well, its not on tv right now, and its not a movie, so it gets its own thread

after babylon 5 screened its finale in 1999 i was convinced we had seen the very best that the space opera genre was ever going to deliver. what B5 lacked in budget it made up for in storytelling, and it was the first of its kind, pioneering the now often-used "novel for television" format. i was hesitant in getting into galactica coz i was a fan of the original (even if i was quite young) and didn't want those old memories tarnished by a modern piece of excrement.

well, finally we have a new champion of epic fantasy thats as intelligent as it is polished. gone are the clunky re-used sets and rubber face-masks that have characterised much of sci-fi television. galactica is sexy and sophisticated and certainly takes itself very seriously.

you get the basics during the intro: men created cylons, cylons rebelled. now theyre back to finish what they started, some in human form. not gonna say anything else coz fuck i hate it when people ruin plots by telling you stuff they're too stupid to realise gives things away.

theres an interesting combination of characters, some very obvious cliches, however some of the parallels with B5 are like an old friend and i for one welcome the similarities. especially since they're done and utilised in very different ways. theres the obligatory sex(y)-related characters, because if youre to succeed in this expensive business you need to pander to the lowest common denominator to a certain extent. sci-fi shows are awfully cost-intensive. for the most part however, its not too bad and often plays an important role in the overall story arc.

otherwise, its nothing but topnotch story-telling thats as realistic as it is romantic, and as far as im concerned nothing beats epic fantasy romanticism when done right. death and destruction and heroes and villains and betrayal and some wonderfully juxta-positioned good versus good themes that underpin the grander good versus evil narrative. yummy yum yum.

special effects are top-notch, and i really like how they've covered space combat- bit of newtonian physics combined with a dull space-sound which is saying "yes, we know theres no sound in space but it would be boring without it". very effective. the new and improved cylon robots are well cool, vicious and violent. the only negative being we havent seen enough of them for my liking (possibly a budget concern also, they'd be expensive to render).

they've managed to avoid the "monster of the week" syndrome that has plagued sci-fi since its inception (and all too common in early seasons) with episodes all following the arc nicely. the writers obviously understand what LOST writers dont- you don't need stupid cliffhangers and secrets ad nauseum to make gripping television and entice people into watching next week. nothing in BG feels overly contrived or insulting or designed just to make you buy the next DVD.

im not sure if you need to be a nerd to love this show. id like to think not, the themes and story should really speak for themselves but i will concede im a sucker for this kind of plot. but im also just a fan of fucking good television. has B5 been usurped? at this early stage im not sure, but if the next seasons possess the same quality then its almost a certainty.

if you are even a little bit nerdy then you've gotta check this series out. please note it started as a mini-series pilot of 2 or 3 movie-length episodes before launching into season 1. always watch good television in order!

5 space cruisers out of 5.

edit: i would like to note that being in love with a cylon has not altered my review of this series at all

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Last edited by pkcRAISTLIN on Dec-03-2006 at 23:46