Battlestar Galactica

The Farm was a perfect and very entertaining episode of Battlestar Galactica and I really enjoyed watching because Starbuck gets wounded on a mission and wakes up in a hospital with a suspicious Dr. named Simon treating her and all is not what it seems, the President makes s major move to embrace Destiny, and Commander Adama is welcomed back with all that is going on. The Cylon Farms are quite disturbing. Starbuck is reminded of her mission and realizes she needs to go as soon as possible. I look forward to watching the next episode!!!!!!!!!

The idea of farming humans to breed cylon babies is as twisted as they come. The majority of the episode focuses on Starbuck's recovery at an abandoned asylum. There, we meet Simon, who has cylon written all over him. I love that it happened to be Starbuck's first guess and she was bang on the money.

Meanwhile, Laura decides to play the religious card and purposefully splits up the fleet, even after hearing about the fact Adama has recovered. I didn't think that Lee would still up and leave his father like that, but he did. This splinter in the fleet will surely have dire consequences. But I'm glad that Adama is back, even if he does seem a little off (''closer to the ground''). His scene crying over Boomer's body was extremely powerful.

The farm was just a tad bit lacking in security, given how vital it is to the cylons. Nevertheless, Starbuck's scenes were superb, and once again Katee gives a stellar performance. What of her new scar? Did the cylons take some of her eggs (ala Alias)? Simon's death was impressively brutal and to the point.

And so it turns out Sharon didn't fly away to the other cylons after all. She managed to pick up a hefty piece of transportation instead. I wonder why they didn't give more people a chance to fly back with them to galactica. Selfish gits.

Another very good offering from season 2. I'd appreciate less extremely unflattering close-ups of our actors' faces though. Just sayin'.

Starbuck's scenes on Caprica were much better than in the last episode. Neither the title of the episode nor Simon's obsession with Starbuck having children really prepared me for the room full of semi-comatose women carrying Cylon fetuses. It was a disturbing sight to say the least. I guess I was concentrating to much on Helo and Sharon's situation to think about how else the Cylon's might go about achieving their goal. My favorite moment from the Caprica storyline though was when she killed Simon, I loved her desperate, angry plea for him to "just die!"



I couldn't believe Lee would go so far as to even record a message denouncing his father. Stopping before he finished still didn't earn him back the respect he lost just by saying those words. Roslin sitting by, and all but encouraging him to do it, is about what I've come to expect from her, so no respect lost there. I'd be lying though if I said she didn't gain a little by being uncomfortable handing out blessings. Though at the same time I was like, "Come on, you let quorum literally bow and scrape to you and you subverted military command, but patting a few heads is too much?"



Adama's scenes aboard Galactica definitely stole the show. Seeing him try to come to grips with what Sharon had done to him while he watches ship after ship, as well as his own son, side with Roslin and the safety blanket of religious prophecy was hard to witness. His conversation with Chief was incredible and his struggle to understand how either of them could have loved a machine was one of the more powerful moments of the series. Though it was topped by Adama's scene in the morgue with Sharon's corpse, his breakdown was played perfectly.



A couple brilliant moments, though not quite up there with the last few episodes.

***This review details –» this is a "I" perspective, based in what I like and recognize to be good or interesting, this is not a "god" where the guy thinks what he thinks is the true or the "you" perspective where I know what you will like and what you don´t.***



The beginning is intriguing, could one of the main cast be dead, impossible, but was a nice beginning. The conflict and climax phase was more a mix of psychological exploration with setups, entertaining to follow. The closure was good and informative with a revelation.



Presentation Phase - » (8/10) nice beginning,

Complication Phase - » (7/10) entertaining,

Climax Phase - » (8/10) entertaining and cool,

Ending - » (7/10) nice closure,



The progress is the necessary for the setups and the information's that we need to know, so it is hard to say what was filler this time. Didn´t notice flaws in the plot and the Storyline was entertaining to follow.



Details/Progress (To point A to B) -» (8/10),

Time and Scene Management - » (9/10),

Plot Details/Holes- » (10/10),

Storyline -» (8/10),



In terms of emotions things are more lower, since this is not a apocalypse type of episode.



Drama - » (7/10),

Suspense/Tension - » (7/10),



This episode was very good and finally another development happened and we have another important information.

(Spoilers)



Was there ever really any doubt that Simon was a Cylon? A hospital that big, when the only living people on the planet were a bunch of jocks and survivalists posing as a resistance movement? Plus, just the one guy, with no one else coming in to see her, is bound to raise a red flag. I don't know how long they expected to be able to keep up that subterfuge.



I wonder; since the Cylons wanted Starbuck to carry one of their little hybrid babies, who were they planning to use as the fater? Simon? Was that supposed to be his attempt at seducing her? Not very persuasive, but I guess the ladies do tend to go for doctors.



What else was going on? Oh, Adama returns to command, and is immediately faced with chasing down Roslin and Lee. Tough assignment. I wonder why Lee had so much trouble denouncing his father's actions. He pulled a gun on Tigh; could it really be so hard to say that a military coup is a bad idea? Grow a pair, Apollo.

This episode is gritty and intense. We learn the identity of another cylon(Simon, the fifth revealed)



Kara has some disturbing history revealed, she was in some way abused as a child(the broken fingers). Katee Sackhoff shows some incredible range here. Up til now she's been the wisecracking, nothing bothers me fighter jock. That gets turned on its head when she is confronted by thinking Anders has been killed, finding the cylon breeding experiment in the hospital and finally having to leave Anders behind to complete her mission. It's very disturbing to see the lengths the cylons are willing to go to to achieve procreation without resurrection. I still get chills when I see the room with all the women hooked to machines.



Back in the fleet there are limits to how far Lee will go against his father, personally is ok for him but he won't denounce him to the fleet. This doesn't stop Roslin, Lee and Zarek from jumping away with one third of the fleet behind them.



Adama is back in command physically but he definitely has some issues to resolve, both with himself and with Roslin and Lee.



A great watch from start to finish.

I most say, I liked the turn of this storyline even if in the beginning it was going on so different way and I was not expecting much out of it.



So, the main focus was on Caprica where Starbuck in hospital and we learn little about her past and some weird things going on - and it gets even weirder and she discoveres something disturbing - a farm.. is it the plan Cylcons have been having?



Also, things are exciting on Galactica. Adama is back finally and there is hell loose in the ship - president is gathering her forces and makes the stands on religious round and they jump to Kobol.



The aftermath of shooting is still here and he trying to understand Boomer.. or see the signs.. and the chief making stand for Cally..



So great episode.

One thing about being a sci fi show is there no limits to what they can do in terms of moral subjects. One thing that this show is the beliefs system of the humans and cylons. One gods or many gods would cause major stir if question today. The beliefs of the cylons and the humans contradict each other so many ways that we take for granted in our lives. In our world right now they may be plenty of religions but still only a single god. One thing that the cylons do believe in is procreation, not just simple clones but real descendants. This episode shows to what extent they are willing to go and do.

Adama gets back to his job as commander of the galactica. Starbuck and Helo gets caught up in a resistance at Caprica. This is a fast paced episode, even though so much of the drama takes place on the ground. It's not a boring episode, we get to see stuff about the cylons that we never get to see with the classic series. Cylon clones are being built using human subjects. It's a revealing cylon episode, there's enough action in this episode. It's exciting to watch, Boomer convinces them that she's not as bad as the last one, or is she? This is a good episode.

It’s impossible to review this episode without addressing the wonder that is Katee Sackhoff. Every week she brings energy and snark to the role of Starbuck and occasionally she gets the chance to show the vulnerability that lies at the core of the character. This episode is a vehicle for Ms. Sackhoff to show her range as an actress and she follows through perfectly on the promise displayed in Flesh & Bone and Act of Contrition.



In many ways, Starbuck is the most thought-out and consistent character on the show. Her development has been meticulously planned and the character’s actions and decisions are believable even through the end of LDYB2 because the show bothers to explore her backstory and motivations. Leoben’s revelation in Flesh & Bone that Kara’s mother believed “suffering was good for the soul so [Kara] suffered” is followed up in The Farm. Remember that Leoben said Starbuck had a destiny? That she was special? This episode revisits those ideas without giving us any answers.



The Farm continues the Cylons’ exquisite mind-frakking, this time with Starbuck, with terrifying results. Starbuck is physically incapacitated with a gun shot wound. She's held in a mysterious hospital where she appears to be the only patient. She suspects that the “doctor” is a Cylon but she doesn’t have proof or a way to escape. They drug her, perform surgeries on her and tell her that having babies is more important than flying vipers. This is Starbuck’s idea of hell and her utter vulnerability and resulting breakdown are frightening.



The relationships and issues set up in this episode become important in the back half of Series Two and likely will affect events in Series Three. Although it’s difficult to believe that thorny Starbuck fell in love with Sam Anders in the span of a week, the show certainly asks us to suspend our disbelief and go with that assumption.



The other interesting element of this episode is Roslin’s decision to use her “prophet” status as a tool to divide the fleet. The show could have done a lot with this development, but it’s ignored for the most part during the rest of the season. Ultimately, it is an interesting development that doesn’t live up to its promise.

This far into season 2, and its hard to imagine Battlestar was ever gone. The excitement is definitely served up here in giant portions, and many new questions are raised.

After Commander Adama's surprise return last episode, this episode surprises yet again by not focusing on him as expected, but by focusing on Starbuck. This is perhaps the first time in the series that we really get to see Starbuck as a person and not just as a Viper pilot, and its a welcome change, as we get to learn a little about her past. After being somewhat enigmatic so far, we learn a little about why she is the way that she is and what makes her tick.

'The Farm' is definitely a pivotal episode in that it sets up what is sure to be a compelling and thought-provoking series arc. Beginning with Starbuck waking up in a mysterious hospital and finding out it is run by Cylons, this leads to the revelation that the Cylons are creating Human-Cylon babies, by doing experiments on human women and implanting them with babies. It is revealed that there are many of these 'farms' and that this is the Cylon's 'plan' that we hear so much about in the opening credits. It is also revealed that Kara is 'special' and has a destiny which is important to the Cylons. We also find that the Cylons implanted something inside Kara whilst she was in the hospital but are yet to find out what it is.

It is great to see Adama back in action, even if used a little less than expected this episode, and heartbreaking when we see his anguish over the recently killed Boomer. It is this kind of character development and dilemma that make Battlestar Galactica special. It was nice to see Starbuck relating to a new man, even if briefly, and even if it was a little out of character for her to fall for someone she had just met. I guess this is just part of the mystery that is Starbuck.

As mentioned previously, this episode poses many new questions. What did the Cylons put inside Kara? Why is Kara so special and what is her 'destiny'? Why are the Cylons creating these new babies and what are they needed for? And my personal favourite: Where are Baltar and Six? They are sorely missed, and although I understand that other characters need to be focused on too, I miss their rappor and feel that their storyline has been kind of left up in the air. I am sure the writers will address it soon, but I cant help feeling that some reference to it should have been made at least, even just to remind viewers of what is going on.

Laura's story is also developing nicely, but I cant help but think that something bad is coming her way. Being my favourite character I'm not sure that I like the way in which her character is heading, but all the same, I enjoy her story and the references to the Kobol prophecy. It is clear that this story thread is going to be taken up again soon as Kara retrieves the Arrow of Apollo and heads back to Galactica, and I'm sure this will play a big part soon, as the next two-parter episode is called 'Home'.

Overall, an excellent episode and a perfect example of exactly why I watch this show. Despite the lack of Baltar-Six banter, and the oh-so brief appearance of Lee, this episode is definitely the best yet, and hints at some even better ones to come.

I heard about this episode in the TV guide shortly before the start of the season. It was vague and enticing and I couldn't wait for this one to air. (stunningly...I had to wait for the DVD release to see it. :(



IN any case, I was not disappointed. I thought it was a taught little episode that made it's points, made them well...and moved. A well paced endeavor with great moments and relevance to the overall plot.



I'm a Starbuck fan, from the good old Dirk Benedict days, but Katee Sackhoff knocks the ball out of the park with her portrayal of our hot shot pilot. The moments of terror sadness and discovery that permeate this outing are superbly acted and in fine form.



The action of the show is intriguing and well done.



Special note that the scenes with Simon are exsquisite and mind bending at points.



Just an overall great episode to an overall great show!

The main action of this episode, takes place on Caprica. We already knew that not all the surviving humans are dead. Now we get an insite into what the Cylons have planned for some of the surviors. Starbuck takes a little time to blow off steam, horizontally. We meet another cylon model and next week, back to Galactica.

'The Farm' offers nothing but of raw, pure emotion. Many of the characters basically go through the emotional (in some case physical) ringer, and face some of their worst experiences. It is an episode filled with pain, and it grips the viewer like nothing else.



Don't get me wrong. I'm no TV drama masochist. But after so many years and so many shows which either make use of the 'reset button' (and I don't just mean some of the Star Trek ones), so many characters in drama series that are never truly confronted (or tested by) the kind of confusion, fear ir despair that comes when hope and love is all but gone... well after all that, 'The Farm' is a stunner.





Let's recap, shall we? We have:



-Lee, rocked between gratitude that his father is alive one moment, then realizating that he now wages a war directly against him (standing up against Adama is *not* like standing up against an out-of-control Tigh)



-The subsequent tape message by Lee, wihch he cannot finish;



-Roslin, forced by circumstance to become a messiah, leading a suicide mission back to Kobol, playing the religious card and suddenly finding herself surrounded by worshippers who truly see her as the chosen one;



-Starbuck, caugth in trap which might not be one, forced to think, deceive and fight her way out of an intensely paranoia-inducing conundrum;



-Starbuck, discovering the horror that is a part of the Cylon plan, and making an impossible choice at the request of a doomed woman;



-Sarbuck, as harsh and tough as we've always known her, falling in love -- and then forced to abandon him;



-Adama, his heart now hardened by his brush with death, angered by what he sees as a rebellion movement that has made his son a traitor;



-Sharon, returning to Helo's side despite the risks, offering pieces of the horrible puzzle out of love for the father of her child, even as she suffers with the knowledge (and guilt) that both Helo and Starbuck *know* what she is;



-Adama's final moments, which rise above the mere concern of an old soldier for a crewwoman that served under him for two years... presaging some deeper secret : the specter of a possible hidden liaison



(Who knows on that last point? I may be way off. I'm only caught up to this episode anyway, so I suppose the issue may have already been adressed... we shall see)





In my opinion? Drama doesn't get better than this.

This particular episode pivots around Starbuck and her hospitalization. If any of you older fans will remember, there was an SF show called "V" in the 70's, in which aliens infiltrate society at all levels and rebels fight to get Earth back from the ground... One of the most chilling scenes of that series features the birth of an alien baby from a human mother.

And the farm brought all this back. The horror of knowing the future of your race is indeed out of your hands - and out of your womb.

It should be stated that Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) is, to me, the greatest part of a superb ensamble, possibly the best in any SF series in history. She brings credibility, strengts, passion, anger in such a real, in-your-face manner that is is a pure pleasere having her take center stage.

To me, it is episodes like these, and not necessarily the great space battles, that define the greatness of a series, and this one is absolutely headed in that direction.

First I was really happy with with the content of this episode. I have been waiting for an episode to focus on Starbuck for quite a time now. I liked what has been written in and the implications of whats going to happen. So often I watch "ho-hum" TV and they forget to energize my brian by seeding side plots or tipping of future events. I love this stuff. A good series and even a good movie should be like a well threaded quilt. The more the twist and turns the strong the story.



Back on Galactica I am really amazed at the return of Adama. I like how there incorporating the fact that his wounds dont heal over night. I like the battle grizzled commander crying becuase a pilot of his was killed, even when that person was the enemy.



The series has had some of the best dialog written in a long time. It ranks up their with the Saprano's, Law And Order and many of the other bright shows on TV.



Please help this show become the next big thing. Write reviews, share you Friday evening with those who arent exposed to it. I have and everyone I show the show to loves it now.

This episode is a great example of a series firing on all cylinders. I was a bit concerned after the first season, because I thought that the series would actually suffer a sophomore slump. If anything, the writing staff has raised the bar. It’s astonishing to think that the writers actually had to remove some of the subplots to keep the story moving forward; there’s so much depth to every situation as it is.



The situation on Caprica makes a lot more sense now. Helo was meant to fall in love with Boomer, because the Cylons are trying to become God’s perfect progeny…yet they cannot reproduce in a manner that mirrors natural evolution. So they built more and more human aspects into their programming, hoping to use their human creators for experimentation. Only they weren’t expecting something like love, the basis of human community and commonality, to infect their own.



Boomer becomes the blurred line between man and machine. She’s mechanical in origin, but she’s also human enough to mate with a human and feel human emotions. More importantly, she’s human enough to risk everything for love. To many, like Starbuck, she’s the ultimate threat, but in reality, she could be humanity’s greatest hope.



It makes me wonder whether or not Baltar is meant to be some kind of corrective factor in the overall experiment. Six is controlling Baltar and preparing him to support any and all actions necessary to make the breeding experiments work. He’s been conditioned, at least partly, to believe that it is a holy cause. But what will happen when he realizes what humanity is being kept around for? Once the experiments are over, the Cylons will stop toying with humans, one would think.



Unless there’s more to it. For Boomer to be biologically compatible with Helo, she had to be largely biological herself. The Cylons probably need a minimum number of unique genetic samples to use for their purposes, to allow for genetic diversity. They have plenty of test subjects on the 12 colonies, but they can’t all be free of genetic damage after all those nuclear blasts. Then again, who knows how many people were secretly culled prior to the attack?



This is a highlight reel for Katie and the character of Starbuck. Someone else put it perfectly: you never doubt, when watching the character, that she’s a real person. She’s got plenty of strong points, but a self-loathing quality that runs deep. It must be a joy to write and portray such a complex character. More importantly, it’s amazing how complex many of the other characters are.



Adama, for instance, comes back a changed man. He’s got some serious issues with emotional control, and he’s shaken by the thought that someone so close to so many people has turned out to be a machine. It cuts to the heart of what it means to be human. But Adama brings up the central point: how much further can the Cylons take this before they effectively become human themselves? Or has it already happened, and they just don’t realize it?



Roslyn is on her own interesting path. When does “playing the religious card” turn into believing one’s own mystique? And what happens when a religious movement outgrows the one who began it? Religious leaders sometimes become martyrs when followers recognize that they can become more “pure” if the leader dies in the name of the faith. I’m seeing parallels to the early “Dune” novels here; Roslyn needs to be very careful, or she’s going to take quite a fall.



Like the rest of the episodes this season, I always feel like I could go on and on in my praise for how character-driven the series has become. It’s fascinating to see how these extreme circumstances force these people to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. When people say that this is the “anti-Trek”, that’s what they mean: Trek was never able to embrace this kind of character-based drama. Thank the Lords of Kobol that Ron Moore has.

\'The Farm\' sets out where \'Resistance\' left - a bunch of humans trying to survive and calling that resisting the Cylons. True to her heart, Starbuck *names* the inherent pathetic nature of fighting, only to be the first to end up in a Cylon-controlled hospital.



And here we have it - a Cylon-human doctor caring for patients (an evidently adept at it, considering Starbucks recuperation), yet lying at about everything else. Besides getting to know the fifth model - he\'s the first character being *nice*. All other instances, even Boomer, had their odd moments .



Again, we have the question running continuously through the series: who is right? The Cylons have their god on their side, believe in that they somehow are destined to \'salvage\' the human race and act in utterly alien ways to progress their purpose.



The humans, of course, feel they are right, too - who wouldn\'t, having been almost eradicated out of the bright sky. Yet, as Adama already stated in his very first speech during the Galactica decommissioning ceremony - What makes us as a species worth saving?

Love? LOVE?! What the frak was Boomer talking about? When Starbuck asks why fertilization never occured between humans and cylons before, her answer is that they were missing love. What a disappointing stumble for this great show. Someone should explain the birds and bees to the writer, because he apparently has no clue. Ugh.

I found this episode to be groundbreaking in multiple storylines. Starbuck is kidnapped and experimented on by the Cylons. Apollo is asked to speak out and betray his father. Boomer's pregant clone aids the Caprica Resistance. Adama is hunting down President Rosilyn. Cyclon toasters get shot up. A major Cyclon plot involving human women is revealed. What's NOT to love about this episode?

This episode doesn't set out to do everything and it doesn't but it does mark a few new plot points all while providing some very powerful scenes and doing great justice to Starbuck's character.



The short lived and overly vague love interest centred around Starbuck seems to have run its course, which I'd say is a good thing. It wasn't the most involving. Sure, it made sense for her character but I wouldn't say it was entertaining. We didn't get much of a scene wrapping up this miniplot, it just ended, which seems fitting considering how shallow that relationship seemed to be.



The best parts of this episode were surely the ones in the hospital. Especially a riveting scene where the Cylon doctor confronts Kara about being abused when she was younger. The brilliant directing led the camera to her fingers which clenched with the doctor's words, and her outbust "Get out!" was delivered with a perfect burst of emotion.



The main plot point of the episode, farms of human women in order for the Cylons to procreate, seems kind of strange to me in retrospect. I mean, it fits the story rather perfectly, especially with Boomer's convenient explanation of the whole 'Be Fruitful' thing, but something about the whole idea doesn't click with me. Maybe it's because the Cylons have been painted with a certain vineer and this new colour to them doesn't quite match. In any case, the scene where Kara finds the farms is again powerful. She stumbles confusedly around the room before meeting a co-resistant who begs her to destroy the machines. She does so with sparks and tears flying in a grandeur display of emotion and sadness that Battlestar Galactica does so well.



Back on Galactica itself not everything is perfect. Apollo, the president, the priest, and Tom make no significant plotline progress. However Adama lets tears run free over the late Boomer's body, making for an excellent scene that works wonderfully. Especially because it precedes a scene where Adama was specifically cold to Boomer, punishing Cally with just thirty days cell time for 'unauthorised discharge of a firearm.' Other scenes with the Chief and Adama showcase Adama's understanding for the suffering that Boomer must have endured as a Cylon. Here's to hoping that this plays out somehow when Starbuck returns to the fleet with the arrow.



Really, this episode didn't manage to do much in terms of storylines and plots but it did manage to create some amazing scenes that I think rival the president's moving into office. These scenes are the things that Battlestar Galactica does so incredibly well and pulls off with such finesse, and it's a perfect example of why this is a great show.

I'll have to say this was a little dissapointing. While a good episode in general, poor compared to what they have been putting out so far. I guess they had to put in a lot of expo to set up some future episodes. The whole hospital thing dragged on and on. Hanging out with the resistance was fun, and there was not enough of that. Nice to see Adama back in CIC. The President was just getting used to her place in politics, now she has to struggle through her place in scriptural/religious power. So now we know what another cylon model looks like, though. I was also a little upset, did Baltar even have a line in this episode? How to see some great episodes coming soon out of all the new info in this one.

I will give this particular episode “The Farm” a 9.3 rating. Why? I have already given the show too may 10’s, but this was a great episode.



This episode hit home for me. In my country (United States) there are two extreme views..right and left. There is no middle. It is just black and white. Apollo sees the gray. He loves his father, respects him for everything but disagrees with him on the issue of opposing President Roselin. Still he is not going to trash his father to help her. Great moment.



I like the moment Adama had with Boomer and talking to the Chief about Boomer. He was said and I was moved. Edward James Olmos is doing a wonderful job here.



On the planet, we learn more about Kara (Starbuck). Finally Starbuck and Helo get to go home. Definitely a pivotal episode.



I look forward to see what develops. BSG is the only show on TV where I don’t want to miss a new episode.