Battlestar Galactica
The new version of Battlestar Galactica, which will be entering its fourth and final season come October
2007, isn't like any other science fiction one has ever seen. Quite often, it seems to be more of a television soap opera than a science fiction show; if it weren't
happening on a spaceship, one might think that's exactly what it is.
Imagine that human civilization has a cataclysmic event occurs that wipes out 99 5/1,000,000th of the entire civilization? Then imagine that it wasn't a
natural event, but some entity did it on purpose, and now they're trying to get rid of you. And yet, even with all of that, you're still trying to hang on to some
semblance of society while running for your life.
That's the entire premise of Battlestar Galactica, and I understand it was also the premise of the original series, which I never saw because I didn't want to see Ben
Cartwright of Bonanza fame
wearing that goofy uniform. In this version, we have Edward James
Olmos, whom I've always liked, yet wondered if he would ever play a role where he'd put more than three words together (remember
Miami Vice?), in the lead role as
Admiral William Adamo, and Mary McDonnell as the president, though, at the present time, the president
by de facto, since she'd lost an election she tried to rig, but is still more presidential than the guy who won, then somehow lost because he was incompetent and
allowed,… no, too much information.
Anyway, the humans, flying in their spaceships, the main one being a space battleship named Galactica, are being chased by this alien race that's not quite alien
because humans created them, robots that became sentient and are known as Cylons. And the Cylons are a strange bunch because some of them look human, think they're
human, there are many of them that look alike, and they want to attain humanity,… and still kill the humans. Some of the Cylons still look like robots, and it would
seem that they're the braun of the group, the true fighters that keep everyone else in line.
If all of this doesn't seem strange enough, there's now a human/Cylon baby, which means the alien/robots have actually figured out how to give birth, and it was by
having a human have sexual relations with a robot that thought it was human, and still tries to act like a human, even though she also tried, at one time, to kill
Admiral Adamo.
Oh yeah, one more odd thing, and this brings us back to the president, who's also a physician, who is no more.
Seems he's alive, though, we're not sure why or how, but
is always mentally connected to one of the sexiest robots one has ever seen, and he's always stuck in the middle, trying to balance his allegiances between
both parties. He "sees" this woman, which no one else does, even though now she's also confined, and she has her way with him while always trying to manipulate him,
and all of this takes place in his head; I need a woman like this in my life!
Confused? Well, as much as all of this seems to confuse people, there's a lot more confusion out there. But there's also some very well written stories and characters,
and that's what brings people back to this show, as well as cinematography that reminds me of the
Homicide TV show with its frequent cuts
and close-ups. It's dark, unlike many of the Star Trek shows, because everyone is basically living on military transports that "jump" dimensions that are as
scientifically impossible as going warp 5 was on
Star Trek. And they fly fighters
that shoot, well, what looks like bullets, rather than fancy laser beams ala Star Trek, but a lot
like Star Wars. How the heck do we have
robots that can have babies, but no one has developed a working laser? And there's a healthy sense of paranoia, ala
X-Files, because, well, if the Cylons
themselves don't know they're robots rather than humans, how do the humans have a chance?
Still, Battlestar Galactica is a very enjoyable show, one that's talked about by many as one of the best written shows in a long time, and it's either loved or
hated; there is no real middle ground. I thought I was in the middle until I asked myself this question; how do I feel if I might miss an episode? Knowing that I
would be greatly disappointed, and looking to catch it during the next week on the Sci-Fi Channel answers that question easily.
