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Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)

Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Huge fan of the original- LOVED the new one~!
Review: My biggest complaint- this was only 2 nights. Since when is 4 hours long enough to be called a mini-series?
Sci-Fi has signed on for 13 more episodes so this is sure to be a classic to get new fans going for the new series.

The explanation for how the Cylons plot the demise of the humans is well done and cunning. The new human looking Cylons that are evil with our face makes the enemy closer to ourselves- not knowing who to trust is always a good plot device.

Mary McDonnell is a welcome change from the whiny council in the original series who never made good decisions ( watch the original series and see them pull it down).

My sister's favorite thing in the new series is that every other sentence is not prefaced with "By the Lords of Cobol" which is really an annoyance in the original series esp if you watch it non-stop in one week or so.

The effects are great! The action non-stop and exciting. Not having Apollo in charge of Boxey is a good thing- by midway into the first year of the original series they had to make him almost disappear because he was pulling Apollo down. The tension between Starbuck and Apollo has strong possibilities from some future romance and tension . I would like to see her be less of a man and more of a well rounded person.

Overall- great start ! The opening to the original series is one of those things I still quote from time to time.... There are those who believe that life here began out there far across the universe .......

Have heard that the series may be bringing in some original cast members for some episodes- either Hatch or Dirk Benedict would make a great Commander Cain!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How can anyone NOT like the new version?
Review: I must state first off that comparing the new version to the original is pointless. If all they did was remake it in ever detail wouldn't we all be asking ourselves "Why?!!?" I for one am grateful they steered clear of the original. The new one is fresh and sleek while the old is camp. Fun camp, but camp.

The old series had more bugs and gaffs than could be counted. Goofy characters, same battle scenes repeated EVERY SINGLE EPISODE, etc. It was obviously a sci-fi series done by NON-sci-fi people. This new series was done by someone with a love of sci-fi and it shows. It's no longer Airport '79 in space. Everything from the sets to the acting was top-notch. My only complaint, well two in fact, is that they have't released a DVD version of it and that its taking so long to get the series going!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fraakmee! Very Different
Review: This Mini Series remake has only just been broadcast on free to air television in New Zealand. I must say that I liked it very much.
Naturally the benefit of today's CGI technology has played a major part in the remake. However reference to the technology of the original "Classic" is made in the form of the Cylon wars set 50 years past and you see the connection to the two eras in old and new Cylon technology.

The Galactica herself has been given a more warlike makeover and she really does look the part. Tatty and old, the ship has been given a more realistic age of 50 years instead of 500 as per orginal. Furthermore in this story she is about to be laid up and is in the middle of being turned into a museum when the second Cylon War begins.

The Mk2 Vipers are still recognisable as they are put back into service after the surprise Cylon attack. but the new Cylon fighters are a revelation. As a singular fighting drone unit, they look good. The wandering red eye is still there along with that sound.

The only annoying blooper (to me)is when Galactica is about to Light Jump for the first time. The port and starboard fighter sponsoons are retracted but at the moment of the jump, are still extended.

A nice little touch for Pan Am airlines fans is the "Pan Galactic" liner that makes the last civillian ship jump before Galactica does in the final battle scene. A quick eye can just pick it up. So press the pause button for proof.

The all importaint battle scenes have that sense of rea;isim with fighting in the vaccume of space now true to form, no massive explosions or sounds. Unlike the original series where everything exploded into nothing, you see a lot of space debris, including a Battlestar breaking up above Caprica.

As my review is only a look at the changes made, I will not dwell on the cast, who are quite good, but leave it to others to comment on.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally, something new and realistic
Review: I thought the mini-series was very well done and there were great acting performances throughout. I really felt the personal interactions and the new approach to space manouvers. The effects are extremely well done. The camera shots should set a new standard for Sci-Fi/Space for the future.

Very well done....

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The more I consider, the more I like
Review:

Having read several of the reviews, I like the series both more and less. It was good enough to make me wish it were better. I have to give many points to the "reimagining". Specifically:

1. Baltus has more depth than the scenery-chewing original. He's not a well man, and as for his "relationship" with six, well, he's schizophrenic and hallucinating. Not evil-insane, more guilt ridden by the fact that he may have acted out of greed and cost humanity its home. A little stressful, I would say.

2. The explanations given for the "old" Battlestar, the methods by which the Ceylons invaded and almost wiped out hamanity, and the whole backstory were well-explained without overexplication. Big plus - the combat scenes were hands down the best I have seen since the fist Star Wars (Ep. IV). George Lucas spent a lot more and, in my opinion, got far less for his dollar in his last two films than the producers of Galactica got. I even liked the "cinema verite" camera motion, which I normally don't care for much.

3. Characters were generally well-written and acted, except Starbuck and some of the other pilots came across as caricatures at times, but not overly so. She does, however, need to lose the cigar - the "cigar chomping military macho" cliche needs to stop, especially in an epic that goes as far as this one does to be "more real" in it's characterizations.

4. Makes you want more. I don't know if they plan to keep the series going, but I hope they do. I really wanted to know about the Ceylons and what happens to the humans. Some have criticized the "infant murder" scene - well, the point was to shock. It was not graphic at all, and it was meant to work with all the other bits of the various incarnations of "Six" to give insight into the Ceylon psyche. "Six" reminded me of the psychopathic kids you sometimes see in documentaries - they seek affection and love, but they don't understand them, and act out toward others with manipulation and violence. Similarly, the audience never understands completely what is going on with the Ceylons, beyond the fact that they hate humans, but it is not a faceless hate - it is a hatred based on such a different take on living that humans may not be able to understand it. Which makes sense - they're *not human*. They would argue that "humans" aren't. As far as the violence depicted in the "infant scene", the guns seen on regular television (and cable) are used far more graphically and violently - I would take issue with them before I objected to an off-camera, almost inaudible -snap- and silence.

I have no idea if or when this will come out on DVD, but I will definitely rent it and may buy it, if it holds up as well on a second viewing as it does on first look. Writers would be well-advised to read this when considering adaptation work. The depth of the material makes the occasional cliche or ham-fisted dialog less offensive. If you haven't seen it, whether you liked the original series or not, this is worth a look.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Haven't we been here before?
Review: I am sure my review will fall on deaf ears, but here goes. I am an fan of the old series, at least the premise or plot of it. Yes, the old series did alot wrong, like rework the the plots of classics like "Shane" into their genre; but what did this new series do but remake BSG into a story similar to "Terminator" or "The Matrix" where man's creation has turned on him? Yes, I do like some of the changes, the CGI and the character development, but they were WAY to far on changing the original story. The writers, producers, and all should be shot, draw and quartered, lynched, and read Dr Suess books too for hours on end. This remake of classic sci-fi premise was a travesty.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: New BSG is an Epic
Review: Original Battlestar Galactica had a great theme. Instead it degenerated into an aimless Star Wars like merchandising/special effects movie which did not last for one season (I fault the short sighted ABC execs). The new BSG movie theme is more in line with our times. It is about personal needs overshadowed by events bigger than the individual. I like the Cyclon method of attacking the colonies and how the info slowly filtered to Commander Adama. Very realistic. The new BSG will be epic like, versus the older series which was more geared for fun and escapism. Being a Babylon 5 fan, I like scifi epics more.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A great effort marred by tasteless moments.
Review: I just finished watching this new "reimagined" BSG off a friends TIVO, and I'll give my gut reaction while trying not to repeat what others have said.

The upside:

The "reimagining" was successful. I didn't expect the characters to be the same as the original BSG and they weren't. It was refreshing, and I'm a huge fan of the original series.

The characters of Commander Adama and Laura Roslin were played brilliantly. I admired them both. They each had their point of view and were each thoughtful people, unlike the original BSG where military people were always right and elected officials were gullible dupes and buffoons.

The sets and effects were outstanding. This was a lot of work. It looked like a real "labor of love" for those involved.

The downside:

Pointless sex scenes with Baltar and Number Six. This didn't contribute to the story at all.

Starbuck wasn't a hero, at least not to me. I don't have a problem with Starbuck being a woman, but I do have a problem with her being a jerk. This character needed more screentime, depth, and some redeeming qualities other than flying ability. At least she might have grown as a person during the course of the story.

Finally, the scene toward the beginning where Number Six kills the baby was supposed to make me hate Number Six, but it really made me angry with the creators of the show. I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old and my nightmare is that something would happen to maim or kill either one. I thoroughly got the message that she was evil without this scene. To me, showing an infant being murdered is not appropriate anywhere or any time.

So I guess the bottom line is that some people worked very hard and made a great effort to bring BSG back to life. I guess they succeeded, but I won't be buying the DVD and I doubt I'll ever want to watch this again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TRAGEDY IF NOT MADE INTO A MINI-SERIES
Review: This was some of the best science fiction I have ever seen. I have watched the tape sent to me in late December 5 times.

There have been a lot of shows which have had 3-5 seasons and never even started out as good at this. I am sure that the writers who came up with this could provide lots of good stories.

Some much garbage gets made and it would be a shame if we could not have 3-5 seasons of the "new" BSG and have something to look forward to in sci-fi. I enjoyed the new BSG more than Star Trek,Babylon5 and shows like Earth Final Conflict. If Farscape can go several seasons why not have BSG.

If this mini series was released as a movie i think i would have rather paid for this than any of The Matrix movies

I do not know how 2003 was for Sci-fi TV in the USA but in Australia is was a wasteland.

Lets hope BSG gets made into a series for many seasons and that the writers refrain from finding contemporary earth as i think this would be a let down for any alien coming across the stars to find us sorry lot doing such a mediocre job with our homeworld.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not your dad's Battlestar
Review: Ronald D. Moore's re-imagining of the Battlestar Galactica universe is fresh take on the larger than life shortlived hokey TV series. With powerful imagery, concentration on character building through great casting and simply understated SFX this miniseries succeeds where a show like Enterprise fails. Look forward to the DVD.
So Say We All.


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