Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining)
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| Battlestar Galactica | |
|---|---|
 Battlestar Galactica title screen |
|
| Genre | Science fiction Drama |
| Creator(s) | Ronald D. Moore |
| Starring | Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park |
| Country of origin | United States United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 2 (mini-series), 52 (series to date), 10 (webisodes), 1 (DVD movie in production) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 42 minutes (approx.) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Sci Fi Channel (United States) |
| Original run | December 8-9, 2003 (mini-series) October 18, 2004 – present |
The Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, begun as a 1978 TV series, was "re-imagined" in 2003 in a TV miniseries. The miniseries was described as "re-imagined" not simply to avoid the negative connotations associated with the term 'remake', but because it marked a whole new direction for the franchise from the same premise, analogous to a "reboot" in comic books. The miniseries served as a backdoor pilot for a 2004 TV series which just finished its third season.
The first production to be set in the re-imagined universe was the miniseries first broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel on December 8, 2003. From that followed a regular television series which premiered on Sky One in the UK and Ireland on October 18, 2004 and on Sci Fi Channel in the U.S. on January 14, 2005. A spin-off prequel series called Caprica has been announced, as has a DVD movie, while a comic book series was released in 2006 by Dynamite Entertainment, featuring characters from the re-imagined show.
Contents |
[edit] History
Previous efforts to remake or continue the story of Battlestar Galactica by Tom DeSanto, Bryan Singer, and original series star Richard Hatch involved using either the original cast or the original characters and plot. None of these projects proceeded beyond the development stage.
Ronald D. Moore, executive producer and screenwriter of the new Battlestar Galactica, wrote in February 2003:
- "Here lies a slumbering giant, its name known to many, its voice remembered by but a few. For a brief moment, it strode the Earth, telling tall tales of things that never were, then stumbled over a rating point and fell into a deep sleep."
[edit] Re-imagining
The new Battlestar Galactica departs from the original in several ways. In terms of style and storytelling, it rejects the traditional televised science fiction styles of Star Trek (after which the original Battlestar Galactica series was conceived), in favor of what executive producer Ronald D. Moore calls "naturalistic science fiction". The new series emphasizes character drama in an edgy survivalist setting and has many of the characteristics of military science fiction, shedding the light-hearted action/adventure style of the original show. Among plot differences, the key characters of Starbuck and Boomer have been recast as female roles. The Cylons are the creation of Man, and a new breed of Cylon models now imitate humanoid appearance down to the cellular level.
Ronald D. Moore tackled the re-imagining with realism in mind, portraying the show's heroes as being part of a "flawed" humanity, and drawing inspiration from the September 11, 2001 attacks and their aftermath. In the re-imagined series many characters struggle with deep personal flaws; for example, Adama and his son have a profoundly dysfunctional relationship, while Colonel Tigh is an alcoholic. Their enemy is one capable of living amongst them unnoticed and willing to carry out suicide attacks, allowing an exploration of moral and ethical issues brought up by the War on Terrorism. The show has dealt with Cylon, and human, suicide bombers, the torture of prisoners, and a struggle motivated by intense religious differences. To add to this realism the creative direction also redesigned Galactica with a decidedly 'retro' look, approximating the function of an aircraft carrier, and using bullets and missiles instead of energy weapons such as lasers.
[edit] Comparison with the 1978 series
Among the most visible changes made from the older series are the new humanoid Cylon models and the differences in casting in terms of ethnicity and gender, most notably the character of Starbuck. The new series benefits from vastly improved special effects, thanks to computer-generated imagery which was not available during the time of the original series. Other changes to the look of the show include human culture in the Twelve Colonies now closely resembling contemporary 21st century Western culture, with names and costumes often indistinguishable from other television shows. This trend is also reflected in the technology used by the show's humans; in contrast to the original series' advanced weapons and futuristic feel, technology is now deliberately retro. The tone is also changed from a heroic fantasy to a more naturalistic survival narrative with many allusions, both subtle and obvious, to modern history and current events.
[edit] References to modern society
Time described Battlestar Galactica as "a ripping sci-fi allegory of the war on terror, complete with religious fundamentalists (here, genocidal robots called Cylons), sleeper cells, civil-liberties crackdowns and even a prisoner-torture scandal".[1] Throughout its run the re-imagined show has attempted to maintain its realism by referencing both familiar elements of real world modern history - Laura Roslin's swearing in on Colonial One directly "cited the swearing in of LBJ after the Kennedy assassination"[2] - and the developing political situation since the September 11, 2001 attacks. "Many people have drawn parallels between the Cylons and Al Qaeda"[3] and according to The Guardian "Battlestar Galactica is the only award-winning drama that dares tackle the war on terror".[4] The show has tackled "western paranoia about sleeper cells"[4] with stories involving both the reality and fear of Cylon suicide attacks and 'sleeper agents', these stories extensively "hinted at war-on-terrorism overtones"[5]. After 9/11, the original series' "broad premise - the human (read: American) military's struggles in the wake of a massive terrorist attack - suddenly gained resonance"[4] and let the show tackle issues like suicide bombings, torture - "evoking the darker side of the war on terror"[5] - and "civil liberties crackdowns"[4].
Executive producer Ronald D. Moore points out that the Cylons and Al Qaeda are not necessarily intended to be directly allegorical: "They have aspects of Al Qaeda, and they have aspects of the Catholic Church, and they have aspects of America",[3] and in contrast, with the New Caprica storyline the show's humans have been discussed as an allegory not for an America under attack, but for an occupied people mounting an insurgency, and turning to suicide bombings as a tactic. There is a consensus that with "its third season, the show has morphed into a stinging allegorical critique of America’s three-year occupation of Iraq"[6] as the "cameras record Cylon occupation raids on unsuspecting human civilians with the night-vision green familiar to any CNN viewer. And the reasoning of the Cylons is horrifically familiar: They would prefer not to be brutal, but they won't accept the failure of a glorious mission."[5] According to Slate "If this sounds like Iraq, it should", [5], and "In unmistakable terms, Battlestar: Galactica is telling viewers that insurgency (like, say, the one in Iraq) might have some moral flaws, such as the whole suicide bombing thing, but is ultimately virtuous and worthy of support."[5] The "really audacious stroke of this season was showing us a story about a suicide bomber from the point of view of the bomber and his comrades... because the cause of this terrorist was unquestioningly our own. We sympathize with the insurgents wholeheartedly."[2] If the Cylon occupying force is an allegory of the Coalition Forces in Iraq, then some of the other references are equally controversial, for example, the "scene of the shiny, terrifying Cylon centurions (a servant class of robots that actually look like robots) marching down the main road of New Caprica while the devastated colonists looked on was the Nazis marching into Paris."[2]
Although David Eick has said the production staff "don't need to say 'OK, let's do the episode where we're gonna do the Abu Ghraib scandal'", and points out that events depicted on New Caprica "are as much a story rooted in political tales like the Vichy France or Vietnam" rather than current events, he acknowledges that they "do gravitate in those directions when it comes to the storytelling".[4] This has led to the show addressing other current issues, such as abortion, the use of biological weapons, and labour rights.
[edit] Production
The special effects and space battles, produced by Zoic Studios, the company responsible for special effects on Firefly, are often deliberately misframed and out of focus to add to their realism, with muted sound to reflect the vacuum of space. Ships also follow the comparatively realistic Newtonian physics first seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey and brought to television by Space: Above and Beyond and Babylon 5.
Battlestar Galactica is funded and produced by American (and, in the case of the first season, British) companies. It is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and many of the stars — including Grace Park ("Boomer"/"Athena"), Tricia Helfer (Six), Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh), and Tahmoh Penikett (Karl "Helo" Agathon) — are Canadian. Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama), Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin), and Katee Sackhoff (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace) are American, while James Callis (Gaius Baltar) and Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama) are British. Most of the secondary actors, extras, and day players are Canadian, as are many guest stars, most notably the recurring roles played by Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle) and Nicki Clyne (Cally Tyrol).
[edit] Reception
When the miniseries aired on the SciFi channel in 2003, it was the highest-rated cable miniseries of that year. The miniseries' success led to the commission of a new ongoing television program, the first episode of which drew an estimated 850,000 viewers—an 8% multichannel viewer share—on its world premiere on Sky One in the UK & Ireland. The subsequent reimagined Battlestar Galactica TV series remains the highest rated original program in the Sci Fi Channel's history.
Among media critics, the miniseries and the subsequent weekly TV program have received critical acclaim. Many regard the new BSG to be superior to the original -- Time magazine declared in the spring of 2005 that the new show was one of the six best drama programs on television. It would proclaim the program the best show on television in December of the same year.[1] The American Film Institute named the show to its list of the ten best shows on television. Other mainstream publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone magazine, and Newsday also named the series one of the best on television for 2005. In 2006, the series won a prestigious Peabody Award in recognition of its creative excellence.
Among fans of the original (1978) Battlestar Galactica program, a small group loudly disapproved of the changes made to the show's creative direction and premise. Missing from the reimagined program are the sci-fi high-tech gadgets, interaction with other alien and human societies, and the upbeat ending of every episode. In the tradition of science fiction series such as Star Trek and Babylon 5, BSG examines social, moral, and ethical issues of human-society in allegory, however some say without the charm and light-heartedness of other sci-fi shows.
[edit] Series information
- Miniseries (2003)
- Regular television series (2004)
- "Caprica" prequel (not yet in production)
- DVD movie on Pegasus (Autumn 2007)
[edit] Episodes
[edit] DVD and online downloads
For the first season, thirteen episodes were produced and all have been made available on DVD in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. The second season consists of twenty episodes, all of which have been released on DVD in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. A third season of twenty episodes was given the greenlight, and it began airing on October 6, 2006 on the Sci-Fi channel in the United States.
In January, 2006, Apple's iTunes began offering the miniseries, season one, and season two episodes for purchase on its service. NBC Universal, the owner and distributor of the show, has provided a number of its shows for purchase to U.S. customers, to be released the day after the original broadcast.[1] All episodes of the series, as well as the miniseries, are available.
Downloadable podcasts for some episodes of season one and all episodes of season two are also available via iTunes and SciFi.com. SciFi.com also usually has an episode available for viewing on the website.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Best of 2005: Television", By James Poniewozik, Time, 16 December, 2005
- ^ a b c "Space Balls: While politicians spent a campaign season avoiding the big issues, TV's bravest series has been facing them in thrilling fashion.", By Laura Miller, Salon (online), 10 November, 2006
- ^ a b "Intergalactic Terror", By Gavin Edwards, Rolling Stone (online), 27 January, 2006
- ^ a b c d e "The final frontier", By Dan Martin, The Guardian, 13 January, 2007
- ^ a b c d e "Battlestar: Iraqtica. Does the hit television show support the Iraqi insurgency?", By Spencer Ackerman, Slate (online), 13 October, 2006
- ^ "Battlestar Galacticons", By Brad Reed, The American Prospect (online), 27 October, 2006
- David Bassom's Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion (Titan Books 2006, ISBN 1-84576-097-2)
[edit] External links
- Miniseries at the Internet Movie Database
- Regular series at the Internet Movie Database
- Sci Fi Channel website
- The Battlestar Galactica DVD Official Universal Studios Site
- Official Blog of Ron D. Moore
- Battlestar Galactica Wiki Comprehensive English language wiki guide; includes links to other language versions and covers the original series and Galactica 1980 as well.
