Battlestar Galactica
Seriously, it's the second best show on television behind The Sopranos. For a few years new I refused to have a thing to do with it: the nerdcore name, it's virginal fans innumerable possessing poor hygiene. But recently I started to hear positive things from people who I respect, so I snagged the first season a couple weeks ago.
The show is ridiculously good. It's not perfect, and occasionally regresses into camp, but only occasionally, and not often. I'm half-way through season three, and it's still riveting, even moreso. The credit is due to their fabulous team of writers. Slate has a great article telling the story of how the shows are written.
I realize I haven't given actually given an argument for why you ought to watch the show, so here are just a few of the issues the show has tackled: suicide, suicide bombing, abortion / a woman's right to chose, democracy versus law/morality, terrorism, nuclear war, genocide, father-son relationships, adultery, divorce, martial law, imperialism, the problem of evil, Church & State, the right ordering of the City, the right ordering of the military, nepotism, the psychological nature of narcissism, habeas corpus, drug use, drug abuse, steroids, grace, redemption, forgiveness, and all the other standard stuff.
And they rarely present an issue following "Right versus Left" conventions. For example, the President of the humans is a pro-choice, self-proclaimed "Prophet" who authorizes genocide and kidnapping while remaining one half of the moral center of the entire show. Not a single character on the show fits easily into a black and white category, yet it still somehow remains clear who's evil and who isn't.
| By Josiah Roe | 11:49 PM
Comments
My biggest complaint is that we have to wait until Jan. 2008 for season 4.
Posted by: ryan at April 11, 2007 08:02 AM
Dwight on The Office likes it, so it's got to be good.
(I've never seen it, but I did watch the original when I was a kid...)
Posted by: bill at April 11, 2007 09:31 AM
hey! you know there's a new covenant blog?!
Posted by: sienna at April 11, 2007 10:27 AM
Hey Sienna, I saw that. Pretty funny.
Posted by: Josiah at April 11, 2007 10:44 AM
Sara can't stand the show so I tend to TiVo it watch three episodes at a time when she's at book club or whatnot...
The show almost lost me during season one when it spent a bit too much time showcasing the imaginary s-exploits of the good doctor... having little story line to fill the rest of the hour. There were hints of what it could be but the writers we seemed too busy trying to satiate the nostalgia old BSG audience and the hormonal appetites of the more basal end of the Sci-Fi audience.
Season two and on has had good to excellent writing and the actors have gotten well into their characters. They tackle difficult topics and tend to play out the consequences of their choices well - being even handed to traditionally "liberal" or "conservative" positions. The storylines you cited could easily be some of the best issue oriented plotline episodes on television within the past few years.
Posted by: stelmodad at April 11, 2007 02:04 PM
Crabb and I have been watching them for the past few months on netflix, soooo good. It makes me want to watch the original but i hear its too painful to watch. Specially Face from Ateam as starbuck
Posted by: holton at April 14, 2007 06:42 PM
Some local station (or is it a network? It's what used to be PAX) has been playing the original. Definitely not worth your time.
Posted by: No Man Is an Island at April 15, 2007 08:30 PM
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