Battlestar done RIGHT!

Fat Dragon Games · Post by **Fat Dragon Games** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:18 am

Well it's about time Starbuck got his 'bat and balls' back!
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/02/universa ... movie.html
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SoulCatcher78 · Post by **SoulCatcher78** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:59 am

I have to say that I'm happier with the new version (re-imagining or whatever they want to call it). Something that the original version was missing (IMO) was the dark, oppressed feeling that the new version has. If they could back off the angst a tad it might be better but it has a tension that didn't exist in the original show.

Not sure if the movie would do well if done in the older style or not, only time will tell for that one.

Post by **Breakdaddy** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:37 pm

I like the series....

Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:04 pm

I liked the first season of the new series, but then it went esoteric suckage. The only thing good about it now are the few ship to ship combat scenes.

There again, I have a hard time swallowing a setting where humans are capable of jump drives in starships yet are still using projectile weapons as anti-ship weapons. Essentially, it's Battlestar gothica....NOT galactica...

and I have to admit a certain fondness for higher tech settings.
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yell0w_lantern · Post by **yell0w_lantern** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:25 pm

I haven't seen this new one. First, I don't have cable. Second, as I understand it, the premise is that the humans created the Cylons and I'm tired of the Dr Frankenstein's monster runs wild thing. I'll stick with the disco-mythic original.

jaguar451 · Post by **jaguar451** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:07 pm

I like the series. And don't have Cable -- on hulu.com .

And I like the tech -- some futuristic, some from today. Everything doesn't progress at the same level for everyone....

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:11 pm

Have yet to see a single clip of the show, as I'm just not interested in it, and was not interested when it originally aired. Give me V, though.
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Lord Dynel · Post by **Lord Dynel** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:21 pm

WoW. If Larson vrings the series back in the style of the original version, that'd be huge. I had no issue with the Sci-Fi series, but the original was awesome.
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cinderblock · Post by **cinderblock** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:21 pm

I like both versions of BSG.

CKDad · Post by **CKDad** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 2:32 am

serleran wrote:
Give me V, though.

V?!?!?

*shudders*

Serl, we gotta introduce you to some good science fiction.

V...

The mind boggles.
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 2:37 am

Yep. V. Not for the stories, or the acting (though I do know Robert Englund was involved and I always like to see him because he's so campy,) but for the concept, really. I could relate to it, when I first saw it. BSG, while I've seen the original, just didn't spark an interest and I don't watch TV as-is now (except on weekends if I can stumble across MythBusters) so I've no desire to see the remake.
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paladin2019 · Post by **paladin2019** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:06 am

I look at the the old series as an artifact of the new. The new series is the reality of the story, the old series is someone from the new series' future idealized version of their history.

SoulCatcher78 · Post by **SoulCatcher78** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:35 pm

paladin2019 wrote:
I look at the the old series as an artifact of the new. The new series is the reality of the story, the old series is someone from the new series' future idealized version of their history.

I think that's a good view of it. Given that "All of this has happened before and will happen again."

cinderblock · Post by **cinderblock** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:28 pm

This was sort of my take on it as well. And with only a handful of episodes left we'll hopefully start seeing the connect.

AGNKim · Post by **AGNKim** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:18 pm

I'm pretty much a traditionalist, but I'm going to say it:

New BSG > Old BSG.

So sue me.
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tylermo · Post by **tylermo** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:25 pm

First off...thanks for not discussing the storyline of the new season. I've seen all of the seasons, but not the last 4 or 5, or however many episodes have been on as of late. As for old vs. new, I like both. I was a child of the Star Wars generation when old BSG debuted in 1978. I loved it. Admittedly, in the later years, it has it's cheesy moments, but was pretty well done considering when it came out. Besides, Larson brought us other "Larsonies"(can't take credit for that one)...Buck Rogers, and Galactica 1980. Those were far cheesier than original BSG. Either way, I scrummed up both of those "cheesy classics" on dvd. But, I digress. I used to do a morning radio talk show(until bowing out of radio after a corporate takeover). During that time, I interviewed Richard Hatch(twice). The first interview was just as the new series was being announced. Even before he was cast as Zarek. He wished them well with the new project, but always hoped for a continuation of the original. I did too. As a matter of fact, I told Richard that the old show had a built-in following, and it might be hard to get young kids to care about a new version of a show that was very short-lived to begin with. Geez, I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a great show. We've been spoiled since the late 90's, what with the likes of Farscape, Firefly, and new BSG. Hell, even seasons 3 and 4 of Enterprise weren't too bad. I digress again. The new BSG adds more depth, and maturity to the storyline. Although, the old program had a quaint charm about it. The original was a good program for families. You could really feel the bond between old Lorne and Hatch, or Apollo's concern for Boxey. Two completely different flavors, I suppose. For me, there's room for both. Let's face it, we wouldn't have the new one without the old. Anyone interested should look online for Hatch's mid-late 90's self-financed trailer for "Battlestar:The Second Coming". Not perfect, but he had passion for the project. Incidentally, Richard has another trailer for another vehicle he hoped to launch. It's called the Great War of Magellan. Once again, not perfect. With some work, and a little re-casting, he might have something. He even had an rpg for the Great War of Magellan. Was out Archon(near ST. Louis) in 07. The guy who wrote the rpg(which was somewhat clunky), and Richard were part of the game sessions. Yes, I got to roleplay in two sessions with Captain Apollo himself. Got the Hi-8 footage to prove it. You should see him banging the table when he got some sh!tty die rolls. hehe I'll have to check out the thread about a possible BSG movie. Could be interesting.

Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:31 am

I have watched a couple of episodes of the new BSG, and to me it just seems too "Earth: Final Conflict-ish" to me. Is the new wave of television science-fiction supposed to be "science-drama"? To put it in a gaming perspective, could you imagine Classic Traveller re-imagined with a tag line that says "Science-Drama Adventure in the Far Future"?

I'm sorry, but the new BSG, while very well done in its technical aspects (filming, acting, etc.) fails by focusing too much on the people that populate Galactica and her rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest, and not enough on the science. The new BSG is top heavy on the drama, while the original (excepting Galactica 1980 which was just campy and laughably terrible) seemed to perfectly balance both the drama and the science. And that to me is what you need to do in order to have high quality science-fiction.
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Post by **Breakdaddy** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:42 pm

Traveller wrote:
I have watched a couple of episodes of the new BSG, and to me it just seems too "Earth: Final Conflict-ish" to me. Is the new wave of television science-fiction supposed to be "science-drama"? To put it in a gaming perspective, could you imagine Classic Traveller re-imagined with a tag line that says "Science-Drama Adventure in the Far Future"?

I'm sorry, but the new BSG, while very well done in its technical aspects (filming, acting, etc.) fails by focusing too much on the people that populate Galactica and her rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest, and not enough on the science. The new BSG is top heavy on the drama, while the original (excepting Galactica 1980 which was just campy and laughably terrible) seemed to perfectly balance both the drama and the science. And that to me is what you need to do in order to have high quality science-fiction.

Did you like Firefly? They were heavily focused on characters as well, although I'll admit it was a bit less dramatic than BSG (new). Still, I enjoy the new direction sci fi is taking. This genre might stagnate and be left behind if new directions weren't taken in the development of such shows.

cinderblock · Post by **cinderblock** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:53 pm

For me the science only exists to fuel the story. Once it becomes the story, I'm prolly gonna lose interest.

Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:12 am

Breakdaddy wrote:
Did you like Firefly? They were heavily focused on characters as well, although I'll admit it was a bit less dramatic than BSG (new). Still, I enjoy the new direction sci fi is taking. This genre might stagnate and be left behind if new directions weren't taken in the development of such shows.

Never saw it, so I can't answer that. I think my biggest issue is that the new BSG seems to be more low tech than I believe it should be. If that makes sense.
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Post by **Breakdaddy** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:23 am

Traveller wrote:
Never saw it, so I can't answer that. I think my biggest issue is that the new BSG seems to be more low tech than I believe it should be. If that makes sense.

Ahhh. You would NOT like firefly then in all likelihood. I read you, but it's not unprecedented. Warhammer 40k comes to mind when I think of really cool sci fi settings that have crazy lo-tech in a lot of places. So does the ALIEN franchise now that I think of it. I love both, of course. I guess it's down to personal preference.

AGNKim · Post by **AGNKim** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:45 am

Traveller wrote:
Never saw it, so I can't answer that. I think my biggest issue is that the new BSG seems to be more low tech than I believe it should be. If that makes sense.

You gotta remember, BSG is not the future per se. We (Earthlings) are the 13th tribe of Man. The folks in BSG are the other tribes (1-12). BSG is almost an alternate timeline if you will. Other Humans progressing as a society totally separate from Earth. Also, the ship Battlestar Galactica is an old ship of the fleet that was not upgraded so as to stay somewhat protected from the Cylons during the war. It does not have everything networked and wireless, it stayed wired and at component-level.

Not that I'm captivated by the show or anything...

Breakdaddy wrote:
Warhammer 40k comes to mind when I think of really cool sci fi settings that have crazy lo-tech in a lot of places.

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paladin2019 · Post by **paladin2019** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:00 am

Guns are very good. They are a reliable, known quantity. They are cheap. And we are capable of considerable accuracy in the realm of throwing small rocks at things, especially when freed from the limitations of an atmosphere. And at the speeds craft travel in outer space, even small, slow rocks cause devastating damage. There really is no need for lasers outside of a targeting role.

Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:00 am

AGNKim wrote:
You gotta remember, BSG is not the future per se. We (Earthlings) are the 13th tribe of Man. The folks in BSG are the other tribes (1-12). BSG is almost an alternate timeline if you will. Other Humans progressing as a society totally separate from Earth. Also, the ship Battlestar Galactica is an old ship of the fleet that was not upgraded so as to stay somewhat protected from the Cylons during the war. It does not have everything networked and wireless, it stayed wired and at component-level.

Dude, I'm not totally clueless.
Original BSG had the right idea in having the colonies be highly advanced, with evidence given in the series that Earth had regressed in its technological progress, with at least one mention of what clearly was a lunar lander being technology some 5,000 yahren old. In fact, the show played up Earth mythology to tie it all in. The fun part is this: if you read the myths and legends of various cultures there are some very interesting similarities. Ultra-powerful gods and flying disks abound if you know where to look. My issues with science-drama aside, the new BSG virtually ignored the mythological aspects, minimized the technological disparity between Earth and the colonies, and smacked people in the face by stating the cylons were man-made.

Man-made cylons? I can deal with that. It makes sense that we would create our own worst enemies.

Technological disparity? I can deal with that as well. After all, the original series never did find Earth (and Galactica 1980 still does not count) although tantalizing clues about what they would find did show up in a couple of episodes. I do think that when Galactica finds the final home of the 13th colony they will find that the colonists are much less advanced than Galactica. I believe this is what was intended from the very beginning, with the original series.

Ignoring the mythological aspects? I can't accept the new BSG's near total ignorance towards mythology, since it was mythology that provided the spark that created the original BSG. I mean, don't you wonder who the gods really were? What was the flying disk mentioned in Egyptian mythology? That was the premise of the original BSG, and that premise should have been followed.
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jaguar451 · Post by **jaguar451** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:54 am

The original BSG didn't find earth? I could have sworn I saw some episodes of BSG where they did. Weren't Apollo and Starbuck complaining because some other folks got to go that cool sounding place called the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics, and they were stuck with the United States....

But I am hoping that the current show does emphasise drama a little less going down the wire. I like thought provoking, and yet happy, endings

gideon_thorne · Post by **gideon_thorne** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:01 am

jaguar451 wrote:
The original BSG didn't find earth? I could have sworn I saw some episodes of BSG where they did. Weren't Apollo and Starbuck complaining because some other folks got to go that cool sounding place called the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics, and they were stuck with the United States....

But I am hoping that the current show does emphasise drama a little less going down the wire. I like thought provoking, and yet happy, endings

Yes, they did. Some of these old folks just have bad memories.
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Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:15 am

They didn't find earth in the original series. An attempt to revive the series on TV, dubbed Battlestar Galactice 1980 (pretty sure that was it) moved the timeline forward minus Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. Wherein we are introduced to Dr. Z and Boxy all grown up. Boxy and sidekick-starbuck-supposed-to-be rode around on flying motorcycles and flew cloakable vipers.

They don't make themselves known to earth, it's tech level is too low and they don't want their cousins to blow themselves up faster with the colonial tech. they contact a prof and reporter at some university in LA area, proving they are "aliens" by solving some super theorem for the physics doc.

We also get to see the first humanoid cylons, though unlike the new series, they are androids instead of bioroids. (this avoids hemmaroids from flying on long trips) It lasted for maybe 10 episodes...

(hows that for memory )
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tylermo · Post by **tylermo** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:58 pm

Your memory is pretty good. I almost bought that "CHEESY" classic on bootleg a few times because I was convinced that Universal would NEVER release Galactica 1980. I was wrong, and have since picked it up NO MATTER HOW BAD IT IS. I love my 1970's and 80's past, but the problem with how the show aged(partly) is that the crew of the Galactica found Earth in the last vestiges of the disco-era. Robert Reed(Mike Brady) played a scientist in a couple of ep's, and Wolfman Jack was in one as well. Might as well have thrown in the Village People(including the guy with the @ssless chaps), Donnie and Marie, and Captain and Tenille. hehe Other BIG problems with the program-flying motorcycles with scenes that were right out of an episode of CHIP's, the Galactica folk were able(due to gravitational differences) to jump around like the Bionic Man, the horrible Dr. Z character(which Adama took a back seat to), and Lorne Greene's fake Colonel Sanders-like beard. Not to mention huge slabs of pure gouda cheese! IF you like what I call the "cheesy classics"(Battle Beyond the Stars, Filmation Saturday morning shows-Isis, Shazam, Jason of Star Command, and Space Academy) then Galactica 1980 is your ticket to the stars!

Aladar · Post by **Aladar** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:47 pm

I still like the old series better. I found the new version more Soap Opera than Space Opera.

While we are reviving old SciFi shows, let's do a new Space 1999!

And I am all for reviving Firefly!
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Taranthyll · Post by **Taranthyll** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:34 am

Traveller wrote:
I'm sorry, but the new BSG, while very well done in its technical aspects (filming, acting, etc.) fails by focusing too much on the people that populate Galactica and her rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest, and not enough on the science.

Wow, talk about a viewpoint that is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from mine! I consider BSG to be a drama that just happens to be set in space, rather than a SciFi show. I think the focus on the people instead of the action is what makes it such a brilliant series.

That said, there are a few things that bother me, like what such an otherwise technologically primitive society is doing FTL drives. The Twelve Colonies are technologically less advanced than we are today, yet even the possibility of interstellar travel is only in the realm of the hypothetical.

As a retired naval officer, the rank structure in the colonial fleet drives me stark raving insane. The apparently random admixture of army and navy ranks irks the heck out of me, not to mention the fact that in the beginning Saul Tigh outranked Adama since a Commander is the equivalent of a Lieutenant Colonel, whereas Tigh is a full Colonel.

Still, one of the most compelling and best-written dramas I've ever watched.