If you haven’t heard, there’s a rumour we’ll be seeing a big screen Galactica movie based on the original, rather than the reboot.
Meanwhile, here’s our review of this week’s episode.
Title: Islanded in a Stream of Stars
Cast and Crew
Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos as Admiral Adama
Katee Sackhoff as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace
Grace Park as Athena/Boomer/Number 8
Jamie Bamber as Lee “Apollo” Adama
Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
Tricia Helfer as Number 6
Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin
James Callis as Dr. Gaius Baltar
Dean Stockwell as Cavil
Tahmoh Penikett as Karl ‘Helo’ Agathon
Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
Alexandra Thomas as Hera
Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
Premise
The Admiral realizes that they must abandon the damaged Galactica, we learn more about the fate of Hera, and Baltar outs Kara as…. Whatever she is.
High Point
The writer, director, and actors handled the memorial service intelligently. Is Baltar engaged in more self-serving behavior, or does he really believe what he’s saying?
Low Points
Why is Galactica security so lax? Kara Thrace can just reconnect Anders, despite the threat officials believe he represents?
The Scores:
Originality: 3/6.
Effects: 6/6.
Story: 3 or 4/6. Once again—we have a portion of a story arc wherein a little occurs. We cannot tell if it is a piece of a strong story or a weak one. At this late date, the episodes don’t hold up on their own.
Acting: 5/6. Edward James Olmos, in particular, gives a strong performance in an episode ehe also directed.
Emotional Response: 4/6.
Production: 6/6.
Overall: 4/6.
In total “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” receives 31 or 32/42
Notes
Correction: I had thought, given the recent references to pop music, that this week’s title was to that classic slab of cheese from 1983, Islands in the Stream, written by the Bee Gees and made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
We all have our off days. The title in fact quotes The Outermost House from 1928. Never read it, but the title at least makes some kind of sense now.
Title
The title is actually from the book The Outermost House, by Henry Beston. The full quote is:
Kara
Kara slaps Gaius? Really? Starbuck gives a girly slap? Bull, she’d have gave him a belt on the gob and left him sprawling on the floor.
Re: Kara
One argument I’ve heard is that punching Baltar would be overkill. In Kara’s mind, it would be the equivalent of a traditional male "hitting a girl."
Re: Kara
You know what? I buy that explanation completely. Kara is one tough lady, and Gaius… well he is a bit of a girly man. That slap was like a two pronged insult.
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Interview with the actress playing Ellen Tigh:
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2009/03/final_cylon_qa.html
Some hints on the final episode are dropped and info on the TV movie.
Re: .
Oh no!!
"Ron and David don’t tie things up nice and neat — the ending is like nothing you’d ever expect. I don’t think all the fans could ever be satisfied by one ending, which is a good thing. So this way, they’re be left going, "but, wait!" The minds of all the wonderful sci-fi fans will never stop working and journeying into their own ideas because of how the show has been built."
I don’t think I can bear that!!!! :(
Islanded in a Soap Opera?
Maybe they should have named the episode "I landed in a Soap Opera".
Wow, talk about sloooow plot movement. With so few episodes left, you’d think they’d pick up the pace.
I know they have to tie together threads to wrap everything up, but you’d think they could put a story around the threads they need to tie up.
It almost like they’re checking of a list of things we need to know, or see, or be told (ugh exposition) before the end.
I’m fearing they’re going to go out with a whimper and not a bang. Perhaps they spent the whole bang part on the wasted Earth surprise in the first half of the season.
Outside the two mutiny episodes this second half of the last season is pretty flat…
Re: Islanded in a Soap Opera?
I completely agree. I told a friend at work that I’m not that sad to see the series go. It seems like they’ve really run out of stories to tell, and they’re just putting in filler until the last episode.
Re: Islanded in a Soap Opera?
Honestly I think after the first season they heard about how they were such a great drama and forgot that they were also supposed to be science fiction. It feels like half of the episodes since then have been character studies showing how depressed they can act. I’m fine with a little drama but they forgot that it needs to be fun!
Right now I think Tigh is the only character I would actually feel sorry for if they were killed off. Not that he’s less screwed up than the others, it’s just that he’s less mopy about it.