Battlestar Galactica

Positive shields now!!!

Now wait just a centon, this ain't your old Battlestar Bonanza. Ronald Moore, a writer from Star Trek TNG, was given the reins to remake the series with a new cast, new look (mostly) and new story (mostly). In fact, this show bears more a resemblance to Space Above and Beyond than the original BSG.

In a world where an old TV show or movie is being remade every 20 minutes, the new BSG stands out as a high point of writing, acting, directing and effects. The Season 1 finale last night left me saying "Wow!", but just about every episode had the same impact. It's really great stuff.

It's not all new though-- they kept it "old school" in all the right places. The vipers look like vipers. The battlestars look like battlestars. The rag-tag fugitive fleet looks like the rag-tag fugitive fleet. It's all frackin' there!

The main characters have the same names as the original (Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, Tie, Boomer, Baltar, etc.). But they look and behave quite differently that the original, which is quite refreshing.

The special effects are a biiiig jump from the 1970's show, which were pretty damn good for that era. At least now they don't have to re-use the same viper fly-by shot every episode. They can just render another one with Lightwave.

In addition to the usual photos, promos and message board, Scifi.com also has Ron Moore's blog and an audio commentary you can listen while you watch the show! Neato!

If you haven't seen it, check it out. They'll probably be rerunning Season 1 until 2 starts up this summer.