Battlestar Galactica (#9)

So Say We All

Whenever the conversation comes up about favorite TV shows and I mention Battlestar Galactica, I get some pretty mixed reactions. When I tell them (or when you see now) that it’s in my top-10 favorite shows of all time, that’s even more pronounced. Folks who have seen the show know why it’s so good - but those who haven’t probably assume it’s bad. Like — real bad.

To be sure, I’m talking about the series that was rebooted in late 2003 and and wrapped up in 2009, not the 1978 series. That is, this show:

Not THIS show:

Even so, I saw my own rankings and decided to ensure I was right, and rewatched a bit of it.

I feel solid in saying that it still absolutely slaps, and is worthy of this ranking.

Let’s be very clear - I was quite leery of this show. I tend to not love science-fiction and again, I was thinking about the cheesy 1970’s show. And then a friend recommended it and said, “It’s the best writing outside of Aaron Sorkin.” Now, we haven’t visited Sorkin yet here on this list, but rest assured - we will.

That piqued my interest. And thankfully, I got the next good piece of advice - watch the miniseries first.

It’s possible the miniseries was made thinking it was likely there wouldn’t be an actual episodic show, as it stands alone as a two part, three hour miniseries. And it brings us to Caprica, and sets us up with title cards that years ago, humans created the Cylons. You remember the Cylons, right? Back in 1978, they looked like this:

The miniseries tells us that eventually the cylons rebelled against the humans and after a long war, they reached an armistice - and the cylons packed up and left. And haven’t been heard from in 40 years.

That’s about to change.

But first…let’s visit Caprica, where we meet Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), a celebrity scientist (go with it) who is also a ladies man. He’s dating an unnamed leggy blonde, played by Tricia Helfer, who we quickly learn is actually the newest version of a Cylon. She’s later known as Number Six, which is a nice tease for who else is out there. That’s right, they’ve gone from looking like the above to this:

Which sure, is nice to look at, but also plot relevant - because she seduces Baltar into helping her gain access codes that will eventually be critical to the Cylon plot. Because the Cylons are coming, and it’s bad news for the 12 Colonies - aka, humanity.

I won’t spoil the details (except to say there’s a scene with Number Six and a baby that I’ve never been able to get out of my head, and it’s the scene where you know, with certainty, that this show is NOTHING like it’s predecessor).

So that’s what is happening on Caprica, and elsewhere in our new world. (One thing that is so good is how quickly this show establishes us in a new world, that feels both familiar and completely different.) We then find ourselves aboard the ship Battlestar Galactica, an old model that is actually set to be retired, much like it’s captain, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos). Adama is old school and unlike the rest of the fleet, he’s refused to hook up its system to the networked defense system. This proves fortunate as the Galactica is one of the few ships to survive the virus that Number Six introduces. Another ship has a bunch of civilians, including Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), the Secretary of Education who suddenly finds herself the most senior government official alive, and becomes the President of the Federation.

Which is where the miniseries leaves us and the show itself begins - mankind, in this context, is down to about 50,000 people - and Adama ends it with a rousing speech to his crew about how they are going to set off for the lost 13th colony. Which is named … Earth. Oh, and before we sign off - we find out that one of the characters we’ve been bonding with in the fight against the cylons is … also a cylon. And he or she may not even know it yet.

So, there we are. And the show is really, really brilliant in how it explores these questions - what does it mean to be human? These new cylons seem human, have deep emotions, etc. They think they’re actually closer to perfection than the humans that made them long ago. Who is to say that they are somehow less than ourselves?

All this has happened before. All this will happen again.

The above quote is referenced a lot in the show, and comes from the scripture within this world. And that’s another theme - the show is deep with its own religion (which sometimes mirrors ours, and sometimes doesn’t), and asks a lot about what faith is, what hope is about, etc.

In the meantime, it’s in the context of some seriously cool science-fiction action. There are at least a few battles that are truly well done and still hold up. And if you’re worried that it will just look like a bunch of humans, don’t worry - the old models of cylons and their ships are still around, just a LOT more terrifying.

The show has a rich catalog of great characters, and over the four full seasons we take a serious, fulfilling journey with them. Among the standouts are Katee Sackhoff as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, Michael Hogan as Colonel Tigh, Adama’s right-hand man, Grace Park as Sharon “Boomer” Valteri and Aaron Douglas as Crew Chief Tyrol. One thing the show did really well was to change Starbuck and Boomer into female characters from their 1978 counterparts, and it not only happens virtually seamlessly, it adds a lot more to the storyline. Sackhoff seems to have been a bit typecast since, always playing the rough, tough soldier type, and I’m sure she can do more, but I always like seeing her pop up in newer shows like The Mandalorian.

If you’ve watched these shows, you know what I’m talking about here. If you haven’t, I implore you to download Peacock and watch Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries. If you aren’t hooked, that’s fine - but I suspect you will be, and that you’ll agree that it’s a tremendous show. It was nominated for 42 Primetime Emmys and won three times, mostly for visual effects and sound. But the acting and writing is top-notch. I’m not always a fan of Edward James Olmos OR Mary McDonnell - and they’re incredible here.

All of this is why Battlestar Galactica is my 9th favorite show of all time. So say we all. (So say we all.)

If you’re keeping track of these show rankings, again … why would you be doing that? But here they are: