As a sci-fi fan in general, I am always pleased to hear of a new and exciting series coming down the pipeline. This was how I felt with the highly anticipated 2 part miniseries Battlestar Galactica. I can't quite remember how long sci-fi hyped this series but I remember seeing spots for it all the way in June or so. With all the hype and time that went into Battlestar, I was ready for one of the best pieces of sci-fi that had yet to be seen. Unfortunately, all I saw was a C- remake of a grade F show from the 1970's. Now to be fair to all of you dedicated Battlestar fans from the beginning, the original was definitely groundbreaking and imaginative for it's time, but I imagine the Ford Pinto at one point might have been given that title as well. I am sure it was great back then but now it is pointless to watch unless you are an original fan in search of nostalgia. Having said that though, the new version of the series is not that much better. Granted, all of the visual aspects far surpass anything the original series ever could have attained and are quite impressive to watch, but that is about all the new Battlestar has going for it. There is not much character development at all, although it is obvious they tried to incorporate this at times, but it just didn't pan out on film. From the acting, especially towards the end, one would never know that these people were the very last of the human race, they certainly did not seem to notice much. The only two characters names I even remember are Starbuck and Apollo, and the only reason I even remember those is the fact that both of the characters are right out of cliche` 101. Starbuck is the ever-popular "manly woman", complete with the cigar smoking and drunkenness. Now I am all for equal rights among the sexes but for some reason having this "man-like" character in a woman is just not enjoyable to watch. Why is it that all "strong" women characters in these kinds of shows have to be so cliche'? I guess I should be thankful she wasn't some outrageously over the top Charlie's angel's type woman who can beat the crap of a guy twice her size despite her 110-lb. frame but it still doesn't sit well with me. Then you have Apollo, the "I'm not going to speak to my father because of my dead brother" character who seems to have about as much personality as a box of corn chex. The only real attempt at creating an interesting character was through Dr. Gaius Baltar and the actor portraying him did a very excellent job. Through this character you can see his inner demons plaguing him as he desperately tries to save himself from the truth of the situation. One of the main problems with this series is time...it simply was too short for the amount of ground they tried to cover. The first hour of the series is absolutely pointless and wastes valuable time that could have been spent telling the story, not attempting to fit the original show into the situation by having Battlestar Galactica be some sort of a tourist destination...that was just lame. Another of the show's hindrances is the music and sound effects used. The space battles are almost completely silent save for the little air puffs from the vipers and the occasional Cylon ship screaming by. Now I realize that in space there wouldn't be sounds like we are used to hearing in earth bound dogfights but at least the music could have made up for it. Instead all we got were some drums in the background that just barely let you know they were there. If you are a fan of film and television you know that music plays a huge part in the general theme of the story and it set's the tone for what you are watching. It is very hard to be excited about an almost silent space battle with some congo drums in the background. Star Wars is a great example of excellent use of sound effects and music. Like it or not you always know what the tone of the scene is just by the first few notes of John Williams's amazing score. The composer for the series, Richard Gibbs, really should have taken a few notes from composers like Williams and given Battlestar a truly decent score, not some uninspired, unimaginative collection of music, if that is what you want to call it. Maybe this score would have been great for an episode of Diagnosis Murder or Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman but not for an epic sci-fi battle....I mean who green-lighted this in the first place? This series is one of those that has all of its really good parts in the trailer. If you watch that then you have pretty much seen the gist of the whole series and it saves you the trouble of sitting through 4 hours of bad acting. I wanted to like this series, I really did. I am always aching for good sci-fi and there just isn't much out there anymore so any time something like this comes along I am excited. But there were too many letdowns and loose ends in this series for me to really enjoy it. Its only real saving grace was the ending battle scene, but even that was short and somewhat lacking. All in all I would say avoid this unless you are just a huge sci-fi fan or would like to see your favorite series from your childhood on screen again.
Review of Battlestar Galactica
