[CaptainCrunch]

In an effort to keep this thread going as we discuss one of the better shows on T.V.

Even though I think the show has slipped a bit, it still seems to have better writing, effects and continuality then any other show on T.V.

Tonights episode, "Dirty Hands" continues to study the flaws of humanity as we continue with very little interaction with the Cylons, a small nugget about Baltar, and very little to do with the main characters of the show in Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer et al. So the development has stalled on them in favor of what I would consider to be secondary characters.

Now something did feel greatly off in this episode, it was almost as if it was written by someone other then RDM as the characters behaved in almost atypical fashion, and characters who had been evil in the past became outright sympathetic, while characters that had seemed someone noble became utterly cold and ruthless.

For those who didn't watch, there were three different plot points tonight

1) The working conditions on the refinery ship that creates the fuel for the ship. At the start of the show a Rapter is destroyed due to bad fuel, the head of the work gang is called onto the carpet, and promptly imprisoned when he starts talking about working conditions on his ship and quotes Baltar's new best seller. Chief Tyrell is promptly placed in charge and finds acts of sabotage in order to keep an unsafe ship from operating. Of course Tyrell as the former head of the union, promptly takes up the cause of the downtrodden overworked workers and after he finds out that Adama and Roslin refuse to even talk about the conditions (inconsistancy number 1) and the injury of a young kid that was press ganged into working on the barge calls not only a general strike of the fuel workers, but his military deck crew on the Galactica. Adama comes back by threatening to execute the Chiefs wife, and every one that means everything to him (Now its understandable that he calls it mutiny since members of the military went of strike, but this is so far over the top for Adama that I actually started to laugh). Tyrell finally relents and ends the strike, and Roslin who up until this point of the episode had almost been a Stalinesque type of character relents and suddenly becomes all huggy kissy resonable.

Up until this point in the series, Tyrell had been a fairly loyal and staunch military man with a smart streak to him. But the fact that he fell hook line and sinker for Baltar's story really bothered me as well.

Again this was a strong story line idea, but the way that they cast Adama and Roslin as the bad guys as they threatened to execute strikers, jokingly made arrest warrents on whims, and sat there in a luxurious setting drinking wine while Tyrell complained seemed really inconsistant for a president who up until this point had been portrayed as a common woman put into a common role, who was insistant on protecting Baltars legal rights to a trial as opposed to shooting him out of a torpedo tube seemed like I was watching the old Star Trek episode called "Mirror Mirror"

2) Joining hands with this first arc was the second arc of class differences within the fleet, where Capricornians were politicians and white color. Arians (sp?) were farmers etc and there was no escape from that class. I could almost but this except they seemed to write themselves into a corner with Baltar who explained his escape from his past due to his brains, And Dualla (sp?) who married into her officers role, however Dualla was a officer and a bridge member far before she married Apollo. So again it almost seemed like an after thought to me, and it came across as bitching instead of an actual problem. On the other hand it does go together with the episode where everyone hated the Sagitarians and the doctor was killing them.

3) The third arc rotated around Baltar and his upcoming trial. Now Baltar has been a busy boy writing a book about his triumphs and mistakes and his theory that humanity is bigoted against its own, and has a class society with the Adama clan at the top. I'm assuming he's playing the public opinion play. but they went to far in portraying him as a misunderstood man who struggled over his whole life to be counted as an elite member of society, whereas he has been portrayed as a flawed powerhungry man more consumed with his survival and protecting himself from his constant stream of lies. So again I think this episode went way to far in portraying him as misunderstood and somewhat sympathetic. They did very little in the way of moving forward towards his trial, and they didn't do anything with the 6 model thats sitting in a bridge for the second week in a row.

Some other thoughts

- Once again Starbuck had very little to do, and they could have saved money by having Ronald Moore making falsetto voices from behind a cardboard cutout of Starbuck.

- No Apollo, no followup on his job with the committe for Baltar's trial or him using his grandfathers law books.

- Was anyone else hoping that Boxy who's vanished from the show would be dragged off to the fuel refining ship because of his small hands.

- One of the most interesting characters in the show, Tigh had nothing to do in this show, usually he plays Adama's concious and I think they missed a real neat opportunity for him to go against Adama who was playing Stalin in this show.

Again it was a decent episode that could have been so much better, but seemed alternative universe to me. They're certainly going a little to far in the humans are flawed and evil. The image of Adama and Roslin drinking wine while the chief complained was some really sour imagry to me as well.

I'm assuming that next weeks episode has some surprises and twists in it as the preview for next week showed nothing but flashes from older shows.