Galactica '03

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
2003-2009
Creator Ronald Moore had a long history as a writer/producer for the TREK franchise, making his re-boot of the BSG franchise a bit like the burst of brilliance that was George Harrison's ALL THINGS MUST PASS. Not everything was as ground-breaking as it felt...the hand-held camera shots harken back to the "roll call" segment of HILL STREET BLUES. But the emotional/physical grittiness, moral ambiguity, and realistic space visuals were mostly new ground. All that, plus Edward James Olmos? Bloody brilliant. Both the classic and the reimagining had mystical mumbo jumbo. Why is it so much harder to stomach in the new incarnation? Because the classic was never so insistent on being taken seriously. The decline in excellence over the final seasons...was Moore trying to make the point that life itself hardly ever has a coherent narrative structure, and that real people act inconsistently? As for specifics, the teaser sequence was a time-wasting conceit that showed us things we didn't need to see. The dvds have some lovely deleted scenes, but the Moore commentaries are a bit boring (producer/writer/tech commentaries tend to be dry, and the fact that he's usually alone doesn't help). If i'm focusing on the negative, it's only a reflection of love...but ultimately, mysticism and writing flaws keep BSG from the greatness that was in its grasp. Debates about where it might have belonged in the pantheon of best shows ever are reduced to debating which is better, the new or the classic. Still in all, when it was great, it was like no sci fi ever.
SERIES EPISODE AVERAGE: 2.7
BY SEASON:
1) 3.0
2) 2.9
3) 2.4
4) 2.7
FOUR-STAR EPISODES (season)
-mini-series
-33 (1)
-You Can't Go Home Again (1)
-Scattered (2)
-Valley of Darkness (2)
-Pegasus (2)
-RAZOR
-Unfinished Business (3)
-Dirty Hands (3)
-The Ties that Bind (4)
-THE PLAN