Column 1: BSG
I've decided to write a few columns for everyone. This first one is an opinion piece on a television program. Just click the cut for all your columnized needs.
Battlestar Galactica
Now, the first thing you're probably thinking is, "Wow, this sounds nerdy." Or maybe, "Wasn't that some cheesy show from the '70s?" This isn't either of those things, despite the name, it is most definitely not a "nerdy" show, nor is it a cheesy '70s television show. Sort of.
Battlestar Galactica started its life in the late 1970s. Think of it as a sort of Star Wars-type show. Unfortunately, the show was so expensive to produce, and with waning interest, it was eventually canceled. Now, myself, I've never seen this show. Never interested me.
Come 2003, and the Sci-Fi Channel (with it's wonderful record of producing great shows and movies--hahaha) decides to make a brand new Battlestar Galactica miniseries. This should be a bomb, considering it's a remake of a crappy TV show from the 1970s, and it's Sci-Fi Channel.
The casting, however, seemed pretty good. We have two (fairly) big names in Edward James Olmos and Marry McDonnell. Anyway, Mr. Olmos himself warned old fans not to expect a "remake", because if so they weren't going to like this incarnation of the Galactica very much.
The miniseries debuted and was received extremely well, not only by viewers, but critics as well. Before it had even finished airing, Sci-Fi ordered a 13-episode season one, which would premier not too long after.
So what's this show about, you ask?
Battlestar Galactica is a show about people. The plot itself concerns the future. There are twelve planets, or, "colonies" which humans live on. Years ago the humans created these robotic creatures known as Cylons. But the Cylons eventually grew smarter and decided to rebel against the humans. There was a massive Cylon war, which was thankfully won by the humans with the aide of their Battlestars, giant space ships. One such Battlestar was the Galactica. What set apart the Galactica from the other stars was its use of all analogue equipment. The Cylons were easily able to hack into the systems of other, more advanced ships because of their technology. But the Galactica used lots of primitive equipment in order to avoid this. One of the ace Viper pilots, William Adama, would become the commander of the Galactica.
So we skip ahead about 40 years after the Cylon war. Humans and Cylons have had a shaky truce since the end of the war, and every year would send a representative to meet the Cylons, but the Cylons never showed up. One day, however, a beautiful blonde woman in a red dress shows up to the meeting, and the ship is destroyed.
The Cylons launch a massive attack on the colonies, one of those being the planet Caprica. Unfortunately for the rest of mankind, some idiot named Gaius Baltar's been having an affair with that gorgeous blonde woman we saw die in the explosion earlier. Somehow she's still alive, or something, and has gotten Dr. Baltar to give her access to all of Caprica's defenses. Bad move on Baltar's part, when we find out that this blonde woman is one of twelve Cylon models that look, act, and feel just like humans. Dr. Baltar is basically responsible for the fall of the human race, much to his chagrin.
The worst part of it all? This all happens on the day Commander Adama was going to retire from operating the Galactica. Unfortunately he doesn't get this chance, and along with his crew and some other ships, is forced to flee the attacks.
The "Colonial Fleet" as its now called is a group of about 70-some-odd ships on the run from the Cylons. At the end of the miniseries, Commander Adama reveals that he knows where the legendary lost 13th colony is, the 13th colony known as "Earth", and they are to set a course for earth.
What Adama doesn't tell them is that he doesn't believe there's a such thing as this fabled "Earth." He thinks it's religious superstition. But, he wanted to give the small number of survivors hope, and thus, Adama's ark heads off into space to find a home.
Crazy, eh? Now you're probably thinking that this all sounds like some Star Trek mumbo jumbo.
1 This is nothing like Star Trek. No Scotties' are beaming anyone up, no laser guns are firing, no aliens are sleeping with the captain. Nothing like that. Let me make this clear again, this is nothing like Star Trek.
2 Don't like science fiction? Me neither. But why BSG? BSG is about as far as sci-fi one can get while still technically being a sci-fi show. It doesn't adhere to the usual sci-fi cliches, and like discussed above, it's not a Star Trek type of show, at all.
3 So what is this show, then? BSG is a drama, first and foremost. It's an extremely well-written drama series, about people, and about their lives and how they're affected by the situation. It touches on a lot of, well, touchy subjects like abortion and politics. The characters are all incredibly multi-layered and develop incredibly. The Lee "Apollo" Adama in the first episode is not the same Lee in the end of the first season.
4 Gaius Baltar. Who is he? Well, he is played by actor James Callis, and is the best character in the show. During the beginning of the miniseries, I expected to hate him. He just seemed so typical. He was a jerk, a womanizer, British, a scientist, all the usual things that fit the mold of boring Sci-Fi villain, right? Well, there are some really interesting twists throughout the miniseries that basically turn him in to the most interesting and craziest character.
5 This is not a sci-fi action show. Seriously. It's a DRAMA, more than anything else. There is some action and spacefights, but they're almost never the focus of an episode.
But of course, all of the characters are entertaining and well-written. From the gruff and impossibly badass Commander Adama, played by Edward James Olmos, to Laura Rosilin, the Mary McDonnell-played secretary of education who is forced into the seat of the Presidency due to the Cylon attacks, to the Cylon number-Six herself, you'll grow to love every character.
some things to remember
What is the Battlestar Galactica?
A "Battlestar" is a giant ship that carries lots of little jets and such. The Galactica is a very old Battlestar run by Bill Adama, and it ends up being the only hope for the human race.
The Galactica
What is a Cylon?
The original Cylons, or as people like calling them, "Toasters", were clunky robots that rebelled against mankind. The newest Cylons are a set of twelve humanoid versions. They're, honestly, a bit too human at times.
The robotic Cylon centurions
The humanoid Cylon number-Six
Who is Commander William Adama?
He is a badass old man played by Edward James Olmos. That's pretty much all you need to know.
Hey Bill!
What about Gaius Baltar?
This is all you need to know about Gaius.
So how can you, my good people, get ahold of this incredible series? On DVD of course. You may be able to find it to rent at video stores, like I did, but it's worth it to buy the DVD sets.
The first set includes the miniseries (which is required viewing for the rest of the show) and the 13-episode season one. It retails for between $50 and $60.
The second season was 20-episodes, but was split for the DVD release in halves. Season 2.0 has the first ten episodes and can be bought for around $40, and season 2.5 has an extended version of the tenth episode, along with episodes eleven through twenty and is also about $40.
The third season is just about finished airing on the Sci-Fi channel, so the DVD set will probably not come out until late summer. The wait is, of course, killing me, but rumour has it the DVD set will not be split in half like season two, so the twenty-episode set will run around $70.
One thing to remember about this show: It is not a "plug and play" type of show. Meaning, you can't just start watching a single episode and expect to have any clue of what's going on. You've gotta start from the beginning of the miniseries and watch every episode. The episodes are about an hour each, so it's quite a long series, but it's worth it. Believe me. It's such a wild ride, and I envy those who haven't seen it yet, and will get to experience all the incredible twists and turns again.
Sci-Fi has renewed BSG for a fourth season, which should premier either December of this year, or January of next year, so make sure you're caught up with the series by then!
Last but not least, I'll leave you with a little trailer for the show, courtesy of Youtube.
Battlestar Galactica
Now, the first thing you're probably thinking is, "Wow, this sounds nerdy." Or maybe, "Wasn't that some cheesy show from the '70s?" This isn't either of those things, despite the name, it is most definitely not a "nerdy" show, nor is it a cheesy '70s television show. Sort of.
Battlestar Galactica started its life in the late 1970s. Think of it as a sort of Star Wars-type show. Unfortunately, the show was so expensive to produce, and with waning interest, it was eventually canceled. Now, myself, I've never seen this show. Never interested me.
Come 2003, and the Sci-Fi Channel (with it's wonderful record of producing great shows and movies--hahaha) decides to make a brand new Battlestar Galactica miniseries. This should be a bomb, considering it's a remake of a crappy TV show from the 1970s, and it's Sci-Fi Channel.
The casting, however, seemed pretty good. We have two (fairly) big names in Edward James Olmos and Marry McDonnell. Anyway, Mr. Olmos himself warned old fans not to expect a "remake", because if so they weren't going to like this incarnation of the Galactica very much.
The miniseries debuted and was received extremely well, not only by viewers, but critics as well. Before it had even finished airing, Sci-Fi ordered a 13-episode season one, which would premier not too long after.
So what's this show about, you ask?
Battlestar Galactica is a show about people. The plot itself concerns the future. There are twelve planets, or, "colonies" which humans live on. Years ago the humans created these robotic creatures known as Cylons. But the Cylons eventually grew smarter and decided to rebel against the humans. There was a massive Cylon war, which was thankfully won by the humans with the aide of their Battlestars, giant space ships. One such Battlestar was the Galactica. What set apart the Galactica from the other stars was its use of all analogue equipment. The Cylons were easily able to hack into the systems of other, more advanced ships because of their technology. But the Galactica used lots of primitive equipment in order to avoid this. One of the ace Viper pilots, William Adama, would become the commander of the Galactica.
So we skip ahead about 40 years after the Cylon war. Humans and Cylons have had a shaky truce since the end of the war, and every year would send a representative to meet the Cylons, but the Cylons never showed up. One day, however, a beautiful blonde woman in a red dress shows up to the meeting, and the ship is destroyed.
The Cylons launch a massive attack on the colonies, one of those being the planet Caprica. Unfortunately for the rest of mankind, some idiot named Gaius Baltar's been having an affair with that gorgeous blonde woman we saw die in the explosion earlier. Somehow she's still alive, or something, and has gotten Dr. Baltar to give her access to all of Caprica's defenses. Bad move on Baltar's part, when we find out that this blonde woman is one of twelve Cylon models that look, act, and feel just like humans. Dr. Baltar is basically responsible for the fall of the human race, much to his chagrin.
The worst part of it all? This all happens on the day Commander Adama was going to retire from operating the Galactica. Unfortunately he doesn't get this chance, and along with his crew and some other ships, is forced to flee the attacks.
The "Colonial Fleet" as its now called is a group of about 70-some-odd ships on the run from the Cylons. At the end of the miniseries, Commander Adama reveals that he knows where the legendary lost 13th colony is, the 13th colony known as "Earth", and they are to set a course for earth.
What Adama doesn't tell them is that he doesn't believe there's a such thing as this fabled "Earth." He thinks it's religious superstition. But, he wanted to give the small number of survivors hope, and thus, Adama's ark heads off into space to find a home.
Crazy, eh? Now you're probably thinking that this all sounds like some Star Trek mumbo jumbo.
1 This is nothing like Star Trek. No Scotties' are beaming anyone up, no laser guns are firing, no aliens are sleeping with the captain. Nothing like that. Let me make this clear again, this is nothing like Star Trek.
2 Don't like science fiction? Me neither. But why BSG? BSG is about as far as sci-fi one can get while still technically being a sci-fi show. It doesn't adhere to the usual sci-fi cliches, and like discussed above, it's not a Star Trek type of show, at all.
3 So what is this show, then? BSG is a drama, first and foremost. It's an extremely well-written drama series, about people, and about their lives and how they're affected by the situation. It touches on a lot of, well, touchy subjects like abortion and politics. The characters are all incredibly multi-layered and develop incredibly. The Lee "Apollo" Adama in the first episode is not the same Lee in the end of the first season.
4 Gaius Baltar. Who is he? Well, he is played by actor James Callis, and is the best character in the show. During the beginning of the miniseries, I expected to hate him. He just seemed so typical. He was a jerk, a womanizer, British, a scientist, all the usual things that fit the mold of boring Sci-Fi villain, right? Well, there are some really interesting twists throughout the miniseries that basically turn him in to the most interesting and craziest character.
5 This is not a sci-fi action show. Seriously. It's a DRAMA, more than anything else. There is some action and spacefights, but they're almost never the focus of an episode.
But of course, all of the characters are entertaining and well-written. From the gruff and impossibly badass Commander Adama, played by Edward James Olmos, to Laura Rosilin, the Mary McDonnell-played secretary of education who is forced into the seat of the Presidency due to the Cylon attacks, to the Cylon number-Six herself, you'll grow to love every character.
some things to remember
What is the Battlestar Galactica?
A "Battlestar" is a giant ship that carries lots of little jets and such. The Galactica is a very old Battlestar run by Bill Adama, and it ends up being the only hope for the human race.
The Galactica
What is a Cylon?
The original Cylons, or as people like calling them, "Toasters", were clunky robots that rebelled against mankind. The newest Cylons are a set of twelve humanoid versions. They're, honestly, a bit too human at times.
The robotic Cylon centurions
The humanoid Cylon number-Six
Who is Commander William Adama?
He is a badass old man played by Edward James Olmos. That's pretty much all you need to know.
Hey Bill!
What about Gaius Baltar?
This is all you need to know about Gaius.
So how can you, my good people, get ahold of this incredible series? On DVD of course. You may be able to find it to rent at video stores, like I did, but it's worth it to buy the DVD sets.
The first set includes the miniseries (which is required viewing for the rest of the show) and the 13-episode season one. It retails for between $50 and $60.
The second season was 20-episodes, but was split for the DVD release in halves. Season 2.0 has the first ten episodes and can be bought for around $40, and season 2.5 has an extended version of the tenth episode, along with episodes eleven through twenty and is also about $40.
The third season is just about finished airing on the Sci-Fi channel, so the DVD set will probably not come out until late summer. The wait is, of course, killing me, but rumour has it the DVD set will not be split in half like season two, so the twenty-episode set will run around $70.
One thing to remember about this show: It is not a "plug and play" type of show. Meaning, you can't just start watching a single episode and expect to have any clue of what's going on. You've gotta start from the beginning of the miniseries and watch every episode. The episodes are about an hour each, so it's quite a long series, but it's worth it. Believe me. It's such a wild ride, and I envy those who haven't seen it yet, and will get to experience all the incredible twists and turns again.
Sci-Fi has renewed BSG for a fourth season, which should premier either December of this year, or January of next year, so make sure you're caught up with the series by then!
Last but not least, I'll leave you with a little trailer for the show, courtesy of Youtube.