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?

Comments

A quick and dirty review

[MoxCamel]

First, let me just say that John Olmos was correct: If you are so
dedicated to the original series that you cannot bring yourself to imagine
it any other way, then do yourself a favor and skip this miniseries. You
will only be disappointed, and you will nitpick it to death.

On the other hand, if you can bring yourself, however painfully, to
open your mind to the possiblity of a "re-imagining" of the Battlestar
Galactica concept, then I think you're in for a pleasant surprise.

It's not all wonderful. Screenwriter Ron Moore wanted
to bring a more grown-up Galactica to his audience, but he's apparantly
confused grown-up with gratuitious. Sex works much better when it's done
dramatically, instead of the "hey watch us get it on!" style that Moore
forces on us. He is perhaps striving to show us the sexual energy between
the characters, but really all it does is make us wonder when the low
quality porno music is going to kick in.

Otherwise, the annoyances are minor. The cylon space fighters,
apparantly just space-borne Cylons (a neat idea, really) come off kind of
hoakey with their red sweeping eyes. I know, I know, the eyes are really
some kind of electromagnetic pulse weapons, but it's distracting just the
same.

Okay, now on to what's good. First, and foremost, the story is solid.
Whereas in the original series we just had to take for granted that the
Cylons were the embodiment of evil, now we understand why.

The characters is also solid. Again, you'll have to get over
your preconceptions of the original series characters, and at least try
to buy in to the new ones. The hardest pill for me to swallow were the
gender changes of Starbuck and Boomer. But I actually found myself liking
the new Starbuck, although the Boomer role could have been a bit stronger.

The special effects were incredible, and proved that you really can
make space realistic, and exciting. In fact, the "no sound in space"
approach actually heightened the tension, and proved that you don't have
to dumb-down physics for the masses. Also, having the space ships use
maneuvering jets created even more exciting scenes than the normal Top Gun
stuff we're used to.

Is it worth a series? I think so. With a solid backstory, believable
characters, and an approach that doesn't assume the audience are stupid,
it could quite very set the bar for future Sci Fi.

Re:A quick and dirty review

[Have Blue]

open your mind to the possiblity of a "re-imagining" of the Battlestar Galactica concept, then I think you're in for a pleasant surprise

Or if, as with me, you know fuck all about the original series and are approaching this show with a blank slate :)

Re:A quick and dirty review

[AKAImBatman]

I pretty much agree with this review. The sex was especially annoying. (For example, when she reached for his *ahem* while they were on the bridge.) They really could have done that better. The scene where she showed up during the "guilt" conversation was a good example of how they COULD have handled the entire subject. Plus it was funny at the same time.

Beyond that, I really liked some of the plot twists toward the end. The ships were also very cool and the maneuvering jets were a nice touch. That being said...

- The characters were weak. At no point did I actually CARE about any of the characters. Starbuck had her likable moments, but I can't help but feeling that leaving the characters similar to the original (with Cassiopeia and Athena intact) would have allowed a much better people dynamic. Plus that cigar makes Starbuck come across a little disgusting.

- The uniforms suck. The flight suits are okay, but the wrestling outfits are terrible!

- No suspense or excitement WHAT SO EVER. Their constant camera zooms made it only that much harder to get into the action and figure out what was going on. Action basically worked like this: See lots of fighters. See lots of missiles. Zoom up and see things go BOOM while the stars fly by (presumably because they're going so fast).

- The Galactica needs bigger engines. Those puny pipes sticking out don't look like they do jack squat.

- The Galactica needs to be BIGGER. You get the sense that she's about the size of a modern aircraft carrier. That's big, but nowhere near as big as the concept of a "BattleStar" calls for.

- The scene with the baby-killing was sick. Pure and simple. It added nothing to the story.

- Would have been cool to see some actual Cylons. Those long nailed versions were on the screen for a very short time and weren't very cool.

- Some Epic music like the original had would have been great.

Oh, and did the original reviewers screw up, or did they add the whole Earth thing in later?

All and all it was pretty good. But the senseless sex and violence are really stinking it up.

Re:A quick and dirty review

[patchmaster]

I thought the bridge scene where she reached for Baltar's "*ahem*", while seeming a bit out of place (the scene, not his "*ahem*"), made very plain her "hold" on him. Even after knowing what she was, what she had made him a part of, he STILL quickly responded to her touch. That's some pretty powerful mojo she's got there.

I'd also disagree about the baby-killing scene. Sure, it was sick, but I thought it spoke volumes about the Cylons. To them, humans are little more than pests to be experimented with and destroyed. She was curious about the strength of the baby's neck and tried to determine exactly how much force it could withstand. As unpleasant as it was, it definitely added to the story.

To the list of complaints above I would also add that it seems unlikely that people capable of building faster-than-light spacecraft wouldn't know how to make radios that transmitted a clear signal. The amount of break-up and interference in those radio transmissions was ridiculous. And it didn't seem to make it difficult for the characters to understand each other, it just made it tougher for the viewer to hear what they were saying.

The one character they absolutely should have left behind was "Boxey". Everyone I've talked with about it has said the same thing -- when Boxey introduced himself, my first thought was, "If there's a mechanical dog in the next scene I'm going to puke."

I thought the story was a very uneven mix of almost brilliant plot twists with pedestrian cliches. For every "Is he a Cylon? Is there a chip in his brain? Is it just his subconcious?" there was an equally mundane, stereotypical cliche. Overall, it came out on the plus side, but I was worried there for a while.

Re:A quick and dirty review

[Cpt_Kirks]

I couldn't help remembering the original as kind of...dumb. Yeah, it was the 70's and most 70's crap looks dumb now.

This version was smart, gripping and very dark. Hell, the end of the world *should be* dark. The nuke bombardment was chilling, the way it was kind of downplayed. Creepy as hell.

Adama is now a badass. He killed a Cylon with a fickin' FLASHLIGHT!

The chick who played Starbuck was great. She must have watched the original a hundred times. She had Dirk's grin, head movements and general cockiness down to a T.

All in all, it will make a fine series. Which means SciFi will kill it off soon. D'oh!

Re:A quick and dirty review

[willtsmith]

I really liked the sound of metal on metal in the fight scenes. This is what it actually should sound like. You can only hear the stuff that's impacting your ship.

The navigational effects were awesome. The way the ships moved reminded me of playing Descent.

The faster than light travel was realistic from the standpoint that as soon as you jump ... POOOF ... your gone.

I think we all get very attached to the things we saw in our youth. Sometimes, when you go back and watch some of that stuff again, you realize it's pretty stupid. Original Battlestar Galactica's was way to uptite about having greek names for EVERYTHING.

Criticisms of the new version:
* I can appreciate trying to "bring home" the drama by not dressing the actors in polyester jumpsuits. However, I think the Pinstripe shirts some of these guys were wearing gave you the sense that these people just wandered onto the set in their street clothes.

The officer uniforms from the original were better. As others have pointed out, these one's look like they came straight off of Babylon 5.

* They are using techno buzzwords like "wireless" way too much. I'd like everybody to review their original Star Trek. They had boxes/gizmos and they were effectively magic. The crew didn't describe HOW the boxes worked.

I can remember watching Star Trek in the 80s and saying "Those little cassette thingies they put data on are way too unrealistic". They look nothing like a floppy disk. Well guess what, all those magic doohickies on Original Star Trek are now realities: Flip Phones(communicators), Stun Guns (phasers on stun), Pocket Computers (Tri-Corders).

So please stop trying to be techno hip. It's not REAL science fiction, it's a space drama. Battlestar Galactica with techno goop (not even CORRECT techno-goop) is effectively Star Trek Voyager.

* I like the angle with Baltar. Hoever, they've effectively turned him into Dr. Smith from "Lost In Space". Coincidentally, they were also trying to find Earth.

* I don't get why the fighter bays have to "retract". This is like the Enterprise splitting in two. There is no reason for it.

* The "Model 5" hallucination to some degree is a rip off of John Crichtons "Scorpy" implant on Farscape. BTW, quit calling EVERYTHING a chip.

Good stuff

* The Cylons are creepy. They are also multi-faceted. They are somewhat emotional.

* The effects are Bab 5 effects, and they are excellent.

* The bull-Amazon Starbuck is an interesting twist. I also like how these old GOOFY names are just their pilot handles.

* Ships move more like they should.

*

Chistmas tree?

[Anonymous Coward]

I was able to put up a Christmas Tree during one commercial break.

They were waiting for you to finish, stupid!

Problems...

[phraktyl]

I saw a few scenes in the first half that didn't involve people having sex. I thought those were extraneous, and could have been removed...

Very brief thoughts

[LittleGuy]

Think back to 1989, about the hue and cry of Tim Burton's "Batman" with Michael "Mr. Mom" Keaton. Think especially of the reaction from the fans that saw Batman with only the Adam West version.

Sound familiar?

I liked it. I liked it a lot. I plan on rewatching the miniseries, because I believe Moore and crew left a few hints and tidbits (not unlike Season One of Babylon 5") that would be extrapolated in the future.

Let's see how much of the original story they will gleam. Cane and the Pegasus. Terra. Even the "Count Iblis" plotline.

If they play their cards right, and they use "Roswell", "Buffy", and "Smallville" as templates, I could even see a Moore revision of "Galactica 1980".

Very good, peoples. Keep going.

I enjoyed it

[Coventry]

Like many, I had fond memories of the original.

Like many, when I got a copy and started watching it for the first time since I was a child; I found the original to be very bubble-gummy and not as good as I remembered it. The same thing happened with Robotech.

I read several artciles and several points of view on the miniseries before it aired - and I decided to reserve judgement...

The 9/11 influence (which the producers say is there on purpose) was very present - it was much darker than I expected. The long leadup and character development before the actual attack got you attached and into the story so that the destruction didn't feel like a backdrop, but a very major event.

Production values were high, and the effects were great... and it was just enjoyable.

In my book, this blew sci-fi's attempt at Dune out of the water. I feel bad for everyone who wanted the original to continue - but I myself think I'd enjoy a series of This version of BG better than a continuation.

Hopefully, though, they will instead do a series of, uhm, mini-series of this - or the occasional movie. I say this because EJO and some of the other leads probably wouldn't go for a full series, And, because with a full series it would be too easy for it to become a new-planet-every-week serial as opposed to having the scope this mini series had.

Awesome.

[Chromodromic]

Basically, Sci Fi took out all of the cheesy elements from Galactica and kept all of the story that was cool and worth keeping.

The space battles were great, with better 'physics' than in most sci-fi space stories, and the acting, except for Apollo, who always looked like he was sporting a suppository, was very solid. Olmos did a great job of realizing Adama.

There was only one problem: Tricia Helfer as Six. Uuhhhmmm. If she were a Cylon, well, I'd want to be conquered. Hard.

Other than that, the only problem I had were with the different "models" of Cylons. I'd assumed that by different models the show was alluding to different configurations meant for different purposes. I hadn't realized that same models meant identical appearance. That was goofy. And why only twelve? The Cylons can travel faster than light, launch completely covert attacks on an advanced civilization, but they can only think of twelve different models for themselves?

But all right. I enjoyed the series so much that I can forgive that and look past it, hope they figure it out.

Of worthy mention also was Mary McDonnell's performance as the 43rd-in-line for succession to the presidency. She gave a wonderfully restrained, but nicely authoritative performance that balanced out Adama's hyper-masculine, scarred-up face. Their final negotiation, and her lines during that meeting, were great writing.

Support this show! Support quality scifi! Keep it on the air or all we'll have to look forward to on TV is reruns of Twilight Zone and more of Trish & Ryan's fucking wedding, or whatever their freakin' names are.

Re:Cylon Motivation????

[Visceral Monkey]

It was hinted at. I think what it boils down to is that they got religion. I'm serious. 6 makes refers to her "God" early on and the other Cylon they found in the arms depot goes on to talk about what if God had stopped giving souls to humans and started giving them to other more worthy creatures. An excellent direction if you ask me, it allows all sorts of bizzare and seemingly illrational behavior for a group of robots.

Re:Sound?

[bpd1069]

I remember reading on some astronomy site a while back about the phenomonon(sp?) that occurs when some meteorites hit the atmosphere. Actually had it occur to me once thats why I was interested, in anycase.

Sometimes when the meteorite hits the atmosphere, the thing excites the region around it so much that you get bursts of RF, these can cause some material dozens of miles away (earth) to act as transducers, and these vibrate and produce honest to goodness sound.

Was wierd to look up see a meteorite streak by, and at the same time hear it almost instantly... Knowing full well it was many miles away. After reading that article (ahh here's on that covers it: Sound of Shooting Stars) I realized that the hair in my ear (yes, i'm getting around that age) produced the sound...

POINT IS: Just because there is no air, doesn't mean there is no sound produced...

quicker bulletpoint review

[Saeger]

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.

--

Re:No major laws of physics broken EXCEPT

[TheMonkeyDepartment]

Oh yeah and you forgot:

4) The soundtrack. Are we really to believe that there would be an orchestra playing music in outer space? Like it is some sort of (*snort snort*) magical orchestra?

Re:What about "why do the cylons want to kill us"?

[switcha]

Because we broke our promise of "trustworthy computing" for the last time, goddammit!

Re:What about "why do the cylons want to kill us"?

[JudgeFurious]

They left it vague but I thought that a lot of clues were dropped along the way and that the producers left themselves a lot of ways to take this if they get a series.

The blonde fembot that Baltar was boinking stated she was religous. I wonder what kind of religon would come from a society composed of AI type beings? Would they worship their creator? If that's the case then would their creator attempting to kill them (assuming that humans panicked and started the first Cylon war) maybe send them to "that wacky place"?

Once the war started wouldn't they then pursue said war until it was won? I don't think a comprehensive knowledge of human diplomatic history and the results would lead any sane creature to think that an armistice would mean everything was going to be smooth sailing from here on out or that a peace treaty would lead to actual "peace". If the humans in this show are anything like the humans in our world then as a Cylon I would consider a "cease fire" to be nothing more than a chance to reload and upgrade my ability to win once hostilities were resumed.

Baltar's "girlfriend" seemed completely fascinated with him. She seemed to honestly care about him on some level but also to admire his complete lack of morality (which I really didn't see a lot of evidence of. It's not like he lied and claimed his scrap of paper was #47 when the old lady with the bad eyes handed it to him. He was pretty much resigned to his screwed position at the time.) so I got that the Cylons had a real twisted view of humans bordering on obsession.

To them it looked like we were "God" in some way but they had a monster axe to grind with "God" it seems.

I left it thinking they were our loyal servants right up to the point where they broke out the "free will" and at that point we (humans) panicked and tried to put them down but that's just an impression. They really didn't give you enough information to know. What they did do was produce a series that made you WANT to know though. That to me is a good thing. It ended on Tuesday and I'm still wondering about it.

Sounds like they did a good job. I say bring on the series and lets get some of these questions answered!

I too came to the show fresh

[garrulous]

And I'm confused. The humans are supposed to be descendants of the Lords of COBOL correct? Does that mean they are dinosaurs?

Re:What about "why do the cylons want to kill us"?

[Srass]

That's a really interesting idea. Remember the "arms dealer" they found alone on the station, and the conversation between Adama and him? The guy suggested that the Cylons were divine punishment for humanity's sins, and he brought up something about Cylons' souls. Adama then asserted that the Cylons were made by man, not God, and didn't have souls.

If I was a spiritual Cylon, I might very well consider them fightin' words, I suppose. Or maybe it's reflective of an underlying attitude that they can't stand.