Summary: The human race is threatened by an old enemy, with a new face. The Cylons have recreated themselves using human form and have attacked the survivors of the original twelve colonies of Kobol. The remaining humans have two choices, taking the fight to the enemy and facing extermination or fleeing and finding a new home.

This feature-length pilot episode of the sci-fi TV series introduces viewers to a band of intergalactic warriors struggling to protect an Earth-bound flotilla against the bloodthirsty Cylons. In the forty years since the colonies of Kobol originally fought the Cylons, the robot race have been able to evolve human form and are seeking to eradicate the true humans in the most fierce and deadliest of astronomical battles.

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Reviewed by: philreyn
Posted on September 28, 2005 1:58 PM

Richard Hatch, One of the stars from the original 70's BSG films, and series produced a trailer suggesting that a new series would be set 20 years on from the original. This request was canned in favour of this production, and the following series. Artistic licence put the time zone years after the first Cylon conflict giving reference to the old vipers and so on. Yet, the new series maintains all the old character names! This series has a more serious edge, and the tension is high. It's good, and I have purchased all new episodes so far.

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Despite voluminous protest and nitpicking criticism from loyal fans of the original TV series (1978-80), the 2003 version of Battlestar Galacticaturned out surprisingly well for viewers with a tolerance for change. Originally broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channelin December 2003 and conceived by Star Trek: The Next Generationalumnus Ronald D Moore as the pilot episode for a "reimagined" TV series, this four-hour mini series reprises the basic premise of the original show while giving a major overhaul to several characters and plot elements. Gone are the flowing robes, disco-era hairstyles, and mock-Egyptian fighter helmets, and thankfully there's not a fluffy "Daggit" in sight... at least, not yet. Also missing are the "chrome toaster" Cylons, replaced by new, more formidable varieties of the invading Cylon enemy, including "Number Six" in hot red skirts and ample cleavage, who tricks the human genius Baltar! into a scenario that nearly annihilates the human inhabitants of 12 colonial worlds.

Thus begins the epic battle and eventual retreat of a "ragtag fleet" of humans, searching for the mythical planet Earth under the military command of Adama (Edward James Olmos) and the political leadership of Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a former secretary of education, 43rd in line of succession and rising to the occasion of her unexpected Presidency. As directed by Michael Rymer (Queen of the Damned), Moore's ambitious teleplay also includes newfangled CGI space battles (featuring "handheld" camera moves and subdued sound effects for "enhanced realism"), a dysfunctional Col. Tigh (Michael Hogan) who's provoked into action by the insubordinate Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), and a father-son reunion steeped in familial tragedy. To fans of the original BGseries, many of these changes are blasphemous, but for the most part they work--including an ominous cliffhanger ending. The remade Galacticais brimming with smart, well-drawn characters ripe with dramati! c potential, and it readily qualifies as serious-minded science fiction, even as it gives BGloyalists ample fuel for lively debate. --Jeff Shannon

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	2003
Release Date:	March 1, 2004
Runtime:	180 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	822 304 1
Keywords:	Battlestar, Galactica, General, Series, Fiction, Science, Mini, Tv, Horror, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction