The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS of "Battlestar Galactica."

To read Alan Stanley Blair's review of this episode, click here.

Even though we're watching only the second episode of "Battlestar Galactica's" first season, we've already watched more than five hours of action as the Cylons decided to wipe out their creators, the Colonials. And with that, we face something never faced by science-fiction before: How the hell are we supposed to survive out here?

Sure, we watched as Capt. Kirk tried to find dilithium crystals to fix the warp drive. We've watched Han Solo try to find a good bar. Even Ripley needed to catch a bite to eat before killing aliens. But sci-fi -- the way we know it -- makes space travel look easier than just staying put here on good ol' Earth.

That is, until "Battlestar Galactica."

Just a week after we sat in wonderment how the ships of the Twelve Colonies seem to have the exact same style clocks as the lost colony (for you neophytes ... that would be us Terrans), we got to watch as the 50,000 people remaining realized they had bigger problems than the Cylons: "What are we going to eat and drink?"

In an episode aptly titled "Water," we find the survivors of the Cylon Holocaust looking for, you guessed it, water. Apparently, some bad person decided to blow up the water tanks on the Galactica, which could've sustained all 50,000 people for some time. The Colonial fleet goes into automatic water conservation mode, and it's the stench of everyone not taking showers that finally convinces Cmdr. Adama (Edward James Olmos) to order a fleet of Raptors out to find us some water.

OK, in all fairness, Adama gave the order before he had to smell himself. But it all leads to the same place: a good character-driven episode that proves once again that we don't need big space battles to hold the interest of science-fiction audiences.

I think that's one of the things that really has me loving this new series ... executive producer Ronald D. Moore is one of the few people on this planet outside of Rockne S. O'Bannon that remembers sci-fi fans are generally pretty smart, and like to have smart stories. We don't want some stupid "Andromeda," or moronic "Mutant X." We want stories that will make us think, that won't lure us in with breasts or some muscle-guy's boxer brief package. We want stories that actually are stories, that address issues relevant to us, and that make sense if there really was a ragtag fleet of 50,000 people floating in space trying to flee from a formidable enemy.

I honestly feel that that was something Gene Roddenberry tried to accomplish a bit in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." When the series first came out, and came into its own, one of my friends who was a Trek purist, told me that they couldn't stand the fact that more drama took place on the ship, than on planets they should've been visiting. While it's good to have interaction with other species and such, there are a lot of stories to be told right here at home, and Roddenberry and the crew he worked with on that first Trek spinoff knew that.

I am not sure how many people caught the theme of this episode right from the beginning. Water is a precious resource, and the first seconds of this episode had Boomer (Grace Park) watching the sweat made with that resource drip off her hands.

I have to admit. When I realized that this episode was going to have Boomer active as a Cylon agent, I was worried that we were hitting this storyline too hard, too fast. This is one of those things that should grow, and I felt that having Boomer sabotaging the Galactica in just the second episode probably wasn't the best thing to do.

But I should've trusted what Moore and crew were doing. This new fleet has barely had a chance to figure out what direction they're going to travel in, let alone how to deal with this new Cylon threat of machines looking like humans. And before they even had a chance to react, they get hit and hit hard.

There are a lot of people in this cast, you bet your life. And even though Boomer has already been revealed as a possible Cylon agent, there is a good chance that we're not going to get to see too many Boomer-centric episodes. But if anyone knows how to keep a large ensemble cast active, it's Moore, who did the same for years on "Deep Space Nine." On that show, even recurring guest actors had plenty to do, almost making fans wonder why they weren't mentioned in the opening credits.

Boomer knows she's somehow involved, and almost begins to suspect that maybe she is some type of Cylon agent. However, Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) convinces her that her loss of memory and such has to be the result of someone drugging her. I mean, come on ... there is no way Boomer can be involved in this. Someone HAS to be framing her.

It's logic that makes sense, and it's logic that will keep this Boomer-Cylon story going for quite some time in this series.

I thought what was more beautiful was the fact that it was Boomer who discovered water on a nearby star system. However, something inside her was trying to stop her from revealing that to everyone else. There it was, the information flashing on her screen that water is present, but she just couldn't make herself do it. It made me remember dreams where I wanted to scream out in revelation, but I just couldn't find the voice to do it. You could almost feel the frustration that Boomer was feeling.

The only thing I didn't really seem to understand was the purpose of the bomb on Boomer's Raptor. I didn't even realize at first that it was HER hand on the button ... the direction here was bad. It was almost like the editing crew was randomly inserting bomb scenes, and it took too long to put two and two together that Boomer was ready to blow herself up. Or it could be that I was just too stupid to figure it out. But hey, I'm the review, so what are you going to do?

Oh yeah, there was a B-story that had something to do with Adama trying to remind Roslin (Mary McDonnell) that she's the president. It was an OK B-story, but when she teased us about pomp and circumstance, I was expecting to at least see her walk onto the Galactica with some type of fanfare. But instead, we see a quick cut to the CIC where Roslin is getting a lesson in water usage from Adama. Yawn.

In all, I think it's still way too early to start really judging "Galactica" on its overall quality. I applaud Moore and Co. for continuing the documentary feel introduced in the pilot. There is a sense of realism that just comes automatically with such camera play, that works so well in series like "NYPD Blue" that was one of the first to really start using it. While its effect is limited on cop shows, it takes on whole new meaning in science-fiction where production crews have to work extra hard to suspend our disbelief.

I know that the B-stories are necessary this early on, to establish the mythology, but I still look forward to when we're beyond it ... and sorry, it's going to continue to take away from the story score, because it's just not exciting. But, the main stories are keeping me coming back for more.

Oh, and while the last paragraph is where I would normally end a review, I just need to continue commenting on the opening credit sequence. Love the music, like the montage ideas ... but it's still missing a lot. I still think we need to see some narration in the first part of the opening credits, and the elmination of the junior high school random video montage that we're seeing. I mean, it's like they're almost there, but just need to finish it, so please, please, please do!

Michael Hinman is the news coordinator for Airlock Alpha, contributing from Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at michael@airlockalpha.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: "Battlestar Galactica" currently is airing in the United Kingdom on Sky One, as part of that satellite company's agreement with Sci-Fi Channel to produce the series. It premieres in the United States in January on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Water
Battlestar Galactica

Writing: B-
Story: C
Acting: B-
Directing: C

Overall: C+

This episode was written by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Marita Grabiak.

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