Anthony G Williams
Greybeard
This series passed me by when it emerged in the 2000s but I'd heard good things about it so I saw the first two 90 minute programmes which constituted a "miniseries". The first, that is, since the 1970s version which I had also missed. For those unfamiliar with the setting, a brief summary follows.
The time is the far future when faster-than-light technology has permitted interstellar travel. Humanity is settled on a dozen colony worlds, and to assist with further exploration of inhospitable environments has developed Cylons – tough, intelligent robots of humanoid shape. The Cylons had eventually rebelled against humanity and after a stalemated war had withdrawn from human space forty years before the story begins. But now they are back, on a war of annihilation – with the aid of a new form of Cylons who are almost indistinguishable from humans. Their initial attack is successful, leaving the only hope for humanity the last surviving Battlestar – a giant space warship named Galactica.
After the initial scenes most of the action in set on board the Galactica or its one-person "Viper" combat craft. There is a varied cast of generally well-drawn characters with many personality clashes driving the plot. Despite this, I found the whole feel of the series to be rather old-fashioned and unoriginal – a kind of blend of Star Trek and Star Wars, with just a few of its own twists thrown in. As a matter of personal preference, I have also never liked the "enemy within" kind of story, in which the viewer/reader knows which of the "good guys" is really a "bad guy" – but the good guys do not.
Overall I enjoyed the miniseries, but faced with a further 70 or so episodes I decided that Battlestar Galactica wasn't quite intriguing or likeable enough for me to want to devote that much time to it. I probably would have followed it to the end had I watched it week by week when it first came out, but as I get older so I become increasingly picky about what I'm prepared to watch or read, especially if that involves a major time commitment – too much to do, not enough time!
(An extract from my SFF blog: http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/)
The time is the far future when faster-than-light technology has permitted interstellar travel. Humanity is settled on a dozen colony worlds, and to assist with further exploration of inhospitable environments has developed Cylons – tough, intelligent robots of humanoid shape. The Cylons had eventually rebelled against humanity and after a stalemated war had withdrawn from human space forty years before the story begins. But now they are back, on a war of annihilation – with the aid of a new form of Cylons who are almost indistinguishable from humans. Their initial attack is successful, leaving the only hope for humanity the last surviving Battlestar – a giant space warship named Galactica.
After the initial scenes most of the action in set on board the Galactica or its one-person "Viper" combat craft. There is a varied cast of generally well-drawn characters with many personality clashes driving the plot. Despite this, I found the whole feel of the series to be rather old-fashioned and unoriginal – a kind of blend of Star Trek and Star Wars, with just a few of its own twists thrown in. As a matter of personal preference, I have also never liked the "enemy within" kind of story, in which the viewer/reader knows which of the "good guys" is really a "bad guy" – but the good guys do not.
Overall I enjoyed the miniseries, but faced with a further 70 or so episodes I decided that Battlestar Galactica wasn't quite intriguing or likeable enough for me to want to devote that much time to it. I probably would have followed it to the end had I watched it week by week when it first came out, but as I get older so I become increasingly picky about what I'm prepared to watch or read, especially if that involves a major time commitment – too much to do, not enough time!
(An extract from my SFF blog: http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/)
