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Battlestar Galactica


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Well guys, Looks like the DVD's are coming out.

This web site has the updates.

Galactica Web Page.

Region 2 videos have been released and the Region 1 videos are slated to come out June/July.

Looks like it's starting to be marketed.

:lol:

Emil

Emil

looks like it is the original series, which was released here a while ago. My wife purchased it back in December last year.

I really want to see the pilot, looks like I will have to wait for the DVD of the mini-series to be released :lol:

:lol:

MikeJ

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If you scroll down to the March 1st entry in the news section it is the Mini-series DVD but it looks like a UK release at 12pounds a pop. I guess that is what they call region 2. The DVD for North America is going to be June/July.

I'm not sure if that is the same format you have (or if they still have formats???)

:rolleyes:

Emil

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If you scroll down to the March 1st entry in the news section it is the Mini-series DVD but it looks like a UK release at 12pounds a pop. I guess that is what they call region 2. The DVD for North America is going to be June/July.

I'm not sure if that is the same format you have (or if they still have formats???)

:huh:

Emil

Emil

I will check that out. Our DVD players can play all formats :lol:

:lol:

MikeJ

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  • 1 year later...

For Christmas, I received the DVD of the 2003 miniseries, so I can now comment on it. Before now I'd only seen bits and pieces (I don't get cable TV) and a few episodes of the subsequent series, and I always felt that perhaps I was leaping to conclusions. I'm a devoted fan of the old show, which was a formative influence of my youth, and I was not positively disposed to the "reimagining" of it. But I was moved by the thoughtfulness of the gift: it came from a friend of my brother-in-law, someone with whom I'd discussed the show, but whom I would not have expected to give me any sort of gift. So in the spirit of the season I tried to watch it with an open mind.

:soapbox:

My considered view now is that the persons responsible for this new series should be made the subject of gratuitous and inhumane medical experiments, performed by clumsy vivisectionists in front of a warmly applauding audience. If the evidence of this series' existence cannot be wiped from history, then at the very least, footage of the creators' fate should be included as a special feature, and their agonized screams should be available as a special "commentary" audio track accompanying the entire length of the program.

And yet I do not wish to seem ungrateful for the gift, so I'm trying to think what to say when this fellow asks me (as I suppose he will) if it's changed my opinion at all. My self-control may not be up to the task of muting my objections.

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My considered view now is that the persons responsible for this new series should be made the subject of gratuitous and inhumane medical experiments, performed by clumsy vivisectionists in front of a warmly applauding audience. If the evidence of this series' existence cannot be wiped from history, then at the very least, footage of the creators' fate should be included as a special feature, and their agonized screams should be available as a special "commentary" audio track accompanying the entire length of the program.

So, I take it that you don't like the show? :D

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and please don't take this post to be a flame of any type.

I was a big fan of the original series as well, tho I always thought that it was a bit too hokey. It was great entertainment!

Having said that, I am completely hooked on the new series. It's more gritty, more realistic (or should I say, more believable). I thought that I would have a problem with Starbuck being a woman, but I really like the way she plays the character.

I also like the way they are portraying the Cylons (the human kind), and the way they are having Baltar being more of an unwitting traitor, not thinking with the head on his shoulders, rather than the "Judas" he was in the original series. This Baltar is just plain p-whipped!

Adama seems more like a real commander.

And I have no problem with the "government" setup, since the premise is that these planets were originally populated by human explorers who travelled out to the stars from Earth. Enough generations of these colonists have gone by, with no communication with Earth, that Earth becomes a legend. It's not that hard to believe that the religious and political habits of the colonists would have remained somewhat similar.

These are just my opinions. I persona;;y would give the new series two thumbs up, three, if I could grow another hand :lol:

Edited by tomr
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For Christmas, I received the DVD of the 2003 miniseries, so I can now comment on it. Before now I'd only seen bits and pieces (I don't get cable TV) and a few episodes of the subsequent series, and I always felt that perhaps I was leaping to conclusions. I'm a devoted fan of the old show, which was a formative influence of my youth, and I was not positively disposed to the "reimagining" of it. But I was moved by the thoughtfulness of the gift: it came from a friend of my brother-in-law, someone with whom I'd discussed the show, but whom I would not have expected to give me any sort of gift. So in the spirit of the season I tried to watch it with an open mind.

:(

My considered view now is that the persons responsible for this new series should be made the subject of gratuitous and inhumane medical experiments, performed by clumsy vivisectionists in front of a warmly applauding audience. If the evidence of this series' existence cannot be wiped from history, then at the very least, footage of the creators' fate should be included as a special feature, and their agonized screams should be available as a special "commentary" audio track accompanying the entire length of the program.

And yet I do not wish to seem ungrateful for the gift, so I'm trying to think what to say when this fellow asks me (as I suppose he will) if it's changed my opinion at all. My self-control may not be up to the task of muting my objections.

Pesonally I think this is the best show on TV and I absolutley can't wait for the 2nd half of the second season to start.

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My considered view now is that the persons responsible for this new series should be made the subject of gratuitous and inhumane medical experiments, performed by clumsy vivisectionists in front of a warmly applauding audience. If the evidence of this series' existence cannot be wiped from history, then at the very least, footage of the creators' fate should be included as a special feature, and their agonized screams should be available as a special "commentary" audio track accompanying the entire length of the program.

Enough beating around the bush What did you really think of it?

;)

William G

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29-12-05

For those of you who have just seen the 4-hour mini-series of BSG:

We saw it here in Ireland and England earlier this year.

The way it shows is:

First a 4-hour mini-series, probably to test the water and guage the reponse. The response was overwhelmingly good and so we get a series of 13 episodes, which to me is Season one.

This explores things and developes it all and eventually leads to.....well, that would be telling, but they remake one or two key episodes of the original series and do a mighty fine job...there are some TRUELY spectacular battles coming and a lot of "Clyon under the Bed" moments.

Richard Hatch has a recurring role asa reloutionary and the first epsiode of this first season should not be missed...it's a real tension filled ep...

Following on from that, is a second series of 13 episodes which will be screened here (Ireland) beginning sometime in January 2006. Sky One are currently advertising it.

Apparently the big news in this up-coming season is that we WILL be seeing the Pegasus, but it won't be as you remmeber it...and the commander is female...

Also, it's rumourdthat the Colonials will build a new fighter to take on the Cylons and that maybe the Cylons have a masterplan up their sleeves...... a few more Cylons will be revealed as well.

I, personally, think this show rocks big time. It is true, realistic, not everyone is 100 per cent good all the time, the good guys aren't always good and the bad guys are sometimes insanely smart. It's the buisness and the amazing thing is...if you follow the time-line closely, they are, by the end of the first 13 episode season, only 44 DAYS after the destruction of their civilisation...which I personally find brilliant...no leap frogging forward in time..all this happens in six weeks!!!!

I too have an issue with what exactly fuels the ships.....not av-gas, surely?? :thumbsup:

Anyways, stay with it..it's superb entertainment.....

Liam

ps, there was someone on a forum who made a viper based on the new show...he did a limited run 1/24 scale viper and it proved so popular, he did a second run. He's also making a raptor. Can't remember the forum, but I will see if I have it bookmarked....it wasan awesome bird.

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Pesonally I think this is the best show on TV and I absolutley can't wait for the 2nd half of the second season to start.

Ditto with Kevin. While I was a fan of the original series way back, when "Space" (Canada's answer to the Sci Fi network) re-aired them, I could not believe how incredibly dated they were. And how cheesy some of the episodes were! When I heard that BSG was being redone, it sound shivers down my spine. With all the bad TV shows that are out there, did we really need another?

But it wasn't bad. It was really good. It had a plot! Character development! It looks (to my untrained eye) like they got the physics right!

Currently, I'm waiting for Season two to start airing up here. My impression was that the Season Two DVDs were only the first half of the season (which is why I'm waiting for the whole season two before buying).

Only two more weeks...

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While I was a fan of the original series way back, when "Space" (Canada's answer to the Sci Fi network) re-aired them, I could not believe how incredibly dated they were. And how cheesy some of the episodes were!

[Further ranting follows]

There's no arguing over tastes, and the "new BSG" has enough of a following that it will survive regardless of my opinion. But it does bug me (nothing personal, just venting) that praise for the new series almost always seems coupled with derogatory comments about the old one -- e.g. "cheesy" and "dated".

What science-fiction show or movie doesn't look dated 25 years later? Especially if we're talking about science fiction and space opera, which depend on visual effects, a field in which the state-of-the-art has advanced so far in recent years. Compare BSG to its original contemporaries, like Star Wars or Space 1999, and I think it holds up quite well. Compare "new BSG" to its contemporaries, like Babylon 5 or Firefly, and I don't think it's all that impressive.

Consider also that having your alien invaders look just like normal humans is pure low-budget B-movie cheesiness (second only to making them invisible) At least the old cylons had costumes. The idea of human-looking cylons also introduces plot holes that undermine the logic of the show. (Human-looking Cylons first appeared in Galactica 1980, by the way; that alone should have discredited the idea.)

For all my countless objections to "new BSG", it wouldn't bother me if it wasn't claiming the name. If it were just another "Sci-Fi original series" then I could watch (or more likely ignore) it with equanimity. And then I could live in hope that there would someday be a new BSG that would build on the franchise (as was done when Star Trek was revived) rather than trying to replace it. My anger probably owes a great deal, not just to the shortcomings of the show itself, but to this missed opportunity.

My kit stash includes an old Monogram Viper (actually just semi-painted parts -- a friend gave it to me after he gave up trying to finish it). I may have to build it as therapy.

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just finished watching season 2....

i loved the original version as a kid growing up in the 70s, lapped it up!!

with this new reinvented version... all i can say is that is very contemporary and really sets a new benchmark for sci fi TV shows. its gritty, realistic, theres depth to characters, the story is great, lots of human drama... all that i can ask for. its sci fi TV at its best.

cant wait for season 3.....

:cheers:

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I have loved sci-fi since I first saw ST:TOS aired in 1966. I was twenty-one when BSG:TOS aired. Star Wars had hit the scene and sparked a resurgence in Sci-Fi. BSG made the airwaves and I was quite underwhelmed. The blatant Cold War parallels just weren't palatable to me and that kid and his Daggett p|ssed me off. The show was too clean, too neatly wrapped up, too upbeat for a civilization on the brink of extinction.

The new BSG fixes everything I disliked about the old show. It's gritty, it's faithful to physics as their budget allows, it's developed much better. The kid was only in the Miniseries and two episodes. I love it. The human-bodied Cylons add a new dimension while allowing a smaller budget. And the whole religion aspect practiced by robots is a stroke of genius.

Let's hope R&D can keep the series fresh over the long haul a la Babylon 5.

Edited by Slartibartfast
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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, I'm not going to rant against the new series, but to praise the old one. I finally got the DVD set of the original series in the mail this weekend, and have watched the first disk (four hours, "Saga of a Star World" and "Lost Planet of the Gods"). Cannot say enough good things about them -- both the show and the DVDs.

First: it holds up surprisingly well. Contrary to what partisans of the new version say, the old show is not at all "cheezy". The plot and acting and writing are at least as good as the new one. (Better, in my view -- but I've promised to refrain from ranting against the new series...) Even the special effects are pretty good, if you get past the fact they had to keep reusing a small repetoire of shots them for cost reasons.

Second: Seventies space babes. Granted that I'm a sad, lonely single guy, but I cannot emphasize this enough. (Why did Jane Seymour have to leave after just two episodes? Sigh... though she was the only one with much of a subsequent career, so maybe she knew something the others didn't.) Far sexier than the gratuitous angry humping by Cylon super-models in the new show (but again, I am not here to rant against the new series).

Third: There were whole subplots and even multi-episode story arcs that got lost in the "deleted scenes" (including on DVD), with just little vestiges left in the aired version. It's good that they show the episodes in their original form, but the deleted scenes make you wish there was a "special edition".

For example, there's a whole deleted subplot in which Serena has been contaminated by Cylon biological warfare (there's a vestigal reference to "Pluton poisoning" in the show) and doesn't have long to live. There are some marvelously poigniant scenes. They cut all these scenes and instead she just gets crushed by a rock. This does explain why Serena's theme on the soundtrack album (which I still have on vynil) was inexplicably titled "Serena's illness".

The commentary track is pretty good too, although I've only gone through the first episode with them -- Richard Hatch (Apollo), Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) and Herbert Jefferson (Boomer). Actually I'd forgotten what a significant role Boomer had -- still a second-tier character but much more than the token black guy.

Further bulletins as events warrant... but for anyone who liked the show and sci-fi adventure, I strongly recommend the DVD set.

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BSG is one of the best shows on television. Not because it's based on an old show. Not because it's based on anything. It's the writing! Damn good writing at all turns! Intriguing characters and good storytelling!

Season 1 had more of a "documentary look" to it, and they openly stated that was their intention, but I think season 2 has toned it down a bit (which is a shame)

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Love the new season of BSG! The writers took the time to develop their characters, and we are now reaping the benefits (ST Enterprise failed horribly in this area.) and are able to ignore the corded phones, HumVee's, and other budget compromises. Can't wait to see where it will go now that we have TWO battlestars!

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OK, I'm not going to rant against the new series, but to praise the old one. I finally got the DVD set of the original series in the mail this weekend, and have watched the first disk (four hours, "Saga of a Star World" and "Lost Planet of the Gods"). Cannot say enough good things about them -- both the show and the DVDs.

As you can tell, I'm playing catch-up on the Forums.....

I have that DVD set, and it showcases the best and worst of the original series.

The Worst;

The show was "Dumbed down" for the Seventies audience, and it had to be fast-paced to emulate Star Wars. A cute droid was manditory (Muffit II).

You will not find Carl Sagan or Issac Asimov in the credits as consulting editors.

The So-So;

The writing was inconsistant, with some good (Gun on Ice Planet Zero), some great (War of the Gods),

and unwatchable groaners (Fire in Space).

The Better;

The women were WOMEN, in the finest Disco tradition, with no "butch" in them. They looked awkward holding weapons, but so what?

The Best;

The show pushed the envelope for FX on television, with creative design rivaling the big screen. The original BSG tried to look big, and it succeeded.

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[Further ranting follows]

There's no arguing over tastes, and the "new BSG" has enough of a following that it will survive regardless of my opinion. But it does bug me (nothing personal, just venting) that praise for the new series almost always seems coupled with derogatory comments about the old one -- e.g. "cheesy" and "dated".

.

Nah..I thought the original was cheesy THEN! It had an interesting premise and fell apart rapidly, and the less said about the 1980 version the better!!! :worship:

I also thought redoing a bad 70s show was a phenominally BAD idea. I now think it's a very good show. No, it's not perfect, and in 25 years, yes, I'm sure it too will look dated (The CGI cylons really bug me, not that I liked the originals personally!)

One of the things I find odd and a little bit amusing is that people get seriously bent out of shape at the sexuality shown in the series, but nobody seems all that upset at the violence. I've seen WAY more dead bodies in it than naked ones. And I don't think Number Six is all that hot..personally!

However, in the wake of 3 disappointing Star Wars movies and Star Trek imploding, BSG is a nicely timed and reasonably well done show.

Alvis 3.1

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3 disappointing star wars movies???? how dare you!!!! thats sacrilege!!!! :)

i love BSG!! corded phones, hummers and czech made skorpion submachine guns and all!!!!! i like no 6, but not as much as i like sharon and boomer, great chemistry!!! bring on season 3!!!!!

Edited by olemanjoe
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