Battlestar Bros.

Battlestar Bros.

By Matt Ledger, Pat FitzGerald-Fleck, Mike DrewTV & Film
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Battlestar Bros. episodes

  • Episode 12: Colonial Day

    http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB012.mp3

    Being pursued by killer robots? Don’t worry about it. There’s always time to take a break and play politics.

    • This time on BSG, Tom Zarek eyes the throne, and he’s bringing Ellen Tigh with him. As a result, Roslin fears for her life, Starbuck and Lee get into a bar fight, and Gaius has greatness thrust upon him.
    • In our analysis, Mike votes for Vice President Baltar.
    • Pat sees post-Caprican society for the sham it is.
    • Matt believes that Zarek’s telling the truth.

      • Some observations and links of note:

      • I think Pat might’ve been wrong with his “all Sagittarons wouldn’t like Tom Zarek” spiel, but the overall point (that Tom Zarek shouldn’t be getting nominated for anything) still stands.
      • We touch on some of the episode’s real-world political parallels in our analysis, but you can go a bit deeper here.
      • Man, we kinda go ham on politics sucking and getting mired in useless bullshit in this episode, huh? No idea why that would be the case.
      • I’m pretty sure “Claudio Carvlaho” on IMDB is just Mike operating under a pseudonym. You be the judge.
      • That Kara Thrace does actually clean up nice. Just don’t get into a bar fight with her.
      • Tahmoh Penikett really is good in Dollhouse. Hopefully he’ll get a bit more to do here soon.
      • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

        • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

        You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

        Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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      • Episode 11: The Hand of God

        http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB011.mp3

        Sometimes, you have to roll the hard six.

        • This time on BSG, with the help of his children and some Gaelic music, Commander Adama takes the fight to the Cylons. Meanwhile, Gaius and President Roslin begin to accept their parts in something larger.
        • In our analysis, Matt joins Gaius in converting to the One True God.
        • Mike is stuck on the number twelve.
        • Pat is brought low by bagpipes.

          • Some observations and links of note:

          • Does this plot and episode title seem familiar? It will if you watched original Galactica.
          • The Scrolls of Pythia begin to factor in big here. Big ‘ol SPOILER WARNING, but you can find the specifics of Pythia’s prophecies (both up to this point and past it) here.
          • If you need Gaelic father-son bonding music in your life (like Pat does), I’ve got the song for you.
          • There are a lot of good production notes on this episode’s Wikipedia page, including the story of how/why we got the awesome battleboard sequences. It probably did not need to reference that the trench run is an homage to Star Wars‘s trench run. We all knew (except Pat).
          • I was tempted to link you to The 12 Days of Christmas based on our “twelves” discussion, but I am not that sadistic. Don’t listen to The 12 Days of Christmas. It’s the worst.
          • Meanwhile, on Caprica, TVTropes has a rundown of why the “morning sickness” trope is the dumbest.
          • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

            • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

            You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

            Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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          • Episode 10: Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down

            http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB010.mp3

            Guess who’s coming to dinner? It’s Ellen Tigh! Who most assuredly is not a Cylon!

            • This time on BSG, the arrival of Saul Tigh’s wife drives a wedge between him and the Old Man, as Roslin tries to get to the bottom of Leoban’s warning from last episode.
            • In our analysis, Pat falls in love with chaos in heels.
            • Matt is irked to find a sitcom in his drama.
            • Mike gets into the mechanics of Gaius’s self-love.

              • Some observations and links of note:

              • This is such a weird episode, y’all. Apparently, the episode was originally called “Secrets and Lies” and took itself more seriously. That probably would’ve been better.
              • This episode was pushed in front of the next one (“Hand of God”), because the staff thought Adama’s actions and Ellen’s arrival neatly tied in to Leoben’s warning. However, that requires the audience to buy that Leoben told the truth…
              • Ellen and Saul seem like a pretty classic example of co-dependency, right down to Saul’s alcoholism. Hopefully we’ll understand more about how they got here later.
              • If you’re watching along with us for the first time, do yourself a favor and don’t Google anything about Ellen Tigh. Trust me on this one.
              • Here are some other things directed by Edward James Olmos, in case you want to compare and contrast. Hopefully his later episodes will be a bit better.
              • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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              • Episode 9: Flesh and Bone

                http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB009.mp3

                I have written episode teasers before, and I will write episode teasers again. But not this time, I guess.

                • This time on BSG, Leoben “I Got Beat in the Face with a Flashlight by Adama” Conoy is back, and he’s making Starbuck and Roslin feel some complicated feelings.
                • In our analysis, Mike asks one essential question: “Why Kara?”.
                • Pat attempts to unravel Leoben’s tangled web of nonsense.
                • Matt is decidedly not in the stream.

                  • Some observations and links of note:

                  • Spoiler Alert: We’re a few episodes ahead on recording, and while this is not quite our lowest ranked episode, it’s real close. Apropos of nothing, hang on for “Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down”.
                  • What Kara did to Leoben is not actually waterboarding, but given the context of when this episode was released, you’re definitely supposed to think about it.
                  • Galactica‘s Season Two renewal was announced two days before this info-dump of an episode aired. Just sayin’.
                  • If you’re an avid BSG boardgame player (like we are), you probably got really happy when you saw this happen.
                  • X-Files episodes are literally divided up into Monster of the Week and Mythology. I don’t think BSG goes quite that far, but it’ll be interesting to see.
                  • Spoilers for Justice League (in theaters now), but Mike’s Superman reference near the end of the episode is ON POINT.
                  • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                    • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                    You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                    Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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                  • Episode 8: Six Degrees of Separation

                    http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB008.mp3

                    You know when your ex shows up and things get suuuper awkward? This episode of Battlestar is like that, except with toasters and treason.

                    • This time on BSG, Shelly “Number 6” Godfrey accuses Gaius of treason to lead him to God. Don’t worry, the episode’s more fun that that summary makes it seem.
                    • In our analysis, Matt falls in love with 6’s machinations, if not her religion.
                    • Mike doesn’t know what to believe anymore, except that this episode’s perfect.
                    • Pat is here for Doc Cottle and bathroom humor, but he’s not here for glowing sex spines.

                      • Some observations and links of note:

                      • If you don’t know your D&D character alignments, I’ve got you covered.
                      • Remember, if you’re rational, you’ll buy into the existence of God because why not. Or at least that’s what Pascal says.
                      • The Cylon sex spines “looked cool” apparently. This is, thankfully, their last canonical appearance.
                      • In case you needed to hear the full song after Gaius started whistling it in the bathroom: The Top Gun Anthem.
                      • When we get further down the line, I’m gonna find/provide a breakdown of how many and what 6s are out there. Doing it now would be spoileriffic, but at some point…
                      • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                        • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                        You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                        Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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                      • Episode 7: Litmus

                        http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB007.mp3

                        The toaster’s out of the bag and everyone’s choices are tested in this episode of Battlestar Bros.

                        • This time on BSG, an exploding Cylon and Sergeant Hadrian’s inquests force Adama and the Chief into a tough spot, where each has to compromise.
                        • In our analysis, Pat sees Cylon Boomer everywhere and asks why Socinus would lie.
                        • Matt takes Sergeant Hadrian’s side and points out the Old Man’s selfishness.
                        • Mike fears for Gaius’s life and has theories about what’s going on with Six.

                          • Some observations and links of note:

                          • What the heck even is a hatch coaming, you might ask? I did, too.
                          • Mike and Pat were right; there’re no Macs on the Galactica. Specialist Socinus is played by Alonso Oyarzun, not Justin Long. I maintain anyone could’ve been confused.
                          • If you want more on the comparison between Star Trek: TNG‘s The Drumhead and Litmus, this blog post touches on the difference in tone and worldview between the two.
                          • Just in case you watched Baywatch Nights and forgot how frakin’ weird it was, here’s the intro.
                          • There isn’t a good, non-spoilery analysis of how close humanoid Cylon anatomy is to actual human anatomy. Maybe we’ll get into it later.
                          • If you see a Cylon…
                          • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                            • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                            You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                            Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

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                          • Episode 6: You Can’t Go Home Again

                            http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB006.mp3

                            What’s one pilot’s life versus the greater good? This isn’t Star Trek, and Bill Adama sure ain’t Spock. So we’re about to get up in it on this episode of Battlestar Bros.

                            • This time on BSG, it’s strange bedfellows galore, as the Adamas work together to find Kara, Kara gets to know the enemy, and Roslin and Tigh are left to think of the fleet’s safety.
                            • In our analysis, Mike winces as the Old Man’s persistence drives a wedge in the Tigh-Adama bromance.
                            • Pat examines Adama’s relationship with his three (yeah, you read that right) children.
                            • Matt shrugs off the conveniences of Cylon anatomy because Starbuck kicks ass.

                              • Some observations and links of note:

                              • Alright, now you can read the rest of that A.V. Club review from last time. I’ll save you the trouble of searching it up.
                              • Mike’s trying to make Mean Girls/BSG cross-references happen. They’re not going to happen.
                              • There are a couple original series references hidden here according to IMDb, once again suggesting that maybe it’s worth a watch after all? Mike’s continued protests notwithstanding.
                              • Some light reading on the psychology of moral dilemmas. Which I feel will only get more and more relevant as we go.
                              • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                                • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                                You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                                Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

                                0 min
                              • Episode 5: Act of Contrition

                                http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB005.mp3

                                It’s all funerals, flashbacks, falling, and frak-ups in this fifth episode of Battlestar Bros.

                                • This time on BSG, Kara messes up. And then messes up again. And then again. And yeah, the episode’s as repetitive and poorly paced as this summary.
                                • In our analysis, Pat forgives the episode’s flaws because Edward James Olmos is…very good.
                                • Matt prays to the one true God for a Breakfast Club-style Nugget spin-off.
                                • Mike gets to watch Starbuck shoot things, which is really what it’s all about.

                                  • Some observations and links of note:

                                  • It appears Zak Adama does not come back as a Cylon, to the disappointment of us all. I don’t think that’s a spoiler as, if it was really going to happen, Mike would have given it away when we were recording.
                                  • Did you know that Nuggets are actually called Nuggets in real life? I didn’t until I looked it up.
                                  • The A.V. Club agrees with us that Act of Contrition is a relatively weak entry in the series. So we’re in good critical company, at least? You might not want to read that entire article yet, because there are spoilers for the next episode (which is very, very good).
                                  • From a cursory look back, it seems the flags in the funeral scenes do not have their corners cut off. Which is a travesty and a lost chance at world-building.
                                  • One last fun tidbit from a fan forum, which may or may not be true: “I remember an interview where Ronald Moore was told by network execs to have more upbeat, happy moments on the show. The hangar party was his response.” 
                                  • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                                    • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                                    You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                                    Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

                                    0 min
                                  • Episode 4: Bastille Day

                                    http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB004.mp3

                                    If you listen to this episode, you’ll earn twenty-five Freedom Points from Captain Lee Adama himself. And we’ll throw in another fifty of our own for good measure. Don’t go spending them all in one parole hearing.

                                    • This time on BSG, it’s a political revolution. Or is it political suicide? Tom Zarek sure as hell doesn’t know.
                                    • In our analysis, Mike finds metaphors on Caprica and celebrates a big win for his favorite character.
                                    • Pat notes Billy’s horrible romantic prowess and joins Tigh in taking issue with Starbuck’s lack of professionalism.
                                    • Matt asks why women can’t be miners and attempts to nail down what Tom Zarek’s deal actually is.

                                      • Some observations and links of note:

                                      • You can decide for yourself whether Zarek’s nonsense relates to the real Bastille Day and whether episodes of Galactica should be named after real-world events. I still think it’s akin to watching an episode of Avatar: the Last Airbender titled Fourth of July, but I’m obliged to point out that Pat and Mike disagree.
                                      • As we said in the episode, Richard Hatch died earlier this year, which sucks. From what I’ve read, he really loved Battlestar and was a good guy. He also got a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as original recipe Apollo, which pushes me toward wanting to watch the original series sometime. Zarek will pop up again soon, if I remember correctly, and he’ll be much better to watch.
                                      • You definitely won’t find a discussion of prison labor and how it might be tantamount to slavery/indentured servitude here, nosiree. Which also leads me to wonder if racism is a thing in Battlestar Galactica. If it is, it hasn’t popped up yet? This is why Roslin was as concerned about Freedom Bucks as she was.
                                      • Let me save you the trouble of Googling that “bird refuge occupation” Mike referred to in the episode.
                                      • Please let us know if you want a “Do You Hear the Cylons Sing?” t-shirt. Pat can figure out how to make them, I’m sure.
                                      • As always, our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                                        • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                                        You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                                        Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

                                        0 min
                                      • Episode 3: Water

                                        http://traffic.libsyn.com/battlestarbros/BSB003.mp3

                                        What does it mean to be a secret Cylon? And what would you do for the Cylon you love? We start to find out in this episode of Battlestar Bros.

                                        • This time on BSG, Boomer takes her name a bit too literally, sending Galactica and the Colonial Fleet on a search for water.
                                        • In our analysis, Matt takes us on an intro-related tangent. (It’s totally important, I promise.)
                                        • Mike paints a picture of just how screwed the Colonial Fleet really is and knows more about the Cylons than they do.
                                        • Pat tries to put himself in the Chief and Boomer’s shoes and loves a good mystery.

                                          • Some observations and links of note:

                                          • The poker-like game Gaius is so happy to sit down and play is called Triad. There’s a tiny bit of information about it here and here. There is no official rule set, though, and most places I looked to buy a deck were sold out.
                                          • Here’s a picture of James Callis in Bridget Jones’s Diary, in which he is wonderful. Watch it; you’ll love him.
                                          • Grace Park’s primary acting credit before BSG is a show called Edgemont, which might be decent? It’s got a 6.6/10 on IMDb. Gonna see if I can track it down.
                                          • Regarding that Adama speech about the line between military/police…
                                          • I mentioned the wrong Zoom when Mike was talking about the Cylons. This is the guy I meant. The Flash’s continuity/naming is confusing.
                                          • Our intro/outro song is I Love Battlestar Galactica by Jonathan Mann. You can find a link to his Patreon here. Jonathan creates a song a day, which seems bananas to me, but he’s been doing it successfully for a while.

                                            • New to the show? Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI’s (you can’t make me spell it the other way, I’ll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.

                                            You can find the show on Twitter as @BattlestarBros. You can find Pat as @Th3Hypn0Toad and Matt as @mat_ledge. Mike doesn’t Tweet, which might be for the best.

                                            Battlestar Bros. is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://battlestarbros.wordpress.com/

                                            0 min

                                          About Battlestar Bros.

                                          From the publisher's feed

                                          Battlestar Bros. is a mostly-loving review of SCI-FI's (you can't make me spell it the other way, I'll fight you) greatest show, Battlestar Galactica. Join Pat, Mike, and Matt as they journey from Caprica to Earth, making observations both salient and snarky along the way.