangaroo courts fueled by paranoia, conflicts between the military and civilian branches of the government, and the confluence of religion and politics.

In one memorable episode, a passenger liner becomes separated from the fleet during a "jump." When it finally reappears, the crew is unable to fully explain what happened or how they caught back up with everyone else. Commander Adama orders the vessel to keep its distance from the other ships. It continues approaching, however, and even breaks off communication. Unable to contact the vessel and unsure of their intentions, Adama is now faced with a decision of whether to blow up a civilian transport.

At the end of last season, most of the 47,000 survivors of the human race settled on a planet they dubbed "New Caprica." After about a year, the Cylons suddenly show up. The Galactica and most other ships, still manned by skeleton crews, are able to get away. But those down on the planet fall victim to a brutal Cylon occupation.

As season 3 opens, we find that the humans on New Caprica have organized an insurgency against their captors. But as they become increasingly desperate they begin resorting to.... Suicide bombings. The first target is the first graduating class of human police officers.

In an effort to restore order, the Cylons begin imprisoning suspected insurgents, often without any evidence. And human police officers eventually do take to the streets, but they are forced to wear masks to conceal their identities from their fellow humans. And the Cylon hierarchy is split as to how best handle the insurgency: Ease off, or to continue with an even more brutal crackdown on the humans.

Hmmm.... Perhaps the White House should start watching the SciFi Channel. They might learn something about Iraq.


P.S.
The two hour season premier repeats on SciFi Friday afternoon at 1 PM or Saturday at 3 AM (Stop whining. That's why God invented DVR's).