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gatac
Reviews
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Excellent Show.
Yes, I used to watch the old series on TV. It was nice, a bit silly at times, but it fit into the era. Yet, after looking at some of it recently, I can't get over how...dated it is. Don't get me wrong, I love series from that era, but only very few manage to really engage me these days.
When I heard that they were remaking BSG, I was thrilled, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Then came the mini-series, and it blew me away. This wasn't the old BSG. This wasn't...just about every other sci-fi TV series I'd ever seen. It was something dark, smart and right in your face.
Now, two seasons of episodes worth later, does it hold up? In my opinion, yes. True, there have been slumps, but I don't think they detract from the overall picture of a living breathing universe.
(Paradoxically, one with far less life than most other sci-fi - a couple thousand humans, the Cylons, and that's it, basically.)
Detractors may cling onto details and changes made to their sacrosanct vision of a BSG long gone, or they might argue that sci-fi shouldn't be done like this. I beg to differ, and I think the success of the series has proved that I'm not the only one who does so.
The use of shaky camera footage gets a bit gimmicky at times, but the show does use these shots quite well overall. Unlike other shows that have sprung for this, the dark tones and the general feeling of oppressiveness on the (justifiably) small sets work together with the shaky camera to make things seem more real, almost like a documentary in places.
The worst part? Waiting for new episodes, of course. :)
Transformers: Galaxy Force (2005)
Great series
I must admit that I was a bit surprised to find only one comment here...and a misleading one at that, too. First of all, yes, there's some retread of the original saga, but it's been that way for most of the newer series. (Continuity was essentially reset in Car Robots [ Robots in Disguise ], Micron Legend [ Armada ] and now once more...Energon was the exception.) But there are new developments - unlike the previous series, the Galaxy Force Cybertrons [ Autobots ] do their darnedest to hide their presence instead of just walking out of the bushes and announcing that they're here to stay. The idea of giant alien robots is actually treated as being difficult to swallow, and only a few humans (mostly the kids who hang out with the Cybertrons) are aware that there's anything going on. This is made even more impressive when you consider that there are far more Transformers on Earth than in any previous series, having evacuated their home planet and disguised themselves as Terran machines. Very nice. Then, there's the kids, who are not half as annoying as I thought they would be. They stay out of the way for the most part, and sometimes they're downright useful.
Galaxy Convoy is a good leader, knowing his own strengths and weaknesses, delegating tasks but ultimately taking care of business himself; it's clear that he's not big on meaningless protocol, but he commands respect. Most of the characters - good and bad - have had their chances to grow. This isn't Beast Wars, but still pretty damn good.
As for the animation, one word: sweet. It takes some getting used to because the cel-shaded CGI is done by a different animation studio than the previous series, but it's all very well done, and the fight scenes successfully convey both power and elegance. (They might want to work on the explosions, but oh well, can't have everything.) All this is framed wonderfully with good music; there's a few recurring themes in the series itself, and the title and end song are both nicely done.
I'll give it an 8/10 (can't beat Beast Wars), and I really do hope that they won't screw it up in the translation.