Battlestar Galactica

“Bastille Day”

2.5 stars.

Air date: 1/21/2005
Written by Toni Graphia
Directed by Allan Kroeker

Review Text

After a stellar launch of this series, "Bastille Day" is the reality check proving Battlestar Galactica's fallibility — or at least its capability of producing exceptionally average television. There are good moments and dialog in "Bastille Day," to be sure, but on the whole the episode is way too familiar, and inconclusive in some key ways that short-change the audience.

Following up the events of "Water," it turns out that harvesting that water is not going to be easy. It's more like an icy mining operation, and is going to require hard labor in a dangerous environment. Ideally, this would require a work force of 1,000 people. It so happens that included in the fleet is a prison transport vessel, the Astral Queen, which was transporting inmates for parole hearings when the Cylons attacked. Roslin is quick to point out that these prisoners are not slaves, so Lee recommends pitching to them the idea of an optional work detail that would give them points toward earning their freedom.

The prisoners are not what you would call receptive to this idea. On behalf of the entire population, a prisoner named Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the 1978 Battlestar Galactica) declines the offer. All the prisoners chant "Zarek, Zarek" when he does this. He is highly respected among his fellow inmates.

Who is Tom Zarek? He's from Sagittaron, the apparently second-class colony that was long exploited by the other 11 colonies. Zarek is a terrorist according to some, a freedom fighter according to others. He's serving a sentence for the bombing of a government building. He's a famous and controversial figure even among the regular characters. For example, the president's aide, Billy Keikeya (Paul Campbell), has some sympathy for Zarek's plight. But Petty Officer Dualla (Kandyse McClure), who is actually from Sagittaron, labels Zarek a maniac and says he does not speak for the Sagittaron people at all.

One of the problems with "Bastille Day" is that Zarek is a somewhat sketchy character. There's a difference between complex and muddled, and Zarek it the latter, not the former. His backstory is left vague and open-ended, making it very hard for us to determine what he's really about. Okay, so he bombed a government building. Whose building was it? How many were killed, and who were they? The reference of a bombed government building makes us instinctively think Timothy McVeigh, but Zarek's clearly intended by the writers as more of a political prisoner. But he's not a "political prisoner," because what he did was clearly criminal.

And, for that matter, what about Sagittaron? The notion of it being the one colony exploited by the other 11 strikes me as something worth exploring. Was there warfare? Threats of secession from the colonial structure? What was the political climate of Sagittaron, and indeed all the colonies, when Zarek's bombing happened? The episode offers precious little in terms of how the politics work and how the colonies were allied or in conflict. Consequently, it's hard for us to get a feel for whether Zarek's extreme act was even vaguely justifiable under the political circumstances, or simply a violent crime.

The bigger problem is that the plot at hand is too routine. With several military personnel aboard the Astral Queen, there's a prisoner uprising and Zarek takes hostages and starts making demands — turning the episode into a crisis/standoff between the prisoners and the Galactica. It's almost as if the writers said, "Okay, we have this prison ship we talked about in the pilot, so time to do the prison riot episode!"

The hostage standoff has predictable results: demands, attempted negotiations, rejections, and setting up for the sniper to take the subject out. The sniper is Starbuck. One of the hostages is Lee. Lee has a running dialog with Zarek, much of which centers on his arguments for freedom, the demand that Roslin resign, and that the people get a fair election. Under the circumstances, given that most of society has been destroyed and Roslin has been sworn in under the law, I don't see what possible good could come of elections right now, which would more likely be anarchy. Of course, it probably doesn't help that Zarek continuously uses the word "freedom" as a Grand Idea with little Actual Content supporting it. (The utility of that word has been whittled away thanks to its ridiculous overuse by the Bush administration, but never mind.)

The show's best scenes happen in the periphery. For example, there's Tigh's ever-so-slight loopiness in an early scene after he's had his morning drink. This subtly revisits his alcoholism in a way that seems plausible, since anything more overt would have us questioning why he wasn't cashiered from the service years ago. Tigh has some other good scenes as the hard-assed XO, including another run-in with Starbuck; he objects to how she makes light of her pilots' mistakes. A few scenes later he has a brisk little speech when he orders Sharon to stop her affair with Tyrol: "Back when the ship was being decommissioned we let you two get away with it. Hell we let everyone get away with murder, but that was then and this is now. We're at war, this is a combat unit, and you're his superior officer. Put it a stop to it."

Meanwhile, Adama finally calls Baltar on his BS over the Cylon detector. Baltar responds with more clever BS, saying he needs the plutonium from a nuclear warhead in order to make the detection process work (the Galactica has only five warheads). I'm not sure where this is going, but Adama seems to go along with this fairly easily considering the magnitude of the request and the overall oddness that is Gaius Baltar.

On Caprica, Helo and Boomer have reached a city and go walking through empty streets. The city is completely deserted — "like a movie," Helo says. Yeah, a contrived movie. Where are all the people and/or bodies? Okay, rats are eating a corpse, but there's only ONE corpse. And all the buildings in the city are standing and unscathed. Why wasn't the city destroyed when the Cylons attacked? And since the city wasn't destroyed ... where are all the people? This subplot is going to get tedious if it's week after week of Sharon and Helo walking around "Cylon-occupied Caprica." On the plus side, we do finally see some Cylons watching over these two, hinting that Helo's presence is part of their "plan."

There's some decent material in the episode's endgame. While I found the notion of "Zarek is doing all of this for headlines and publicity" to be lame and obvious, Lee gets some good speeches about democracy and elections and ensures that Zarek doesn't become a martyr. He has a clever solution and makes a deal with Zarek that Adama and Roslin both argue wasn't his to make. The genius of his deal, however, is that it's true to the law. And if we're throwing out the law, Lee says, "I'm not a captain, you're not a commander, and you're not the president."

So would the prisoners then be so willing to follow Zarek's lead and carry out the water operation? I'm really not so sure. I have my doubts that a ship full of prisoners would be so unified as to follow one man, however popular, about anything. Just as the people on board the Galactica don't agree on Zarek, I doubt that the inmates would either.

The bottom line is that Zarek is a puzzle, and "Bastille Day" is at times less than convincing, even when it isn't employing hostage and prison clichés.

Previous episode: Water
Next episode: Act of Contrition

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19 comments on this post

    After watching the election Zarek made me think about William Ayers and the people in his group.

    "There's a difference between complex and muddled, and Zarek it the latter, not the former."

    Yes, that's the distinction I was looking for when trying to understand why I didn't care for this character or the story built around him. He wasn't complex, morally ambiguous, or conflicted as much as he was just muddled.

    For example, one minute he's happily anticipating dying as a martyr in a hail of bullets, because he knows a rescue operation is underway and that it will likely result in a bloodbath; then the next moment his little heart is breaking because he's shocked to discover criminal behavior among his fellow prisoners has resulted in bloodshed, forcing him to reevaluate his whole life.

    Like you, I wish they had spent more time filling in some of the details of his politics and history, and giving us a more consistent picture of a conflicted man trying to reconcile idealism with necessity. I think Richard Hatch would have been up to it and it could have been a more interesting character and, by extension, a more interesting story.

    I don't know, guys; I didn't think there was anything missing from the story. I didn't need any further background into Zarek to be able to conclude--rightly, I think--that he is above everything else a self-promoter. The only thing that didn't sit well was his apparent quest for martyrdom; I found that to be incongruous considering his self-interest.

    The ending is confusing: If the prison vessel contains--by the uber-politically correct president's admission--hardened criminals, who were ab initio to be excluded from any deals with the inmates, then why were they all nevertheless permitted free reign of the ship in the end?

    Anyone else hope "madam president" loses the election? Where do I make a donation to whoever's running against her?

    OK, I agree that this one was sub-par compared to the first four, but it's a mild stutter step in an otherwise consistently brilliant series thus far.

    By the way, I have nothing against a sci-fi or fantasy series inventing its own swear words - in fact I'm all for it. But couldn't they come up with something a little more imaginitive than "Frak"?

    When a Klingon calls you a petak you don't know what it means, but you don't have to. "Frak" sounds like what it is - a substitute for (expletive deleted).

    The first episode to be rather mundane. Didn't help that the title video depicted almost all the events of the later acts. I'm finding the whole "Occupied Caprica" sub-story to be entirely implausible. The devastation we saw in the pilot, shouldn't amount to pristine sunny skies, a little rain and cities standing without a scratch. One shot alone featured 8 mushroom clouds in the distance. Apollo had some very strong words in the later acts - it was just a very convoluted and at times boring road.

    Rewatching and this was definitely a misfire. The problem is the character of Zarek. Not the fault of the actor, but the writers - he is simply not consistent enough. Agree that it would be important to know if Zarek is supposed to be Bill Ayers or Timothy McVeigh - or Bill Ayers painted to be McVeigh?

    Yawn. That pretty much sums it up. McDonnell's acting seemed a bit too flat though - I wish she was more energetic at times.

    As a fan of the original BSG, I liked the subtle comparisons between the old and the new during the stretches of Lee-Zarek dialogue. Quite a lot of subtle irony if you knew what to listen for ("Son of Zeus"). Still I wish they'd gave us more specifics on Zarek's story - would have improved the ep immensely. And exactly how did the prisoners get so many guns before springing their escape? That was just too out of the blue for me to accept. I'm ok with Starbuck being the "best shot in the fleet" though, for dramatic purposes.

    I'd still give it bare minimum 3 stars - It was still pretty good, but nothing that really made one ponder for long afterward.

    And moreover what is that kid Boxey doing helping Starbuck give the flight briefing?! I couldn't stand him in the original BSG and I can't stand him here.

    Soooooo glad they ditched Boxie as a thing as the series went on.

    Jamie Bamber's English accent is all over the place in this episode. I think he does a passable "American enough to pass for Edward James Olmos' son" most of the time, but in places here it was very apparent.

    I do like that they didn't just stunt case Old Apollo. They gave him a real character to play who added an unpredictable element to the universe, and who they could bring back in interesting ways as the series went on (even if I had my frustrations with the Zarek character on occasion, I always liked what he represented).

    Weakest episode so far as it seemed a bit more contrived and more like episodic TV.
    Still held my interest throughout and despite needing to do something halfway through the episode I didn't pause it and go back, I had to watch till the conclusion.

    @Justin -
    FYI, they didn't invent 'frak'. The original series did (actually "frack" in 1978). And yeah, it is pretty obvious what it means. But, for 1978, that was pretty edgy....
    It's one of the nice hold-overs from the original (I'm glad they dropped the "turbo flush" for the toilet.)

    Hello Everyone!

    No, I didn't like it quite as much as the first few episodes, but it had its moments.

    I sort of thought they left Zarek incomplete so that it would be difficult to make our minds up about him. I originally thought he must be a bad guy because he was in jail, and he blew up a building. Then they made him sympathetic to some of the characters and a devil to others. The audience cannot make a simple, quick decision, but must see how he plays out.

    On the other hand, I believe the story said the prisoners were heading to Caprica for parole hearings, and one of the most divisive prisoners of their age just happens to be on the boat. Mmmmm.... Naaaah...

    Using prisoners to do a dangerous job was used in the original BSG episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero ". At least I think that was the one.

    I am rewatching the episodes and am having fun doing it. I didn't start watching until later in season 2.5 (I didn't have SciFi until then) and then saw the earlier ones during a later marathon. I was starting to view them again just as Netflix lost them. Hulu now. 😀

    Enjoy the day... RT

    Janeway would have just beamed the ice in Voyager's tank, job's done, lol. :P

    I dont get it, there are thousands of people onboard the ships, why only the prisoners should risk their lives to extract the water? And what if a prisoner is old or unable to labour, won't he get "freedom points"?

    The elections idea was neat on the other hand, so we can have a political drama aswell!

    Ah, the "prisoners must be treated like kings and have more rights than the people they raped/robbed/murdered". Typical Western hand-wringing, from the days before our world went crazy with West-shaming. The human race is on the verge of extinction. Any labour force has been wiped out and the remaining humans are bogged down with a hundred life or death problems. Let's make sure that the hardened criminals who gave the middle finger to society are cosseted in bubble wrap and given every chance to elevate themselves. That way we can make up for the immense shame of what previous generations (not us, but people long dead) did. Because what happened 200 years ago somehow reflects on us and we need to be taught a lesson, even though we've done nothing wrong? Just get the bloody prisoners on the asteroid and shoot those who riot - these are the end times and you cannot afford to carry those who would destroy you.

    Another one of those crazy left wing people.
    You left wingers always starting stupid debates with offensive statements.
    Humane treatment of prisoners equals West bad. Grow up!
    Go back to Portland and burn a tire, Captain Antifa!

    Humane treating of prisoners? Sounds like a Trekkish value for me.

    Not sure how this is related to "the crazy left wing people", many of which don't seem to be interested in being "humane" towards anyone right now.

    And before somebody wants to accuse me of starting another political mud-fight:

    My entire point here is that the humanist values of compassion are beyond politics. And that people's actions and views should be judged by what they really are, rather then the specific spot on the political map they occupy.

    I think the word “slavery” gets thrown around too much. Nobody’s treating them like slaves, it nobody calls Zarek on his BS either. Kind of interesting Apollo was experimenting with socialism in college, lol. Wonder if he smoked any Caprican herb too *gasp*

    3 stars for me. Discovery got me burnt out on Star Trek, and I’m just shocked how even this weaker episode is still better than most of Disco’s stronger ones. So far so good.

    I think this was a great episode, introducing us to Zarek as a thoughtful person actually as opposed to a violent thug, which is exactly the view both Roslin and especially Adama have of him. And I disagree he is not a "political prisoner". I mean yes he is in there for a crime, as he should be, but his book is banned so in many ways he is also there for political reasons, even if not officially as per court records.

    What I find interesting is the glimpse we get into the society of these people which appears to be democratic but only on the surface because when you look beneath it exposes a highly undemocratic, oppressive society with fascistic tendencies . We find all this out later on of course when we see Adama (and Roslin) and sometimes even together, just casually do away with democratic rules and the rule of law and stripping people off their rights etc or move the goal post when it fits their end goals.

    The fact that they engage in book banning is pretty obvious and damning. I mean think about, what kind of a free society bans books? That they resort to using prisoners to do dangerous labor instead of asking the civilian population is another indicator of the kind of society this is. And it ain't democratic.

    Adama clearly doesn't believe a society should treats its prison population a certain way. He wants them all dead, hence the "offer" to have them work this dangerous job.

    Again, much like how they appear to be democratic, they pretend to give these people a choice but you know that is not the case. Adama is itching to hold them all at gun point and force them to do what he needs them to do and he is furious at the end when Lee actually tries to struck a somewhat equitable deal with them and entered into an actual dialog with them.

    Adama is a man who is not above threatening to murder the wife and child of someone under his command if he does not break off a strike. So who is the violent thug who has little regard for life in this? Zarek? Or Adama? Or maybe both and there are no innocent souls. Remember Adama is the man who just an episode ago gave the orders to shoot down a civilian ship because it was strategically advantageous. That he gets on his high horse and calls Zarek a terrorist is pretty rich but expected of the hypocrite both he and Roslin are.

    The only person who exhibits any sort of integrity is, as usual, Lee.

    Great episode for Lee Adama — has to choose between the military and the civilian side, as said by his father. And ultimately he makes his choice after spending a lot of time with the leader of the prisoners Tom Zarek.

    Kept thinking of the VOY’s “Repentance” and the similar prison break scenes and with the one prisoner who has a conscience. Interesting to compare how BSG is just more brutal than classic Trek. I don’t think the part with Calle and the rapist prisoner was necessary — but this just emphasizes the brutality here. Surely they could find another way to develop Calle…

    Zarek also reminded me of Lee Nalas and he is sincere about wanting democracy, elections. Lee holding him at gunpoint with Starbuck trying to kill him was compelling given the choice put to Zarek and Lee really having no authority to make the offer. It may be a cliche type of scene but the motivations were worthy and weighty, I feel. Enough good conversations between Zarek and Lee Adama, who ultimately reminds Roslin of the law - that she’s only president for another 7 months.

    And so the Cylons see themselves as children of humanity and are coming into their own and that the demise of humanity was inevitable… The scenes on Caprica are a bit weird -- like where did all the people go??

    Starbuck continues to irritate me — pretty cliche about her being some kind of expert shooter and b/c she’s needed she can be unprofessional and insubordinate all day long. And I guess since it’s 3 episodes in, I’ll say I have no idea how smoking is allowed on these spaceships…

    W. Adama is going to give Baltar some plutonium from a nuke… desperate times call for desperate measures. Wonder why No. 6 let Baltar bullshit W. Adama for so long before getting to the point — wouldn’t that weaken his character when asking for the nuke?

    3 stars for "Bastille Day" -- now starting to see the BSG formula and it works very well in establishing tension and coming up with sensible outcomes. But there are a lot of subplots being juggled here -- a lot of little "relationships" are taking twists & turns. I liked Zarek and how he ironically does serve as a reminder of the rule of law and that even under these circumstances, it shouldn't be military / government authoritarian rule. So it would seem BSG is trying to cover all considerations / angles of the dire situation.

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