I just watched the mini series, and all I can say is, shit yeah, this is what sci-fi TV is supposed to be about.
A great cast, interesting visual design, cool concept, intrigue, interesting characters, and an epic story to fulfill.
Sure beats to heck Star Trek Voyager. And, at least so far, much more worthy of admiration than Firefly (thought I’d throw that comment in the mix and see if it excites anyone’s passion ).
Does the series maintain its quality? Anyone else here big fans? (I know there are).
I will admit that midway through, once I realized why I recognized the woman playing the president, I kept saying “kicking . . . bird” in my head whenever she was on screen.
Stands With Fists… er, Mary McDonnell is really amazing in BSG. She and Edward James Olmos are reason enough to watch it, but the rest of the cast is pretty dang awesome as well.
Season 1 of the series is really, really good–on par or better than the miniseries. Some of the best sci-fi television ever, IMO. From season 2 on, it becomes more mixed. Still a LOT of terrific episodes, but also some mediocre ones and even some stinkers here and there. But it’s definitely worth it to stick with it. There is much more to like than there is to dislike. It takes some interesting twists and turns along the way. The show will begin airing its last season very soon, and we are all looking forward to learning how it all turns out. According to some cast members, the last episode is going to be really amazing.
I maintain it’s the best acting I’ve ever seen on television. Drama, comedy or in between; I have never seen a better performance over a long series by a man or woman. It helps that the character is brilliantly written - easily the best in the series.
The rest of the cast is great, but McDonnell’s performance is transcendent. I’ve never seen a more real portrayal of a person - especially a politician. As realistic portrayals of politicians go, she makes Martin Sheen’s President Bartlett look pathetically two-dimensional, almost cartoonish.
I completely agree! We’ve seen her character in such a broad range of ethical dilemmas and she’s reacted in ways that fall all across the spectrum in terms of confidence, self-interest, compassion, and judgement. It’s really great writing, and McDonnell pulls it all off so well.
Spoiler from a previous episode
The scene last season on the Cylon ship–where Baltar was dying and Roslin had his life in her hands with no one else around–was one of the highlights of the series, and of Roslin’s role in the series, IMO.
Huge fan here. I actually thought the miniseries was decent, but I didn’t go nuts over it. It was good enough to make me watch the series from the beginning, though, and after the first episode (33, which I maintain is one of the best hours of television ever produced) I was hooked. It’s good enough that my normally-non-sci-fi-watching wife is almost as obsessed as I am.
I’ll agree with all of the above comments about quality. Overall it’s still an outstanding show, but there have been a few clunkers along the way. Still, the signal-to-noise ratio is very high.
Olmos and McDonnell are outstanding, but I think the “supporting” cast (and I use the term loosely) has some almost equally outstanding performances. Tricia Helfer is much better than one would normally expect from an ex-model, James Callis can be simultaneously funny, pathetic, and creepy as Gaius Baltar, and Michael Hogan’s Saul Tigh just might be the most sympathetic dysfunctional bastard I’ve ever seen. At the end of Season Three, Episode 4 (“Exodus, Part 2”) he delivers a line that serves as a nice litmus test for determining your humanity. If you don’t get at least a little choked up, you have no heart and no soul.
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