BSG “Someone To Watch Over Me” – A Return to the Well Executed and Balanced Meal

In my earlier BSG post “Four More Days Until It’s ‘Frakkin’ Friday’ “, I described how one could approach the series as a whole much in the same way as one would a five course meal, with each season playing a specific part in the overall effect of both the meal and its presentation. With most of the episodes in this final chapter of the series now past us, it’s becoming clear that this analogy can also be focused onto this handful of episodes given the variety in character and plot arcs that were dealt with, if not also the manner of their presentation. For example, despite the prevailing disapproval among the BSG audience for “A Disquiet That Follows My Soul”, when viewed in such a context, the episode comes across much like a palate cleanser, something that was meant to wipe away the savoury tastes and textures of episodes past so that we could be prepared for the more elaborate and vibrant dishes to come in the episodes “The Oath” and “Blood on the Scales”. Watching last night’s “Someone To Watch Over Me” evokes the same idea, with its role being to remove the flat and unsatisfying impressions held over from the previous two offerings in this series countdown to what will hopefully be a decadent delight.

Continuing on using this analogy, it’s not uncommon for certain ingredients to be carried over from one dish to another in the meal plan and in some ways that’s what occurred at the start of this episode with the focus being on picking up on where we left the relationship between Boomer and Tyrol. Coming on the heels of last week’s focus on the love triangle between Tigh, Ellen and Caprica Six, it’s obvious that we’re once again revisiting the idea of viewing these characters through the initial lens of being humans – and not Cylons – and what their ability to love and feel pain and hurt means in regards to the distinction between the realities of being human or Cylon. And yet, the history that the audience has shared with Boomer and Tyrol makes their story Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Religion Vs. Science – Oh, Enough Already

I went out for dinner last night with an old friend from my university days and invariably it was a night filled with sharing recent news as well as reminiscing about our time spent in all those lab sessions and seminars. During the course of one of our many conversation threads, we ended up comparing notes over the growing debate between religion and science and the typical rise in louder and more obnoxious participants on each side as such issues go “mainstream”. It was no surprise to me that, as products of a science education and from working in the sector, we were in agreement about the need for both the science body and the general public to wrestle back control over these two aspects of our society from those who are clearly abusing both to further their own myopic agendas. It’s thanks to that wonderful and engaging conversation that I decided to write this entry to start clearing the air on this whole absurd debate.   Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

BSG “Deadlock” – Between Hate and Love

After watching last night’s BSG episode “Deadlock”, I found myself caught between enjoying some wonderful, philosophical character arcs and despising the overly simplistic, if not downright perplexing, portrayal of others. Sure, we could argue that some events were meant to set up those that are to come in the remaining episodes; but effective storytelling shouldn’t sacrifice telling a proper story in one episode for the sake of another. As you’ll see, my subtitle for this episode relates as much to the episode’s theme as it does to my own impressions of it.

In that vein, I’m going to start off picking away at those elements of this story that just didn’t work or which demonstrated a clear glossing over of some significant points in terms of the series and certain character arcs. First off, the arrival of Boomer and Ellen. I’m certain their arrival came as no surprise to any of us watching, but for me that’s still a really big issue. Why? Simple – how come Boomer was able to find the fleet so easily? Now, I’m certain we’re all anticipating the return of the Cylon fleet under the control of John/Cavil, considering his thirst for punishing his creators, all of whom are now once again in the fleet, if not also his needing the Final Five to help him rebuild the resurrection ship. Given the ease with which Boomer found the fleet, it’s not hard to imagine John/Cavil also having no issues in tracking them down. Add to this plotline they’ve created that Galactica at present can’t jump without putting the ship’s integrity at risk and yeah, this isn’t exactly a hard equation to calculate. And I’ll be honest here – if this indeed turns out to be the plot for what’s to come, I’ll be extremely disappointed. One of the hallmarks of what makes BSG such a compelling show is its unconventional approach to series television. We’ve all become used to getting a healthy dose of mind fraks simply because Moore and Eick would lead us down one path only to suddenly bank a hard right into another direction. So if John/Cavil is to return, I hope it’ll be under less obvious circumstances than what I wrote above.

Regardless, the simple fact is that when Adama et al find out that it’s one of the Sharon Cylon models aboard the Raptor, Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Obama To Canada – Sorry, But I’m Just Not That Into You

I read an interesting post on Twitter today by Kirk LaPointe (@kirklapointe), managing editor for the Vancouver Sun and Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Journalism, regarding Barack Obama’s visit to Canada later this week:

When Obama visits Cda on frist[sic] intl trek, no speeches, six hours, see ya. We’re the foreign policy equivalent of an O’Hare layover.

Despite what Canadians might feel about Obama choosing Canada as his first country to visit as the newly minted US president, with more details emerging regarding his trip to our country, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that this is more a dress rehearsal than a legitimate start to his foreign affairs platform. Indeed, many news reports have the Obama team admitting that Canada was chosen because of the easier logistics of arranging a trip to Ottawa than say Brussels or Paris. Also, notice how there’s been little if any attention in Washington in regards to Obama’s impending trip to the Great White North. Robert Gibbs, Obama’s Press Secretary, only bothered mentioning this visit at the end of his daily briefing on January 28th with this rather perfunctory remark – Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

BSG “No Exit” – Time To Accept What We Are

I’m sure it’s become obvious from my previous reviews of BSG that I’m a big fan of examining the inner workings of characters and the subtext behind the events that unfold. From that vantage point, I think you’ll understand why this week’s episode “No Exit” was a little underwhelming due in large part for it being more an exercise in trying to tie up stray loose ends before the end approaches. Of course, that’s not to say that there weren’t some tasty morsels in the offering and it’s those aspects of the episode that I’ll discuss in this review since I don’t have enough interest to dissect all the series’ origins details that were provided courtesy of Anders’ subdural hematoma.

Speaking of Anders, it was clear from Starbuck’s reaction to Anders’ revelation about being able to remember everything that she had some hope that he might be able to shed some light on who – or what – exactly she is. Since her reappearance at the end of Season 3, many fans have speculated that Starbuck must be a Cylon and personally, I’d hate for that to be the case. It’s been clear since the first episode that Starbuck is a character in search of some meaning or grounding in her life. Her fractured sense of identity and subsequently, her relationship with those around her, gave her character a great deal of potential to be an interesting character study, something which sadly was never realized and remains one of the weak points for this series. But having her become a Cylon would be an even greater let down because of the obvious cop-out it presents. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Food For Thought – Why Aren’t We Thinking More About What We Eat?

While watching TV a few nights ago, a pensive ball of wax got rolling regarding a subject that I’ll admit is not often on the forefront of my mind. One of key contributers to kick-starting this thought process was the semi-regular bombardment of commercials for these weight-reduction programs geared primarily toward the female set of the population. Now this isn’t about the ads themselves; instead, this has to do with our collective perception or relationship to a key factor for living – food. More specifically, it has to do with our lack of respect or appreciation for this most vital survival need.

Obviously, one of the great benefits of living in the “developed world” is the easy access to a plethora of foodstuffs. Indeed, the last couple of years has seen vast improvements on this front, both with an increased diversity through the inclusion of more ‘ethnic’-styled food offerings as well as increased governmental regulations on the quality of the food content and the requirement for more accurate product descriptions. And yet, despite all these benefits, we still seem to harbour this uncertain relationship with food, at many times more a love/hate relationship than one where we respect and value its necessity and contribution to our overall existence. Let’s get into the, uh, meat of this topic, shall we?

First off, let’s be honest about the fact that all of us at one point or another has done that dance of worrying about how much fat, calories, salt, cholesterol, yadda yadda yadda we’re sticking in our mouths. I know I’ve had moments where Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

BSG “Blood on the Scales” – Off Bloody Spot, Off

First off, I have to say that it took me some time before I could sit down to write this review of the latest episode of BSG “Blood on the Scales”. There was just so many powerful, emotional moments that it was hard to sit and process all the myriad of thoughts and sentiments swirling inside my mind. It was as if the roller-coaster was finally coming into the station and I was still reeling from the last drop in the ride, in need of a few moments to regain my bearings. It’s storytelling at its best – causing a tangible reaction or impact on the viewer of the work instead of allowing them to be a passive audience looking in from the outside. So, let’s get back inside and poke around.

One thing I’m appreciating with every episode is how they are attempting to make this an ensemble effort and for the most part, doing that by being honest with regards to the strengths of the characters that they’ve established so far. Starbuck, for example, has been a major pain in the side for many BSG viewers lately because of her portrayal as this sulking, broody child whose not getting the desired (not to be confused with required) attention from Mommy and Daddy. In the last two episodes, it’s like a switch went off and we’re back to seeing the ballsy, frak-collecting-prisoners that ultimately is what suits the character best. Helo has been reduced to a half-conscious man lying on the floor – as opposed to a half-conscious man walking around without much purpose. And the list goes on. Sure, it’d be nice to see more dimensionality with these characters, but they tried and it didn’t work. So, it’s nice to see them move on and use them more as facilitators for the plot instead of trying to make them central to the storyline, especially with the clock rapidly ticking down.

However, once again, I’m wishing we’d get more time with Baltar. Yet again, we get this great scene demonstrating Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Our Children’s Education – It’s About Time

This past Monday night, I experienced a strange sensation – I left one of my education board meetings feeling optimistic that things were finally turning around. To put this in its proper context, I should point out that I currently serve on two education board committees – the Governing Board for our school where we discuss and plan out the school’s operations (school budget, criteria for the principal, school allocation time for various subjects, etc) and the other as the school representative on one of the regional school board committees. I serve on these committees not because I’m hoping to one day enter the political arena, but because I’d rather be a player on the field trying to make a difference instead of just standing on the sidelines complaining about poor game plays. Sure, it can be frustrating at times to see how much inertia has to be overcome for progress to be made, but as I witnessed at Monday night’s meeting for the school board committee, it can happen and when it does, it’s quite elating.

I’m sure my fellow parents feel the same resignation over how our society seems to be continually disregarding the current state of our education system – from the limited resources provided to teachers to attend workshops/conferences to improve and build on their knowledge of teaching to the very building infrastructures wherein which our children are expected to learn. Although my kids are fortunate to attend a school that was recently rebuilt (they had an issue with mold several years ago that resulted in the school basically being torn down and rebuilt from scratch), several other schools in our system are in very poor shape and I can only imagine how that affects the school’s staff morale and subsequently the teaching environment for the children.

During our meeting last Monday, one of the school board Directors informed us about a new plan that our provincial government has implemented, which can be basically construed as a mea culpa in regards Click to continue reading the rest of this entry