Battlestar Galactica

I expected very little of this Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, for I adored the original so much, but to my pleasant surprise this production is excellent. It doesn't fall back on genre-typical styles of film-making as we have seen repeatedly in Star Trek or other television dramas. The editing is wonderful, the directing is above par, and the acting is quite convincing. I am especially pleased with the performance of Mary McDonnell as the president of the colonies. Her portrayal is that of an ordinary human being thrust into power by extraordinary circumstances. She doesn't overplay her strength and she doesn't fall back on 'exaggerated feminine emotionality' as so many female leaders seem to do in other shows. The quality of her performance is also seen in the other actors, who are allowed the screen time to show us their personalities, rather than simply deliver trite one-liners.

CG-wise, Battlestar Galactica was beyond excellent. Lighting in space is harsh and I was pleased to see that the producers didn't soften it just to make the ships look more romantic. External scenes were used to tell the story and not gratuitously. I was left wanting more every time.

Excellent show.

To think that I heard of a remake of BSG and thought 'pfft, probably rubbish'. Dear God I was wrong. This is possibly the best example of television I've ever seen. The sheer cold, clinical, detached storytelling style makes for an enrapturing viewing. The miniseries is what, 3 hours long?, and I didn't flinch once when I first viewed it.

The characters were wonderous, especially I found Colonel Tigh to be a terrific re-imagining of the previous incarnation. Commander Adama and Captain Adama had an almost painful on screen chemistry. Oh, and Mary McDonnel? Inspired choice.

The thing that I truly love, however, is that there is very little noise. No massive explosions. No screaming and shouting. Everything is detached, everything is calm, in a slightly sick way. Only one word can truly sum up this miniseries and what follows.

*quiet*.

After Firefly was aborted in 2003, I lost interest in investing in "fringe" TV... At any time, loved characters could be axed and heartfelt universes unwritten...

So when BSG was released, I didn't even bother to watch and assumed that it would be canned after a couple of episodes.

When a third year was confirmed, however, I changed my mind and decided to start to watch it.

It was 2005 when I first saw Adama walk down the corridor and decry all networked computers. And I loved it.

Now, 13 years later I am rewatching it...

13 years.

Imagine that. That is the difference between 1987 and 2000...

That is the difference between: Superman IV The Quest For Peace, Inner Space, Masters of the the Universe, Predator and The Running Man

VS

The Matrix (Japan Release) Existenz and the X-Men.

13 years is a LONG TIME in terms of Sci Fi...

And yet, 13 years later, I'm rewatching Battlestar Galactica.

When I first watched it back in the day, I was unmarried, did not own a home and had no children... Now, I'm married, have two beautiful children and own an apartment.

Yet watching it today, it's as fresh and vibrant as it was all the way back then.

Moreover, I still view this as one of the finest pieces of "hard" science fiction ever aired. The science, the characterisations, the situations, the politics, the religious commentary, the ramifications of hubris and the sheer edge of seat drama is absolutely spot on.

13 years later and in an age where science fiction and fantasy are mainstream now, and are as acceptable as a crime and comedy, but still this story takes no prisoners.

Recently, The 100, Killjoys, Altered Carbon, Star Trek Discovery and the closest yet, of course, The Expanse, have all shown their mettle and revealed appealing dystopias or post apocalyptic charms, but at the end of the day, only one show has really covered all bases so satisfactorily...

Battlestar Galactica.

Those who are used to SciFi's standard fare are likely to be a bit bored by the realism, character development, intelligent dialog, and lack of explosions, mutant organisms and/or poor special effects. This is REAL science fiction, not cheap shock effects strung together with a mediocre plot. Hand-held photography- pioneered in groundbreaking series like ER and Firefly - has started to become cliché. Nevertheless, it works in this film partly because it is not overdone. The shots alternate between a hand-held documentary feel and a more standard dramatic presentation.

I was never a big fan of the original Battlestar Galactica TV show, and I have only seen a few SciFi originals which did not embarrass me on behalf of the entire genre of science fiction (Farscape and both Dune Mini-series being the exceptions). SciFi hypes their productions heavily, and they are almost always disappointingly silly. So, I was not inclined to go into this with an open mind. If anything convinced me to give it a shot, it was the fact that E J Olmos was hired to play Adama and that Mary MacDonnell was on-board. To say the least, I was very pleasantly surprised by the production quality, intelligent script, and the cast. This is more than a reinvention of BSG, it is a vast improvement over the silly cowboy histrionics the first series devolved into.

The story begins just before an invasion of 12 planets colonized by humans. The invading force has infiltrated all of the defense networks by positioning key agents in positions where they can easily exploit vulnerabilities, and has basically disabled all planetary defenses, leaving everybody and everything vulnerable. There is no battle. The few vestiges left of the once thriving human population are those who were fortunate enough to have been in space at the time of the attack. From this dire premise, Battlestar Galactica proceeds.

All considered, this is a film about the human will to survive, redemption and the spirit of hope. Though dark, moody, and as fragmented as life often is, BSG is also driven, suspenseful, and very well written. The cast is as talented as it is visually striking - mixing weird beauty, youthful energy, and hard-edged agedness. None of the actors misstep, and each seems to know their character particularly well. This is an unusual quality for SciFi originals, and shows that the network invested in quality directing talent and worked with reasonable production deadlines (as opposed to rush-jobs).

I strongly recommend this film for serious science fiction fans.

Viewers either love this programme, or else they completely hate it. It seems there's no middle ground.

This incarnation does deviate from the standard format of BattleStar Galactica -- and indeed, from every single episode of every series produced in the 80s by Glen A Larson. The first scene has one of the leading roles played by a woman, the source of about half the griping. Apparently, women aren't supposed to be tough, nor fully-dressed, in space.

Also, no one's perfect. It's hard to faithfully jump in and worship the 2-3 main characters, like we're used to doing as children. Back then, the main characters flashed their CHiPs smiles, fired their blasters from the hip and got all the girls, even if they were blue. The main characters saved the day, reliably and on time, each and every week. By comparison, the characters in this series are barely keeping themselves together and obviously suffering from their environment, let alone trotting out the whitened smiles for the final chuckle at the 44th minute freeze-frame. The characters in this series, faithful to the style of modern scifi series like FireFly, are as realistic, as flawed and ultimately as believable as it gets, warts and all. The stories are generally well-written, well-acted and consistently cruel to the characters we want so dearly to like.

Be forewarned: This new BattleStar Galactica requires thought and some attention to detail. It's not metal chewing gum, and it doesn't suck up to the audience nor offer the safe and predictably mindless entertainment we're used to seeing in a space opera. But if you can stand occasionally hating your heroes, and if saccharine leaves a taste in your mouth, then you may just become a fan.