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I have fond memories of Battlestar Galactica. I remember going on a school camp somewhere down in north-west Devon and all getting shown, I think, the first part of the 1970’s series, and loved it. As most kids did when it involved space ships, lasers, robots and really wizzy special effects.

Of course, as time went on, and the repeats crept by, I started picking holes in it. The same special effects each time a space ship exploded. The dated 1970’s futuristic fashion. The velvet and suede. The cubits money. But oh did I laugh when ‘Face’ (Dirk Benedict, who played the original Starbuck) from the A-Team does the “don’t I recognise you from somewhere” look in the credits as a Cylon robot walks by. Perhaps the only self-referential scene to an actors previous role in a TV series.

So, yes. Battlestar Galactica. Marvellous programme. Fond memories.

Then a year or two ago I discovered on the geek grapevine they’d remade it. Surely not. You can’t remake something so cheesy, but classy. Surely. But of course, remakes and revisitations is where it’s at right now. Just look at James Bond, Superman, Batman. All being remade in Hollywood, so it was inevitable the TV studios would start trawling through their archives eventually.

I was worried.

But then the geek reviews from the US came in. Starbuck, as a girl? Cylons that look like humans? That look like cute humans? Like bare, naked, blonde lady humans? Complex characters, motives and story-lines? Accurate ballistic manoeuvres in space? This sounded interesting (but not necessarily in that order).

So after stumbling on an episode on Sky 3 on my freeview box, I brandished my lovefilm subscription and ordered the three part “miniseries” that they kicked off the remake with, before getting Season 1. Boy does that explain a few things.

So, whilst I wait for Lost to come out on DVD over here (and I’m wary that the third series is going to be up to much; I fear story-line exhaustion), we’re safely in to series two of Battlestar Galactica, and I can heartily recommend it to anybody who either hasn’t a clue about the original Battlestar Galactica, or loved the original as much as me. The former of course miss out on the fun and self-referential bits. Like the guy who played Apollo in the original, plays a dubious ‘terrorist’ character in the remake. That the original theme tune pops up from time to time. That the safe-for-broadcast “expletive” of ‘Frack’ as a synonym for, oh, take a guess. That they have the same shaped cubit money, have a similar fighter launch.

But best of all, for any fan of quality TV, is that the plots are deliciously complex, the characters well-formed, realistic and complex, the inter-relationships varied and provoking, and the story-arc compelling. The acting is, on the whole, excellent (Gaius Baltar, played by James Callis, otherwise known as “the bad(?) guy with the English accent”) has to be my personal favourite). And no silly alien outfits and running around in quarries in Wales or California as per Dr Who or Star Trek. The special effects are genuinely amongst the best I’ve seen, and (curiously) perhaps the most restrained: At times it barely registers as a Sci-fi series, plus the bad-guys are intriguing in so many ways. It all of course starts with the opening credits with it’s haunting and very emotive theme music (itself worth tuning in for):

• The Cylons were created by Man.
• They Evolved.
• They Rebelled.
• They Look and Feel Human.
• Some are programmed to think they are Human.
• There are many copies.
• And they have a Plan.

And what’s that plan? As with Lost, it’s only being gradually revealed, along with character subtleties and motives. There’s plenty of humour, seriousness and emotion. It’s won numerous awards (Time magazine’s “Best of 2005: TV”, to name but one) and plaudits aplenty.

If I had one criticism it’s the over-dependence as the 2nd series is progressing, on some progg-mystic gubbins, countered by the (no doubt deliberate) monolithic “god” of the cylons. As has been said elsewhere (I forget where) “they should sack the chain-smoking fundamentalist christian they’ve got floating about the script writers office“. It really does get a bit tiresome, and doesn’t really add to the plot options in a particular way.

If like me, you’re wishing Lost wasn’t lost to us poor freeview viewers, and fancy something every bit as sharp, and interesting, I can’t recommend Battlestar Galactica highly enough (you probably get that by now). Even if you’re not normally a Sci-Fi fan.

Seriously. This is one of the best TV series out there at the moment. And it’s only just started.

See also:

• Wikipedia entry (includes some plot hints).
• Official website at scifi.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 at 11:16 pm and is filed under Media, TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.