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You really are misusing the term "deus ex machina," Jim. If
you look up what it actually means, it refers to something that comes
up at the end of the story, out of nowhere, and saves the situation.
"God in a box" as it's usually called. It's a cheat because it isn't
referenced or built up earlier.

Telepathy is not a deus ex machina device in the show -- it's
been there since the pilot -- nor in SF as a genre. Telepathy has a
long and respected history in the SF genre, with "The Demolished Man"
considered one of the greatest landmarks of the field.

Nor is telepathy used in the show as the end-all solution,
which *also* negates the deus ex machina notion. Look at "Shadow
Dancing." The teeps helped, but it wasn't a case of shooting
motionless ships...it was an all-out bloody fight where our guys lost 3
ships for every 1 they killed. That, to me, ain't deus ex *anything*.

For what it's worth, the latter half or two-thirds of year 4
takes a much more hard SF approach to things, moving away from the myth
cycle into other territory.

jms