How Big is the Cylon Fleet?
July 25th, 2007, 7 Comments »
Set Nerd Phasers to Discombobulate.
So we just finished watching season three of Battlestar Galactica. It’s a pretty great show (and Julie likes it too, which reduces the geekiness factor as far as I’m concerned). The performances are above average for science-fiction TV, and the direction is very strong.
I’ve been most impressed, however, by the strength of the writing. As Cory Doctorow likes to say, all science fiction isn’t about the future, it’s about the present. I’ve really admired how the BG writers have taken on a schwack of contemporary topics–torture, military justice, terrorism, racism and so forth. For example, several episodes function as cutting criticism of American foreign policy.
I have a few outstanding questions about the show, but the one that’s most frustrated me is this: how big, exactly, is the Cylon fleet?
Do they have 1000 of those big base ships, or eight? I think the most we’ve seen is four or five, but I’ve got no idea if that’s the same four or five, or entirely difference groups (they don’t have license plates, so they’re hard to distinguish). Unless I missed it, the humans haven’t exactly exhausted much brainpower in counting the opposition.
Did I miss something?
On a related note, I wanted to discuss a particular aspect of the final episode of season three. I’ve included it after the break, so that if you’re still catching up, there won’t be any spoilage. If you’re such a person, read the comments at your own risk.