Successful filmed science fiction requires a plot that moves at a very fast pace with only a few pauses to recover from major dramatic points. Sadly Battlestar Galactica, produced with high hopes and mucho dinero by the SciFi Channel, failed to meet this simple hurdle. Star Trek veteran Ron Moore made some interesting changes from the original series, I even didn’t have a big issue with the humanoid Cylons and the darker more believable characters worked well (he’s also one of the prime movers behind HBO’s Carnivale) but the four hours onscreen could have been edited down to two easily. Or preferably stuffed with more things, like anything that would give us insight into the Cylons. But Michael Rymer, the director, did get to show off his techno-fetish with many lingering shots on the hardware.
The miniseries was also a pilot for a series. Should SciFi go ahead and spend what would certainly be a big pile of cash on it? Honestly, I don’t think so. Too many of the actors were ill-suited to their roles and I think the story as set up won’t work well enough.
BillSaysThis 