Battlestar Galactica - The Mini Series [2003] [DVD] [2004]

Galactica is made by people who seem to be as jaded by sci-fi cliches as its prospective audience. Given that one of the brains behind it is Ron Moore of long Star Trek association I'm probably not far wrong in that assesment. It has a giant space ship, but it's not filled with top notch officers and high tech gismos. In fact, most of the crew members are (realisitically) sqauddies and NCOs and the rest are either fighter pilots, comissioned officers who weren't quite up to being posted elsewhere or both. Yet never once to you feel as if you are watching the token screwed-up kid, feminist or dipsomanaic. These characters are far too well written for that. The ship is a technological antique from a war in which networks and computerisation meant vulnerability to the enemy. It's a giant aircraft carrier in space, complete with cramped quarters, cabin fever and the most impressive dog-fight sequences I have ever watched.

The action is immediate and the CGI is naturalistic - at one point a piece of shrapnel hits the 'camera', terminating a frame. The focus moves in and out as the shot zooms from huge mothership to tiny one-man fighter ships. These 'Vipers' flip and handle in a totally new way, complete with visable thrusters and unprecedently full use of the 360 degree axis. And the music - none of your full orchestra melodrama but tense, understated drum tattoos and vocal chants lend an air of urgency and otherness.

The background culture of the series is thoroughly thought through, down to the religions, architectural and design themes (they use pentagons like we use quadrangles) and social history of the 'Twelve Colonies'. Furthermore the production and costume designers have outdone themselves in giving clothing and archetectural styles that we recognise from our culture a fresh twist then consistenly applying it across the board.

The scripting of this pilot works excellently, exploiting the episodic nature of television expertly, setting up at least 5 sub-plots that will develop troughout the course of the series and, best of all, doing it all with great slickness. I won't throw out any plot spoilers except to add that the interaction between the military and the civilian government is refreshingly unusual and realistic. Our guys aboard Galactica are accountable for their actions, if grudgingly. Furthermore, although the civilian characters are outnumbered by the military they are just as well thought out and the acting is universally of high quality. The understated talent of Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos shines and James Callis and Katee Sackhoff in particular make what could potentially be two very flat characters totally convincing.

In terms of extras, the DVD features only a short teaser movie - presumably aired before the mini-series to hook potential audiences. Given the quality of the three hours worth (it's amazing how short these things become when you take out the ads) of film however, don't let this put you off.I cannot praise this pilot highly enough - there is something for everyone, whether they think they like sci-fi or not. Although some fans of the earlier series are unhappy with the (rather extensive) changes I would urge them to look at this as something new and be inspired by the justice it has done to the concept - because it takes everything that has gone before it to new heights. Well worth 5 stars and certinly worth spending a few quid on.