Battlestar Galactica: Occupation

October 8th, 2006

Season 3, Episode 1

Battlestar Galactica: Occupation

Well, the producers of Battlestar Galactica weren’t kidding when they said season three would take a darker turn. The premiere episode’s first hour turned out to be an exercise into the oppressed and the oppressor, the ravages of war and the fight for freedom under disheartening odds, reminding me more of a World War II concentration camp movie documenting life under the Nazis.

The metaphor could also be the current Iraq war situation, with New Caprica filling in for Iraq. This flip-side sets the Cylons up as the American occupiers, strategizing about spreading religion to the occupied. The rebelling humans are referred to as insurgents. Lastly, Tigh and Starbuck’s confinement has obvious, uncomfortable parallels to Guantanamo.

This interpretation is quite a change from the original season, in which the destruction of Caprica could be seen as a unifying, catastrophic event like 9/11, and the Cylons the unseen terrorists. Literally, everything has been inverted.

Meanwhile, on the Battlestar fleet separated from the humans on New Caprica, a weary and mustache-bearing Adama has to make do with second-rate, rusty pilots. The frustration is palpable as Adama struggles to come up with a way to return to New Caprica, fight the Cylons, and rescue the humans.

Apollo’s weight gain, scary! Pulling a Robert DeNiro for sure. Adama isn’t happy about it at all.

There’s one happy moment as the Galactica makes contact with the people on New Caprica. But there is no rescue this episode.

At show’s end we have the disturbing image of a suicide bombing, reminding us of today’s terrorist methods and a Nazi youth rally simultaneously. Brilliant stuff.

Note: The second hour I’ll document in a separate post.

Next Episode: Precipice
Previous Episode: Lay Down Your Burdens (2)

TV Shows: Battlestar Galactica

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  • Yes excellent writing indeed. This series has succeeded in placing current events into a prism and forcing thinking folks to consider alternatives. The dialogue concerning sucide bombing was particularly enlightening. One is forced to consider the alternatives, if your occupier has greater technology and superior strength what options do you really have? An insurgency in such circumstances has but two options, capitulation or warfare on the most inhuman levels.

    I particularly enjoyed the depiction of the human police recruits, with their masks and the general animosity the population held them in. This was my experience in Iraq, I never liked the idea that our “friends” had to wear ski masks to protect their identity from the population. Something is just wrong in a circumstance like that.
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