Standard spoiler curtesies apply: once it’s aired, it’s fair game. Unaired stuff from internet scenes, websites, etc. should be boxed unless it is purely speculation.
Battlestar Wiki has this tidbit:
*Jane Espenson, in an interview with tvsquad.com, made the following remark: “The episode, co-written with Anne Cofell Saunders, is called ‘Dirty Hands,’ and as you might guess, it’s a look at the people who do the dirty work in the fleet. Knuckle-dragging fun!” *
Yep, Baltar is pulling manipulative, divisive crap out of his ass to get himself off the hook. It’s not dirt on specific people (yet?), but he’s muddying the waters in the hopes of gaining sympathy and turning people against each other.
This is not to say that there aren’t major, important labor issues in the fleet… but I’m not buying that Baltar is suddenly so concerned with oppressed workers, and what he wants is justice for them, either.
Screw Callie for jumping on the “I read that… it was written by BALTAR!” bandwagon.
Damn, I knew RDM didn’t have the guts to actually have Cally shot or the labour uprising surpresed brutally :mad: . This episode was a total wast. And they screwed up Seelix’s officer’s pin.
Yeah, Colonial children are going to be growing up much faster than they’re used to. Historically 12 was considered a perfectly normal age to begin work.
another phone-it-in episode, i’m actually starting to not give a frak about this show, TPTB are losing their core audience the more dren like this they pump out…
totally predictable strike angle, i knew Chief was going to cave, threaten Cally and he folds like a house of cards…
on a scale of 1-10 slices of toast, i give this episode a 4.5
I suspect that the last act was a rewrite, maybe even a reshoot. All through the episode we see Roslyn and Adama taking a totally uncompromising stance, then they do a complete 180 right at the end. They were really showing Roslyn as growing corrupt, but then she’s all nice and accomodating. Either there’s a disconnect there, or she’s become quite good at lying and manipulating.
Hopefully, the class issues arising in the fleet will persist. Baltar may be shamelessly trying to save his own skin, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a point. We should not see this problem disappear now that Roslyn has made a few concessions.
The scene with Baltar speaking in an Aerelon accent was interesting, but it raises two important questions. One: Why haven’t we heard anyone else in the fleet speaking that way? Two: Why haven’t we heard anyone else in the fleet speak with the (English RP) accent that Baltar now claims to have learned? It seems that capricans, gemenese, and sagittarons all sound american. It could be an accent from a colony we haven’t heard much/anything about (such as Scorpia, Aquaria, or Leonis*), but this scene just made it more conspicuous, especially considering that Baltar’s affected accent is supposedly one of the “ruling class”.
I thought this episode addressed an interesting point. People will eventually and inevitably start taking their long term wellbeing seriously. No matter what the situation is you can’t stay in crisis mode forever.
I think the value of the episode calls out the fact that the populace of the fleet will have to start cycling through doing the shit jobs or else the problems will crop up.
I thought this episode was good and necessary to illustrate the psychological problems of a large group of people having to share a division of labor. I know it didn’t have a good visceral payoff of continuing the story arc but I do think it has other things to offer.
hmm an episode without false drama.
and episode that stayed on track and addressed a real issue that was 100% believable
Adama true to character will kill Cali and the Chief if hes pushed to it, but holds 0 grudge and recognises that there is a real issue.
and the Chief put in a great showing.
wtf this episode rocked pretty damn hard especially compared to the last couple weeks.
Yes I still want to see some cylons get ganked and some naked BOOOMER damnit. but all in all I liked this one.
I rather liked this episode. True, I’m as tired as everyone else of the string of stand-alones, but if this one was the first (or preferably only stand alone) of the season, I think it’d be getting better reviews. We got some real fleet issues, with no easy answers, not the manufactured 'plot-of-the-week stuff from “The Woman King” or last week’s episode. For a story without Cylons, this was a good one.
I like Chief being the union head again. I liked Roslyn throwing a guy in the brig once he mentions Baltar’s book. I even like the idea of Baltar’s book, and the attempt to suppress it. If bin Laden was captured and wrote a book, how many Americans would be curious enough to read it?
I also noticed a few new pretty CGI fleet shots for this one. In an episode that didn’t really need them story-wise, it was nice to be reminded that this is taking place aboard a bunch of (cool-looking) spaceships.
Definately not as bad as other recent episodes. I, too, got my hopes up when Adama was having Cally put up against the wall; every scene she was in, she dragged down.
Still could’ve used some tighter writing and logic on this one, though. Adama and Roslyn were made too much the heavies to crank up the drama – they didn’t need to be so; there was enough drama inherent in the set-up without Roslyn suddenly forgetting that she’s *pro-*union. And the gumdrop-house-on-lollipop-lane ending with Seelix becoming a nugget was a bit too sunny for BSG.
And I don’t even know what to say about that goofy refinery. Tyllium is apparently refined by being poured onto conveyors so that it can be… conveyed… and then bucket-brigaded back to the start to be poured through grates back onto the conveyors. Mnn-hnn. Yeah, sure Ron.
(forgot to add): It was interesting that Baltar is now where Zarek was at the beginning of the series: jailed political prisoner, with supporters in the fleet because of his subversive philosophy of dissent.
The cut scene was not only still annoying, but actually completely pointless this time. We already knew all that – that’s why you cut that scene, guys. Having it be a scene with lead-weight Cally in it, didn’t do it any favors, either.
I liked earlier contrasts in the episode… adama and Rosylin sipping something from fancy glasses…
We also got our first look at a boxie charector… 12 year old who’s the “best damn grease monkey on the refinery ship”
IMHO, this is the way the standalones should’ve been done… setup was not unreasonable, the resolution not unreasonable… well done dramatic tension, etc…
