Battlestar Galactica Season One
November 2005 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

The Cylons were created by man.
They rebelled.
They evolved.
They look and feel human. Some are programmed to think they are human.
There are many copies.
And they have a plan.

So begins that rarest of beasts, a sequel that utterly outshines its progenitor. This 2004 Battlestar Galactica is less a remake of the original series than a complete rethinking. Only the bare bones have been used to grant a little familiarity. Think of it as the film equivalent of what Ford is doing with the new Mustang vis à vis the original Pony car.

The story is so delicious in its twists and turns, I hate to give away a single plot device. The premise involves an age-old conflict between the human race and a population of robots, the Cylons, created by the humans. After years of strife in which the humans built huge Battlestars to beat back the Cylons, they came to an uneasy truce. This included a promise to meet once every year to make sure the truce was still intact. It has been 40 years since the Cylons have been seen or have shown up at the truce meeting. The humans decide to retire all of their Battlestars and pursue a life of peace on their 12 colonies. Then, without warning, the Cylons attack, killing nearly every human being in all of the colonies and destroying all of the retired Battlestars except one -- Galactica.

The 50,000 remaining humans band together in a group of ships and head for safety. Except for one big problem. **SPOILER FOR THE FIRST DISC** The Cylons have figured out how to look like humans, and they have placed one (or more) Cylons on board the Galactica. **END SPOILER**

When the Sci-Fi Channel premiered the mini-series on December 8, 2003, no one could foresee the juggernaut of dramatic power, opulent production values, brilliant writing and superb team acting that would emerge during the first year of the program. While there are plenty of gee-whiz sci-fi effects for those inclined, Battlestar Galactica is really an adult drama packed with profoundly emotional situations. These include coping with alcoholism, dealing with the death of a child, facing cancer, deciding on deeply divided loyalties, and being forced to make choices that would make Solomon weep. Rather than giving the audience the chance to turns its head, the show forces it to experience the situations.

There’s also a good deal of hot romance going on. All 5’10" of Tricia Helfer provide much of the prurient interest as she parades around demonstrating why she was one of the top Victoria’s Secret models. She also displays tasty acting talent as Number 6, the Machiavellian monkey on the back of Dr. Gaius Baltar (played with superb paranoia by James Callis).

The rest of the cast is outstanding: Edward James Olmos as the war-weary Commander Adama; Mary McDonnell as the Secretary of Education forced to be President; Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck (yes, Starbuck is a woman here) who plays an über-Ripley on steroids, but with a sad, romantic side that makes her even more lovely than her pretty looks; and Grace Park, who lights up the screen every time she makes an appearance as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. I could go on, actor by actor, but the point is, few theatrical movies I see today are as strongly cast as this television show. Not many movies are as beautifully photographed, either. And almost none have the quality of set design.

The first disc of the five-DVD set is the original mini-series. The photography looks as though no one was quite sure whether or not the pilot would be picked up for a full season. Focus and lighting problems lead you to believe that someone rushed the project. Nonetheless, the story, set designs and acting carry the day. From there, everything gets better. The main reason: the mini-series was shot on 35mm film, while the entire series is being shot on high-definition tape. The picture goes from acceptable on the first disc to extraordinary on the rest. The music also shows drastic improvement as it switches from the work of competent composer Richard Gibbs to 26-year-old wünderkind Bear McCreary. Remember that name -- he has the rare ability to elevate scenes with everything from sublimely heartbreaking to crushingly frightening music.

The extras are interesting, mostly tech-y stuff of interest to trivia-holics. As good as the DVDs look, there is (or, perhaps, was) one slightly better way to see the series. Last summer, Universal HD, the DirecTV hi-def channel, showed the mini-series and all 13 episodes from the first season in high definition. It was breathtaking. Watch for a possible repeat this coming summer.

When I see television dramas like Battlestar Galactica, 24, MI-5 or Prison Break, I start speculating. Could we be entering a new Golden Age of television? With the advent of razor-sharp high-definition video and the availability of surround sound to even the most rudimentary of home theaters, added to the sheer terror executives in the TV industry are feeling over the rapid and dramatic loss of viewers, we seem to be the beneficiaries of a sudden rush of creativity.

Make no mistake, Battlestar Galactica is some of the best television you’ll ever see, and it transcends 90% of what you’d see in a movie theater. If it can maintain the level of excellence it has shown in its first two years, Battlestar Galactica will rank with Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X-Files as historic high points in televised science fiction. Don’t miss it.

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