BSG
Season 2 is officially set and ready to go.
The Cylon attack reduced humanity to a ragtag collection of ships. In the days to come, humanity itself come close to finishing the job. The civilian government had been totally destroyed in the initial attack. The Fleet was left leaderless, panicked and desperate. Each person, on each ship, was left asking themselves, "when will it be my turn?"
It's natural, no doubt, to react to the Abyss yawning below you by clutching at any small semblance of control, some hint that one's fate is not entirely out of one's own hands. The only thing most ships could control was the goods they could supply to the rest of the Fleet. Fuel, food, medical supplies - whatever a ship could make available, was available - for a price. And as each ship sought to convince itself that it was indispensible, the price rose. Deals fell through, hoarding was rife, shortages spread. Ships left without food or medicine panicked; requests became demands, demands became stand-offs. It would take only one incident to set it off.
Under Admiral Tigh, the military had no time for civilian problems - until they started affecting Galactica's supply. Requests became demands, demands became stand-offs - stand-offs became an order to send in the marines. When the dust cleared, Galactica had its supplies, and the fleet was finally united - against Galactica.
A little-noticed outcome of the violence was that the prisoners of the Astral Queen saw their chance to revolt. Their leader, Tom Zarek, orchestrated a coup that was swift, brutal - and decisive. The military had their attention taken up with securing their supplies, leaving him time to consolidate his position, which he pursued ruthlessly.
By the time Tigh could deal with Mr Zarek, he found the situation had changed. Zarek had announced his command of the Astral Queen by offering the services of the men under his command, freely and without favour, to the rest of the civilian fleet. And the captains, still suspicious of one another, found at least one person they could trust.
They listened to him when he proposed a new Quorum, composed of the captain of each ship, to deal with the problems of supply throughout the Fleet. They agreed when he argued that the Quorum needed to elect a new President - not to lead the Quorum, though he would. Not to restore hope and order, though he promised that too. No - his argument in favour of restoring the Presidency was so that one person, with the Fleet standing behind him, could stand up and face down Admiral Tigh.
It's natural, no doubt, to react to the feeling of helplessness by clutching at any small semblance of control, some hint that one's fate is not entirely out of one's own hands. A vote provides that in some small measure. Tom Zarek understood that. Perhaps only one man was surprised at the election's outcome - but the Admiral still had little choice but to accept the result. Negotiations between Admiral Tigh and President Zarek were not pretty, but by their end, the Fleet remained under Galactica's protection, and Galactica remained supplied.
We're starting Sunday, when everyone can give it their full attention; won't you welcome the crew?