Jim Connelly's Recaps of Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5

From January - March 2009, I recapped the Season 4.5 of Battlestar Galactica for a site called Screen Junkies. Here is an easy way to find those recaps.

Note: there is some discrepancy as to the episode numbers for this Season. Because some guides count Razor as the first two episodes of Season 4.5 and some don't. I fall into the camp of those who don't, so I follow the chronology of episodes as laid out by IMDB.

NB: the dates below refer to the date that they were published on the site, NOT the original air date. And the "refresher" is essentially a recap of season 4.0, not the whole series.

• Battlestar Plot Refresher - January 13, 2009



• Face of the Enemy Webisodes - January 16, 2009



• Ep 4.10: Sometimes A Great Notion - January 18, 2009



• Ep 4.11: A Disquiet Follows My Soul - January 25, 2009



• Ep 4.12: The Oath - February 1, 2009



• Ep. 4.13: Blood on the Scales - February 8, 2009



• Ep. 4.14: No Exit - February 15, 2009
  Sadly, I think that Screen Junkies lost this one, which is amazingly ironic, since it got the most amount of traffic of any of my BSG recaps thanks to the handy-dandy "Cylon Flow Chart" I created for it.



• Ep 4.14: Deadlock - February 22, 2009



• Ep 4.15: Someone To Watch Over Me - March 1, 2009



• Ep. 4.16: Islanded in a Stream of Stars - March 8, 2009



• Ep. 4.17: Daybreak, Part 1 - March 15, 2009



• Ep. 4.18: Daybreak, Part 2 - March 22, 2009

18 Musical Moments to Die For

On Medialoper: 18 Musical Moments to Die For

Musical Moments from:
The Byrds, Husker Du, Gomez, LL Cool J,Grand Funk, Aimee Mann, The Hold Steady, Radiohead, The Jam, Jonathan Richman, Lemonheads, The Libertines, The Smiths, English Beat, Smokey Robinson, The Sweet

Doomed But Loved: Chuck

On Medialoper: Doomed But Loved: Chuck

Week in and week out, Chuck is the most fun you can possibly have watching TV. This is a show that has something for everyone: spy missions; wacky sidekicks; hot chicks; quippy action guys, family drama and an evil organization with designs — admittedly fuzzy at this point — on the world.

NBC Says "Screw You" to Friday Night Lights Fans

On Medialoper: NBC Says "Screw You" to Friday Night Lights Fans

What baffles me, though, are the truncated, edited NBC versions of the episodes going down on the DVD as the final canonical versions. How does that work? Do these people not understand that fans consider the DVD the final word on a show? Apparently not. Whatever the reasons for this decision, by treating the DVD as the syndicated version of the show, it comes out as NBC punishing the very people who love it.

How To Fix The New Facebook Home Page

On Medialoper: How To Fix The New Facebook Home Page

Now, with the new Home Page, Facebook has broken its own back. It currently lays on the ground like a wounded bird, reduced to retardedly chirping over and over again: “What’s on your mind? What’s on your mind? What’s on your mind? What’s on your mind?”

But it can be fixed. Easily. And I know how.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Daybreak, Part 2

On Screen Junkies. Battlestar Galactica Recap: Daybreak, Part 2

All of that is a roundabout way of saying that while I get why people might not have liked certain aspects of the Finale – especially that last, last bit of silliness – I think that, on the whole, it doesn’t really matter. Battlestar Galactica is beyond the damage that any single episode – even the last – can do it it.

The Worst Cover of All Time is The Epitome Of American Idol

On Medialoper: The Worst Cover of All Time is The Epitome Of American Idol

Idol, of course, isn’t so much about musical expression, per se, — which is why I love music — as it is about outdoing the other person. Just as Baseball players as naturally great as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez compelled to do steroids because that was the culture, or Nadia Suleman “wins” because she had eight babies at one time, this version of “Ring of Fire” epitomizes the Idol culture of “the more notes you sing, the better it is.”

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Daybreak, Part 1

On Screen Junkies -- Battlestar Galactica Recap: Daybreak, Part 1

After the commercial, we see Bill Adama in his quarters packing stuff in boxes, which are helpfully labeled. I guess that they’re hiring movers? So if you need to reach him, the Admiral’s quarters are going to be Deck 74 of the Cylon Baseship. However, be advised that his phones and email are going to be down for at least a week, because Cylon IT is really really backed up because of this last-second move.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Islanded in a Stream of Stars

From Screen Junkies - Battlestar Galactica: Islanded in a Stream of Stars

The producers of the original Battlestar Galactica had a plan. In the late 1970s, it wasn’t uncommon for a male lead in a TV series to have a major pop career. So when they found out early on that the Bee Gees – the biggest recording act in the known universe – were fans of their show, they reached out. The plan was this: the Bee Gees would write a thumping disco tune; Dirk Benedict would sing it; coke and hookers and cash to every AM station imaginable and voila! a world-wide smash that would guarantee a second season of Galactica.

That song was called “Islanded in a Stream of Stars.” I’ll be giving you a taste of the words throughout this recap. For example:

Islanded in a stream of stars
Death and betrayal is what we are
Trust and love have gone so far
Islanded in a stream of stars

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Someone To Watch Over Me

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Someone To Watch Over Me

Oh, and Starbuck takes the pretty drawering of stars that Hera offers her. Thanks Hera! Now can you be a tad less creepy? Maybe a good kidnapping might loosen you up! Either that, or turn into Battlestar Galactica’s version of “The Ransom of Red Chief.”

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Deadlock

On Screen Junkies. Battlestar Galactica Recap: Deadlock.

I’ve got a theory about Cylons needing “love” as a factor in making babies: if you could program yourself to procreate by making offspring, human-style, isn’t it possible that you want to make sure that love was involved? Because wouldn’t that provide the best, and safest environment for the baby to grow up to be a happy, healthy, productive member of society?

Battlestar Galactica Recap: No Exit

On Screen Junkies. Battlestar Galactica Recap: No Exit

So that’s where we are. Are you confused? I was, so I broke it down with a flowchart.

19 Musical Moments To Die For

On Medialoper: 19 Musical Moments To Die For

This month, in honor of St. Valentine’s day, it’s a special theme version of Musical Moments To Die For.

Love songs! Nothing but love songs!

Well, that’s not exactly right: not so much love songs, but songs about love, which is a totally different head. Totally.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: Blood on the Scales

On Screen Junkies. Battlestar Galactica Recap: Blood on the Scales

Richard Hatch was pissed. He always loved playing Captain Apollo on the original Battlestar Galactica, and very much wanted to the sequel that he envisioned back onto TV screens. But instead, Ron Moore's "reimagined" Battlestar came out instead, and Hatch was critical of the entire enterprise. He came around, eventually, and was offered the role of Tom Zarek, Freedom Fighter. But I don't think that he's ever fully let his anger go, and, in fact, that anger has informed how he played Tom Zarek, who -- except for a short bit on New Caprica -- was never not kind of an asshole.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: The Oath

On Screen Junkies - Battlestar Galactica Recap: The Oath

Former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil once famously said, "all politics is local," but I don't think he got specific enough, because, really, all politics is personal. And sometimes people in power don't care if they turn the entire world upside down in order to get atonement, or revenge, or maybe just an apology.

Sometimes, lots and lots of people die as a result.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: A Disquiet Follows My Soul

On Screen Junkies - Battlestar Galactica Recap: A Disquiet Follows My Soul

If last week's episode was all about giving up, then this is about starting over. Which makes sense, as this episode was really all about setting up the endgame of the entire series.

20 Musical Moments to Die For

On Medialoper: 20 Musical Moments to Die For

This month, on Musical Moments to Die For: secrets, influences, and secret influences, all book-ended by the two best bands to ever come from Athens, GA.

We’ve also got the front-runners for greatest guitar and organ solos ever; Neil Young’s most despairing moment; and not one, not two, but three variations of the beat solidified by the late, great Ellas McDaniel.

Battlestar Galactica Recap: 'Sometimes A Great Notion'

On Screen Junkies: Battlestar Galactica Recap - 'Sometimes A Great Notion'

What happens when the dream you've based your entire life upon turns out to be a cruel, cruel lie? Sometimes you give up. You jump into the river, let it take you where it will.

Battlestar Galactica Recap - Face of the Enemy Webisodes

On Screen Junkies: Battlestar Galactica Recap - Face of the Enemy Webisodes

Hey Sci-Fi? Instead of Webisodes, howz about releasing the DVD of Season 4.0 earlier, so that we can get caught up in a reasonable fashion?

Indie 103.1 Goes Off The Air

On Medialoper: Indie 103.1 Goes Off The Air

This seems sad, but inevitable: after all, music radio has been killing itself for decades now, and the much of the audience for a musically adventurous radio station has no doubt many many other sources for music: the internet, their own collections, and satellite.

Battlestar Plot Refresher

On Screen Junkies: Battlestar Plot Refresher

Welcome to Earth. Please ignore the radiation. Please ignore the fact that you are standing amongst the ruins of a great civilization. Please ignore the fact that getting to Earth was your goal since the fleet was cobbled together in the wake of the Cylon sneak attack. Please ignore the fact that Earth was a made-up lie by one William Adama just to give you some kind of hope until, suddenly, it wasn't a lie any more. Welcome to Earth, the legendary Thirteenth Colony. How was your journey?

Apple Gets Smart With The DRM and The Pricing

On Medialoper: Apple Gets Smart With The DRM and The Pricing

It’s good news for consumers because — from the consumer standpoint — DRM sucks fully, totally and utterly. No matter how it was spun as one of those “for your protection” things, or as “protection for the artist,” it’s been proven time and time again to be a big pain in the ass for consumers.