Battlestar Galactica Revival

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Smartest move of this series so far -- no Muffit.
Oh...wait until the miniseries is over.
[SPOILER SPACE="ON"]
The big shocking secret in the miniseries is that Muffit is the secret Cylon overlord.
[SPOILER SPACE="OFF"]

Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:09 (twenty years ago) link

Anyone else see part 1?

Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 12:05 (twenty years ago) link

Missed it. Any good?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 14:42 (twenty years ago) link

... I'm honestly not sure. I think the fairest thing way to sum up (bearing in mind part 2 is still coming) is a) it's not much like the original at all (or if it's meant to be, the makers of it enjoyed completely different things about BG than I did), and b) that doesn't mean it sucks.

I miss the visual style of the original most, I think. But I'm curious enough to watch part 2.

Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 16:27 (twenty years ago) link

When I first started seeing the adverts, I kept saying to myself: "Edward James Olmos as Adama? EDWARD JAMES OLMOS!?"
But after seeing episode one, I decided he was a very good choice.

Good Points:
1) The Battle Scenes roXor!
2) Ship design is excellent.
3) The Female Starbuck was a good idea.

Bad Points
1) The whole Cylons are now disguised as humans shtick.
2) Costume design is a bad knockoff of Babylon 5.
3) The bland bland bland guy playing Apollo was a bad idea. (I mean, shit, the guy from the original series was this Jim-Morrison looking sex symbol guy that it made sense for the hotties to be hanging all over him. This guy isn't merely bland, he's a boring actor.)
4) The whole "Cylon chick who is devoutly religious" thing is probably going to either
   a) confuse the issues by adding fake spirituality or
   b) open a can of worms by implying that the heroes are all athiests "...as all good heroes should be..."; while hamfistedly making the bad guys all "Fundamentalists."

Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 18:17 (twenty years ago) link

He's a very different and grimmer Adama, that's for sure, but he fits this story better than someone who was trying to be Lorne Green would.

I like the human Cylons! In theory. In moderation.

The religious Cylon thing ... boy, I'm not sure how to take that. Taking the religious subtext from the original and .. making it explicit and some kind of plot point? I guess? I don't know. We'll see how it turns out.

Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 18:34 (twenty years ago) link

Is it still all Mormon-ed out?

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 19:05 (twenty years ago) link

Not really. Probably. The inclusion of a robot who asks her human lover if he's bothered by her religious conviction makes me wonder where they're going with that, but whatever they're doing with the religion bit, I don't think it's Mormon-specific anymore. I could be wrong, though, haven't seen part 2 yet.

(Or they could be riffing off Mormon stuff I don't know anything about, to be honest.)

Tep (ktepi), Tuesday, 9 December 2003 19:08 (twenty years ago) link

Okay, part 2 is much better. Ned, if you see it, I'm curious what you think. (And on a related note, did you happen to catch Sci Fi Channel running the Buck Rogers pilot the other day? I'd never seen it! Watched the show as much as Galactica when I was a kid, but somehow missed the pilot.)

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 03:53 (twenty years ago) link

Oh, I saw the pilot all right, the whole dang series. Me liked it (but I would).

I will definitely catch this Galactica miniseries at some point -- if it repeats while I'm at home over Xmas, then. Otherwise I'll wait on the inevitable DVD.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 10 December 2003 04:03 (twenty years ago) link

I watched a little bit of it last night and it's not bad - certainly when compared with the usual anemic stuff that Sci-Fi Channel produces. The overall feeling now is more like Heinlein or the short-lived Space Above And Beyond series.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 11 December 2003 07:45 (twenty years ago) link

Not surprisingly, Salt Lake City hates it (but doesn't mention the de-mormonizing)

Watched more of it this morning. I was quite impressed that they actually dealt with the mechanics of zero-g inertia with things moving in space and filled in the details of Viper maneuvering jets, etc.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 11 December 2003 21:39 (twenty years ago) link

The writer of that Salt Lake City Tribute article is a ninny and doesn't have his facts straight.

That's hardly a sophisticated assessment, but the original show starring Lorne Greene as Adama and Richard Hatch as his star-pilot son was hardly a sophisticated hour of television.
In fact, the original "Battlestar Galactica" was a cheesy low-brow piece of science fiction entertainment that lasted only one season.

No. It lasted at least three, and had an (admittedly awful) sequel.

As in the original show, the malevolent Cylons were once a race of shiny tin cans who have now evolved into slimy creatures that can take on the form of humans.
Slime? No, they were just robots with realistic looking skin.

I told y'all that the religion aspect was going to piss off somebody.

Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:19 (twenty years ago) link

Battlestar Galactica did last only one season (glactica 80 not included).

stevie (stevie), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:26 (twenty years ago) link

I agree with this guy.

Re:A quick and dirty review (Score:5, Insightful)
by willtsmith (466546) on Thursday December 11, @09:40PM (#7697123)
(Last Journal: Sunday November 09, @10:52PM)
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.

Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:28 (twenty years ago) link

For Immediate Release


Canadian Television Premiere
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Part 1 - Saturday, January 17 @ 9pm ET
Part 2 - Sunday, January 18 @ 9pm ET

(Toronto - December 12, 2003) The ultimate battle between man and
machine
begins as the long-awaited re-imagination of the cult classic,
Battlestar
Galactica, comes to Canada exclusively on SPACE: The Imagination
Station. A
tale of the human struggle to survive, the new miniseries stays true to
the
core of the 1978 original, but introduces some exciting new twists
including
the transformation of Starbuck, the tough pilot (originally portrayed
by
Dirk Benedict) into a female character, played by Katee Sackhoff
(Halloween
Resurrection). The two-part miniseries launches Saturday, January 17 @
9pm
ET and concludes Sunday, January 18 @ 9pm ET. SPACE will also air a
special
look at the making of the miniseries in Battlestar Galactica: Behind
the
Scenes, a SPACE original production on Saturday, January 17 @ 8:30pm
ET.

Starring Oscar nominated actors Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner, Miami
Vice) as Commander Adama and Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves) as
Colonial
President Laura Roslin, the miniseries begins as Commander Adama and
the
crew of the Galactica embark on plans to put the aircraft carrier in
retirement. The ship has been out of commission for almost 40 years,
since
the end of the war between the people of the 12 Colonies of Kobol and
the
Cylons, the robots created by the humans.

As plans for the closing festivities for the beloved vessel get
underway, a
new breed of Cylons, which are virtually indistinguishable from human
beings, suddenly attack and it is up to the crew of the Galactica to
save
the future of the human race. The lesson they soon learn is that the
flaws
are not in their creation, but in themselves. Also stars James Callis
(Bridget Jones's Diary) as Dr. Baltar, Alberta-born model/actress
Tricia
Helfer as Number Six, Jamie Bamber (Band of Brothers) as Apollo, Grace
Park
as Boomer, and features Canadian actors Aaron Douglas, Paul Campbell
and
Matthew Bennett (Cold Squad).

Battlestar Galactica was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia and
directed by
Michael Rymer (In Too Deep, Queen of the Damned), and written and
executive
produced by Robert D. Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek:
Deep
Space Nine, Roswell).

SPACE: The Imagination Station, a division of CHUM Television, is a
24-hour-a-day English-language national Science Fiction, Science Fact,
Speculation and Fantasy channel (www.spacecast.com).

# # #

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:10 (twenty years ago) link

CHUM Television

Yeah, that's a great name.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:11 (twenty years ago) link

it's one P short of accurate

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:12 (twenty years ago) link

Update from CHUM:

Please note the following correction:
Ronald D. Moore is the writer and executive producer for Battlestar
Galactica, and not Robert D. Moore.
Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. Please don't hesitate to
get
in touch with me if you have any questions.

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:43 (twenty years ago) link

dudes! I just got my preview copies of BOTH PARTS in the mail! I rock!

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 15 December 2003 16:18 (twenty years ago) link

watched part one and some of part two last night. it's GOOD.

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 16:27 (twenty years ago) link

but I guess all you 'Mericans have already seen it.

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 16:34 (twenty years ago) link

For a second I thought you said 'Mexicans' and was bemused.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 16:36 (twenty years ago) link

ha! I meant to do that!

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 16:37 (twenty years ago) link

http://www.printchicago.com/mike/NYG.jpg

brian nemtusak (sanlazaro), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 20:08 (twenty years ago) link

four months pass...
Yep, it's a series now.

Richard Hatch (the Apollo one) makes a "special appearance in an early episode of the new show, playing a Nelson Mandela-like figure, Peter Zarek."

I still don't know if I think this is a good thing or not.

Tep (ktepi), Monday, 19 April 2004 18:02 (nineteen years ago) link

(The revival, I mean, not Peter Zarek.)

Tep (ktepi), Monday, 19 April 2004 18:02 (nineteen years ago) link

! If Hatch is appearing I guess that means the conflicting claims have all finally been settled.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 04:12 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Is the box set in Cylon head shaped case worth $70 used?

Be sure to Loop! Loop, Loop, Loop. (ex machina), Thursday, 27 May 2004 17:04 (nineteen years ago) link

I just got it CHEAP (sort of)

HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 3 June 2004 12:44 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
i just saw the miniseries and it's TERRIFIC! i mean it's really, really good!

s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 15 January 2006 22:49 (eighteen years ago) link

IT IS TOTALLY TERRIFIC, THE MINISERIES.
I'm all set up to watch S2ep12 tonight. mmm, battlestar.

rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Sunday, 15 January 2006 23:19 (eighteen years ago) link

now i'm in the middle of season one!

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 16 January 2006 00:46 (eighteen years ago) link

oh, maybe it's kinda silly, but it really does warm my heart when people give this show a chance and end up loving it. It's like I can't wait until you're all "ohmygod ohymygod" about what's going on near the end of season 1, slocki! Not to mention season 2. Intense.

rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Monday, 16 January 2006 01:30 (eighteen years ago) link

OK, I read somewhere that Cylon spines glow red during sex - do they ever explain why this happens (seems like they could fix that design flaw fairly easily) and/or why this isn't a giant flashing warning sign to any humans they seduce?

Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Monday, 16 January 2006 01:39 (eighteen years ago) link

The series came up for discussion a bit last night at a dinner get-together and while all was praise in general some admitted they had a hard time watching it because of the hand-held camera action. But on the flipside, the design of the ship (especially the bridge) and how the battles were often treated as off to the side instead of being the razzle-dazzle center for the audience got high marks.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 16 January 2006 01:46 (eighteen years ago) link

i LOOOOOOOOOOVE the handheld camera action!! i've been waiting for someone to film space/spaceship stuff interestingly--or even just a little subjectively--for so long!! seriously, that's one of my favourite things about the show. also the sound design is aces. also the way it's both a remake and a sequel to the original (like how in the pilot, during the battlestar's decommisioning ceremony, they play the original theme over tinny old speakers...)

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:45 (eighteen years ago) link

i LOOOOOOOOOOVE the handheld camera action!!

I have no problem with handheld at all! But the point of comparison was made to Blair Witch Project and how both apparently caused motion sickness among my compatriots at said dinner last night. Just doesn't affect me at all.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:47 (eighteen years ago) link

huh! well i don't think it's anywhere as shaky as blair witch... just little discrete moves, zoom-ins. but i'm not going to argue that your friend didn't have the right to get motion sickness, haha.

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:49 (eighteen years ago) link

I know it's not supposed to be available, but does anyone know where one could watch the BG Second Coming trailer?

Marcel Gallingez (Marcel Gallingez), Monday, 16 January 2006 16:02 (eighteen years ago) link

The camerawork, especially in the FX shots, reminds me of thaat in Attack of the Clones It's the crash zooms and overcompensations, I think.

I just (last week) saw Series 1. The first episode, "33", is a work of evil genius.

Stone Monkey (Stone Monkey), Monday, 16 January 2006 16:16 (eighteen years ago) link

five months pass...
just bought this (Series 1) on recommendation of a friend. turned out i needed to have seen the miniseries first. so bought that as well (a fiver), watched it and episodes 1 and 2 over the weekend. is great. reminds me of a mix of B5 and Space, Above and Beyond (which is good).

(series is currently showing on sky3 (which is available to freeview viewers) much to my annoyance. still, was only the price of a cd or so and no adverts and no waiting a week between episodes is a good thing).

yes, "33" was great. cylons as The Mummy.

koogy wonderland (koogs), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

ROBOTECH IS BETTER

Machibuse '80 (ex machina), Monday, 10 July 2006 16:05 (seventeen years ago) link

ROBOTECH IS BETTER

I dunno. I watched a bunch of episodes recently and it didn't seem to be as cool as it was when I first saw them in the 80s.

I watched the second half of NuBG season two over the weekend and the division of storylines was annoying - especially the CylonAngst episode set on Caprica.

Fsck Washing Ong's Hat (Chris Barrus), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:35 (seventeen years ago) link

I loved that episode! There should be more cylon emo.

GILLY'S BAGG'EAR VANCE OF COUPARI (Ex Leon), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:38 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm still looking forward to season 3. I'll be mucho impressed if they can pull everything forward in a non-lame way.

Fsck Washing Ong's Hat (Chris Barrus), Monday, 10 July 2006 23:01 (seventeen years ago) link

just watched Bastille Day last night. odd to see the object of your screen crush with blood dribbling down her chin where she'd bitten a chunk out of potential rapist's ear.

koogy wonderland (koogs), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 07:34 (seventeen years ago) link

nine months pass...
wow the last episode in season one is really a GAMECHANGER

cutty, Sunday, 29 April 2007 16:17 (sixteen years ago) link

a friend of mine says this show is really good

RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 16:20 (sixteen years ago) link

I think Amazon started working on a Culture TV show and gave up.

DJI, Friday, 28 May 2021 16:40 (two years ago) link

yeah Expanse is much more...clinical, maybe? it has a coldness and to it and isn't as interested in Big Obvious Themes or goopy love triangles xp

intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Friday, 28 May 2021 16:40 (two years ago) link

I think Amazon started working on a Culture TV show and gave up.

― DJI,

Fair play to be honest, it would need an absurd budget to do properly.

chap, Friday, 28 May 2021 16:44 (two years ago) link

I tend to forget, when I'm reading Culture books, that many of the characters are weird multi-legged creatures and other things that might be tough to relate to as a television viewer.

DJI, Friday, 28 May 2021 17:50 (two years ago) link

I'm guessing they would just do the typical head loaf makeup that other scifi shows do.

DJI, Friday, 28 May 2021 17:51 (two years ago) link

animate it?

koogs, Friday, 28 May 2021 21:01 (two years ago) link

That would be rad

DJI, Saturday, 29 May 2021 15:40 (two years ago) link

Sounds like it was Bank's estate that pulled the plug xps

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/21402585/amazon-cancels-tv-adaptation-culture-series-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas

groovypanda, Saturday, 29 May 2021 15:54 (two years ago) link

six months pass...

Got my mom started on Galactica, should I warn her about the later seasons or make it a delightful surprise?

papal hotwife (milo z), Tuesday, 28 December 2021 03:20 (two years ago) link

delightful surprise

terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 December 2021 03:28 (two years ago) link

100% agree.

Maybe take a health check after the season three opening episodes, that's the jump off point before you hit the weird part of the rollercoaster.

my opinionation (Hamildan), Tuesday, 28 December 2021 10:53 (two years ago) link

does she like the song "All Along the Watchtower" y or n?

sarahell, Tuesday, 28 December 2021 16:35 (two years ago) link

The only song I’ve ever been sure she liked was “Sussudio.”

papal hotwife (milo z), Tuesday, 28 December 2021 17:18 (two years ago) link

the Cylons woulda given themselves away by dancing

hopefully this review helped someone (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 28 December 2021 17:20 (two years ago) link

one month passes...

Serial killer doctor episode in season 3 merits my mom's first 100% critical text re: Galactica.

papal hotwife (milo z), Wednesday, 2 February 2022 03:06 (two years ago) link


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