CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 10/28/05

Re: Imagination

by jason davis

A "re-imagination" of the 1978 ABC science fiction one-season wonder, Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica takes the concepts and characters of the original, invests them with a level of reality seldom seen in genre programming, a depth of characterization rarely seen in television, and a thematic relevance almost extinct in the medium.

Battlestar Galactica: Season One (2004)

Glen A. Larson, Ronald D. Moore, Christopher Eric James, Toni Graphia, Bradley Thompson, David Weddle, Carla Robinson, Jeff Vlaming, Michael Angeli, and David Eick
Developed by Ronald D. Moore
Based on the series created by Glen A. Larson

After 50 years of peace, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, a society of humans paralleling the civilizations of Earth, are attacked by the Cylons, robotic servitors who long ago rebelled against their human creators. With nuclear detonations annihilating every inhabited planet, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) rallies the surviving humans in a fleet protected by the mothballed battleship Galactica and sets off on a quest for the fabled lost colony of Earth. With Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), forty-third in line of succession, assuming the Presidency of the Colonies and dying of cancer, an uneasy balance of power is established in a fleet where Cylon agents, designed to look and feel human, can strike at any moment and render the human race extinct.

Calculated to prey upon the post-9/11 fears of modern viewers, the series begins with a devastating sneak attack and quickly reveals that the face behind the destruction is just as human as that of the victims. Conflicts of reason versus faith, clashes between military and civilian authority, and the ancient struggle of man against himself cohere to create an accessible drama that has something to say to anyone interested in the human condition.

Contradiction is key in Galactica's characterizations. The ship's executive officer, Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) is both a competent adjutant to Adama and a worthless drunk. Adama's son, Lee (Jamie Bamber), disagrees with his commanding officer's politics and actions, but desires his approval as a father outside their military relationship. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), the most brilliant man in the fleet, is intellectually hobbled by his vanity and self-importance. These multi-faceted faces flesh out the remains of humanity and provide the engine for Moore and company's character-based storylines.

Uninterested in re-visiting the well-trod standards of the science fiction genre, Moore and company craft their stories around the unique characters with which they've populated their universe. At the heart of every plot is a critical choice on behalf of a cast member, be it ace pilot Kara Thrace's (Katee Sackoff) admission of a lethal past mistake or a Cylon agent's revelation of its true malevolent nature. Nothing is simple with in this universe, and every story plays with the audience's sympathies as much as it pressures the characters to go one way or another, each according to the passions and beliefs that define them.

While character forms the heart of Moore's re-imagined series, the world of the characters is every bit as developed as its inhabitants following logically from the content of the stories. Forgoing the advanced technological trappings of its genre brethren, Galactica exists in a world where mankind's innovations betrayed it. With the Cylons able to commandeer computers to undermine their enemies, only the antiquated Galactica survives the initial attacks. The result is a "retrotech" universe where hardwired phones are de rigueur and computer networks are verboten. The Galactica itself is modeled on a naval aircraft carrier and rests at the core of showrunner Ronald D. Moore's obsession with military minutiae, the show's presiding aesthetic. Without the fancy gadgets and lingo to build a barrier between creators and viewers, the series is able to engage its audience on the same level as any contemporary drama with character at its core. An additional benefit to jettisoning high-tech toys is the creation of authentic jeopardy; in this universe, the matter replicators will not save the crew when the fleet's water supply is destroyed, and omniscient scanners won't find a downed pilot on a desolate planetoid.

Flawed characters, living in a universe uncomfortably similar to our own, and a rigorous attention to the emotion and logic of storytelling combine to make Battlestar Galactica a formidable example of television. This, coupled with the realization that technology continues to be ingrained into the vital fabric of our day-to-day lives creates an imminently relatable universe where the characters face the same essential dangers, albeit on a different scale, as their audience.

- Commentaries by executive producer/writer Ronald D. Moore, executive producer David Eick, and director Michael Rymer
- Deleted scenes
- The Lowdown (Sci Fi Channel documentary)
- Behind-the-scenes featurettes

Both entertaining and enlightening, the array of commentaries assembled for this set delve into the craft of constructing the show's stories. Ronald D. Moore speaks on diverse matters ranging from the adaptation of the original television series to narrative roads not taken. Each commentary offers a wealth of insight into Moore and company's process along with accounts of how plot points developed, how editing altered the meaning of various scenes, and how the characters evolved from the scripted page to the finished film. At every step of the way, the contributions of directors, cast, and crew are acknowledged creating a sense of what each individual brings to the production. Nearly 50 minutes of deleted material illustrate how editorial decisions affect subtle shifts in the tone of a scene and offer an account of what story beats become redundant when a script is shot and edited.

Culminating in a two-part story densely layered with emotional, intellectual, and philosophical import, the first season of Battlestar Galactica offers a glimpse of television writing at its apex. From the creation of a believable world to meticulous character development and the seeding of relevance to the intended audience, the show succeeds like the most breathtaking of magic tricks. Best of all, the DVD format allows the magician to reveal his secrets. For a 45-minute lesson in writing, watch "Act of Contrition" and measure the script's success by the emotionally draining silence of Lt. Thrace's confrontation with Adama.

For more insight into the Galactica writing process, check out showrunner Moore's episode commentaries on Sci Fi's free podcasts right here.

Battlestar Galactica: Season One (2004)
Universal Home Entertainment
Not rated; 756 min.
$59.98

Buy it now for only $41.99 (save 30%)

At the age of 21, Jason Davis was hit in the face with a car. He has since devoted his life to writing. His words have appeared on TBS, MSN.com, and CS Weekly, where he serves as DVD Coordinator. He lives in Burbank.

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