Reviews: Battlestar Galactica 4.9/Charlie Jade 1.1

Review: Battlestar Galactica, Episode 4.9, "The Hub"

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer staff writer Jane Espenson delivers another strong episode, deftly balancing action and character-based drama while moving the final season closer to some major revelations, some of which may occur next week judging by the preview (although last week's preview for this episode turned out to be a bit of a tease). Every time I think this show can't possibly get any better, it does. The suspense for how it all ends just got ratcheted up another notch.

Review: Charlie Jade, Episode 1.1, "The Big Bang"

This Canadian/South African co-production, originally broadcast on Canada's SPACE network in 2005, finally makes its US debut on the Sci Fi Channel. Created by Chris Roland and Robert Wertheimer (noted science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer also had a hand in its development), it's a science fiction drama involving travel to parallel universes and a conspiracy spanning several of them. It's like The X-Files meets Sliders, but it's much closer to the tone of the former. It's also visually stylish, with its look established in the first episode by veteran television director T.J. Scott (Xena: Warrior Princess, La Femme Nikita), and part of what makes it look different are the unfamiliar Cape Town shooting locations. My overall impression of the episode is positive and I'm intrigued enough by the premise to want to see where it goes from here.