Battlestar Galactica - The Mini Series [2003] [DVD] [2004]

OK, so if you're unsure about how this fits within the context of the main show (as I was at first) this is a three hour long extended pilot (though this is technically a miniseries both episodes have been stuck together here so it's essentially one episode on the DVD) made to test whether the show would go into a full season, and thus comes first in the timeline of the show, with the series labeled 'season one' coming after it. The plot follows an advanced human civilization as it comes under attack from the cylons, intelligent machines who rebelled against their creators about forty years before hand and then vanished once peace was declared. The bulk of the story is focussed on a large aircraft-carrier-esque war ship called the Battlestar Galactica and the crew's reaction to the crisis. One of the really nice touches is the nature of Galactica. This is not the starship Enterprise, it's an archaic vessel by the standards of this civilization (and to a certain degree by our own standards), using corded telephones, un-networked and old fashioned computers, and other oddities of technology in order to prevent interference by the cylons, whom it was designed to fight. It's not crewed by the elite, in fact it's crewed by the sort of people the military would give a dead-end unimportant post to - an alcoholic XO, a commander unable to deal with his past, a chief mechanic having an illegal affair with his superior officer, the list goes on. It should be pointed out that though these characters are flawed, the show doesn't focus on the flaws, they actually get a good bit of fleshing out into three dimensions and none could be quickly summed up. All are excellently acted with particularly stand-out performances from Edward James Olmos as commander Adama and Mary McDonnell as the education minister suddenly elevated to power in the wake of the attacks. The Cylons in this series are excellently realized, taking a lot from films like Blade Runner they are not two-dimensional evil robots, they have some very interesting facets that it will be interesting to see developed later on e.g. the unexpected look of anguish on the face of a cylon agent having accidentally killed a human child. In the original 70's show cylons had metallic costumes and a creepy red light for eyes, here many look and act like humans and the ones who don't have been given a serious makeover so they now look and act like killing machines which - in a break with sci-fi tradition - are actually very good at killing. The battle scenes are mind blowing, deep drum beats and military sounding chants play over dulled sound effects and incredible looking CG followed using Firefly's documentary-style camera work to give the viewer an up close and extremely tense view of the action. The ships aren't shooting laser beams against deflector sheilds, they're pounding heavy armour plating with missiles and explosive ordinance picked right out of the reality of what space warfare would be like if we used our current technology. It's this constant use of the familiar that makes the action feel so real, you don't know what a photon torpedo does but we've all seen the footage of the Hiroshima bombing and we know what nuclear bombs look like so when you here the shouts that one's headed for the ship you get an instantly real sense of danger. For fans of the original series this will be an initially unwelcome show, it makes so many changes to so many aspects of the show that it will be hard to adjust at first. But give it a chance, watch this through and there's good odds you'll be sold. In conclusion, this is three hours of pure gold. It's gripping, thrilling, compelling and just plain entertaining from start to finish. Once you finish watching it you'll be heading strait to the first full season, and trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Having grown up with such series as the later Star Treks (post TOS) and some gems such as Babylon 5 it was a real treat to watch this DVD. Very few sci fi programs are of good quality and often make the star trek mistake of having very one-dimensional characters and simple plots. Battlestar Galactica 2004 is refreshingly different and has an uncanny ability to suck in its audience. Gone are the cheesy plots of the original series and instead BSG 2004 offers gritty realism both in the sense of plot and characters. The new cylons are suitably menacing with the human built ones appearing distinctly chilling at times in terms of their thinking. The space battles are the most realistic I've ever seen with the muffled sounds (how it would really seem in space) and portrayal of physics such as leading a missile off course by providing a hotter temperature target. I cannot even fault the acting which is usually the Achilles heal of sci fi's to date (Babylon 5 being no exception). Each and every character has a sheer complexity which the audience is shown snatches of and is allowed to understand over time. No character is perfect, each having their own personality flaws which shape the kind of person they are - the characters actually seem human for once! The narrative works on a great many levels meaning you can watch this DVD time and time again without it becoming boring. This really serves to make it wonderful viewing for anyone with a brain and you will find yourself thinking hard about different aspects of the storyline long after you have finished watching it. Only the most stuck in their ways original BSG series fan or people who simply have no grasp of human nature could fault this program. Truly, truly excellent viewing.

Buying this was a real shot in the dark. Not being a Sky subscriber I had missed the show when it aired on TV, but I had heard a great deal about it and wanted to see if it lived up to expectation. To say that it did would be an understatement. This is a brilliant show. Combining first class sci-fi with believable characters and a solid emotional core, the revamped BSG is everything that shows like the inumerable Star Trek spin-off's aren't. In BSG people make decisions knowing that they will cost lives but that they are the lesser of two evils. Problems cannot be solved via technology alone and there is no easy resolution and moral message at the end. Overall the cast are first rate, anchored by veterans such as James Olmos. The effects, sparingly used, are top notch. The soundtrack is good. The production design whilst referencing the original series is also fresh and great to look at. Across the board you get the impression that immense amounts of care and effort have gone into producing the best show possible with the resources available, and no-one is relying on the BSG name alone to carry them through. Of course not everything is perfect. Budgetary limitations (I assume) mean that the cataclysm that befalls the 12 Colonies cannot be portrayed in any great detail. Beyond a small crowd of survivors and mushroom clouds over Caprica nothing much is shown. This makes it hard to picture the extent of the devastation and therefore reduces viewer empathy for the survivors' plight. The same budgetary squeeze is also probably to blame for the minimal number of Cylon warriors who appear (4 in total). Although they are a vast improvement on the old BSG Cylons it would have been good to see a little more of them in action. Once again it is hard to truly appreciate the threat they pose without seeing them up close and in numbers. Not that the human/Cylons aren't menacing enough. The one complete departure from the original series, the presence of Cylons who appear human adds a feeling of paranoia and danger to proceedings that provides a completely new angle to the story. With a great twist at the end it will be interesting to see how this aspect of the story plays out in the series that follows. Which brings me to the series, because the one thing that BSG The Mini-Series has done is whet my appetite for the full Series 1 of the show. Yes, the three hours on this disk were that good and BSG Series 1 will be on order from Amazon very soon....

Doesn’t work in North America. Will be returned. Total waste of time.

Bei uns gibt es keinen Fernseher, insofern habe ich diesen Pilotfilm (= "Mini Series") erst 2010 zufällig und aus Langeweile angeschaut als mir irgendwer die DVD geschenkt hat. Das angestaubte Original mit Lorne Greene war mir aus Kindertagen noch in Erinnerung. Mit gemischten Gefühlen und ohne irgendwelche Anspruchshaltung hab ich mich gähnend vor den Beamer gesetzt und gedacht. ok, 5 Minuten antesten, dann geht's ins Bett. Nach 60 Sekunden war ich hellwach. Was bitte ist das denn? Nach 20 Minuten hab ich den Film unterbrochen und fieberhaft im Internet recherchiert. Wie bitte? Das ist eine Serie? Was hab ich die letzten 7 Jahre gemacht??? Ich hab - ehe ich den Film weitergeschaut habe - , alles, was es bis 2010 an DVDs gab, noch in der Nacht nachbestellt. Zur Handlung muss ich nach den vielen Kommentaren nichts mehr hinzufügen. Die ist einfach Klasse, die Charaktere sind aussergewöhnlich tief profiliert, der Plot ist zutiefst beunruhigend und extrem spannend. Die Cameraführung ist "hand-held" und unterstützt den Spannungsbogen wirkungsvoll. Wie bei der Mars Trilogie von Kimley Stan Robinson ist das wirklich prickelnde für mich eine ungemein spannende "social fiction" Geschichte, die die Fallhöhe ihres Plots aus der überzeugenden schauspielerischen Darstellung und sozialer Interaktion der Charaktere in einer extrem lebensfeindlichen Umwelt bezieht. Das (hervorragende) "Science-Fiction" passiert en passant. Wunderbar.... Jetzt kommt noch was, wofür ich vermutlich in die Hölle komme: Als eingefleischter Star Trek Fan (vor allem TNG und Voyager) hab ich immer die Sauberkeit und die erste Maxime geliebt. Das kommt mir jetzt etwas bieder vor. Star Trek steht für Ordnung, Sauberkeit und Etikette ist, Battlestar Galactica bedeutet Blut, Schweiss, Sex und Tränen und kommt mir sehr lebendig vor. Mittlerweile habe ich die komplette Serie in 3 Jahren 4 Mal gesehen und es ist jedes Mal wieder ein Genuss. In der ersten Staffel war ich ein glühender Fan von Starbuck, mittlerweile ist die zerrissene Persönlichkeit von Colonel Saul Tigh für mich das Highlight der Serie. Gäb es 10 Sterne, würde ich die hier vergeben.

Kann man einen Kult toppen ?... Man wird es nicht für möglich halten, aber die neue Galactica Serie ist ein absoluter Genuss, und hat es meiner Meinung nach geschafft der Classic-Serie den Rang abzulaufen. Es handelt sich bei der Mini Serie um kein Remake, sondern um eine Neuinterpretation des Galactica Stoffes. Irgendwie ist alles neu, aber auch wieder vertraut. Ich möchte nicht zuviel verraten, doch "eine" zigarrenrauchende, kartenspielende und sich Herrumprügelnde "Frau" Starbuck wirkt einfach nur amüsant auf den Zuschauer und überzeugt einen auf der ganzen Linie. Der Käufer der DVD wird auch von den kinoreifen Spezialeffekten beeindruckt sein, die ja sonst eher selten so toll sind in TV Weltraumabenteuern. Fazit...Kaufen - Genießen - Fan der NEUEN Galactica werden !!!

Viel mehr fällt mir leider im Moment nicht zu dieser DVD ein! Die Ausstattung ist zwar nicht unbedingt der Hit (ein Making-of), jedoch muss man zugute halten, dass es bis auf die Mini-Serie noch nichts anderes von Galactica 2003 gibt. Aber was da für eine neue Serie auf Sci-Fi-Fans und Liebhaber wirklich guter und hochwertiger Fernsehserien zukommt, ist wirklich phänomenal! Ich kann mich in allen belangen den vorliegenden Rezensionen anschliessen. Battlestar Galactica wurde nicht nur reaktiviert, sondern revolutionert! Auch muss man erwähnen, dass dieser (Pilot-)Film in allen Belangen als eigenständiges Werk durchgehen kann. Trotzdem harre ich schon der Serie entgegen! Bis dahin: "...nothing but the rain!"

Nachdem ich schon sehr viel über diesen Pilotfilm gelesen hatte, war ich sehr gespannt ihn nun auch zu sehen. Die ganze Sache ist sehr gut in Szene gesetzt, spannend und vor allem wurden super Charaktere geschaffen. Definitiv ein SF-Highlight in einem derzeit eher tristen Genre. Wieso dann nur 4 Sterne ? Nun als "alter" Galactica Fan gibt es vieles zu kritisieren: Es fehlen die weiblichen Figuren Athena, Cassiopeia und vor allem schmerzlich vermißt Serina. Dafür werden wir wieder mal nicht von Boxey verschont (allerdings fehlt der mechanische Hund). Auch die Cylonen-Basisschiffe sind nicht so gut in Szene gesetzt wie im Original. Ja und vor allem der Sound ist mir zu spärlich. Der weibliche Starbuck ist wirklich gut gelungen und auch Adama ist herausragend. Generell ähnelt die neue Galactica Serie eher "Space above and beyond" als seinem eigentlichen Vorgänger, der doch mehr etwas von einem herrlich buntem Computerspiel hatte. Ja diese Serie ist erwachsen und viel zum Lachen gibt es auch nicht. Trotz soviel Kritik ist es unbedingt sehenswert, man muß sich nur auf die Änderungen einlassen. Bin schon auf die nachfolgenden Episoden gespannt.