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Old September 28th, 2005, 11:14 PM   #4
Eric Paddon
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Morristown, NJ
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This is one of those episodes I rate as "eh". Not as bad as the Terra trilogy had been, and a positive step back toward exploring matters inside the Fleet which were never addressed too much. But there's once again some problems in execution that would need to be addressed.

#1-There's no addressing the fallout from the just concluded Terra trilogy and this makes Adama's initial journal entry where he keeps trying to sound the upbeat note sound a bit hollow. There should in fact be a giant letdown setting in because they now know Terra isn't Earth. And what decisions were reached regarding how the Fleet should treat the Terrans and why have they decided to leave them behind? After attempting this big story arc, too many loose ends remained that would have to be either addressed more effectively at the close of the Terra trilogy adaptations, so this can start with a more proper clean slate, but when I get around to finally doing this episode, I intend to make Adama's journal entry more dispassionate and refer to the Terra experience as a disappointment that he still won't let shatter his optimism for eventually finding Earth.

#2-Commander Kronus is not particularly well-written. In fact the whole scene that tries to set himself up as the ultimate regulation disciple doesn't come off well since why would he have any authority to give Tigh any kind of order about where he's supposed to be? Kronus might be a former battlestar commander, but in terms of the Fleet chain of command his past rank should be regarded as ceremonial only, and that Tigh would still be ahead of him in the chain. There should be a better way of establishing him sooner than this way. The ultimate answer is to introduce Kronus in previous episodes in new adaptations and have him be a fully defined character by the time of TTC (and this way you also create the perfect situation of a "recurring" character dying).

#3-The Starbuck-Aurora past relationship is the ultimate "Where did *that* come from?" revelation of a character's past that left me a bit taken aback. In Saga, it's been implied that Starbuck's only going out with Athena, but then we hear about this relationship that was still going on at the time of the Holocaust and Starbuck mentions flying over Aurora's house the night of the attack to confirm she was dead (where did Starbuck find the time for that??) Bringing this relationship required me to go back and make sure the whole relationship is foreshadowed properly through dialogue in Saga (like having Athena mention Aurora in the locker room scene). Like the introduction of Kronus, the Starbuck-Aurora thing, in order for the story of TTC to have credibility must be established sooner in the run.
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