Battlestar Galactica is Sci-Fi At Its Best
Recently I have found myself telling friends that Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. This is an obvious exaggeration for two reasons:
1) There is no objective formula for quantifying what show is the “best” on television.
2) I have not seen every show on television.
Of course, what I really mean to say is that Battlestar is my personal favorite show. And apparently, I’m not alone. Time magazine called BSG the #1 TV show of 2005. More recently, it scored in the top 5 for TV Guide’s best shows of 2006. But what’s all the hoopla? For those of you unfamiliar with the show, let me first give you a little background info.
The current BSG (2003–) is Sci-Fi Channel’s re-imagining of the cheesy 1970s classic. The series follows the survivors of the “twelve colonies of man” as they search for the mythical planet Earth, following an apocalyptic sneak attack by the Cylons, a machine race created by human beings. So far, executive producer Ronald D. Moore has managed to redeem the show’s reputation and exceed the expectations of a skeptical audience. However, despite its overwhelming success, many of Battlestar’s potential viewers still don’t tune in, thanks to its geeky sci-fi title. But if you leave your anti-sci-fi prejudice behind, it’s much easier to appreciate the show’s brilliant quality. Battlestar’s writing and performances are first-class, and the story’s philosophy embraces the diversity of human nature.
In fact, the philosophy of Ron Moore’s BSG is quite the opposite of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek. The late Roddenberry was a humanist who believed in a bright, optimistic future for humanity. As a result, Trek characters were flawless people involved in external conflicts against an alien enemy. In contrast, Moore is a realist who believes in a deeper, darker future for humanity. Battlestar characters are deeply flawed people involved in internal conflicts against themselves.
The central theme of BSG is that history will repeat itself. As President Roslin said –“This has all happened before and it will all happen again.” Humanity will both doom itself to tragedy and find a way to redeem itself, over and over.
Some critics also believe that BSG is a sci-fi allegory for the war on terror, complete with religious fundamentalists (here, genocidal robots called Cylons), sleeper cells, civil-liberties crackdowns, and even a prisoner-torture scandal.
On one of his podcasts, Moore throws out a series of metaphors concerning the Cylons, who are the rebellious robot creation of man and main antagonists. He says, “The Cylons are Nazis, hell-bent on solving the Human Question. The Cylons are Jews, trying to defend Israel. The Cylons are U.S. Troops in Iraq, caught off guard by an uprising.”
Now I don’t necessarily believe in the validity of all these metaphors, but it sure is fun to compare the fantasy world of Galactica with the real world of today. My point is, good science fiction entertains as much as it asks questions that make you go “Hmm.” Battlestar does both. Amidst the spaceship shoot-outs, bizarre love triangles, and sketchy political maneuvering, Battlestar sinks its teeth into big, soul-altering issues such as life, death, religion, and war, exploring the darkest corners of the human heart. I highly recommend that you tune into Sci-Fi during March of 2008 to witness the 4th and final season unfold.
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