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New Battlestar Galactica Series Starts Tonight 451

Posted by michael from the sexy-sexy-cylons dept.
Snaller writes "Tonight the Scifi channel begins airing the new reimaged Battlestar Galactica series. Having run to rave reviews in the UK, the new series is darker and grittier than the original, and showrunner Ron Moore aims for a more adult narrative with comments on issues such as terrorism, security, freedom, religion and what it means to be human in a series which is essentially one long story arc. The entire cast from the 2003 mini series is back and the first episode, called '33', picks up almost where the mini series left off: The humans are still on the run, but each time they come out of hyperspace, the Cylon armada catches up 33 minutes later ... every 33 minutes. When we join the crew this has been going on for five days."
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New Battlestar Galactica Series Starts Tonight More

New Battlestar Galactica Series Starts Tonight

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  • Any plans to rerun the miniseries so that those of us that missed out can get the backstory?
    Inquiring Tivos want to know!

  • BTEFNET.NET (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:25PM (#11366371)
    BattleStar Galactica episodes on btefnet [btefnet.net]

    • Re:BTEFNET.NET (Score:2, Informative)

      by zaneIO ( 606505 )
      Warning!! If you have not seen the earlier episodes, do not download these. As stated above, this series is very sequential, and if watched out of order it might spoil things in earlier episodes.

    • Re:BTEFNET.NET (Score:4, Insightful)

      by lemkepf ( 727820 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:37PM (#11366547) Homepage
      It's great that we can download stuff off the net... but in reality that could hurt the possibility of a second season. The hard core scifi fans have already downloaded it and watched it, and odds are wont turn into the show. Based on that the ratings for the US showing will be lower than what they couuld be. A screw up for the SciFi channel big time.... I really hope we get a second season, these first episodes really are quite good.
      • If they have enought downloads, the advertising on the page will pay for it. :)

        I'll be downloading soonest. And watching on my own. Since I can't get the scifi channel, it's a godsend. :)
      • I downloaded an watched these a while ago. I'm up to episode 12, and they are incredibly good. However, I'm going to Tivo all of the episodes as they air so that I'm counted in the ratings. I'll likely watch them again, too.

      • Re:BTEFNET.NET (Score:3, Interesting)

        by FireFury03 ( 653718 )
        It's great that we can download stuff off the net... but in reality that could hurt the possibility of a second season.

        The TV companies, MPAA, etc always complain bout people downloading episodes/movies from the net before they've been release in the respective country (hell, they even complain about people in a country where a series has been shown spoiling plot-lines for people in countries where it hasn't shown). This, of course, is one of the main reaons for the regionalisation of DVDs... not that i

  • 33 minutes (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DrugCheese ( 266151 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:25PM (#11366377)
    At least you know when not to take a bathroom break.


    • In the US, it'll be every 27 minutes to allow satelite synch, unless there's a time out.

    • Re:33 minutes (Score:5, Funny)

      by pohl ( 872 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:49PM (#11366727) Homepage
      That's ok, you only have to hold it for a few centons.

  • As a toast (Score:5, Funny)

    by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:27PM (#11366398)
    I hereby lift my Starbucks Grande Latte to the success of this awesome science-fiction tv show.

  • Wow, the US are behind... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lverrall ( 44904 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:27PM (#11366400)

    UK viewers are about half the way through this series already... and we're getting Stargate first... Makes a change.

    Stick with Galactica for a few weeks. It'll get better, honest.
    • You guys are up now to episode 11 of BSG? It's rather sad seeing them up on the usenet when they still haven't even aired here yet... I wonder if SciFi's delay in broadcasting them could be considered inducement to commit copyright infringement. No doubt many not sick of waiting to be able to watch legitimately and decided to go the less than legal route of DLing them.

      • Re:Wow, the US are behind... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by shadowjk ( 654432 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:06PM (#11366989)
        Erm, inducement to commit copyright infringement?
        Pardon me sir, but are you perhaps referring to the ONE MAJOR REASON why the WHOLE WORLD (apart from the US) are tempted to defer to copyright infringement?

        Ok, I have to confess. Per hollywood definitions, I am a pirate.

        When my peers on internet are discussing movies and shows, which will at best, if one is very optimistic, be released here on TV or in Cinema, a year (for cinema) or 3 years (for TV), if at all, from when they air in the US, and the DVD release, if there is one at all, being even further delayed, I have no choice but to use illegal sources to watch this show.

        I wish to welcome all of you lucky US citizens who like Battlestar Galactica, to the reality of us who like ANY american produced show. Welcome to the crowd.

        It is my firm and principal belief, that most of the TV and Movie piracy could be eradicated if only the silly time limits and restrictiond on the content were removed. Release Movie A only in Country B. Obviously, Country C - Z will pirate it, DUH! It is simple. Why can not the moviemakers understand this?

        Why can not the content distributors realize, that by restricting distribution, they are only hurting themselves, and feeding the pirates? Why are the distributors this damn braindead? Why the hell do you want to kill prospective audiences? Why the hell do you want to tell your customers to FUCK OFF? Why do you want to tell your customers to go away? Why do you want to tell your customers to come back in 2 years?

        It is quite illogical. It is what breeds contempt for the legitimate content produces in general, evne for those who do not practice these unfriendly procedures. I do wonder, do they even want our legitimate business?

        It seems to me, that they would rather see us download the pirates versions, which, contrary to the legitimate versions, actually PLAY in STANDARD media players, without need for custom media players or custom DRM patches or DRM software or DRM players, and, the illegitimate versions most often play on every operating syste, every processor and every architechture in use, whereas, the very few proprietary DRM releases that make it to the internet, are restricted to the few who afford a platform powerful enough, a platform glamorous enough, a platform recent enough, a platform lucky to run one of the few system approved by the media conglomerages.
    • Thankfully I'm sure most people here who were interested in the series started watching it when episode torrents became available online a long time ago.

    • We're actually about to see the final two episodes @Kobol's Last Gleaming" starting next monday.

      It's turning into quite a good Sci Fi channel now Sky One. Stargate SG1 & Atlantis played non stop so we finish it first, Battlestar Gallactica is part funded by Sky, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars on Saturday and Enterprise S4 starting later in the year!

  • ratings won't be what they should (Score:5, Insightful)

    by cnycompguy ( 663483 ) <cnycompguy@gmail.com> on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:27PM (#11366406)
    Scifi channel should start airing episodes when the rest of the world does, with the internet people who are actually interested in the series have most likely already seen the released episodes. Once the media execs realise that the internet has basicly tied the entire world on one release schedule they'll actually see the true ratings for the episodes.
    • SkyTV basically bailed SciFi Channel out and financed half of the cost of the series on the understanding that they got to show it first. Which is a pleasant change for us in the UK.
    • Yup, I'm running MythTV, it's no different to play back downloaded shows than recorded shows.

      And since I have a 16:9 TV, I actually get to use the full screen. I probably could zoom in with the US broadcast, but I doubt I'll ever be able to get the quality of image from the UK downloads.

    • If someone (with a ratings box) becomes a fan of the show, he'd want to see more of it, so he makes sures to watch it when it aires - he makes sure that his vote is counted as it where. But if it someone who tried it and hates it, he wouldn't have stuck with it anyway, no?

  • Gaius Baltar or Shannon "Boomer" (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Marxist Hacker 42 ( 638312 ) * <seebert42@gmail.com> on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:28PM (#11366412) Homepage Journal
    I'm willing to bet the 33 minute problem will come down to isolating one of these two- or both- to fit in with the story line.

    But now this raises an interesting question: At the end of the miniseries, it appeared that the Imperious Leader was wearing Shannon "Boomer"'s body model. Could similar models be networked? Thus providing a locator beacon every time they leave hyperspace- that it takes the cylons 33 minutes to home in on?

    If I was Adama, I'd set the next hyperspace jump for exactly 29 minutes....always in the same general direction but enough off so that it was unpredictable....until I was so far out that the cylons could NEVER catch up.

    • I know... beowulf cluster setup, right? (Score:5, Funny)

      by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:29PM (#11366434)
      ' Could similar models be networked? '

      You could not come right out and say a "beowulf cluster of boomers", could you?

    • Re:Gaius Baltar or Shannon "Boomer" (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Leo McGarry ( 843676 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:20PM (#11367186)
      There is no "Imperious Leader." You misunderstood the closing scene of the pilot.

      And I'd suggest you check out Ron Moore's latest blog entry [scifi.com]. He goes to great length to explain that the intricate technological details behind the 33-minute thing just don't matter. He says:

      A deeper truth is, I was never interested in coming up with an explanation for Why? Never. I mean, I suppose I could've come up with a sufficiently important-sounding bit of technobabble that would've made sense (you see, the Cylon double-talk sensors tracking the Olympic Carrier's nonsense drive signature needed 15 minutes to relay the made-up data wave through the pretend continuum, then the Cylon navigational hyper silly system needed another 10 minutes to recalculate the flux capacitor, etc.) but what would that have really added to the drama? How does explaining that 33 minute interval help our understanding of Laura's terrible moment of decision, or bring us to any greater knowledge of Dualla's search for her missing family and friends, or yield insight into Baltar's morally shattered psyche?


      If you're the kind of person who wants to hear lengthy technical explanations of incidental plot points -- and there's nothing wrong with those people -- don't waste your time with this show. This is not a genre show. It's a character-driven drama that just happens to be set in space and include robots.

  • A breath of fresh air (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Sanity ( 1431 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:29PM (#11366431) Homepage Journal
    I consider myself to be a pretty discerning sci-fi fan, and this show is pretty-much perfect. The characters are interesting, imperfect, complicated. The stories are interesting, even the bad-guys, the Cylons, are intriguing (some of them are religous zealots, others are obsessed by sex!).

    This show is in a different league to Stargate SG1/Atlantis, Enterprise, and the rest, and certainly doesn't need to rely on lazy nostalgia for the original.

    • Re:A breath of fresh air (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Attaturk ( 695988 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:39PM (#11366592) Homepage
      I'd have to agree. I've been watching it regularly over here in the UK since it started. It's actually bloody good.

      I was a total skeptic, having become completely disillusioned with Sci-Fi TV in general. I used to love Sci-Fi TV when I was younger but the genre has really been flogged to death over the last decade or so. When I heard about the BSG remake my colleagues and I all had a good laugh at its expense.

      Many months ago I came across the torrent for the mini-series premiere and downloaded it for no apparent reason. Very late one night after a long work session I fired it up pretty much out of boredom. By the time the first part was over I was absolutely hooked - not to mention stunned that even someone with my initial perspective had been conquered by it.

      I hate TV. I dunno what it's like over there in the U.S. right now but given the state of it when I was last visiting, I can only assume that it's even worse than it is here - full of remakes, so-called 'reality TV' and unoriginal nonsense. Even the 'educational' stuff and documentaries are patronising and ill-informed. Anyway, my point is that over the last couple of years I've become aware of two - and only two - programmes worth watching. The Daily Show is one of them and BSG is the other. Without these two programmes I could quite happily throw my TV out the window. Actually come to think of it, I have to download my Daily Show so BSG is the only thing saving the TV set.

      Of course this series still has some low points but there are a helluva lot fewer than any other Sci Fi series we've seen in recent years. Huge huge thumbs up. I strongly recommend that even the most hardened cynic puts aside their fears and check it out.

  • Darker and Grittier (Score:5, Funny)

    by Shamanin ( 561998 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:29PM (#11366432)
    "the new series is darker and grittier than the original"

    is that really saying much? Mary Poppins is darker and grittier than the original series also.

    • Re:Darker and Grittier (Score:4, Insightful)

      by HarveyBirdman ( 627248 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:42PM (#11366622) Journal
      Good point. :-) OK, it's REALLY REALLY REALLY darker and gritter than the original.

      The Cylon attack in the original was a cheap SFX lightshow.

      The Cylon attack in the new show is really nasty: nuke after nuke after nuke right in the heart of population centers. It makes "The Day After" look like Mary Poppins. You really get the sense that this is not war- this is an attempt at complete extermination. The original was too cheesy to accomplish that.

      One thing I don't see mention much is the virtual zoom lens activity in the spaceFX shots. It really gives a greater sense of 3D and more more solid feel to the spacecraft than previous shows.

      • One thing I don't see mention much is the virtual zoom lens activity in the spaceFX shots. It really gives a greater sense of 3D and more more solid feel to the spacecraft than previous shows.

        Of course, it was also ripped from Firefly. :)

  • And gratuitous Cylon b00bage. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:30PM (#11366446)
    > Having run to rave reviews in the UK, the new series is darker and grittier than the original, and showrunner Ron Moore aims for a more adult narrative with comments on issues such as terrorism, security, freedom, religion and what it means to be human in a series which is essentially one long story arc.

    ...puncutated every five minutes by (whups, gotta make out with my imaginary Cylon chick) segments showing Baltar's imaginary Cylon chick (ahem, fap fap fap) screwing around with his mind (oooh, she said "screw") by intruding into the plot line at least once per segment (and her spine glows, which is why we need to interrupt the plot for another gratuitous shot of this half-naked Cylon chick) with a simulated sex scene.

    Hey, Baltar, I've got your Cylon detector right here. (pause to make out with Cylon chick) It's called a blacklight. (hang on, gotta fap again) If your pants are glowing with stains from busting one out every five minutes (damn, that feels great!) and everyone else on the ship is grossed out by it, odds are you're under Cylon influence.

    Now if you'll pardon me, I've gotta go boink this hot imaginary chick in the red dress again. See you after the commercial.

  • Only in the U.S. (Score:2, Informative)

    by Voxxel ( 147404 )
    It's beened aired elsewhere already. I've downloaded adn watched the first 11 eipsodes. Looks like they were recorded from some British channel.
    • I must say that having watched the first eleven episodes that this is an excellent show. I found myself disappointed with only one ep along the way (episode 9).

      It is worth noting that BG is serial in nature...so if you miss a few eps you may find yourself in trouble. However, I've always felt that the best shows were serial.

      Plus, having Ronald Moore running the show (Carnivale season 1, Deep Space Nine) really makes this a fine series.

      Finally, don't miss out on the closing splash after the credits. Pr

  • Its getting great reviews in the states as well (Score:3, Informative)

    by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:30PM (#11366452) Journal
    Aint it cool news have compiled [aint-it-cool-news.com] a list of comments from american media, and they are almost all very positive.
  • I only have Basic Cable, you insensitive clod!

    Seriously. It's $10 cheaper to order Comcast cable Internet with basic cable. THis is how they getcha -- basic cable only has like 20 channels, 5 of those are religeous, 5 are shopping channels. We do get the Outdoor Hick Network, but not the Discovery Channel. Pretty much only useful for recording Enterprise with my MythTV [mysettopbox.tv] box.
  • so, i've seen the first 10 or so episodes, and let me tell you, this show has restored my faith in the sci-fi genre. after so many bad seasons of "enterprise" it's nice to know there are still some people out there who can do it right. I highly recommend this show to just about anyone.
  • Just out of the nerdiest sort of curiousity - does anyone have a timeline of the events in the miniseries? My understanding is that all the events in the mini take place in a day or two, tops, and possibly much less. Does this seem right?
    • That's about right as I recall. It was sort of an extended sci-fi episode of "24" with the ultimate worst case scenario. ;-)

      (phone rings)

      "This is Jack Bauer."

      "Jack! The Cylons-"

      *BOOM*

    • Basically the entire miniseries takes place in less than a day. The first 4 episodes of the actual series takes us to the end of a full week in timeline and it picks up right after the miniseries. Cant really say anything else without giving away stuff.
  • Sounds like it should be the new hit realtime series aired on commerical TV. It could be 33 minutes over the entire course of a season, aired in realtime...not counting commercials.
  • Split the fleet intp parts. Jump.

    If a fleet evades, then do the same thing with the fleet that was tracked.

    Once you find out which ship is being tracked (gee could it be Galactica?) repeat the process but start swapping passengers among ships.

    • "Split the fleet into parts."

      I think the Cylons will be quite obliging, especially if the parts are to be molecule-sized.

    • If memory serves, Adama actually proposes exactly that: Split the fleet into six parts. Doesn't get around to actually doing it, though.

  • The best thing about the new BG (Score:4, Insightful)

    by HarveyBirdman ( 627248 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:33PM (#11366501) Journal
    is the fanboys of the older series huffing and puffing about violating the purity of the original (like making Starbuck a girl or some other thing that got their pink panties all wrapped around the axle, to mix a metaphor).

    I guess in a world where Britney Spears or Adam Sandler can have millions of devoted fans, even the original Battlestar Galactica can have them, too.

    The scene in the new miniseries, with a horizon filled with mushroom clouds and desperate people blindly fleeing, by itself kicked the ass of the entire original series.

    And don't even argue with me or I'll bring up Galactica 1980. AND I'll bitch slap your sorry ass, punk, and then make you cook me a steak.


    • Galactica 1980 NEVER HAPPENED!

      and I will listen to absolutely no argument to the contrary...

      LA LA LA IM NOT LISTENING!!!

      that said... the new show kicks ass.

    • While I agree with you completely, there was one other scene in the miniseries that, in my opinion, kicked the ass of the original.

      Near the end, during the "after the fight" montage, Tigh goes back to his cabin, takes out his liquor bottle, and drops it into the trash can by his desk.

      We cut away to other scenes, other characters reacting to their new circumstances.

      Then we cut back to Tigh. He's fished the bottle out of the trash, has it sitting in the middle of his desk, and is sitting in his chair with

  • For those setting their VCR's (Score:3, Informative)

    by MacBrave ( 247640 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:34PM (#11366509) Journal
    Actually two episodes are airing tonight. '33' at 9pm ET followed by 'Water' at 10pm ET.

  • Personally (Score:2, Funny)

    by afstanton ( 822402 )
    I welcome our new Cylon overlords. Especially if they are hot as that blonde chick.
  • People in the know were already watching it on Sky One out of the United Kingdom. It's already up to the 12th episode, so NANNER NANNER NANNER!
  • I'd just like to know?
    • Why Did Europe get it 4 Months ahead of time?

      Interesting that the original series' 2-hour TV pilot was released in movie theatres in Canada the summer before the TV series premiered in the states.

      Maybe they're just sticking with tradition. ;-)

      Sam

    • Why Did Europe get it 4 Months ahead of time?

      It wasn't Europe as such, only the UK. This version of BG is very expensive, and SciFi weren't entirely sure they should risc that much money - after all it might bomb big time. They came to an arrangement with British Sky channel - they would help fund the series, on the proviso that they could show the series first.

      And so it came to be. Of course it will ultimately be US ratings which determine the fate of the series.
  • Don't listen to the disgruntled fans of the original series. This new Galactica series rocks!

    It's fresh, original looking, well written and well acted. And faithful to the spirit of the original series.

    This is the best sci-fi TV since ST:TNG and makes the new Star Wars movies look like the daggit crap they are.

    Sam

  • There is nothing not to like about it. The CG is great, the physics is as close as Hollywood will probably ever get to accurate (the fighters use thrusters! There's very little noise in space!). The cinematography is gritty and "realist", but not gratuitously so. The storyline (11 episodes in) is a bit on the mystical side, but a lot tighter than the original. And! There's less reason for the heterosexual male segment of the audience to feel conflicted about being attracted to Starbuck!
    • The best physics had to be Bab5. They really did look like space craft for the most part.

      Mystical side??? This will be interesting to see if they keep the same influences as the original.
      • Pity that everything else about Babylon 5 sucked tits. And the graphics were too obviously CG. The tech has progressed a little since then.
  • To provide some context I've been a long time sci fi viewer like many of you. I enjoyed the original series but was never a fanboy about it. However, I became somewhat put off when it appeared Moore rebuffed Hatch's attempt to revive the show because he wanted to pursue his own revisioning of the series. I was also a fan of Farscape and wasn't thrilled about how that series demise was handled. However, the ads looked good and I checked out the miniseries. While I have some reservations about small nit-
  • I got to see the SkyOne airings and I must say this is currently the best drama on TV. It's certainly funny when appropriate, it's very sexy, and it's definitely good science fiction, but the levels of dramatic tension are astounding. Each episode of the first 11 I've seen has impressed me with new surprises layered atop steady, logical plot advancement--evading cylons, finding supplies, rooting out spies, rebuilding fleet organization, casting off old releationships due to new circumstances. But always

  • New Battlestar Galactica Series Starts Tonight???? (Score:3, Informative)

    by ltwally ( 313043 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @04:48PM (#11366714) Homepage Journal
    The series has actually been airing in Europe for the past several months. For those Americans that were too impatient to wait, the episodes been available off your favourite [btefnet.net] torrent [tvtorrents.tv] sites [torrentreactor.to] for some time now.

    So far, 11 of the season's 13 episodes have aired and been made available online in TV, PDTV and HDTV formats.

    As well as being in higher resolution/quality than your average TV broadcast, these online copies are commercial-free.

    Personally, I recommend downloading them and watching them on your computer, but also tuning your television on to the sci-fi channel and muting the sound, so that Sci-Fi gets paid for these shows and they may be able to continue producing them.
  • I've been eagerly anticipating the new series with bated breath.
    It's got some really interesting story lines going on, and I think the writers have been doing a fantastic job. In my eye it's been pretty original as far as sci-fi goes. =)
  • ...that SCI FI TV needs...becuase its been terrible lately...

    I thought me had it with Farscape for a bit, but it feel apart. It was good for the first couple seasons, but then it went off track and the casual watcher (to survive a show needs to be accessible the casual watcher) couldn't keep up with the plot twists and the cast changes. This killed the show...

    Enterprise is so far off course its going to exit the galaxy. Its good but its not trek, and its pulling concepts out of the trek archive that only the hardcore trekkies can follow to try to survive...not a good plan. What they need is a good hardcore war, but its not really in the cards because of Trek Cannon for the time period.

    StarGate I still love but lately it just seems a bit Earth bound, I have hopes for the second half of the season. And we know there will be a 9th now...the replicators in the new human form lurk and I think this is the way to bring new interesting plots the G'uld, have run thier course for now...

    Atlantis is good, but I think its still finding its stride...I'm not in love with the chracters or plots yet, and the main baddies have not really put in a serious appearence since the Opening....

    • I thought me had it with Farscape for a bit, but it feel apart. It was good for the first couple seasons, but then it went off track and the casual watcher (to survive a show needs to be accessible the casual watcher) couldn't keep up with the plot twists and the cast changes. This killed the show...

      It only killed the show for the casual viewer. Plot twists & cast changes made the show dynamic, not moribund in its storyline. Nothing stops a viewer from buying DVD sets now (or whatever) and catchin

  • Having seen it... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ericdano ( 113424 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:00PM (#11366874) Homepage
    Having seen episodes 1-11, this is by far the best SciFi I have ever seen. Second would be Farscape. Third would be Stargate Atlantis and SG1.
  • You sure!?

    I've seen all 11 episodes already... Just turn to channel number usenet...

    Unfortunately this channel isn't carried by most cable providers.

    Call your cable companies and demand that they carry the usenet channel!

    You too can watch all 11 episodes...
  • I watched the Reader's Digest version of the mini that was on NBC the other day, and was pleasantly surprised. Aside from the obligatory Dangerous Hottie to trigger the teenage hetboys' fear/desire reflex and keep them interested, it was pretty darn entertaining. Not enough to persuade me to pay to get the Skiffy Channel, or to start getting copies via social or computer networks, but definitely worth watching if you have access to it.
  • I've seen the first 8-9 episodes and I'm loving it. What I like about is that it has a certain "reality" to it that most other sci-fi episodes have not. It looks like it won't resort to standard cheesy sci-fi plot fillers when they run out of original material. Cheesy plot fillers being time travel, parallel universes, holodecks, body switching (shudder). Star Trek regularly uses these plots, Stargate does this also but manages it a bit better because it doesn't take itself too seriously and Farscape is

  • netflix (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Satai ( 111172 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:16PM (#11367128)
    in response to all this, since I've never seen any of the Battlestar shows, I logged on to Netflix and added all the original series plus the miniseries. The original series, for those who don't know, is ten discs in length -- and I scrolled down my queue, and every single one was listed as "Very Long Wait." Not short wait, not "Available Now" not even "Long Wait." "Very Long Wait."

    That is, except for Disc 6 -- next to that entry, it says "Available Now."

    What the hell is wrong with Disc 6 that nobody wants it?

  • Series timeline and availability (Score:4, Informative)

    by DiveX ( 322721 ) <slashdotnewcontact@oasisofficepark.com> on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:18PM (#11367159) Homepage
    The mini-series pilot was released in Canada in summer 2003. atings were good enough to make a series out of it. Because of the expense, a British station helped fund the show on the condition that they air it first.

    In December 2003, the pilot showed in the US and UK. Starting in January, the mini-series episodes (of which 13 have been produced) started airing.

    Last weekend, NBC aired an edited (cut from 4 hours to 3) pilot at primetime. The Sci-Fi channel (owned by Universal [which owns NBC as well]) is showing in two parts, the origional, full pilot. It is also showing old episodes of the original show. The new version is going to start being aired in the US now as mentioned in the story.

    The producers made a plea on one of the Sci-fi Channel web forums to not download the show since the survival of the series (i.e. Season 2) of course depends on ratings. Even with a business degree, I simply cannot understand why companies stagger the release dates on movies, music, or software so much. Let both sides of the pond see the series at the same time and you'll get the viewers and won't screw yourself since people will get the content they want anyway. In the binary newsgroups (alt.binaries.dvdr) someone has posted 3 DVDs of the series (each containing 3 episodes) with some pretty good menus. I've watched them and think it is a well done series, and think '33' is a good first episode. Even after seeing it, I will have my TIVO pick up the episodes since I know TIVO collects anonymous statistics for the ratings systems. To make sure the show is recorded as being played, I'll just start the episode before turning off my TV for the day, ensuring that it gets marked as being watched, with even commercials being displayed at normal speed!

    At least the studio talking heads are not pulling some bonehead move like they did with 'Firefly' in that the episodes were all resead out of order, thus cunfusing the initial audience and obviously causing an untimely death. Maybe with the movie, the series might have a new chance at life if it does well.

  • Seen the first 10 episodes. (Score:3, Informative)

    by rikkards ( 98006 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:23PM (#11367246) Journal
    Suprnova was good for it. Actually the show is quite good. I would say less cheesy than the original. The biggest difference is that Boomer and Starbuck are girls. But the plotline is quite interesting.

    The battle scenes are good as well but this whole "shaky cam" thing gets annoying especially the quick zoom they do a lot.

    Worth watching I would say but YMMV

  • ALERT!! The enemy is only microns away (Score:4, Funny)

    by Nom du Keyboard ( 633989 ) on Friday January 14, 2005 @05:56PM (#11367718)
    My favorite [bad] memory of BG:TOS was the warning that the Cylon fighters were only microns away. I always figured that meant they were burrowing through the hull paint of the Galactica by now.

    It pulled me out of my suspension of disbelief every time.

    Never destroyed my fantasies about Maren Jensen however.

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