The Return of Battlestar Galactica: One Fan's Review of a Timeless Classic

I've been a fan of the classic Battlestar Galactica since I was a kid; it was a show that took me places I had never been, and never wanted to leave. From the opening narrative and its fantastic imagery to the tones of impending despair at the end credits, every episode drew me in and captivated me. For decades I would gaze longingly upon memorabilia for the show, wishing that the series would return and continue the voyage of the rag-tag fleet and its defenders.

Shortly after the turn of the century, myself and thousands of fans got our wish; with varying degrees of satisfaction.

Many of the key elements of the original series were changed; many fans felt estranged. I was cautiously optimistic. With little knowledge of the creators behind the reimagined series and with stark visions of other modern sci-fi travesties, I was very concerned that this Battlestar Galactica would utterly fail to impress and leave the franchise in ruins.

Having no access to cable, I had to wait for DVD releases. When I purchased the miniseries, I felt like I was forcing myself to give it a viewing even though I knew I would be disappointed. It proved to be one of my best DVD purchases ever.

While there are a few plot points that I do not approve of, the miniseries was simply amazing. I picked up the first season DVD box the week it was released and watched one full disk a day. The gritty war documentary style of the photography was somewhat jarring at first, but it grew on me and now I don't see how the series could be shot any other way.

But something happened in the second season that carried over the third. The story got very depressing. It was as though the writers just wanted to see how low they could bring the characters before mass suicides and mercy killings were the only options. I began to think that the producers were just perverse and actually enjoyed the detailed suffering of humanity. Maybe they were so caught up in their egos that they really thought the despair in which the characters found themselves was a good place to leave them.

Simply put, I was not enjoying humanity's dark face.

Then, near the end of the third season, the story took on a new tone. I found myself leaning into the screen, hanging on to every word, aware of every detail. Then, with the last episode of the season, my faith in the series was again restored.

Halfway through the third season, I was ready to write a scathing article detailing how awful the series had become; how the writers had taken the characters to a dark place from which there was no escape, and had ruined the series in the process. I am so glad I waited till the end of the season. The last 20-30 minutes was quite possibly the best science fiction I have ever seen. Certainly feature films have had better graphics and action sequences; a greater budget can do that for you. But the writers here did such a fantastic job. The production was top notch and certainly stretched the budget as far as it would go. When I finished it the first time, then watched the ending again, I sunk back into my seat and sighed, thinking to myself, "this is why I love Battlestar Galactica, and always will".