Must See TV - Battlestar Galactica

When Battlestar Galactica first aired back in 1980, I was not a fan.  Oh, the special effects were wicked, and the idea was pretty cool, though it bore a strong resemblence to Fred Saberhagen's Berserker books.  But it was really pretty stupid.

So when I saw that the SciFi channel was bringing back Battlestar Galactica I wasn't too excited.   In fact, I didn't even watch it when it was aired.  However, subsequent ads prompted me to go rent the DVD and watch it.

I was blown away.

What was once a cheesy attempt at SF had been stripped down and built back up with real plots, and complex characters.  No longer are the Cylons relentless robotic killing machines.  They've been reborn in their creator's image.

Our image.

And they have a plan.

The show begins with humanity observing a truce between themselves and the Cylons.  The Cylons were machines built by humans to serve us, but they revolted.  After a bloody war, a truce was declared.  An annual meeting place on a neutral outpost was arranged, but for many years  only the humans showed up. 

And then one day the doors open, and two cylons step through accompanied by a smokin' hot blonde.  And then the shit hits the fan.

You see, the Cylons have found God.  Not the many Gods of Kobol that the humans worship, but the one true God.  And they're going to destroy the infidels.

They attack the 12 worlds, killing almost all humans. The Battlestar Galactica survives the attack because it's old, and the computer virus the Cylons infect the rest of humanity with doesn't work on it. Galactica forms up with some other ships that survive for one reason or another, and they gather together and run like hell with the Cylons chasing them. Their destination is the mythical home of humanity, a place called Earth.

The Cylons would like to find Earth as well 

There are plenty of gee-whiz special effects, but they're not what make the show special.  What makes the show special are the performances by the actors, and the issues dealt with by the scripts.  The show may be set on a spaceship, but the conflicts are the same ones we see in ourselves, and in our society.  

If you haven't been watching, then you owe it to yourself to go and rent the first DVD (not Season 1, you want to start with the Miniseries from 2003 ). 

I promise, you will not be disappointed. 

~Easy

PS-  Thanks to John for the link to this apearance by the cast of BSG on David Letterman 

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