Dr. Baltarstar Galactica

I recently finished watching the entire Battlestar Galactica series, I hadn't seen a single episode until recently and with the excessive amount of free time being a university graduate gives you I thought I'd take it on.  All the other characters aside, I found Dr. Baltar's to be by far the most interesting.  His gift of brilliant intellect is what makes him such a frustrating and yet provocative character to watch on screen.  For the entire first season he spends his time trying to appear sane whilst conversing with a vision of Caprica 6, a vision only he can see.  I think he does it well, I'm not entirely sure how no one picks up on his strange behavior but there's something to be said about the sort of quirkiness that comes along with being insanely smart.  If he was someone of normal intellect it might’ve been harder to accept by his fellow crew and characters so it also compliments his background that they go along with his quirkiness.

Not only do I see women that don't exist, I have sex with them.  That's science!

Unfortunately, Dr. Baltar is a worm, and I hated that about him. He was given so many chances to turn around and in one instance he even shoots a soldier holding a gun to Calley’s head while they’re all roughing it on an unknown planet. No idea how it would’ve ended had Baltar not shot him but it was a gutsy move… unfortunately this is where I began to take issue with the story. Baltar has this huge role in the story-line, his screen-time is significant and the roles he plays become bigger and bigger but he doesn’t falter in being a worm until the very last episode. That’s not necessarily true, there’s the Calley’s head saving incident, as well as a few others where he shows some spine, but his ability to completely revert to what he was an episode prior just drives me up the wall. “Dude, you just shot a guy to save a girl from an insane power-tripping soldier, stay at that level of manliness for a few episodes.” The point where he becomes president is also something of an issue.

My first order of business as President will be to sleep with some women and then spend the rest of my term denying that it happened.

Dr. Baltar is elected President by democratic vote. If he didn’t win the position, it would’ve gone to Tom Zerick. The current President, Laura Roslin, was not going to win due to her illness and overall lack of appeal from the public but was only given the position because she was next in line after every other person in a position above her died on Caprica. President Roslin, in a drugged-induced state, remembers seeing Gaius Baltar on Caprica and immediately realizes he’s a threat. She actually spends the rest of the series trying to prove he is a Cylon conspirator to the point where she begins showing negative character traits. One scene Baltar is injured from an explosion and she first bandages him up then removes his bandages upon further consideration (no one would suspect it, the bandages just fell off!). Actually Rolsin’s position as President is restored later in the series by Tom Zerick in a way that is absolutely ridiculous. Tom Zerick is actually elected President then places Roslin in the role of Vice President then steps down and basically trades positions with her. If I voted for Zerick I’d be freaking pissed, the people voted for Zerick and he just gives it to the competition?  I think that has to the most politically incorrect move in presidential history; also, Zerick tries to take over the government illegitimately half-way through the 4th season, why? Cause silliness sells! “Dude, you had it, you were voted in! The people wanted you as president, why’d you give it up?” He claims something untrue, like he never wanted the position, but he’s run for the position a few times.  Actually, putting Roslin back in charge is an example of the corruption he's been famous for fighting against in the past. The initial election was his idea as he was trying to usurp Roslin.

My boyfriend will destroy anyone who tries to take the Presidency from me, that's my kind of democracy.

Then Baltar becomes religious. At first he makes a bold statement and declares before all of his followers, “take my life in the place of this child’s” and is absolutely ready to give up his life up until the child recovers. Then he ends up skulking around, not giving a crap about anything, and being the voice of his vision of Caprica 6 almost word for word. He escapes the ship during a mutiny only to return to it after the battle's won. He begins to speak for his followers though, representing their voice and protecting their rights and freedoms but he doesn’t even know how to use a gun in this episode… I’m pretty sure he was stranded on a planet using guns to survive for a few episodes back in season two, crap!

These are all just examples but my main gripe is that Baltar doesn’t really grow, or his growth is not acknowledged or shown until the very last film length episode. Thing is, with all that he’s gone through he should be tough as nails by the end. He’s survived impossible odds so many times and not always because of his cowardice.  During season 4, a Baltar hater puts a knife to his throat and Baltar doesn’t even care, “do it” he says. I had high hopes for this character, hopes that he’d be a kick-ass president, a genius doctor, brave and inspiring religious leader (not that I’m into that sort of thing). He turns out to be none of these and barely scrapes by by finally doing something when things get desperate.  But his final contribution, his ultimate role is also completely diminished by his final contribution to their journey to a new Earth.

I got religion, I got it real bad

During the finale of the series, Baltar with Caprica 6 leads Hera (the half-human half-Cylon daughter) to the bridge after Hera runs away from her parents… for no reason. It’s difficult to swallow because they’ve been building up to this scene since the third season and it’s never implied what’s really going on, we can only speculate. Here’s what’s wrong with this scene:

·         Hera runs away (nonchalantly) from her parents, ok it’s scary and there’s gun-fighting going on but running away from parents is the opposite of what you do when scared.  Also, it’s like she’s in a trance, continuing to run while not looking that fearful but also able to hear both Laura and her Mother shouting from behind telling her to stop freakin running away from protection.

·         Baltar and Caprica 6 both find out they can see the visions of their opposite (Caprica 6 sees Baltar and vice versa) and then immediately find Hera.  This is the big event that we’ve all been waiting for.

·         Baltar and Caprica 6  walk to the bridge with Hera, and that’s it.  That’s what the entire mission was, to get the kid to the bridge… it’s not this big escape or anything just a relatively minor relocation.  The thing is that Athena (8) could’ve easily done this herself; actually everyone on this ship was perfectly capable of fulfilling this role as it was the overall mission for everyone who decided to stay on board the ship.

Were we supposed to take her away from the gunfire or towards it?

All of this completely diminishes the roles of Baltar and Caprica 6 in this. How hard would it have been to simply have a regular soldier see the kid, realize it’s his freakin mission and take her to the bridge? Not difficult! Actually, I assumed that they’d be the only ones to make it out of the mission alive. That seemed more like the scenario in the vision we’re shown a few dozen times. Turns out the rest of the vision after they walk into the light is that Laura and Sharon/Athena/8 catch up with Baltar and Caprica 6 and high-five over a job well done. What was the point of all of this? I’m not even sure Baltar really learned anything; he probably changes back to a spineless bi-pedal genius 2 days into their settling back on Earth anyways.