Sci Fi Pulse Reviews Galactica Remake Script
Source Sci Fi Pulse
10 February 2003

By Ian M. Cullen

At last I’ve got around to writing my review of sorts. I’m afraid it is long over due, because I have had a copy of the Ron Moore script for quite some time. Only while evading cylons and trying to get a date with number six, I just haven’t been able to find the time to read it through again.

My first impressions were initially hopeful. The story of the script is essentially the same as the original pilot only with a few changes. For example the Cylon attack, which is more of a sneak attack than it was in the original, is more underhanded. Only the planet Kobol is attacked. Yes folks you heard right Kobol not Caprica.

The narrative of the script is pretty tight, but one cannot help but get the feeling that Moore has tried a little to hard at times. Now you all knew well in advance of the first script reviews that Starbuck had undergone a sex change. This is not the only character that has had a gender bender.

One of the few aspects that I liked about this script is that the Cylons are explained from the onset, fans of the original show will tell you that in the classic seventies show the Cylons were not really explained until mid season, and even then the information on them was somewhat ambiguous, in the classic show the cylons were a reptilian race who over the period of a thousand years had evolved into cybernetic organisms. However the classic show never explained much beyond that with regard to their origins.

In Moores Script the Cylons were created by the Colonials as working drones. Of course in terminator fashion they rebelled. Hence the colonials techno phobia when it comes to embracing new ideas.

There are a few great characters that Moore has come up with for this show, but sadly many of the core characters that we all know and love from the original series have suffered at their expense. Such as Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer, Tigh and Adama. Also characters such as Athena, Cassiopeia and Muffit are absent from this new version. Although personally I wanted to shoot that Daggit in the classic show anyway, just for sport. Ok I confess when I was 8 years old I liked the Daggit.

One aspect that a lot of the Galactica purist will not like in the least is the way in which Moore has portrayed military life aboard the Galactica. There is a scene very early on in the script where Kara Thwace Starbuck is playing pyramid with Tigh. And suddenly the two come to blows. Not only did this scene seem forced, but also in subsequent scenes it was brushed under the carpet. This would never have happened in the military, some sort of action would have been taken to discipline both officers.

Laura Roslin as far as I am concerned is one ace that Moore pulled out of the magic hat. In spite of the many of you that are going to be booing and hissing at me for saying this. She is a damn well written and well thought out character. However the down side is the fact that her character takes away from Adama’s role somewhat. As a result of Roslin Adama has become a little more like Commander Cain from 'Living Legend'. So he is not like the Kobollian priest and wise man of the Glen A. Larson Galactica, but more of a military leader.

Much of the sprit of the original is not in this remake, yes you will see original vipers in the show as well as original Cylons but these are just visual eye candy. Sex is also used to great effect in this remake, and references to it are quite explicit, not hedonistic like other reviewers have suggested but explicit. Sadly this alone alienates the younger viewers. A big part of the spirit of the classic Battlestar Galactica was that anyone from the age of 8 to 50 could watch and enjoy it. This remake is obviously aimed at the 18 to 35-age bracket.

However I am of the opinion that this script could work well as prequel if some of the character names were altered. In the classic series Adama often referred to the 13 tribe, which set out over a thousand years before the events, that Adama was part of. So what if the whole reason for the 13th tribe leaving was because of some sort of attack?

There are a number of good things in the script that many a SCI-FI fan will love. But sadly Galactica fans, specifically those that have been fighting for a continuation for the last 25 years will find this a bitter pill to swallow. There are a lot of great plot twists but these twists are more often than not at the expense of certain key characters that made the original show so special.

One aspect about this script that concerns me is the lack of any ambient noise during the battle scenes. Sure enough Moore is right when he says there is no noise in space, but one of the things I like about SCI-FI Television is the space battles and the background music, it all helps the imagination embrace it.

Another aspect I am not overly keen on is the split screen element. I Have seen this used a few times and find that after awhile it gets irritating and hard to follow. However to depict the destruction of Kobol and combine that scene with the responses aboard the Galactica would be a great way to use this aspect. So I feel that if it is used it should be utilised sparingly.

Too sum this all up. This is definitely a remake, but much of the spirit of the original show is not there. As it stands it would make a good movie of the week. But for those that embraced the original themes and premise of Noah’s ark in space aka Battlestar Galactica. This remake will be hard to swallow with the Galactica trademark on it. But it has potential as a prequel series should Universal decide to go that route. Interesting to note here that many criticized the original show for it's sexual inequalities, Moore has addressed this. But I feel that the ratio of female to male characters in the new show is too much. It is almost like a matriarchal society now aboard the Galactica.

I could literally make many more points about this script verses the original pilot, but mine is just one opinion which shall be buried in the shallow void of Cyber Space. But to sum up properly, as a stand alone script Moores story would work as a Sci Fi Movie of the week. But as far as launching a series with the name Battlestar Galactica attached to it, it needs a little work in order for the existing fans to embrace it.