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The Secret Cylon Menace of Battlestar Galactica

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Cylons threatening the remnants of humanity is not a secret in either incarnation of Glen A. Larson’s or Roger Moore’s Battlestar Galactica. Ronald Moore added a new dimension to the Cylons. In Moore’s re-imagined universe, humans could be sleeper agents. Throughout the series, characters who are part of the Galactica crew reveal that they are really the enemy. Colonel Tigh was the highest ranking member of the crew to reveal that he is not human.

The secret menace means that many of the crew members of the Galactica are often forced to second guess their actions and the actions of those around them. Accusing someone of being a Cylon has devastating consequences. More than one plot line deals with the fallout of someone sowing such a suspicion. Usually the people who end up getting accused are not the ones who actually are double agents. Gaius Baltar is the only exception to this rule.

The secret enemy in Moore’s universe reflects the internal enemy all of civilization faces. The show was designed to be a statement on the War on Terror as much as it was designed to be a retelling of the original Glen A. Larson series. Moore’s series does end with the fleet finding Earth while Larson’s does not.

Battlestar Galactica Gains New Audience as a Mini-Series

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Fans of the original Battlestar Galactica series wanted a return of the rag-tag fugitive fleet first introduced by Glen A. Larson. It provided something that the original Star Trek did not. While this is interesting it does not explain why the new mini-series attracted a new audience. Both series tell the same story. Humans are nearly wiped out by a robotic race called Cylons. The mini-series had newer technology to draw on and better special effects.

The newer technology is not why the show gained a new audience. The original series was always hopeful and optimistic no matter how bad things got. It was always clear who was in the right and who was in the wrong. The new series, although it still explores moral themes,is much darker and more realistic. Moral issues abounded, and Adama can always be counted upon to do what is right in the end, but many characters act out of necessity.

The psychological element explored in the new series also drew people to it. Moore, unlike the original author explored the psychological effects of the Cylon. It explored how people reacted to the revelation of an enemy within. The exploration of the enemy within element required Baltar, a clear-cut traitor in the old series, to be portrayed as a double agent in the new one.

Caprica Unable to Resurrect Battlestar Galactica Franchise

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Caprica initially showed great promise before it premiered on the Syfy channel in an attempt to continue the Battlestar Galactica Franchise. Unfortunately it never lived up to that promise and never really took off. The show failed to connect with fans and was cancelled before the first season finished airing.
Caprica promised a look at what made the (something) civilization so great. Unfortunately Caprica could not live up to the action packed and suspense filled Battlestar Galactica, and began a poor imitation in the form of an evening Soap Opera.
As a stand alone series, Caprica might have done well. The premise and writing all made for an intriguing and exciting futuristic evening soap opera. An exploration of interactive computer technology, the philosophy of what it means to be a human, and the exploration of an interplanetary government, Caprica had the potential to hold viewers for an indefinite period of time. The show had the potential to be both ground breaking and boundary pushing. But Caprica could not compare to Battlestar Galactica, and ended up alienating most of the fans of the original series. Unfortunately it was the strong associations with and comparisons to Battlestar Galactica that led to the shows premature demise.

Moore’s Battlestar Galactica Honors Larson’s Original

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Roger Moore’s annoucnement of a re-imagined Battlestar Galactica made many fans of the original series cringe. The show made several errors. The most prominent mistake was changing Starbuck’s gender, but the problems ran deeper. The re-imagined series has men creating the Cylons, rather than a now extinct lizard race. Although thee re-imagined Battlestar Galactica made many key errors in the universe creation, it also got many things right.

It shows a people shaken by the events of what happened. It shows the paranoia the survivors of a genocide might display. The new series serves as a dark commentary on the war on terror. The Cylons serve as the enemy within working behind the shadows to destroy the human way of life. Because the re-imagined show came out a few years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, this is not a coincidence. The user can watch the new show and have a rough idea what happened in the old.

Fans of the old show do not know what to think of the character of Gaius Baltar. He’s still a largely incompetent villain, but in the new series, he’s on board the Galactica. You never know if he really is still a Cylon agent or if his hallucinations are simply part of his guilt for allowing the Cylons access to the Colonial defense network.

Moore kept the Vipers, the Galactica design and many of the names of the ships that were in the original series the same. He toned down the Mormon religious themes to make it appeal to a broader audience.