The original 'Battlestar Galactica' series from the 70s was, and still is, a lot of fun to watch and has a lot of great things, such as most of the production values, the music and the cast (especially loved Adama and Starbuck). Flaws and all, there is still a soft spot for the show.
At the same time, it was a long way from a flawless show, with the problems more noticeable to an adult audience, such as annoying child actors, the character of Muffit II, the tone not always being focused and too many homages that distracted from the main plot-line. When 'Battlestar Galactica' was good, it was great, as seen with "War of the Gods" which took a darker and bolder approach and ended up epitomising what the show is all about. When the show was not good, like with "The Young Lords", it was cringe-worthy.
There was the worry that this mini-series, or pilot to the 2004 re-boot, would be another 'Galactica 1980', which had one great episode in the final episode "The Return of Starbuck" and one great scene in the attack of the Cylons on Los Angeles but is down there as one of the most pointless and unnecessary shows ever made, not only making the mistakes as the original 'Battlestar Galactica' did but amplifying them and making more on the way.
No fear of that. For a pilot mini-series, 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) was pretty darn good, honestly was not expecting it to be this good. Whereas pilots tend to have a shaky finding-its-feet vibe, while still with things that could have been done better, 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) is enough to make one feel excited, rather than apprehensive, for what was to follow. Am going to go on a limb here, for me this was an improvement on the original 'Battlestar Galactica' and while clearly for an older and perhaps more adult audience perhaps a little more accessible.
In 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) the tone is much more consistent. It's dark, bold, moody and sombre compared to the more light-hearted and admittedly sometimes cheesy tone of the original, and while it was different it was interesting and avoided generally being clinical and cold (though it was occasionally in the early scenes). It clearly knows what tone it's trying to take, without trying to be too many things all at once which would fall into the traps of being bloated and under-explored, and what target audience it's aiming to appease to, without trying too hard to appeal to them. The characters have much more depth, with complex and nuanced personalities (the heroes have flaws as well as strengths, while the more villainous characters are more than standard villains with a sympathetic and humane edge while also being a threat). Only Tigh is a little flat.
The Cylons are more consistently characterised, being more of a threat rather than being indecisively written, and there are no annoying child actors or any character down there with the likes of Muffit II or Doctor Zee from 'Galactica 1980'.
Apart from some camera work that comes over as gimmicky and excessive, the production values are top notch, so much so that it felt out of place when it was aired on the Sci-Fi Channel with most of its output (more its movies than the long-running shows that aired) looking like direct to video fodder, and that's being kind. Mostly it's stylishly and atmospherically shot, the settings are more expansive and leaves one in awe and the special effects are not cheap and not repetitive or recycled. The music is haunting and moody with also with melancholy and nuanced pathos without being overly-bombastic or sappy, approaches that would have sounded wrong within the show.
Writing is as layered and complex as the characters, as well as being more focused tonally and the story-lines more consistent. It's very insightful and thought-provoking, and resists going into overload of cheese or mawkish sentimentality. While taking its time to develop, the story is still incredibly compelling with a lot going on while still being very much cohesive. There is no padding and the concept is always obvious with little getting in the way. The acting is very good, especially from dignified and authoritative Edward James Olmos and a heartfelt Mary McDonnell. A female and more abrasive Starbuck did take getting used to at first and did need toning down at first, but generally the sass and toughness of the character was entertaining and Katee Sackoff did very well bringing that out.
Overall, fans of the original show will be, and have been, put off by the wildly different feel of the show. But for other people who either liked the original while also acknowledging its flaws (like me) or didn't care for it, the different feel was, or will be, a welcome change due to having more depth and a more focused tone.
9/10 Bethany Cox
At the same time, it was a long way from a flawless show, with the problems more noticeable to an adult audience, such as annoying child actors, the character of Muffit II, the tone not always being focused and too many homages that distracted from the main plot-line. When 'Battlestar Galactica' was good, it was great, as seen with "War of the Gods" which took a darker and bolder approach and ended up epitomising what the show is all about. When the show was not good, like with "The Young Lords", it was cringe-worthy.
There was the worry that this mini-series, or pilot to the 2004 re-boot, would be another 'Galactica 1980', which had one great episode in the final episode "The Return of Starbuck" and one great scene in the attack of the Cylons on Los Angeles but is down there as one of the most pointless and unnecessary shows ever made, not only making the mistakes as the original 'Battlestar Galactica' did but amplifying them and making more on the way.
No fear of that. For a pilot mini-series, 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) was pretty darn good, honestly was not expecting it to be this good. Whereas pilots tend to have a shaky finding-its-feet vibe, while still with things that could have been done better, 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) is enough to make one feel excited, rather than apprehensive, for what was to follow. Am going to go on a limb here, for me this was an improvement on the original 'Battlestar Galactica' and while clearly for an older and perhaps more adult audience perhaps a little more accessible.
In 'Battlestar Galactica' (2003) the tone is much more consistent. It's dark, bold, moody and sombre compared to the more light-hearted and admittedly sometimes cheesy tone of the original, and while it was different it was interesting and avoided generally being clinical and cold (though it was occasionally in the early scenes). It clearly knows what tone it's trying to take, without trying to be too many things all at once which would fall into the traps of being bloated and under-explored, and what target audience it's aiming to appease to, without trying too hard to appeal to them. The characters have much more depth, with complex and nuanced personalities (the heroes have flaws as well as strengths, while the more villainous characters are more than standard villains with a sympathetic and humane edge while also being a threat). Only Tigh is a little flat.
The Cylons are more consistently characterised, being more of a threat rather than being indecisively written, and there are no annoying child actors or any character down there with the likes of Muffit II or Doctor Zee from 'Galactica 1980'.
Apart from some camera work that comes over as gimmicky and excessive, the production values are top notch, so much so that it felt out of place when it was aired on the Sci-Fi Channel with most of its output (more its movies than the long-running shows that aired) looking like direct to video fodder, and that's being kind. Mostly it's stylishly and atmospherically shot, the settings are more expansive and leaves one in awe and the special effects are not cheap and not repetitive or recycled. The music is haunting and moody with also with melancholy and nuanced pathos without being overly-bombastic or sappy, approaches that would have sounded wrong within the show.
Writing is as layered and complex as the characters, as well as being more focused tonally and the story-lines more consistent. It's very insightful and thought-provoking, and resists going into overload of cheese or mawkish sentimentality. While taking its time to develop, the story is still incredibly compelling with a lot going on while still being very much cohesive. There is no padding and the concept is always obvious with little getting in the way. The acting is very good, especially from dignified and authoritative Edward James Olmos and a heartfelt Mary McDonnell. A female and more abrasive Starbuck did take getting used to at first and did need toning down at first, but generally the sass and toughness of the character was entertaining and Katee Sackoff did very well bringing that out.
Overall, fans of the original show will be, and have been, put off by the wildly different feel of the show. But for other people who either liked the original while also acknowledging its flaws (like me) or didn't care for it, the different feel was, or will be, a welcome change due to having more depth and a more focused tone.
9/10 Bethany Cox