Woo-Hoo!!!

Less than 24 hours!

Battlestar Galactica - "Sometimes a Great Notion"

What was the biggest surprise of the episode? The thirteenth tribe? Kara's charred body? The identity of the last Cylon? For me, it was the scene the in the morgue. Lee stands over Dualla's body searching for a reason. He asks Adama, seemingly setting up Olmos for another gradiose speech. Instead he spits out "I don't frakking know." This episode wasn't about major revelations or mind-blowing twists (although it has both). It was about the people.

But I'm getting ahead. Last night's episode picked right up right with last summer's gut punch of an ending: Earth, it seems, is not the safe haven everyone thought it was. Instead, Baltar's testing confirms that the planet has been radioactive for a veeeery long time. Everything that they've gone through and fought for: its all been meaningless. The implications of that certainly weigh on the episode, but I don't want to neglect the somewhat shocking revelation that the thirteenth tribe was Cylon, not human. What? There were all kinds of twists here, but nothing made my head hurt quite like that one. How are these Cylons related to other seven? How can the Cylons have been invented and manufactured? I've long thought that the show has been building towards some kind of reveal that the humans are actually Cylons themselves and perhaps that's the case, but this new info doesn't really bolster that case.

That being said, the most effective part of this episode for me was watching the toll the news of Earth took on the fleet. Roslin's face when she got back to Galactica and saw the mass of gathered people seemed to say it all. Meanwhile, with Roslin checked out it was up to Lee to take charge and try to give some hope to people who had lost all of theirs. This led to the shocking scene with him and Dualla, one which took me completely by surprise. With the throbbing hopelessness of their situation staring her in the face, Dualla spends her last few moments savoring her perfect evening with Apollo and then pulls out a gun and shoots herself.

This led us into the scene I talked about earlier. Watching as Roslin and Apollo fell apart, it was for a moment reassuring to see Bill Adama, pretty much the most emotionally solid character of the last four seasons, step into the frame. Which made it that much bleaker to see that he had given up too. I've got to give all kinds of credit to Olmos, who nailed the scene with Apollo and the equally powerful one with Tigh later on.

Meanwhile, Kara and Leoben explored Earth and found that the distress signal that led them to Earth came from a downed Viper containing...the body of Kara Thrace! What??? We now know officially that she's not a Cylon (that always seemed a little too easy) so how is she still alive? That's a little too much of a mindbender for me to deal with and it seems like Leoben felt the same way (yet another person who can't handle what he finds on Earth).

Then there was Tyrol, Tory, Anders and Tigh who all began to remember parts of their lives on Earth 2000 years ago. So they're all over 2000 years old. And it appeared that Earth, while populated with Cylons, was not populated with just the 12 models we know and love. I imagine this notion will be the one that the remainder of the episodes pivots on.

But of course, there was the big finale. It seems like Ellen was one of the few characters who I completely failed to consider as being the last Cylon, but it definitely wasn't the kind of great gut punch twist that the show is known for delivering. For this reason, I was initially disappointed. But think about it and it seems like one of the few choices that actually makes sense. It raises the stakes of what went on in New Caprica even more and it adds yet another dimension to the Saul-Ellen relationship. The most important thing to keep in mind is that this isn't the end of the series, which means that while the choice of Ellen may not have been the most immediately satisfying, I have enough faith in the writers to trust that it will pay off in the long term.

A-

P.S. Pretty much the definitive post-show analysis is here, featuring interviews with Ron Moore, the episodes' writers, and its director.

Happy Battlestar Day!

I'm currently watching a BSG marathon on Sci-Fi and that can only mean one thing! Battlestar Galactica is back! Yes, the glorious hour is nearly at hand, so here's some stuff to get you psyched:

Feel like diving headfirst into the "many mysteries of Battlestar," then does Sci-Fi Channel have the website for you! I've been staying away from it to avoid spoilers, but apparently this You Will Know the Truth site offers clues to unlock the show's mysteries.

Of course, if you prefer to do it the old-fashioned way, Sci-Fi is rerunning season four all day (they've just started too).

All alone and looking for someone to watch tonight's big premiere with? Why not check Craig's List

This speaks for itself.

Finally, io9 has a review and a compendium of awesome fan theories.

There you go. See you tonight!

Amy Ryan Returning to the Office!

SPOILER ALERT!!! DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ON THE OFFICE!

Yep, you read correctly. It seems like the best thing to happen to the Office since Jim and Pam is coming back. Check this out for more.

According to Office Tally, Michael will be going on a tour of branches to give motivational speeches to them and it includes a visit to Holly's branch. While there's no word as to whether she was actually in the episode, she's not gone yet, which is good enough for me.

More on New Amy Poehler Show

This is from the AP:

Coming off her final and triumphant "Saturday Night Live" season, Amy Poehler says she's looking forward to switching gears in a new NBC comedy.

Poehler told a meeting of the Television Critics Association that she's excited about the idea of being able to "turn the volume down a little bit and sit with a character."

In the mockumentary-style comedy, Poehler plays a mid-level bureaucrat in an Indiana city parks and recreation department who's looking to get ahead.

The still-untitled series debuts 8:30 p.m. EST April 9.

Poehler's portrayal of Hillary Rodham Clinton opposite Tina Fey's Sarah Palin on "SNL" was a highlight of the show last year.

The new series isn't intended as a satire on national politics but instead offers a comedic take on how government works in an American town, said Michael Schur, who's executive producer along with Greg Daniels (of "The Office," NBC's other mockumentary-style comedy).

Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, finds her love of the democratic process tested as she faces defensive government workers, selfish residents and real estate developers.

Additionally, this is from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Office Tally:

In the show, Leslie attempts to improve her town and advance her career by helping a local nurse (Rashida Jones, "The Office") turn a construction pit into a park. They're opposed by defensive bureaucrats, NIMBY neighbors and developers. She's helped and hindered by Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari, "Human Giant," "Scrubs"), another government official.

In the process, Leslie hopes to inspire her bored college intern (Aubrey Plaza) and reach her goal of becoming the first female President of the United States.

30 Rock, Office Renewed by NBC

In awesome news for comedy fans, NBC announced today that 30 Rock is being renewed for a fourth season. For a show with ratings as low as it, it shows how desperate NBC is. I won't complain though, 30 Rock should be on forever. This I guess is the good news about NBC's floundering of late. If they were a little more successful, they might not have kept the show around for so long. The network also announced the shocker that The Office will also return for another year. Lastly, they announced the still unnamed show starring Amy Poehler that has been created by the same producers as The Office will debut on April 9th at at 8:30 PM.

A Battlestar PSA

Like all of you, we're super excited for the return of Battlestar, but as you can tell from the concerned look on Adama and Roslin's faces, there's something up. That something, according to Sci-Fi Wire, is that the episode is running 3 and a half minutes long, so if you're DVRing, take note that the episode will not end on the hour as usual and the rumor is that you don't want to miss the ending.