Reviews

Okay, so last year this miniseries came on TV by the name of "BattleStar Galactica". I know, it sounds cheesy, it's a remake of some show from 1978; but really it's one of the most important films made about September 11th. It's a parable to our world, it's about a red lettered day in the life of a culture that has grown complacent with itself. It tells the story of the decisions we make ultimately having consequences and not really understanding who to blame in the wake of catastrophe that we unknowingly set in motion. The parallel to Al Qaeda comes in the form of creatures called "Cylons", which are machines we created to fight our wars that ultimately turned against us. The historical parallels are obvious, something in the aftermath of September 11th our leaders do not want to address; our region shaping actions, the creation of dictatorships and providing arms to people who would horrific things and get a pat on the back because they gave us what we wanted from their regions. The terrorists, or "Cylons" in this case, visit a series of horrors upon their creators that are very clearly a reference to the events of September 11th and the terrorism that followed. Cylons act as suicide bombers and deliver deadly projectiles, but the biggest and most obvious parallel is that they are religious zealots. Their belief in their god is the driving force for their genocide, the motivation that makes them selfless in their desire to exterminate us because they believe it is god's will that the human race be extinguished and replaced by it's children, the Cylons. They believe God wants this to be a measure of evolution and that it is part of the natural order of things. The film doesn't take a tone of condemnation of the Cylons, but neither does it empathize with them. It simply depicts real people, people like you and I, thrust into a situation that is far out of control and terrifying. And a situation we ultimately should look in the mirror and assess our part in. It doesn't sneeringly blame us either, but it reminds us that we cannot wash our hands of this situation and make hate effigies out of the parties who committed the act. Rather we need to look at the roots of our situation and understand that the road home isn't more of the behavior that got us where we are.

This is a brilliant example of relevant science fiction. The creators of this remake have managed to create scenario very much a mirror image of the mentality of a post-9/11 america. They managed to craft a race of villains that are terrifying on an intellectual level, as well as their nightmarish appearance. The Cylons in this version are our own creation, a sentient race of machines that have taken religion as their motivation for committing genocide. They believe it was God's mandate that they usurp us in the universe as a matter of evolution. Perhaps the greatest strength of this production, aside from being conceptually strong, is the solid performances the cast delivers. Nearly every character is someone we have known or imagined in our daily life, very believable people. People placed in an extraordinarily disastrous situation and forced to make some of the most brutal decisions they will ever face.

Smartly written and economically filmed, this is a production not to be missed. If you have the means watch it, rent or buy the DVD when it comes out. I know I will.

I could go on at length as to why this is the best installment in the next generation franchise. It resembles it Wrath of Khan cousin in several ways, but there is also something very new here. The idea of "nature versus nurture" with the two dichotomous sets of characters works surprisingly well; Stewart has a younger doppleganger while Data must interact with a prototype. I like the fact that they ignored Data's emotion chip for this trip out, giving his objective view on the mechanics of personal development was interesting. The action scenes were incredibly intense, the effects were the best Trek has had to date. Finally they show that these ships are postively brimming with weapons and can use them in torrents of fire, something that has been missing from Trek action. I am looking forward to the missing scenes on this DVD release.

The appeal of this show is very difficult to put into a few paragraphs. Its an extended modernizing of Shakespeare's Hamlet, only the Prince in this case is a Canadian Mountie, sent to Chicago to pursue his fathers killers, haunted by his father's ghost. It's more light hearted than it sounds, Benton Fraser(the Mountie) begins to get more acquainted with his father in death than he ever had been in life, courtesy of journals and interacting with Fraser Senior's ghost. The characters are both exaggerated but ultimately very believeable and Benton Fraser is by far one of the most intriguing fictional characters I have seen on television. The first season especially really does ask probing questions and deal with issues, notably the last 3 episodes featuring Fraser's warped love affair with a woman he had to imprison!

Many episodes are modernized derivatives from notable literature, one case is an episode entitled "Gift of the Wheelman", a reference to "Gift of the Magi" featuring the wheelman in a bankrobbery throwing his life away in exchange for the loot to give his son (played by Ryan Phillipe in his first major appearance) whom only wants his father's company and compassion. If you have the means you should really check into this show, if you are an avid reader it's incredible. Next to the Simpsons this is my favorite television series to date.