I’m bringing this up separate from the Round-Up because there’s been *so* much discussion about the rebooting of “Battlestar Galactica”…a series which, by the way, at the time it was on, was often contemptuously referred to as “Cattlecar Galactica” mostly due to the presence of Pa Cartwright. So it’s been fascinating to me to watch this glow of nostalgia attached to a series that was seen by many contemporary SF fans as a quick TV endeavor to cash-in on “Star Wars” and nothing more than that.
That said, I’ve admired Richard Hatch’s devoted endeavors to almost singlehandedly keep the series alive in the intervening thirty years, and I think his stirring the fandom pot is a large reason for it still being viable enough to be a new 4 hour film on the Sci Fi Channel. At a time when no one else in Hollywood gave a dámņ about it, his interest never wavered. Which is why I was royally pìššëd øff when he was completely excluded from any involvement with the revival, because I consider Richard a friend and a good guy.
And that’s why it’s even more painful for me to admit that I kinda liked the show itself. Granted, the hormone level in the first half hour was way off the charts, and Kath and I couldn’t help but note the complete absence of any significant black characters. While everyone was running around wringing their hands about Starbuck being transformed from a square jawed white man into a square jawed white womanl, I was more struck by the recasting of Boomer from a black man into an Asian woman. Where did *that* come from? Plus I think I would have been willing to accept that the TX knock-off Cylon was a bad ášš without her showing her evilness by killing a baby in its stroller. I mean, c’mon. The Klingons showed they were badasses by torturing Starfleet officers. Doctor Doom shows he’s a bad ášš by whomping on the FF. Oooo, watch out for this bìŧçh! She’s so tough she can strangle an infant. Let’s have her kick a puppy while we’re at it (which, now that I think about it, wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially if it’s that annoying robot puppy from the first series.)
But Edward James Olmos brings so much gravity to Adama, you’d think he was packing a white dwarf star in his pocket. The script is pretty sharp, the FX are nifty, and the rest of the actors have moments ranging from watchable to compelling (I swear, I thought the chief was going to put his fist through the X-O’s face. “Forty seconds…I just needed forty seconds…” Wow.) As opposed to too many series, you really constantly got the sense that you were out in space, with all the dangers inherent in that most unforgiving of environments.
Ðámņ, I miss John Colicos, though.
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