How long until Season 4?

BSG 3.20

Well this certainly was a fascinating... OH FUCK IT: STARBUCK IS BACK. STARBUCK YAY!!!! OK I was trying to be thoughtful, but I can't because all I can think of was how happy I was to see our gal back. I so saw that coming when Lee had the "unknown" show up on his DRADIS. I'm a little afraid to believe that was actually Starbuck. I'm terrified when the show comes back it will all have been Lee's imagination and we'll see Lee with an imaginary Starbuck, a la Baltar and Six. There still is a possibility that that could happen. I'd be super pissed, FYI. God I'm so happy I'm actually crying right now. I really believed Starbuck bit the big one, a friend told me she wasn't showing up in the last episodes and that she was a goner. Not that I'm blaming her, apparently that was the word on the street, and Katee Sackhoff was removed from the credits.

OK, now I need to be the downer on this moment of happiness: Starbuck used a word that has me very, very worried for her eventual fate. She said she would take Lee to Earth. Now, Roslin believed her original role was the "dying Leader" who would bring the exiles to Earth. Ever since Roslin's cancer first went away, I said someone else is that dying leader. Now Roslin's sick again, but I think that's a trick to hide the actual dying leader. Starbuck's traveled through that Maelstrom and we saw an explosion. That can't exactly be good for her health. It's entirely possible that she could be dying of something and still lead everyone to Earth. I'm going to ignore that and I will be very, very happy that Kara is alive and Lee is ready and single.

Let's just ignore the really lame Anders/Chief/Tigh/Not-BillyTory "We are Cylons" aka "The Final Five." I'm going with denial on that one. It was just so...bland and obvious. Also, how is Tigh even able to be a Cylon? His wikipedia page challenges that notion. He is a longtime member of the fleet and served in the first Cylon war. Now the new Cylon models were made after the Cylons left the Colonies and went into hiding. Hasn't Adama known Tigh for a long time, too? Last time I checked, Cylons don't age, or we haven't witnessed any aging. I just don't buy it. Also, we briefly saw Baltar put his ear to the wall as the music intensified. So is he the fifth? Haven't we had enough of is-he isn't-he with Baltar? Then I read online that Starbuck is the suspected fifth. 1. Why show us her mother and her wounds from childhood if she is a Cylon? Maybe the Final 5 are a completely different breed. But if they are (I'm not buying it) why would Three have to apologize to any of those people? Well, I could see her having to apologize to the people of the Resistance, but how was Baltar right about that? Three passed by two or three figures before stopping to apologize, so I'm assuming she didn't recognize them. I don't know, I refuse to believe Ron Moore revealed the last 5 Cylons in 1 go. And to have us know all of them? I wanted to get at least one new character. Brother Cavil last season was a nice quirky touch and a reveal.

Oh, and Gaius Baltar was not guilty. Sorry, I'm way to jazzed about Kara that I could care less.

Anybody else feel this odd sense of relief when we saw the camera pan away from the nebula, past the planets, and zoom in on Earth? I know I just swelled with joy, like as a viewer, we had been waiting for this to happen, and we were almost home. BTW: great special effects with the ships and then with the planets. I've said it before, the Effects Team have really stepped it up with Galactica's beaten appearance to the battle sequences to the space and scenery. They are just so great, they really deserve some awards, I know Ron Moore was pissed that they lost the Emmy last year, so I hope they get one this year.

Just a final note: I read an interview with Katee about the lack of Starbuck leading up to "Maelstrom" and she said that she felt like the writers/producers might have been angry with her and that's why she hadn't been on so much. She went on to say how shocked she was when she got the "Maelstrom" script. Our poor gal, I felt even sadder about Starbuck's death after reading that interview. Kara had this happy look on her face, like this was all she had ever wanted and she was so happy to be back and see Lee. I like to believe part of that was Katee and how happy she was to be a part of the show. I hope, I could be totally wrong.