From the Chicago Sun Times, comes a great article about the first season of Battlestar Galactica including a cool list of 7 reasons why the new BSG is better than the old one. The critics really seemed to love the first season, and now that production has begun on season 2 (here in Vancouver by the way) I’m starting to see a lot more talk about the show on the web and I’ve noticed an increase in people searching on the term too.
7 Reasons Why the SciFi Channel’s Present-day “Galactica†Beats the Frak Out of the Original 1979 Series on NBC
1. The word “frak”
Forget the frakin’ FCC. The original series field-tested this f-word substitution and no one cocked a puritanical ear. Sci Fi’s version makes liberal use of the pseudo-curse, allowing its characters to sound, you know, real.
2. The best space shots ever on TV
It’s like Kubrick-vision. Every time we’re brought back to the setting of the ragtag fleet of remaining human spaceships, it’s via an arresting “2001: A Space Odyssey”-like shot with a very nervous zoom lens — and the most disquieting silence.
3. Flesh-and-blood Cylons
OK, it was a budget-minded decision, but it’s turned out to be kinda cool and seems to be driving the plot. We’d like to see more of the actual metal monsters, sure, but given the choice between those titanium toasters of ’79 and lithe looker Tricia Helfer … well, duh.
4. Starbuck’s a chick!
Original Starbuck Dirk Benedict’s smarmy smirks were a better foil to Mr. T’s constipated grunts on “The A Team.” In the new series, the character is still an antiauthoritarian space cowboy but one played by the tomboyish Katee Sackhoff. She’s shown real depth, too, and we can’t wait for more butt-kickin’ in season two.
5. Mary McDonnell
The underappreciated actress finds a nice niche playing the education secretary-turned-president of the 12 colonies. Life on Galactica is harried and stressful, but McDonnell’s subtly strong President Roslin inspires calm, faith and hope.
6. Apollo striking poses
Richard Hatch, the original Apollo, probably qualified as handsome in 1979. But the new series’ Jamie Bamber lives up to the character’s Greek god name. Here’s to a second season of those sleeveless uniforms!
7. Religion in the storyline
Amid calls for more “wholesome” programming (definitions vary widely), here’s a show that weaves in religious themes seamlessly and without evangelical bellowing. Not since “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” has spirituality been handled with as sharp an eye on the impact of a “higher power” (definitions vary widely).