Wait, it's good?

Okay, so I've been watching a little bit of TV here. Recently I decided to revisit Star Trek: The Next Generation beginning with the earliest episodes I could find. I've watched a few of the earliest episodes in recent weeks and I have to say, they are pretty cheesy. Don't get me wrong, I loved The Next Generation and even watching it now, it's good stuff. It's just that, especially in the beginning, it was kind of silly at times. Even as the series progressed and really hit its stride it never left behind the sense of fun and humor that has always been a part of the Star Trek world. How many episodes of the original series ended with Kirk and Bones laughing while Spock raised an eyebrow?

Now, allow me to switch it up. Last year someone decided to bring back Battlestar Galactica, which was always one of my absolute favorite shows as a kid. As a general rule, I think that remakes are pretty much a bad idea. Just read my previous post about the Star Wars and E.T. Special Editions to see what I'm talking about. As I began to hear a little more about how they were going to change the show, I only got more frustrated. Starbuck and Boomer would now be women. Great. Now we can make it all sexy. And th Cylons? No longer aliens, but robots that man created which then turned on us because they think they can run things better. And now they have the ability to look just real humans. Hold on, didn't I see this years ago with Arnold Schwarzenegger? I was far from interested in seeing it.

But then I read a review on one of the few blogs I regularly visit and that guy talked it up pretty well so I finally decided to at least give it a shot. I watched the first episode.

That was all it took.

The new Battlestar Galactica is seriously good. I mean that in the sense that it's actually very good and in the sense that it is serious. This is why I mentions Star Trek: The Next Generation. As great as it was, it always maintained this sense of lighthearted comedy in the background, and this is something that nearly all science-fiction does. It's almost like an apology. "We know we're doing something a bit ridiculous so we'll admit it through the use of some quips and whatnot." But BSG doesn't do that. They've put these characters in a tight spot that would have to be treated with deadly seriousness if there were any hope to survive, so the characters treat it accordingly. It is incredibly different from the original, but if you want to see something just like the old show, then just watch that. The writing is good. The acting is good. The special effect are surprisingly good, and in fact better than what Lucas gave us in the last two Star Wars travesties, I mean movies.

I know this has nothing to do with Japan or really anything. But the fact is, the new BSG is great. Watch an episode from the first season of The Next Generation and then watch one from season 5 or 6. The quality difference is astounding. Now, check out BSG. This first season is as good as pretty much anything ST:TNG ever did. If it lasts and actually gets better, it has the potential to be one of the best sci-fi shows ever. This alone has probably sealed its doom, but that's all the more reason to watch.

So, check it out. I think this is actually a science fiction show that anyone could dig, regardless of whether or not they are as nerdy as me.