Battlestar Galactica is the best show on TV
Posted by Brian October 24, 2006
It just is. I will brook no disagreement on this.
This new version is not the same old cheesy show as the old version.
BG is full of contemporary questions and themes that make the viewer think. And I’m forced to constantly wonder, “who are the good guys here?”
- Religion: The “good” characters - the humans - are polytheistic. They believe in Zeus and Hera, etc. The “bad” characters - the Cylons - are monotheistic. They believe in what they call the “one true God.” In a recent episode, a Cylon said, “There is no God but God.” (Don’t the Muslims say, “There is no God but Allah”? And doesn’t “Allah” just mean “God”?)
- Violence/War: The Cylons destroyed most of the human race. But then two of them convinced the rest of the Cylons not to proceed with their ultimate destruction. Later, when the human remnant city is under occupation by the Cylons, the humans mount an “insurgency”, and struggle with the moral questions around suicide bombing.
- Relationships with the “other”: The Cylons, though they have killed most of humanity, seem fascinated with humans, and want to become more like them. And a few of the humans have become friends with some of the “good” Cylons. One even had a child with one!
The show is content to leave a lot of questions unanswered. The Cylons were created by the humans, so where did their idea of this God come from? What was going on when Dr. Baltar and the blonde Cylon kept having visions of one another? Was it just projections from their own minds? Or was there some kind of real “spiritual” connection between them? Are any of the religious beliefs in the show founded on “reality”? The humans, after all, did actually find the map to Earth predicted in their scriptures. On the other hand, the some of the Cylons seem able to predict the future, a feat they attribute to their God.
Plus, the show is just exciting. The latest episode featured the Gallactica falling from the sky in friction-induced flames, in order to deliver some fighters. Then it jumped away at the last minute with the FTL (faster than light) drive. It was a great scene.
And thank goodness Adama shaved off that hideous mustache. Now we just need Lee to lose that weight again! 
Maybe, one of these days when my ship comes in, I will be able to afford cable and watch these shows that I know nothing about, and then I can argue as to whether or not BG is the best show on TV or not!!
What? You say it’s better than Bridezilla? He! He!
I too enjoyed the scene that you mentioned. This is one of the best sci-fi shows since Firefly.
I love BSG! that scene where the FTL jump from the atmosphere in flames was amazing! I can’t wait till next week.
Oh, this is definitely the best show out there, even if Brent won’t watch it. We don’t get the sci fi channel so I have to get my episodes from some very good friends who download them next day, burn a DVD and pass it along to us deprived people.
I love that this show is all about the question of being human by posing the possibility of the posthuman–this is why I justify my purchase of the previous seasons as “dissertation research”–and it really is, honestly. Like all good sci fi, there’s some deep philosophical (and in BG, explicitly theological) pondering happening.
And now, since Brent’s not here, I am going to pop in the latest borrowed DVD!!!