Season 1 Review

It's been a little while since an update, so I'm going to post up my review for Season 1. If anyone else has a review that they'd like to share, either e-mail me at JediTrilobite@yahoo.com or post up a comment.

Review: Battlestar Galactica Season 1

It's been several weeks since the first season of Battlestar Galactica has aired, and I've had some time for reflection on how it's gone as a series thus far. To begin with, this show is possibly on its way to becoming one of the greatest science fiction shows of this day and age. Where the 60s and 70s had Star Trek, the Original Battlestar Galactica, and a host of other shows through the 80s, and the 90s had Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1 and other shows; this one is a product of today. It's grim, realistic, gritty and not always with a happy ending.
But it's far from being morbid or too dark. It works and it's solid. It's the way that a show should be. There are several things to comment on. First, the storyline is incredibly tight. Every single episode works on pushing the entire story forwards, whether it's related to the fleet and it's supply problems to the imminent threat of the Cylons and the fate of the human race.
Every episode is strong, well thought out and clearly leading the audience to some conclusion somewhere down the line. While some major questions are answered in each episode, others are left for later, such as the elusive Caprica storyline. There are a number of storylines as well. There's the overarching story of the fleet escaping, with some slightly smaller ones, such as the problems between military and Civilian government, several love stories, Six's motives and Cylons in the fleet. Just the task of addressing almost these every entire episode, while carrying forward a unique story in the first place is astounding. And the fact that they're highly original and bringing a huge story arch that spans the entire series makes this series special.
The effects of the series are simply amazing. Zoic, which is also known for it's works with Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and several other projects, really knows their stuff. The effects make this series stand out visually from other space dramas such as Star Trek and Babylon Five, with it's very different look and feel, like that of a documentary film crew, shows that this series is more suited towards reality than anything that's come before it. The filming style is brought over to the live action filming, with snap zooms and different camera angles. When Ronald Moore and Company decided to remake the entire SciFi genre, they carried it to every level.
The characters have probably caused the most distress among fans of the original series than anything else that's been shown thus far. Far from the noble heroic characters from the original series, these characters have darker sides. They have histories that they don't want to talk about, and have done things that they're not happy with. They yell, cry, sleep around, drink and at times, come to blows. They're realistic. They talk and act like us. There has clearly been a lot of thought put into these people, more than other series seem to have at times. The main thing is that most characters break the mold.
A main thing that has really thrilled me is the accuracy of the way that the military and civilians are portrayed. In some series, it's hard to tell the difference: the military personnel are essentially civilians in uniform. Here, there's no question of who is who. The military wear the uniform, know how the wear it and how to act in it. The military tactics are well thought out and realistic, as well as accurate.
The soldiers wear the proper equipment and uniforms, right down the helmets. This is a bone of contention for me, as most of the SciFi shows portray the soldiers going into combat situations with dress uniforms, for example. In addition, there's a clear chain of command, where the fleet commander doesn't go and personally attend to every problem. As in the real military, they send the lower ranking people out first to do something like that, or a higher-ranking person if needed.
The ending brought out some mixed feelings with me. It was both as bad as Farscape's end (if the show was ended with the first season) and just enough to hold us over with a killer (literally) cliffhanger until next season. It was a brilliant way to end season 1, and I know that almost every other person just can't wait to see what happens next.
I know I can't.