The new Battlestar

[jasamcarl]

I'm not going to review this entire thread, but I actually caught the last half-hour of the second episode between commercial breaks on NBC. I was impressed enough to want to see the rest in re-runs this Sunday.

I will admit, nothing about it was particularly original, but, for me, it looked liked the entire production was more than the sum of its parts. It just 'worked'. The tone had that dead on sense of paranoia that was conveyed dropping hints of the human's fugitive status and not through self-conscience dialogue that would have pushed it into 'angsty' territory. The dialogue was appropriatly minimalist and airy, making the cast look like proffessionals looking for some escape from crap conditions..

I will stop now...but i will just say i kinda liked it. The NYT has a good review.

 

[Endur]

Battlestar Galactica was Great!

I just watched it, and I can't wait for more.

I was distressed when I found out it was only two parts.

I saw the original series back in the '70s, and many times since in re-runs.

This re-make was fabulous.

I do agree that Sci-Fi's marketing strategy leaves a lot to be desired. I saw nothing wrong with the changes to the characters (Starbuck, Boomer, or any of the originals). Any controversy was a storm in a teacup, really.

Major improvements over the original series:
Cylons: The origins, the computer virus/networks, the discussions about God, the human looking cylons, Baltar's lover, Especially the part about cylon ships not having crews.

Starbuck and Boomer: I have always liked Dirk Benedict, but I thought the new Starbuck and Boomer were major improvements over the old. Likewise,the new Col. Tigh.

Baltar: The new Baltar is also an improvement over the original.

 

[Endur]

I agree with everything you said, except that Baltar feels guilt. I don't think he feels guilt.

Rather, what he thought was a victimless bending of the rules to gain financial advantage and get in good with his girlfriend turned out to open the door to apocalypse. Because he isn't an evil man, he feels immense guilt about that.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I agree with everything you said, except that Baltar feels guilt. I don't think he feels guilt.

I agree. My guess is that he's shaken that he let his arrogance and his other weaknesses place him in such a compromising position. He may feel a bit of guilt, but he also feels like he's been manipulated and taken advantage of. More than anything, he just wants the truth about his involvement to remain a secret.

 

[Ranger REG]

Look sometimes people do take things a little too seriously but how do you think Star Trek fans would react if Star Trek was totally reimagined for the viewing public and the old show was thrown out completly?

Heh. Well, how do you think I can tolerate watching ENTERPRISE, much less the latter half of STAR TREK: VOYAGER, both of which were produced under the leadership of Brannon Braga?

Every time I see ENTERPRISE, supposedly a prequel series, I have this ritual where I close my eyes and chant my mantra, "it's a reimagined series, it's a reimagined series set in an alternate universe, it's a reimagined series,..."

Because if I had to think this is part of the main Star Trek universe's timeline, it would have been hard to stomach. IOW, I'd lose my evening dinner.

<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_2_5.gif' border=0></a>

BTW, I was glad the title was ENTERPRISE but now they had to insult me by renaming it STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE.

You BSG fans got lucky. You got the better writer AND producer graduated from the ST franchise. You got one who is upfront with you, not one who ignores continuity and to this day continues to pitch that his work is real Trek. We veteran Trek fans got crap on our end.

 

[Darrin Drader]

You BSG fans got lucky. You got the better writer AND producer graduated from the ST franchise. You got one who is upfront with you, not one who ignores continuity and to this day continues to pitch that his work is real Trek. We veteran Trek fans got crap on our end.

Thank you for driving that point home. Somebody needed to.

 

[Scarbonac]

Well, I've seen the whole mini (two-part movie, really).


I'm conflicted; I watched the original during its first run back in tha day, and loved it. I collected the Walt Simonson Galactica comics. I suffered through G80. I tried to keep up with the latter-day comics in the 90s. I wanted a Colonial Warrior jacket and a pulse-laser.


*sigh*

[Edit: Just wanted to note that I'm not blind to the weaknesses of BSG:TOS; I've watched the repeats on Sci-Fi; some eps hold up...some don't; the recycled SFX grate on my nerves from time to time and there are more than a few stilted performances. John Colicos is still delightfull ad Original Recipe Baltar, and Jonathon Harris's Lucifer still has a warm spot in my heart. Hey, isn't that Count Iblis over there...?]


This was...OK...but only just. Adama, Baltar and Boomer made the show for me. "Starbuck" was...OK. Tigh was...OK (and yes, Virginia, I'm pretty certain that was a photo of #6 in which he was burning a hole; I did some freeze-frame comparisons that struck me as pretty conclusive).


I could live with the downgrading of the weaponry from zappers to bangbangs and missiles, but I hated the crappy shakey-cam used for the space-battles. The lack of robotic Cylons didn't enthrall me, either. I did like the use of RL physics, though.

I liked the baby-killing scene; it brought home the idea that the Cylons were going to kill everyone. Death would come to all, young, old, healthy, sick, weak, strong, whatever. Since most of the deaths would happen almost completely off-screen, mushroom clouds notwithstanding, a few pilots, reporters, a civilian and a baby would have to symbolize them.

Restrained ugliness.

Sex? Gratuitous?

So? Pile it on.

Baltar is far and away my favorite; a weasel who has gotten in over his head, he has to hope that he can continue to deflect suspicions from himself, preserve the other humans (cos why live if you're the only one?) and root out the

Spoiler

sleeper Cylons

. I see buckets of cold sweat in store for this character.


I miss Athena & Cassie (although everyone's favorite Socialator could still put in an appearance), am damn glad that there's no goddamn Muffit (poor chimp stuck in a robot dog suit!) and hope Adama gets an episode where he uses the sword on his wall.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Caprica City was hit by a 50 megaton explosion.
I suppose a 50 megaton explosion is pretty big. But how big exactly?

 

[Scarbonac]

Caprica City was hit by a 50 megaton explosion.
I suppose a 50 megaton explosion is pretty big. But how big exactly?

I've seen the claim that 50 megatons would be something on the order of the destructive power of 2500 Hiroshima bombs.

Boom, Baby.

 

[Villano]

Caprica City was hit by a 50 megaton explosion.
I suppose a 50 megaton explosion is pretty big. But how big exactly?

Picture a 1 megaton explosion. Now, it would be 50 times as big as that.