The Woman King

Television, Movies Games and Books BSG-2003
#1

So, my BSG re-watch landed on The Woman King last night. I didn’t mind this episode when it aired, though I was a little trepidatious going into it yesterday as it’d only been the third time I’d seen it (only the second since season 3 had been released on DVD). I have to say that, even with the passage of time, I don’t mind this episode. I can see what it is people don’t like about it but, really, other than the fact that the episode was meant to set up a storyline that got dropped I don’t really see it as being particularly horrible. The weaknesses, in fact, were to me less pronounced than those in “The Passage,” to which I alluded recently on the “BSG Listed as a Show to Avoid” thread.

So…why all the hate for this episode?

#2

The telegraphed end. Hey, here’s a doctor we’ve never seen before. I wonder who the big bad is going to turn out to be…

#3

I am not a fan of this episode, but I don’t especially hate it either. Mainly I think its not liked because it has nothing do to with the overall story arc, and does not have a lot of action. I also don’t like how it makes Tigh look. (“Aside from a Cylon is there anything that you hate more than a Sagittaron?” I think was the line.) He does sort of redeem himself in the end though.

#4

It’s always a pleasure watching Bruce Davison, although this wasn’t one of his more-dimensional roles. I thought this was a better-than-mediocre episode when it first aired, and was frankly surprised to hear RJM wince (yes, you could hear him wince) all through the podcast. IMHO, this was better than several fourth-season episodes.

On a side note, I was impressed that the drug the evil doctor was giving the Saggitarons to kill them was actually a real drug, not a made-up Star Trek-type drug. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was, but I remembered it from when I used to work in pharmaceuticals.

#5

I generally skip it when re-watching. It just doesn’t interest me. Stand alone episodes in a series with an epic arc rarely do

#6

Meh. It could’ve used a comma.

The Woman, King

#7

But there’s some prep for Baltar’s trial stuff in it that does advance the overall story. At least it does a little.

The things that did bother me this time around, though, include the telegraphed end that Pike describes (happens lot in the stand alones, particularly the ones from season 2 which have a distinct “Love Boat” feel to them in the special guest star department), the character psychologies seem off (I agree with you about Tigh, Fenatic; Helo also seem somewhat off, though it’s nice to see him loose his cool and to see the domestic side of Helo and Sharon in less than ideal circumstances).

Anyway, I just thought I’d see what people said. I wouldn’t put this in my list of top ten or even 20 episodes of the entire series, but I’m less inclined to skip it than I am “Black Market,” which for the life of me I cannot find a single redeeming feature in. (Okay, maybe the performance of the guy playing the main baddie–what was his name?)

#8

Bill Duke!

#9

Now see, if he’d had a gun like THAT, Apollo wouldn’t have gotten all in his face like he did. Sucka!