Battlestar Galactica (TV Series) Crossroads: Part 1 (2007) User Reviews

Tour de Force for the writing team

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 23 November 2014]

I have made the observation in other reviews that the weight of critical opinion on this amazing series (this penned in 2014) is that it is the second most addictive series in this history of television (the first being Buffy, of an era before PVRs, when viewers boasted of planning their entire week about the show).

When a brilliant series is uneven, that is a polite way of saying the weak episodes are merely good and the good episodes are great.

This is one of the great ones. Digging deep into the story arcs of the first two seasons, the writing team wonderfully exposes the soft underbellies of multiple relationships on board which are not quite what they seem.

First class, and unforgettable.

Baltar's trial begins and the Cylons return

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 27 January 2012]

As the third season comes to its conclusion in this two part story the trail of Baltar finally arrives and some uncomfortable truths are going to be revealed. With the odds stacked against them Lampkin and Apollo must resort to some awkward questions to discredit the prosecution witnesses. This includes asking Col. Tigh about Ellen's death and asking the president about her medication. Away from the court room Apollo must choose whether to go through the motions of standing up for the system or take a stand against his father to really give Baltar a fair trial with the aggressive defence that might just save his life. In secondary stories we learn that the Cylons are following the fleet after detecting a radiation leak on one of the ships and Tigh, Tory and Anders start to here a piece of music which is somehow strange yet familiar.

This penultimate episode nicely raises tensions before the season finale; the guilty verdict in Baltar's trial is starting to look slightly less inevitable, the prospect of a Cylon attack has appeared and the strange tune that only certain people can here has provided an interesting mystery. Once again guest star Mark Sheppard puts in a fine performance, other acting highlights came from Michael Hogan who gave a great performance as Col. Tigh who appeared to be having a breakdown both in court and as he hear the strange music and from Jamie Bamber, as Apollo, whose character undergoes major changes in this episode; changes that are likely to effect the character for some time to come. After this episode I'm sure the season finale will be a cracker!