Review of Battlestar Galactica (2003 mini series)

Introduction

"There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. They may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens..."

These words narrated by Patrick MacNee on September 17th 1978 opened the most expensive TV pilot to date as Battlestar Galactica took to the screens. Starring Bonanza star Lorne Green alongside both Richard Hatch and later A-Team luminary Dirk Benedict, this series followed the saga of the last survivors of man trying to escape from the clutches of dastardly robot killing machines, the Cylons. With each episode costing roughly $1 million to make, it is hardly surprising that despite strong ratings the show was cancelled at the end of the first series.

A short-lived follow-up came in 1980 called, imaginatively enough, Galactica 80, which has been dubbed by some as the worst sci-fi series ever (and that’s in spite of starring Barry Van Dyke).

Rumblings of remakes have been echoing through eternity for the last decade or so, Richard Hatch quite vocal in his plans to revisit the show. Then in 2003, a new mini-series arrived. Styled as a re-imagining of the original concept, the new series changed the gender of some of the original characters (the most controversial being that of Dirk Benedict’s Starbuck) but also looked back at the old series with affection by keeping some of the best loved things (namely the old Vipers).

The Cylons, in this new story, were created by man to serve them and then broke Asimov’s Laws of Robotics by rebelling against their creators and launching into all-out war. At this point in the story, the Cylons haven’t been seen for forty years and a distant space platform has been built by man to which a Colonial Fleet officer is sent every year in the hope that the Cylons may send a delegate and talk peace. This year the Cylons finally arrive and announce their intent with an air of brooding sexy ruthlessness.

While this happens, the Battlestar Galactica is awaiting its decommission into a floating museum with Commader Adama (Edward James Olmos) overseeing the final preparations. Amongst his crew is jail bait stunner Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), who winds up in the brig after baiting and decking alcoholic Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan). Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber), callsign ‘Apollo’, has been transferred in to the Galactica to lead a flypast in an old MKII Viper, but still feels resentment to his father over the premature death of his brother Zack who Apollo feels should never have been passed fit to fly by his father.

Meanwhile on home planet Caprica, resident genius Dr Gauis Baltar (James Callis) is having lots of sex with a gorgeous mystery lady who is really a Cylon called Number 6 (Tricia Helfer). Baltar is fooled into allowing Number 6 access to the military defense system which allows the Cylons to attack and devastate not only the home planet but also the Colonial Fleet.

And thus it all begins again…

Video

Nice dark and gloomy picture. This sci-fi series has more of a naturalistic feel to it, and so you see the sparks flying, water dripping, pools of oil, etc. The aerial battle scenes are more of a long distance view than in yer face with hundreds of dots appearing on screen with vapour trails of missiles streaking across your screen.

Audio

A glorious Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that also references the old series as the familiar Galactica theme cranks up during the ceremonial fly past. The soundtrack is very much percussion based rather than sweeping orchestral sounds of norm and this adds to the drama of the aerial battles. Also, whilst the explosions in space are very much felt, they are also more muted than you would expect, it’s a curious approach for a mainstream series but it works rather well.

Features

The Lowdown – 20 minute featurette on the premise behind the new series which also pays tribute to its origins by not only showing original footage but also interviewing original Apollo Richard Hatch.

Conclusion

I loved the original Battlestar Galactica and was very much looking forward to its return mainly on the basis of the involvement of Edward James Olmos who made Miami Vice such a joy to watch. The creators have very much made this series their own whilst very much following the original story and also dropping in references to their predecessor. Whilst the original was a glossy space opera with a touch of realism, this mini series is very much a more realistic proposition with the main characters all having either physical or mental flaws.

I was a little wary of the gender changes being made, as an original fan you couldn’t really imagine anyone playing Starbuck than Dirk Benedict, but Sackhoff is a much harder Starbuck than the carefree womaniser that Bendict portrayed. I think part of the reason for the gender change was also to portray Starbuck and Apollo as a kind of space faring Mulder and Scully; there is definitely unrequited love lying just beneath the surface.

One change from the original series is a look at the ground crew of the Galactica lead by Chief Tyrol (AaronDouglas) rather than just the hot shot pilots, and you now see the direct impact that decisions made by the command structure have on the other ranks. This is demonstrated most strongly when Colonel Tigh orders the venting of a number of bulkheads to prevent the ship from being irreparably damaged. The Chief’s primary focus is the 85 men he still has trapped behind those bulkheads and the anguish as he realises that he is going to lose them all is quite powerful.

The Cylons have also changed from the original men in shiny suits to something much more sleek. The robotic cylons still appear but they are more aerodynamic and sleeker, more deadly looking than of old. It would also appear though that Cylons have evolved to look just like humans, as evidenced early on by Number Six, whose name hints at what is to come. It appears that there are twelve Cylon models, and the humans know about three of them (well, Baltar does at least), but the final scene also throws in a bit of a shocker for one of the other models. I’m curious to see how that one pans out.

This two-parter, lasting just nearly three hours, is a slow burner and builds up the tension spectacularly. There is not just a obvious clash between Cylon and human but also between military and political, with Adama squaring off against newly sworn in President of the Colonies Laura Roslin (played magnificently by Mary McDonnell).

In a lot of respects this series seems to be tighter in places than the original, but also should appeal to those who used to follow the adventures of Apollo and Starbuck. Personally I can’t wait to see more of this…