battlestar galactica

[dehro]

I've decided to give it a proper go: the original series has been on TV for some years at ungodly hours (even for me) here in Italy..and I've maybe seen half an episode here and there.
never seen the "new" version of it.

I know where to find the new series but wonder whether I should bother and should not try to find the old series instead, to watch those first.. (or maybe "just" those, the new ones being a heresy for "regular fans")

suggestions? opinions?

[Mad Mask]

Although I have only watched the new Battlestar Galactica in its entirety, I would not recommend watching the old series. From the few episodes I have seen, the old series seems cheesy, outdated in its special effects and overall doesn't compare to the new one.

Despite that, it doesn't really matter which one you see first; apart from the premise and some of the characters, they don't have much in common.

[Hailphage]

As Mad Mask said, there's no need to watch the original series prior to the new version - aside from the setting and some character's names there's nothing in common between the 2.

The original is a cheesy, 70s style sci-fi series; the new version is harder, grittier series more befitting the 00s.

I've only seen a handful of episodes of the original and found it pretty average, however I love the new version.

[Cristo Meyers]

It's worth noting that the original was a classic, but only for its time. That's a big distiction to make. To say it hasn't aged well is an understatement.

[Mordaenor]

Classic BSG, and the re-imagined series are ENTIRELY different shows. Personally, I really enjoy them both greatly, although it is hard for me to watch the classic series on account of the fact that it wasn't finished. Both were ground-breaking shows in their time. You may like one, but not the other, but it is really pointless to compare one to the other, as they are really two completely different kinds of programs. And under no circumstances bother with Galactica 1980. Trust me on that one.

[Weezer]

I would say watch the new one first, it is by far one of the best sci-fi shows I've watched, for a number of reasons, as well as being more accesable for a modern audience. Then I'd try out classic BSG, if like me you enjoy dated and somewhat cheesy sci fi you'll enjoy it too. It's cheese level is a good bit less than original star trek but far more than almost all current shows.

[Liffguard]

IMO only the mini-series and the first two seasons of BSG are worth watching. Apart from a few good episodes scattered here and there, the later seasons are not very good; directionless, convoluted and often pretty nonsensical.

[Weezer]

IMO only the mini-series and the first two seasons of BSG are worth watching. Apart from a few good episodes scattered here and there, the later seasons are not very good; directionless, convoluted and often pretty nonsensical.

They do get a little weird later on, I'll admit that, especially for the last season which I actually gave up on for a few months first time I watched it. But the first two seasons are excellent.

[factotum]

It's worth noting that the original was a classic, but only for its time. That's a big distiction to make. To say it hasn't aged well is an understatement.

I dunno--the pilot episode ("Saga of a Star World", I think) which had the enormous battle in it wasn't too bad. It kind of went off a cliff in terms of quality after that, mind you!

[Gnoman]

Both series are good.

The original is more of a Star Trek-style space opera, and very similar to the old Incredible Hulk series, with the quest for Earth being pretty much a background thing overshadowed by Planet of the Week episodes and the occasional Cylon attack. Extracolonial life is pretty common, and it's physics can best be described as "what physics?" Very Camp Western in tone. There are more than a few times when you can sense true brilliance underneath it all, but it is buried in cheese.

Galactica 1980 does not exist. Do not believe anyone who says otherwise. That way lies madness.

New BSG is completely different. There are no aliens or non-colonial humans. The physics are far better, with only FTL drives really pushing the boundaries of possibility. The drive to escape the Cylons is truly the main thrust of the series, and the Cylons themselves are no longer cartoonish villians. The attack on the colonies, instead of being Raiders strafing columns of refugees, is a massive nuclear bombardment, which makes a lot more sense. Moral issues play a much bigger role, and most of the cheese is gone. Executive meddling in Season 3, and the spiritual wierdness in Season 4 really hurt the show in terms of quality though.

[Thrawn183]

I would argue that you should only watch the original series.

The newer series was so grim, and comprised of characters so detestable that I couldn't help but support the Cylons. I don't think some of my friends appreciated that I cheered in support of what they considered to be the wrong events.

[WJMill]

I have seen the re-imagined series in its entirety and enjoyed it thoroughly. I haven't seen the original.

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I think the ending was kind of a cop-out, but mostly due because they told that they weren't going to be renewed. I still don't get what Starbuck is towards the end with the whole resurrection/finding her own remains thing..

However, I actually named my first D&D character (a half-elf druid/wizard) Elendara, which [from whatever site I got the translation from] roughly translates to 'Starbuck' in Elven.

[Fjolnir]

Remember the New BSG guys pretty much made a framework for the story then made stuff up as they went. The reason why the latter seasons really went off the deep end into weird is that they literally used up most of their timeline/story ideas because they weren't sure that they were going to get picked up again. That being said, it's a fairly good series to watch.

[Remmirath]

It all depends on what you like, of course - but my personal recommendation would be to watch the old series and not bother with the new. If you don't like old science fiction (me, I love the stuff), yeah, you probably won't like the old series and should maybe do the opposite.

Basically, I'd say the original series was a consistently fun show with some really good episodes, and the new one is what happens when you take only the names and a few concepts from that old show and mix with a large amount of grim. I would also say the Cylons were much better in the original version, although I'm sure others disagree.

Regardless, you don't need to watch one to watch the other, because the two have nothing to do with each other. The characters aren't at all the same except in name, and in fact it would be very confusing to try to pretend they were.

[Gnoman]

Remember the New BSG guys pretty much made a framework for the story then made stuff up as they went. The reason why the latter seasons really went off the deep end into weird is that they literally used up most of their timeline/story ideas because they weren't sure that they were going to get picked up again. That being said, it's a fairly good series to watch.

Exact opposite, actually. SciFi execs forced them do do more stand-alone episodes in Season 3 because the thick myth arc that had been built up was "too confusing" for new viewers. This caused much of the framework to be derailed.

[Gaius Marius]

I loved the entirety on the new serie. It's one of my favourite show.

Yhea, there were flaws, sure. But the feeling was just right. Depression, feeling hunted. Paranoia. Spirituality.

I don't understand why people don't like the spirituality aspect of te last seasons. It was a strong element of the first seasons too, Tomb of Athena, anyone?

Gauss Baltar is the most complex character I've seen. The man is abject, egoist, manipulative.. But why do I feel sorry for his plight, why do I root for him?

Why did I cried at his final line?

[Liffguard]

I don't understand why people don't like the spirituality aspect of te last seasons. It was a strong element of the first seasons too, Tomb of Athena, anyone?

TBH I was equally annoyed by it in the earlier seasons but it wasn't quite so overwhelming and the rest of the show was consistently good enough to overcome that shortcoming. From post-Exodus onwards that ceased to be the case.

[Gaius Marius]

Why was it a shortcoming? Spirituality, both from Colonials and Cylons was a cornerstone theme of the show.

Why do you see it as an inherently bad thing? Do you know the UN had a panel to praise BSG for it's treatment of faith and spirituality. nBSG kinda broke a barrier there, how is it not a good thing?

[Liffguard]

Because I found it to be handled very clumsily, and I found it to be out of place in what was otherwise a relatively hard (for TV at least) scifi show. The fact that characters base their actions on drug-induced hallucinations and turn out to be correct and justified in-story. Worse, that characters who oppose these actions seem expected to believe them and their opposition is painted as unreasonable. That characters allow personal faith to trump duty (which is fine, real people do that all the time) and that the story treats this favourably (which irritates me).

Ultimately, BSG is a show that sits firmly on the Romantic side of the Romantic-Enlightenment spectrum. Nothing inherently wrong with that but I'm not a fan of Romanticism and it's just another factor on top of the fact that the post-Exodus episodes basically turn into a convoluted soap-opera. Another major letdown was the relegation of the Cylons from mysterious, looming and threatening to, well, just another bunch of drama-queens participating in the soap-opera.

[dehro]

righto..so all considered I'm going to go ahead with the "new" series.

[Friv]

Because I found it to be handled very clumsily, and I found it to be out of place in what was otherwise a relatively hard (for TV at least) scifi show. The fact that characters base their actions on drug-induced hallucinations and turn out to be correct and justified in-story. Worse, that characters who oppose these actions seem expected to believe them and their opposition is painted as unreasonable. That characters allow personal faith to trump duty (which is fine, real people do that all the time) and that the story treats this favourably (which irritates me).

Well, at least everything didn't turn out to be the fault of the actual devil in the new series.

[GeekGirl]

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I think the ending was kind of a cop-out, but mostly due because they told that they weren't going to be renewed. I still don't get what Starbuck is towards the end with the whole resurrection/finding her own remains thing..

:

The series was only planned for 4 seasons, the end had nothing to do with being cut.

[Gaius Marius]

I understand why people were irritated at the very ending, and the choice the crew made, but you don't have to make that many minor retcon to turn it into a more acceptable outcome in the end.

Plus, the whole finale was bursting of pure epic win. The emotion, build-up, and everything was just perfectly directed. Characters where they were meant to be, a Grand Finale that understood what "Grand" meant.

After this, it was an epilogue that was controversial. Seriously, just add this to the scenario, and everything becomes a lot more acceptable:

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the group of humans from out of space were highly advanced compared to the locals, but due to lack of infrastructure, lost their knowledges over a few dozen generations.

In the meanwhile, some lived doing fantastic things in the eyes of the locals, and even the descendants of the Colonials. This sparked legends of gods and miracles.

Maybe a group of them managed to rebuild some sort of civilization on an island of the Atlantic Ocean, which eventually was sadly destroyed?

Not that much of a stretch, yet more satisfying.

[Weezer]

I understand why people were irritated at the very ending, and the choice the crew made, but you don't have to make that many minor retcon to turn it into a more acceptable outcome in the end.

Plus, the whole finale was bursting of pure epic win. The emotion, build-up, and everything was just perfectly directed. Characters where they were meant to be, a Grand Finale that understood what "Grand" meant.

After this, it was an epilogue that was controversial. Seriously, just add this to the scenario, and everything becomes a lot more acceptable:

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the group of humans from out of space were highly advanced compared to the locals, but due to lack of infrastructure, lost their knowledges over a few dozen generations.

In the meanwhile, some lived doing fantastic things in the eyes of the locals, and even the descendants of the Colonials. This sparked legends of gods and miracles.

Maybe a group of them managed to rebuild some sort of civilization on an island of the Atlantic Ocean, which eventually was sadly destroyed?

Not that much of a stretch, yet more satisfying.

It wasn't even the ending that was the deal breaker for me, it was a few episodes before when they

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find earth and it's a radioactive wasteland. They should've ended it there, either on a happy note by having the world destroyed by nukes a while ago but inhabitable now or on a depressing note by keeping it how it was (minus Starbuck's 100% unexplained resurrection). The rest of the season with the stupid mutiny and Ellen's resurrection just felt tacked on and unnecessary.

[Gaius Marius]

On the other hand, you gotta admit they answered the question: "Just how depressing can we make this show?" :-D

[Dienekes]

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To each their own I suppose, personally I loved the mutiny episodes they were possibly my favorite part of the season. And as to the finale watch the climax and see how every character behaves the level of detail, writing, and understanding of the characters is top notch.

The science admittedly sucks though. And the decision about jettisoning technology into the sun was crap, but everything before that was great.

[Killer Angel]

righto..so all considered I'm going to go ahead with the "new" series.

It's a good decision. I loved the original series, but I watched it when I was young... watching it now, isn't worth your time.

[Tiki Snakes]

From what little I've seen of the new series, I'd say it's safe to say if you enjoy the West Wing, you'll probably be in good hands.

I'll personally take the Original Series anyday for a number of reasons.

[Weezer]

From what little I've seen of the new series, I'd say it's safe to say if you enjoy the West Wing, you'll probably be in good hands.

I'll personally take the Original Series anyday for a number of reasons.

As someone who enjoys both shows, I can't see many similarities. What do you mean?

[Tiki Snakes]

Overall style if nothing else. Especially those episodes that focus on the political lot rather than the more military side.

Stylistically it almost has more to do with that than the original series, to my mind at least.

Though, my mind works in odd circular patterns, so ymmv.