Review: Battlestar Galactica 101: 33I

I saw the first episode of the new Battlestar Galactica this evening, and was simply amazed at how well done it was. It's clear that this series is going to be very popular for it's well thought-out storyline, complex characters and ideological portions.
Taking place nearly a week or so after we left off with the miniseries that aired in December of 2003, and the Galactica is on the run. Every 33 minutes, they must make an FTL jump, for a Cylon Basestar arrives at their location, somehow tracking them. There are now less than 50,000 humans left of the human race after the destruction of the 12 colonies. The crew is running on no sleep at all, and everyone is tired and overworked, but they're running for their lives. Meanwhile, on Caprica, Helo, a Galactica Crewman left behind, is being persued by Cylons, and he destroys several before being captured. At the fleet, they discover that they are missing a ship, the Olympic Carrier, which carried 1300 people on board. After a jump and no cylons appear, they reappear on the ship. Most are relieved,but it quickly becomes apparent that the ship was captured and is destroyed, despite protests. Baltar is having hallucinations with Six, his Cylon lover, who tells him that the ship had Cylon agents on board. She also tells him that it's god's retribution for Baltar's athiesm.
This show rocks. Period. From this first episode, it's going above and beyond the miniseries, which had some weak points. This first episode has none. It's got a tight plot with some excellent acting, storytelling and CGI. Already, it's setting the stage for future episodes, first with Sharon aka Boomer, who is a Cylon, with Baltar/Six and religion, Apollo and Starbuck together and Apollo and his father. This show is destined for great things, and I think that it's going to be well recieved by audiances.
This episode has some paticularly harsh things about it. This show is dark, and there's little to lighten it up. From some of the first moments with pictures on the walls of Galactica of people who have been lost to the Olympic Carrier, a civilian ship, loaded down with explosives to destroy the Galactica, and the decision to destroy it, despite any civilian casualties. There are some very hard things in here, and the show doesn't flinch from it.
There's a sort of saying among some writers that I've seen in books about writing science fiction, paticularly with characters. To find the real character, you must put them through hell to find out who they really are. The crew of the Galactica are going through hell. They've just had their homes destroyed and they're running for their lives through unknown space, with the Cylons close behind. The characters snap at each other, cry and are generally exhaused, but continue onwards. The only things that are really good for them is the news that a new baby was born on one ship, and that with the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, the Cylons have stopped following.
On a technical level, this show is stunning. There is some great CGI, brought to us by the wonderful Zoic, who also did the CGI for the miniseries, Firefly, Buffy, Angel and the upcoming films A Sound of Thunder and Serenity. There are some 'stock' footage shots, with various dog fights and combat landings, but the new shots are simply out of this world, wonderful. The camera movements are still documentary style, with quick zooms and rapid movement, which really enhances portions of the show.
The acting around the board has improved. There were a couple of weak moments in the miniseries, paticularly with the crew chief Tyrol, who has several ackward moments during the series. However, Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, Tigh and the rest of the crew all do a wonderful job acting their parts.
Part one was followed by the Episode 102: Water. I only caught the first couple minutes, and the thing that I really noticed was the care and abstractness to the camera movements as Boomer wakes up soaking, unsure of what just happened, and when she finds a bomb in her backpack. More when I see that episode.I can tell you one thing though, this is probably going to be one of the best science fiction television shows ever.