Who’s Snarling Now?

Hot on the heels of the news that Lost is to run for just three more, 16-episode series, I now hear on the grapevine that the fourth series of Battlestar Galactica is to be the last. While my initial reaction was one of abject dispondancy, I have now had time to reflect about this and can feel compelled to conclude that this is probably “a good thing”�. “Heresy!”, I hear you cry! Well, not quite. Having seen the series finale of three last week I can only feel even more encouraged that the

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Tags: Adama, All-Along-The-Watchtower, Apollo, Baltar, Battlestar Galactica, Crossroads, Cylons, Roslin, Sky, Starbuck

President Roslin Faces Up To The Challenges

Now that the crew of Galactica are leading the fleet back on their quest for Earth, the series seems to be settling into something of a routine.� There have been three episodes shown on SkyOne since the last report from Fazzinchi Towers and they’ve all been pretty great.� In “Torn”, we see former rivals Tigh and Starbuck continue their bitter backlash against anyone in their vague vicinity, which finally leads to a confrontation with Adama who gives each of the pair an ultimatum

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Tags: A-Measure-Of-Salvation, Adama, Apollo, Athena, Babylon-5, Baltar, Battlestar Galactica, Bulldog, Cylon, Helo, Starbuck, Tigh, Torn

Come In Number Six

The second part of “Exodus” (the fourth installment of series 3 in the new Battlestar Galactica) saw the end of the occupation of New Caprica… the clue was in the title I guess, and there was plenty more intrigue as the last remnants of humanity continued to battle against their oppressors.� The Baltar storyline is wonderfully underplayed (by Jamie Callis) as his initial self-absorbed personality has been manipulated and coerced by the cylons to the extent that he was seen here

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Tags: Adama, Babylon-5, Baltar, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Exodus, Jamie-Callis, Saul-Tigh, Sci Fi, SkyOne

Number Six pulls all the strings

My regular reader will know that Doctor Who is the finest science-fiction programme on the air at the moment, and in normal times this would be a statement that I could make with barely a moment’s hesitation. However, these are not normal times and there is hesitation because not just one, but two other shows are also battling for this most esteemed of crowns. Firstly, there is Lost series 2, which has just started in the UK but I shall leave that for another time. This post is here because Battlestar Galactica has been rattling along on Sky One with barely a mention from me for weeks on end and I intend amend that right now. Once the early season arc had essentially resolved itself and all the players were back in their positions aboard Galactica, I was expecting the season to settle into a rythm of stand-alone episodes that would trot out the tried and tested staple diet of American sci-fi drama series. I was wrong.

Out of the blue, a second Battlestar emerged from debris of the Cylon attack on the colonies. The Pegasus, under the command of the Admiral Cain, joined the fleet and disrupted the status quo once again. Firstly, military order dictated that the Admiral took control of the fleet over and above Adama, and secondly, their methods of survival differed hugely from the unsteady alliance that had been formed between the president and ragtag ships of the fleet. Just when you think you know where you stand, this series turns itself on its head. There are so many storylines interweaving their way through the series that it is difficult to try and summarise the action. Each character is going through their own personal voyage of discovery that reflects the struggle and uncertainty in which the ship, Galactica finds itself.
This is where the show succeeds, it is all about the people and their struggle against oppression, depression, aggression, and most other ~essions you can think of. It doesn’t have the laughs and lightness of touch of Doctor Who, and it doesn’t have the puzzling what-happens-next, what-happened-then mysteries of Lost. What it does have is a gritty, human story of survival against the odds and a strong narrative set against a back-drop of political intrigue, which just happens to feature some of the greatest ever space battles and sci-fi elements seen on our screens… well… ever.

Tags: Adama, Battlestar Galactica, Cylons, SkyOne, The-Pegasus