The original series appeared in 1978 and told the story of a futuristic human society nearly obliterated by a genocidal enemy known as the Cylons. The surviving humans fled into space in a fleet of ships lead by the aircraft carrier-like warship, the Battlestar Galactica. The core idea was a solid one by the TV style of the 70s rendered the affair a bit cheesy. Financial constraints killed the show after just one season. A misbegotten attempt to revive the show appeared in 1980 and died a quick, well deserved death. Fox recently tried to revive the series yet again with the creative crew behind X-Men, Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto. That failed when the duo left to make X2. Universal decided it still wanted to move forward with a show that could potentially anchor its SCI FI cable channel. Brought in were writer/producers David Eick (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, American Gothic) and Ronald Moore (Star Trek TNG & DS9). The two had a totally new idea and put it to work.
Rather than taking a standard sci-fi approach, they wanted to go with a documentary style of filming that would create a greater sense of realism. That basically meant that virtually every scene in the show was shot as if a documentary camera operator was present. This extended to space shots that featured snap zooms and the illusion of hand-held camera work. They coupled this style with an emphasis on character and drama over flashy special effects. This was the anti-Star Trek if you will. Moore, confined for years by the rigid Trek style, was anxious to break a lot of the rules of sci-fi and only keep some elements of the original Galactica. First up was the controversial move of converting the characters of male fighter pilots Starbuck and Boomer into women. Just like that, the goodwill of the Galactica fan base evaporated. The changes were still coming. The character of Commander Adama was split in two. No longer a supreme leader, Adama became a strictly military leader with civilian power going to a new character, President Laura Roslin. The biggest change though was reserved for the Cylons. Originally as fairly clunky robots, the Cylons developed diversity. Now Cylons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including some that look completely human.
The new Galactica mini was a success with solid ratings and fairly solid reviews. SCI FI moved quickly to greenlight a continuing series. That show premieres shortly and should receive a similarly warm reception. It's an intelligent show with solid characters, good acting from a largely unknown cast and a brilliant score. Make sure to watch.
The miniseries is a thoroughly entertaining affair that tries hard to really develop every angle of the storyline. That makes for excellent tension and actual ideas to chew on, not to mention plenty of surprises. The producers wrote the mini as a pilot, with the intention of being able to continue the story in a regular series. At the time, in my review, I mentioned this as both a curse and a blessing. If there were no follow up, the mini would have left an irritating number of loose ends. With a series to follow though, those loose ends became the seeds of numerous plotlines that would have plenty of room to grow. Blessedly, we have a new series.
I rarely let myself gush but I flat out love this show. Between this and ABC's Lost, it feels like we hit a jackpot of great new scripted shows. The choice of going with the docu style of shooting makes this a truly unique entry in the genre. While the mini doesn't lean on its effects, it still looks great. I can't say enough good things about the cast. Veterans Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are wonderful, contrasting each other beautifully and fueling a lot of the show's tension. The rest of the cast is largely unknown but they won't be for long. Katee Sackhoff gets the thankless role of replacing fan favorite Dirk Benedict as Starbuck but manages to make the role her own. She's good in the mini but really blossoms in the series. Tricia Helfer arrived with virtually no acting experience and yet is riveting as the Cylon #6. She manages to be both sexy and menacing, along with giving the unnerving feeling of being trapped in an elevator with a Jehovah's Witness. She could be a big star someday. Sharing almost all of her scenes is James Callis as the accidental traitor Dr. Gaius Baltar. He is one of the show's most intriguing characters. Six appears to him in his mind and it is never clear if she is a result of a Cylon plot or if Baltar is just flat out nuts. Baltar's raging ego, endless paranoia and shattered nerves make him endlessly watchable. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I could go on forever with the praise.
The DVD is a nice little package. While it doesn't have an overwhelming number of extras, it is a solid offering, particularly considering the whole thing is jammed on to one disk. There is a behind the scenes documentary that most consists of cast interviews. The most surprising part is discovering that Jamie Bamber, who plays Apollo, is British. You would never know from the mini. Another amusing moment has Dirk Benedict, the original Starbuck, and Katee Sackhoff, the new Starbuck, having coffee at, you guessed it, Starbucks. Benedict is far more accommodating than his former co-star Richard Hatch, whose comments hardly indicate a great love for this project. To be fair, he had his own bid to revive the series fail and so he's being pretty decent by even having any involvement. There is also a series of deleted scenes. Mostly these either develop character relationships a bit more or offer extended or alternate space scenes. Mostly they aren't missed from the finished product. The main extra is a commentary track by director Michael Rymer and producers Eick and Moore. It's a fascinating listen that gives the show's history, development, casting, mistakes and everything in between.
Die hard fans of the original series probably won't find much to love here but anyone else not harboring the desire to do everything exactly the same as before should enjoy a show that stands above most other sci-fi shows. If you enjoy the new series, this is a must buy.
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