Galactica rawks!

caught sight of the BSG season 1 DVDs at my usual DVD shop. grabbed it without a second thot! unfortunately, the pilot movie was not out yet, but luckily I had a pretty good idea from reading web reviews and browsing the official site.

as a follower of the original series, I tried to watch the "reimagined" series with an opened mind. The new series is more gritty, more like Blackhawk Down and West Wing. The first episode was gripping and managed to carry across the grief, confusion and tensions of a post-Pearl Harbour, post-holocaust or post-9/11 scenario. The cylons were cool and managed to lose the tacky tin-can toaster look of the original (no more: by your command...). I found the retro-hi tech premise intriguing. With ships able to do FTL (faster than light) jumps but technology-wise the humans are also stuck with analog clocks (counting down to 33 minute), clunky phones and handsets. The premise was that any advanced computer technology could be hacked into and subverted by Cylon computer virus. Over-reliance on technology has led to the downfall of humankind.

The back story was that the humans created the robotic cylons who later turned on their masters. after disappearing for 40 years, the Cylons returned with 12 humanoid looking models that can infiltrate human society and penetrate the defence system. The ensuing sneak attack wiped out the 12 human colonies. Key characters were changed to women: Starbuck and Boomer, which to me was refreshing. Comdr Adama, played by Edward James Olmos, has a quiet gravitas similar to Lorne Greene in the original series. Baltar, the traitor, was played as a neurotic and over-sexed top scientist with manic glee by James Callis.

I think this series is going to be screened on Cinemax later in June, back in Singapore.

P.S: just finished the series on DVD. It's great! just bear in mind it's not the original series, which was rollicking swashbuckling fun (altho tacky n cheesy in hindsight). like what i said earlier, the new series is darker and more complex. surprisingly deals with religion and faith from a slightly different perspective. catch on cable when u can!