I concur, second best show on TV, just shy of 24. I actually like (being a male) the fact that some of the original character sexes have changed. I hear the rating are good too, so I'm hopefull it will stay on the air for a while.
Isn't it a great thing that special effects technology has progressed so far that we are able to get quality stuff on a weekly show? I'm loving it!
It was a great first episode. The pilot mini-series didn't sell me on the show, but "33" did. The special effects are far superior to those of the original series, of course, but the CGI stuff isn't what drives the series. It's all about the characters and the interwoven plots.
Scifi series have a tendency to eventually bog down, becoming too convoluted and clever for their own good. Let's hope that that day is several years away.
Must confess, I've never seen Battlestar Galactica, new, old, or whatever. But when I was about the same age where you discovered the original Battlestar Galactica, I was faithfully watching the original Star Trek, in its original run on NBC...
There must be something about TV series, books, etc., that one discovers around that age. A surprising number of them which gripped me around age 10 or 12 are still with me.
I managed to catch the remake of the series from the start and let me tell you I am hooked. I really like how they deviate from the orginal but still keep plenty of the familiar qualities that I remember.
I agree with your remarks about the show being well written and having an excellent cast with the possbile exception of Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis). I have to tell you I find his character extremely annoying and distracting from the plot. I also consider his acting not on par with the rest of the cast.
While I like the concept of Cylons screwing with his head I think the writers could have done a better job here. Otherwise it is a top notch show that is getting me back into science fiction.
The one thing I find most distracting about Baltar is his uncanny resemblence physically and vocally to Alexandar Siddig, Dr. Bashir on Deep Space Nine.
Also I highly recommend Ron Moore's BSG Blog. He's the producer, and a former Star Trek writer/producer as well. He gives some great insights into the creative process warts and all.
The one thing I'd like to see come back is the original series' theme music. I understand they used it as the Colonial National Anthem in the mini-series though. (I haven't seen the mini-series yet.)
Agreed, Eric. I'd like to see Alexander Siddig guest star as Baltar's Cylon double or something like that just to *really* mess with our heads. Or better yet, they could replace the invisible Cylon that haunts Balthar with Terry Farrell or Nana Visitor ;)
Anyway, I love BSG - it's got more than a little Firefly in it (and if you watch carefully, the Serenity appears as part of the fleet in the miniseries. Ha!) Ron Moore was one of the reasons I thought ST: Deep Space 9 was the best incarnation of that franchise, and he's working similar magic here.
I found Baltar annoying at first too, but he's supposed to be slimy and annoying, and he does it very well.
The series is only halfway through its first season and it's already been renewed for a second season, so it's gonna be around for a while. Let's hope they can keep this up. I think they can, it's obvious they've got a tremendous amount of back story they're playing with.
All the talk about God from the cylons had me really mystified at first, but now I have a theory as to what they're driving at. The show is highly un-PC and... well, we'll see if I'm right.
Paul Burgess wrote:
"There must be something about TV series, books, etc., that one discovers around that age. A surprising number of them which gripped me around age 10 or 12 are still with me."
That's the same with me! Egyptian, Sumerian, Hawaiian, etc., mythologies, "Get Smart", "Lost in Space", etc., are still with me.
The first "Star Trek" episodes came on around when I was in 7th grade as I recall, around 1967. I saw a few episodes of "Battlestar Gallactica" in the late 1970s.
Dean, I read somewhere that the creator of the new series saw in the "God Talk" going on between the Cylon babe and the Dr. Baltar character is meant to suggest parallels between the Cylons and Al Queda-- the fanatical belief that God has given this "race" or "culture" His divine order to eradicate the "infidel" in this case the human race. If that is so, then I salute the BSG folks for their courage in promulgating a stance that is extremely un-PC in "Blame America First" Hollywood.
I have to admit, I remember the original series as a kid and thought it a shallow, cheezy show (which is Glen Larson's stock-in-trade). These new guys have taken the old concept and really made a taut, well-made series. I'm hooked...
Chadsdad: Damn! I had not read that, but I was chatting with my friend John the other night and we were both ruminating on what all this God talk from the Cylons was all about, and I said, "Damn. Maybe there's a Cylon bin Laden."
Well, Babylon 5, especially seasons 2-4 were better than BG so far.
But give it time and I'm not so sure. They need a better-defined story arc than "running away from the bad guys." Some glimmer of that with whatever is going on at homeworld, but we'll have to see.
I do find the political correctness of their polytheistic religion to be vaguely annoying, and the zodiac thing is silly, but I guess that's unavoidable from the original.
Now, why does Baldar have to TALK to the woman? Isn't he smart enough to know it's all in his head?
For those with broadband, it isn't too hard to download all the first season episodes, if you know where to look. A hint: google "battlestar galactica bittorrent."
'Nuff said. :)
...yes, you have to install a Bittorrent client, but (AFAIK) none of the good client have spyware a la Kazaa. I have Bit Tornado, and it seems to be a popular and respected app...
You can find Enterprise episodes that way, too, and gosh darn if the final season won't be a good one! I like the "new" Andorians.
Oh, in case you're wondering how those BSG episodes are already available: the lucky folks across The Water got to start watching them last fall.
For the record, I like Baltar. I never did in the old series. Heck, why would a human betray the human race for a bunch of machines, anyway?
But the new Gaius makes sense. He's smart, talented, arrogant, and (very important) a materialist skeptic. He's also a sex maniac, which provides some occasional bawdy humor when he's "interacting" with his imaginary Cylon playmate sometimes, and someone catches him with his trousers down. Whoops!
Point being that Number Six used wild, freaky sex as the bait, and now she's the Cylon evangelist for God. Poor, cynical materialist skeptic Gaius has no tools to deal with this approach, especially after the Colonial holocaust and his "miraculous" from Caprica at the last minute. If you watch all 13 episodes you'll see Number Six play him like a cheap organ; and I'll avoid the obvious puns, here. :)
Alas, being the geeky model-builder that I am, I am feverishly thirsting for models of the new Cylon Raider, Viper (I want marks II and VII, natch!), and the new Galactica. And if you have an old Monogram Cylon Raider or Viper model kit on the shelf, the prices on eBay have gone up a bit lately. If you have the original of either (both of which could shoot plastic "missles") unassembled, you can expect $50-$60 or more.
Kevin Murphy writes "Now, why does Baldar have to TALK to the woman? Isn't he smart enough to know it's all in his head?"
Because two minute shots of Balter staring at the bulkhead and (occasionally) ejaculating would make terrible TV. Ok? Heh.
I have to ask: what's so PC and annoying about a polytheistic religion?
I think it's interesting how both sides are pointing to Kobold prophecy as supporting "their" side.
I've seen the entire season, and I'll avoid spoilers, but I have to say that Richard Hatch does a great job as Tom Zarek; an (apparent) cross between Mandela and Tim McVeigh...
And with that, I'm signing off of WBSG tonight. Heh.
Wow. That was... impressive. To put it mildly. When I first read what you wrote, Dean, I thought you were being overly effusive just for effect. But if anything, you were understating the case. I can't believe how well done the show is. I can't believe it's from the same network that created "Farscape" and the new version of Dune. I can't believe I finally have a great sci-fi show to watch again (nothing since Star Trek TNG has done anything for me). Real good call on this one, Dean. Real good.
Well, I eagerly await the completion of my torrent downloads of the next two episodes, which when I left for work, were going at about 8 friggin kps. You wouldn't happen to know of a faster source, would you?
Isn't it a great thing that special effects technology has progressed so far that we are able to get quality stuff on a weekly show? I'm loving it!
Scifi series have a tendency to eventually bog down, becoming too convoluted and clever for their own good. Let's hope that that day is several years away.
Dammit, Dean, and me still on dialup!!!
Must confess, I've never seen Battlestar Galactica, new, old, or whatever. But when I was about the same age where you discovered the original Battlestar Galactica, I was faithfully watching the original Star Trek, in its original run on NBC...
There must be something about TV series, books, etc., that one discovers around that age. A surprising number of them which gripped me around age 10 or 12 are still with me.
I agree with your remarks about the show being well written and having an excellent cast with the possbile exception of Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis). I have to tell you I find his character extremely annoying and distracting from the plot. I also consider his acting not on par with the rest of the cast.
While I like the concept of Cylons screwing with his head I think the writers could have done a better job here. Otherwise it is a top notch show that is getting me back into science fiction.
Also I highly recommend Ron Moore's BSG Blog. He's the producer, and a former Star Trek writer/producer as well. He gives some great insights into the creative process warts and all.
The one thing I'd like to see come back is the original series' theme music. I understand they used it as the Colonial National Anthem in the mini-series though. (I haven't seen the mini-series yet.)
Anyway, I love BSG - it's got more than a little Firefly in it (and if you watch carefully, the Serenity appears as part of the fleet in the miniseries. Ha!) Ron Moore was one of the reasons I thought ST: Deep Space 9 was the best incarnation of that franchise, and he's working similar magic here.
The series is only halfway through its first season and it's already been renewed for a second season, so it's gonna be around for a while. Let's hope they can keep this up. I think they can, it's obvious they've got a tremendous amount of back story they're playing with.
All the talk about God from the cylons had me really mystified at first, but now I have a theory as to what they're driving at. The show is highly un-PC and... well, we'll see if I'm right.
"There must be something about TV series, books, etc., that one discovers around that age. A surprising number of them which gripped me around age 10 or 12 are still with me."
That's the same with me! Egyptian, Sumerian, Hawaiian, etc., mythologies, "Get Smart", "Lost in Space", etc., are still with me.
The first "Star Trek" episodes came on around when I was in 7th grade as I recall, around 1967. I saw a few episodes of "Battlestar Gallactica" in the late 1970s.
"Star Trek" premiered on September 8, 1966, with the episode "The Man Trap" (which was actually the fifth episode filmed).
I have to admit, I remember the original series as a kid and thought it a shallow, cheezy show (which is Glen Larson's stock-in-trade). These new guys have taken the old concept and really made a taut, well-made series. I'm hooked...
Heh. Looks like maybe I was right. :-)
But give it time and I'm not so sure. They need a better-defined story arc than "running away from the bad guys." Some glimmer of that with whatever is going on at homeworld, but we'll have to see.
I do find the political correctness of their polytheistic religion to be vaguely annoying, and the zodiac thing is silly, but I guess that's unavoidable from the original.
Now, why does Baldar have to TALK to the woman? Isn't he smart enough to know it's all in his head?
For those with broadband, it isn't too hard to download all the first season episodes, if you know where to look. A hint: google "battlestar galactica bittorrent."
'Nuff said. :)
...yes, you have to install a Bittorrent client, but (AFAIK) none of the good client have spyware a la Kazaa. I have Bit Tornado, and it seems to be a popular and respected app...
You can find Enterprise episodes that way, too, and gosh darn if the final season won't be a good one! I like the "new" Andorians.
Oh, in case you're wondering how those BSG episodes are already available: the lucky folks across The Water got to start watching them last fall.
For the record, I like Baltar. I never did in the old series. Heck, why would a human betray the human race for a bunch of machines, anyway?
But the new Gaius makes sense. He's smart, talented, arrogant, and (very important) a materialist skeptic. He's also a sex maniac, which provides some occasional bawdy humor when he's "interacting" with his imaginary Cylon playmate sometimes, and someone catches him with his trousers down. Whoops!
Point being that Number Six used wild, freaky sex as the bait, and now she's the Cylon evangelist for God. Poor, cynical materialist skeptic Gaius has no tools to deal with this approach, especially after the Colonial holocaust and his "miraculous" from Caprica at the last minute. If you watch all 13 episodes you'll see Number Six play him like a cheap organ; and I'll avoid the obvious puns, here. :)
Alas, being the geeky model-builder that I am, I am feverishly thirsting for models of the new Cylon Raider, Viper (I want marks II and VII, natch!), and the new Galactica. And if you have an old Monogram Cylon Raider or Viper model kit on the shelf, the prices on eBay have gone up a bit lately. If you have the original of either (both of which could shoot plastic "missles") unassembled, you can expect $50-$60 or more.
Because two minute shots of Balter staring at the bulkhead and (occasionally) ejaculating would make terrible TV. Ok? Heh.
I have to ask: what's so PC and annoying about a polytheistic religion?
I think it's interesting how both sides are pointing to Kobold prophecy as supporting "their" side.
I've seen the entire season, and I'll avoid spoilers, but I have to say that Richard Hatch does a great job as Tom Zarek; an (apparent) cross between Mandela and Tim McVeigh...
And with that, I'm signing off of WBSG tonight. Heh.
I really hope they can keep this level up. So far they haven't disappointed me.