Battlestar goes to the U.N.

Apparently everyone can take some lessons from Battlestar Galactica. The U.N. is hosting a panel discussion (invitation-only, unfortunately) to examine how the show dealt with issues that are relevant and pressing on actual Earth. The discussion is March 17--three days before the series finale (which I didn't realize was so soon). So say we all.

Frak Earth

The title of this post refers to some graffiti on a wall in the Galactica, and seeing it was one of my favorite moments of last night's great but confusing episode. So without further adieu, spoilers are ahead.

Before last night's episode of Battlestar, Bailey, Holt and I e-mailed regarding the identity of the final Cylon. Bailey said she didn't think it would be Starbuck, because that was too obvious. Holt and I agreed. I said I wanted it to be Lee, because it would be so confusing (since presumably Admiral Adama remembers the birth of his son). Holt was hoping it would be great if it were Gaeta, since the final four tried to execute him for being a Cylon collaborator (before they found out they were Cylons, of course).

But none of us guessed Ellen. Ellen?! Where did that come from? Despite thinking Starbuck was too obvious, I assumed it was her when she found the her dog tags on the dead body. But no. Ellen. Ellen seems such a minor character to choose for the final four--I was expecting it to be someone who really mattered, like Lee or Starbuck or Roslyn or Adama. But Ellen? And where is she now? I guess the Cylon love triangle of Ellen-Saul-Six could be interesting, once Ellen returns (as I assume she will).

Of course, I am totally confused about Starbuck. As she herself asked, what is she? She could lead everyone to earth, she paints weird pictures, and her dead body has been sitting on Earth? I'm totally confused.

As for the rest of the episode, the other major surprises were that the Final Five had lived on Earth 2000 years ago (I loved, loved, loved that Sam was some kind of rock star back in the day), that the 13th tribe was a Cylon tribe, and that Dee killed herself. I was actually really shocked when Dee pulled out that gun--I wasn't expecting it at all.

I also wasn't expecting President Roslyn to just shrivel up and refuse to deal with reality. That's not the Laura Roslyn I love. (As a sidenote, when Sarah Palin was first chosen as McCain's VP candidate, Gobo began calling her President Roslyn. Although there is a slight resemblance, this made me very upset and I had him stop.) I was, however, happy to see Adama turn to Tigh. Although it began with anger, it was clear he really just wanted to talk to his best friend.

And since I'm on the topic of best friends...where the hell was Starbuck's best friend, Helo? We saw him for about two minutes when he and Athena left Hera with Dee, and that was it. I hope this isn't a sign of a diminished role through the rest of this season, because I really love Helo. And Starbuck needs a friend right now anyway.

Last night, just before watching the episode, I watched the webisodes, which were about Gaeta. They ended with a total cliffhanger--Gaeta telling his boyfriend that he was going to talk to Adama and cryptically speaking about what might happen if it didn't work out. The boyfriend was just as confused as I was. And the boyfriend (I'm sure he has a name) seemed shocked that Gaeta would talk to Adama "of all people." I was totally confused, and last night's episode didn't help to clear anything up. I'm sure that will be resolved in episodes to come.

I realize this is a totally disjointed post--really just a ramble of my thoughts after the episode. I'm so glad that Battlestar is back, and so sad it will soon be over.

People I love: Tricia Helfer

Last night I was bored and couldn't really find anything that interested me on the DVR, so I decided to see whether there was anything available on Comcast On Demand that might be of interest. After watching an episode of Party of Five--the one where Bailey goes to LA to find drug addicted Jill, Julia befriends a guy with HIV, no one has time for Claudia's birthday, and Charlie is whiny (yes, I realize Charlie was always whiny, but I loved him anyway)--I decided to see what was available under the heading "Pets." It appears there is a series where a photographer takes photos of celebrities with their pets. All of the celebrities profiled had dogs, except one: Tricia Helfer, better known as Six on Battlestar Galactica.

It turns out that Helfer has five cats. The first two were rescued as two-day old abandoned kittens, then she got another from a shelter, and then a fourth from a shelter to be friends with the third. But when she and her husband went to the shelter to get cat number four, they saw a 13 year old senior cat at the front of the store and decided to get her too, because she deserved to have her last years be happy.

What's more, Helfer rescued a cat in Baton Rouge and took it home with her, adopting it out to a friend. She donates all of the proceeds from items on her website to a cat rescue group and said that her dream in life is to have her own cat rescue. When asked why she liked cats so much she said that cats get a bad rap and are actually quite loving and affectionate.

I want to open a cat rescue! I think cats get a bad rap! I now love Tricia Helfer.

A sign that I have watched a lot of Battlestar Galactica recently

I used the word "frak" in conversation without thinking about it.

Oh NO!!!

According to the LA Times (via Televisionary) Battlestar Galactica's fourth and final season won't be back until APRIL. Let me repeat that for those of you, who, like me, will refuse to hear that horrible horrible news the first time. We won't find out what the HELL that season finale meant until APRIL.

I'm really trying to look on the bright side here, which is that I might actually have cable again by then.