Some of the things I didn't like

These are some of the things I didn't like about the mini. I wasn't going to post it, but I'm trying to get my post count up so that I can have an avatar. No personal offence intended to anyone who may like the new show. Also, I'll probably offset this post with another one listing all the things that I did like about the mini-series.

I went in with an open mind - I was willing to watch a new interpretation of BSG and judge it on it's own merits. I did not go in already hating the show because it wasn't the original. In fact, I was excited and optimistic, and I was looking forward to seeing it, hoping that it'd be a great show.

First off - Where were the cool digital watches? I was really hoping to see an updated re-interpretation of all the nifty gadgets, especially those watches. And where were all the cool costumes? When the original show came out, there was just something about those costumes that I liked, on an instinctual or gut level. I wasn't even aware of it at the time. But I don't like the new costumes at all, and the flight suits are particularly dark and ugly. Who would want to buy one of those outfits? Where's the mythology? Where's the beauty?

Second - the entire thing was much too dark, and not just the lighting and the costumes. In general, I don't like seeing sex perverted - I like seeing it presented hand-in-hand with healthy, shared love. But then seeing it perverted and mixed up with cylons and violence. Too much. And don't even get me started on the baby thing. The whole thing was really sick and twisted, like a lot of the sci-fi channel's other programs.

I also don't like seeing the cylons as borg/shadows (talk about lack of originality), and having human form, either. Wasn't there a humanoid cylon in Galactica 1980? I always liked robots as robots, and that was one of the reasons I liked the original. It's just something I personally enjoy. No robots, less for me to be interested in. Did the sci-fi channel decide to have humanoid cylons because they couldn't afford costumes or CGI? It certainly looked like they only had 3 sets for the entire series. A civilization is destroyed, but we don't see any of it - just a cut-off news cast and a lot of talk about it.

There was much too much DS9/bad-trek/B-5 influence. The cylon base stars were basically shadow ship knock-offs. And then there's the whole "oh, we've got a cylon spy on board, who is it?" thing to deal with where the audience knows and the characters don't. Hasn't that already happened in B-5 and every imitator since? Yuch.

And the humans! I didn't like any of these people, the choices they made, or their stupid and immoral behavior. Where's the wisdom? Where's the message? Where's the hope?

And the writers should really have studied the source material.

"Starbuck" made a comment to "Apollo" about how she was responsible for Zak graduating flight school, and thus for his death. When asked why she was telling him this, she said something about the end of the world and confessing her sins. That was one of a bunch of specifically Roman Catholic influences that I noticed in the writing. But these people are supposed to be Mormons, not Catholics! It's an entirely different way of thinking, and the Colonial mythology and way of life are heavily based on (or inspired by) the Mormon culture and set of beliefs.

In fact, the entire 13th tribe back story is a retelling of the Book of Mormon (something I hope to expand on in another post), and the Galactica's quest is heavily inspired by the real-world quest that Mormon founder Joseph Smith made in a caravan of covered wagons, to eventually found Salt Lake City.

I'm not criticizing, praising, or passing judgement on Catholicism, Mormonisn, or any other religion here. In fact, I'm Catholic myself. But I think that the show should remain true to its sources and to a coherent mythology - that's one of the things that made it great and so appealing.

OK, so tell me how a guy who has a cylon implanted in his own brain is able to have a virtual conversation with it, then walk out on it, leaving its image behind in the corridor?

Overall, the only parts of the miniseries that I enjoyed were the parts of the original series that they hinted at, but then dropped. Nothing that they came up with on their own was likeable. I'm not saying that I didn't like it because it was new - I was perfectly willing to like anything new that was well done, on its own merits. I liked the original music - but it was only in one scene. The new music was sadly lacking in any emotion or inspiration, barely noticable. And an original cylon - but it was an antique and we only saw it for a couple of seconds. The new centurions might have been interesting, but we saw them for even less time, so I never got a chance to find out. We did see the ultra-cool botanical ship (which is a great idea, and a great message - that humans will take a garden with them) - but then it was left behind to get destroyed??? I take that as a direct slap at the original series, where that ship was heavily featured in many episodes. Or when "Adama" quoted the tagline from the original series - but then says that it's the beginning of the Book of the Word (now called the "ancient scriptures")? I don't buy it. And then he doesn't even believe in Earth! That's like saying Moses didn't believe in God, he just thought it would be a good story to tell the Jews, or that Thomas Jefferson didn't really believe in Democracy! After all, we can't have a character who might actually believe in something. He has to lie about it. Who are these people?

[malachi42]

"Second - the entire thing was much too dark, and not just the lighting and the costumes. In general, I don't like seeing sex perverted - I like seeing it presented hand-in-hand with healthy, shared love. But then seeing it perverted and mixed up with cylons and violence. Too much. And don't even get me started on the baby thing. The whole thing was really sick and twisted, like a lot of the sci-fi channel's other programs."

Curious about this having read a lot pertaining to this on the various boards.
The sex was not very explicit. It was implied. The sexual relationship between 6 and Gaius was most definitely not one of a healthy commited relationship. But wouldn't it be very strange if those two were suddenly involved in such a relationship? I also found it rather tame compared to much of current television.
People having sex outside of a healthy commited relationship is an everyday occurence. Is it the job of television to be a moral authority? To present us only with shows that are examples of good moral behavior? Who decides what that is? If you find it offensive can't you turn yout TV off and leave me to make that decision for myself?

The baby. I am reeally puzzled. It wasn't presented as a positive act to kill a baby. It was horrifying and further illustrated the lack of human emotion in the Cylons. Has anyone seen any of the cop shows lately? Episodes based around child abuse and baby killing happen on television all of the time. It is presented as a act of horror. the perpetrator usually goes to jail. Should we get rid of police and courtroom dramas because they are about crime and immoral acts, and they're often pretty dark. I'm not sure how many babies I have seen die on ER, often as the result of a violent act.
The scene in the mini was not graphic, again it was implied.
What do we see the function of television to be? I don't really want it involved in my families morality, I can take care of that by myself.

[Domiano]

I ,too, went into this with an open mind. I could tell from the promos and the early script that this was not going to measure up to the original. The concept was good but that's all Moore had a good concept. I saw Sci-Fi Channel's Dune series and liked most of it and was hoping they would do the same with Galactica. The reason Moore didn't want to do a copy of the origianal with and updated look....BECAUSE HE COULDN'T MATCH THE WRITTING SKILLS form people 25 years ago.

I actually wrote a long post bashing the writting and then decided these forums are full of people doing that. I do not want to beat that dead horse anymore.

I really hope someone will do Galactica justice one day soon.

Domiano, I agree. I too hope that someone will do the show justice. Thanks very much for the reply.

malachai42, I appreciate what you're saying and think that you have a lot of good points. But when it comes to "just turning off" the TV, sure I could. And I probably will if the sci-fi series goes ahead. But I want there to be good Galactica and I'm going to be upset if we get bad Galactica because I want to be able to watch and enjoy it. I've been waiting over 20 yahren and Galactica deserves to be good.

[malachi42]

Ninth Lord, I understand the dissapointment. Maybe the film will happen and it will be made true to TOS. But please be prepsred that if a major studio is involved, the very same thing could happen to it the same way it happened to so many other films.
Perhaps there is comfort to be found in the DVD's and the community you have all created to celebrate your passion.

[Yminale]

Sorry Ninth Lord but I question whether you actually saw the miniseries. First of all the Cylons are nothing like Borg/Shadows. They don't want to assimilate the colonies or manipulate them through conflict. THEY WANT TO DESTROY THEM. The Cylon basestar do not look like any Shadow vessels. The basestars are basically two arrowheads on top of each other with a grey metalic texture and windows. How people can confuse the new basestar with a Shadow Battlecrab is beyond me?? As for the Cylon infiltrator, unless you knew in advance, you would think that Baltar had framed an innocent man (I think fans are just anoyed that Moore could so easily fool them). In fact I like the fact that Baltar is more an unknown factor than the evil bad guy. As for Starbuck's confession, Duh Mormon are required to confess their sins to both God and to those they wronged. Confession is not soley a Catholic trait.

Originally posted by Yminale
Sorry Ninth Lord but I question whether you actually saw the miniseries.

Oh, I saw it alright.

First of all the Cylons are nothing like Borg/Shadows. They don't want to assimilate the colonies or manipulate them through conflict. THEY WANT TO DESTROY THEM.

I was referring mainly to their look and feel. The way that the cylons have human looking agents that secretly infiltrate and manipulate is a shadow thing. Look at the way 6 is playing with Baltar's head(s). The basestars had the same crab-like, psuedo-organic feel that the shadow vessels have. And they looked like big X shapes to me.

As for Starbuck's confession, Duh Mormon are required to confess their sins to both God and to those they wronged. Confession is not soley a Catholic trait.

I didn't know that - thanks for the correction.

I remembered this after I posted my reply above.

First of all the Cylons are nothing like Borg/Shadows.

Also, wasn't there a borg called "6 of 9"? Now tell me why the cylon babe is called "6 of 12"... Plus, the original cylons never even had sexes, and I don't think they would have except that someone liked Berman's borg-queen idea.

[Sci-Fi]

Originally posted by The Ninth Lord
I Plus, the original cylons never even had sexes, and I don't think they would have except that someone liked Berman's borg-queen idea.

Not entirely true. If you remember, in the Living Legend episodes, during the attack on Gamoray, there were "female Cylons".

Also, If I remember correctly, Larson original concept of the Cylons were to be cybernetically enhanced, but ABC didn't want to show the killing of humanoids, so a robotic society was used. One could also argue the Borg was a ripoff of a BSG original concept.