Battlestar Galactica
Review: Adama's command is tested in Litmus.
With Starbuck safely tucked up in a hospital bed it's time for the Galactica crew to combat their next biggest problem; dowsing the fire in the collective pants of Chief Tyrol and sleeper agent Boomer - oh and some pesky Cylon suicide bombers wreaking havoc with stolen explosives.
What follows is a taut, slow-burning excursion, as Adama appoints an independent investigation designed to flush out any Cylon collaborators. Yep, it's time for a good old fashioned witch hunt, handled with all the skilful deliberation of a half-cut Mr Blobby on a treadmill.
Predictably, things very quickly go south: Tyrol's staff-wide cover-up of his and Boomer's affair gets misinterpreted as collusion with Cylon agents. Before you know it, Tyrol's self-imposed silence under interrogation is quickly seen as an admission of something a tad more serious than some inter-species hanky panky. Typically it takes Adama - with Olmos acting the pants and vests off of all and sundry - to clear up the fracas.
Meanwhile, the President goes public with the news that Cylons now come in handy human form, paving the way for many a frenetic press conference. OK, it's doesn't sound that explosive, but it's a pitch perfect counterpoint to Tyrol's courtroom crisis and Helo's as yet unexplained misadventures on Cylon-controlled Caprica.
Speaking of confusing asides, the Gaius Baltar stuff is getting a bit annoying. Even the writers seem to have cottoned onto this, because we're seeing less father-of-Cylon-dom-whispering-sweet-everythings-to-his-imaginary-girlfriend with every new episode.
And let's face it, in a situation where anyone and everyone could be a Cylon traitor, wouldn't the authorities take more than a dim view of some bleary-eyed space cad stopping mid-sentence to furiously rub himself up against a flip-chart?
Here's a question for you; if Number Six really is just in Baltar's head, why can't he simply tune out the troublesome minx? Unless...
Tae Mawson