I grew up as a fan of the old series “Battlestar Galactica.” As such, when I learned of a remake that was gearing up to be released on the Sci-Fi channel, I was amongst the first to jump on the bandwagon and cry, “Foul!” Generally, I’m not a big fan of remakes of nay kind, because it is rare that they can ever recapture whatever it was that made the original so good, or at least popular. Again and again, big screen versions come out of old TV series and I can count the good ones on one hand. What didn’t help in the case of “Battlestar Galactica”, was that Richard Hatch (who played Apollo in the original series) had been trying to bring it back ever since it was cancelled. When news started getting out about the remake and the fact that Hatch wasn’t going to be involved, he along with fans of the series started their own little ‘war of words.’ Most of the fans swore they wouldn’t bother watching it. But then… things got worse. It was learned that one of the beloved characters from the original series, Starbuck (who was played by Dirk Benedict), was going to be changed to a female.

Fans called it a travesty, Sci-Fi’s press reps claimed it would make the series edgier. Even the old tin can Cylon Warriors were being replaced by newer human-looking antagonists.

Before I go any further, I’m going to consider that you might never have heard of, or seen the original “Battlestar Galactica.” Just to give you a quick clue-in, the series itself revolved around a group of spaceships that housed the last remaining members of a very human-like race. Led by General Adama (Lorne Green), these refugees were on the run from the villainous Cylons, whose robotic warrior henchman were relentless in their pursuit. The refugee’s main goal, aside from simply staying alive, was to find a far-off planet where they might find more of their people. A planet called… Earth.

The series itself was very short-lived, lasting only 24 episodes. But it made a strong enough impact on sci-fi fans as to elicit fan clubs, fanzines, conventions and the like. There was even a follow-up series that fortunately did not last long. I watched the series when it originally aired way back in 1978, (which I’m sure dates me), and in spite of some of the lower budget effects I was hooked in just like the rest. And even though the Cylon Warriors looked a bit like tin man rejects from “The Wizard of Oz”, they still cut an imposing enough figure that left a lasting impression on my young mind. This was why I originally jumped on the bandwagon that was against this remake.

However, bandwagon or not, I was determined to watch the new Mini-Series remake when it aired. I figured there was no way I could really talk bad about it, unless I saw it firsthand. That’s when the trouble began. I watched the first part and quickly found myself getting sucked into it totally. Within the first few minutes, I got the feeling that it might be better than I expected, so I needed to give it a chance. As I watched, I started to disassociate it from the original series (something I’ve had to do a lot lately with DVD releases), and found myself enjoying it quite a bit.

This new “Battlestar Galactica” is by no means perfect, but over the course of the Mini-Series, it painted a much darker picture of the original storyline. I mentioned the ‘new’ Cylon Warriors, who now looked more like humans (and in some cases… very hot looking humans), and they were actually quite disturbing. It also made sense that they would find infiltration easier if they looked like those they wished to infiltrate. Thin of them in terms of “Terminators.” They weren’t that robotic in nature, but were as cold and calculated as they were required to be in order to get the job done. When the main one we are introduced to shows her true face, figuratively speaking, to her human lover it is extremely chilling.

I would like to add that I was rather disturbed by a scene prior to this, where we see the Cylon out in public. She is apparently going on about her ‘normal’ activities and comes across a baby crying in a stroller. After holding him for a minute she leans in close to speak to the baby, and while the parents aren’t looking… stops his crying. While that scene did worked in terms of making the viewer hate this Cylon in particular, I think it went a bit too far. I have my own little girl who is coming up on 16 months, and it’s bad enough that I have to watch the news and hear about some of the atrocities that some parents subject their children to, I don’t think I need to see it in my entertainment. That little scene sticks out in mind more than the rest of the Mini-Series.

Aside from that one little personal nitpick, the new “Battlestar Galactica” was terrific and left me wanting more. Fortunately, the Sci-Fi channel has now picked it up as a series, which is set to air at the beginning of 2005. (And to try and set thing right with fans, has included Richard Hatch as a major character in a few of the earlier episodes.) Timed to coincide shortly before the premiere of the new series, Universal is releasing a DVD of the Mini-Series.

It offers up the entire 3 hour run, utilizing both sides of a single disc. There isn’t a ton of extras on this disc, but there is a commentary by director Michael Rymer and Executive Producers David Eick and Ron Moore. Plus you get a better than average “Making of…” documentary and some deleted scenes. The documentary ran a little over 40 minutes and had a ton of interview materials (including some with Richard Hatch), and made a lot of contrasts and comparisons between old and new. There is even some footage shot at a sci-fi convention panel. The deleted scenes run about 20 minutes and include several effects shots that were unfinished. The only problem I had with these was that they were all run together, you couldn’t access them separately.
Strangely enough, I’m sold on the new “Battlestar Galactica.” Those who are big fans of the original need to do as I did and simply disassociate it from the old series. Treat it as something new and enjoy it for what it is, not what you think it should have been.

Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell
Extras: Making of Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 11/28/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Battlestar Galactica: The Mini Series a B.