The Cylons, androids, have risen up against their human creators, the people of the Twelve Colonies of Cobol, with the intention of wiping out the human race. After a surprise attack they nearly succeed in this aim. Only about 50,000 humans remain, gathered in a rag-tag fleet. At the centre of this fleet is the only surviving colonial warship, the battlestar Galactica.
One of my favourite TV programs as a kid was the original Battlestar Galactica so when this remake came out I figured it couldn't possibly surpass, or even equal, the original so avoided watching it. Until now.
The 2-part intro mini-series is excellent and immediately got me hooked on the series. This series initially starts in a similar vein, taking the main plot of the original and throwing in some great sub-plots, giving depth to all the characters, tightening the plot development and generally making things grittier and more credible.
Action scenes are great too, as are the special effects.
The question for me was how are the writers are going to sustain the intrigue and for four seasons and 74 episodes. There is a definite end point to the series and it would be difficult to break down the path to that point into 74 pieces - it would get quite repetitive.
This is solved initially by having little in the way of grand plot development but having episode-long adventures and sub-plots, almost independent of each other. This makes for some interesting detours.
However, more than halfway through Season 2, the grand plot became the focus and it felt that the series had at last found a centre. This was made even better by an unexpected twist towards the end of Season 2, promising to take the series in a different, yet still very interesting, direction.
Unfortunately, this direction is short-lived and what follows is quite different to the first two seasons, and not pleasantly so. We have twists for twists' sake, changes of characters for the worse, plot developments that seem contrived and inconsistent, mind-bendy nonsense and quite a lot of filler. The change is so drastic that either the show changed its writers or the existing writers started using harder drugs.
Every now and again there is a great episode that pulls the show back on course but this makes things worse, as you think the worst is over but it's only a false dawn.
By the end of Season 3 I had lost track of all the silly sub-plots going on and hardly liked any of the characters anymore, leaving me unengaged. Watching Season 4 was thus a chore.
A pity that it ended so weakly as it seemed headed for greatness at one stage.
Season ratings: S1&2 8/10, S3&4 6.5.
One of my favourite TV programs as a kid was the original Battlestar Galactica so when this remake came out I figured it couldn't possibly surpass, or even equal, the original so avoided watching it. Until now.
The 2-part intro mini-series is excellent and immediately got me hooked on the series. This series initially starts in a similar vein, taking the main plot of the original and throwing in some great sub-plots, giving depth to all the characters, tightening the plot development and generally making things grittier and more credible.
Action scenes are great too, as are the special effects.
The question for me was how are the writers are going to sustain the intrigue and for four seasons and 74 episodes. There is a definite end point to the series and it would be difficult to break down the path to that point into 74 pieces - it would get quite repetitive.
This is solved initially by having little in the way of grand plot development but having episode-long adventures and sub-plots, almost independent of each other. This makes for some interesting detours.
However, more than halfway through Season 2, the grand plot became the focus and it felt that the series had at last found a centre. This was made even better by an unexpected twist towards the end of Season 2, promising to take the series in a different, yet still very interesting, direction.
Unfortunately, this direction is short-lived and what follows is quite different to the first two seasons, and not pleasantly so. We have twists for twists' sake, changes of characters for the worse, plot developments that seem contrived and inconsistent, mind-bendy nonsense and quite a lot of filler. The change is so drastic that either the show changed its writers or the existing writers started using harder drugs.
Every now and again there is a great episode that pulls the show back on course but this makes things worse, as you think the worst is over but it's only a false dawn.
By the end of Season 3 I had lost track of all the silly sub-plots going on and hardly liked any of the characters anymore, leaving me unengaged. Watching Season 4 was thus a chore.
A pity that it ended so weakly as it seemed headed for greatness at one stage.
Season ratings: S1&2 8/10, S3&4 6.5.