Battlestar Galactica

Sometimes your eyes are opened to new experiences either through triumphs or tragedies... or in my particular case, a complete and broken kneecap!

When I was lying on my back, I received plenty of gifts from a lot of generous friends and family members. Being off work for a month, one tends to get a little bored...

I think a lot of you know how much I enjoy "entertaining" shows... and I was fortunate to have people either send me DVDs, or recommend shows that I should try out.

One show that I received was "Battlestar Galactica."

If you ever watched the original show from the 1970s, you knew it was a bit "campy" and "formulaic." We didn't really watch it while I was growing up, but I did catch it a few times to remember the brown uniforms and the red dot of the cylons (robots). Beyond that, I got nuthin'....

Now it may surprise a lot of you, but I'm really not into a lot of "Sci Fy." I actually bristle at it... Star Wars is fine, but seeing a lot of computer-generated crap really doesn't float my boat. So imagine my thoughts when my boss showed up with the first 3 seasons of BSG and said, "I think you're really going to like this show."

Hmm...

At the time, I was utilizing a Netflix gift card. (Quick Gift Idea: If you ever want to give someone "the gift of time," just go purchase a few months of Netflix for them. It costs as little as $4.99 a month, and they can get as many DVDs as they want each month... and I can attest to that from personal experience!) Anyhoo, I was using it for movies but also catching up on TV shows that I had always wanted to see... and Battlestar Galactica was NOT on that list!

So after some time, I finally popped in the first DVD of the show: Little did I know it was a 4-hour movie! (It took me 2 days to get through it!) However, once I finished, I was hooked!

Here's a quick synopsis if you're interested: Forget the 1970 show... that doesn't apply here. What does apply is that some of the names from that show are in this one. That's the only connection. The story states that humans created robots called Cylons to be their helpers. The Cylons rebelled and there was a long war between them. 40 years ago, there was a truce and the Cylons left... but now they've returned. They attacked the 12 colonies (planets) and the only survivors are those out in space - about 50,000 humans. The problem is the Cylons are trying to kill off all of them, too, so they're on the run. They have heard of a rumored 13th colony where they can be safe - the Cylons do not know about this or where it is located... it's called Earth.

Now, for the record, I got VERY addicted to this show. Once I finished the first 3 seasons, I started using my Netflix card and would get a new disk every few days. I'd go through each one, then send it back so I could get the next installment.

The good news is if you stick with this show, they wrap everything up. The show ended... it wasn't canceled... so the writers/producers got to tell the whole story... 73 episodes in all!

And the Sci Fy part? Not so much... it's more of a "human interaction" storyline. How do you setup a new government? How do you ration out the food and water and fuel when you're trapped in space? How do you survive through all of this while battling an enemy? Oh, and how do you manage all of this when there are Cylon models that look like humans and are planted in the fleet???

If you like Lost, I think you'll like this show. It's mysterious... and compelling. The characters are deep... and flawed... and fractured... and heroic... all in one. And the writing is VERY good... not to mention fast!

There is a HUGE fanbase for this show... numerous web sites, blogs, etc. I never understood why people liked this show so much... I do now.

So I write all of this to say I finally finished the last episode today... and believe me, it was "Frackin' worth it!"