Review: 'Battlestar Galactica' - The Road Less Traveled

At times, “Battlestar Galactica” exhibits some of the best writing on television. I sometimes walk away from my television thinking how sad it is that this series is ending.

Then there are episodes like this that could serve as a poster child in the argument for abbreviated seasons.

I warned the editors of this site that I may not be the best guy on the staff to review "Galactica." I came to the show at the beginning of the third season, then caught up on DVD. While I like it, I simply don’t love it like most of its normal fan base. As a result, when I see an episode that I don’t enjoy, I immediately assume that I must have missed something of great importance that “real” fans of the show must see. Not this time though -- this episode just plain stunk.

"The Road Less Traveled" did absolutely nothing to advance any of the characters or relationships in any meaningful way. Starbuck’s grip on reality is slipping. Sam follows her around like a sick puppy. Tyrol is struggling with his wife’s death and with being a Cylon. Baltar continues on his prophetic path. Sadly, these are things we already knew, or could have assumed.

The Baltar storyline could be intriguing if it ever moves forward. Still, the writer’s inability to come up with a more interesting villain the last couple of years is one reason viewership has dwindled. I know the writers love this character, but does anyone watching the show really find him all that interesting?

The mutiny of Starbuck’s crew could also play out in an interesting fashion even though it certainly wasn’t introduced in one. And this is the problem with this episode -- it simply wasn’t interesting. I hate these slow-paced, all-talk episodes. The developments were minor and predictable. I hope this is simply one bump in the road of what has so far been a decent final season.

What Worked

There was one explosion that was pretty cool.

What Didn’t Work

The cast was poorly utilized in this episode. No Bill Adama, no Lee Adama, no Roslin, very little of Number Six, and very few Cylons in general. Wasting so much talent is insane. And let’s pick up the pace a bit.

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