Slashdot Mirror


New Battlestar Galactica - Worth a Series?

rwxJava asks: "Ok, so it finally aired! IMHO it was pretty good. The special effects were great (no major laws of physics were broken except maybe FTL travel), the characters, while drastically different from the original, were believable! After about an hour or so, I stopped trying to compare the mini-series with the original. My only complaint has to be the amount of commercials that Scf-Fi put in. I was able to put up a Christmas Tree during one commercial break. Guess the network needs to cash in on such a hyped up event! By the end, I was left wanting more! Anyone else think it is worthy of conversion to a series?" Now that you've have had a time to watch the entire 4-hour epic (does 4 hours really make a "mini-series"?), do you think your earlier comments were on target?

10 of 1,057 comments (clear)

  1. More good than bad by Gambrinus · · Score: 3, Informative

    There were more good things about the mini-series than bad. Overall I enjoyed the series and found myself wishing it was on next week.

    Bottom line, it was better than a lot of crap currently on TV.

  2. It's OK. by Skeld · · Score: 4, Informative

    Better a bunch of the rest of the crap sci fi out there. The space ships look pretty good.

    I'm kind of disappointed that the robot guys (cylons?) aren't at all robotic, even at the microscopic level (according to the show).

    Also, space flight doesn't work like that... but every other series I've seen has portrayed space flight as far too similar to atmospheric flight, so I guess I shouldn't bother complaining. I don't like the president woman, either.

    Final verdict: yeah, make more, I'll watch it.
    -Skeld

  3. Re:"Frack" by Samurai+Cat! · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Frack" was the f-word replacement in the original series, 25 yrs ago. Just another small carryover from days gone by. :P

    --

    "People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
  4. quicker bulletpoint review by Saeger · · Score: 5, Informative
    Allow me to summarize your review and add my own points:
    • The story was great.
    • The characters had more than 2 dimensions.
    • The Tits & Assification of the remake was just a little over the top.
    • Physics wasn't violated for the sake of morons expecting StarWars.
    • Kinetic weapons! (instead of your standard lightspeed lasers... that MISS all the time!)
    • Sound in space was only a dull roar (for our benefit).
    • Commercials? What commercials?

    Definitely worth a series, IMO.

    --

    --
    Power to the Peaceful
  5. Re:What about "why do the cylons want to kill us"? by CrazyTalk · · Score: 3, Informative

    They answered that at the end of the show. Because if they dont kill us, we will kill them (or perhaps re-enslave them at some point) because "it is in our nature". They believe that eliminating humans is their best chance for survival of their own "Species"

  6. Re:Sound? by R2.0 · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Sometimes when the meteorite hits the atmosphere,"

    Last time I checked, the atmosphere was made of air.

    The air is indeed creating the sound, just not in the usual manner.

    --
    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  7. Re:What about "why do the cylons want to kill us"? by dR.fuZZo · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're right, they didn't deal with this very directly, but there were two reasons presented.

    At the end, one of the Cylons says that the humans will surely strike back at them and attempt to destroy them, for that is their way. So, it's a, uhm, pre-emptive defensive strike, if you will. (Sound familiar?)

    Also, at least a couple times it's hinted at by the Cylons that their motivation might be, somehow... religious, as weird as that seems. I can't remember the exact lines, but I swear that this idea was there.

    --
    -- dR.fuZZo
  8. The original machines-against-the-masters story .. by rpresser · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... was probably either R.U.R. or Frankenstein, depending on your definition of a machine.

  9. Re:Sound? by kyletinsley · · Score: 3, Informative
    POINT IS: Just because there is no air, doesn't mean there is no sound produced...

    No, no no no no. The plasma created around the meteor as it enters the atmosphere generates RF radiation outward, which causes grass/leaves/hair/whatever that are near you to vibrate, causing small sound waves which you hear.

    The meteor, the grass, and your head are all inside the atmosphere during this activity, so it does not support your argument at all. If there were no air between the grass/leaves and your ears, you would NOT be hearing any sounds from the meteor.

    If you were in outer space (like the camera views were on the show), and you were watching that same meteor hit the Earth's atmosphere, you would not hear anything. Nor would you hear nuclear bombs hitting the site of a battlestar...

    (For the record, I did enjoy the way they handled the sound in outer space on the miniseries. But as far as total realism is concerned, there would NOT be any sound in real life.)
  10. Re:Glad I didn't watch by KlomDark · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm on the edge of firing back with a "Look, you didn't even watch the show, how can you possibly comment on it?" But then realized that you sound just like I expected to sound had I not watched it.

    I approached it from the old-school view and expected to truly hate it and consider it worse that Galactica 1980. However, I was completely shocked to "hear" myself thinking, an hour into the first episode, "Wow, this is even better than Galactica 1978!!" And coming from me, that's one hell of a compliment. I was only 10 when Galactica 1978 came out, and was so into it at the time that it was nearly religious. I always liked it even better than Star Wars!

    So, of course, after seeing the Galactica: Lowdown preview on SciFi, I was ready to puke in disgust. The preview show made it seem terrible. Starbuck was a girl, Baltar seemed really gay in the previews, and Apollo was a big whiner.

    However, after actually seeing both episodes in the micro-series, I am just drooling for a series, and massively impressed with the level of thought that went into Galactica 2003.

    Without seeing it, I would be totally, absolutely agreeing with you - what a big piece of shit, worse than Galactica 1980 (Minus the last episode where Starbuck returns) and they never should have made it.

    However, I am happy to tell you, that if you sit down this Sunday, when they run both episodes back to back, and just check it out for what it is, you will be quite impressed. Sure, there's a lot of T&A, but it doesn't eclipse the story - there's a really good story there, and as weird as it is for such a Galactica 1978 fan as I am to say such a thing, I think the new version is far more solid and intriguing. I'm also thinking that if I saw Galactica 2003 when I was 10, I probably wouldn't have understood it.

    Go ahead, bite the bullet and watch it. Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised like I was. The preview show and the advertisements for it did it no justice. You've got nothing to lose but four hours, it's worth it I think. Enjoy! I'm curious what you say after actually watching it, I'm still amazed that I not only liked it, but very much approve of it now!