Kos & others here once mentioned in an
open thread that they were fans of Sci-Fi's 3 hour block of shows on friday nights. I got around to watching the finale of the first part of Battlestar Galactica's 2nd season. It was definitely disturbing to say the least, and I thought had subtle & not so subtle jabs at conservative orthodoxy & Bush policy. It seems that it happens more often on science fiction shows. If you watched seasons 3 & 4 of the now cancelled
"Star Trek: Enterprise", there are definite caricatures of Bush & his illogical logic being critqued.
Last night, Battlestar Galactica dealt with a parallel of Abu Ghraib & military tribunals, and how far "good people" will tolerate it...
(Spoilers After The Jump For Those That Haven't Watched Yet...)
The episode is called "Pegasus", and is a reworking of an episode from the original 1978 series called "The Living Legend"...
- The episode begins with the Battlestar Pegasus finding Galactica & the rag-tag fleet. The Pegasus is commanded by Admiral Neela Cain (Star Trek's Michelle Forbes). Where Adama commands from his humanity, She rules out of iron will. Cain takes command of the fleet & shows little defference for the civilian authority. Her executive officer tells a story to Colonel Tigh of what happened to her original XO. She shot him in front of the crew when he refused one of her orders. After telling the story, he tries to say it was all a joke, but you're left unsure.
- As the episode progresses, you find that the Pegasus crew is a dark mirror of Galactica. They have found a Cylon infiltrator too (a version of Number Six named Gina), but they have severely beaten her & chained her to the floor of the brig.
- Admiral Cain begins usurping Commander Adama's authority by reshuffling crew & questioning the decisions he made since the beginning of the series. Since she outranks Adama, he takes it.
- In a scene that makes you think of Abu Ghraib, we find out that the Pegasus chief of security didn't just beat the Number Six they took captive. They repeatedly raped her, with members of the crew taking turns in order to try to make her talk. The Pegasus crew even brags about it. When members of the Galactica crew hear it, they (Chief Tyrol & Helo) rush to protect the Boomer-Cylon in the Galactica brig. They make it there just as the Pegasus Cylon interrogator & his security team are about to rape her. During the scuffle, the interrogator is killed.
- Admiral Cain arrests Helo & Tyrol for murder & treason, and takes them back to the Pegasus. Adama protests by saying it happened on his ship & his men deserve a fair trial by a jury. Cain brushes aside his concerns & promises them a fair trial. However, she takes only hours to order their execution by conducting a Military Tribunal with the powers given her at a time of war.
- Adama has had enough. He contacts her & insists she return his men, because they deserve a fair trial. She refuses. Adama launches the Galactica fighters with the intent to get them from the Pegasus, one way or another. She responds by launching the Pegasus fighters. The episode ends with both sets of fighters getting ready to attack each other.
I've been suprised, to some extent, how the rape scene has been viewed on some of the Galactica boards. Most commenters were horrified by it. However, there was a minority that had opinions like...
- "They're just machines. You can't rape a machine"
- "They don't deserve rights. They tried to committ genocide against Humanity"
- "Are we supposed to feel sorry for her because she has a crying program?
The comments reminded me of Oklahoma
Senator James Inhoffe's response to Abu Ghraib, where he didn't see anything wrong with it because they were
"suspected" terrorists. In his mind, they didn't deserve rights.
The conclusion to all of this won't come until January 2006 when the 2nd half of season 2 begins, but I know how it will end. I could tell you, but that would be...."telling".
Alright, for those that have to know and want MAJOR SPOILERS, click here & look under the summary section...