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So in spite of being almost a complete rip off of Star Wars (and lawsuits were fended off because of it), Battlestar Galactica did have a few good moments here and there, although most of these were comedic.
The Cylons gave us no end of humor. The chrome plated drones (thinly disguised Stormtroopers) were so literal in following instructions, they couldn't be anything other than hilarious. The more humanoid versions were such sycophantic ass kissers that they'd probably do well in a modern corporate environment. Baltar, the human traitor and Darth Vader analog, held much power at the sufferance of the eternally cloaked in shadow Imperious Leader (can we say Emperor Palpatine, boys and girls?). The Cylon Base Stars (Death Stars) were massive death machines that could lay waste to whole worlds - the Colonial Battlestars on the other hand, while nearly as massive, didn't seem to hold up as well under fire.
Looking at the good guys, there was a definite mythological theme for naming most of the heroes, and a few other characters, predominately Greek, in fact. Apollo (the main hero), Athena, Cassiopeia, and so on. (The theme was nicely extended by giving the names of the colonies modified zodiacal symbols.) Other characters had characteristics or sounds instead of names (Jolly, Boomer). Starbuck, of course, was a name meant to be laughed at and, unsurprisingly, was also the squadron clown.
Knock the wings off an X-wing, add little stubby things instead and take away an engine. What are you left with? A Colonial Viper. The Cylon Raiders were really just flattened out Tie Fighters needing three pilots (because they were incredibly stupid robots).
Even the Force popped in when we learned that Commander Adama was mildly telekinetic late in the first season.
The writing wasn't really all that great, either, even if it did deliver the occasional good joke or one liner. Lorne Green (as Commander Adama) did the best he could with mostly crappy dialogue. I don't think that there was a single original story idea in the whole run.
Ultimately, the show can only be described as an attempt to cash in on the suddenly visible non-geek market for Science Fiction (or at least shows and movies with Science Fiction-y trappings) that Star Wars had shown existed. It didn't do it that well, and it didn't last that long - one season, really. When they finally managed to scrape up funding to produce a second season the result was Galactica: 1980, taking painfully derivative SF to a whole new level of agony.
That said, I was a kid when it ran on TV and, with my friends, played Warriors and Cylons. Of course, I'm pretty sure that the real target market was kids under 10 who didn't know any better. Although the second season definitely taught us better. Watching it as an adult is kind of like being a rubber-necker at a bad car accident - it's so awful you just can't look away.
But I do like the idea of a cape with dress uniforms.
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Page last updated: 15 Apr 2003.