Since the mini-series premiere in 2003, "Battlestar Galactica" has always been a show trying to do its own thing. Winning three Peabody’s and several Emmy nominations, it’s the first series since the original "Star Trek" that has made science-fiction cool again.
Remaking the original premise first seen in 1978, the twelve colonies of mankind, named after the signs of the Zodiac; Caprica, Pieces, Sagittarius..etc, are attacked by the Cylon empire. Unlike the original, the Cylons we learn from the opening credits were originally created by humans; they evolved, rebelled and left for forty-plus years, returning just as the mini-series begins to wipe humanity from the galaxy. The things that stay the same are Baltar’s traitorous ways, Cylons want to kill all humans and the remaining populace flee, make a mass Exodus to the stars in search of the fabled planet Earth and the lost thirteenth tribe.
I was a late comer to the series; I was an indignant fanboy that objected to the remake route, I hated the neo-realism right down to the curly cords on the phones. I wanted to see the old series, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict back in action instead of Starbuck with girl parts and Adama having a first name.
Gradually I removed my head from my backside and began to see what the hubbub was about. Sometime in the summer of 2006, my perspective changed, I watched a recap episode and was hooked on the political wranglings of Roslin vs. Zarek vs. Baltar. Like the slow kid sitting in the back of the class, I finally got it!
Here was a series, the first since the original "Star Trek" that was holding a mirror up to our world and commenting on societies ills beginning with the war in Iraq; a society identical to ours except they can travel in space from planet to planet.
For those who grew up on Trek this was a little hard to swallow, the humans were not the instant heroes, they made mistakes, they engaged in petty agendas and were just plain wrong on occasion.
Unlike Trek, humanity has not evolved; they still have wars, petty conflicts, religious zealotry, racism, rape, abortion, genocide and all the other things human pestilence has brought to life.
The series loudest mantra is that the humans are not all good and the Cylons are not all bad.
This is where the series excels, it shows how both sides can be full of political and religious bullshit and neither side has the monopoly on genocide or an honorable agenda and common decency.
A conundrum that the series constantly presents is that how can flawed creatures create anything, but flawed creatures?
The Cylons have convinced themselves they are the superior beings, they are identical right down to the cellular level; they look like humans and constantly try to understand them; their emotions and their sexual proclivities. Yet the Cylons are awash in irony as they seek to be the superior life form yet they exhibit all of humanities flaws; scornful of their war-like behavior, yet they nearly exterminate them by starting the war, they claim to have moral superiority, yet they wrap themselves in their religious dogma to rationalize their attempted genocide.
One the surface, the series looks like yet another crass remake that’s stripped the original premise of its spirit and intent. After watching the mini-series, I agreed, but by the end of the first season, I discovered something more is percolating.
This is a show about war and its instigators and the effects of said war on its participates and victims. We are not just looking at Iraq, but all human conflicts regardless of whether it’s an immoral engagement or has a moral pay-off; it even goes so far to say war is a necessary evil on occasion, whatever the stance, the fallout is the same, it’s polarizing, the fanatics, the zealots come out of the woodwork on both sides and are given too much power and credibility, but the most important thing is the pure simple truth is often lost in the collateral damage.
It’s military vs. the governing body, two mouths trying to chew the same piece of meat; it’s a constant tug of war with ideals and what’s practical. Roslin deals in ideals, Adama deals in what’s practical, hardly ever do they see things the same, although they seem to share a personal affection, their professional attitudes differ greatly.
One of the most impressive debuts in recent memory, the first season explores the humans and their newly created society stuck in the wilderness of space. The show’s space battles are the best television has ever seen, but without the human drama, of course, it wouldn’t mean a damn thing. The greatness is in the character of President Laura Roslin; who starts off very much like George W, strong and armed with support, yet caves and loses focus.
Her character shows a society so desperate and in need of a strong leader, that they nearly implode without her. In the second season when she’s ousted, in favor of the disingenuous Baltar and his weak leadership, the struggling human fleet is nearly annihilated by the Cylons when they find a temporary home on "New Caprica."
The series political mind is one of the finest on television as it doesn’t go for the easy answers or quick dramatic pay-off. As in real life, politics are often filled with broken promises and shattered dreams and the worst villains are usually those the populace put there.
That’s what keeps the series thriving, its beating heart is not in the battles, which are great, but in its constant deconstruction and examination of humanities arrogance; we are not the favored children of the universe. We make mistakes and now we have to pay for them. It deals in the present, past and future, the trivial and the profound; how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go.
Even though humanities home worlds have been destroyed, their race nearly driven to extinction, they still share some of the blame for their attackers, the Cylons. Created some 45 years before by the twelve colonies to serve as servants, workers (slaves perhaps?) the Cylons rebelled, evolved and formed their own society, religious, psychotic dogma and all. As the series begins, it’s payback time.
To answer the titular question, is BSG the best sci-fi series ever?, I will have to say no. As a whole the series the works better than most movies today, but the series has committed several sins. Although not real deal breakers, the first sin is possibly a matter of personal taste.
I will never understand why or how the hand-held camera "technique" ever became part of normal television production. I would never complain if the camera shots were just steady, unassuming shots, but often times the camera is moving around it’s hard to grasp the intent of the scene. Granted, BSG is still watchable, though it makes me heartsick to think how superior the series would look with awesome static camera shots. Imagine "X-Files" or "Buffy", both shows that boasted impressive, movie-like shots from time to time- saddled with the jiggle, quaky shots that instantly pull you out of the action.
It’s not a quibble as that technique is bothersome and head-ache inducing. Just think, without this awful trick, this series and a few others would probably get a few more ratings points.
It’s a lousy, awful gimmick technique that needs to die right now. Let Paul Greengrass rot in his hacky hell.
The other sin is committed by producer Ronald D. Moore, whose storytelling techniques have faltered, beginning in season three.
A great storyline of the former residents of New Caprica were smoking out the Cylon collaborators. Several minor characters were thrown out of the airlock as several major Galactica citizens engaged in a Star Chamber -style of justice- rendering quick and sometimes un-just justice, Col. Tigh being among the jurors. Some great moments emerged, but once the storyline was resolved the series became stalled and did a string of forgettable episodes dealing with several Galactica underlings like Chief Tyrol and the union revolt. A very disappointing departure as the series went from high-concept to dreary episodic continuing up to Starbuck’s brief departure. Not only did those episodes have nothing to do with the main storyline of finding earth, (a few did) it added nothing to the overall character evolutions and frankly, they were deadly dull.
And now the fourth season has been doing the same damn thing. After the season premiere, the series is once again stuck in mid-gear. We’ve had some great moments, Starbuck’s search for Earth, Roslin stuck on a resurrection ship, the Cylon civil war and the murder of number 6, but so far, the series is flapping in the wind like a limp wee wee. I don’t get that, they have only a handful of episodes left before the series finale; it’s distressing to ponder that the series run to the finish line may not be a resounding victory, but a colossal thud. A damn shame for a show coming out of the gate armed with nothing but ideas greeted by an enthusiastic audience.
Call me spoiled as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" changed my view of the potential of television. For me, it’s a series that never lost sight of its goal and never wasted time with pointless episodes that stall the season’s arc. Even though season seven was the series least, it ultimately proved to be important to the series finale. Galactica’s throwaway episodes are just that- trash, dull and useless that makes it tedious sometimes to clear my schedule for Friday nights.
I love the series, so I bitch because it has it’s moments of greatness and I’m sure we’ll see them again, but as the clock ticks I’m getting the same feeling Jammer felt when they placed him in he airlock- shafted!
Don’t break our hearts, Ronald D. Moore.