Welcome to the newslink, updated 1-26-03

Below is my review of the Miniseries script by Ron Moore.

I would suggest visiting the Colonial Fleets Discussion Board and the scifi forum to discuss the subject.

Say what???
You've gotta be kidding!

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: REIMAGINED ??

There is a better option....


Where to begin?

It took me the better part of a week to read through the script. It has taken me far longer to put all this into words, because I want to save the original Battlestar Galactica, and that means giving some thought to compromise. This review is brief, and those looking for spoiler details will be disappointed, but I can assure you I read the entire script. What has been printed in other reviews (see www.filmjerk.com and www.battlestargalactica.com) applies to many of my impressions and feelings as well, so I did not wish to re-tread that information, but rather give impressions and suggestions for making this work. Please read the entire review before making a guess as to what I really think. Some is good, some is bad. But, there is potential. Read on....


What is the story like? Well, it's "Blade Runner" meets "Wing Commander" (the movie, not the game). If there had never been a Battlestar Galactica to compare it to, that is an honest comparison.

My overall impression is that as currently written, it is "Battlestar Galactica" in name only.

Why?

First and foremost, I do not like the characters as they have been redone in this script. I won't bother talking about obvious differences like gender changes of main characters. This is even deeper than that. Not one character is the same person they were in the original show. In fact, most of the characters that are analogous to the originals are very dark, and at best barely likeable. At worst, they are self-centered, and self-absorbed, immature and essentially stripped of almost all class (compared to their original incarnations). Yes, there is some evolution of the characters to improve on them (as presented in THIS version) by the end of the story. But, it's very easy to improve on characters that are so self-centered, that one simple kind action makes them seem so much more likable. It's just too extreme. By the time the kindness comes around, you already don't like them very much. Whatever liking you might have, is based on the fact that you're supposed to like them because they're analogous to the original characters. But, they're so different, this familiarity becomes grating, rather than a welcome thing. Even worse, some of the ones that you thought you might start to like, turn out to be liars by the end of the story. These AREN'T the same people the original story was about.

While I believe that Ron Moore is proud of this creation, I believe that he has entirely failed to capture the essence of the original show! In fact, he has gone out of his way to change everything about it except for the basic premise, which is also altered significantly! Some elements have familiar names, some plot elements are vaguely the same, but in all cases, the details are so far removed from the original, that this cannot even qualify as a remake. It is completely different! No, not just different, almost exactly opposite of what came before. I fail to see where the "honoring of the original" supposedly exists in this script as a remake. In fact, it dishonors the characters, and therefore the spirit of the original. It's not an improvement in other ways, either. It's different in so many ways. It's supposed to be a remake, but it's not even close. The term, REIMAGINED, is defined by this script. I tried to picture as many of the original actors in the roles as possible, and that didn't work for multiple reasons, but mostly because they reacted entirely differently from the way they did in the original, it was too painful to try.

In the original pilot, we had a war that had gone on for a thousand yahrens. This created a society where war was so common, they actually named their children colorful, warrioresque names, like Apollo, Athena, Starbuck, Boomer, etc. These were not callsigns, but proper names. Warriors were honored, and respected. They knew the price of peace was vigilance, and strength. They were honorable, and worthy of respect, and when they disagreed, it was always with respect for the uniform and the warriors who wore it. The colonials did not have to help the Hassari against the cylons, but they did it because it was the right thing to do!

This is a fundamental element of the original that is twisted by the re-imagining in this new version.

The new version, the cylons are creations of the human race, and apparently feel the need to kill their parents so they can grow. This is stated, but not very well-explained, or for that matter explored, other than it being stated in the opening sequence. There is very little answer to the question of "why?" and therefore the cylons have no more depth than they had before, but they do have human forms which is far less expensive in the budget arena. The chrome cylons of old make a few appearances, but they will not be seen "en masse" like they were before.

Overall, this plays more like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in many ways. Humanoid cylons could be among the humans, and not be detectable, therefore everyone is in a state of paranoia. Yes, this is a scifi element that's been around a long time, and the most recent version of it was the Founders of the Dominion, aka, Odo's race, the changelings. During "Deep Space Nine's" Dominion wars, the Federation became very paranoid, and trust flew out the window. I see a similar approach here.

One could also draw the obvious dark parallel to the threat of terrorism we now face as a nation after the events of 9-11-2001. With the creation of 'the enemy' being the 'fault' of the protagonists, you could make other assumptions about what angle this story is approaching its allegory from, as it is indeed doing so to a point, as Mr. Moore stated in many of his press releases. When I read those press releases, I had hoped it would be more analogous to the struggle of those who gave their lives to save others, but this has very little of that, though there is at least one scene where there is a military character with some nobility displayed, it is a single event, and not a main character, either. Only the civilian president seems to really care about the refugees, Adama has become far more like Commander Cain, darker, less honest, less visionary, and unfortunately, less competent as a protector of humanity. He has some good points too, but he's not the original Adama by any means. In the original, Adama's first duty was to protect the colonies, and failing that, to ensure the human race would survive. He was a father figure, and a leader who was worth looking up to, even when he had his self-doubt. I remember the same kind of feeling toward Adama as I had toward Harrison Ford's "president" character in Air Force One. Can't get behind him in this version in the same way. More on this later....

Where in the original, we had a thousand yahren war, in this one, we have twelve colonies on the same planet that have created the cylons to be slaves to them, and soldiers for their wars on each other. Making the colonies war with each other instead is such a fundamental change that it takes the honor out of every race on the planet and makes you think they got what they deserved, rather than a feeling that YOU are part of the fleet and can band together to survive, and actually care about your fellow man.

In this reimagining, there has been no war for forty years, and most of the 'warriors' haven't even fought a battle yet. It's no wonder that Lee "Apollo" Adama whines about his brother's wrongful death during peacetime. A far cry from the war veteran original Apollo who shared his father's sorrow when Zac was killed, and felt guilty for leaving him behind. This new script takes a powerful scene like that and turns it around and makes it the basis for petty vindictiveness. Oh, there is forgiveness later, true, but it plays weaker because the men act like it was so unusual for a pilot to die. Yes, that is another change that the 'peacetime' version brings, and it's not for the better.

The original series could have done a better job in the area of setting up the fall of the colonies, it's true. But, this version, while making some attempt, really doesn't do a better job, because in reality, it goes no further, and no deeper. It is merely a different kind of telling of the basic premise, and it doesn't keep the strengths of the original, in either storytelling or presentation. Gone is the fleet of Battlestars being ambushed. Oh, you hear about how several hundred battlestars are destroyed, but it's all off-screen. There was at least the beginning of the battle in the original, and we witnessed the destruction of the Atlantia, on-screen.

I don't know about the rest of the fans, but I remember seeing the devastation of Caprica mirrored in the tears of those on the Galactica's bridge, intermingled with the POV of the people on the ground as they rushed to get home at top speed, and the sorrow on their faces when they knew their top speed wouldn't make a difference, and I felt their anguish too. This one is not like that. It's very tactical, very much everyone out to save themselves, then fight back out of anger no matter the cost. While this may be realistic on some levels, the original was just as realistic, and in my humble opinion, far more appropriate for what the heart and soul of the show is all about. I'd like to see real people in real situations, but although everyone has flaws, they shouldn't be the center of their core at every moment in the story, particularly when there is so much at stake. Flaws can make a character human. Concentrating on those flaws makes them seem incompetent, and makes you wonder how in the world they got where they are.


Now, you may think that I see no redeeming qualities here, and that would not be true. Let me explain.

Subject to the condition that this is a remake, I find that it fails on most fronts. It is so different in characters and execution from the original, that the similarities are more glaring than the differences because it feels like a different story altogether, and reads like one. Then, a familiar name pops up doing things out of character, and it slaps you back into the realization this isn't an original piece, it's supposed to be a remake. If the names were different, there's little to remind you this is the same story. This is both bad, and potentially the saving grace of the show. It's not working for me as a remake. On that front, it fails. It is not true to the story or characters of the original, it is not similar enough to really stand up and be a remake.

That is the bottom line.

However, there IS a way this could work, and I'm gonna do my best with trying to make a positive suggestion/constructive criticism here, and say that with minor re-working, it could work as a prequel to the original series. This could work, precisely because it is so different, it has the feeling of an entirely different show, but it could COEXIST with the original show, with some revisions made.

Point ONE: It tells the story of the exodus from Kobol. We know this happened several thousand yahren before the original series, but was never detailed, and most of the knowledge of that exodus had fallen into legend/myth by the time of the original series, therefore leaving much open to interpretation.

Point TWO: It begins to tell the origin of the cylons, but leaves it vague enough that some changes could be made to incorporate known data from the original series. No mention is made of the creator of the cylons, or details of how that creation was made, and the exact purpose is still vague enough that there is room to make it work with instead of against the original premise. We know in the original series that the voice of the Imperious Leader was programmed into him by Count Iblis. We know that Count Iblis has been to Earth. There is some wiggle room there.

Point THREE: There are always ancestors to everyone, perhaps these could be great-great.....grandparents of our original cast heroes. Adama of the "house of Adama" if you will?

Point FOUR: Why are they colonies on Kobol? Why not tribes? Colonies imply settlement. Are they native to this world, or somewhere else? Earth? Earth was the thirteenth colony in the original series. One question never answered in the original, was why the thirteenth tribe settled so far from the other twelve worlds? The answer is in the implication that the thirteenth tribe was cast out of Eden, the capitol of Kobol. There is a rich story here that could be explored.

We know that Kobol was evacuated, it was stated the star was becoming unstable. There could have been other reasons as well. We know that the twelve colonies were established sometime after Kobol was abandoned, or at least we presume so. Either way, it gives the opportunity to tell that story, and still have some remote contact with Earth if needed.

Nothing is in stone until it airs.

My suggestion is to do a re-write and make the show a prequel, and to write out the direct similarities with the original cast. For instance, remove Boxey and Adar. Remove anything that is directly taken from the original pilot, give it it's own identity within the established Battlestar mythos. The Galactica can be an earlier version of the ship. If Enterprise can do it, why not Battlestar Galactica? Before anyone discounts this idea, let me put forth that it means the original series DID happen, and this may be the only way to give the original show fans hope that one day the original cast may return, or, at least to make all the events of the original show valid and part of the story. As Mr. Spock might say, "There are always alternatives."

My take.

Ken Thomson