The Yankee-Cowboy War Updated

I previously wrote about the Yankee-Cowboy War, The Yankee-Cowboy War Looks to Continue.  As I mentioned, this concept is a useful paradigm for viewing the shifting American power base from the old-line Northeastern old money boys (Yankees) to the West and Southwest with its economic base in natural resources and technology. Before moving on to this post, I'd like to clarify two things:

(1) I was wrong in my original post about Hillary being the nominee for the Democrats. Barack Obama, a Chicago Yankee educated in Yankee bastions of Columbia and Harvard universities, became the nominee and President, defeating Cowboy military-trained and Annapolis educated John McCain. This represents the first Yankee victory over a Cowboy since Kennedy defeated Nixon in 1960. However, one could make the case that McCain's political sensibilities on issues like campaign finance and public health, though not on military matters,  actually made him closer to a Yankee than to a Cowboy.

(2) The 2012 political contest was between two Yankees - Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is a classic Yankee vs. Barack Obama. Again there seemed to be no significant difference of the Reagan-Carter example between the nominees. Interestingly however, various "invisible primary" frontrunners like Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and briefly Newt Gingrich in the actual primaries represented the Cowboy faction of the Republican party.

Falling Skies Season Two Recap and Comparison with V

Season Two starts with Tom resisting the Espheni (Grey) Overlord who offers to settle humans on neo-reservations, leaving his species with the run of the planet. During this discussion, he declares that humans are brutal there is no point in negotiating with them when the Greys can just take what they want. He then declares that they have been studying humans a long time, which tracks with conspiracy culture mythology of the Greys.

During the opening episode, Tom attacks and injures an Espheni (Grey) Overlord. The Greys then release the human leaders they have captured and to whom they presumably have made the same arguments and deal which they offered Tom Mason. Once the leaders are released, most of them are killed in an ambush by Skitters and Mechs, though Tom escapes.

During the course of the second season, the 2nd Massachusetts and their outlaw friends make it South to the Reconstituted Government built underneath Charleston, SC. Much of the season's plot line deals with the configuration of the new government, and conflicts between the 2nd Mass and Majority Leader of the new government over the best way to accomplish the respective goals of each. The Majority Leader was Tom's thesis advisor during his PhD in the American Revolution. However, he is much more of a dictator than one who governs via consent of the governed. This leads to an eventual Coup and Tom Mason becoming the unwilling leader of the new government.

During the course of the season, Hal becomes infected by a parasite similar to the one that Tom carried back, which then infected Lourdes (though nothing happened on that plot line in this season)

Episode 5 of Season Two also seems to be pivotal. In this episode we learn that,like in V, a “Fifth Column” develops among the skitters. This Fifth Column is seeking freedom from the Espheni (Grey Alien) overlords, and wages war against their mechanical warriors, which is how the 5th Massachusetts becomes aware of the Fifth Column. During episode 5, the red-eyed leader of this rebellion is wounded and their is conflict among the 5th Mass as to what to do with him. We also learn that some of the Skitters have been able to resist the harness and have been trying to wage rebellion for 100 years. Red-Eye is hopeful that an alliance with the human resistance will lead to the eventual success of the current rebellion. 

The potential rebellion is alarming enough to the Espheni (Grey) alien overlords that they send Hal Mason's former girlfriend Karen to kidnap Ben Mason in order to obtain intelligence from Ben, who has been trying to help forge the alliance between the 5th Column and the 5th Mass. During this attempt, the 5th Mass captures the alien Overlord with whom Tom interacted and was tortured by earlier in the season.

Season Two ends with the death of the Overlord Tom dealt with all season and the arrival of new, winged "Reptilian" aliens. It is unclear if the Reptilians are good or bad from our brief introduction. 

Continuum: SyFy's Battlestar Galactica/Caprica Re-Employment Vehicle

I've got to say that Continuum is proving interesting. However, one notable thing about it is that it seems to employ a number of actors from Battlestar Galactica and Caprica. Caprica's GDD Officer Jordan Durham becomes Vancouver's Police Chief Inspector Dillon in Continuum; Battlestar Galactica's Karl Agathon becomes Union President Jim Martin. There's even an appearance by Daniel Graystone's associate Cyrus as a peddler of black market sperm from high value donors.