Do the new Cylons talk?
The originals had a cool voice
http://hybrid.ualr.edu/~hudson/sounds/waves.htm

The new Cylons do talk and also strip naked.

I'm afraid to ask if Lucifer is in it--you might tell me they turned him into a Mac Daddy.

There's no Lucifer but there is Lucy Lawless.

kelly,

you should just try it out. take it for a spin. imho, and for many SF fans, BSG the new series marks the 2nd coming of the SF renaissance era. it's that good. just trust them and try it.

Shallow as it is-I liked the old show only because of the cylons, and as a cheap Star Wars rip-off.
I think the idea of making them more sympathetic would work in a single shot episode like a Star Trek or even the episode of Galactica 1980 where Starbuck revives one(the only good episode of that show).

Maybe once the show ends I can watch them all in a row.
:)

You can rent the season 1 DVD and the opening 3-part miniseries.

i've seen every single episode of the original BSG '77-78 and '80 and honestly, both of those weren't anything to write home about. 'The Return of Starbuck' was OK, but wasn't groundbreaking.

the new BSG is really nothing like it =).

Yes, having seen both, the new BSG is far and away better. The new cylons are smarter, more sinister, more evil, more inisdious, sexier, better looking, cooler...I want one for myself. I really can't blame the weak, cowardly Doctor for succumbing to their charms.

lol, that's only one of the "models".

The cylons were cool though in a classic science fiction sense(same school as Robby the robot and the Lost in Space robot) and it sure didnt hurt to have MacQuarrie as conceptual designer. I dont have an interest in re-watching the old shows, though I have a sense of nostalgia about that era of television--the Hulk, Buck Rogers, etc, and the character actors on them. The term "cheese" doesnt enter my vocabulary--I like man in a monster suit type stuff as much as the CG variety, as long as its imaginative.

And I just feel the spaceship crew series model has been done to death--and needs a break, whether it is Star Trek or BG. We are talking about a remake afterall. Also reminds me a bit of Space: Above and Beyond, with "Seven of Nine" thrown in.

The X Files reminded me of the short lived Project Bluebook, but it was quite different from anything else. It was innovative.

BTW-the only other dramatic show I watched religiously since the end of the X Files is the Sopranos--and it is really difficult to go from that kind of quality to the regular television stuff(and the Sopranos hasnt been that good in the last 3 seasons).
24 is another series I will have to watch in a long marathon. :)

"I havent watched the new Battlestar Galactica."

You should. Do yourself a favor.

"I just feel the spaceship crew series model has been done to death--and needs a break"

It didn't need a break. It needed to be done properly.

"We are talking about a remake afterall."

Not really. The character names and ranks are the same, but the characters are very different. Heck, even the genders have changed.

The new cylons are human clones and updated centurions. The centurions don't talk, but they are still more intelligent. They are soldiers and now have battle tactics. If they can't find the humans, they will build an artillery battery and flatten the whole area. If they board a ship, they will de-pressurize the atmosphere and kill the whole crew. That is just the infrequent occurences of the centurions. The clone cylons are everywhere and do everything. They lie, cheat, murder, screw, cry, manipulate, pray, etc....

The humans do much of the same. Both sides are ruthless in battle. The first thing the cylons do when they arrive on scene is launch a few nukes. There is no stupid laser battle with nobody taking any real damage. Two ships fight and either one runs or one gets destroyed. That is just the spaceship part.

The real substance to the show is the character interaction and development. There is significant interaction between human and cylon. Sometimes it is not known who is on which side. Both sides take an emotional toll from the conflict, although it is not known what emotions mean to cylons.

BG is one of the only motion picture works where I think the people do what real people would do in the same situation. The writing is rarely forced to simply expose a plot angle. Plot elements occur and the characters react as would seem expected of real people. The best part is that even with the realistic reactions, I can rarely predict what will happen in an episode.

There just isnt anything in the descriptions of it that makes me interested enough to rush over and check it out. It doesnt help that it is named after another show even though it isnt apparently a remake.

X Files, Babylon 5, even Sliders, there were things in the descriptions of each show that made me curious enough to look into it--but nothing about BG makes me curious. A "who's the real monster?" kind of twist isnt enough in itself for me to watch it.
And even if they were faithful to the original series--I would have probably checked it out once or twice for the cylons and production design--and flipped the channel.

If its a space opera kind of series like B5--then its all the more reason for me to ignore it until the run is over--and then catch it in syndication. I watched X Files week by week, and the alien story ran out of steam to the point where the final episode had no impact at all.
Ditto for TNG, Ds9 and Voyager.

The Sopranos is leagues above writing-and characterwise--and even that show has been dull--the demands of stretching it out season after season just cant hold it together.

Kelly, you've had a number of people tell you to check it out.

It sounds like you are building up an idea about the show without bothering to walk over to the video store and rent a couple episodes. What is the great effort in that?

Being a stubborn curmudgeon takes a lot of effort(I even had to look the word "curmudgeon" up to make sure I spelled it right).
:)
I have checked it out online.

It just doesnt intrigue me enough to rent it-and my tv viewing habits are way more restricted than it used to be. I hardly have the tv on except to watch movies(I havent even watched Masters of Horror which I have been taping-though that's no big deal--I still havent watched B5 Crusade, and I think i recorded it in 1999)

And if I do check it out after the series is done-and am pleasantly surprised--how would I lose? I would just feel a bit silly for waiting so long to do so.


But Tricia Helfer a number 6? A 10 out of 10! Way better than 7 of 9 for sure.

I know what you mean. I took a year to watch Doctor Who (the new series) even though I had it all. But then I didn't go back and forth in a thread a number of times saying I didn't feel like watching it either.

Maybe you guys could make an seperate thread about that other show, Battlestar Gallactica?

Because this is still the X-Files thread :-)
btw: now, finally having those beautiful digipacks, I'm now into watching the first X Files Season, and I really love it. Every episode has it's strong points, and the scripts are really great.
I know the last seasons aren't that great, I've heard, but still, I love it. It's indeed a bit of a regret they just can't stop when it's time to stop.

I havent said I dont feel like watching Crusade--I just havent got around to doing so. BG is a different matter. I havent even recorded it! :) At least I am not an old show fan with a gripe(beyond the cylons)--could care less if they revived it or not---I am just cynical about episodic corporate television and its hard to get me to tune in to something.
I cant even tell you what channel BG is on locally--I assume its on Space, but i havent tuned into that station in a while either.

In fact--my vcr timer is screwed- and I havent bothered to fix it-so I cant record things by auto. Kinda sad isnt it? I used to have a serious distrust of people who didnt watch television and I am turning into one of them.

BTW
I havent watched much Doctor Who even though I have known about it for many years. I did catch the 96 movie--but that is thanks to the X Files--since it was aired on Fox so i caught the promo. X Files probably got me to watch alot of stuff I wouldnt have bothered with(Milennium, Strange Luck, the Lone Gunmen, Alien Autopsy etc).

There. I made the comments relevant to the thread.
:)

good stuff matthieu. i'm also going through XF myself. i missed lots of season2-4. so perhaps we can do it together =). heheheh. i finished s1 a long while ago. but from my memory, it's a solid season. not much mythology remember, just a lot of monster of the week. tooms is the best character from s1 =). very memorable eyes. be sure to take note of "billy" from the piliot, since he'll be back (how's that for continuity? heh). i'm currently on season2 started a little bit on end game, after watching colony. both of these 2 eps are HEAVY into mythology. besides the 1st ep of s2, these 2 eps really kick off the mythology. it's very interesting knowing all of what will happen to watch the "mystery" or developments of these mythologies. i just luv the writing, it throws you off and then keeps you staying on it.

PS i didn't know Mr. X was such a badass!!!!!!!! oh YEAH!

Yeah, the writing really is superb, there are many twists in one episode, you really think: damn, so much information in only 40 minutes...

And the best things, not always, but mostly, are just the beginning sequenses. They really capture your attention!
(ps, love the beginning credits too, saw them over a 100 times, but they never get tired!)

well, like everyone keeps saying, it's a 45min. film =). and really, an episode often beats some of the 90-120min movies in the cinemas today.

the beginning are great because they like to begin in medias res (in the middle of) of an action. instead of lots of exposition, it's right to the punch =). that way you stay after the commercial! =). same w/Lost =).

PS what ep you on right now in s1?

Remember when an hour show was 55 mins?
The good ol days.
:)

brisco county jr. yes it's out on DVD. wasn't good as i remembered it =). actually 45min is like pretty long compared to today's 42 or 40 or even shorter!

Wasnt that on Fox? I dont think i ever watched it but remember it. How about Werewolf? I think it was a half hour but was among the first Fox drama shows. Guy chasing the werewolf who bit him--becoming more wild each time he changes. It didnt last after 1 season.

How about MANTIS? That's another Fox show I watched.

X Files never seemed like it was less than an hour. I never felt it was a rushed show.

you give brisco, werewolf and MANTIS a chance... but not BSG? wow =).

Arrgh!! I thought we were done with that! :)
I may have watched an episode of Brisco-but it was purely a "I am waiting for the X Files" type thing--or, a "wasnt that the guy in Army of Darkness?"

Those shows were on when I was a very active tv watcher--99% of the time I dont even have it on these days.

And we can say Brisco, Mantis, and Werewolf werent slapping the name on a product that doesnt really have much in common with the original. Remakes of Star Trek was enough for me!

I'll try to hold a marathon with a friend of mine tonight, of Season 1 from the X-Files. Don't know how far we are gonna get...

NO I'M NOT OBSESSED!!!
(okay, a little...)

well, when you get into s2 lemme know =). i think i might finish s2 this weekend.

just finished s2. it turns out, i only caught 3 full episodes of s2. the rest were completely UNSEEN! i've got to say, s2 is the STRONGEST season of the XF i've seen. Dod Kalm is absolutely out of this world writing. Morgan&Wong really hit the ball out of the park here... unfortunately space above+beyond didn't. onto to s3!

I'm still on season 1, but almost done!

(I'm a bit slower then you :-p)

well, once you get through the uneasiness of s1, you'll love s2 onwards. i mean, s1 is still great by any standards of TV... but it does lack confidence&finesse of s2.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/artic...dead_in_maine/
^somn right out of an X-Files monster of the week episode.

meanwhile... i haven't progressed further in s3 because i was watching 24 s1 through s3.

did you catch up Mathieu?

Hi Yi,

I was yesterday thinking of you and this thread! So funny you respond now!
I watched season 1 out, and I'm not at episode 13 I think, of season 2.
Season 2 is really wow. Some things I didn't like, but the most episodes are much better then season 1, although that season had it share of great episodes too.
I think the episode 'Sleepless' from season 2 was really superb!
I now watched Irresitable, with that serial killer. The first episode of the X Files without something paranormal! But also very good, with a very, very touching moment between Scully and Mulder!

well, one would argue that serial killers are "para" normal as well because it isn't really normal behavior =).

but yesh, s2 is just awesome. i'm watching most of it for the 1st time as well. i only saw maybe 2 episodes from s2 during reruns, i thought i saw more... but perhaps i didn't know which season was which. i think gillian and duchovny were both very "raw" in their acting. very interesting way for a TV to hire actors.

that's the 1st intimate moment between scully and mulder =). but as you'll see in s2, they both lost alot and really took this little SF romp (from s1's reputation) to another level.

It's too bad there was never any resolution.

Do you mean at the end of the series or at the end of every episode?
If it's about the end of the series: I haven't seen it yet, so don't spoil it for me :-)

If it's about the mostly open endings at the end of every episode, I actually liked that!

Yi, or everybody else, I don't know if this interests anyone, but this is a site with all the episodes on a row, with their ratings from some people. You can read their reviews there too:

http://xfiles.amaroq.com/archive.html

ps: Yi, that link really looks like an X File, LOL :-)

EDIT: Yi, I just saw a superbe, really superb episode from the X Files! Really scary. When I read the synopsis I thought: okay, but it was really brilliantly directed with a very, very dark cinematography!
The episode is called Die Hand Die Verletzt, with teachers at a high school, busy in the occult.

http://www.insidethex.co.uk/
^scripts if anyone's interested in it.

the woman who played devil incarnate was very scary... especially the eyes =). v. creepy. this is one of the reasons why XF is the best. doesn't matter if you like any genre, XF covers a variety of genre. that's why SF is the genre of all genres.

re: your comment on cinematography. i think shows like XF inspires us to tell our own version of the stories that we've come to know. plus, it's really like filmschool in a box. you can learn a lot just by watching the 'trix' that they employed on XF.

PS how'd you like duane barry? it's really the episode that hints at the mythology in a heavy-handed way. in 2 more episodes colony and end game are the watershed eps that brings the mythologies to the forefront. when you catchup to s3, lemme know we can do those eps side by side =).

Yes, I saw Douane Barry, but I didn't think it was as WOW as many other fans. I love other 'mythology' episodes a bit more (Deep Throat, if you consider it an arc episode, Little Green Men, the last episode from s1,...)

Yes, you're right about that film school-thing :-D
And indeed, that woman is sooo creepy.
And the scene with the snake! No music, only the sound of that snake creeping on that stairs... really great!

upto season3 yet? i've been busy with deadwood all seasons.

Hi Yi,

I finished Season 2 yesterday evening... exiting times :-)