In the brave new world of the 21st century this Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is a very different animal. Some of the weird Mormon elements have been retained, like a lost tribe of people who long ago separated themselves and left for an unknown place. The basic story is the same...a race of robot-creatures destroy most of humanity, the small group of human survivors flee in spaceships and begin their search for the lost tribe, which has settled on the mythological place called "Earth. " Other elements of the original series are present, the Commander of the Battlestar Galactica is named Adama, his son is a pilot named Apollo, other pilots are named Athena, Starbuck, etc. Before the Cylon destruction they lived on worlds named after their tribes, loose interpretations of our astrological symbols, i.e. Caprica, (Capricorn) Picon, (Pisces) etc.
That's where the comparison ends, as the modern series goes in a whole new direction. The religious element has been expanded, creating two new detailed--and conflicting--religions. The theology of the Cylons is monotheistic, and the humans worship a pantheon of gods. The Cylons are no longer just shiny robots, they've evolved to look exactly like us. This means there are Cylon infiltrators among the humans, some of which are "sleepers" and unaware of their true nature until their real memories are awakened. Humans and Cylons crossbreed. Life is pretty crazy in the BSG space fleet.
Like most great science fiction, BSG uses all these elements to ask hard questions and provide a
social commentary. They speculate about what it means to be human, since the evolved Cylons are so similar, some defect to the humans. Of course, some humans then defect to the Cylons. Religion drives conflict, with the Cylons claiming to follow the one true God as they try to wipe out humanity. Humans then pray to the Lords of Kobol before flying into combat to destroy Cylons. Amen.In contrast to the original series, the humans aren't all good guys, and humanity itself is possibly unworthy to survive. Starbuck, as you can guess by her picture here, is a hard-drinking chick. She occasionally punches her Commanding Officer and is responsible for killing other pilots through dereliction of duty. She isn't the only drinker, the second-in-command is an alcoholic. Humans sleep around, married or not. (sometimes with Cylons, who use sex to lure humans into betrayals. The female cylon models are totally hot. ) They all curse liberally , the word "frack" is equivalent to...well, you can guess. President Laura Roslin orders so many summary executions by tossing people into space, her nickname is "airlock". If she's in a good mood, maybe she'll authorize a kangaroo court, then shove the defendant out the airlock. The Vice President is an ex-terrorist. There is a flourishing black market among the fleet, child prostitution, treason, rigged elections, and other ills of humanity. To top it off the military occasionally shoots rioting civilians. What fun! The music is a great addition and reflects the series. There are lots of percussive sections, interspersed with haunting melodies, and vocals sung in Sanskrit. The entire tone of the series is dark, both thematically and visually. The eight-minute overview, however, is maniacally frakkin' funny.
So, tonight, after more than a year, I hope I'll see 1) why four "human" characters began hearing Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" in their heads just before their hidden Cylon memories were triggered. 2) What happens during the reunion between Starbuck (recently back from the dead) and her husband (recently realized he's a Cylon). Those two kids have a lot to talk about. 3) What will happen to the main human traitor, who is constantly advised by an imaginary Cylon only he can see and hear. 4) What other ancient religious scriptures the President will fulfill, since she's been having religious visions--again.
To make sure nothing interrupted my little three-day obsession, I stockpiled supplies---frozen foods, diet Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper, and pretzels. Food for the cats. And I have plenty of time to make lengthy blog posts while keeping one eye on the TV. Life is good, in an unhealthy sci-fi geek way. It could be worse, I suppose, I could be hooked on World of Warcraft... some of those people never see daylight again.
