Battlestar Galactica (2003)

Why so much hype?

Very disappointing...

the audience applauded

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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 episode.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 was 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 ManVSThe 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.And 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 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.

If you're like me, you think good sci-fi should be about more than merely bringing the old history or current politics to space, it should be in a more abstract sense about a world that extends from our own. And if you're like me, you never cared for Star Trek as sci-fi and you tend to avoid being drawn to as much TV as you can because even those with the best reputation are sooner or later mired by endless sidetracking and repetition for reasons that have nothing to do with the craft itself.So I'm glad to report this is for you. Oh it's a flawed piece for sure. It was meant to set up a subsequent TV series and it shows, we end this with a cliffhanger and all threads open. Trek influence is unavoidable it seems: the moral dilemmas about the many versus the few, human compassion versus rules, the weary captain and his brave crew. All through the thing questions are posed that the creators will most likely drag their feet through multiple seasons to try and answer: some mythology about the original exodus from Earth, a race of androids in communion with (some notion of) god. And the whole story hinges itself on the momentous writing gaffe of having the blonde girlfriend of a top scientist be allowed in top secret Defense area to tinker with things on a mainframe. But beneath that we have something worthwhile. It creates a sense of unfolding world. The passenger spaceship that returns to Caprica feels like what it would be for commercial spaceflight between planets to be a routine affair, we see people dozing off as out of the windows space rolls by, just as it will be one day. The top AI scientist, the one who triggers the apocalypse, lives in a house with a lakeview and trees surrounding it, a future scenery that is far more likely than the totalitarian dystopias of other scifi. We see him interviewed on TV. The old battleship is about to be turned in a museum. Life basically goes on.It's true, there are anachronistic guns and technology, and the SFX work in space leaves a lot to be desired by contemporary standards. And it was shot on video and they didn't make any effort to hide the artifact. Yet none of those things detract from the appeal, video in fact adds to it, because we're placed the right way: when later in the story Starbuck flies the mission to recon for nearby enemies, and just probes through the edges of the storm, the only view we get is from inside her cockpit at the fleet rolling past higher above, an anxious glimpse of higher machinery instead of the whole opera.And what great views and turbulent aerodynamics of space in the all- important ensuing fight. All in all this is great because we're grounded to have presence, and all the subsequent leaps are to equally grounded views, in both story (somewhat) and the spaces chosen it feels like this is a normal day in the future interrupted by the apocalypse. If they wished to be bolder, they would have made this a three-part miniseries, devoting one part each to the ordinary life, apocalypse and aftermath. But until someone else tries it again, this for the time being is some of the best work we have, just this miniseries.

In a far away galaxy, a peace treaty between Cylons, a race of machines and the humans is broken. The Cylons being more advanced destroy the colonies that are inhabited by the humans until the only survivors that are left, are in space....In an old battle ship known as Battlestar Galactica.I read the other reviews and thought...It can't be that bad....And its not.... The show has a genuinely good cast who provide satisfactory performances; I liked the relationship between Captain Apollo and Commander Adama...I found Grace Park very beautiful.... And I thought that James Callis who plays Gaius to be hilarious....especially when he is the only one who sees Number six....Hilarious! The only thing I didn't like was Star Buck and Cononel Tigh....they didn't do much expect fight...Overall a satisfactory TV show and I will definitely watch the TV show.

I saw the original back when it was released in Australia at out local cinema (Bundaberg) in 79 or 1980(?) and loved that and the TV series even if the centurions heads wobble when they talk. Funny stuff! But the re-imagined series just blows my socks off. I like it so much I have bought the DVD's so I can watch them whenever. The casting is superb, the acting is sublime, the writing is sensational, the directors do brilliant work and as far as I am concerned the story line/plot remains basically true to the basic original concept with the obvious perfectly acceptable exceptions here and there. There is not one thing about the new series I can fault. IT ROCKS!! I also completely love the fact that they have changed some of the original male characters to be female. IT'S PER-R-R-R-FECTION with a capital P. I hope there will be many spin off stories. Keep it coming BSG creators!