|
|
|
|
Battlestar Galactica |
"Cylons were created by man.
They were created to make life easier for the Twelve Colonies.
And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.
After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.
The Cylons left for another world to call their own.
A remote space station was built
where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.
Every year the Colonials send an officer.
The Cylons send no one.
No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years."
In essence, the storyline of this remake of the classic TV series is the same as it was back in the Seventies. Mankind is at the pinnacle of their existence, and a peace covers everything. The enemy, the robotic Cylons, have apparently become, if not allies, then at least a force no longer needed to be worried about as an enemy. And then, when the guard of the people is at its lowest, the Cylons attack in an overwhelming force and destroy the civilization of the Twelve Colonies. The only survivors are a number of scattered ships, isolated from the surprise attack, and a single military ship, the Battlestar Galactica. Together, they flee their doomed star system, hoping to find solace and a return to civilization in a supposedly mythical Thirteenth Colony, a planet known as Earth. Behind them, the a force of Cylons follows, knowing that to let any Human survive would be to invite a retaliatory attack in the future, if only for the purpose of revenge.
Interspersed within this storyline are a number of subplots, establishing the personalities and histories of the various main characters. Starbuck and her apparent distaste for authority, yet her love for the job and people she serves; Apollo, and his estrangement from his father, Adama; the second in command, Ty, and his struggle with alcoholism and a bad marriage, and the relationship between Boomer and the commander of the ship's Flight Deck. And there are others, aside.
The characters in the remake are similar to the classical characters, but also quite different. And for the most part, I will venture, the changes are all improvements. Most notable would be Starbuck, who is now a female. However, she retains all of the graces and charms of her male counter-part: she is a gambling, cigar-smoking, drinking, cursing, fighting braggart who remains the best pilot in the fleet (according to some). Her brash manner immediately sends her to the brig in the beginning of the show, after striking Colonel Ty during a card game in the barracks. While we are denied the classical Starbuckian womanizing, I am still quite pleased with how the character is portrayed.
Perhaps the one character that is the least changed is Admiral Adama. Played by Edward James Olmos (Miami Vice, anyone?), he convincingly portrays a man consumed not only by the troubles of his past military career (the loss of a son, the estrangement of another son, and the memories of the Cylon War), but also the weight of a new responsibility so suddenly thrust upon him: the survival of the Human race. But he is also an unapologetic commander, as he must be in a time of war, so much so in fact that we see him order the evacuation of all air within a section of the ship heavily damaged and burning during a Cylon attack. Lost are dozens of crew members who could have been saved had he waited another minute or two, but such a delay would have doomed the entire ship. Only later do we see what the decision cost him.
Another character who has been changed in many key ways is Baltar. Or rather, Doctor Gaius Baltar, one of the most noted scientific minds of the modern Caprican age. However, he remains rather unscrupulous and greedy, thinking only of his own survival and advancement, as well as monetary gain. It was through these characteristics that the Cylons managed to fool him into getting them access to the planetary defense computer network, leaving the world open to a nuclear onslaught. Baltar, who is absolutely horrified by this, manages to find safety on the Galactica, and only then realizes that his dalliance with a Cylon has left him with nano-implants in his mind, linking him to communications with a particular Cylon model.
In the very beginning of the film, we are treated to two brief views of the Cylons. The first is in the form of old spec-drawings being studied by the Colonial officer sent to the distant space station, where the yearly meeting (or lack thereof) with the Cylons is held. We see the classical Centurion from the old series (described later in the show as a walking toaster), in all of its cumbersome glory. A few minutes later, however, and a much more massive, yet somehow sleeker Cylon enters. It is, of course, blatantly a machine, complete with the ever-present red eyes, buzzing back and forth. But there is the definite sense of a much deadlier machine, one that does not need to wield a blaster.
Then things get interesting.
Accompanying these behemoths is a young woman, blonde and beautiful, and apparently in control of the machines. She is drawn to the Colonial, fascinated by him, and touches and kisses him in much the same way that a drug addict views his next hit. She pauses to ask, briefly, "Are you alive?" in a breathless manner. She is the new "breed of Cylon", a being encased within an apparently flesh and blood shell, and yet filled with all the technological marvels of a cyborg. Later, we discover that she is one of twelve different models, and that each time her body "dies", her mind is transferred, uploaded, to another model body, thus giving her immortality. She is emotional, curious, regretful, sexy, even petulant, and compassionate in a sick sort of way. She is, in short, the perfect replica of a Human.
There have been science fiction shows in the past that have attempted to portray true science, but for the most part these have been ineffectual. Babylon 5 tried to show that thrusters and attitude control jets were needed for maneuvering, and yet some of their ships still performed impossible maneuvers. Andromeda tried to limit true aliens and replace them with Human tweaks and splices and such, but in the end the two were inseparable thanks to poor make up.
Battlestar Galactica is the latest show to attempt this sort of realism, but I believe it succeeds more than its predecessors because of a decidedly humanistic approach. Everything from character attitudes to their surroundings smack of a real world ambience that is familiar, and yet refreshing in the context of the show. One of the first things to strike me was Caprica City. Great tall gleaming skyscrapers rose into the sky, surrounded by airborne transportation and high walkways. But at the same time, older brick buildings could be found at ground level, along with sidewalks, park benches, and everything else that one would expect to see in a city of the near future. Had we been given a deeper look, I would not have been surprised to see city slums and dank alleyways.
Clothing, too, was of a near future style. Our familiar ties and jackets and business suits could be found, but at the same time there were newer appearing styles. No one was dressed in a suit that would have required three assistants half an hour to get the actor in to. Nothing was taped on. Nothing was painted on. Everyone was dressed as people will undoubtedly be dressed in the future: practically, simply, and stylishly.
We also learned that cancer was still very much a threat to Humanity. This is no Roddenberry utopia here. While Gene's vision of the future is commendable and something we should strive for, what is portrayed here might as well be the mid to late 21st Century, with a curious mix of future technology and old habits. That breast cancer could still afflict an important character speaks loudly that the future, despite its entire technological prowess, is not a cure all.
There are more blatant bits of scientific realism, however. The Vipers, those wonderfully flashy space fighters, are fusion powered and maneuvered via the main aft thruster, and a number of strategically placed maneuvering jets. And, once flying in space, they are silent, as they must be. The only time we hear sound is when their weapons are firing or those jets are thrusting, and that I believe is a small concession to what audiences expect and almost need. Weapons in the show lack the standard flare of lasers and phasers and plasma torpedoes. Gunfire from the Vipers are kinetic in nature, while the Cylon ships (themselves self-contained entities, so no need to worry about the old cliché complaint, "Why does a robot have to fly a robot?") are equipped with ship to ship missiles. Indeed, the Human population of Caprica is not wiped out via some death ray or massive laser bomb, but the old reliable method of nuclear missiles. Even the hand weapons are apparently some sort of major kinetic projectile weapon.
There remains, of course, plenty of soft science. And hear I must state that soft science, while often is lamentably due to poor understanding demonstrated by writers and producers and directors, is also a demand by the public in general. Once, budget used to be a valid reason to show humanoid aliens and artificial gravity and so forth. But in today's world of CGI, such concerns are largely unfounded. But the damage has been done. People now expect to see a ship equipped with artificial gravity. They expect the alien to be Human-like, so that they can better understand and relate to it. And when the audience gets what it wants, the maker's of the show get what they want – money.
So, let's take a brief peek at the soft science of the show: the Galactica's artificial gravity, its FTL drive (more of a special jump, though), artificial intelligences that can still be defeated by sheer Human ingenuity, and so forth. This show gives, and it takes away. But over all, the mix is well done and effective.
It seems that Battlestar Galactica will soon be a weekly show, and this is a good thing. We are left with the classic formula of the single ship herding its charges in search of Earth and a new future, while being hounded by Cylons all the way. But what will the series be like?
Considering the surprises that the show has given us thus far, I would say the possibilities are open. Earth may be waiting for them as it is now, in our current era. Or it may be in its own powerful, futuristic incarnation. Or, by the time they arrive, it might still be stewing in the Middle Ages.
I'm very optimistic about the series, and will certainly count it among my shows to watch.
Over the weekend I watched the new series of Battlestar Galactica.
I was Very impressed with it. It is a lot better than the Original series, although the plot is slightly different than the old one. And of course you can't really wipe out the Old series it was Great for its time.
It seems that in this Series, Humans from the 12 colonies, Created the AI Cylons to help colonize the Other worlds, But they got out of control and war started, The Humans won the war and made the cylons leave the area, Hundreds of years later they are back, which Human looking cylons (12 models created) and the Robot warriors as well. Of course the Plot follows a bit closely to the original one where the cylons wipe out the 12 colonies. All of the battlestars have Ai-controlled weapon systems, except galactica, which Adama Didn't use, because he hated AI. This lead the destruction of the fleet, because the Cylons had managed to jam the AI/network systems leaving the battlestars defenseless. Even the New Viper fighters were networked controlled, So they had to get out of mothballs the Old Vipers. ......
One thing I liked about the new Series is that the technology was a lot better and the ships and warfare tactics were a lot better, No noise in space, only from within the ships and the fighters. A lot of missiles (thermonuclear and Others) were used, the fighters didn't have lasers, But normal kinetic guns, with a lot of EW weapons, multi warhead weapons. Communications, sounded like communications, Not someone speaking clearing, But More like if your listening to a Ham radio with static. There was of course lots of other smaller improvements as well.
The cylons ships looked like the Batman Plane in the Batman Movies.
Well the only thing I didn't like was StarBuck, they made Him a Women in this New series.
partly Yes, they have AI and the Fighting tactics could be used in early warfare. FTL drive, Yes they did have it, so not compatible with OA there.
Battlestar Galactica Sci Fi Channel's page for the series offers an online forum, Viper simulator, and Colonial databank.
Battlestar Galactica.com Revival site owned by Richard Hatch (Apollo).
