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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-09-10

Worthwhile Television

There are very--VERY--few television shows that I will go out of my way to watch. But I have got to admit that the new Battlestar Galactica on the SciFi Channel is one of them. If you haven't started watching, and have any affinity at all for science fiction, I can't recommend strongly enough that you do.

What you have to know, though, is that this is NOT your father's BG from the 70's (which I also watched regularly as a kid). This updated version is darker, edgier, and rarely--like, never--the cutesy, folksy, Lorne Greene-ey show the original was.

Just to tease you a bit, the main story line goes something like this: the bad guys (the Ceylons) have destroyed most of humanity in a WMD attack; the survivors have banded together into a fleet wandering around the galaxy protected by the one surviving battlestar--the Galactica. The civilian leadership of the fleet and the military leadership are often at odds, and there are frequent references to civil liberties, and the balance between security and freedom. And to top it off, there were a handful of incidents of military "abuse" of the civilian population, which has set the majority of the population against the military.

Oh, yeah--did I mention that the Ceylons look just like the humans in this version? As in, you never can tell who's the good guys and who might be waiting for the opportunity to blow you up.

If you're thinking it's an awfully topical story line with broad references to contemporary America, I'd say you're right. It's an intriguing story line with just happens to be set in space. And its two lead actors--Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell--are both accomplished actors that give the whole thing a solid core.

So, for what it's worth, if you happen to be home on Friday nights and want to take a little escape from the week but don't want to be condescended to, find the SciFi channel.

Like I said, for what it's worth.
Posted by: Michael / 9/10/2005 12:31:00 AM

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