Battlestar Galactica: Cowardice Is a Punishable Offense

FR | 3/17/06 | Sean Finnegan

[nunya bidness]

Since 9/11 there are really only two types of entertainment: pre or post. And in the timid world of television you won’t find much dealing with issues that approach our current era of uncertainty and conflict. Battlestar Galactica is the exception. The show has dealt with genocide, war, torture, treason, abortion, scarcity of resources, a prison uprising, faith, a breakdown of military discipline, love and loss, fear, cowardice, bravery, and an election. All while the constant and oppressive threat of annihilation surrounded the remnants of mankind after their planet was destroyed hurling them in to space escaping destruction and searching for a new home. It’s hard not to see the series as an allegory for America’s current state.

The final episode of the season put the “rag-tag fleet” in the middle of a presidential election whereby the central issue became settling a new-found planet. Populist candidate Baltar won based on the promise of finally starting a new life and escaping the perils of war against his more pragmatic opponent the incumbent former school teacher turned President Roslin. He won, naturally. Which begs the question: How long can a society last when confronted with battle fatigue before it simply gives up, pulls over, and gets out? Not long it seems.

This raises another question: Do people vote their hopes or their fears? On the one hand the humans could have been voting their hope that they would finally escape an enemy that has shown it would never rest until all of humanity was vanquished, on the other they could have been voting their fear that they might die without ever touching firm ground again. Of course the answer is a combination of the two. They voted in the hope that they would escape knowing that their fears would probably catch up with them later. Much in keeping with the American tradition of voting for candidates that would with any luck magically take them from peril to peace without the requisite hardship. Unfortunately, that never works.

So what did we learn from Lay Down Your Burdens? Quite simply, human nature is such that given a choice we will always take the path of least resistance even if it leads to subjugation. And in this case that’s exactly what happened. The humans were barely there a year before the hostile alien machines known as Cylons showed up and marched through the fledgling tent-city like the Germans in Vichy France. Why wouldn’t the good intentions of the fleet pierce the chrome-plated hearts of the enemy? The answer is simple: Cowardice is a punishable offense, and weakness is no defense.

Dilemmas like this make Battlestar Galactica compelling viewing. Science fiction has traditionally defined itself as utopian or dystopian as a matter of course, but reality is never that simple. What makes this different is that the present is more than enough of a canvas to paint a fictitious drama set in another time and place. Fear and doubt are prevalent human emotions since the Twin Towers fell. Indeed, palpable threats are the reason so many folks seek escape whenever possible. And few dramatic risks have been taken to combine the fantasy of space with the gritty and constrictive themes of blind sanguinity and overbearing dread.

And that’s what it comes down to when all is said and done. We can choose to witness the filtered news of faceless conflict surrounding us or we can escape and project on to unknown neighbors acts of sacrifice and valor depicted on the small screen. We can envision a day of peace but guard that faith with the reality of an enemy that has shown a visceral contempt for our lives. There is a message in Battlestar Galactica and in the optimism of most of us in a post-9/11 world: Hold on, keep the faith, and never give up hope.

All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

[antiRepublicrat]

the Doctor Who remakes sucks

There is only one Doctor in my book:

[antiRepublicrat]

Dr Who and his phone both just dosent cut it for me....

Just FYI, it's a police call box.

[antiRepublicrat]

Once they find Earth it's like the end of the series, right?

It wasn't for the original, but then the Earth episodes were horrible. The series might not end, but it'll seriously jump the shark if the writers aren't careful.

[antiRepublicrat]

Furthermore, the rise of the so-called "moderate" Cylons, Six and Boomer, seems to have fizzled in the year before the occupation.

My guess is they did have a moderating effect -- subjugation instead of extermination. Still parallels the degrees you see in Islam: kill the infidels, enslave the infidels, tolerate the infidels, respect people of the book.

[Ragtop]

Kevin, put me on this list. I'm on Evening Star's South PArk ping list, but happen to love BSG as well, and most things Sci-Fi, inspite of my wife, who even hates Star Wars. Though I don't really care all that much for Dr. Who.

[nunya bidness]

My guess is they did have a moderating effect -- subjugation instead of extermination.

Good point. I still think they only did that to find the hybrid baby Hera/Isis.

[Accygirl]

I think that the Heroes are being manipulated by the Cylon leadership/ harder line elements in their society. Since they're war heroes (mainly Six) and therefore have alot of popularity among the "average Joe" Cylons, the leadership cannot just box them, so they've decided to use their humanlike weaknesses against them in order to A. finish their "Farm" research and B. finish off the pesky remnants of humanity once and for all. The harder line elements are also likely betting that there's going to be uprising among the remaining humans. (They faced resistance on Caprica, so it's a pretty safe bet they'll face it on New Caprica.) Casualties would likely mount (going through the Cylon Resurrection process ten plus times doesn't seem fun), the Heroes will likely lose their support, and then D'Anna and friends will be able to box them and their subversive ideas once and for all.

Of course, the fact that both Sharon and CapricaSix are turning into individuals instead of machines and introducing what made them begin to question the Cylons in the first place could also turn out to their detriment. And it's already started. Doral and HeroEight? (not sure that it was Sharon) looked like creepy/ indifferent machines, but CapricaSix (and that definitely was her) had about "six" :) different jumbled emotions going on there at the end.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Darn if the Cylons don't seem a lot like the radical Muslims, and doggonnit, President Baltar sure seems a lot like a lot of the 'Rats--especially Clinton,

I agree with that assessment.
Let me ask you this; Given that flavor, what do you think of the way the show's writers/producers presented the issue that no one here yet seems to have touched on....a rigged election?
Were they making a statement about our Election 2000? Election 2004 About the Bush Administration? The Democrats?

Personally, I was a bit uncomfortable with it in the respect that I don't feel it was necessary and added nothing to the story. It seemed to me a cheap shot thrown in for effect.
Opinions?

[Paul C. Jesup]

I can see the parallels between Battlestar Galactica and real life; Baltar gave cylon 6 a nuke, Cliton gave the Chinese top-secret nuclear technology.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

the Doctor Who remakes sucks

Agreed. Although, they did seem to capture one element of the original BBC TV series...at least the Tom Baker and Peter Davidson eras;
That certain campiness was evident. Previous remakes have lacked it by trying to make it look slick. There is a definite restraint in the SPFX department with this new redux.

I'm not overly impressed so far...yet I am willing to give it a bit...more...time.

[nunya bidness]

Personally, I was a bit uncomfortable with it in the respect that I don't feel it was necessary and added nothing to the story. It seemed to me a cheap shot thrown in for effect. Opinions?

Ron Moore talked about that either in his podcast or an interview. Basically, he said that he had to use the election to move the fleet to New Caprica with Baltar winning but he wanted to flesh out some of Roslin's character in the process. So he had her presented with the opportunity to steal it. She didn't and as such showed greater faith in democracy in the process.

It wasn't a 2000 allegory, just a plot devise.

[RandallFlagg]

You folks have GOT to see this!

Videogame footage of the (new series) Battlestar Galactica trading fire with a (new series) Cylon Basestar using the Freespace 2 engine with mods.
Please ping anyone and everyone who you think would like to see an awesome treat.

[MizSterious]

Unsure if that was a slap at 2000, but I do know this: honesty did prevail, even if it was one of the major nails in the coffin.

[Accygirl]

I thought that it was because Moore and Eich thought that just having the election wouldn't be interesting TV. (In fact Moore didn't even want to show the debate in LDYB Part I). By making it a stolen election, Moore thought it made for a better story.

[nunya bidness]

I thought that it was because Moore and Eich thought that just having the election wouldn't be interesting TV. (In fact Moore didn't even want to show the debate in LDYB Part I). By making it a stolen election, Moore thought it made for a better story.

Yeah that's it. Isn't that what I said?

Don't answer that.

[nunya bidness]

[KevinDavis]

Sweet...

[Accygirl]

Oh, I didn't think that it had anything to do with fleshing out the characters, etc. I just think Ron Moore cannot write political episodes to save his life (see Colonial Day...). He's awesome at writing personal relationships, understanding when the personal and the political intersect, and creating big, sweeping epics, but making just plain politics/ public policy interesting (ala Aaron Sorkin in the first season of the West Wing) is not his forte.

[nunya bidness]

I beg to differ. I think his inclusion of the election and the possible theft was political writing. He may not make it as integral as the relationships between characters but I do see it in the overall arc.

After all, he argued against abortion in a way I've never seen in television and that's the third rail in politics.

[Accygirl]

Ron Moore is good when he portrays how the personalities and relationships affect politics. Roslin's arc during season two, especially the last half, was about her making a series of bad political missteps. However, even in that plot line, Moore is interested in how it affects Roslin personally. For instance, take the Captain's Hand. I see it not so much as a story about abortion policy, but about how her increasingly strained relationship with Baltar comes back to bite her.

IMO, Battlestar Galactica is at its best when it deals with its main characters' personalities and relationships and uses that to comment on religion, politics, and social issues that way (i.e. Downloaded) rather than when it just tries to deal with a policy/ social issue topics at a meta level (Black Market, Colonial Day, Litmus...).