Ghost of a flea: Galactica

January 19, 2004

Galactica

Awesome. Terrifying. Also, belated. Canada only now gets to see the Battlestar Galactica mini-series a couple months after the U.S. broadcast. This is space opera with the grandeur of Children of Dune, as moving as the epic moments of Babylon 5 and a space battle on par with the TIE fighter swarm at the end of Return of the Jedi. More than anything I have seen to date this convinces me speculative fiction is the only context that has managed to evoke the scale of what happened on 9/11. Galactica makes multiple references to the day in the form of apocalyptic destruction, burnt fire-fighters and the grotesque immediacy of bodies tumbling into space. Hand-held shots suggest impromptu journalism rather than something scripted and acted out. The comparison is horrifying yet there is something reverential in this portrayal. It could be these stories are the best memorial and inspiration for the actions we now need to take.

The broader cosmological frame of the story is peculiar. The Cyclons appear to have some notion of deity that may be comparable to the Borg Collective's persuit of perfection. While the show lacks the Mormon back-story of the original there is a satisfying and important element of faith in the belief-system of the Colonials that is evident when they face adversity. One lesson is this: the Cylons have to be destroyed. This is clear and obvious to anyone who is sane. But Gaius Baltar is evil and I do not have words for the fate he deserves. That may be for the Lords of Kobol to decide.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at January 19, 2004 12:16 AM

Comments

You make the remake sound interesting. I surely did hate the original though.

Posted by: Peter Sean Bradley at January 18, 2004 11:14 PM

The remake was excellent. I won't tip off the ending, but that *was* a surprise (the undercover Cylon). I suspected someone else.

The style was perfect; I'll definitely be watching should they parlay this into a series.

Posted by: Mike Campbell at January 19, 2004 07:21 AM

Damn. I don't have cable so I have missed it. I hope they release it on DVD soon so I can check out something that received that type of accolade.

Posted by: Chaos Overlord at January 19, 2004 11:21 AM

Flea says:

"While the show lacks the Mormon back-story of the original..."

Are you sure the back-story is intentionally Mormon? Yes, there is a certain similarity between Kobol and Kolob :-) but I always had the impression that the original was inspired more by the _Chariots of the Gods_ "ancient peoples were taught/ruled/had-monuments-built by space aliens and their myths prove it" type of thing. Thus for example Kobol has Egyptian architecture, the fighter pilots' helmets look like a Pharaoh's headdress, Commander ADAMa, etc.

Posted by: Varenius at January 19, 2004 04:52 PM

This post almost makes me sad that I've missed seeing it. Almost.

I liked Battlestar Galactica as a kid, but I don't think I could hack it now. There's never enough ass-kicking in these things to satisfy my inner Donald Rumsfeld.

Posted by: Chris Taylor at January 19, 2004 05:22 PM

Mormon content of Battlestar Galactica is discussed here and here...

Posted by: Ghost of a flea at January 19, 2004 09:30 PM

Hmm... I thought I had reactivated links in comments. Looks like I have not! This has been a long, peculiar and disappointing day so I confess I can't be asked fiddling with blog preferences just this moment... Here are two raw links!

http://www.proaxis.com/~sherlockfam/art5.html

http://www.michaellorenzen.com/galactica.html

Posted by: Ghost of a flea at January 19, 2004 09:33 PM

Thanks for the links, Flea. Here's one where the producer acknowledges _Chariots of the Gods_ as an influence:

http://battlestarfanclub.com/battlestar/bgarticle8.htm

Posted by: Varenius at January 19, 2004 11:02 PM

The remake will be on DVD, if it isn't on it already. I remember seeing a note about in either on "Ain't It Cool News" or Amazon.com.

Posted by: FredKiesche at January 20, 2004 10:49 AM

I loathed the original, it was way the hell too twee for me. However, I look forward to seeing the re-make. I suspect it will come to the UK as well, since they have just released the complete BG series on DVD.

I used to pull for the cylons in the original. They had cooler ships for one thing.

Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at January 21, 2004 10:21 AM

Rumor I read today indicates that Skii Fiii has ordered "six more episodes". Whether that it six more mini-series episodes or six more hour long style episodes wasn't known.

Posted by: FredKiesche at January 22, 2004 06:50 PM