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So, I just finished watching the new Battlestar Galactica (miniseries), and I'm wondering if all the older fans aren't just talking out their arses because it was actually pretty good.
I really don't have many fond memories of the early series, excepting the plot which I always thought was cool, and which has been preserved, actually, improved. I loved to watch parts of it so I could laugh at the costumes, but other than the first episode, I've never actually been able to sit through a full episode of the old series since I would lose interest. I remember liking Starbuck better than Apollo, but that really wasn't saying much. So yeah, the point is, I don't give a fig about the older series.
The new series hasn't a single bad actor, not even a bad supporting one which was a pleasant surprise. Jamie Bamber needs to work on his American accent a bit (he tends to pause in random places, even though his pronunciation is perfect, which is a bit distracting when you're used to his normal accent), but I suspect he'll get better at it over time since he was doing rather well in the first place. Everyone seemed excellently cast with the possible exception of that little kid whose name I can't remember, but since he was barely in the show, who knows?
Whoever wrote the script spent a lot of time on characterization amidst the action, which made for a very balanced script. People are always at their best or their worst when their world is being destroyed (rather literally this time) and it shows, which is a point in their favour since I don't recall there being *that* much grief in the old BG when that happened. This show is a lot more realistic, something I enjoyed.
The guy who plays Adama is a really good actor who's lucky to get really good lines. His speeches, as many tend to be in military situations on tv shows, weren't corny, especially the first one, and his reaction to Apollo's death was great. President lady was excellent too. I like the 'new' Starbuck. Still as arrogant as the old one but not as annoying. It's good to see an actual, strong female character and this series is replete with them. Apollo's angst with his father made his character a lot more interesting, and I'm rather intrigued by a comment by Jamie Bamber that Apollo doesn't really like himself or something to the effect.
The special effects were very well done, with nothing really jarring like some films I could name... Plot wise, it was very coherent, though I'd sort of like to know when all twelve colonies were destroyed since they only mention the destruction of five of them. Ah well. I was impressed with how the attack/war was portrayed since in the old series it was so sudden you got very little time to react, but here it was thrown in your face and you really thought, "oh shit, people are dying".
There's one scene that was horribly edited (Adama and Apollo's father-son confrontation), and the director seemed a bit too fond of the 360 degree camera effect (Note to all directors: Once around the roundabout is enough, thank you.) but other than that the directing was good.
The 'sexing' up of the show I don't begrudge, in fact it either made me giggle or go aww. That woman in the red dress, Number 6, could get very annoying with time, but not over such a short period. I liked all the other relationships, though I'm somewhat afraid to read any fanfic pairing Starbuck and Apollo since I like them much better as friends. The new 'human' cylons I sort of shrug over. It was the logical thing to do, and it will work and make for much standard fare, though it'll be interesting to see if they keep the idea as entertaining in the future.
I think it might have been the dress uniforms, but I kept thinking of Babylon 5 while I was watching the show, and I can see even more similarities now that I think of it. Interesting.
I'm not sure how the series will transfer to smaller episodes. It largely depends on the quality of the scripts, since it's now interesting plots and character development that will keep me interested.
I really don't have many fond memories of the early series, excepting the plot which I always thought was cool, and which has been preserved, actually, improved. I loved to watch parts of it so I could laugh at the costumes, but other than the first episode, I've never actually been able to sit through a full episode of the old series since I would lose interest. I remember liking Starbuck better than Apollo, but that really wasn't saying much. So yeah, the point is, I don't give a fig about the older series.
The new series hasn't a single bad actor, not even a bad supporting one which was a pleasant surprise. Jamie Bamber needs to work on his American accent a bit (he tends to pause in random places, even though his pronunciation is perfect, which is a bit distracting when you're used to his normal accent), but I suspect he'll get better at it over time since he was doing rather well in the first place. Everyone seemed excellently cast with the possible exception of that little kid whose name I can't remember, but since he was barely in the show, who knows?
Whoever wrote the script spent a lot of time on characterization amidst the action, which made for a very balanced script. People are always at their best or their worst when their world is being destroyed (rather literally this time) and it shows, which is a point in their favour since I don't recall there being *that* much grief in the old BG when that happened. This show is a lot more realistic, something I enjoyed.
The guy who plays Adama is a really good actor who's lucky to get really good lines. His speeches, as many tend to be in military situations on tv shows, weren't corny, especially the first one, and his reaction to Apollo's death was great. President lady was excellent too. I like the 'new' Starbuck. Still as arrogant as the old one but not as annoying. It's good to see an actual, strong female character and this series is replete with them. Apollo's angst with his father made his character a lot more interesting, and I'm rather intrigued by a comment by Jamie Bamber that Apollo doesn't really like himself or something to the effect.
The special effects were very well done, with nothing really jarring like some films I could name... Plot wise, it was very coherent, though I'd sort of like to know when all twelve colonies were destroyed since they only mention the destruction of five of them. Ah well. I was impressed with how the attack/war was portrayed since in the old series it was so sudden you got very little time to react, but here it was thrown in your face and you really thought, "oh shit, people are dying".
There's one scene that was horribly edited (Adama and Apollo's father-son confrontation), and the director seemed a bit too fond of the 360 degree camera effect (Note to all directors: Once around the roundabout is enough, thank you.) but other than that the directing was good.
The 'sexing' up of the show I don't begrudge, in fact it either made me giggle or go aww. That woman in the red dress, Number 6, could get very annoying with time, but not over such a short period. I liked all the other relationships, though I'm somewhat afraid to read any fanfic pairing Starbuck and Apollo since I like them much better as friends. The new 'human' cylons I sort of shrug over. It was the logical thing to do, and it will work and make for much standard fare, though it'll be interesting to see if they keep the idea as entertaining in the future.
I think it might have been the dress uniforms, but I kept thinking of Babylon 5 while I was watching the show, and I can see even more similarities now that I think of it. Interesting.
I'm not sure how the series will transfer to smaller episodes. It largely depends on the quality of the scripts, since it's now interesting plots and character development that will keep me interested.
