Battlestar Galactica (Season One)
I grew up on the original Battlestar Galactica, but even as a kid, I knew I was being pandered to with robot dogs and flying motorcycles and a cute kid hanging around on a military ship.
But the premise — robots all but wipe out humans elsewhere in the galaxy, and a ragtag fugitive fleet makes its way towards the semi-mythical Earth while pursued by the relentless Cylons — was sound.
Jump forward to 2004, and the new incarnation of the series. Most of the characters are reimagined, even if they fit into the same general niches — two of them are even women now — and the entire affair takes itself much more seriously. No robot dogs wrestling cute kids on the floor of a military cruiser here.
Likewise, the special effects are a major leap forward and the dogfights in space are shot in bar-raising documentary style fashion, making them feel much more immediate and dangerous.
The tweaks to the Cylons, both toasters and a new series that look like humans, make them much more interesting and frightening, and the changes to their human collaborator make him more than a joke. (Although Baltar is still a joke, much of the time.)
The acting, especially by Edward James Olmos and Grace Park, is also miles beyond the original cast (although the original Apollo has a recurring role in the new series, playing very much against type).
But …
(You knew there’d be a “but,” didn’t you?)
But the writing is sloppy at times to the point of carelessness. I’m not one to nitpick minor details like the names of characters’ never-seen parents or what have you (although it’d be nice if all the characters stopped calling the NCO “sir”), but major plot points appear and disappear out of the ether.
At the end of the miniseries (included in this DVD package), Commander Adama receives a note in his quarters stating that Cylons look like humans now, and noting how many models there are. Who left this note? How did they know the information and why share it with him? And, most importantly, why wasn’t this ever followed up on?
Likewise, the Cylon plot doesn’t appear to make much sense, nor does some unseen Cylon infiltrator placing a key clue on the bridge of the Galactica to be found make much sense either.
(I’m also not a fan of alien humans wearing neckties and a Caprica that looks an awful lot like contemporary America/Canada, but I get they had to save money somewhere in the production process.)
But the good outweighs the bad, and the whole affair is carried off with such style that it would be a huge shame for any space opera fan to not give it a try, just to see if a BSG without robot dogs is for them.
Strongly recommended to fans of the original and to those looking for a more gritty alternative to the relentlessly utopian Star Trek franchise.
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Now you’re being pandered to by the fact that Starbuck is, shall we say, more attention-getting?
Comment by Joel — June 10, 2006 @ 16:00
I am surprised you’ve not commented on the new Dr. Who, which rocks, even tho’ series ended this week and Christopher Eccleston will not be returning.
Comment by Joel — June 10, 2006 @ 16:10
Number 6 is far more pandering than Starbuck is. Starbuck, honestly, isn’t anything exceptional in terms of starlets and is, in my opinion, a relatively believable fighter pilot (by the standards of the series which, as has been noted, aren’t great in terms of military realism).
And frankly, Number 6, as attractive as she is, isn’t enough of an insight into the Cylons to really merit the screentime that she does.
And we don’t get Sci-Fi, so I won’t know a thing about the most recent two Doctors until Netflix gets the discs and somehow separates them from the more than 100 DVDs from the previous Doctors, which make it hard to impossible to track down the current releases.
Comment by Beau — June 10, 2006 @ 17:02
The new Starbuck actually reminds me, personality-wise, of Sarah Biddle, who really did her military stint around planes.
Comment by Beau — June 10, 2006 @ 17:03
Two points to make…
My assumption was always that it had been Boomer (pre-full blown Cylon epiphany but amidst the throes of self-doubt and creeping revulsion) who had left the “12 models of Cylon� note. The implication seemed to be that she was unconsciously doing things to sabotage the ship as well as her own identity – setting bombs and not really recalling that (yet somehow knowing where to look), leaving notes for Adama (but not following up because she didn’t recall doing it), and even defacing her own locker with the graffiti “Cylon� – as who she thought she was subconsciously warred with what she was programmed to be… Later, when she’s threatened by Baltar – who had just shot Chief full of something nasty and was withholding the antidote until Sharon revealed the numbers of Cylons in the fleet – and she answers “8�, my mind immediately leaped back to the Adama note and just filled in the blanks (a technique, I point out, I really had to develop reading Giffen’s 5YL Legion…).
Maybe I’m adding layers to the story and Sharon’s characterization. I just made the leap of narrative faith that was what was going on…
Also, as for the NCO addressed as “sir� comment, well, my first reaction is surprise at you expecting their ranks and forms of address to work exactly as ours do. Yes, yes, I know, I can hear you say right now, “… if they have gone so far as to emulate familiar ranks in order to make the story more accessible, then they should show a finer attention to detail.�
However, the universally accepted story of the NCO – typically a sergeant – growling “Don’t you call me ‘sir’! I work for a living!â€? aside, there are cases in many modern militaries in which an NCO will hold an officer-level billet and be addressed as “sirâ€? as a sign of respect/acknowledgement of the position being held, not the actual rank of the person. I do believe as well that warrant officers – a specialized series of ranks usually between senior NCOs and the officer corps – in many branches of the armed services can be/must be addressed as “sirâ€? by individuals of lower rank.
All that being said, I’ll take BSG over just about anything else on TV today. It is, for my time, the only must-watch show on the air today, and the only reason why I don’t curse SciFi for continuing the dreck that is the SG-1 series while cancelling Farscape.
John
PS – And I find both Starbuck and Apollo – as specific versions of more generic military types – pretty accurate. I knoew both types of fighter pilots when I was growing up and my dad was the spook for Navy F-14 squadrons. At least one of my classmates in NROTC and the Reserves was destined to be another Starbuck, and another already an Apollo. The potrayals ring true.
Comment by John — June 12, 2006 @ 14:42
“All that being said, I’ll take BSG over just about anything else on TV today.”
John,
You need HBO. BSG can’t hold a candle to “The Wire,” “Rome” or “Deadwood.” Frankly, it’s not as good as “The Shield” either (although I was disapointed in last season).
Comment by Dmitry — June 12, 2006 @ 15:12
I’m going to have to agree with The Shield. And, although it’s not quite in the same league, I have a soft spot for Rescue Me. And, of course, Lost, although I know it’s a show that’s worn out its welcome with some folks (it’s threatening to lose Jenn).
The idea that it’s Sharon leaving the notes isn’t a bad one, but I wish there was anything other than a good guess suggesting it. Further, I wish that the characters would actually look for who did it — the fact that someone with inside poop on the Cylons has access to Adama’s living quarters should be cause for tearing the ship apart to find the person, not quietly forgetting it ever happened.
Comment by Beau — June 12, 2006 @ 19:57
I was a big fan of “The Shield” early on but admittedly fell off after the second season. Need to catch up. Same with “The Wire”, and I’m Netflixing “Deadwood” sometime soon.
And good catch on “Rescue Me”. I do DVR that one regularly and then do marathon catch-ups. Need to get
on the latest season…
But BSG is still the bee’s knees for me.
John
Comment by John — June 12, 2006 @ 21:58
Man, I really need to check out BSG. I even have the first season on DVD sitting here to watch. Is the two-part movie required viewing to get into the regular series?
And, if I may put up a quick defense: “Strongly recommended to fans of the original and to those looking for a more gritty alternative to the relentlessly utopian Star Trek franchise.”
Star Trek suffers from a lot of things — often times questionable writing, questionable directing and some bad acting (with some nice surprises along the way) — and the utopian angle gets tiresome very quickly. That being said, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s” final three or four seasons are a completely different beast and there’s some good science fiction and drama in there. As the major war breaks out, the fighting gets ugly and the good guys suffer — a lot. There’s actual examination of the horrors and consequences of war. Having only watched the series for the first time two years ago, it’s especially creepy the parallels that can be drawn to the current war — and keep in mind this series ended in 1999.
Those final four seasons of “DS9” are well worth watching … unfortunately the first three seasons mostly fall apart. Don’t get me started on how badly “TNG” has aged and how unwatchable “Voyager” and “Enterprise” were.
Of course, you know, the creators and show-runners of “DS9” went on to create “Battlestar Galactica,” so this should be no surprise to you all.
Comment by Jonah Weiland — June 13, 2006 @ 17:34
Yeah, the later seasons of DS9 were really the best Star Trek runs ever. Better than the other series,
better than the movies, just better. Still maintained some of Roddenberry’s hopes and dreams, but also had some nice edge to it that showed not everything was shiny and perfect and huggy… We were addicted to the show in college and after, and when my new girlfriend once came into my apartment, saw it on the TV, and said, “Deep Space Nine… cool!”, well, I knew I had to marry her…
John
Comment by John — June 14, 2006 @ 6:58
John,
Wow, that’s a great story! See, chicks dig Star Trek – you just have to give them the good stories! Boys, we can live with lots of flash, but girls need more! MORE!
Comment by Jonah Weiland — June 14, 2006 @ 17:03
Jonah, the two-part miniseries is included in the first season’s disc and shows the attack on Caprica and the colonies that leads to the exodus that dominates the rest of the series. I found it slow, but it sets up what follows, especially the Baltar stuff.
Comment by Beau — June 14, 2006 @ 17:37