Battlestar Galactica is a troubling program. I've just started watching the first season upon the recommendation of my friend jec. The moral ambiguity is something one doesn't see too often on network t.v. In the first episode (following the pilot/miniseries), the fleeing humans must decide if (possibly) killing 1300 people to save 47k is the right decision, and the decision must be made in scant seconds before another attack by the Cylons. The show's tone strikes me as somewhat supportive of the moral ambiguity of the war on terror. How many innocents are worth the lives of x citizens?
In the pilot, when Dr. Gaius Baltar fingers a smarmy ass as a Cylon because he's afraid of getting turned in, it's truly abhorent, yet the guy actually turns out to be a Cylon--does this mean that the people we have locked up in Guantanomo actually are terrorists? Or is it even worse?: that since we don't know, we must lock up certain suspected people because their discomfort could mean the safety of many more.
It's interesting to me that pop culture seems to be moving in that direction, with shows like BG, 24, etc.--even Heroes--all inhabiting areas of shadow and uncertainty. Of course, these shows also have (relatively) clearly-defined "good guys" as well, in keeping with the Western tradition of having a protagonist for whom you can cheer.
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