2 – 9 Flight of the Phoenix By Luke Hung BSG-R
On this particular episode we open with a screen full of Cylons. My guess they are hanging like the sword of Damocles over the Galactica, but what do I know. In other news see Tyrol talking to a Viper and asking how it’s doing. Not well, I’m sure as it is leaking a pinkish fluid.
Helo enters the flight room and gets the cold shoulder from the collected Colonials. It’s just like high school except for these people are adults, have guns, and all their friends and families have been executed by exact copies of Helo’s girlfriend, awkward. Starbuck, who is a complete screw-up herself, is the only person who welcomes Helo to her table. Helo picks up on the negative vibe and works his way out of the room, which is High School code for ‘talk about me.’ They do the calling him a ‘toaster-fracker’ thing (I would have used the real word but the language monitoring program here jumped on me for using co-kpit, when talking about the place where a pilot sits in a fighter. So God know what they would do to me for the F-word. Starbuck turns the tables on them saying how much they liked Boomer, just before she shot Adama.
The group plays cards some more until we reach a point were Racetrack folds. She points out that Starbuck has the winning hand as the cards are so worn that she can tell which is which even from the back. She complains some more about just wanting everything to be over and the pressure of the never ending mission is getting to her and everyone else on the ship for that matter. Starbuck, who at least had some planet time tells them she’s going to find Helo. To wit she receives a fairly predictable Cylon hating comment. Not one to let things lie Starbuck backtracks and smacks Racetrack (that’s called alliteration people, actually it isn’t, it’s actually bad rhyming, but I’m doing the writing so I can say whatever I want).
Tyrol is still talking to the Viper and stroking it quite seductively just before he pulls a mass of wires from her side and slaps an unserviceable sticker on her side. My guess is the ship would have been a lot easier to fix if he didn’t rip out her guts. Cally takes this opportunity to return to the flight deck crew. They throw her a little party. How the hell did she get out of the brig so quickly? Apparently the only thing she was charged with was unauthorized discharge of a weapon. That other guy who was just guilty for leaving a hatch unlocked was sentenced for much longer than Cally who is at least guilty of destroying a vital intelligence asset and at most guilty of murder. The Chief is a little less welcoming than the rest of the repair crew, but so would I if Cally deprived me of my afternoon delight with Grace Park, that is one fine looking woman.
Completely irrationally Helo's drinking in a Raptor. Why would you get drunk there of all places, in public and where Tyrol is likely to find you, as predicted Tyrol stumbles upon the less than sober Helo. Tyrol's lets Helo know that he “knew” Sharon long before he got his mitts on to her. Helo does the ‘I know her better angle’ talking about how Tyrol made her nervous when he watched her landings. They play kind of nice for a while but we all know it’s going to devolve into some fisticuffs. Some stupid comments about Sharon’s undercarriage, an apology for fracking her on the planet, it wasn’t supposed to happen, Boomer and Tyrol were going to leave the service and get married. Tyrol pretends he’s the lucky one not to have impregnated Boomer and boom the fights on. Surprisingly, to me at least, Helo seems to be calm and that gives Tyrol an opportunity to beat on him some. He then picks up a wrench to beat Helo some more, but has a second thought and finally lets it go… kind of.
On the bridge, Dualla notes that her communication system is pouring out static. Tigh wonders what it is. Well what it is - is a beacon calling out to the wandering Cylon battle force that we saw like ten minutes ago to come by and beat the tar out of rag tag fugitive fleet, searching for a shining planet known as Earth. As some collateral damage, Dee’s control panel glows brightly for a moment before blowing up in her face. In Gaeta’s one line of the episode he says that the ship’s systems have been twitchy ever since they networked their computers in the presence of the Cylons. You know what I love, consequences to risky actions that’s called logic and continuity, I award the episode one point.
Tigh irritated no just because he is Tigh, but probably because this is mostly his fault. Not that he had a lot of options, but command is a very responsible position, whatever goes wrong you’re responsible. He b-tches at Gaeta and Gaeta yells back. Wow, that’s two lines, I guess he won’t be allowed to talk next episode.
Lee wanders down to the hanger and looks for the Viper Tyrol labeled as unserviceable. Tyrol tells Apollo as much, which Apollo b-tches about for a brief time. He then collects himself as asks Tyrol to do the best he can “Nobody's expecting any miracles." You should have just cut to the Rocky music right here, because that is what every scene with Tyrol from now on seems like. Tyrol gets it into his head to build a Viper from scratch. I wouldn’t be surprised that he could put one together, especially with all the spare parts lying around, but the electronics that’s not a mechanical repair or design, you need an expert in that area with specialized equipment, but let’s not let logic get in the way of a plot design.
Cut to the next day and Tyrol made some progress putting together his new ship. The engineering crew wanders in and watched amused and a little confused. Tyrol attempts to enlist the other crew members and suggests that the volunteer their free time to help build the ship. That was not a popular suggestion as no one seems willing to give up what little free time they have. Tyrol tells them to F-off and continues working on his own.
In a brief scene Roslin is still dying, ETA of death one month. Apollo, Starbuck and Olmos’ son Bodie are squeezing off some rounds on the firing range. Amusing the target has Boomers face on it. Apollo is all pissy, Starbuck is all giggly and strangely flirty, and Hotdog … is … well… Olmos’ son. I got to believe they will find a personality for this guy eventually, because killing him off isn’t really an option. Kara mocks Apollo for giving the Chief a hard time and then starts giggling. We all know that the oxygen levels in the shooting range are dropping, but the three of them are just acting dumber and dumber. Apollo seems to figure out they are out of air and tries to get open the hatch. No joy there. It actually not just oxygen, the room pressure is dropping creating a vacuum seal, which is why Apollo can’t just push his way out. They collapse to the floor bring more manic laughter from Starbuck. At about this juncture Starbuck has finally joined Apollo in figuring out that they are about to die from asphyxiation and she takes a few shots at the door. One shot cracks the window, but it isn’t enough. Starbuck gun clicks empty and together with Apollo they load a single round and aim at the glass. Eureka, the glass breaks and air, beautiful clean air. Later Adama, Tigh, Baltar, and Gaeta kvetch over the Cylon computer virus. Blah, Blah, getting stronger, Blah, Blah, might not be able to stop it. Okay I got it. Ultimately, Adama assigns Baltar and Gaeta to destroy it and Helo to question Boomer about it.
On the hanger deck Tyrol's trying to get the fighter’s wing on. Unfortunately it’s a two person job. Anyone who ever has done anything mechanical knows trying to do a two person job by yourself is begging to burn an hour for every five minutes you and a buddy would have taken. Eventually an engineer comes to help, Tyrol gripes at him, but allows him to help. Then another engineer comes over, and another. – Whatever. Adama watches from a distance. He informs Tigh who knows already. He calls it a pipe dream, and suggests shutting it down, but he is Tigh and for everytime he is right he is wrong five.
Somewhere else, Dee and Lee are working out, which is an excuse for them to get hot and sweaty and do some pseudo sexual actions for Billy to walk in on. Dee is in a tank top and some sweats. Mmm… Dee wasn’t my piece of cake, her eyes throw me - green eyes on a dark skinned woman turn me off, but she’s really growing on me. Billy doesn’t seem to get it and ignores the whole sexual innuendo thing. Sometimes I think Billy’s role on the ship is so there is at least one guy more pathetic than Lee.
Now they are trying to bring Helo down as well. Helo who died so magnificently in the miniseries they had to bring him back, but they are really wousing him up. He is talking to the imprisoned Boomer through a cell phone. He asks awkward questions about her history and memories of the Chief. Which I don’t think was the reason why he came down here, but whatever. She does some I love you the most of all, that seems to please him. Again I must – Whatever. Finally Helo returns to the business at hand which is the Cylon virus. He shows Boomer the program and she freezes then demands to see Adama. The demand was pretty pointless as Boomer tells Adama very little he didn’t know already.
Now all the characters with names are working on the new fighter and a couple without names. Apollo argues with Starbuck over the cockpit design as Dee works under the spacecraft. That’s a girl sandwich I’d love to be in the middle of. Tigh works his way in and gripes about the fighter and the time wasted. He seeks out Tyrol who is working on a still. Tigh enamored with alcohol and softened by Tyrol’s confession that he needs to make to fighter work offers up some old engines. He continues to act gruff, but steals a bottle of liquor.
Adama and Roslin have a moment over the book he lent her. I didn’t get the point of the scene aside from them making nice with each other, until a friend told me she’s giving stuff away because she going to die. Opps, I missed that totally, but not enough to give my friend any name credit (in your face – nameless friend). He also mentions the killer virus and a likely Cylon attack. Later he mentions his visit to the (hot) Boomer. Roslin talks about whether or not they can trust Boomer, which they already have on several occasions, but who knows how this Cylon programming thing works. On the bridge Gaeta and Baltar inform Tigh about a plan to erase all the computers and restart them from the backup files. Sounds good to me, I do that to my windows at least once a year. Don’t ask me what I’m doing on-line picking up viruses, that’s between me and Mistress Allura. Tigh gets all, ‘we aren’t doing that,’ but I still don’t understand why, eventually they will have to, in fact the sooner the better.
In the next scene Boomer is being escorted from her cell to the bridge. She is strung up like a pig on the way to a roast. Adama has her released when she reached the bridge, to wit Tigh grumbles. Boomer tries to make emotional connections to everyone on the bridge by mentioning some personal bit of information she knows about them anytime she needs to speak with them. I guess she’s trying to remind them that they were friends once. But this might be a bad plan, because the best thing she’s got going for her is that she isn’t the one who shot Adama, however reminding them that she knows everything that one does diminishes the separation. Boomer gets a knife and a fiber optic wire and slashes her hand, jamming the wire up her arm – Ouch. At Cylons serendipitously chose this moment to jump in with that battle fleet we saw an hour ago. The Cylon set up to initiate the virus, which is completely unnecessary since they have a force massive enough to destroy the Colonial fleet without help, although I guess it would keep the Galactica from jumping away. Adama launches the Vipers but they are hopelessly outnumbered. Boomer adds some suspense saying that they have to time this just right. Things somehow aren’t happening fast enough for Adama and he threatens Sharon with a gun. Really? Do you think she’s just setting you up? And if she was do you think that the gun to her head has a really effect on her. The better threat might have been a gun to her belly. Conveniently, Boomer just finishes her little counterprogramming, don’t ask me how she can do it, it doesn’t really make that much sense and the Cylons start falling out of control. The Vipers get the all clear, and start blowing the Cylons from here to kingdom come. Adama then orders “that thing” back to the brig. Oh well, no love there.
In the hangar, Tyrol is trying to hook up some connections on the fighter. Cally slithers nearby and does it for him. In other news, Helo comes up with the idea to use carbon composite for the ship’s skin, which will make it difficult to detect with the Dradis, great, not only a new fighter, but a stealth fighter. I get it, but really, a stealth fighter. Ultimately they have a test flight for this ship and she is impossible to handle. Starbuck fights with the controls for a few moments, as Apollo tells her to stop showing off. She finally gets control of the craft and bolts away. No one can seem to find her as Apollo calls out in a panic. She finally reveals herself floating at point blank range. “Of course you can’t find me, it’s a stealth ship.”
Roslin is there for the christening of the new Viper, which everyone is signing. She makes a small speech and then learns that they are naming the ship Laura. Ahh, that’s cute. She fakes breaking a bottle of champagne on it and they all cheer. Ending scenes; Helo and Racetrack, Roslin and Adama, talking about trusting the Cylon, which Adama ruins with his gun pointing garbage. Tyrol and Boomer, who the authors had enough sense not to ruin, because they didn’t let them talk.
Overall the episode was a B
Acting: B+, Impressive, I like it when they don’t do too much. The actors have a great sense of who their characters are and don’t overact. I would single people out but it was a nice ensemble job. Also see how they can make Starbuck a wild card without having to make her do something really stupid.
Plot: B, Solid episode, I’m a little worried they will just turn the show into a fight then a run episode then another fight. I know that is what it really is about, but don’t pigeon hole yourselves. You gained a point with the continuity, but I had to ding you for the Blackbird, come on. I did like the firing range scene.
Action/Episode Energy: B, The tension or fear factor wasn’t really there. I can’t explain why. They were so overmatched you knew that something weird was going to happen to save them.
