If you're like me, you think good sci-fi should be about more than merely bringing the old history or current politics to space, it should be in a more abstract sense about a world that extends from our own. And if you're like me, you never cared for Star Trek as sci-fi and you tend to avoid being drawn to as much TV as you can because even those with the best reputation are sooner or later mired by endless sidetracking and repetition for reasons that have nothing to do with the craft itself.So I'm glad to report this is for you. Oh it's a flawed piece for sure. It was meant to set up a subsequent TV series and it shows, we end this with a cliffhanger and all threads open. Trek influence is unavoidable it seems: the moral dilemmas about the many versus the few, human compassion versus rules, the weary captain and his brave crew. All through the thing questions are posed that the creators will most likely drag their feet through multiple seasons to try and answer: some mythology about the original exodus from Earth, a race of androids in communion with (some notion of) god. And the whole story hinges itself on the momentous writing gaffe of having the blonde girlfriend of a top scientist be allowed in top secret Defense area to tinker with things on a mainframe. But beneath that we have something worthwhile. It creates a sense of unfolding world. The passenger spaceship that returns to Caprica feels like what it would be for commercial spaceflight between planets to be a routine affair, we see people dozing off as out of the windows space rolls by, just as it will be one day. The top AI scientist, the one who triggers the apocalypse, lives in a house with a lakeview and trees surrounding it, a future scenery that is far more likely than the totalitarian dystopias of other scifi. We see him interviewed on TV. The old battleship is about to be turned in a museum. Life basically goes on.It's true, there are anachronistic guns and technology, and the SFX work in space leaves a lot to be desired by contemporary standards. And it was shot on video and they didn't make any effort to hide the artifact. Yet none of those things detract from the appeal, video in fact adds to it, because we're placed the right way: when later in the story Starbuck flies the mission to recon for nearby enemies, and just probes through the edges of the storm, the only view we get is from inside her cockpit at the fleet rolling past higher above, an anxious glimpse of higher machinery instead of the whole opera.And what great views and turbulent aerodynamics of space in the all- important ensuing fight. All in all this is great because we're grounded to have presence, and all the subsequent leaps are to equally grounded views, in both story (somewhat) and the spaces chosen it feels like this is a normal day in the future interrupted by the apocalypse. If they wished to be bolder, they would have made this a three-part miniseries, devoting one part each to the ordinary life, apocalypse and aftermath. But until someone else tries it again, this for the time being is some of the best work we have, just this miniseries.

I would recommend this version of Battlestar Galactica to the 8 and older crowd, in addition to any and all SciFi lovers. The sets were detailed and truly exceptional in some places (probably computer graphics). There are plenty to tech toys and eye candy in this movie. The characters help draw you into the film. Yet, although Battlestar Galacttica does move along quite nicely, it gives you plenty of time to catch your breath without getting bored. In this version of Battlestar Galactica, Starbuck is a woman. I guess that was some of the political correctness the director/writer wanted to show. I found it good entertainment but not a classic. I give it four thumbs up.

Sad to see Glen A. Larson producing shows like this. The main issue is, what is with the Laura Roslin character? She seems like a man in a woman's body and viewers find this appealing? Also the entire show seems to be about interrogations and more interrogations. The plot seems banal and always week after week the same things are shown. Some conspiracy abounds and this is supposed to be the new great twist every episode. There is hardly any action and the drama is based entirely on having some sort of stale friction between the characters. I highly recommend watching Star Trek: The Next Generation or Star Trek: The Original series if one wants good science fiction episodes. This show isn't science fiction. It's junk.

I saw the original back when it was released in Australia at out local cinema (Bundaberg) in 79 or 1980(?) and loved that and the TV series even if the centurions heads wobble when they talk. Funny stuff! But the re-imagined series just blows my socks off. I like it so much I have bought the DVD's so I can watch them whenever. The casting is superb, the acting is sublime, the writing is sensational, the directors do brilliant work and as far as I am concerned the story line/plot remains basically true to the basic original concept with the obvious perfectly acceptable exceptions here and there. There is not one thing about the new series I can fault. IT ROCKS!! I also completely love the fact that they have changed some of the original male characters to be female. IT'S PER-R-R-R-FECTION with a capital P. I hope there will be many spin off stories. Keep it coming BSG creators!