Sept17th
December 30th, 2003, 10:49 PM
The quick and dirty it didn’t “feel” like Battlestar Galactica. I have not changed my tune, I’m still a militant Continuationist looking for the return of seventies hair.
My dear mother sent me the mini-series on videotape remembering I’ve been crazy over Battlestar ever since I was ten years old. The ratings we’re in, from reading at the Cylon Alliance and that the sun raised from the east in the morning the world did not end. I threw in the tape and watched night one and picked up night two a couple of days later. Like many here I tried to compartmentalize my self and watch it as something other than Battlestar Galactica…turned out to be pretty easy.
As something other than Battlestar Galactica it was not awful. I seemed to be more captivated by it than much of Enterprise…that I predicted would be “the best Trek EVER”. I believe this is a testament to how interesting the story is of a rag-tag fleet escaping across the stars.
What I didn’t like as Battlestar Galactica. The opening scene in the script was to serve some kind of point. To show the passing of time every few years the Colonial officer would show up put down a picture of his ever-changing family upon the desk. We also see him advance in rank. As the scene was shot it was completely point less. The Cylons were terrible certainly the lousy movement didn’t help. Briefly for less than a second I was impressed when they we’re shot from the head up. In my minds eye I’m seeing the Centurions from Hatch’s Second Coming trailer…way to go Sci-Fi! (Sarcasm)
We go to dull tribal drum beat and see this ship with the Galactica name stenciled on it. The ship design small looking and lousy with no hero shot, another mistake. The interior sets didn’t seem to fit the ship they were supposed to be on. I didn’t like the steps in the corridor nor the manual doors…we’re the Cylons going to infiltrate the door mechanisms? The sets seem to remind me of Logan’s Run. I did not like the bridge with the exception of the displays screens no improvement over the twenty five year old design.
Capt. Lee Adama comes on board and I see no improvement in the new Viper design, I really dislike it. I don’t find Bamber/Lee as whiny as I read. I liked much of the father/son tension and argument. The problem is I really like the relationship of Adama and Apollo in TOS. I enjoyed when they had words with one another, but there was still a great admiration and respect for each other. The issues these four men are dealing with are very different I tried to imagine how Greene and Hatch would of played it.
Katie’s Starbuck lacked any charm or humor. Her character was easily my least favorite. I tried to imagine Benedict’s Starbuck with his charm and sense of humor during Katie’s scene getting pissy with the ground crew over the aborted Viper launch.
The enemy is me story was fun but never felt like Battlestar Galactica for two reasons. One, you get fifteen seconds of Cylons in the opening. Two, it just doesn’t register it is not part of the story I know. Every time somebody said Cylon it could have easily been “sugar cube”.
In re-inventing the genre we got boring space battles with bullets and slow moving nukes. I did enjoy watching nukes hit the main ship and hoped the “Sugar Cubes” would win. This review can get lengthy if I continue to write about how I dislike the ship designs and costumes.
What I did like, the over all serious tone of the story. I liked Baltar and enjoyed this twist on the character. It in no way makes the real Baltar, the megalomaniac who sells out his own people any less plausible.
I liked the whole Ragnar Station story better than “Casino Planet”. People close your eyes imagine our favorite Galactica characters in the Ragnar story…even Greene getting physical with Leoben. Pretty cool.
I liked the movement of the spacecraft with maneuvering thrusters. I liked Chief Tyrol and his ground crew, Penny Robinson was cute, “I hate this part”. I liked seeing the Rag-Tag Fleet then would get angry again in the next scene.
Two final thoughts. Ron Moore said the space opera like Battlestar Galactica was tired. Then why did I come a way wanting it so badly? I had seen The Lost Warrior and the Long Patrol arguably two of Battlestar’s more flawed episodes just days before the mini-series. I still hunger for a production closer to that.
Lastly, I’m of the Goldfish mentality and this is no slam against any of the talented artists here. Give me real 3D model miniatures, CGI has its place but I felt I was watching animation.
My dear mother sent me the mini-series on videotape remembering I’ve been crazy over Battlestar ever since I was ten years old. The ratings we’re in, from reading at the Cylon Alliance and that the sun raised from the east in the morning the world did not end. I threw in the tape and watched night one and picked up night two a couple of days later. Like many here I tried to compartmentalize my self and watch it as something other than Battlestar Galactica…turned out to be pretty easy.
As something other than Battlestar Galactica it was not awful. I seemed to be more captivated by it than much of Enterprise…that I predicted would be “the best Trek EVER”. I believe this is a testament to how interesting the story is of a rag-tag fleet escaping across the stars.
What I didn’t like as Battlestar Galactica. The opening scene in the script was to serve some kind of point. To show the passing of time every few years the Colonial officer would show up put down a picture of his ever-changing family upon the desk. We also see him advance in rank. As the scene was shot it was completely point less. The Cylons were terrible certainly the lousy movement didn’t help. Briefly for less than a second I was impressed when they we’re shot from the head up. In my minds eye I’m seeing the Centurions from Hatch’s Second Coming trailer…way to go Sci-Fi! (Sarcasm)
We go to dull tribal drum beat and see this ship with the Galactica name stenciled on it. The ship design small looking and lousy with no hero shot, another mistake. The interior sets didn’t seem to fit the ship they were supposed to be on. I didn’t like the steps in the corridor nor the manual doors…we’re the Cylons going to infiltrate the door mechanisms? The sets seem to remind me of Logan’s Run. I did not like the bridge with the exception of the displays screens no improvement over the twenty five year old design.
Capt. Lee Adama comes on board and I see no improvement in the new Viper design, I really dislike it. I don’t find Bamber/Lee as whiny as I read. I liked much of the father/son tension and argument. The problem is I really like the relationship of Adama and Apollo in TOS. I enjoyed when they had words with one another, but there was still a great admiration and respect for each other. The issues these four men are dealing with are very different I tried to imagine how Greene and Hatch would of played it.
Katie’s Starbuck lacked any charm or humor. Her character was easily my least favorite. I tried to imagine Benedict’s Starbuck with his charm and sense of humor during Katie’s scene getting pissy with the ground crew over the aborted Viper launch.
The enemy is me story was fun but never felt like Battlestar Galactica for two reasons. One, you get fifteen seconds of Cylons in the opening. Two, it just doesn’t register it is not part of the story I know. Every time somebody said Cylon it could have easily been “sugar cube”.
In re-inventing the genre we got boring space battles with bullets and slow moving nukes. I did enjoy watching nukes hit the main ship and hoped the “Sugar Cubes” would win. This review can get lengthy if I continue to write about how I dislike the ship designs and costumes.
What I did like, the over all serious tone of the story. I liked Baltar and enjoyed this twist on the character. It in no way makes the real Baltar, the megalomaniac who sells out his own people any less plausible.
I liked the whole Ragnar Station story better than “Casino Planet”. People close your eyes imagine our favorite Galactica characters in the Ragnar story…even Greene getting physical with Leoben. Pretty cool.
I liked the movement of the spacecraft with maneuvering thrusters. I liked Chief Tyrol and his ground crew, Penny Robinson was cute, “I hate this part”. I liked seeing the Rag-Tag Fleet then would get angry again in the next scene.
Two final thoughts. Ron Moore said the space opera like Battlestar Galactica was tired. Then why did I come a way wanting it so badly? I had seen The Lost Warrior and the Long Patrol arguably two of Battlestar’s more flawed episodes just days before the mini-series. I still hunger for a production closer to that.
Lastly, I’m of the Goldfish mentality and this is no slam against any of the talented artists here. Give me real 3D model miniatures, CGI has its place but I felt I was watching animation.