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Exceeded my expectations. And I was a fan of the Original! In my mind's eye, shortly after May 1977, a group of TV executives were positively apopleptic over the lack of sci-fi programming for the upcoming season. The parasites, I mean, TV execs must have screamed "Lucas created a (profanity) sensation and all I have are re-runs of William Shatner!" Somewhere, someone came up with the idea that eventually became "Battlestar Galactica." Now, if my memory serves me correctly, the show was popular with the young crowd, but the episodes were costly to produce; that was probably why the special effects were recycled about two dozen times per episode. The original show did not last long, and the fans were sad. --------- {:^( ----------------------------- Now that someone in Hollywood has resurrected the series, reshaped it and did a damn good job, the die-hard fan base is apopleptic over the fact that the new show is not a scene-by-scene recreation of what they fell in love with as a kid. Tough luck I say. New Century, new idiots recycling old ideas. This time around they improved the storyline, and made it more enjoyable to a wider base of fans. Personally, I am pleased w/ the miniseries, and the new series deserves to be more successful than the original. Here is my list of praises: @ The cast is superb; the actors selected are doing a great job, and I hope they all get signed on for another season. @ Tricia Helfer is THE reason why nerdy fan boys will stay home on Friday nights to watch the show. However, in my opinion, she's too conservatively dressed. @ The Combat scenes are few, which makes me appreciate them more when I see them. @ The new Cylon Raiders are hot, and menacing. @ The Caprica storyline (from the series, the seed of which was planted in the mini) is interesting, as it keeps me tuning in every week. @ The Tin Cans/Toasters appear more menacing than the originals, but resemble them enough to bring back the memories. @ The shape of the Galactica > they did a good job on the design. It looks industrial enough; the Enterprise could not match this one in terms of "looking used." (They must have taken a cue from George Lucas's "Industrialized Universe" which worked in suspending disbelief). @ The similarities between "the Colonies" and 21st Century California/Canada (I think some of the show was filmed in Vancouver) are tolerable, as filming a Sci-Fi show probably requires a sizeable budget. I don't want to see resources wasted on things like a Zandar Fruit, when apples are available. @The writing staff has tried to adhere to the laws of physics, at least more so than some other shows (but not as closely as '2001: Space Odyssey'). @ The "Cylons-as-human" aspect makes for a great plot element, and I am dying to see where they go with this. @ The pervasive nature of the net GUARANTEES that fan opinions will be heard, and this is likely to improve the show in the future. Here's my list of gripes: @ I am not too crazy about the pilot uniforms, as they look like cut-up raincoats pasted together with crazy glue. @ The Vipers do not thrill me (neither the original nor the new Mark VI series). @The shuttles are also lackluster (but better than the originals). -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- One day, if I am ever a grandparent, most of my contemporaries will be nursing a broken heart over how the great grandson of Patrick Stewart "reimagines" the all-new Star Trek:TOS. Kirk is still Captain of the Enterprise, but now he's wear's an eye patch, has a parrot on his shoulder and channels for both Captian Hook and Blackbeard; Spock is now a cross-dressing woman who thinks she's a man and is torn apart over the illogic of it all; Sulu and Worff are related, but no one knows exactly how; Scotty is now a dog-human hybrid; Uhura is portrayed by a Native American; Batman is a crew member and the Klingons all look like Ralph Kramden (it turns out he's their deity). It may cause riots in the street, but it will probably be good television, or at least what would pass for it in the coming decades. All in all, 1978 it ain't, and we are in for one heck of a ride; I hope it don't jump the shark too soon.