Wish I'd Said It

Weeds are flowers too - once you get to know them.

- A. A. Milne

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Battlestar Galactica

A few months ago, the son of a friend gave me the url for a website that was a storehouse of tv shows - some old, some pretty new. (I'll pass along that link at the end of this.)

Initially, I amused myself in off-hours by watching every episode of The Trailer Park Boys. The picture quality isn't great at this site but I enjoyed watching episodes I'd missed and re-watching some faves.

I'd heard some buzz about Battlestar Galactica over the last year or three but too late (I thought) to hop on the bandwagon. The series was well along by the time it flitted across my radar. (I know. I'm so darn hep. Anybody see that moving episode of Dobie Gillis last night?)

Anyway, this site has the first three seasons of BG and I started watching them a couple of weeks ago. I'm hooked. Despite the fact I never like Edward James Olmos, who plays the taciturn Captain; despite the fact some episodes lapse into melodrama; I'm well and truly caught.

The basic premise is a grabber: Humans created robot-like creatures called Cylons which eventually turned on their makers and all-but destroyed them. Only 50,000 humans are left, housed in a rag-tag flotilla of space ships, under the aegis of a single, beat up old battleship. The surviving humans are being hunted down relentlessly by Cylons, many of which have adopted human forms and infiltrated some of the ships.

The plot device that gives this series some extra pizzaz is the indication that some Cylons are becoming more human - are exhibiting signs of conscience. Is it possible they'll eventually find some common ground? Tune in next week....

Other random pluses: Mary McDonnell is terrific as the fragile, but tough-as-nails President. Donnelly Rhodes, a fine Canuck character actor, has a recurring role as a cigarette-smoking doctor. (Yeah, really!) The music is excellent, from the theme, to the insistent, throbbing drums that inject adrenaline into many of the chase and battle scenes.

If you liked Star Trek in any of its incarnations, you'll enjoy Battlestar Galactica - a terrific space opera with good and bad good guys and bad and good bad guys.

Check out lots of tv shows at TV Links.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Proof that someone was here. Is your counter working? :)

Frank Baron said...

It is now. Thanks anonymous.

By the way, you're my favourite poet of all time. :)

mogie222 said...

Isn't that the premise for Scientology?

Frank Baron said...

You got me mog. I thought it had something to do with disparging Brooke Shields and bouncing on Oprah's couch.

;)

ohdawno said...

Having watched the original BG years ago when the ex and I dated it's an interesting thing (to me at least) that not only have I replaced the ex with a new and improved version of husband but am watching new and the very much improved version of BG with said n&i hubby - and enjoying it more, too. The old one was just too cutsy/campy. What Lost in Space was to Star Trek.

And I adore Donnelly Rhodes - I remember when he was in my favorite soap opera The Young and the Restless back in the mid-70's. He died and left his mistress and widow to duke it out...but that's just wandering too far OT. You Canadians breed some great actor-types up there.

Frank Baron said...

Hiya dawno. Nice to hear from another fan of the show. I'm nearly done watching Season 2 and am already worried about when I'm done with the first three. How the heck am I gonna catch up with the current one?

I'll find a way. God bless Google and YouTube.