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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I didn’t get the impression that she actually planted a chip in Baltar’s head; I believe she’s simply a part of his subconcious talking to him, and he’ll either go bonkers before long or go through some pycho-theraphy catharsis of the week.
It seemed pretty useful storywise though. I never understood Baltar’s betrayal of humanity to a bunch of robots on the original series. Since Baltar’s betrayal had to be depicted SOMEHOW, the version that we saw made a lot more sense to me.
It never made sense to me that they would be Baltar in charge in the old series. Sure, hammy old actor was far more entertaining than the previous commander, but it just didn’t make sense that the Cylons would bow down to *any* human.
And am I the only one who remembers the comic book adaptation where Baltar got killed when he came to claim his reward? Now, that’s a betrayal that made sense. Baltar got greedy and thought he could deal with the Cylons, and paid the price with his life.
As for the new version… way too much time wandering around sets (although I did enjoy the cold-hearted decisions the humans made in the face of extinction–they’re not trying to save everyone, just trying to save as many as they can), not enough space battles, and the space battles lacked a certain something. First, they seemed a little grey, with nothing really standing out visually. Second, the sound effects were less than awe-inspiring. I did like the movement of the fighting ships, spinning around on an axis for some “realistic” zero-gravity space-fighting–too often, they just do air-battles-in-space (Star Wars), and it’s great to see someone using the differences of space with some flair.
The Mini left me wanting more, so mission accomplished.
Couple of comments: I like that the characters had realy names like “Lee” and “Kara” (for Apollo & Starbuck, respectivly). I always thought it was odd that their call signs were also their names on the original series. Also I enjoyed the nods to other SF shows departed: I saw the ship from Firefly, the old agro ship from the ’78 BG series, the domed forest ship from Silent Running, and the carrier ship from Space: Above and Beyond. Kewl!
Oh BTW, back in the day my buds and I alwsy called the show Spaltterstar Galaxative. Heh.
One question for those of you who saw the rest: did the characters eventually become likable? Because I can’t think of any I didn’t want to see punched in the face by the time I stopped watching.
You pretty much hit the nail on the head there, DubbleYoo. I’m not even a friggin’ FAN of the original show, and I was still deeply offended. The characters were loathsome, the story was soulless, and the dialogue was crappier than a turd left unflushed in the toilet of an outhouse for several months. (I apologize for conjuring up that image, but gødÐÃMN that was a horrible show.)
On a side note, let me just say that Mary McDonnell is the single most insufferable actress I have ever seen. Every time she was on-screen, I almost had to leave the room. Her presence actually caused me physcial pain.
Why Baltar? Simple. He was the show’s equivalent to ‘goodlife’ in Saberhagen’s BERSERKER series. This latter also featured mechanical ‘life’ out to eliminate all life. It would, however, temporarily tolerate and go along with what it deemed ‘goodlife’, ie beings who would help it in achieving that goal. Goodlife would also be eradicated, of course, but only once it had -literally – outlived its usefulness.
As for why Baltar would do it?
He’s a coward, and they were going to kill him if he didn’t help them. Simple enough.
Puhleaze….
This was the most borring show I’ve seen in recent memory.
“They had 4 hours to fill” someone above said…If they didn’t have enough story to fill 4 hours..they shouldn’t do a 4 hour show.
“Granted, the hormone level in the first half hour was way off the charts” To be honest, it reminded me of New Frontier…and not in a good way.
“The script is pretty sharp,”
“The War is over. We need to leave and we need to have babies” Yeah..that’s dynamic.
“the FX are nifty” ……FX? oh..like the 2 seconds of screen time for the Cylons..and the space battles show from such a distance you only see some lights going across the screen.
I particularly liked the (spoiler)super twist ending…because if you’re gonna have a sleeper agent be a main character..make sure it’s one who’s so incosequential that they haven’t been on the screen for the past half hour.
I can honestly say I didn’t like this series on its own merrits…it had nothing to do with it not being the orinal.
Meh…
I really liked the new BG. I found it suspenseful and exciting, and I liked the new take on the characters mixed in with familiar stuff from the old series. (“Life here began out there” is the first line of the sacred scrolls — cool.) The new Adama is great, and I liked the interaction between him and the new president (who in this version is not portrayed as a complete idiot). The new Starbuck and the new Apollo need some depth — I think he is a “superior áššhølë” — but that was made up for by Tigh and the Chief. This Baltar made a lot more sense than the old one, and this Boxey looks like the old one but doesn’t have that annoying treacle personality. The plot twists at the end were cool, too. I hope this becomes a series.
OK…overall, I enjoyed it.
In response to several posts:
I haven’t heard if Hatch- or any of the other cast members for that matter- were offered cameos in the minni-series, but based on Sci-Fi’s somewhat limited budgets, I suspect there wasn’t an awful lot of money to spread around.
According to http://www.richardhatch.com or http://www.battlestargalactica.com (I can’t recall which, and I’ve been to both in the past couple of days), Hatch was offered a cameo as Laura Roslin’s doctor who informs her of her cancer.
The cylon at the end really made me go “ÐÃMN!” I’m usually pretty good at seeing things like that coming, but it sure came from left field, although little hints were spread out thru the entire miniseries, looking back at it.
I saw someone coming in such a reveal, but thought that it would be (spoiler text) Boxey. What better way to infiltrate than to toss a kid at the humans? I certainly wan’t expecting it to be Boomer.
And am I the only one who remembers the comic book adaptation where Baltar got killed when he came to claim his reward?
This was also in the theatrical release of the original pilot, as well as the stand-alone DVD of the pilot. Don’t have the new full-series DVD set yet, but I’d imagine it has the version that spares Baltar.
Haven’t watched it yet, I taped it as I had to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra last night. (Priorities! If you haven’t seen these guys, DO SO) I’m planning on watching it with an open mind, but having watched the Sci-Fi channel “Puff-piece” special on it the other night, there was one bit about the female pilots that, geek that I am, rankled me.
They explained that they decided to make Starbuck and Boomer females because (Paraphrasing) “Hey, we have female fighter pilots today, why not show them in this setting?” Only reason this bothers me is that they seem to forget that there WERE female pilots in the original show. They were ordinary women who had to step in as replacements since so many of the regular pilots were killed in the attack on the colonies. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that angle, and it seems to me that that’s a more “Empowering” scenario for females as opposed to turning them into bitter, cigar-chomping testosterone jockies with breasts.
Maybe it’s just me being old-fashioned but I think it’s more inspiring to see women rise to the occasion like they did in the original show, rather than showing one acting more macho than any male pilot. They could have easily had “Strong, female pilot” characters without replacing classic characters with them, but I guess that just wouldn’t have aroused enough fan controversy, and by extension, interest in the show.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still watch the show and probably enjoy it, I just think the whole male/female pilot switcheroo was more a ratings ploy/pandering to the “Girl Power” segment of fandom rather than anything based on story needs.
If a tree fell on the Pope, and there was no one in the woods who heard it, or gave a sh*t, wouldn’t many Catholics be bearish on the news?
Re: Battlestar Galactica. I enjoyed it. Definitely a different show than the first series so I can understand why purists howled. Personally, I view both versions like the song, Proud Mary: both versions (the original by Clearance Clearwater; the remake by Tina Turner). Both are enjoyable for different reasons.
Peter, if BG becomes a series, will you be writing any novels set in it?
In space, no one can keep a camera steady.
I guess it didn’t bother anyone else, but my husband and I kept groaning at the camerawork. A shaky camera and wild zooming got used for what seemed like 90% of the live-action and CG shots. I have nothing against a shaky camera in and of itself, but for me it’s like salt — use too much and I’m going to gag on the results.
That said, we watched the first and second episodes. The sets, costumes, FX and CG look fabulous, but I haven’t started caring about any of the characters yet. I’ll keep watching for the FX, though.
Maybe it’s just me being old-fashioned but I think it’s more inspiring to see women rise to the occasion like they did in the original show, rather than showing one acting more macho than any male pilot.
Different times. The original came during a time when women were still integrating themselves into various fields. Women rising to the challenge and becoming fighter pilots fit in with the spirit of the age.
Today, it seems only a matter of time before our military integrates the combat troops, and any futuristic show that doesn’t show an integrated military from the get-go is going to feel passe even before they get off the ground. Today, we’re taking our cue from G.I. Jane and Aliens and Starship Troopers where the women are just as tough as the guys.
I was honestly stunned to discover the origional show still HAD any fans. I wasn’t that old when it came out — maybe 11, 12 — I should have been right in the wheelhouse, and I HATED it, thought it was retarded. Even at that young age, I could still recognize a ripoff.
Thanks to Jen Hachigian for noticing some of the shakier camera work- I thought I had the hiccups. Granted, the production was going for that moving, hand-held look, which is fine, but I think they went a bit too far. The one shot that comes to mind was in the second night when Apollo is talking to the president and a couple of other people, and the director decided to shoot it in a 360…and kept circling..and circling. I don’t mind the occasional 360 if it’s used for a specific reason- look at David Nutter’s use of the shot in the opening of the Tarzan pilot earlier this season to establish the character’s disorientation in the midst of Manhattan- but to use it for no apparent reason is just annoying.
BTW, I just saw the ratings, and apparently BT got the biggest audience for any cable mini-series this year. Granted, I can’t think of an awful lot of other cable mini-series in 2003, but let’s not rain on Sci-Fi’s parade. There’s little enough SF on TV good, bad or otherwise these days.
I bought into all the hype leading up to this show, and I must say it did not disappoint! I watched the first part Monday night, then watched all four hours Tuesday. This is just plain good Sci-Fi. There are many good characters (I was a little shocked by Starbuck being turned into a woman at first, but it grew on me), and the acting was top-notch. So were the effects AND the music! With the bar they set on special effects I know it will be a hard one to turn into a series (at least budget-wise), but I certainly hope they do. I think this could easily rival ST:TNG as a series.
Many props to Sci-Fi for getting this one done right! I enjoyed it, and will be watching it again!
I liked it. I hope it goes to series.
Use, don’t duplicate.
I mostly missed the original BSG, I was in my early teens and after reading harlan elisons “glass teat” I stopped watching television for a few years, what I did see mostly supported my view then that there was nothing on TV worth the time it took to watch it.
I would like to say that in that era of a only a few TV show suppliers the lowest common denominater was king.
Most old TV sucked badly (imo), most current TV also sucks but the amount of choice allows shows like the sopranos to exist.
The more fractured the market becomes the less individual projects have to appeal to *everybody* instead of *somebody*.
I think this dynamic allows shows like buffy to happen.
With the potential cost of production going down ( cheap digital equipment and effects) now more than ever we have the chance to see real creative entertainment.
If someone wants to redo an old show like BSG I think they should treat it as a chance to legally plagarize whatever they want but in the service of creating something better.
A good example of this from comics is bendis and spiderman.
I got into comics late in life (bought some to encourage my nephew to read,caught the bug) so I don’t really know much. I will say I was never very entertained by any spiderman comics before bendis.
You know, having been a “so-what” follower of the original series who really admired the “movie” trailer that Richard Hatch put together, I’d still like to see Hatch’s vision of a full reunion-style film using the original cast. There’s room for two “Galactica”s for 21st century viewers. We’re smart enough to distinguish one from the other.
Yes – viewers are smart enough to distinguish, but try convincing studio heads of that.
Orson Scott Card has written several essays on his experience trying to get Ender’s Game made into a movie. The main thread through them is that studio heads, the ones who hand out the money, think the viewers are all idiots.
Spoiler
Did anyone see Bubblegum Crisis? In it Boomers are ‘bots… So the big reveal at the end was always in the back of my mind.
Again — sorry for the double post
“…studio heads, the ones who hand out the money, think the viewers are all idiots.”
And they’re wrong how, exactly? When one compares the ratings of such superbly written and performed shows as B5 and MURDER ONE (first season, before the studion tampered with it) to those of painfully insipid ‘pseudo comedies’ as SEINFELD and FRIENDS, maybe the studio heads have got a point.
IN that they think ALL viewers are idiots.
B5 had enough viewers to last 5 seasons – it actually had better ratings than many “mainstream” shows – but studio execs don’t trust SF, convinced that ONLY pimply faced teenagers watch it.
Concerning BubbleGum Crisis and Battlestar Galactica [spoiler]:
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought it curious that Boomer was a boomer. It helps me believe I’m not that far gone a geek. (And I can’t help wondering if the identity of the Big Reveal (TM) was inspired by BGC.
I didn’t watch the mini-series (I had thought about it), but the numbers are in on Cinescape and apparently the show did very well – the third highest rated original event in Sci-Fi’s short history.
Rather interesting to read that they say the 2nd part actually had more viewers than the 1st party too.
I waited until after seeing part 2 to post my comments.
I think the main problem with comparing the two versions of anything is that one remembers the original either so fondly or so despised that they can’t wait to either trash or love the remake.
Case in point: remember all the flack around the debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation versus classic Trek?
The 2003 version is great on its own merits without having an original version to contrast it to.
The 2003 Baltar has more motivation than “plain greed”, and it had to be him who left the annonymous note to Adama about the 12 Cylon models.
There might be a new angle to the Starbuck/Apollo ‘friendship’ in the future, and the fact that Adama just used “Earth” as a motivational tool was a neat twist.
But the thing that concerns me more than anything else is that Boomer might be one of the 12 models. While I would hate to see an established character fall into cliches in an ongoing series, the old plotline of the mechanical finds its human/emotional/soul side seems to be what the producers long term plans are.
Whatever happens, I’d be willing to watch an ongoing BG series.
I only saw part 2 but I thought it was pretty good. If they come out with another mini-series I’d watch it. I thought the FX were really well done, though to be honest I still prefer the original Galatica, Cylons, and Base Stars, (they didn’t muck around with the vipers to much.)
It’s funny how I can forgive and enjoy the re-tooling of shows like BG and Lost in Space (it was a good movie, watch it again) while at the same time I’m so paranoid they’re going to royaly screw up Doctor Who when he returns to the air waves. Go figure.
The absence of Baltar as a truly evil character is what will hurt the show in the long run, if it indeed goes into the long run. Originally, Baltar betrayed the other 11 colonies to save his own, which is revealed when he is brought before the Imperious Leader, and he is furious, yelling “My Colony was to be spared!” The Imperious Leader pretty much tells him the only good human is a dead human, and the two centurions with him proceed to lop his head off, although that is implied more than shown. Once the series was optioned, a sequence was added where a new Imperious Leader was a bit more lenient, claiming to want to coexist with the humans, and that Baltar would be their emissary. This little plot did not last past the next episode. But through it all, Baltar was the evil HUMAN element to it all. Without him, it’s just a bunch of robots chasing the humans. Although if that one Cylon at the very end could be used right…
By the way, I really liked the Liberal President versus the Conservative Commander angle. If they could keep that up in the series, that could play out as worthwhile. And wasn’t it amazing how much Tigh looked like Ðìçk Cheney?
I’ve seen both nights twice now (once “live” the other on TIVO to transfer to my hard drive to back up on DVD since VHS is so passe ), and to me it would have held up better without the battlestar galactica name attached to it.
The Cylons were a major letdown. The whole “they look like us” concept didn’t appeal to me and I correctly guessed the ending *spoiler warning* when the most “human” of all the characters of the show was revealed to be a cylon model.
The used to have the coolest ship in sci-fi. Now the ships were reduced to trade federation ripoffs. Ugg.
The rest of the show felt like an episode of “Space Above & Beyond,” mixed with “Starship Troopers” and another 5 or 10 recent sci-fi series/movies.
While overall I liked the movie, I just had a nagging feeling that it would have been better without the name and with original vechicles and characters.
Was the original a cheesy series that didn’t age well? Yah, but so was Star Trek and think of the outrage if they “reimagined” the original and Spock was now a betazoid and Kirk was a Captain Picard ripoff …
k9
Was the original a cheesy series that didn’t age well? Yah, but so was Star Trek and think of the outrage if they “reimagined” the original and Spock was now a betazoid and Kirk was a Captain Picard ripoff …
For god’s sake, don’t say that aloud, or they just might do it.
First off, lemme just say, I went into this bound and determined to give this it’s shot. I used to be so space happy that even Spaceship looked good to me, but the thing I remembered most about the old BG, other than wanting to be Starbuck, was the friendships in the crew. Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, others, a real cameraderie. Granted, they don’t have that in this movie, but also, for the most part, they’re all just meeting. I’m glad that I saw the Moore interview where he said they were trying to give it a documentary feel, because as a videographer all the camera shifts and focus fades would have driven me up the wall. Ron Moore knows action. He knows character creation. He knows how to come up with nasty things to happen to people. The only two problems I had with it? First, all those mushroom clouds really made me queasy. Guess they were supposed to, though. Second, Number 6 was really the only Cylon presence. Would’ve LOVED to see some behind the scenes planning with them, but hey, whattaya gonna do?
You know, I was describing the events of the new Battlestar to my retailer, and the subject of the Cylon Chick’s glow in the dark Spine came up. As I started talking about it, I commented that typically these sort of things make great features on action figures. It was at that point we both envisioned the Baltar/Cylon Chick playset, and just how you would make the Cylon’s Light Up Spine ™ feature work. Man, I need to be in the toy biz…
I gotta say… I was REALLY disappointed.
The more human Cylons is an element that makes no sense at all.
Why would the Cylons, large robots with body armor (see the ones that walk in in the end scene), construct smaller versions of themselves that appear human, their despised creators? And why so few?
I liked the tech. Maneuvering thrusters on the Vipers and Raptor, the Cylon ships (I always wondered why a robot would need a ship. Why not just make the ship itself a robot? The way the Cylon raiders moved in combat was something), and the new take of the Galactica. But the casting left me pretty cold.
Adama was too gung-ho, and then his opinion turns on a dime, and he finds his compassion. Tigh was again, too by-the-book, “bigger picture” military (“If you don’t, more than 100 men will die. Do IT!”). Apollo seemed to be walking through the poorly written, predictable script, and Starbuck…
Oy. The reason they say they did that was that they “…wanted to explore the whole ‘I got your back’ camaraderie with a man and a woman, instead of just a couple of men.” Huh?
I guess the writers never watched “Space: Above and Beyond”. They must have missed the female Viper pilots from the classic “Battlestar” series. They must have never heard of the “Wing Commander” series, in which your wingman in SEVERAL missions is a woman.
And the actress’ attitude. In a pre-show interview, she actually said “I play Starbuck. Get over it.” I guess we should just “get over” having a character that everyone knew, in a recreation of a series many people liked (sure, it was schlocky. But in the 70’s, what wasn’t? Anyone remember the Starfleet uniforms from the first movie?) suddenly change genders, and be a stereotypical “tough girl” (I mean, lighting a fat cigar after acting like an insubordinate bìŧçh to her commanding officer? Who the Hëll still writes crap like that?). I guess having a remake of “Charlie’s Angels” with three hunks playing the secret agents would be acceptable?
In short, I didn’t much care for the mini-series.
I think the writing sucked like a black hole. Most of the actors walked through the roles, and didn’t bring too much, except overly done dramatics to any of their characters. There were too many references to previous encounters with the Cylons (“the last time anyone saw the Cylons, they resembled walking toasters” “The Cylon ships look like a flying wing” “But those pictures are at least 40 years old”). The Mark 2 Vipers were conveniently JUST like the old series, and the Mark 7’s not that much more advanced in ANY respect.
I guess I think there should have been less reference to the old series (working the old theme in at the decommissioning ceremony? C’MON!), if this was intended to take the place of the old series, which it seems it was designed to do. The only thing that surprised me was Boomer as a Cylon. I would have predicted Helo or Boxy showing up at the end as the “other model” of Cylon (I almost died at Boxy. Thank god he didn‘t have that dámņ fuzzy pest with him.).
About the only things I liked were the take on the tech, and the camera work (quick zooms in space battles, and other such touches that almost gave it a “documentary” feel). The tech was all “real world”, instead of energy shields and lasers. It seemed like an actual progression, as opposed to the fanciful technological leaps, a la “Star Trek”. “Firefly” did the same thing. Rifles and missiles, and other projectiles, not ray guns and lasers. Don’t get me wrong. I like the lasers and stuff. But It was nice to see that there are writers out there who use a more “old fashioned” approach. It seems a little more “real” than lasers and energy shields.
But if the overall writing/scripting is not improved vastly, and some of the predictability taken out, any follow-up series will rightly die a swift death.
As a recreation of “Battlestar Galactica”, I didn’t much care for it. As a different series that just happens to be named “Battlestar Galactica”, I guess I could watch it, if the writing is improved.
Most of what I am going to say here is outright speculation, but on the chance I’m correct, I am going to put it in spoiler text:I have a sneaking suspision that Boomer is not the only Cylon on the Galactica. In fact, I don’t by the “implant chip” in Baltar’s head for a second. I find it more likely that he is a Cylon who was somehow damaged and believes he is human, which is why No. 6 has such an interest in him. I also am fairly certain that the president’s gopher is also a Cylon, though my reasoning is pretty much just a hunch. As for Adama using earth as a motivational tool, I disagree. Something about the way he delivered his talk with the president made me think that he actually does know where earth is and doesn’t give her that information for the same reason that the military types in ID4 didn’t reveal to the president the location of Area 51 until abosolutly necessary.
And why does Boxy have the same twisted hairstyle as the Boxy from the original?
I was going mad because i thought i had missed the whole show, but the Sci-Fi channel didn’t show it on the UK Sci-Fi channel. We have to wait until the new year and even then they won’t guarantee that they will show it – I loved the original and as they are many contrasting views here, i will watch it with an open mind and try to forget everyones comments (and plot discussions!!) Hey! Ever heard of spoiler text!!!!!
Here’s my thoughts about Baltar and Number 6:
SPOILER
I think that the whole “chip in the head” thing is exactly correct.
Number 6 downloaded her personality and memories, just like she said she could, but d/l into the chip, rather than another Cylon (the EMP from the nukes on Caprica would have interfered with her ability to transfer over long distances).
Baltar is suffering from a split personality, and Number 6’s personality is going to completely destroy Baltar’s, allowing Number 6 to take control of his body, but still have access to his memories, mannerisms, etc.
Basically turn her into a perfect Cylon agent. One that can hide in plain site, and doesn’t need to worry about dangerous radiation, or other weaknesses the Cylons now have.
Or, she will cause Baltar to go completely around the bend, and he will actively betray humanity, rather than passively, as he has already admitted.
Sorry about the previous spoilers. I forgot the HTML coding.
About the baby killing: I kind of thought that she did it to keep this little human from living through the destruction she was to bring. Six seems to have a slight bit of emotion in her twisted head, as if the Cylons duplicated humans too much.