BSG's Eastern Alliance and fascist kitsch

I have begun the three-story arc in the original BSG concerning the fascistic-like Eastern Alliance. Frankly, I am rather disappointed with this arc, even offended by it. The best sci-fi series on fascism, such as Blake's 7, Babylon 5, and Doctor Who's Dalek storylines, try to make important political statements about the nature of fascism. Babylon 5, for instance, seeks to highlight how fascist states evolve from democratic governments. It does an excellent job of pointing out how these states manage to flip the loyalties of ordinary people (V is also exceptional in this regard), Blake's 7's strength is in its portrayal of what a Nazi universe would have looked like, and its portrayal is brutally, unremittingly chilling, as the Nazi-like Federation takes its exterminationist policies to the level of the near-absurd, but still believable and frightening. By contrast with these excellent portrayals, the Eastern Alliance is noticeably an amateurish effort. Other than their very effective Nazi-like uniforms, the Alliance has little sense of menace. Instead, the Alliance fights against committed "Nationalists", a convenient term for the Western powers in BSG. Fascism, in BSG, is a mere stand in for communism, trying to equate what Russia did with Nazi Germany's excesses. The problem is, Hitler was reacting to a democratic government, whereas the Communists were reacting to a brutal Czarist regime that had oppressed Russia for centuries. Fascism, as a philosophy, is pretty much inherently evil. Communism's evil or goodness appears to be dependent on what government is in power. Certainly, socialist regimes in Western Europe have worked rather well, whereas China and Soviet Russia have caused great suffering.

But that's besides the point. The original BSG had potential. The intrinsic story idea was interesting, and capable of sustaining a successful series for several seasons (as it did with the reboot). But it's cartoonish depiction of Council politics, laser guns, and freaky children who you want to gun down before they destroy the Fleet, makes it embarrassing by contemporary standards. It shows me, more than ever, how much more advanced British sci-fi was in the late 70's and early 80's, compared to what America was offering. Blake's 7 consistently dealt with issues of contemporary relevance, and even Doctor Who improved under Christopher Bidmead's script editorship (I'm still trying to wrap my head around Logopolis and Castrovalva). By contrast, all America could do was produce Flash-Gordon rip off serials for the general public, a reflection not on the BSG team (which I think wanted to make a good show and had good ideas), but on the network execs who helped tank BSG before it could develop a proper storyline.