With the new mini-series about a week away, I found myself playing the Xbox game today, and discovered something rather odd – some of the scenes that play out during the game’s opening cinematics are the exact same shots used in some of the battle sequences shown during the mini-series’ teaser trailers. Should we assume that Sci-Fi “borrowed” some of the game’s cut-scene footage to act as placeholders because the show’s actual FX shots weren’t ready? Or should be brace ourselves for some Xbox-stylee FX shots in the TV show next week?
Either way, repeating the combat shots is pretty funny in light of the way the much reviled original show did the same thing, week after week. Man, I saw that clip of the Cylon Raiders peeling off so many times that it’s burned into my synapses, likely alongside a bunch of those George Plimpton Intellivision ads.
I went to the screening of the first episode of the mini-series tonight. I expected the worst, but there are redeaming qualities. It’s definitely worth at least a TiVO slot.
Is that blonde Cylon chick supposed to be in the place of Cassiopeia? I think making Cylons look human is missing the point.
Yeah, but thanks to the genius of John Dykstra they would occasionally peel off to the left instead of the right. That just added a whole new flavor to using canned effects.
If you’re that guy who thought that the original Battlestar series marked the highpoint in sci-fi programming, then you are going to hate the new one. Personally, I watched the show but somehow never got attached to it (I guess I was too young), so I kept an open mind about the new series.
Yes, Starbuck is a woman. Yes, at least one of the cylons looks human (at least she’s super hot!).
But there’s some goodness in there. Lots of explosions (big explosions), some decent acting, good effects, and a story-line that is actually pretty interesting.
I loved the show when I was a kid, but rewatching a few episodes recently on Sci-Fi channel has convinced me that I simply had terrible taste in television back then. It’s also convinced me that television quality hasn’t really declined as much as people think it has–we just remember old shows more fondly, even when they weren’t actually very good. For instance, I also like Knight Rider as a kid, but I caught a bit of an episode recently and was appalled by how awful it was. I mean, the acting wasn’t just bad–it was porn movie bad.
Ben–
Of course you had terrible taste back then–you were a kid! Kids have a much higher tolerance for bad TV and movies. Let’s face it, the original BG was a pretty bad show.
Yeah, I was a big Lost in Space fan when I was 6 or 7. Then I went a number of years without seeing it, and then caught it again when I was about 13 or 14. I was aghast at how utterly terrible the show was.
(Sort of like trying some of those amazing C64 games we loved so much on an emulator…)
I thought Galactica was okay as a kid… There was little SF to choose from in those days, so we couldn’t be too picky. But even at 14 I realized that Galactica 1980 was one of the worst abominations to hit television. Anyone remember that one? The “Viper motorcycles?”
Exactly. Which is why I find all the protests about the changes in the new version rather odd. It’s not as if they’re altering some sacred text, like, for example, The Lord of the Rings. 
Yeah, exactly. I figure they’d have to try pretty damn hard to make it any worse than the original. Of course, I also don’t expect it to be much better, either. Sci-Fi channel has some good programming, but most of their original movies suck.
Do people actually think this? I can understand saying that TV 5 years ago was better than TV now, but does anyone actually think that TV 20 years ago was better than TV now? That’s absurd.
Well, comedy on TV was better 20-25 years ago, when there was a brief period between the time that everything was formula pap and everything became formula pap. We had All in the Family, the Jeffersons, Soap, and variety shows like The Carol Burnett Show. (And it was one of SNL’s three funny periods.) Nowadays everything is a variation on Friends or Full House and the best they attempt on a variety show is that Wayne Brady thing.
Agreed that the rest of TV is generally better than in those days, particularly SF stuff. Though I gotta say I miss my Quinn Martin Productions… “Act III: Barnaby Gets Some.”
I agree that those comedy shows were great, but how many really crappy comedy shows were there back then that we just don’t remember any more? I’ll bet a lot. And while I agree that most television comedy is formulaic pap, there’s also some good shows today. Like the Daily Show, and the Simpsons, and Family Guy (which Fox is reportedly bringing back), and Malcolm in the Middle, and Arrested Development (anyone else here watching this show? It’s hilarious).
I recently discovered the Secret to Making Comedy Shows that I will Like: No laugh track. For some reason, I find shows with laugh tracks really irritating. None of the comedy shows that I like have them.
A laugh track might have improved Battlestar Galactica.
I don’t about better, but it was certainly more daring. You couldn’t air All in the Family today, that’s for sure. And, man, Soap was great, wasn’t it? I see that they’re putting the series out on DVD now. First season’s available. I’ve gotta start buying those. I really want to see the Alien Bert storyline again.
OH GODDAMN. First they make Starbuck a girl, but go ahead and meet the new Boomer…
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/popup.asp?SubID=615&page=10&css=%2Fae%2Fgalactica.css
Blasphemy!
Blasphemy? She’s pretty damn fucking hot, and that’s saying something coming from me:
a). I’ve never been much into non-white chicks.
b). Any macho girls turn me off… guns, uniforms… whatever…
Dude, in the Battlestar Galactica I grew up with, Boomer looked like this…
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quadrant/1308/
Herb Jefferson Jr. was the coolest guy on the fuckin’ show. Or, at least, he tied with Starbuck. But far, far cooler than Apollo.
You can add bad games to that kid list too.