Tonight is the series finale of Battlestar Galactica, the acclaimed reimagining of the campy 1978 original series. Admittedly, I have not been able to catch as many episodes as I could in the past (I don’t own a DVR or TiVo so a part of me is still stuck in the early 90s), but I won’t miss the finale for anything.
When the new BSG came out in 2003 as a miniseries I was initially skeptical. I was one of the few people who had fond memories of the original series. Perhaps it was because I was 6 years old at that time and loved everything sci-fi from re-runs of series such as Star Trek and Space 1999, old movies such as The Thing, Fantastic Voyage, and Forbidden Planet, to then new releases such as Star Wars and Close Encounter of the Third Kind. What I really liked was the underlying Ancient Egyptian theme. In the original series, the humanoids from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol shared a common ancestor with the ancient Egyptians. Earth was the long lost thirteenth colony and the uniforms and designs had a hint of Egyptian influence. I had hoped that if the series was every remade that they would go with a full blown Ancient Egyptian theme with the uniforms, clothing, set design, and the Battlestar Galactica starship looking like a sphinx.
What I got with the 2003 miniseries and subsequent series was something better. It was a perfect series for the post 9/11 Western World and a sci-fi allegory on the war on terror. It also has an outstanding cast. Throughout its run it remained one of the best shows on television if not the best drama series, but it never gained proper recognition by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences which award the Primetime Emmy Awards. That’s unfortunate, but will in no way diminish the impact of this show. Anything that raises the bar on the quality of television, movies, or books is a wonderful thing.
When the new BSG came out in 2003 as a miniseries I was initially skeptical. I was one of the few people who had fond memories of the original series. Perhaps it was because I was 6 years old at that time and loved everything sci-fi from re-runs of series such as Star Trek and Space 1999, old movies such as The Thing, Fantastic Voyage, and Forbidden Planet, to then new releases such as Star Wars and Close Encounter of the Third Kind. What I really liked was the underlying Ancient Egyptian theme. In the original series, the humanoids from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol shared a common ancestor with the ancient Egyptians. Earth was the long lost thirteenth colony and the uniforms and designs had a hint of Egyptian influence. I had hoped that if the series was every remade that they would go with a full blown Ancient Egyptian theme with the uniforms, clothing, set design, and the Battlestar Galactica starship looking like a sphinx.
What I got with the 2003 miniseries and subsequent series was something better. It was a perfect series for the post 9/11 Western World and a sci-fi allegory on the war on terror. It also has an outstanding cast. Throughout its run it remained one of the best shows on television if not the best drama series, but it never gained proper recognition by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences which award the Primetime Emmy Awards. That’s unfortunate, but will in no way diminish the impact of this show. Anything that raises the bar on the quality of television, movies, or books is a wonderful thing.
I have to say i love this series! it is like a strange mix of west wing politics and SF action!
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