"Battlestar Galactica" Dirty Hands (TV Episode 2007) Poster

(TV Series)

(2007)

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8/10
Not exciting, but maybe necessary
wuensdorf25 February 2007
One of the issues with the previous Battlestar Galactica was that society seemed to function smoothly with a smile on everyone's face. For downtime, everyone went to the galactic casino and partied hard.

Naturally, people facing extinction have it tougher. The episode's focus on labor and class issues was a decent attempt to show some of the real difficulties of a society reduced to something close to indentured servitude. The ending may have been a bit too tidy, but considering these issues are rarely examined in popular television, it was interesting to see the writers wrestle with the issue.

Tyrol's character showed some good development as well.
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8/10
Tyrol reforms the union
Tweekums15 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Watching the series through again I stalled when I came to this episode as I remembered it for one scene I really did not like; eventually I decided to watch it so I could get back to the 'good episodes'... having watched it again I realised I was wrong to dislike the episode; it may have one problem scene and the main plot can be considered filler but it did include some important character development for several people as well as showing Admiral Adama in a new light. When fuel production starts to fall off President Roslin has the workers representative thrown in the brig after he quotes from a book written by Gaius Baltar; a book that questions the hierarchy of the fleet. Many people a sympathetic to these views; after all promotion is hard if you don't come from the right colony and those working in dirty and dangerous jobs get no time off and little thanks. With the refinery not working Adama sends Chief Tyrol down to sort things out; little suspecting that he will be sympathetic to their cause; in fact he is so sympathetic that he calls a strike when a worker is injured by the dangerous machinery. At this point his deck crew also strike and, in the scene that troubled me, Adama threatens to execute Cally if the Chief doesn't call off the strike.

That one scene bothered me because Adama has not behaved that way before; in fact he was acting more like Admiral Cain in that scene... of course he could have been bluffing and we will never know! The rest of the episode was interesting as it shone a light on another aspect of the fleet; rather than concentrating on the military or the political activities it gave us a glimpse into the lives of the people who keep the fleet going by doing the least glamorous jobs. We also get to see Baltar's role change as he stands up for the little man for once; although knowing him it could just be a ploy to gain sympathy. As is usually the acting was fine; James Callis and Aaron Douglas were particularly good in the scene where Baltar explains to Tyrol how he wasn't always part of the colonial elite.
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10/10
The reason why BSG is set apart
malicENBandarland6 April 2008
this episode showcased the reason why BSG is set apart from any show like it, or even unlike it. it not only has a running story line, mythology, relationships, etc., but it makes ever effort not to sugarcoat life. it tries to highlight every issue that's relevant.

This was one of the best episodes because it highlighted some of the very important but smaller characters. i like the way BSG takes a break from the larger story lines once in awhile and examines certain issues. of course i watched most of BSG on DVD one after the other so i might have more patience than someone who watched it week from week.

i hate this fraking minimum word thing...i said what i want to say and it makes me babble on and on.
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10/10
The social quest !
fsbel31 July 2013
The Social Quest is present among humans inclusively 148,000 years before Christ. Dr. Gaius Baltar corresponds to Marx/Engels of those times. The problem is that the conflict between the dominant class and workers was taking place in a vessel, whose crew is fighting to survive with a battle against the cylons, and the hard services could not stop under the punishment of total destruction of elite, workers and children. Dr. Gaius Baltar has his reasons in his book, but Admiral Adama leads the question with good sense. This episode is necessary because represents a ideological continuity to episode 14 "The Woman King", in which the Sagittarions are considered a form of "under-men".
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5/10
Things are becoming a little too parochial!
drnickyp28 February 2007
Although initially sceptical about the new series of Battlestar Galactica, I have become a firm fan, and wait with considerable anticipation for new episodes. I cannot rate the cast, and production values more highly, and even "bad" episodes are enjoyable.

One of the strengths of the production is it's ability, particularly in Seasons One and Two to deal with many difficult and challenging issues, which to my mind are relevant to a present day world audience, and human struggle in general. This, alongside the exciting, swash- buckling space saga has given the show a truly international and humanistic quality. Recently however, I have become unusually disappointed by the story lines. In "Dirty Hands", "The Woman King", and to some extent "A Day in the Life", the plots seem to have more to do with the internal politics of modern day America, than issues relating to the struggle of humanity at large - Labour disputes, the religious intolerance of a very American "Christian Science" like subgroup of society, seem provincial, small-town issues compared to the previously tackled questions of War, Torture, Genocide, Betrayal etc

Truly great Science Fiction, is able to see beyond the troubles of the time and place in which it is written, and this series does have the potential to be great, so long as it can veer away from falling into the trap of addressing parochial issues. Perhaps the writers need to look beyond the shores of their homeland, to prevent this great series becoming just another American Morality Tale.
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