Galactica

Finally had time this evening to watch the first hour or so of the 2003 miniseries version of Battlestar Galactica on DVD, which of course I'd heard was an improvement on the original TV space opera. And so it is, judging from the little I've seen.

I was 17 when the original began, and watched it for a time, until its persistently lame storytelling discouraged me. That, and the nagging questions -- why, if the Cylons are machines, aren't they simply built into their spaceships? How was it that, after the destruction of humanity, the refugees led by the Galactica kept running across places inhabited by people? The show became a good idea that suffered in the execution.

Not that it was worthless. The model Galactica itself was a fine example of the modelmaker's art, and the sets were dark and somewhat forbidding, unlike the backlit corridors of the ever-sunny Enterprise. The name Galactica was also a good one, as were many of the character names, such as Count Baltar. If that's not a villainously good name, I don't know what is.

As the original Baltar, actor John Colicos (d. 2000) did a fine turn as a sinister quisling of a character, his motive a lust for power over his fellow men. I've read that the part helped Colicos' career considerably, and was glad to learn it. As for the new Baltar (James Callis) -- hard to say, haven't seen enough of the show yet. In the beginning, though, it's his weakness for nooky that proves the downfall of humanity, seduced as he is by a murderous blonde Cylon in a red dress, something the old show never had.