In
the deepest reaches of space, the fight to save all human life from
extinction has begun in this science fiction adventure that launched
the Battlestar Galactica phenomenon! Hopeful for lasting peace
following centuries of intense warfare, the Twelve Colonies gather to
sign a treaty with their dreaded enemies, The Cylons. But after an
act of treachery on the eve of the ceremony, the Cylons launch a
devastating surprise attack, destroying the Colonies' home planets
and most of their military strength. A lone flagship battlestar, the
Galactica, remains to aid the surviving colonists on their epic
journey for a new home to a far-off legendary planet -Earth. They
must survive the pursuing Cylons in a series of epic battles that
will determine the fate of the human race in this non-stop
action-packed classic (1978-80) filled with cutting-edge special
effects by John Dykstra ("Star Wars," "Spider-Man").
Despite voluminous protest
and nitpicking criticism from loyal fans of the original 1978-80 TV
series, the 2003 version of Battlestar Galactica turned out
surprisingly well for viewers with a tolerance for change. Originally
broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in December 2003 and conceived by
Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus Ronald D. Moore as the pilot
episode for a "reimagined" TV series, this four-hour
"miniseries" reprises the basic premise of the original
show while giving a major overhaul (including some changes in gender)
to several characters and plot elements.
Gone are the flowing robes,
disco-era hairstyles, and mock-Egyptian fighter helmets, and
thankfully there's not a fluffy "daggit" in sight... at
least, not yet. Also missing are the "chrome toaster"
Cylons, replaced by new, more formidable varieties of the invading
Cylon enemy, including "Number Six" in hot red skirts and
ample cleavage, who tricks the human genius Baltar into a scenario
that nearly annihilates the human inhabitants of 12 colonial worlds.
Untitled
Thus begins the epic battle
and eventual retreat of a "ragtag fleet" of humans,
searching for the mythical planet Earth under the military command of
Adama (Edward James Olmos) and the political leadership of Laura
Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a former secretary of education, 43rd in
line of succession and rising to the occasion of her unexpected
Presidency. As directed by Michael Rymer (Queen of the Damned),
Moore's ambitious teleplay also includes newfangled CGI space battles
(featuring "handheld" camera moves and subdued sound
effects for "enhanced realism"), a dysfunctional Col. Tigh
(Michael Hogan) who's provoked into action by the insubordinate
Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), and a father-son reunion steeped in
familial tragedy.
To fans of the original BG
series, many of these changes are blasphemous, but for the most part
they work--including an ominous cliffhanger ending. The remade
Galactica is brimming with smart, well-drawn characters ripe with
dramatic potential, and it readily qualifies as serious-minded
science fiction, even as it gives BG loyalists ample fuel for lively debate.
Battlestar Galactica
continued from the 2003 mini-series to chronicle the journey of the
last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol after their
nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by
President Laura Roslin and Commander William Adama in a ragtag fleet
of ships with the Battlestar Galactica, an old but powerful warship,
as its command ship. Pursued by Cylons intent on wiping out the
remnants of the human race, the survivors travel across the galaxy
looking for the fabled and long-lost thirteenth colony: Earth. Unlike
most space opera series, Battlestar Galactica has no aliens (apart
from the man-made Cylon robots) and intentionally avoids
technobabble. Instead, most of the stories deal with the apocalyptic
fall-out of the destruction of the twelve colonies upon the survivors
and the moral choices the survivors must make in dealing with the
survival of the human race, as well as their war with the Cylons.
Stories also deal with the concept of perpetuated cycles of hate and
violence driving the human/Cylon conflict, and religious issues, with
the implication of an active God whose angelic agents intervene on
behalf of the main characters, most notably Gaius Baltar.
Over
the course of the show's four seasons, the war between the colonists
and the Cylons takes many twists and turns. Despite the animosity on
both sides, the Cylons and humans slowly turn away from their hatred
for each other. Part of this is due to a growing schism within the
humanoid Cylons, led by the villainous Cylon Number One, Brother John
Cavil. Cavil's obsession with hiding the true genesis of the humanoid
Cylons (created by members of the Galactica Crew, who themselves are
humanoid Cylons from "Earth" who had their memories erased
by Cavil) leads to a civil war among the Cylons, with a faction of
the robot race forming an alliance with the humans. Other plotlines
involve the mysterious destiny of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace,
who is the subject of a prophecy involving her as the "Harbinger
of Death", who will "lead humanity to its end" as well
as the redemption of Gaius Baltar, as he becomes a pariah within the
fleet (after being forced to collaborate with the Cylons) but
ultimately finds redemption through monotheism-based religion.
In the final episodes,
Thrace (resurrected) leads the surviving Humans/Cylons to a new
planet which Adama names Earth and which is revealed to be the actual
planet Earth of present-day humanity. It is already inhabited by
humans who are genetically compatible with the humans from the
Galactica and the rest of the fleet. Human beings naturally evolved
on both our world and Kobol (the original homeworld of the
Colonials). The Earth of legend is now revealed to have been a different
planet entirely which is a nuked out, uninhabited wasteland due to
that planet's war with its Cylon creations. It is now revealed that
all of the events of the series have been occurring 150,000 years
prior to the era of present-day humanity. The entire group of humans/Cylons
decides to live on the new planet and to discard all technology, and
to destroy all of their spaceships by flying them into the Sun.
The series ends with a coda
set on Earth in the present day, as two "angels", in the
form of Caprica Six and Gaius Baltar, muse on whether or not the
cycle of violence and war between humanity and machine will happen
again or if it had finally been broken. The revelation in the series
finale that the show took place more than 150,000 years before the
present means that unlike most space opera science fiction stories,
the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica was a tale of our ancestors
rather than our descendants.
