"Battlestar Galactica" (2003): Not Your Father's Oldsmobile

[Guest]

If you're a science-fiction fan, FORGET THE ORIGINAL SERIES - WATCH THIS PROGRAM.

Some comments and review of the first two hours of the miniseries, which aired this evening on Sci-Fi- mh

First off, the original 1978 feature sucked so bad, I was thanking the gods that I was in Korea and missed the broadcast of the television program.

Trouble was that 20th Century Fox had struck it rich the year before with Star Wars, making the cigar-puffing idiots at Universal decide to hop on the ol' sci-fi bandwagon. I can almost imagine them squawking over their Brie and Perrier: "Buhbie, how hard can it be? Lucas is nothing! Just make up some spaceships and rayguns and throw in some young hardbodies and we'll make as much money as Fox did!" yeah, right. The end result was a laughable disaster which only lasted one season. "Battlestar Ponderosa" clucked off into the sunset. "Whew, glad that's overwith!" I thought. How often do you see that much cheese on the small screen when it isn't showing a Velveeta commercial?

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So when earlier this year I saw the announcements of a revamp in the works, I was prepared to be a major skeptic. However, as a writer and a critic, I was also prepared to be objective, and give credit where credit is due. Sometimes it's actually fun to watch TV (as opposed to the root canal it normally is) and this evening was one of those times, as Sci-Fi Channel's original new miniseries bowed.

In short, - very, very good (and I would really like to know what the ratings were - Quade, do you have that link to the Nielsens?). Good television, good script, good acting. SFX to enhance the show, rather than be the point of the show. It was so good and so balanced I can't help wondering if Joss Whedon, Chris Carter or J. Michael Straczynski had a hand in it.

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The first thirty minutes were just a little lame here and there as the characters and situations were established and the story was revealed, but the opening scenes definitely caught my attention. Plenty of conflict, intrigue and so forth and plenty of time to give the characters some depth before all hell started breaking loose.

When the action began, the script, which was already pacing well and ratcheting up the tension, suddenly got really, really tight. And dig this - the spacecraft obey the laws of physics for a change! They fly like spacecraft, NOT airplanes! The moment I saw this, I knew the show was going to be special.

Good television can be a lot of fun. I'm glad the producers recognized the limitations of the original plot and found ways to give it more believability within the existing framework, and wisely decided to hold it to a miniseries. Beginning, middle, end - finis. Babylon-5 was like that.

The thing that impresses me most about the first two hours of this miniseries that aired tonight is its humanity. There aren't any glamorous young hardbodies, at least not the humans, anyway.

Miami Vice alumnus Edward James Olmos makes a very convincing skipper of a ship that's being decomissioned. He's butt-ugly, has thinning hair, and wears reading glasses (just like yours truly. I like him already, I thought ). He's sticking to the old rules about keeping systems simple, reliable, and hackproof, the way they were during the war.

War? What war? Why, the one against the Cylons, of course. The Cylons were automatons created by the human race to be their slaves. Naturally, the Cylons didn't go for this. Rise, robots, rise!

Now, it's decades later and there is a truce of sorts, but the Cylons have decided to wipe out the human race.

The other characters have flaws. The ships' XO is balding and divorced with a drinking problem; but who, when the fighting begins, rises to the occasion and makes hard, hard choices.

What's interesting about the characters is that although the humans are plain, the Cylons are anything but. Edmonton knockout Tricia Helfer plays "Number 6", a beautiful and lethal Cylon android who infiltrates the defense systems of the human worlds, laying the path wide open for a ferocious Cylon attack.

Hats off to head writer Ronald Moore (who's written and produced a LOT of science fiction over the years) for making it so topsy-turvy (protagonists plain, dull, ordinary, and flawed; antagonists so beautiful and deadly).

In conclusion, this is shit-hot television, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[kallend 2,027]

I rather liked "Hornblower" on A&E last week.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[turtlespeed 221]

Eh, I watched CSI Miami last night. I forgot that the BSG was on.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[CrazyIvan 0]

Well....I didn't watch it because the 'remakes' sometimes are worse than the original, or just a gay version of the original, like DUNE.

I'll stick to my 'Married...with Children' reruns.

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Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

I liked the original as a kid because the Cylons were cool and the toys had missles that could actually fire (well, until the recall when someone took one in the eye). Not sure I understood the story back then, but I re-watched the entire show sometime in college and really enjoyed it, despite all of the flaws it had.

Now when I first heard about three years ago that someone attached to the original show was trying to start a new show and expand upon the story arc/mythology of the 12 colonies and the Cylon war....I was very interested. Then I heard how Hollywood got involved in this and complained from the start that "it wasn't sexy enough - you need more sex in this show" and the original crew were kicked off the project, and the producers found a way to throw "a couple hot blonds" into the story to attract more than just the geek fanboy....it was only then this show was picked up and greenlighted. These are the same issues that JMS was running into while making B5, but he was a bit more aggressive with the networks (thus the entire drama of the show nearly getting canceled all the time). This is also why Crusade was so terrible - they would only greenlight it if he abided this time (don't believe me? just read JMS's usenet postings).

Then to find out that Farscape was canceled so junk like this could be made me despise this show even before it started to film. And SciFi has hinted that if the mini-series does well, they will start a new show off of this. (FYI - It looks like Farscape will be given a 4 hour mini-seriers to wrap up the story - only because of how well the DVDs are selling....and now they have asked JMS to write another B5 inspired show due to how well those DVDs are selling).

I've only watched the first 30 minutes of this new show, and it put me to sleep. I'll give it another shot tonight, but I was not impressed that they started out the show with zero dialog and that blond Cylon making out with some guy....and I wasn't really impressed with the other 28 minutes I saw....there was nothing original, and each character was a typical scifi cliche.

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you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Mark - compare what you saw last night to "Space: Above and Beyond" and tell me what you think. That was a show that had characters with real flaws, ships flew like they should in space, etc....

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you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[McDuck 0]

I don't know...When I was a kid, the original Battleship Galaxative held honest appeal to me. I wasn't concerned about the physics of flight in space, although I did question how massive incendiary explosions could happen in an airless void. I watched it because it appealed to the escapist mentality all children maintain at some point in their growth. It let us wander the universe and wipe out "bad guys" in the theatre of the mind. In fact, I grew SO attached to it that when they made that crappy addendum show with new actors (save Lorne Greene who didn't appear to age well), I was horrified and refused to watch it. I suppose I should watch this new one, however, I tend to lean more towards the appeal of shows like Space: Above and Beyond for the reasons mentioned by ChasingBlueSky and my own reasons for admiring the original Galatica.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[Guest]

It was similar. I was gonna remark on that, but I felt it would have been too geekish.

And yes, I can see the heavy hand of the studios on this - "You need lots of sex in the beginning! Otherwise, the geek fanboys won't watch it!"

I didn't want to comment on that. The upshot of my critique was that it was a vast improvement on the original, and it was written a lot better.

It also reminded me a lot of Sci-Fi's "Dune" remake, which I thought was very good as well.

Those who are critical have to remember that this is TELEVISION. Anything that rises up out of the primordial muck that is the wasteland of TV and tries to throw itself up on dry land and breathe air is a big improvement.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[riddler 0]

Quote

the spacecraft obey the laws of physics for a change!

You mean they don't make explosion sounds when they're destroyed in space?

Seriously, I don't watch television, but I'm looking forward to it coming out on DVD.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[Guest]

Quote

I rather liked "Hornblower" on A&E last week.

I love Hornblower. TV doesn't get better than that.

BTW - I wasn't putting BSG-2k3 in the same category as Masterpiece Theater, I just wanted to say that aside from the silly sex crap at the beginning (ST Enterprise is VERY GUILTY of that cheap trick!) it's a big improvement over the original. Believable jeopardy, and some interesting characters and situations.

You see, I have "Harju's 30-second rule" that I apply to most anything I choose to watch. After a vetting process that involves consulting the TV listings, visiting the oracle at Delphi, reading my horoscope ("Saggitarius! Watching TV this evening will result in spontaneous human combustion!"), examining the entrails of goats, etc., I decide what I'm going to watch, but the program has to get my attention in the first 30 seconds and hold it to the first commercial break, otherwise, it's surf city.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

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Eh, I watched CSI Miami last night. I forgot that the BSG was on.

SciFi is showing all four hours of the show tonight - part one begins at 6pm CST, then followed by part 2 at 8pm CST.

I saw a part of the first Dune mini-series and wasn't impressed. I never bothered with Children of Dune.

Taken seems like one of the better series they have made in a while.

SciFi is trying to become a big-shot in the Pay-For-TV market....trying to attract bigger names, and increase profit margins. They cancel their most loved show because it had slightly lower ratings than SG-1, and then take that money to make drek like BSG and Scare Tactics. This has me worried on what direction SG:Atlantis will take - a spin off series seems unnecessary.

And Mark - I agree with you on Enterprise - I stopped watching Star Trek shortly after DS9 went off the air.

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you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[Amazon 7]

I watched it last night and thought it quite good actually. I really appreciate the lack of 80's BIG HAIR on the bridge of Galactica ( remember the first series blonde babes in uniforms) And for once the simpering idiot is Captain Apollo and Starbuck RAWKS...well except for the cigar thing...I don't care how drunk you get the damn things still are vile rolls of donkey turds. Maybe even Baltar will find some redeeming qualities... even a genius has times when he only thinks with the little head.

[Guest]

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I watched it last night and thought it quite good actually. I really appreciate the lack of 80's BIG HAIR on the bridge of Galactica

And those silly CAPES on the costumes, fer cryin' out loud. One would think the cast was going to start flying around without spacecraft at any moment...

What was really hysterical was the MI insignia (please see MI Assn website) on the collars of the costumes. The ol' "Shafted Sunflower" was right there, four feet tall in the movie theater. The characters actually discussed the insignia at one point (one of the characters gave the insignia to a kid), saying something like "You normally get grey hair before you get these." We were just rolling on the floor at that point.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Squeak 17]

When I watched BSG as a kid I didnt care about the plausabiltiy of it
I just wanted one of their space bikes.
They rocked, ride on down the highway then just take off.
HOW COOL IS THAT

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[murps2000 86]

I watched both episodes, as I was a major fan back in the day. I saw it in the theatre as a kid (it WAS a movie first) and I liked it way better than Star Wars, because the characters were regular people, and there was none of that "force" crap. Credit where credit is due, I agreed with Han Solo, that "hokey religions and ancient weapons were no match for a good blaster at your side." Yeah, I know it was gay, but I liked the capes, and the pharoah helmets, and all that other felgercarb.
Sci-Fi did a good job with special effects, and the few times you did get to see a cylon centurion, I found them to be a good bit scarier than before. I agree that it was refreshing to see the spacecraft obey the laws of physics, and the eerie silence as the ships zipped thru space was nice. The modifications to the original storyline weren't bad either.
But lets face it, they fucked it up in one major way. She was good, to be sure, but I really have to take issue with Starbuck being a chick now, albeit a tough one. Boomer being a girl I could stomach, but not Starbuck. I'll admit that I did grow to appreciate "her" character as I watched, but you know, in general principle, that was just wrong. Starbuck was the original space cowboy, and of course, the quintessential ladies man. I mean, when other kids on my street wanted to be Luke Skywalker on Halloween, I wanted to be Starbuck. There was one point last night where I thought for sure Appollo and Starbuck were going to lip-lock, and I was about ready to cry. Thank the lords of Kobol THAT didn't happen. I know it's a new age, and were supposed to be PC, and all, but I just can't accept this. Ladies, do you have to take EVERYTHING from us? At the very least they should have gotten Casseopia back for some HLA, but I guess it would have to be on HBO for that. Ahh, the times they have changed.... Frak.....

[DJatLarge 0]

I watched it both nights now, and am looking forward to tonight... the conclusion??? or introduction to the series???

One thing that I am really impressed with is the (almost) realistic flight controls and rules of physics that they (almost) follow. How all over the Vipers have little retro rockets to control their direction. Not just the one engine in the back that manages turns, etc in space with no real explination of how. Yes, I'm a big dork!!

I'm a big fan of Star Wars too (I have toy lightsabers too Ivan,) but appreciate the (almost) realism of this mini-series.

[Jimbo 0]

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I watched it both nights now, and am looking forward to tonight... the conclusion??? or introduction to the series???

I'm pretty sure it's over. Tonight's episode looks to be a repeat of last night.

My guess is that we'll see a series in a few months, maybe longer.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[murps2000 86]

Uh, any REAL dork would know that vipers have three main engines. Hey, maybe that's where they got the idea for our shuttle? Anyway, I think it's over dude. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see a TV show comeback. It's probably for the best. I'm bitching about Starbuck being a chick, and I figure it's only a matter of time before some NAACP type jumps into the fray because Col. Tigh's white, now. Oh, well. Back to CHiP's re-runs....

[LouDiamond 1]

Well here is something REALLY dorky. If my calculations are correct, I have accounted for 11 of the 12 human cylons. Based on the others, it looks like they are based on 4 models, 3 ea units. So if my assumptions are correct the 12th one should be another oriental female not counting the one currently on the ship.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Jimbo 0]

11?

Help me out here, because I didn't get quite that far. So far, I've counted:

* The Centurian model (The classic Cylon)
* The Cylon raiders looked like Cylons to me
* Hottie Cylon or #6
* The 'arms dealer' on the weapons depot
* The PR guy
* Boomer's model

I'm 5 short. What did I miss?

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[LouDiamond 1]

There are 12 human form cyclons. At the end of the show they all met on Ragnar where the oriental female was outed as one of them(1 ea). The other models were the hot chick(3 ea), PR guy(3 ea) and arms dealer guy(2 ea). Counting all present, the one dead arms guy model, and the one oriental model currently on the Galactica makes 11. Following the pattern means the 12th one should be the oriental female model. Although, it could be a different model. If that was the case, I would say that I think the Presidents aide(young guy) has potential to be #12

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Amazon 7]

Nope there are 12 models with numerous itterations of each model

1) The Cylon Metal warriors

2) The Number six sexbot model

3) The Guy on the station at Ragnar Anchorage

4) The PR/News guy or whatever he was.

5) The Boomer model to be seen again I am sure.


That leaves 7 others for them to ferret out. Each line would be a model number.

[Guest]

Quote

There are 12 human form cyclons. At the end of the show they all met on Ragnar where the oriental female was outed as one of them(1 ea). The other models were the hot chick(3 ea), PR guy(3 ea) and arms dealer guy(2 ea). Counting all present, the one dead arms guy model, and the one oriental model currently on the Galactica makes 11. Following the pattern means the 12th one should be the oriental female model. Although, it could be a different model. If that was the case, I would say that I think the Presidents aide(young guy) has potential to be #12

I thought ol' #6 said there were "twelve models" of humanoid Cylons, not twelve total, but maybe I misunderstood, in which case, you're right - there must be one more, perhaps the president's attache.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[LouDiamond 1]

I don't think so. The hot chick model told old boy there were 12 of them LIKE her(human) if I understood correctly.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Jimbo 0]

My take on the meeting at Ragnor was that we saw multiple copies of the same model. Hottie McCylon said that when her body was destroyed that her conciousness (If we can call it that) would be transferred into an identical body. I figured that we were just seeing a few of the many identical bodies waiting for her, multiple #6s, for example. Same with the others, of course.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.