When it premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in December of 2003, the
new Battlestar Galactica took everybody by surprise. Like most SF fans, when I
first heard of the new series, I recalled the original show, which was created
by Glen A. Larson and aired back in
the 1970s. I enjoyed it a great deal then, because it sated the hunger of a boy
who loved science fiction, but could not get enough of it at that time. But
while the original show was bold and ambitious for its time, it did not age very
well over the years. I remember when I first got the Sci-Fi Channel in the early
1990s, I eagerly watched the marathon of Battlestar Galactica episodes that they
aired--this was the first time I had seen the series since I was a boy--only to
switch it off after watching just a few of the shows. I discovered that my
memories of the original series were apparently better than the show actually
was. And so when I heard, sometime in 2003, that they were bringing back
Battlestar Galactica, I let out a groan of disgust. While the 1970s series may
have been a diamond in the rough, it was still a very tarnished diamond.
Yet Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the creative team behind the new Battlestar
Galactica, also realized this
fact, and while they essentially brought back the same characters and situations,
they also took pains to avoid the pitfalls of the original series. They not only
updated BSG, but they’ve actually made it relevant to life in the early 21st
century. They took that diamond in the rough and polished it to a fine sheen.
The mini-series that began the show, which is presented in the DVD box set in
its entirety, effectively captures the horror and shock of an entire
civilization having been annihilated. The Cylons, the cold-hearted mechanical
children of the human race, return to rain death and destruction on their
creators, the citizens of the 12 Colonies, each named after an astrological sign.
Armed with a new generation of infiltrator Cylons that look and act just like
human beings; as well as a computer virus that renders the Colonial Fleet
helpless, the Cylons slaughter all twelve of the Colonies with ruthless and
efficient accuracy.
The Battlestar Galactica, which is an interstellar version of an aircraft
carrier, survives the Cylon onslaught because of the ironic fact that it’s an
obsolete ship that was about to be turned into a museum, and also because of its
commander. William Adama (played with great quiet authority by the superb Edward
James Olmos), decrees that all of the computer systems aboard his mighty vessel
shall not be networked--a standing order which makes Galactica immune from the
Cylon virus. Much like in the original series, the Galactica escapes the
slaughter and winds up leading a rag tag fleet of ships carrying roughly fifty
thousand survivors. But unlike the original series, Adama shares leadership of
the fleet with Laura Roslin, the former secretary of education who, as the only
survivor of the government, becomes the de facto president of the remnants of
humanity. Played with marvelous moral clarity by actress Mary McDonnell, she
makes Roslin seem like an extremely decent woman with a huge burden to bear--not
the least of which is that she’s dying of breast cancer.
Another deviation from the original series is that the names of the fighter
pilots--Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer--have been changed to their call signs. And, in
what would initially be one of the biggest controversies of the new show, the
producers decided to change the sex of several of the characters. Starbuck, the
legendary fighter ace aboard the Galactica, now goes by the name of Kara Thrace.
The blond, robust and ballsy Katee Sackhoff does a splendid job at portraying
Starbuck as a driven young woman who constantly rides the edge without going over
it. The other sex change occurred to Boomer, another fighter pilot in the
original who was a secondary character at best. In this version, Sharon "Boomer"
Valerii is played by the excellent Grace Park, and thanks to the twist the
writers gave her, making Boomer one of the sleeper Cylon infiltrators, she’s far
from being a bit player this time out. Jamie Bamber adroitly handles the role of
Lee "Apollo" Adama, the son of the ship’s commander and the new CAG of the
Galactica fighter squadron. Michael Hogan gives another fine performance as
Colonel Tigh, the Galactica's XO who's battling a serious booze problem.
When the first season begins, with the episode "33", we see the crew of the
Galactica reeling from a series of incessant Cylons attacks that come every 33
minutes without fail. Doctor Baltar (the exceptional James Callis) is still
timidly hoping that nobody realizes that he was partially responsible for the
Cylon attack while enjoying private trysts in his mind with his Cylon lover
Number Six (Tricia Helfer, a former model who more than holds her own in this
great cast). Meanwhile, back on the planet Caprica,
Helo is captured by the Cylons occupying his homeworld until he is rescued...by
Boomer. In what would prove to be a fascinating subplot that runs throughout
the first season, Helo and a second Boomer play cat and mouse with the Cylons, with the
entire escapade being nothing more than a mysterious plot set in motion by the
machines. Other superb episodes include "Water", which sees the Galactica's
water supply destroyed by sabotage; "You Can't Go Home Again", where the
crew of the Galactica search desperately for Starbuck, who's missing-in-action
after being shot down by a Cylon fighter;
"The Hand Of God", where the Galactica is forced to
assault a Cylon stronghold, and "Kobol's Last Gleaming",
the excellent two-part episode that brings the first season to its startling end.
Special features include the original audio commentary on the pilot, as well as
Battlestar Galactica: The Series Lowdown, which was included on the pilot DVD.
New stuff include a series of behind the scenes featurettes, audio commentaries
on select episodes, a sketches and art section which looks at the storyboards,
and deleted scenes. About a year ago, I wrote a review of the pilot
miniseries, which had been released on DVD. I removed that in favor of this
review, since the miniseries is included with the first season episodes. The
store Best Buy released their own exclusive version of BSG: Season One, but beware
that 1: that version does not contain the miniseries and 2: the episodes were presented
in fullscreen, where this version presents all episodes in widescreen, thus
making it the definitive version of Battlestar Galactica: Season One.
--SF
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