TV Angel

Was anyone else a little underwhelmed by the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica? After umpteen months of waiting, the start of the fourth and final season was, ahem, anticlimactic, to put it politely. The show’s usually portentous atmosphere held little suspense as the story only inches forward from last season’s cliffhanger ending.

As season three ended, viewers were left plagued by unanswered questions: Did Starbuck really visit Earth? What’s different about the final five? What have Tigh, Anders, Foster and Tyrol been programmed to do? Who were the people seen ferreting Baltar to safety after his trial? This season’s first ep, “He That Believeth in Me,” offered very little in the way of answers, or even hints, for that matter.

 What little story advancement there was to be had focused on a cult-like group of Gaius Baltar devotees. (As usual, Baltar exhibited the survival skills of a terran cockroach.) The emergence of the cylons’ monotheistic ideology sets the stage for a submersive movement among the human fleet. Yet the unknown origins and dubious motives of the Cult of Baltar only beg more unresolved questions.

 The audience remains largely in the dark about most events, as do the show’s principals. Starbuck is herself unable to explain her disappearance. The four newly revealed cylons are clueless as to their true nature or purpose. The ignorance of the principals made the story lag, leaving the ep largely devoid of impact.

 For the most part, the BSG premiere just kicks the can down the road in terms of storytelling. While the show has not lost any of its characteristic style, it may have lost a little focus. Those who, like myself, are invested in the journey of the Galacticans are unlikely to jump ship. But one hopes that BSG will once again find its path.