Your thoughts on getting into Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. (1 Viewer)

Ron-

I can only comment on Galactica. I've seen the original series in the original broadcast run but I do not own it. I'm familiar with it and I can understand all the fuss that went on when the series was about to premier from all the upset fans that Ron Moore had re-imagined it.

I don't have cable, and I've never had an opportunity to see the series on air except a few bits on NBC. I also have a friend who knows of my interest in Sci-Fi and Star Trek in particular. He highly urged me to see the series.

Knowing that, I finally bought the DVD box set late last year and I went into it totally with an open mind. It is a highly well made series! Well acted and written. And the new take on the series themes and ideas are perfectly valid. It's a new version no doubt and I think you can accept it and also still enjoy the original series on it's merits. Glenn A. Larson created the original, and is also a consultant on this new version.

What I like of what I've seen so far is the focus on character and not so much action. There is action, but it is not the focus of the show. Also, I compare this series very closely with Star Trek Deep Space Nine. It's no surprise to me as Moore was so instumental in that series turn around in the last 3-4 years of it's run. There's a lot of political and religious issues they examine in both shows. So far, I've seen the Miniseries. You have to see that first. I have completed the first season and just saw the second episode of Season 2. I'm trying to make these shows last so that when the next box set is out, I will either time the release or have to wait a few weeks for the next set so it's a continous viewing experience.

That's my point of view.

Firefly is a pretty breezy watch and Serenity does provide a sense of closure that the series needed. i definitely would not watch the feature without having seen the show.

i am a huge fan of Buffy but resisted Firefly for as long as possible until i finally caved last year. its good, but i don't think it blew me away as many would saying it would.
as popcorn sci-fi/space opera i like the show much better than the SW prequels, and the one episode with the Bounty Hunter was the kick ass depiction of a bounty hunter that i had always wanted to see after Boba Fett first planted the concept (but was never developed and just tossed away).

the one big problem i had with the show was the 'reset' nature. some characters will take all kinds of bodily abuse in one episode and yet the very next one they are fit as a fiddle and ready to kick ass. that was disappointing to see as Buffy often carried over phyiscal (and psychological wounds) for several eps giving them a little more substance.
here, people seem to have the healing properties of superheros.

but the writing is otherwise up there, and its a fun, no heavy lifting show to watch.


i've heard great things about BG too, but that seems like i much denser show to get into. looking forward to it eventually though.

Firefly is a great show. It is escapist television at it's very finest. I have tried watching Galactica more than once, and from what I've seen, the acting is great, but it is very, very dark sci-fi. Maybe I would have better luck getting into it if I got the first season, and watched it in order.

It would seem the easiest place to get into "Galactica" would be with the miniseries, which is included in the first season DVD. That said, the series is better than the miniseries. The miniseries is promising and frequently satisfying, but also sometimes seems to wallow in darkness. Yes, I get the dramatic point of killing that baby, or watching the little girl play with her doll while her ship is about to be nuked
, but even so, I didn't much enjoy watching those parts.

Once the show got going, though, it really became quite compelling, and it's one of the only shows I ever feel actual anxiety watching, because I really don't know what's going to happen (and yes, that's partly because they dared to do the things in the spoiler above).

As for "Firefly," I never made it through the first one, though I know lots of people strongly disagree with me.

Start with Firefly, and then finish up with Serenity. In ... that ... order. Please resist any urge to simply watching Serenity first.

BG is more bleak at times, it's gritty, but it does have some interesting ideas as well. There was a 2-hour miniseries in 2003, and then season 1 had 13 episodes, and the first part of season 2 had 10 episodes, and the 2nd half of season 2 just re-started with the airing of episode #11 this past Friday.

The Galactica mini-series was very solid, but like Mike pointed out, one might feel it wallows a bit too much in the darkness. I didn't mind since it is about the genocide of humanity. However, the series is excellent from its very first episode.

The mini-series, all of Season 1, and the first 10 episodes of Season 2 (called Season 2.0) are all on DVD. The mini-series was released in a 2-disc set, but it was also included in the Season 1 boxset. However, the documentaries and other extra material specific to the mini-series were not brought over to the Season 1 boxset.

I've never seen Firefly, but I can say that Galactica has much better acting across the board than Babylon 5. They don't have any weak links among their cast like B5 did. The effects and sets are much, much better too.

And yes, the blonde is hot! I find that the show is crawling with all sorts of very attractive ladies. If I had to be on a ship running from an unrelenting enemy force, it could be a lot worse than being stuck aboard Galactica.

I only thought Firefly was alright (although near the end it showed alot of promise).

As for BSG I was a huge fan of the original show and for the longest time I hated the new show with a passion (for all the changes).

BUT after watching the first season on the SPACE channel here in canada I'm loving it now. In fact the season finale was a fantastic episode that I could watch over and over. The 2nd season starts here next week so I can't wait.

IMO BSG is the best show on TV at this point and time. I'll be getting this show on DVD in the near future.

I would recommend both shows though I preferred Galactica. Firefly took me a bit to get into but around Episode 6-7 I really felt the show starting to take off and it was a real shame the show was cancelled. Serenity the film was a great addition to the series

Galactica however, I loved from the first episode. I have never watched the original series but I was drawn to this show by the fact Ron Moore was involved - Deep Space Nine being by far my favourite ST show. Only seen the first season but cant wait to start watching Season 2.

If you get the Galactica set, get the version without the giant Cylon head. That thing takes up too much damn room.

. . . . Oh, wait. You meant the really crappy new version.

Seriously and all kidding aside, the new version is filled with way too many disfunctional characters and stories that just dont work. Even taking off the old school fan hat, I thought it was a dreadful prodution. It saddens me when this is passed off as cutting edge science fiction and people eat it up.

If you want to see how to update an old show, stay true to what has come before, doesnt piss on the old fans, AND fills the scripts with sharp writing with believable characters, go see what Russel Davies did with Doctor Who. Now *THATS* the best genre show on TV at the moment.

(As for Firefly, it was an OK enough show I guess. I liked what few shows I saw of it, but the set's been on my roommates shelf for a while now and I've not been compelled to pick it up again. Draw your own conclusions from that)

Haven't done the new Battlestar Galactica yet, and if I had the extra cash right now I would have done the $10 off coupon to get into BG when I purchased Serenity.

Regarding Serenity...I watched the movie in the theaters, and finally got talked into buying the Firefly set last week. Now I can't stop telling everyone I know to get on board with it. Serenity is a lot better and more coherent after seeing Firefly.

Not seen BG as yet (unfortunately), but with Firefly, the first episode (Serenity... same name as the movie, go figure) is very well done, but some parts of the second (the Train Job iirc) may feel like they're rehashing bits from the first (that's due to the fact that FOX wouldn't show the first episode and wanted a 'faster' more involved episode to start things off). My dad pointed this one out to me, I personally didn't notice it myself, but hey, you might, so consider yourself slightly warned there.

Well I had read all the great stuff online about Battlestar and was like what the hey....I'm not a big fan of this sci fi type of TV Show but figured I'd give it a go. Holy crap I'm addicted. It's like Crack! I watched the entire miniseries and first season and half of season 2 this weekend. Not because I wanted to but because i had no control over myself. I needed to know what happened next. I would say it's on par with Lost and 24. I was very very surprised. I also like Firefly and Serenity but I think Battlestar is pretty darn amazing.

The miniseries kicks off the series and is now included with the first season so no need to buy it separately.
IMO the whole release was kind of muddled because the miniseries was (still is) available separately and Best Buy had an exclusive to sell the series (sans miniseries) a couple of months before the official US release. I don't think the "Best Buy exclusive" version is sold anymore but there was more than one version of this set. Just make sure you get the release that contains the miniseries.
Watching this is a no-brainer. One of the best shows currently on television.
I also really enjoyed Firefly/Serenity in a typical Joss Whedon snappy dialogue, character interaction kinda way but it just isn't the same kind of show as Battlestar Galactica. Galactica is far more... intense.

Ron, Firefly is one of my most favorite "I can't believe I didn't watch this when it aired!" DVD discoveries. I strongly recommend it. Full of action and humor, and it still takes the time to make you think a bit, too.

Also, a bit of romance in there for those that appreciate that (I certainly do). Oh, and in case my mention of "romance" turns off the guys, I should mention that the ladies in this show are HOT!

I should also point out that you'll probably walk around humming the theme song for a bit after you watch the show. Fits the mood of the program perfectly. I have the lyrics printed out on a small slip of paper that's tacked up in my cubical at work.

Terrific show, followed by a movie that certainly put a wrapper on things (while still leaving the door open for more movies, though that probably won't happen). I can't recommend it enough!

Firefly is a great show with an interesting premise, snappy dialogue and a likeable cast, with both poignant and laugh-out-loud moments. The dialogue is very 'Whedon-esque'. The two things that seemed odd to me at first were quickly forgotten (those being the occasional outbursts of incomperehensible Chinese dialogue, and the made-up, and slightly goofy, profanity: something Galatica is also guilty of), making it a very easy show to digest. The movie Serenity is great closure, and a really well-made and exciting movie to boot. Definitely give them a shot.

Battlestar Galactica is much more intense and dramatic. Probably the most compelling and exciting thing I watch on TV, it has some really terrific ideas and excellent acting (especially from Edward James Olmos). It's TV science fiction, but it's deadly serious stuff, touching on all kinds of contemporary topics (terrorism, civil liberties, religion and the nature of life). It was also voted the best television series of 2005 by Time magazine, and is thankfully in a different league from the original '70s series cheesefest. I look forward to every new episode (up to episode 11 of season two now), and it has real consistency. Highly recommended.

Adam

Galactica is the best sci-fi show in 10 or 20 years. Yes, it is dark, but it's not without it's humor and lots of charm. The writing is so crisp and the acting so good, you will frequently be literally on the edge of your seat. I can't say that I have seen one weak episode.

The shorter seasons make following the show easier. The mini-series was 3 hours, followed by 13 episodes (together these make up the season 1 DVD set), followed by the first 10 episodes of season 2 (which aired from July-Sept 2005 and are currently on the season 2.0 set), and the latter half of season two is just airing now, with episode 11 airing last Friday.

I was skepitcal when I first saw the miniseries, but on a second viewing, I realized how great it was. The show is gripping from the very start. Its a show that keeps you thinking, keeps you guessing and keeps you interested. If the old Saturday matinee cliffhangers had been this intense, people would have camped out at the theater all week long. But more than a just a sci-fi show, it's a mature drama, one that mirrors real life.

I'm a long time Star Trek fan, and I loved Babylon 5, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the new Galactica is one of the singular achievements in science fiction history.

"Galactica" is simply put, awesome!

It is the single best Sci-Fi show to air in a long time if not ever! The first part of the second series has already aired in the U.S. but won't start here in Canada until next Saturday January 14th.

The season 2 box set (2.0) is not available here in Canada until it finishes airing on TV first.

However, I'm so adicted to this show that I could not wait and ordered Season 2.0 from amazon.com two weeks ago... I watched it completely within two days, just finished it yesterday actually.

As great as the mini series and first season were... Season 2 takes the show to a whole new level! I can't wait for Season 2.5!

I highly recomend this series!!!

Firefly is fun, but Galactica is brilliant! I too like some others who have posted am not a huge science fiction fan, but got in to Galactica on the basis of a review that I read. It is simply put one of the best shows on the tube today, and I am not the only one saying it. There are big time reviewers and publications like Time Magazine saying the same thing. I have pretty much given up on watching TV shows, except on DVD, but for this show I am going to make an exception and actually watch the show when they appear on the SCIFI channel. Comparing the old- 1975-Galactica to the new version is like comparing a Ferrari to a Model-T. Don't bother with the old show unless you enjoy something campy like Lost in Space or watch it for its historical value.

Adding to my previous comments, I must admit that it was my impressions of the original show that really put me off watching the new version of Galactica as didnt like the original series at all. I took a chance and rented the miniseries and immediately ordered Series 1 once I had finished. I was also a fan of Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine, but each of those took their time to get going. Galactica hits the ground running from Day 1, and if they keep the quality up, this could be prove to be even better than those 2 shows. I understand some fans of the original are not happy with the changes etc, which is fair enough, but if you were put off by the original series like me, don't let that stop you from watching it.