There are reasons why this is good scifi, most of them unrelated to the original. Firstly, three hours is long, but don't forget that this is still a miniseries and therefore fully entitled to be slightly 'boring', if you even perceive this series as such. That bombshell deprives core bashers for BSG2003 of their largest argument.
Secondly, going into BSG2003's strengths and weaknesses, that I read fifty reviews for it; 12 positive, 38 negative, barely consistent with an overall voting average of 7.2. I believe that a group of 50 sufficiently objective reviewers should be sure to provide an average rating to reflect the public results. I think I can conclude that many reviewers allowed themselves to bash BSG2003 regardless.
Casting Starbuck and Boomer as women can be taken both ways. Somewhere it's great, because despite the masculinity of both characters, as women they can induce a more successful breeding ground for relations between them and the central male cast. On the other side, the mildly 'homosexual tension' from the original series between Starbuck and Apollo was also interesting. Naturally, I'm sure that part of the decision to make these two characters female had been derived from the simple fact that Americans rather see Violence on the screen than Man on Man sexual tension. To further embroider the subject, I could say that making 'Starbuck' and 'Boomer' nicknames in BSG2003 was not a good thing, but at the same time, it adds to the Realism. I can vote both ways on these gender issues, but know that Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park did good jobs.
Ignoring the 25 year differential, I still feel that BSG2003's cast was excellent and outshone the original's despite the extreme expenses that were taken to make the old one.
The main cast can be taken apart, though, as some acted good, some acted better and some acted best. Though Mary McDonnell (Roslin) grows to become the authority within the series to come, she lacked strength to let you gravitate towards her. She was not the anchor she should have been, although she did a good job. The same could be said for Jamie Barber's Adama Junior, whose sometimes juvenile emotions strip his character from gravity as well. I can vouch for him by saying that his type of character is hard to play and I know that he will surely improve. The mainstream actors, the middle-verse in this cast was mostly taken in by Sackhoff's Starbuck who emphasizes on her high profanity lines, Michael Hogan's Colonel Tigh, who despite his well displayed gruffness loses himself with surprisingly monotonous dialog. Grace Park's Boomer too, who both plays the tough Raptor Pilot and the sexy Cylon model with the necessary grace and brawn.
Top was the duo of Tricia Helfer's Number Six and James Callis's (surprisingly young) Gaius Baltar, showing frequent and sexually charged scenes with subtle variations depending on how far mentally Immersed Gaius is. Indeed, their relationship is likely going to play a major part in the series that follows this Pilot, however praise goes to Callis's portrayal of the emotionally rich, socially distant or methodically scheming Gaius Baltar.
Prophetic it is that on the Galactica, Adama Senior, puts down - in my selective opinion - the strongest performance in this Pilot, he will even be better than in the series. He is like a 'Galactic' Black Hole, a galaxy of 'stars' circling. Edward James Olmos plays the hardened, emotionally restrained military veteran like no one else. When Olmos is quiet, you are quiet so you can hear what he says next. His presence demands every ounce of attention you can put into it.
This Battlestar Galactica remake is not for children; a fact that had become clear in the implementation of things. At first time, it sheds itself for the quintessential 'childish' feel of Mainstream Sci-Fi like Star Wars and Star Trek by displaying the unrestrained sexual tension between multiple couples as well as depicting some rather horrid acts against humanity such as (but not limited to) snapping the neck of a sleeping infant and blowing a host of men out of the airlock. However, the strongest opposition to broadening the concept of 'free speech' to graphic content consist of censorists.
What can I say about the visual effects other than already has been said? Lighting effects and camera angles are often awe-striking, the solo-scene opening that gives us a first glance of the Galactica's inside ends up giving us a tour in which we interject path of a jogging Starbuck, Adama Senior preparing a speech and an officer directing a public tour. This scene showed the general quality of the pilot and I believe also, that the directors and the cast had it in themselves to keep up this unusually high standard.
Personally, I didn't overly focus on the science of it all. Unlike in Star Trek, in which almost every episode of almost every sub series seems to feature a deus ex machina in the shape of some kind of technology, we get phase conversions, remodulating transponder frequencies and warp assemblies most people don't want or need to know anything about. Battlestar Galactica 2003 shows us Science Fiction the likes of which we see far too rarely, an intensely realistic hierarchy with political changes, need for resources as well as a great merging of ordinary and extraordinary technology in a visually beautiful coating. The Galactica for me is simply a space worthy aircraft carrier and at least in this show, the characters are not too rigid to adapt to their enemies... In other Sci-Fi (Space: Above and Beyond in special), threats are almost always superior to the abilities of those protagonists who have to solve it, after which they miraculously enough always succeed nonetheless.
To conclude my review: BSG2003 is a very human story with multidimensional characters and diligently used special effects, creating a world the 1978 BSG should be proud of.
Secondly, going into BSG2003's strengths and weaknesses, that I read fifty reviews for it; 12 positive, 38 negative, barely consistent with an overall voting average of 7.2. I believe that a group of 50 sufficiently objective reviewers should be sure to provide an average rating to reflect the public results. I think I can conclude that many reviewers allowed themselves to bash BSG2003 regardless.
Casting Starbuck and Boomer as women can be taken both ways. Somewhere it's great, because despite the masculinity of both characters, as women they can induce a more successful breeding ground for relations between them and the central male cast. On the other side, the mildly 'homosexual tension' from the original series between Starbuck and Apollo was also interesting. Naturally, I'm sure that part of the decision to make these two characters female had been derived from the simple fact that Americans rather see Violence on the screen than Man on Man sexual tension. To further embroider the subject, I could say that making 'Starbuck' and 'Boomer' nicknames in BSG2003 was not a good thing, but at the same time, it adds to the Realism. I can vote both ways on these gender issues, but know that Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park did good jobs.
Ignoring the 25 year differential, I still feel that BSG2003's cast was excellent and outshone the original's despite the extreme expenses that were taken to make the old one.
The main cast can be taken apart, though, as some acted good, some acted better and some acted best. Though Mary McDonnell (Roslin) grows to become the authority within the series to come, she lacked strength to let you gravitate towards her. She was not the anchor she should have been, although she did a good job. The same could be said for Jamie Barber's Adama Junior, whose sometimes juvenile emotions strip his character from gravity as well. I can vouch for him by saying that his type of character is hard to play and I know that he will surely improve. The mainstream actors, the middle-verse in this cast was mostly taken in by Sackhoff's Starbuck who emphasizes on her high profanity lines, Michael Hogan's Colonel Tigh, who despite his well displayed gruffness loses himself with surprisingly monotonous dialog. Grace Park's Boomer too, who both plays the tough Raptor Pilot and the sexy Cylon model with the necessary grace and brawn.
Top was the duo of Tricia Helfer's Number Six and James Callis's (surprisingly young) Gaius Baltar, showing frequent and sexually charged scenes with subtle variations depending on how far mentally Immersed Gaius is. Indeed, their relationship is likely going to play a major part in the series that follows this Pilot, however praise goes to Callis's portrayal of the emotionally rich, socially distant or methodically scheming Gaius Baltar.
Prophetic it is that on the Galactica, Adama Senior, puts down - in my selective opinion - the strongest performance in this Pilot, he will even be better than in the series. He is like a 'Galactic' Black Hole, a galaxy of 'stars' circling. Edward James Olmos plays the hardened, emotionally restrained military veteran like no one else. When Olmos is quiet, you are quiet so you can hear what he says next. His presence demands every ounce of attention you can put into it.
This Battlestar Galactica remake is not for children; a fact that had become clear in the implementation of things. At first time, it sheds itself for the quintessential 'childish' feel of Mainstream Sci-Fi like Star Wars and Star Trek by displaying the unrestrained sexual tension between multiple couples as well as depicting some rather horrid acts against humanity such as (but not limited to) snapping the neck of a sleeping infant and blowing a host of men out of the airlock. However, the strongest opposition to broadening the concept of 'free speech' to graphic content consist of censorists.
What can I say about the visual effects other than already has been said? Lighting effects and camera angles are often awe-striking, the solo-scene opening that gives us a first glance of the Galactica's inside ends up giving us a tour in which we interject path of a jogging Starbuck, Adama Senior preparing a speech and an officer directing a public tour. This scene showed the general quality of the pilot and I believe also, that the directors and the cast had it in themselves to keep up this unusually high standard.
Personally, I didn't overly focus on the science of it all. Unlike in Star Trek, in which almost every episode of almost every sub series seems to feature a deus ex machina in the shape of some kind of technology, we get phase conversions, remodulating transponder frequencies and warp assemblies most people don't want or need to know anything about. Battlestar Galactica 2003 shows us Science Fiction the likes of which we see far too rarely, an intensely realistic hierarchy with political changes, need for resources as well as a great merging of ordinary and extraordinary technology in a visually beautiful coating. The Galactica for me is simply a space worthy aircraft carrier and at least in this show, the characters are not too rigid to adapt to their enemies... In other Sci-Fi (Space: Above and Beyond in special), threats are almost always superior to the abilities of those protagonists who have to solve it, after which they miraculously enough always succeed nonetheless.
To conclude my review: BSG2003 is a very human story with multidimensional characters and diligently used special effects, creating a world the 1978 BSG should be proud of.