Battlestar Galactica

Let me say that I hate Sci-Fi on TV. I never used to, but I do. There. I've said it. It seems wrong to do science and not luurve sci-fi, but dramatic conflict, rich characterizations and layered dialogue are rarely found in space ships zooming around in space on TV. Until now.

The new Battlestar Galactica has somehow slipped through the cracks, giving us a superbly written sci-fi series. It is a 'reimagining' of the original series, or in this case, throwing out all the camp. Of course, this is anaethema to the fans of the original series. They see high camp as nobility, the lack of real dark human emotions as up-lifting, speechifying dialogue as lofty classical theatre. Oh how wrong!

I have this theory that sci-fi is bad because it used to mainly appeal to adolescent teen-age boy and so the writing has to reflect their level of consciousness. It is the age where fine ideals are imagined, with a tinge of mythological self-importance. Complexity on the individual is non-existent and everything is seen in terms of epic battles between the forces of good and evil. Great for blockbuster movies, bad for TV.

But in the new Battlestar Galactica, people die. Characters betray other characters, and they die. There is real gut-wrenching fear and damnit if the directors don't milk the end-of-the-world for every compulsive moment. Pretty adolesent aesthetics be damned. People have sex, want it, get it, fail to get it, and do very bad things to get it. These are issues that used to be too painful to show as your typical sci-fi fan was emotionally underdeveloped to see it.

The sets in Battlestar Galactica do not look like toys that you can buy at Toys R Us. It is not an extended advertisement for new plastic spaceships you can buy. The ships in Battlestar Galactica look every bit as dirty and tired and old as the captain played by the superlative Edward James Olmos. He's no pretty boy William Shatner that all young adolescent boys used to want to be but Olmos' understated gravitas and weariness is a masterclass in acting compared to the smirking William Shatner as Captain Kirk of the USS Starship Enterprise. Besides William Shatner now plays campy characters such as the host of the Miss America pageant in movies such as Miss Cogeniality.

I've heard it said that whilst the quality of American movies have been debased, the quality of American tv has risen, driven in large, by the wildly succesful HBO. As such, american TV is now confident it can write complex characters in ambiguous situations, and give first-rate actors the room to strut their stuff. Not only is the writing improved but the general production borrows much from shows such as Law Order. In particular, the use of the documentary-style camera work, the floating camera with their human eye-ball angles. The lavish attention on character details and even the Scorsesean camera movements. The producers have even stated that with CGI graphics, the cost of special effects are now miniscule and the larger part of the cost is to pay for class actors.

Much has been said of the battle scenes, and they are groundbreaking. There's no music, only the sounds of the pilots and the sounds of gunfire. This adds layers and layers of authenticity. There are no deux ex machinas and the battle scenes are well thought out action sequences that unfold like a falling sunset. It's as if sci-fi is taking back the depth and seriousness of films like 2001: A Space Odyessey from the giddy simple-minded fun of Star Wars.