What is Galactica "about". A challange

[Hito]

Since Moore and people who like his script are accused of not knowing what galactica is "about".

I'd like to challange the people who do know what it is about to enlighten those who dont.

As a fan of the original i know what it was about and i can see the same themes in the new story.

From my perspective they are both "about" the same thing.
A fleet of holocaust survivors, the last of humanity as far as they know faced with the almost impossible mission to find a legendary lost planet.
It is also about the friendships of the military protagonists and the scnece of family that they share.

[Micheleh]

Good one!

It's about the ability to face adversity and withstand challenges while mainaining a sense of identity. It's about sustaining one's roots, beliefs and principles when bereft of the very foundation of a society- a home. It's about people dealing with overwhelming pressures and obstacles, and managing to have hope in the face of despair.

Imho.

[vmnjn]

There are lots of shows with similar themes.

Good vs Evil,
War and Peace,
and the never ending struggle to keep my wife from maxing out the credit cards.

What made BG so great was more than what it was about.
It was how it was presented that made the show have a lasting impact and popularity.

The original series was aimed at a "family" audience, or at least expected not to offend a "family."

The new BG, along with most recent productions, is being aimed at a pubescent audience. Presentation is focused on interpersonal relationship conflicts, sexual tension, voyeurism, and hormonal eurotic fantasizing.

Part of BG's brilliance was an unintended effect of behind-the-scenes conflict and tension. This helped to lend an air of potential and depth to most of the original series.

Battlestar Galactica is about...
"There are those who believe... that life here... began out there. Far across the universe. With tribes of humans... who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians... or the Toltecs... or the Mayans... that they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids... or the lost civilizations of Lemuria... or Atlantis... Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man... who even now fight to survive... somewhere beyond the heavens."

Battlestar Galactica is about...
"The last Battlestar Galactica... leads a ragtag fugitive fleet. On a lonely quest... for a shining planet known as... Earth."

That is what Battlestar Galactica is about. But this ignores so much of what made Battlestar Galactica wonderful.

Perhaps the ones making the new Battlestar Galactica should look at what worked for Stargate SG1, and the original Babylon5 series. While they had good and bad times they survived to become large parts of Science Fiction's continuing popularity.

[Micheleh]

"and the never ending struggle to keep my wife from maxing out the credit cards"

Fight the cylons, it's easier! :D

[jewels]

Micheleh, liked everything you said but wanted to bounce more off this partOriginally posted by Micheleh

It's about sustaining one's roots, beliefs and principles when bereft of the very foundation of a society- a home.

It's also about our real "home" being the people we most closely relate with: family, friends, and (in the Colonials' case) the brotherhood(sisterhood) of warriors. And that humankind can survive any devastation with the hope held by maintaining and strengthening those relationships. There is strength in community which is exponentially stronger than the individual components of the community. I remember Starbuck saying something like: "some home, a floating metal box in space." But try to separate him from Apollo or Boomer on a mission (barring battle damage or lack of fuel in his viper). Even Starbuck knew how to make a "home" without a planet as a base. In that there is a profound amount of hope for all of us. And the thing I see as central to BSG is that there will always be hope. IMHO.

Jewels

[LucianG]

There are some good answers here. Mine follows:

In brief, Battlestar Galactica was a story of hope. It showed the capacity of the human race to persevere and survive when there was seemingly no hope. It was about characters who became larger than life and about situations of epic proportions. It was not about evil incarnate in the form of the Cylons, Baltar, or Iblis, but rather about the struggle of humans against those evils, which were for the most part, left shrouded in mystery. It was, again for the most part, not about problems the humans created for themselves, but about how they responded to the situations in which they found themselves. It included a number of wonderful characters, both good and evil, portrayed by actors and actresses who were likable. It included some of science fiction’s most outstanding ships (the Galactica and the Viper), sets, and costumes. It was FUN! Twenty-five years later, it still IS!

[kingfish]

The show was about:

1)A great quest to discover the so called Thirteenth tribe which is a brother world to the colonials.

2)Overcoming great odds and not giving up while also having the support of one's family.

3)Great characters that can interact with one another and not kill one another on the way of achieving the overall goal.

4)Captivating the audience that they want to tune in and not turn the show off.

[BST]

I will approach this from a slightly different angle:

Why, in these times of corporate budgetary restraints, would the choice be to "re-do" something that is already there. Would not the money be better spent on expanding on the original characters, storyline, etc to give them and it more depth?

To me, and I mean this in the most respectful way, it is a complete waste of resources (time and money) to do a re-make. Granted it may have its good points and its bad points, but why bother. To me, this venture is taking the easy way out.

Plain and simple, Galactica is about the "never-ending battle between Good and Evil" (Commander Adama, War of the Gods) and that inate ability of the human species to adapt to different situations, environments, etc in an effor to survive.

I believe the seed was sown in TOS, now it is time to nurture the plant and allow it to grow, not to rip it out of the ground and plant something else.

Keepin' the faith,

BST

[michaelfaries]

From my review at:
http://www.battlestargalactica.com/features/articles_interviews/archive/2002/dec02b-plain.html

The biggest questions in my mind were: What is "Battlestar Galactica"? What represents the CORE of this beloved science fiction story? They are questions which I weighed heavily as I read the script. To me, these elements were:

The characters.
The mythological elements.
The battlestar Galactica.
The story/storytelling.

Note: My review gives further input into specifics. I should point out that elements of this script have changed since my review was released, but I understand that the scriptwriter, Ronald D. Moore, has fought to keep his framework intact.

Michael
:colwar:

[crash4587]

The characters.
The mythological elements.
The battlestar Galactica.
The story/storytelling.

I should point out that elements of this script have changed since my review was released, but I understand that the scriptwriter, Ronald D. Moore, has fought to keep his framework intact.

If Ron Moore was a fan of BG (which he claimed he was) elements of the script would not have had to be changed.

[michaelfaries]

Originally posted by crash4587
If Ron Moore was a fan of BG (which he claimed he was) elements of the script would not have had to be changed.
Touche! Well put. :colwar:

Michael

[Titon]

Galactica is about us, the fans that have kept the *thought* of Galactica alive for 25 years.

What it is to a man like Ron Moore is a breeding ground for his next great conquest, which will be the next great disappointment if he's allowed anywhere near the property called Battlestar Galactica.

But i have faith!
I have deep faith and i believe that it will be the next great franchise!

Long live the true Battlestar Galactica!

;)

[Afan2]

It's a space opera (no sense in denying it).
Like any space opera, it's an epic. It's about adventure, excitement, space travel and discovery in an infinite universe full of wonder and surprise.
It's about special effects that make you feel like you are there yourself.

To really make it 'Galactica', add also:

- a few doses of mild sense of humour here and there;
- save some of that humour for the villains too, but be subtle - don't turn characters into clowns;
- warm, likeable main characters who appreciate each other;
- the quest for a lost world;
- a sense of familiy at the core of the cast;
- good old fashioned mean villains, once in a while. More complex characters are welcome too, but not as the main villains;
- some amount of continuity in the overall plot;
- episodes that go somewhere, and add something to the series;
- original, creative storytelling that takes advantage of past events without lumping everything together like a soap opera;
- moderately good-looking faces within the cast, but not too flashy, and not at the cost of knowing how to act;
- mature, young adults as main characters - not teenagers;
- characters that aren't sexless, but are not sex-centered either. The real 'Galactica' could survive without throwing sex at your face, just as thousands of mainstream films and TV shows survive every year without lowering themselves that way;
- the subtle references to Earth mythology (I personally could dispense with this in a respectful 'Galactica' remake - which the MEH Project isn't.)

[Cosmic Cleric]

Hope the TPTB's read this.