BSG-Razor

Spoiler Alert!!! Plot points shall be discussed!!

Razor is two stories intertwined: the backstory to the Battlestar Pegasus, and her commander, Admiral Cain, and Lee "Apollo" Adama's initial command after the deaths of the three previous Pegasus commanders (Helena Cain, Jack Fisk, and Barry Garner).

The Inigo Montoya "sum up": Liked it (Note, however, I'd give two thumbs up to "Transformers" so know that). Well done overall, but with caveats as I'll mention below.

First: Admiral Cain: Sadistic. It's hard to understand why. Quite literally, she cries over fallen crewmembers, makes a funny (if you've been in the military anyway) joke about chewing up a new lieutenant, and has a girlfriend (A number 6, who really gets around, ya know what I mean?) but so? Contrast this with her 1) killing her Executive Officer in cold blood. No brig for this guy 2) Ordering the slaughter of civilians who have the temerity to want to avoid their own death by Cylon.

Say huh? Contrast this with Lieutenant Shaw. She starts out as a green officer, matures quickly in the heat of battle, turns into the instrument of Cain's brutality, and later seeks redemption through a self sacrifice that completes her mission. In other words, you see her character as dynamic, changing. Cain is fun, if spooky, to watch, but two dimensional and frustrating. What makes Shaw (or a long term character like Adama) fascinating is the believable humanity underneath.

The thing is they could have made Cain so much more interesting and not changed her actions? What if her XO was plotting against her? Yeah, that's predictable, but that's just an off the top of my head example. And I don't get paid to write decent stories for these guys.

Anything to ground her actions in something other than whim. There were rumors of a supposed back story that gave Cain reasons for her actions and motivations. See here where there was a suggestion that Cain had an overriding hatred of Cylons from the fact she witnessed the killing of her family by Cylons. That I could have gotten behind. Wouldn't that scene have added more depth than another drunk Starbuck scene or making Shaw a junkie of some sort (was she a junkie just to get her in the same room with Starbuck?)? But unless I missed it, there was nothing of the sort.

And, good as Shaw was, didn't we have Kat pulling the same stunt and dying of radiation poisoning from flying too many missions, in order to save the fleet when the food stores went bad?

But, all carping aside, good show and what's all this then about Starbuck being Kara Thrace of the Apocalypse? Helllo?

Oh and mad mad mad props for giving me geek woody when the old school Cylons showed up. Sweet! How I loved that wretched Star Wars knockoff. But now I think BSG tv is better than the entire Star Wars Franchise. Ironic, that.