Tom said most of it in his review above. I'll make comments on various items, though.
That Friday night, I watched the entire video presentation from start to finish. Like I said in another thread, I started with an open mind when I entered Ronald D. Moore's panel session.
The video was introduced by Mr. Moore. He mentioned it had been put together by SCI-FI Channel and probably wouldn't show up anywhere else. I think it was gracious of them to bring actual footage to show us. When the video rolled, the camera zoomed across space with an interesting drumbeat sound. A distant object came into focus as the camera sped forward, revealing the new Galactica ship while the titles appeared above it. Nice touch. (Made me think of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.")
I imagine the f/x folks were cringing a bit, as the fully realized shots hadn't been added to the video clips yet. (And they quickly confirmed that afterwards, along with their disappointment on that topic.) We watched short vignettes of scenes from the mini-series as Tom described above. (Everything we saw appeared to be from the first half of the two-part mini-series.)
We watched Kara Thrace doing her jogging sequence in the corridors of Galactica. No portholes, no starfields, just an intricate set of corridors which she jogged up and down through as other Galactica personnel walked past. I commented later to someone very familiar with the mini-series production that Katie Sackoff looked like she couldn't jog! The way she ran was very stilted and awkward; it seemed phony, imho. I later learned from him that the sets were uneven and she had to run up and down steps/ramps -- that made her jogging look awkward. (Explain that to the casual viewer...)
Unfortunately, that jogging sequence began my poor opinion of the actress as she started to open her mouth and speak her lines. More on that below.
Scenes which were interesting:
Edward James Olmos.
Mr. Olmos is an outstanding actor with onscreen charisma and presence. His Adama is a far different person than Lorne Greene's fatherly, elderly Adama. I enjoyed his scenes very much.
The Viper launches.
God Bless Zoic! THEY NAILED IT. Major kudos to them. I wondered what happens after the Viper is loaded into the launch area (with the flat floor surface). Watch as the Viper is moved forward into launch position on the CG rail system and shot into space. Watch the kinetics of the various pieces as they work to move the Viper forward. VERY cool. I said that the ONLY way I will watch the mini-series was if I only saw the special effects reels and nothing else.
What viewers will see in the actual show sounds promising, particularly in terms of real science physics and technology. We saw the retro rockets/thrusters firing on the Vipers for course corrections/maneuvers. It looked
great to see.
And, yes, the Galactica is heavily armed, but not with laser cannons. If you grok the abilities of railguns and the potential damage they can inflict, you'll be on Cloud Nine when the Galactica defends herself against incoming Cylons. I'm not at liberty to discuss further specifics right now (are we, Julie?
) As a capital ship, the Galactica can do some incredible damage. We didn't see the full power of the ship in the scenes, although I understand we'll see much of Galactica's teeth when pressed into battle. Again, real world physics and ideas are applied.
I loved the homage to the original series, too, as the Viper launch from their "pod" into space. ("Pod" is their term for the Galactica's "landing bay.") While we're used to seeing the three Vipers (1978-79 era) shooting out of the Beta landing bay sides from above, we're treated to the same type of scene as the Vipers fly out of the new Galactica. Same shot from high above, opposite landing bay, er... pod. Kudos to Zoic if that was intentional.
Vipers and Cylon fighters.
Looked nice. There are other designs I would have preferred, personally.
The music.
Appropriate for this series much of the time, just as Stu Phillips's score is for the original series. (Give me Stu Phillips music any day, though -- I
prefer Stu's majestic, sweeping themes, the whimsical passages, and the punctuated dramatic scoring.)
Some things which I had issues with:
The Galactica.
The ship pales in comparison to the original vessel. The original Galactica is an alligator; the new Galactica is a mutated crocodile with a larger belly and different engine layout. We didn't see the landing bays, er... pods extend to launch the Vipers, but we did see the landing entrances to the pods. Unlike the rectangles of the original ship, the landing opening is triangular.
The new Galactica lacks the surface detailing that the original did. (And, imho, that's part of the charm of that ship design.) I hope the folks who worked on her will step up to the plate (only if possible) and describe the process that the new Galactica ship took during it's creation.
It's not a bad looking ship. The problem is: It's instantly comparable to the 1978-79 version -- and the classic still has "it." This ship doesn't. It's passable, but not a great design. What a squandered opportunity to create something incredible... (More development time, more budget, less interference with the design, I'm guessing, might have changed this. I don't know.)
The bridge.
Dear God, what a squandered opportunity to construct a solid, robust bridge set. Yes, it's functional. Yes, it probably borrow from CIC (Command-In-Control) layouts from naval vessels. The camera angles (shown during the Cylon fighter attack) were BAD.
They were chaotic, flat and uninventive. In fact, the casting folks (and/or directors) should have been slapped silly for the poor deliveries by background actors. One woman is pushing buttons and moving levers in one part -- and you ask yourself, "Doesn't she know what she's supposed to be doing?!" (I'm not kidding.) It actually shows.
I'm not comparing this bridge to the original bridge on any level. There is no comparison. It's tucked in the bowels of the Galactica for protection; we get treated to loud alarms, flashing lights; lots of people blocking the camera view; and incoming Cylons appear on the radar scopes (akin to some space sonar) while William Adama tries to stay focused amidst the chaos.
Cinematography.
Horrible, just horrible. Most scenes were poorly laid out, imho,
especially the Starbuck/Tigh scene, the bridge sequences when the Cylons were approaching, and the William Adama/old Viper scene. The shaky camera idea (where used) is awful, too.
[Mr. Moore, tell David Eick that the selection in cinematographers was one of the
WORST decisions made. Michael Rymer's poor direction was one thing (esp. when thinking about the actors and their deliveries), but much of the camerawork stunk.]
The Starbuck/Tigh card playing/insulting/fight sequence.
I cannot dignify this trash with a single positive word. Was it done on the first take? It felt like it. The acting was ridiculously bad; the deliveries were low key and sub-standard; the facial gestures were bad; the addition of Paul Tigh's "Take her to the Brig!" line didn't redeem anything. The entire scene was BAD.
Next to the glowing red spine felgercarb (among other scenes), this Starbuck/Tigh scene destroys the credibility of the show. It's unfathomable that such an incident would occur; it's tragic to think this is a way to establish tension between characters.
By the way, watching Paul Tigh pour liquid from a silver flask SCREAMED "he's an alcoholic!" Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!
And after watching this unlikeable character onscreen, you have no sympathy when you realize his estranged wife may have slept with half the colonies.
Mary McDonnell.
Where (WHERE) was the Oscar worthy acting during her scene aboard the shuttle? Maybe it was this specific clip only, but I was very disappointed.
The Starbuck launch sequence.
Alright, there's a new scene which shows Kara Thrace trying to lift off, except there's a malfunction and the launch crews scramble to set things right. Kara is yelling; the camera is trying to follow the action akin to being in a race car pitstop; and you're supposed to feel "part of the action." Kara is annoying. VERY annoying. (To Ms. Sackoff, I know you were interpreting the character. However, I didn't like your interpretation 99% of the time. Only the scenes during the exterior shots where you were dogfighting Cylons seemed passable to me. Kara Thrace: Eternally angry, devilish and consumately a bitch goddess... that
didn't work for me or others.)
Tom, I know you liked it in your review above. I didn't. At least they cut the "Apollo chased by the Cylon down the training asteroid" f/x sequence. It might have looked cool onscreen, but all I can think is "Star Tours"! It didn't work in the script. (And SURPRISE! It was cut, due to budget, so I believe.)
And finally....
$50,000 for a Viper helmet?!
What the Hell were these people thinking when they commissioned that? It's lit, it's air-conditioned... but c'mon! What a waste of $$!
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That's a quick synopsis of various items. I could comment on more, but I hope others do.
Michael
:colwar:
The Moore trailer convention review
Thanks for making it easy on me, all! Could you tell I wanted to bust up when Sept17th brought out the popcorn? 
In case some of you weren't aware, that was me up there dodging bullets next to the "guest of the hour" (can't really call him the guest of honor since people like Richard, Glen, Dirk, Tom, Laurette, Terry, and a host of others were there!). I did my best as the moderator and hope none of you will think less of me for it. Really, I just wanted to start things off on the right note.
FOR Richard Hatch
