Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries: SCI FI Pictures: Widescreen DVD Review

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!

Title: Battlestar Galactica” The Miniseries: SCI FI Pictures: Widescreen

Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Paul Campbell, Callum Keith Rennie, Kandyse McClure, Connor Widdows, John Mann, Matthew Bennett, Alessandaro Juliani, Nicki Clyne, and Michael Eklund

Writer: Ronald D. Moore and Christopher Eric James

Based On A Teleplay By: Glen A. Larson

Director: Michael Rymer

Executive Producers: David Eick and Ronald D. Moore

Feature Length: 183 minutes

Chapter Stops: 24

Extras: Audio Commentary With Executive Producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore and Director Michael Rymer, “Battlestar Galactica – The Lowdown” Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Previews

Languages: English and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Within the first few minutes of the Sci-Fi Channel’s miniseries remake of “Battlestar Galactica” I could honestly say that this was definitely nothing like the classic television series that first aired on ABC 25 years ago. We open with some words detailing briefly the history of events between the humans and the Cylons they created. There was a war when the Cylons turned upon their creators that united the twelve colonies for the first time in centuries. Eventually it appears that humanity won and an armistice was called. The Cylons left the known planetary system to find their own world. Once a year, the Colonials send a representative to a remote space station where they were to meet with a representative of the Cylons and keep diplomatic relations open. However no one has seen a Cylon in more than 40 years. They never show up. The assignment is little more than an old formality. As far as most humans are concerned, the Cylons are gone and forgotten. Then suddenly the doors in the station meeting room opens and two advanced looking centurions enter followed by a sultry blond woman. The Colonial representative is so shocked he’s speechless. The woman asks him “Are you alive?” After a few seconds he replies, “Yes...” She then asks him to “Prove it” and lays a sensual kiss on him as she reaches down and grabs his crotch. Suddenly we hear rumblings inside as the station begins to quake. Papers are swept to the floor as a gush of wind enters the room. The Colonial tries to get up, but he’s powerless under her spellbinding kiss. The centurions emotionlessly watch as we suddenly find ourselves back out in space where a huge and very alien looking Cylon Base Star dwarfs the crumbling space station.

From this point on after the words “Battlestar Galactica” fill the screen, we are taken into a society that is not too different from our own. In fact I think the overall attention to detail as far as the physics from how the ships fly in a vacuum to the rather contemporary manner interplanetary civilian travel is handled not at all very different from the way we fly planes from one place to another today. In fact there is a definite “2001” type feel to the manner in which the space scenes are handled though not quite as stringent. We still can hear a missile launch or a machine gun like laser blast from a Viper shoot through space, but the effects is minimalistic so we hear far more inside the ships than we do outside. This is understandable since most sci-fi viewers are so tied into the idea of hearing sounds in space after years of “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” that even if they know space is a vacuum, they are likely to still expect to hear something whenever an event happens out there.

The apocalyptic circumstances that for the most part seemed to take second place behind the space opera like action of the original series is put upfront here. “Battlestar Galactica” is very dark. The destruction of “Caprica” is like a toned version of “The Day After” with huge mushroom clouds forming as the aftershocks sweep away hapless newscasters trying to cover the disaster around them. The new Galactica is also not all that different from the Galactica of the previous series. It is more streamlined, but very recognizable. If I were to compare it to another ship to give a frame of reference I’d say that comparing the new Galactica to the old one is like comparing the refitted Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” to the ship of the original series. Edward James Olmos’ “Commander Adama” is a very different character from Lorne Greene’s portrayal in the original series. In fact nearly every character is portrayed in a different if not darker light, which is a good move because some performances cannot be duplicated. When Greene said “We’re going to Earth” one felt like they were one of the Israelites making the exodus out of Egypt and personally I always felt that Greene’s screen presence on the original show was strong enough so that whatever he said had to be done made the viewer want to follow in his direction. Olmos’ personification is different, but no less effective. He is a weathered and seasoned officer called into service on the eve of the ship’s decommissioning. While the original series portrayed “Starbuck” and “Apollo” as dashing men of duty, the new show creates an “Apollo” who thinks and acts like a military fighter pilot and he has an estranged relationship with his father to boot. Ironically the new “Starbuck” seems to be the most like the original character with a big zest for reckless behavior and an ego to match that includes the cigar smoking, gambling, and suggested prior open sexual relationships. My only complaint is that the actress they hired to play her looks a little too “butch” as if she was doing one to many exercises at the gym and as a result the seductive side of her character is somewhat lost.

Of course this could be to create a more visual difference between “Starbuck” and “Number 6,” the female Cylon humanoid that seduces Dr. Gaius Baltar into betraying humanity. However the manner and psychology behind it is far more realistic if not more tragic than John Colicos’ deliciously villainous performance in the original series. Baltar is in some ways a tragic character because the circumstances that surround his involvement with the enemy could happen to almost anyone. He is still a duplicitous character, but I would not call him evil. At least not anymore evil than anyone else might behave given the circumstances.

People die in “Battlestar Galactica” and it is not pretty. One can see people get blown to bits in their vipers and have their remains get sucked out into space along with whatever is left of their ships. There are several scenes where characters are left behind to die so that others can escape and they don’t just sit there and take it. They plead and curse the others like any desperate person may do when faced with extinction after thinking they are rescued. The miniseries introduces new characters and creates a look that in some ways is quite contemporary and yet there are plenty of nods to the original series sprinkled throughout. While I cannot say that any of the original cast members make cameos, I can say that elements such as a few visual cues and the theme from the series are incorporated into the miniseries without making it too sentimental. The human Cylons are not like the Terminators either. They are actually more like the replicants in “Blade Runner” and there are some interesting moments with their characters that help to elevate them above the standard “this is an actress playing an android” sort of thing. The new Cylons are interesting and represent a real threat for the characters in the miniseries. They have also thrown in a few 1970s like items to some of the costume designs complete with butterfly collars and even that “Brady Bunch” like afro “Mike Brady” had in the later episodes of that series and yet it is subtle so it is not ridiculous in appearance. The military uniforms of the Colonials look a bit like the uniforms worm by Earth Force personnel in “Babylon 5.”

The effects look good with the Cylon fighters resembling a cross between the “Batwing” and the “Trade Federation” fighters from “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” The miniseries was shot with widescreen televisions in mind and is presented in an anamorphic (1.78:1) aspect ratio that preserves the gritty pseudo documentary approach the filmmakers chose to follow when producing this program. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is a bit low, but it does take good advantage of the multiple channels. A French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack and a Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack are encoded onto the disc as options along with English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles. Director Michael Rymer and Executive Producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore provide a screen specific and quite introspective feature length audio commentary, which covers not only the production challenges, but the basic philosophy and inspiration that were put into this miniseries to make it both new for another generation while retaining some likeness to the original series. Moore discusses his conscious efforts to avoid the clichés that might work in “Star Trek” for example, but not here. Among the inspirations for the miniseries, he mentions Ridley Scott’s “Blackhawk Down” as being a major influence for the film.

On the flip side of the disc is the same promotional featurette that aired on SCI FI around the time the miniseries was going to air (41:41) and it features cast and crew interview clips along with guest interview clips with original series stars Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. Twelve letterboxed deleted scenes (20:01) are also presented on the second side. Previews for the series premiere of “Battlestar Galactica,” which will premiere in January (look for my review of several of the episodes next week in the TV reviews section!), SCI FI Channel Original Movie Saturdays, “Quantum Leap: The Complete Second Season,” “Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence,” and the original “Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series” on DVD box set (4:18) appear as a reel before the menu comes on screen. The menus on both sides of the disc are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries: SCI FI Pictures: Widescreen” will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, December 28, 2004 courtesy of Universal Studios Home Video.

Return To The Previous Page

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!