Wait! Don't run away! I know, I know the title makes you giggle, and yeah, I can hear you whispering, "Man, what a nerd" under your breath. But do not let the name Battlestar Galactica, or any memories of it's original, cheese-tastic, 1970's version scare you away. This is a total reinvention and it works. So what follows is my impassioned plea, 10 reasons why you should watch Battlestar Galactica (BSG):
1. This is NOT the 1978 Battlestar Galactica. That show had a cult-following; a horrible, nerdy, impenetrable, cult-following. If you weren't into the show from the beginning, the sight of hundreds of dweebs wearing robot helmets and talking about mythic warfare between humans and "cylons" probably didn't entice you to join up. Not to mention the fact that those dweebs didn't WANT you to watch. BSG became a Geek Badge of Honor. If you liked BSG you were really, truly, a social outcast. Also, the show itself was not good. Please never watch it.
2. This version is NOT just for scifi nerds. Yeah, it's on the scifi channel, yeah it involves spaceships and killer robots, but what it really is, once you strip away the location, and the overall plot, is an amazing TV Drama. The show focuses much more on the interaction between these characters than it does on new gadgets, or alien planets. It's not like Star Trek with it's weekly stand-alone episodes, always featuring a new alien-of-the-week. Everyone who watches this show cares just as much about the characters and their welfare as they do about discovering the answers to on-going mysteries. The black smoke monster never outshines the castaways on this ship.
3. Speaking of the characters, the actors on this show are awesome. Seriously, there are Oscar-nominated actors like Mary McDonell, and Edward James Olmos, and great young actors like Katee Sackhoff, James Bamber, and Grace Park. Not to mention guess stars like Lucy Lawless (yeah, Xena). Not only are they talented, they are given real human drama. I have been more moved watching these characters than I have by the characters on Grey's Anatomy, or Desperate Housewives.
4. All of this talk of great acting and human drama is not meant to argue that there is no action on BSG, or that it is void of science fiction, in fact, BSG probably has the best scifi writing, directing, and special effects ever seen on TV. Episodes can be packed with action: space battles, military ground warfare, harrowing rescues. And again it really does feature the best SFX that TV has ever seen.
5. The plot is very scifi, but that doesn't mean it isn't awesome. Stick with me here because it could be these next few sentences that send you scurrying to the latest repeat of Brothers and Sisters. In the universe of BSG humans have colonized 12 separate planets (they all started out on one called Kobol but they've moved out since then). They created intelligent robots called Cylons. The Cylons got self-aware and rebelled, as self-aware robots tend to do, and a war broke out between humans and robots. The war ends with a peace treaty and the cylons go off into their own part of the galaxy and are not heard from for 41 years. Unfortunately for the humans the cylons come back (they have evolved and look like humans now) and kill everyone. Everyone. They nuke every planet. Only 50,000 people survive and they have to constantly fight for their lives against the cylons. They are in search of a new home that is talked about in their religion called Earth. So there ya go, 50,000 people trying to find Earth and escape the killer robots.
6. The show uses scifi topics to tackle current events in ways other shows can't. First and foremost is the idea that the cylons look like humans and can infiltrate human society. It's a very pressing post 9/11 issue. Living in New York I know there can be a palpable fear that someone walking next to you on the street, or riding with you in the subway, could be a terrorist. As ridiculous or unfounded as those ideas are, they still exist. BSG tackles this issue with the new cylons, the new enemy, being just like us, being able to blend in. We, as a society, have started to fear and question our own, which is a scary path to follow. It also raises the issue of the dehumanization of the "other". Throughout the series we learn more about the cylons, and become attached to them, however, they literally start out dehumanized, they're robots. It's a commentary on the way we treat our enemies, how we make them pure evil, never learn their stories or try to understand their reasoning. BSG can directly tackle these ideas (and others like racism, freedom of speech, fair elections, capital punishment) because it is so detached in terms of its setting. It's a wonderful opportunity all scifi shows have but so few take advantage of.
7. There are powerful, hott ladies. They are everywhere on BSG. The best part is that it's not a statement. They're not saying, "Wow, look at these powerful female characters". They are just there. I love them. Here is a picture of their awesomeness:
8. There are powerful hott dudes. For all you ladies who need some man candy with your TV show I present:
This is Major Lee Adama (played by James Bamber), there are multiple scenes where he is equally clothes-free.
9. They use the word "frak". So this is probably the dorkiest reason I love this show. To get around the fact that they couldn't really swear because they were still on basic cable the BSG writers decided that instead of "fuck", these humans say "frak". You eventually get used to it becomes equally hilarious and effective. Also, you can use it in real life situations and not get in trouble. For example: "Frak you mom, I don't want mac n' cheese tonight" sounds a lot nicer than "FUCK you mom, I don't want mac n' cheese tonight."
10. Now that "The Wire" is off the air, it's probably the best show on TV. You deserve to watch the best show on TV.
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