Battlestar Galactica

[PursuedByBears]

Episode 1 starts like a thunderbolt. Confusion, panic. You don't know what the hell is going on.

That's because 33 is the third episode

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I thought the initial mini-series was excellent and it was an essential set-up to understand the different storylines. No idea why anybody would want to skip it or why you would want anybody new to the show not to watch it. You are however free not to watch it yourself.

I'd be more likely to recommend skipping the last season, where the show lost me.

All this 100%.
Not sure how well I remember, but I think the last season has a season split and was basically relatively ok up until half way through? When did they think they found the earth but it was nuked? When I saw that I thought "great" because I thought it was going to be so predictable that they would find a pre history earth and it put all that on it's head. . . . but then it didn't.

Maybe I should watch again with my daughter up until that bit to reassess. The thing that really stuck with my was that it was soooo brilliant, but then let me down so hard right at the end.

 

[Reno]

True - and X-Files is arguably not really sci-fi, at least not in the same way that BSG or Star Trek are. I don't remember the women of Firefly being typecast all that much? And if you count Lost as sci-fi then Evangeline Lilly definitely eclipses Anderson in post-show success.

The X-Files is sci-fi, just not space opera. The main plot line was about UFO's and little green men.

Gina Torres and Morena Baccarin from Firefly have had solid careers, mostly on tv but as the show was initially considered a flop and cancelled half way through its first season, they've never been that defined by Firefly.

Evangeline Lilly got co-starring roles in a couple of Hollywood franchises but Gillian Anderson gets nominated for tons of awards for her stage and tv work, where she doesn't play second fiddle to CGI and has shown tremendous versatility. Lilly hasn't done much apart from her MCU and Hobbit roles, Anderson is the more respected actress who gets cast in iconic roles, Lilly would never get considered for (Lily Bart, Blanche DuBois, Nora Helmer, Miss Havisham, Eve Harrington, Margaret Thatcher).

For the last decade and a half tv has become more prestigious and now actresses starting out in genre show have more opportunities than in the days from Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Watched the first episode of this on iplayer, thanks to all the recent hype. Err, it's okay.

 

[Crispy]

Watched the first episode of this on iplayer, thanks to all the recent hype. Err, it's okay.

It was the second fucking coming 15 years ago.

 

[Epona]

I'm re-watching it and it is still great

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Never been into Star Trek, liked Star Wars when I was a kid (have no tolerance for it now). Enjoy adult-y sci-fi like Starship Troopers and Aliens. No idea where this BG is meant to be sit , but will watch the second part of the pilot.

 

[Reno]

I don't think tv dates as well as films do. Even this itineration of BG will look dated, both in its structure, which never fully commits to continuous storytelling and in its production values. Now genre TV series are almost on the level of Hollywood films, this still has the look of a far smaller budget. The CGI looks dated and eventually much of it takes place in the most money saving of tv locations, a forrest.

BG was good in exploring issues of politics and religion, which was fairly sophisticated for a science fiction series of the time.

 

[Epona]

Never been into Star Trek, liked Star Wars when I was a kid (have no tolerance for it now). Enjoy adult-y sci-fi like Starship Troopers and Aliens. No idea where this BG is meant to be sit , but will watch the second part of the pilot.

There are fairly frequent sex scenes so it is aimed at an older audience than Star Wars and Star Trek. Not massively explicit and not hardcore, but definitely sex going on.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

There are fairly frequent sex scenes so it is aimed at an older audience than Star Wars and Star Trek. Not massively explicit and not hardcore, but definitely sex going on.

There was a bit of banging in the pilot episode.

 

[Epona]

There was a bit of banging in the pilot episode.

Aye there is a lot of shagging throughout - rewatching it I realise that at the time it was first shown I fancied at least three quarters of the cast which might explain why I enjoyed watching it so much

 

[Epona]

On a more serious note though, I do like a fantasy/sci-fi setting with a mythology I find fun - I'm an atheist myself irl, but I do enjoy fantasy mythology and BSG had that.