The New Battlestar Galactica
Dean
When I was a kid I liked the series "Battlestar Galactica." Although even back then I saw significant flaws in the show, I always loved the concept. In execution the series was, well, a late 1970s TV show with spotty writing and somewhat cheesy acting--just like most late 1970s TV shows.
When I heard they were remaking this old show as a miniseries I wasn't sure what to think. I saw parts of it and was intrigued. It was uneven, but showed a tremendous amount of potential.
Well now the show is a full-blown series and I have to say, it's far and away the best science fiction show I've ever seen on television. The writing and directing is top notch, and the cast is exceptional. Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are both particularly stellar performers, but the rest of the cast is quite solid. The show is gritty, tense, sexy, tightly written, and full of mystery and surprises. It's terrific television all the way around.
In a rather surprising move, the producers have put the entire first episode of the series (not the somewhat uneven miniseries, but the first episode of the regular series) online, free for viewing. It's mildly gutsy, only in the sense that most television studios are extremely skittish about this sort of thing. But they couldn't make a smarter move. This initial episode, "33," is some of the most riveting TV I've seen in a long, long time. Most of humanity has been wiped out, and this ragtag band of barely 50,000 people is fleeing wildly from an enemy hellbent on destroying them completely. I expect that anyone who watches it will find themselves wanting to tune in to see the subsequent episodes. The series is just that good.
If you're looking for high concept drama or really just very good (and rather cutting edge, for the genre) television, I suggest you CLICK HERE TO VIEW "33".
(Obviously you'll need a broadband connection.)
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.