Smart Writing, Powerful Direction in 'Battlestar Gallactica'
Oct 12, 2006
There's a certain mystery to the allure of a successful sci-fi series. Some stumble even when they're trying their best ("Star Trek Voyager"); others, like SCI FI's re-imagined "Battlestar Gallactica" just appear to work without much effort at all.
Of course, there's a great deal of effort - all of it real, and most it happening all behind the scenes. It's one of the reasons "BG" has been such a hit for the cable net since it launched in 2003. From its brilliant writing to exquisite direction - not to mention the acting, and somebody please deliver an Emmy to Mary McDonnell for her role as beleaguered president Laura Roslin here - the series, in just a few short years, has managed to create a cult phenomena.
By the looks of things to come in its third season, the titular series seems to just be gaining creative ground. Last week's season premiere, dubbed "Occupation /Precipice," delivered one of its most solid episodes in which the trapped humans on the Cylon-occupied New Caprica struggled to come to terms with the harsh realities of their lives.
Meanwhile, their leader, Adama (Edward James Olmos) planned a rescue attempt with Gallactica. Ronald D. Moore's pitch-perfect script featured the series' stars - Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Hogan, Michael Trucco, Aaron Douglas, Grace Park - offering pristine performances. This week's episode (9pm Friday) is the first of a two-parter that traces the elaborate rescue mission by Adama to save his people.
Whether you have been watching the series from the get-go or are just tuning in for the first time, the joy is that it's not at all difficult to warm up to the events unfolding here. It's a testament to the brilliant acting and the overall re-imagined "Battlestar" concept, which tossed the '70s camp from which it spawned off to the nearest black hole and fueled the series with the gritty realities of what life would be like for humans fighting to save their own race against a rising threat of mastermind machines.
There's an impressive, haunting, opera-like tone to the drama, and its creative threads weave a fascinating, addictive tale. Much like "24," you don't want to take your eyes off of it. Take note of the surprise turns in Sackhoff's (Starbuck) character in the gripping two-parter. (Here's another fine actress who is going unnoticed by Emmy voters.)
As the cylon-occupation story arc resolves itself in some form, it also launches another storyline that will unfold for the rest of the season, and beyond, perhaps. In other words: Buckle up. The ride's really just beginning.
Hits and Misses
"Nip/Tuck" (10pm Tuesday, FX) turned heads last week when Rosie O'Donnell popped up as the winner of a $381 million Powerball lottery - she ventured to South Beach for some major nip/tucks of her own. That she tossed the clothes aside to bed Dr. Troy (Julian MacMahon) was a head-turner. Look for O'Donnell to show up again later this season.
The provocative series seems to be delivering a steady, well-balanced stream of episodes this season. Pay attention to a major jaw-dropper in the Oct. 31 episode when Liz (Roma Maffia) nabs a girlfriend - played by Alanis Morissette.
CBS's "Jericho" (8pm Wednesday) boasts an interesting premise even though it is a bit maudlin. What would you do if a nuclear mushroom cloud hit near your hometown and you were left to fend for you and your family? Skeet Ulrich headlines this can't-quite-get-into-it new series.
Still, all new shows need time to develop, but the road looks a bit bumpy here. The upcoming episode finds the Midwesterners plagued by a string of fires caused by a surge in power lines. Culling from ABC's "Invasion," we begin see that some of the townsfolk are not who they are claiming to be, which, depending on how you look at it, may be exactly what the series is doing.
Still on the fence about the shifts happening on the CW's "Gillmore Girls" (8pm Tuesday)? You're not alone. Although I may be one of the few who doesn't find the current storyline taking place - Lorelai (Lauren Graham) dating Christopher (David Sutcliffe) after she and Luke (Scott Patterson) went nuclear - all that terrible. There are some critics out there who feel the show has stumbled horribly last season and, especially, in its transition over to the CW amalgam of UPN and the WB.
The forecast isn't that dire - not really. Graham is still on the mark, and while the first few episodes this season found she and Rory apparently satisfying an eager need for some of the show's writers to hear their overly verbal concoctions come to life - and let's not go there again, thank you - the series still manages to retain its original spark even while it attempts to adjust to behind-the-scene shifts creatively. Let's hope that "spark" will last all the way the end of the season.
Greg Archer is an entertainment writer based on the Central Coast. He writes about television, film and being human. E-mail him at garcher@svnewspapers.com or visit www.greg-archer.com.
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