nBSG: S2:03: "Fragged" (Spoilers)

[TheDarkling]

Nah, though I may be wrong, but what I got out of that episode was that Adama was an up and commer but got stuck on a 'transport' or 'lesser' ship that Tigh happened to be on. Even then, Tigh was a drunk and was fucking up his career because of it.

In the Ron Moore podcasts he states that Adama and Tigh served in the military (separately) during the war and then found themselves out of work when the military shrunk after the peace.

They ended up on a civilian freighter together; Adama got back into the service and then sent for Tigh.

[DocHorror]

Tigh apparently was aboard a Battlestar or other ship that got boarded by Cylons and had some pretty heavy H2H fighting going on. Hence how he know so much in 'Valley of Darkenss' . If Tigh is in his 50's ala the galatica Wiki then he would be ten when he signed up.

[Akaramu Shinja]

Guess I missed some key points. Maybe someone should revise the wiki.

[John of the Dead]

If Tigh is in his 50's ala the galatica Wiki then he would be ten when he signed up.

I think you're right about that. If the First Cylon War was 40 years ago, and Saul Tigh fought in it as a deckhand or chief when his ship was boarded, he has to be in his late fifties at the youngest. I think the age listed in the Wiki (late 40s) is likely off by ten years. Or is there something else I'm missing? Is one of my assumptions above incorrect?

[Skylon]

Cylon or not, that little look Ellen gave Col. Tigh at the end of their conversation about him having "unchallenged command" makes me wonder if she's going to try harming Adama... She's probably just disgusted at her husband's lack of ambition, but I wouldn't put it past her.

It seems Tigh is doing all this, trying to discredit Roslin, declaring martial law, because he thinks it'll make life easier for Adama and that the Old Man should have undesputed command of the fleet.

[StarshipTitanic]

I seriously doubt Ellen will do anything personally. She doesn't want her hands dirty, which is why she manipulates people. It's why she made friends with Zarek and why she had Tigh sic the Quorum on Roslin instead of exposing it personally.

[Vympel]

So for a poor man who's only seen up to Episode 9 of S1 so far, by the latest episode, how many days has it been on Cylon-occupied Caprica? How long has Galactica and the fleet been travelling?

[Crown]

So for a poor man who's only seen up to Episode 9 of S1 so far, by the latest episode, how many days has it been on Cylon-occupied Caprica? How long has Galactica and the fleet been travelling?

The last day count was given in Kobol's Last Gleaming Part 2 episode 1x13 as 51 days.

Since the first three episodes of season 2 all appear to happen back to back over at most 2 days, that would bring up the Caprica B plot to an upper limit of 53 days on Caprica for Helo.

[Crown]

Just some more on Roslin, I've been re-watching/skimming all the episodes to date, and I just realised that not only did she cut Tigh a new one, but she cut out Zarick's legs from underneath him.

From Colonial Day Gemini was Zarick's biggest support, and in Fragged the delegate from Gemini is kneeling at Roslin's feet like she is the second coming (well first in their religion). Indeed the entire Quorom of Twelve were kneeling at her feet (from what I could see more than half easily) and any political ground Zarick hoped he could get by attacking Roslin just went up in a big puff of smoke!

This leaves Zarick with very few options; he obviously knows that going throught he military won't happen while Adama is alive, and while Elen doesn't have a firm grip on Tigh. He's gonna have to suck up to Rosin HUGE if/when she gets out, in order to avoid finding himself swinging in the wind.

Fuck. I love this show.

[Arrow]

Just some more on Roslin, I've been re-watching/skimming all the episodes to date, and I just realised that not only did she cut Tigh a new one, but she cut out Zarick's legs from underneath him.

From Colonial Day Gemini was Zarick's biggest support, and in Fragged the delegate from Gemini is kneeling at Roslin's feet like she is the second coming (well first in their religion). Indeed the entire Quorom of Twelve were kneeling at her feet (from what I could see more than half easily) and any political ground Zarick hoped he could get by attacking Roslin just went up in a big puff of smoke!

This leaves Zarick with very few options; he obviously knows that going throught he military won't happen while Adama is alive, and while Elen doesn't have a firm grip on Tigh. He's gonna have to suck up to Rosin HUGE if/when she gets out, in order to avoid finding himself swinging in the wind.

Fuck. I love this show.

Zarick also knows he'll only have to deal with Roslin for a few months, maybe a year, at most. When election time comes around, it will be him and Baltar, assuming Baltar doesn't get himself exposed by then.

[Steven Snyder]

This is a nitpicker review from Mediablvd.com

Personally I think the guy is a jackass, but judge for yourself.

REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: FRAGGED

We’ve changed the way we’re reviewing episodes beginning with this one. Instead of watching an episode a number of times before writing a review, we’re going to watch it a single time. Both ways have their positives and negatives. With multiple viewings, reviews are more reasoned-based. Several of our reviews changed after a second or even third viewing. But with only a single viewing, reviews are more emotionally based. And that is how most people watch Battlestar Galactica anyway: once.

So will this new method hurt or help the series? We shall see.

WHAT WORKED:

The characters – You must be getting tired of seeing this every episode, but we’re going to keep mentioning it as long as they keep doing it right. Most everyone acts in such a believable manner given their circumstances, you can see yourself in the same situation doing the same thing. Wonderful! Admittedly, there are some cracks showing this time, though. People are starting to turn into ciphers again, possibly because some plots are moving faster than they should or we only had the opportunity to touch on items which will be expanded later. So be careful.

Doctor Cottle – Okay, we admit a little bias with him because many of us are old enough to remember him in shows like Soap and Double Trouble. We especially loved it when his underlings knew him enough to have a bowl ready for him to put out his cigarette as he walked into sick bay! Keep him around!

Crashdown’s Ultimatum – Oh, we loved that scene! Whether you think he was right or wrong, when he started shaking and crying as he counted down was magical!

Who Being Right – Another positive about Battlestar Galactica is that there is rarely a black and white when it comes to being right or wrong. Crashdown could just have easily been right and it was necessary to take out the Cylons rather than take the easy route to the dish. If the Raptors had arrived just a few seconds earlier…

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

Tigh – Again, he is either hot or cold. While rarely is there a black and white in BG, Tigh is definitely turning into one or the other. And that’s a pity as it makes him look like a putz. Sure, there are putzs in real life, but they are too easy and degrade Battlestar Galactica. Weak writing.

The Great Journey of Life – Like the Boomer and Helo subplot in Season One, this religious thing is beginning to drag. How about doing something with it instead of being so esoteric for so long?

Tyrol’s Survival – Bull-feldercarb! (To mutilate another Earth phrase.) Not only did they cross the line of believability, they obliterated it like a bunch of Cylons hit by missile fire. Tyrol stands up and starts shooting at a group of advancing Cylons who have their own versions of built-in AK-47s and comes out without a scratch (beyond the one he already had). Suuuurrrreeeee!

THE BOTTOM LINE:

This one is a bit slower than the last few. And Tigh does everything but wear a black hat, which really makes it all have a juvenile feel to half the episode. Being rushed didn’t help, either. Maybe each plot should have had its own episode dedicated to it. Still, the humanity of everything helps it to rise above what it is. (4/10)

Pearls of Wisdom - "Specialisation is for insects!" - Robert Heinlein

--== THE DOCTOR WHO AUDIO DRAMAS: http://www.dwad.net
--== TIGERS' QUEST: http://www.tigersquest.com
--== Everlasting Films Call Board: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/everlastingfilms

[Stravo]

I actually agree with their virew on the portrayal of Tigh, I was going to mention it in my minireview whoch never happened for this episode thanks to my ongoing home computer issues. Tigh has been consistently portrayed as a blundering boob lately. If there's a decision to be made you can rest assured Tigh will make the opposite and worst decision possible. I know quite a few alcoholics, some are messes and some are really quite functional - they're assholes to work with but they know their shit. And Tigh's wife is satright out of power hungry harpy bitch plot device drawer.

Tigh in the miniseries and Season 1 had his issues but there was no doubt what the dynamic was, Adama was the softy father figure and Tigh was the hard ass that people hated in order for Adama to be not come off as a hard ass. Its a great good cop bad cop dynamic that worked for me.

Tigh was the one that saved the ship in the miniseries by closing the bulhead and killing a hundred people but he made that choice without hesitation. If this were the current Tigh the Galactica would have been lost.

Now Tigh is just there to prove how great a commander Adama is because now the audience wants him to come back because Tigh is such a moron. Sorry, that's too simplistic for what I'm used to in this show.

[DocHorror]

Tigh was the one that saved the ship in the miniseries by closing the bulhead and killing a hundred people but he made that choice without hesitation. If this were the current Tigh the Galactica would have been lost.

Now Tigh is just there to prove how great a commander Adama is because now the audience wants him to come back because Tigh is such a moron. Sorry, that's too simplistic for what I'm used to in this show.

I agree to a point, I'll be honest Tigh is my favourite character in the show, I have a weakness for that type of character. When it comes to combat or ship operations Tigh is more than competant and has saved Galactica on more than one occasion. Its just outside of these situations, eg the current political situation, that he is useless.

[Alyeska]

Tigh is not being made to look like an idiot. The problem with Tigh is he needs someone like Adama to ballance himself with. Tigh can not handle the pressures of command all by himself. He can make the tough call in a bad situation (usualy combat related) and he can be a tough son of a bitch who gets people to work, but he works best with Adama to moderate his bad activities.

Just look at how Tigh reacted to the boarding action. He was was in charge and knew what to do.

[Vympel]

If I recall correctly, the starboard pod is useless to them, since we learned from the miniseries that it was turned into a museum in preparation for Galactica's decomissioning. They should really see about getting it back online. Maybe if they had the Cylong boarding party could've been contained more easily.

Watching "Fragged" now. Glad to be finally up to date. What I want to know is how the heck Tigh could seriously ask if the Cylon Basestar above Kobol had been destroyed as Suicidal-Boomer claimed. She did have someone else with her on that run.

And the President being a drug-addled religious nut isn't exactly encouraging. Arrow of Apollo indeed ... Jumping J Zeus on a pogo stick

(Hopefully the plot throws a curveball and the arrow is completely useless).

[Chmee]

Don't have a problem with Tigh's spiral downward. He's lost his anchor point with Adama out of action, and the wife is a a very destructive influence on him (as Adama has pointed out previously). He *should* be making mistakes he never would have made at the start of the war.

[Vympel]

Just watched the end. The sickening display of religious nuttery by the quorum at the end really irked me. Praying for a curveball something severe, no pun intended.

[Stravo]

Just watched the end. The sickening display of religious nuttery by the quorum at the end really irked me. Praying for a curveball something severe, no pun intended.

That didn't bug me so much simply because the Colonials were religious nuts to begin with - an advanced society literally believes they come from a world of gods mmmkay - and you couple that with man's retreat to religion whenever something bad comes up (church attendance skyrocketed right after 9/11) in comparison these poor bastards just suffered the holocaust so yeah they would go running to religion now.

The one thing that bugged me was the portrayal of the Geminons as ultra fundies. You know the scene "So and So you're from Geminon, you'd know the scriptures better than anyone is this true?" UGH. That would be akin to me going "Hasan, your people make bombs whip us up some bomb vests for the defense of our neighborhood from gentrification." Not eveyone is alike and to say that one racial group is X is such a writer's fiat and an insulting one at that.

[NecronLord]

The one thing that bugged me was the portrayal of the Geminons as ultra fundies. You know the scene "So and So you're from Geminon, you'd know the scriptures better than anyone is this true?" UGH. That would be akin to me going "Hasan, your people make bombs whip us up some bomb vests for the defense of our neighborhood from gentrification." Not eveyone is alike and to say that one racial group is X is such a writer's fiat and an insulting one at that.

To be fair, Gemanon could be anything. Mormon-country in space, for example.

[Vympel]

Frankly I hope Tom Zareck gets in charge, and quick. There's only so much of the President's drug-addled ego trip I can take. Just for a change. And I believed him when he said he didn't kill the would-be assasisn. Meh, I like the guy.

[Stravo]

Frankly I hope Tom Zareck gets in charge, and quick. There's only so much of the President's drug-addled ego trip I can take. Just for a change. And I believed him when he said he didn't kill the would-be assasisn. Meh, I like the guy.

The man wants to create a worker's paradise. I find him a dangerous person and wouldn't want him anywhere near the presidency. He's as much an oppurtunist as Rosalyn or any of the other politicians out there save that this one was also a terrorist.

My anti communist anti socialist shields went up the moment he gave that speech on Colonial Day talking about what he sees in the future - namely Communism lite.

Still he's a brilliantly written character and I like what Hatch brings to the table.

[Alyeska]

Zareck is best compared with Lennin. Very persuasive with the people, very idealistic, and extremely dangerous because he's a political animal who has deamed the ends justify the means.

[Crown]

Frankly I hope Tom Zareck gets in charge, and quick. There's only so much of the President's drug-addled ego trip I can take. Just for a change. And I believed him when he said he didn't kill the would-be assasisn. Meh, I like the guy.

Tom Zareck is a sadistic-god-complex-mother-fucker who should be pushed out of an air lock at the earliest possible convenience. Are we so quick to forget Bastille Day? His 'best mate' was a rapist who tried to rape Cally, when Apollo and Zareck were outside the cell, and the rapist was about to kill Cally, Zareck did nothing. Actually I tell a small truth. He started blaming Apollo for the whole situation, saying that the system 'made' this man 'do this' to Cally.

What a fucktard. I think I'd pick an 'the arrow of Apollo will open the temple of Athena' nut over this sociopath any day of the week, and twice during Armageddon.

[Hardy]

The one thing that bugged me was the portrayal of the Geminons as ultra fundies. You know the scene "So and So you're from Geminon, you'd know the scriptures better than anyone is this true?" UGH. That would be akin to me going "Hasan, your people make bombs whip us up some bomb vests for the defense of our neighborhood from gentrification." Not eveyone is alike and to say that one racial group is X is such a writer's fiat and an insulting one at that.

The Geminons could have a state-sponsored/encouraged religious education that rivals that of the other colonies, giving them a reputation for having a better knowledge of the scriptures.

[Grasscutter]

Tigh was the one that saved the ship in the miniseries by closing the bulhead and killing a hundred people but he made that choice without hesitation. If this were the current Tigh the Galactica would have been lost.

Now Tigh is just there to prove how great a commander Adama is because now the audience wants him to come back because Tigh is such a moron. Sorry, that's too simplistic for what I'm used to in this show.

I agree to a point, I'll be honest Tigh is my favourite character in the show, I have a weakness for that type of character. When it comes to combat or ship operations Tigh is more than competant and has saved Galactica on more than one occasion. Its just outside of these situations, eg the current political situation, that he is useless.

I think they had him slide into drunken incompetence a little too quickly, but it's not entirely unbelievable. Tigh's stated that he never wanted a command, and now not only is he responsible for the Galactica but also the fleet and humanity's survival. I'd certainly start freaking out.