Monday, October 26, 2009
Battlestar Galactica: A Grim and Gritty Thrill Ride
7:19 PM | 
Posted by
Rocketman2387
The other day I heard the song All Along The Watchtower and first it made me imagine Jimi Hendrix rocking out on stage and secondly it reminded me of the sci-fi drama Battlestar Galactica. A show that used this song, originally composed by Bob Dylan as a plot device to resolve its major conflict. However before I go too far ahead of myself and ruin the entire show we're going to take a step back to give some background. If you haven't seen it Battlestar Galactica the 2003 version not the 1978, is a show about a civilization of humans that live on a series of planets known as the Twelve Colonies. In the past, the Colonies had been at war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons.
The Cybernetic Beings known as the Cylons who can take robotic or human form
Based on this description Battlestar Galactica comes across as dark, dim and gritty which at points is true but what got me to watch every week was that amidst this threat of extinction the show still had its inspirational moments. These moments included the Commander of Galactica, Bill Adama giving his son a command position, the crew of Galactica coming together to build a stealth ship in order to boost morale, characters sharing their feelings towards one another and the humans thwarting off Cylon attacks. The fact that these positive events were able to still happen for the characters on Battlestar Galactica despite losing everything gave me an emotional connection to the show because it showed that if these characters can stare down the barrel of extinction, then I can deal with a tough week of College Finals.
Think you're having a bad day? Try being Bill Adama, the man who stands between the human race and extinction.
Then, after following the journey through these three acts we are left with a action packed retelling of the story of creation that in my opinion will knock your socks off. However I can't go into more detail of how Battlestar is a retelling of the classic Bible story of Genesis because it will ruin your incentive to watch the show but if you really want an explanation check out Battlestar Galactica, believe me it's totally worth it.
Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1-4 are available on DVD.
The Cybernetic Beings known as the Cylons who can take robotic or human form
However years later, the Cylons launch a sudden ambush on the Colonies, laying waste to the planets and devastating their populations. The handful of human survivors flee into space aboard any spacecraft they can reach creating a fleet led by the only the military ship to survive the ambush Battlestar Galactica. After these events most of the sci-fi elements fade leaving us with a drama about the crew of Galactica dealing with the tragic annihilation of their race and the search for a new home called Earth, which may or may not exist.
Battlestar Galactica, the only military ship to survive the Cylon attack
Battlestar Galactica, the only military ship to survive the Cylon attackBased on this description Battlestar Galactica comes across as dark, dim and gritty which at points is true but what got me to watch every week was that amidst this threat of extinction the show still had its inspirational moments. These moments included the Commander of Galactica, Bill Adama giving his son a command position, the crew of Galactica coming together to build a stealth ship in order to boost morale, characters sharing their feelings towards one another and the humans thwarting off Cylon attacks. The fact that these positive events were able to still happen for the characters on Battlestar Galactica despite losing everything gave me an emotional connection to the show because it showed that if these characters can stare down the barrel of extinction, then I can deal with a tough week of College Finals.
Think you're having a bad day? Try being Bill Adama, the man who stands between the human race and extinction.The other great thing about Battlestar is that it is a show that already has a set ending. This means that each episode is about pushing the story to the Series Finale at the end of season 4, preventing Battlestar from have a long string of episodes where the characters don't move forward like with many Network shows. At the same time, the writers using this structure makes the show feel like a good movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat rather than a slowly building TV show. Battlestar even has the structure of a movie with season 1 being like act one by introducing the characters and conflict, season 2 and 3 exists as act two by following the crew of Galactica as they descend into a point of darkness and season 4 represents act three by showing the crew's rise out of the darkness leading into a somewhat happy ending.
The many characters of Battlestar Galactica who we follow on a four Season or three Act journey.
The many characters of Battlestar Galactica who we follow on a four Season or three Act journey.Then, after following the journey through these three acts we are left with a action packed retelling of the story of creation that in my opinion will knock your socks off. However I can't go into more detail of how Battlestar is a retelling of the classic Bible story of Genesis because it will ruin your incentive to watch the show but if you really want an explanation check out Battlestar Galactica, believe me it's totally worth it.
Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1-4 are available on DVD.
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