Cult Culture: Battlestar Galactica

Well, the new Battlestar Galactica
series is upon us. It starts on the Sci Fi channel in January and,
since Skyone in the UK paid for the show, our cousins overseas are
getting to watch it right now. Of course, unlike the rest of America, I
have the internet and I’m downloading the Skyone episodes like a crack
addict. The common man wants to know: What is it about BG? Because,
honestly, the original series sucks.

Oh! Oh! Hold on! I know it’s a cult classic that’s almost as big as Star Trek. Well, more toward the Star Trek end of the spectrum than, say, Mann & Machine.
I love it, too. I have the Cylon head DVD box set, the toy gun, a toy
viper, a jigsaw puzzle of Dirk Benedict, all the scripts, the
unofficial technical manual and controlled dreaming every night where I
pretend to be Commander Adama.

So, you see, as a creepy, lonely uberfan, I’m allowed to say it: The
original series was lousy. I watch the episodes again and again and I
know this to be true. The gaps in the story arc’s greater themes are
painful, the novice approach to a great socio-political sub-plot makes
my teeth hurt and the final few episodes make me faint. By the way, Galactica: 1980 never happened. It’s a myth created to damage the Kerry Campaign. Not even Galactica’s harshest critics will mention it.

But despite the flaws, like JFK, Galactica’s untimely and bizarre death (it had higher ratings than Mork and Mindy
when it was cancelled) has made it famous. It won a loyal fan base that
pounded DVD sales through the roof and, thanks to that, facilitated a
revival.

The purpose of this drunkenly written, often last-minute column is to
cast light on pop culture that You Should Know About. I’m going to keep
it short this time because, a while ago, I wrote a loving queer-boy
article about Galactica, complete with an episode guide. You can hit
that around here somewhere.

That was before the mini-series aired and, yes, I made some disparaging
remarks. I said the mini-series had the potential to be truly painful,
an insult to the fans, a bastardization of the great and lofty ideas
that appeared to be somewhere on the minds though not in the words of
the original scriptwriters. Being a wild fan, I said all these things
weeks before the mini-series hit the screens.

The comeback mini-series recast Starbuck as a woman, Colonel Tigh as a
drunken white man, and Boomer as an Asian girl. The Galactica got a new
paintjob and general redesign, the Cylons were frighteningly effective
and Baltar was given a conscience. Sorta. Those were some of the things
that worried me. Change. Change is never good. Look to Planet of the Apes
for that lesson. I used to get excited about remakes but, after that
movie, I’m gunshy. Hey, this is the Star Wars prequel generation.
There’s no hope.

So now that I’ve seen it, and the first two episodes of the series, what’s my take as the cynical fanboy?

I love it. It’s a new cult classic in the making, though I’m hoping it
gets more space to breathe than the original series. They were
hamstrung by arcane TV studio rules right out of the gate. Back then,
sci-fi always tended toward children. At least, that’s what the
studio’s liked to believe. And maybe they were right since sci-fi today
caters to the 20 and 30-somethings who, as children, got hooked on BG
and Star Wars
and what have you. Nowadays, fortunately, we children have a say so in
ratings, and DVD sales, and feedback. For the first time in TV history,
the people have more power than the studios. Look to Farscape, whose recent mini-series is thanks to the fans. Look to Firefly,
whose upcoming movie is thanks to out of control DVD sales. Look to BG,
where a revival idea is fueled by millions of collectors snatching up
the box set. Doctor Who follows suit in March. Buffy and Angel
have made more off of DVD sales than the complete run of both series,
including reruns and overseas rights.

I think it’s also thanks to those sales that the shows are reflecting
the popular desires. The new Galactica brings forward the characters,
the social issues between the civilians in the fleet and what remains
of the military, and the real problems of a handful of survivors on the
run. The conflict between refugees and the ruling military was a big
feature when the old series started out but, after the first
establishing episodes, all but vanished. We followed the lives of
characters from the ruling elite who, for the most part, weren’t really
struggling with the very real horror that was surrounding them. It went
from wise crack to canned space battle stock footage back to wise crack.

Providing a spokesperson for the people, in the form of acting
President Laura Roslyn, the Galactica refugees have more of a place in
the series. No more are they simply the “rag tag, fugitive fleet”
that’s tagging along, they have a face. We even get a death counter on
an erasable board. As for the military, they’re stretched thin. Adama
is less the spiritual warrior-priest and more the tired commander in an
impossible situation.

Meanwhile, the wolves are among the sheep. Not only do the Cylons look
human, they have agents scattered throughout the fleet. Trust no one.
Especially Baltar, the deliciously psychotic bad guy from the original
series, who is now a genius scientist on the President’s personal
staff, struggling with visions (real or imaginary) of our main (and
well-advertised) Cylon babe. She’s sort of his spirit-guide in that
Cylon Werewolf in London way. Baltar’s not only guilty of wiping out
the human race, but those familiar with the series know that he has to
cross the battle lines at some point. He is both my greatest hope and
my greatest worry for the new series. Baltar was one of my favorite
things about the original: Skulking around the throne room and throwing
childish fits whenever Adama’s name was mentioned. Wheedling and
begging whenever things went south. He was the ultimate weasel. Played
to the hilt by the late, great John Colicos, Baltar’s often brief
screentime was something to look forward to.

In the new series, we get a different sort of weasel. Losing him to the
human factor, having him struggle with his loyalties, creates a real
character that the original Baltar never approached… Two episodes in,
there’s no way to tell if that’s good or bad.

From the viewpoint of a rabid fan and loyal supporter of the crippled,
ham-fisted original series, it’s easy to say that the new series is
worth your time and your effort.

You get: Cleavage, fun space battles, good acting, fairly tight
scripts, a larger focus on the situation at hand, intrigue and the
modern day sci-fi drama that works so well in things like Stargate and Farscape and the Buffyverse.

Normal people have to wait two more months but, if you’ve got savvy,
you know just where to go to download the episodes. Don’t miss out!