What was on TV? Fri, Feb 11, 2005

20 years ago, Julian Fellowes published a novel called Snob. Let's see what was on TV!

8:00 He Knew He Was Right (recorded)

Part 2 of 2

This miniseries so desperately wants me to sympathize with this guy as he steals his son away from his mother. Look how sickly he is, it's all so difficult for him. Nice try.

This is a C (or D) tier Masterpiece Theatre installment. But even in the worst Masterpiece installments, there is the joy of recognizing random British actors. Some highlights here: Matthew Goode, Bill Nighy, David Tennant, Russell Tovey's dad from Little Dorrit, Charlotte Lucas from Pride & Prejudice, and Geraldine McEwan, my favorite Miss Marple.

10:00 Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi

1x06 "Litmus"

The parallels between Battlestar and the war on terror were always obvious. The traumatizing act of terror, the compromises that ensue, the terrifying enemy with religious motivations we struggle to understand. But if you had somehow missed the parallels, this episode ought to clear things up.

After a literal suicide bombing, some kind of military investigator comes in to make everyone paranoid and violate civil rights. Eventually she is stopped. It sounds like a feel-good story. But Battlestar makes everything complicated. For one, before she's stopped, she's on the right track. She suspects that the problem lies with Chief and Boomer. And Boomer is a cylon, and Chief is covering for her strange behavior. But the way she gets there is with manipulative questioning tactics and rampant violations of due process. And she doesn't really suspect that anyone is a cylon, she's just latching onto the violation of their romantic relationship because she needs something to prosecute. So it does feel good when she's stopped, but she's only stopped when Adama intervenes and convinces people men to follow his military authority instead of the courts. So that obviously like it sets a dangerous precedent. And also a cylon is still at large, ready to ruin everything. And one of Chief's soldiers dies in order to cover for him, and he has to break up with Boomer and it is BRUTAL. Like most episodes of Battlestar, it resonates with our current moment, and it is at once terrifying, weirdly hopeful, and cathartic.

What Else Was On

Tonight's Special Sweeps Guest Stars, ranked from least to most wild:

#5 Kathy Najimy on Numb3rs

#4 Hayle Duff on Joan of Arcadia

#3 Regis Philbin on Less Than Perfect

#2 Pamela Anderson on 8 Simple Rules

#1 Dame Helen Mirren on Third Watch

TiVo Status

The Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, the Frontline documentary House of Saud, one episode of Monk, and one episode of Without a Trace. 8 hours total.