Colin’s Film Journal

WARNING - SPOILERS FOLLOW…

A controversial finale for season two gave me some trepidation when I sat down to watch the first four episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season 3. I needn’t have worried - Ron Moore and the rest of the writers have proven themselves with some of the best television I’ve ever seen. Season 2 saw the survivors of the Cylon genocide settle down to life on New Caprica, unfortunately their respite lasted just one year and the Cylons returned and occupied the planet. Season 3 opened with parallels to the current war in Iraq - a strong occupying force and insurgent attacks taking the lives of both the occupiers and innocent civilians made the comparison obvious. It was handled well and what could have been an ‘in-your-face’ political statement instead made gripping and emotional television.

However, this isn’t the reason for this blog entry. Instead I have to rave about the latest two-parter - Exodus - a gripping, moving and jaw-dropping closure to the New Caprica arc. Amazing performances from every member of the cast, coupled with some stunning special effects made these two episodes a joy to behold. The opening moments of the second part see Colonel Tigh kill his wife in response to her treachery - a truly heartbreaking moment as he takes the life of the woman he loves, despite everything she did. Shortly afterwards we see Galactica appear over New Caprica and plummet through the atmosphere as the vipers launch - only to jump away before slamming into the planet below; this has to be one of the most breathtaking effects sequences ever seen in a television programme.

Battlestar Galactica could have jumped the shark at the end of last year, but now I have more faith in the writers and producers than ever before and I only hope that they’re given the chance to continue telling the story of the search for Earth for many, many years. It’s just a shame more people don’t watch what is probably the best show on television purely because it’s science fiction…