'Galactica' thrills with meaty plots

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`Galactica' thrills with meaty plots

By Maureen Ryan Tribune staff reporter

What will it take to get you to check out "Battlestar Galactica," if you haven't already?
Would it help to know that Friday's episode of the enthralling new series (9:30 p.m., Sci Fi) is one of 2005's best hours of television, regardless of genres?
Certainly, this reimagined take on the late '70s "Battlestar Galactica" series has everything sci-fi fans could want -- a great premise (humanity's remaining 50,000 souls on the run from the mechanized Cylons), gritty atmospherics and terrific outer-space action scenes, including one in Friday's episode that recalls the thrilling ultimate battle of the very first "Star Wars" movie. And for fans of the original series, the fact that Richard Hatch of the first "Battlestar" returns on March 18 for an effective appearance as activist Tom Zarek should also be a draw.
But don't let the one-sentence description of this Friday's installment -- the "Battlestar" fleet launches a raid on a Cylon-defended fuel depot -- lead you to believe that the show is just another outer-space shoot-'em-up. Sure, the show does the action-adventure stuff very well, but "Battlestar's" real strengths are in its meaty, character-driven plots.
In Friday's episode, hotshot pilot Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) must deal with being grounded because of a knee injury -- this time out she must use her head to plan the mission, not use her almost foolhardy bravery to lead in the field. The president, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), has to figure out how to solve the fuel crisis and fight off her own encroaching (and secret) illness, the treatment of which is causing hallucinations -- which may actually be related to religious prophecies.
Twitchy scientific genius Dr. Gaius Baltar (the delightful James Callis) is still trying to hide the fact that he's in the thrall of the Cylons, but given that the Cylon agent who haunts his thoughts takes the form of the curvy Tricia Helfer, who can blame him? What's surprising about their relationship is that in Friday's episode, titled "The Hand of God," we get even more hints that sexy No. 6 -- and all Cylons -- think they're part of a divine plan. Even Baltar, a charming but thoroughly self-serving egoist, starts to think she might be right.
This new "Battlestar" series, which has already been renewed for a second, 20-episode season, isn't just about killing the alien bad guys -- it's about love, sex, survival, freedom and friendship, and finding out that the bad guys might be good guys, or maybe even God. If you dismiss the show because you don't think you like sci-fi TV, you're missing out a stellar drama with an increasingly impressive cast.
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