BSG 1.6 "Litmus" Reaction

[leadensky.livejournal.com]

Note: This was written without checking anything on line for character names, etc, and after only one viewing. I may correct assumptions after I watch again, and I welcome disagreement/dissenting opinions. And this review wanders all over the place, theme wise. Sorry about that.


For an ep where all the action took place before the credits, this one had me on the edge of my seat. Given the nature of lj-land, and the vocal, bitter tone many people living there have taken when the subject of (military) tribunals come up in real life, I’m very interested in what people saw in this ep. *puts on people watching googles*

Only I’m typing this up on my dumb laptop, ie - the one not on the net, and so there are no lj-people to watch. *sigh* *puts away googles.*

***

What are the rules? It seems this universe has a multitude of legal codes – the Articles of Colonization (I note with some amusement and history geekishness that civil liberties are enumerated within the Articles, rather than being amendments) the Code of Military Conduct, the sins defined by the Lords of Kobal and the law of not ratting out your friends/co-workers.

And there may or may not be another set of rules –

Rule number one - don’t fuck up.
Rule number two - when you fuck up, don’t get caught
Rule number three - when you get caught, never, ever, ever lie about it.
There are no other rules.

***

We have here quests for truth - Adama’s for the threat, Hadrian’s for…whatever demons she sees, the Chief’s for his relationship with Vallery. We have fears of consequences - do I really need to name all these? Death, dishonor, destruction, failure, betrayal. We have people making the best choice of several possible paths - all bad - (I can not see the kid’s choice as other than what he thought (however much in error) was best serving “his people”) and we have attempts to deal rationally with the irrational - because what rationality remains when we start talking about love and fear and loyalty? For this viewer - especially this long-time military-supporting and just lately Adama-worshipping viewer - this was a hard ep to watch. But for the part of me that loves seeing a story told in the old Greek tradition, where it is the hero’s virtues as well as his flaws that bring him to a tragic end, this was a treat.

Once upon a time, there was this TV show - about two government agents with a rather narrow area of investigation. Guy agent, gal agent, tall agent, short agent. The short one had red hair. Maybe some you watched this show too? Anyway, on this show, the tall agent was given to making (some what) educated guesses and suppositions that turned out, quite often (statistically impossibly) to be correct. And while see what was going to happen was great fun, it was occasionally a pain in the ass to have the tall agent making these guesses based on practically no information at all. Out of thin air, so to speak.

I know it wasn’t just me who thought it was annoying - the short agent wasn’t happy about it either.

BSG isn’t - thus far - falling into that trap. Last episode (You Can’t Go Home Again) and then this one both had people following - slowly, tediously, tenaciously - a trail of evidence and testimony that led them to a conclusion. Granted, there was much less investigation last week than this week, but the inquiring minds were different as well. My point is, finally, a show that respects the scientific method.

And one that acknowledges the limitations of public opinion, the necessities of security, the influence of politics, the pressure of passing time and the complexity of human relationships, and the effect all of these have on the fragile human apprehension of fact. And the apprehension of truth.

*re-reads that last* It is quite possible this ep wasn’t really all that and a bag of chips. (I especially have trouble with some things about Hadrian which I will go into later.) I could be reading things into it that weren’t there, or seeing things that other people interpret differently. (It would not be the first time - for a series of reasons almost entirely internal, I adored the FS ep A Prefect Murder, which many people did not care for.) At any rate, I’m leaving the gushing assessment to stand.

***

After the explosion and the confirmation that there are Cylons in the fleet, Adama and Roslin are forced into some hard choices. A threat exists - a crack in the security of the Fleet and of its main battleship in particular. The initial breach has been mended, but there is no way to tell where the next hole will appear. The extent of the danger must be determined, if possible, but not at the expense of tearing a hole in the hull to find where the crack ran. But, to carry that analogy a bit further, it is impossible to rule out any portions of the ship as solid. The weakness could be anywhere.

And so Hadrian’s request for free rein, which Adama must give her. He must have outside personnel to weigh the evidence - hence the tribunal. Much of what goes on is dependant on Roslin’s assessment of public opinion - something that, perhaps, she gives overmuch weight while Adama considers it inconsequential. The matter must be resolved and it must be finished quickly.

(Last week I warned people against bringing Behind Enemy Lines. This time I will advise people to not quote a certain person at me and say "It's impossible to get justice from a military trial." Just don’t go there.)

It’s hard to say, for me, what parts of Hadrian’s investigation and questioning were on target, what was mega mania and what was righteous indignation. Part of this is because I as the viewer know that Tyrel and Vallery’s relationship is key to the investigation, and not a distraction. Another part is the acceptance in that universe that Tyrel and Vallery’s relationship was as described (illicit). And part is because I’m still trying to suss out the power, command and responsibility issues for this universe.

Hadrian is the Master at Arms, the safety investigation NCO, and (I think) a member of the security force. There were eight to ten Marines left on Galactica - who went with Starbuck to Astral Queen. I didn’t see Hadrian with them. Her uniform is also not the same as the deck crew’s, or the CIC crew, which is another thing that makes me lean towards Marine.

(Barkely has already addressed the issues of rank structure and the mix of AirForce/Marine terms with Naval ranks and the headaches the script writers’ near-random use of whatever term seems handy is giving those of us with a passing knowledge of US or other nation military ranks.)

Just what Hadrian’s job would be - as side from being the NCOIC of the armory, and would her area extend to general munitions or just the small arms? - I don’t know. As I understand it, a US battleship would not have a legal department assigned - officers who are graduates of law schools and specially educated in military law. (Lawyers, in other words.) So I understand the lack of actual legal expertise on board. The tribunals had not officers but civilians, and the questioning official was an NCO, not an officer. This is an area of non-overlap with US policy. Other areas of non-congruence I’m not aware of, but I’m sure they’re there. (It was a great irritation this week not having the time to look things up.)

(Having said all that: Meshing entirely with US policy is not one of my requirements for this show. However, if the intent is to make some sort of comment on modern tribunals, the more congruence the better. “Fair and just trials” are areas of great contention in the US - it seems every time a judgment is reached, an announcement of intent to file appeal is the next word out of the loser’s mouth. So if Moore and the like intend to favor one side or the other, a greater congruence would be better in order to make a sound argument. (Vs, say, the last few seasons of West Wing, where the writers - including Alan Sorkin - more often than not failed to depict Republican stances with any great accuracy.) However, if the intent is to depict a sense of the urgency and complex factors influencing the choice for and the conduct of a tribunal, then less overlap is fine.)

(In a similar vein, if Moore eventually intends to explore the US’s breath of religious feeling through the Olympic Pantheon (because, say, you can talk about the Korean War where talking about the Vietnam War only gets you into a shouting match) I’m fine with that, so long as he doesn’t make any major errors of analogy. (There is, for instance, no “National Religious Leader” and no “Chief Priest” in the USA, and any similar official connection between church and state would wreck Moore’s analogy all to pieces. However, I could see a sketch of worship in the Colonial Pantheon being a constant jostling of those who favor Apollo (the god) vs. those who follow Athena as being fairly similar to the realities of religion in the US. (Similar, not exact.))

Where was I? Oh, yeah, looking at Hadrian’s investigation. Hadrian appeared to be filling the roles of both investigation (police) and lawyer, with interrogation (used as a confrontational form of interview) being conducted in front of the judges.

The weakness of Hadrian’s approach was, imo, her reliance on interrogation alone instead of folding in physical evidence as well. It is possible that she did not possess the tech to take fingerprints from the arms locker or the hatch, so I am not sure how much weight to put on that. I also understand that she was pushing against time and that on a ship underway segregating personnel so they could not compare stories would be near impossible. But her biggest error, I think, came from casting her net too wide, too soon - by attempting to climb the chain and pull in Adama instead of focusing on the smaller fry, she ended up letting Vallery go. It is certainly possible that persons higher in the chain of command could have been involved, but a more experienced lawyer would have told Hadrian what generations of military and mob investigators have learned - start at the bottom and roll your way up.

I don’t know if we’re expected to understand that there is a long time rivalry or distrust between Hadrian and Tyrel. Hadrian’s initial intent seemed to be to follow the Chief’s disassembling and use his misbehavior with Vallery as a wedge to bring out his activities. Why Vallery wasn’t questioned further I don’t know - is it possible that an officer was taken at her word that the relationship was broken off? Was there anyone who could attest to her where abouts? (Crashdown, perhaps). I’m not sure what to make of the free pass (nearly free pass) that Vallery got. She was the higher ranking officer. What did/will Adama say to her?

As for testifying about whereabouts - Somehow I really doubt that Calley has her own room. (Starbuck and the rest of the pilots don’t, although I would have expected two to a room rather than four or six.) Likewise Vallery. The chief might have his own room (as might Lee) - we’ve seen that Tigh bunks alone - but the Chief's quarters, I bet any money, would more resemble a modern phone booth than Adama’s (relative) luxury. As always, I stand ready to be corrected by canon.

Barkley said something a week or three back about how BSG was a walking advertisement for enforcement of frat rules. It has also been a show case of the positive attributes of military virtue - willing self-sacrifice, devotion to duty, courage of all kinds, loyalty, never-say-die, thirst for glory. So the viewer understands why the military values what it does and why it condemns what it does. This ep and last, both, though, have also shown the underside of military virtues - of the errors that can come of loyalty and glory-fever and unlimited power and willing sacrifice.

Just as I cheered Adama’s guts in giving Hadrian free rein, so I was shocked when he shut her down. I’m not convinced that would have been necessary if he had - if he could have - assigned another officer or NCO to assist Hadrian. And I’m not sure if he has not done more damage to his reputation and his standing in the eyes of the Fleet by doing so.

One final thing in closing - Litmus is a test of pH - defined as the inverse log of the concentration of HO- molecules. These molecules are, in relative terms, very small in concentration. There are many orders of magnitude more oxygen and water molecules in blood than there are HO ions. And yet the safe margin of variation of this substance is even less. Normal mammalian blood pH is about 7.4. Shifting that as much as 0.3 is very frequently fatal. (Tiny bit more about litmus here.

So I like the title for this ep quite a lot - a test yes, but a test of gradations, not absolutes, and one where the edges of danger are very close at hand.

Short Notes:

I have made my peace with the clip show of the ep in progress. While the purist in me still *hates* with the white-hot passion of a thousand burning suns, the sci-fi fan who’s had two shows canceled out from under her (and many more that she never watched 7 Days because their end came too soon) and who understands that for a non-Trek show the question generally is not if but when - and even Trek shows are not proof anymore - that viewer welcomes anything that reeks of innovation and genuine attempts to draw in (Nelson) viewers.

Question for other viewers - I could have sworn that last ep in the clip show Vallery was saying “I’m a Cylon” - was this a clip manipulation from earlier in the series or they just haven’t gotten to that part? I know there is another scene they haven’t gotten to yet, either.

Moore and co have my love for continuity. They were forecasting things in this ep as far back as 1.1 - Crashdown’s attempts to protect Vallery, Adama’s sailing ship, the missing explosives, Tyrel and Vallery (back to the mini, actually), etc.

This is the first time we’ve seen actual use of rank intimidation (or attempted intimidation).

I want credit for calling it *ages* in advance: the deck gang has a still. And there is a line being drawn between people who are expendable and people who are not - Adama and the Chief, “I need my planes to fly.”

Tigh still hasn’t forgiven Adama. He’ll die for the man, but he’s still pissed.

I don't like the open vats of water (Tyrel and Vallery’s lovenest). On a ship under way, this makes about six zillion kinds of no sense.

No Lee at all this ep - and it took me until now to notice. Very little Starbuck. But given last week, I think I would want to spend as much time as possible in a quiet place, thinking.

Totally not impressed with the Caprica storyline, right up to the point where CapricaSix started wailing on CapricaBoomer. Go figure. The way they filmed that was creepy as fuck.

Roslin throws Adama’s words to Lee back at Adama in this ep - You sound like a lawyer. I wonder how much the boys’ grandfather had to do with their raising.

Comments

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

a show that respects the scientific method.

And one that acknowledges the limitations of public opinion, the necessities of security, the influence of politics, the pressure of passing time and the complexity of human relationships, and the effect all of these have on the fragile human apprehension of fact. And the apprehension of truth.

I'm not fond of courtroom dramas, so the uncovering of evidence and interrogation of witnesses did nothing for me. Aside from that, though, I appreciated the very things you listed above. Even in an episode that I didn't adore, there was still much to love about the worldbuilding acheived and the consequences of our character's actions.

And I loved the still too. And that Tyrol will help them improve their alcohol.

[leadensky.livejournal.com]

Of course Tyrol will help them fix it. It's not like he didn't do such things when he was a deck hand himself.

I liked Litmus in entirely different ways than I liked the other eps thus far.

- hg