Battlestar Galactica - And So It Begins

I couldn’t help but think of the unease with AI and ongoing development of cybernetic beings created by man, improvements in the field of technology that continues to evolve up to right now. A little robot can clean up your floors and machines have advanced to the point where you can feel the pleasures of sex through a device that mimics gender body parts. Speaking of seducing men through cybernetic tech, Tricia Helfer is a female “synthetic cylon”—quite an improvement over the “chrome toasters” of the past (chrome toaster robots with glowing laser eye that beats back and forth that I am quite fond of, going back to my own youth)—who seems to leave destruction wherever she goes. The ole humanoid/cylon “treaty” is undergoing a bit of a “shakeup”. Shakeup in that the cylons have coordinated a “twelve colony massacre”, looking to render humanoid kind extinct. Not only are the “more advanced” Battlestars ultimately destroyed, defense mechanisms/networks supposed to protect cities like Caprica are disrupted thanks to Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), who gets a bit carried away thanks to Helfer’s very sensual and accommodating cylon, allowing her to gain access to all the protections and tech available. And it all goes horribly wrong. Baltar, of course, likes the ladies so Helfer’s “Number Six” isn’t his only bedmate. He freaks, obviously, when she tells him he helped her essentially inadvertently betray his people (the near-genocide of millions of people is quite overwhelming). When he’s chosen over others who must remain behind on his world when an officer accompanying Lt Valeri (Grace Park of Hawaii 5-0) considers him too important to die because of his “brilliant mind”, it is quite ironic…to spare the very one responsible for being duped into allowing a cylon to penetrate the defense system, ultimately damning millions as a result.

My friend's girlfriend and I have similar tastes and after I finished Lost, this updating of the kid-friendly BG of '78 (clearly inspired by Star Wars)  was brought to my attention. This came on back when my teenagers were still kids so the television was theirs instead of mine during certain times of the week. Battlestar Galactica had buzz and my uncle, alive at the time, was a definite fan of the show. Immediately, Helfer seductively approaches an awakening sleepyhead humanoid politico, planting him with a long kiss before the space station is blown to smithereens. It sets in motion the cylons impromptu attack on the colonies after 40 years of no war. Helfer's presence as a sex symbol immediately follows her down that hall, the walk, confidence, charisma, body language, the works. Helfer does it physically without even saying much, as few words are really needed. When Baltar basks in the glow of his reputation's prominence (a talk show certainly complements him), having Number Six arrive for some hanky-panky is the cherry on top of the sundae. Well, until he's informed of *what* she really is. We get that from her other model version's appearance at the space station and Six's snapping the neck of a Caprica citizen's infant in her stroller. So the opening of the miniseries that prepares viewers for the upcoming series reveals that the cylons have been developing their extinction plans and the carry-out of them leaves behind a lot of deah in their wake.