Huh, go figure.

Nothing like trying to read a blogger/blog-spot blog and getting a “website not available” message to clue in on the worthless of blogger.

I pay $100 a year for this website, and the benefit of not having to rely on the sometimes-very-unreliable Blogspot. I have hosting through smarterlinux.com, and I’m certain there are better hosting deals available on the ‘net. In my opinion, though, a hundred smackers a year is a cheap price to avoid the hassles of blogger.

For those of you using blogspot, consider your own domain. Being a dot-netter rules.

I’ve lived in this apartment for a little over two and a half years. In that time, I’ve had four sets of neighbors in the adjoining apartment. Currently, the Alpha Dog of Apartment B, drives a crappy, paint-peeling Dodge Neon, with two exhaust pipes. No matter where I am in my apartment, I can hear him pulling in and out of the parking lot, revvin’ the engine.

Dude, why not spend the cash on a nicer car instead of putting in an extra tail pipe? Or, better yet, shirts that aren’t wife-beaters?

On the bright side, everything staying to form, he’ll be gone in six months.

… and once again, we start the episode and then jump back in time. I think non-chronological order can be a neat convention, but I also know that in the last batch of five episodes it’s been used three times and, uh, getting a little old here.

So Galactica is tasked with defending a mining ship that’s processing a valuable ore that can be used to repair and construct new ships. Pegasus has apparently transfered over a bunch of her Mark VIIs and is in the process of building new Vipers — I wonder if Pegasus has the capability to manufacture new Mark VIIs — with a big enough machine shop, and probably a lot of spare parts on hand — and I imagine so … big leap considering the Chief nearly killed himself building Laura. The fleet is also apparently actively recruiting new pilots since Galactica has just recieved a new cadre of nugget pilots.

The episode opens with Kat and Starbuck flying patrol, both in Mark VIIs. I’ll be honest — the Mark VII is ugly compared to the old Mark II. In any case, what is Kat doing flying a VII? She was one of the recruits brought aboard with Hot Dog, and it was explained that without simulators to accustom them to the powerful controls aboard the more modern Viper (well, that and they only had Lee’s, I think), they’d turn themselves into paste with their first manuever (in retrospect, I guess Kat could’ve used Pegasus‘ simulator, which I again assume the other ship has).

Do you remember an episode of TNG titled “The Lower Decks” which featured a bunch of low ranking folks aboard Enterprise? Well, this is that episode of BSG, except they didn’t have to create new characters — this is the pilots’ episode (I’ll admit to surprise that the Chief and Cally got little or no screentime), and while Starbuck features heavily, Lee gets action (heh), Helo gets some lines, Kat shines, and Hot Dog’s using too much gel in his hair.

This was as much an action episode as a character study. Starbuck’s losing her edge, pining for Anders who she left — abandoned — on Caprica (see BSG 2×4 and 2×5). She’s drinking heavily, ignoring her responsibilities, and taking out her pain over recent pilot deaths on the nuggets (which leads, indirectly, to a nugget’s death). Discussing tactics with Helo, she mentions that she considered a manuever and then decided against it because she was almost certain it would have meant her death, (paraphrasing here) “… y’know, a few months ago, I wouldn’t have cared, just done it and hoped I could’ve pulled out of the fire somehow.” As Helo replies, “Now you have something to live for … not just to die for.”

Starbuck’s issues are compounded by a growing rivalry from Kat, who has gone from a nugget washed out of flight-training in Act of Contrition, to a frazzled stim-junkie in Final Cut, and is now proving herself as one of the most capable pilots on Galactica’s flight roster. Kat — like Starbuck — is a bit arrogant about it, challenging Starbuck in the pilot’s mess, at flight briefings, and the shooting range.

Complicating all of this is a Cylon fighter named “Scar” by Galactica’s crew. The mining ship is conducting operations in an asteroid field, and the ship’s dradis (radar) can’t distinguish between rocks and Cylons (speaking of, was Gaeta in this episode?). One particular Cylon — Scar — has been picking off Galactica’s pilots one by one. Discussing with Sharon Mk II, Starbuck learns that the human-model Cylons aren’t the only ones which can be “resurrected” … pilot drones can, too. “All that flight and combat experience, otherwise lost… if you could keep that, put it into a new body, wouldn’t you?”

Scar seems to have a particular, uh, dislike, for Starbuck. I wonder if that might come from having Starbuck literally cut up his head as she did to a Cylon fighter in You Can’t Go Home Again.

Ultimately, Starbuck ends the episode a better pilot — her carefree attitude is gone, she’s not willing to hog the spotlight of her shipmates’ glory anymore (indeed, she gives Kat a great victory), and she’s turning into a much more valuable member of Galactica’s command.

Look, I’ll sum it up for you — if you like to see attractive blondes getting drunk, getting it on, getting in “kat” fights (har har) and flying space-fighters around like they’re Bo Duke in the General Lee and getting into some hair-raising stunts in asteroid fields while attacking a determined — ugly — Cylon, well, this episode is for you.