Review: Battlestar Galactica

There are certain shows I didn't watch while growing up that I feel I must to upgrade my nerd level.  Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Dr. Who, and both Battlestar Galactica series among others.  Thanks to Netflix, I can catch up on most of these and recently I finished the newer BSG.  I finished the old one (the 1979 version) sometime last year.

The general premise (at least to begin with) of both series is the same.  Cylons (robots) have wiped out all of humanity except a fleet of civilian ships guarded by one Battlestar (warship), the Galactica.  The Cylons were able to wipe out the 12 human colonies due to a man named Baltar in both series.  Much like a zombie movie, much of the tension and drama of the show comes not from the enemy that wiped out humanity, but from the in-fighting of the remaining survivors.  Running of out resources (fuel, food, water, etc), one ship being a prison ship, and political power struggles are shared plots of both series.  Other similar plot lines involve the quest to find Earth, stolen Cylon Raiders, and capturing and trying the traitor, Baltar, for his crimes.  They also both had their own jargon - frack/frak, cubits, yahren, tylium, etc., which adds a unique touch to the universe they have built

The differences are mostly based on when they came out.  The special effects in the 1979 version are dated, the plots and writing are generally much more light-hearted, and the relationships seem more for comedic purposes than for character depth (or maybe that's just Faceman...I mean Starbuck...).  While the 2004 version has much more twists making for a much deeper and complicated overall story.

Both series had their issues.  The 1979 version was cheesy and had Boxey and Muffit (annoying little kid and his robot....dog....thing - a daggit).  The 2004 version had a whole religious side thing I never felt was necessary (the Lords of Kobol vs. the one true Cylon god) as well as every character at some point during the show making some decision or doing something very out of character or just plain dumb so that the only characters I consistently liked were the Cylons.  You should never really want to root for the thing trying to wipe out humanity...

Ultimately, I'm not sure I can really recommend either series.  The 1979 one was entertaining, but it didn't age all that well.  I feel like I want to like the 2004 version more than I ended up liking it.  The twists in the overall plot and the universe they built for that series are great, but if by the end of the series my favorite characters are the mute CGI cartoons running around shooting at the humans, I think something is wrong.

Retro Review: Count of Monte Cristo

Ever since getting the Kindle, I've been reading a bunch of classics since anything written before 1920 is free. I figured a good place to start would be with the book that was the basis for my second favorite movie of all time, Count of Monte Cristo.

If you don't know the plot, I'll try to summarize it without ruining anything. Edmond Dantes is a sailor just about to marry the woman of his dreams and become captain of the ship he's been sailing on for years when he is betrayed by men jealous of his good fortunes. He is sent to a prison where he meets a fellow prisoner who tells him of a fortune hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. Eventually Edmond escapes, retrieves the fortune, and uses it to give himself a new name and identity and get revenge on the people who ruined his life.

The book, movie, and anime (Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo) all share this general story. What's really interesting is all the differences between the three versions. The book is easily the most complex of all three. There are four men on whom Edmond wants revenge and one man who Edmond needs to repay for trying to help him while he was imprisoned. Edmond uses each man's interests to get revenge (he bankrupts the banker, tarnishes the name of the politician, etc). He also uses their children against their parents, which becomes really interesting when the son of the man he tries to help falls in love with the daughter of one of the men he has declared revenge on.

The movie is understandably simplified in many ways. One of the conspirators that got Edmond sent to prison in the book is not in the movie. The methods of revenge are very simplified. There are significantly less children and wives in the movie, so less people to complicate the plot. I truly respect everyone involved in making this movie since despite so much simplification, the plot is very clear and nothing is ruined by what isn't in the movie. It remains my second favorite movie of all time.

The anime is very interesting because the main plot stays much truer to the book, but the setting is a heck of a lot more sci-fi. The Count of Monte Cristo is a space vampire, his cohorts are aliens, there are spaceships (obviously), and yet there are horses, stage coaches, and sword fights. Oh, the sword fights take place in giant robotic suits of armor.

The thing I find the most interesting about all of them is a recurring theme that is different in each one. In the book, Edmond sees himself as an avenger of God's. So everything he does is righteous in his eyes (which of course gets challenged a few times). In the movie, Edmond feels God has abandoned him and so has no problem with getting revenge by any means. In the anime, (it's hard to explain without spoiling something crucial, so bear with me) Edmond seeks revenge because he must feel strong emotions (like hate) or he will die.

I highly recommend the book or movie. The anime is interesting and worth watching, but it's a little too weird and there are some animation styles that bothered me a little too much. It does have giant robot suits of armor, though...I'd also recommend the TV show Revenge, which is the closest to a modern day equivalent that we have.