Review

This episode is kind of the showcase for everything that was good about BSG and everything that was bad about BSG in a single episode. This episode did many things well. For one, Redeye was fascinating. A Cylon with his memory wiped, who can be reprogrammed by the first person to respond to his statement of "by your command" certainly is a valuable resource for a planet with limited technology. Additionally, the western theme of the episode was very successful, the acting was great, and the plot flowed well.

Unfortunately, despite this episode being well done, it had all the common problems BSG perpetuated as well. First, let's talk about that planet. Why is Galactica near yet another habitable planet? It seems like they're stumbling on a new one every week! Who needs Earth when every week you find an Earth-like planet? Second, who are the people on this planet? They're not very well connected to the twelve colonies, so where did they come from? The history and culture of these people should have been developed more. Finally, it is becoming clear that a better title for BSG 1978 would be "the adventures of Apollo and Starbuck." It seems every week is an excuse to put one or both of these characters in a new dangerous situation, largely ignoring the fleet its troubles.

You should notice though that my criticisms about this episode are not particularly severe. While there are things I would have preferred to have seen or had clarified, the episode is fairly solid, moreso than the average BSG 1978 episode. But at the same time, while the episode is solid, it does not manage to live up to anything more than average by overall television standards. Sadly, "average" by television standards is actually above BSG 1978's average offering.