BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA premieres, Friday, October 6th 9-11pm

As you all know, I don't recap Battlestar Galactica (BSG). Most of you probably know the reason I don't talk about it, but for the record, it is probably one of the best, smartest, most socially relevant shows out there. Tonight is the 2 hour premiere on Sci Fi and for those of you who don't watch it, you may want to check it out.

The basics...

Most of the human race, based on 12 different colonies (planets) were annihilated in a nuclear holocaust by the Cylons. Cylons are man made robots who they thought they banished 40 years before, but are now back and badder then ever. They're not just chrome toasters anymore, some of them look like humans. The 13th colony, Earth, is where the rag tag fleet is heading, with the Cylons hot on their heels.

The humans here believe in many Gods, as the Cylons believe there is one true God, who are guiding them through life. Each human-like Cylon has many copies, and when they die, if there's a resurrection ship around, they'll be reborn into another body which they call "downloading". There are only 7 known Cylon human-like models, another 5 exist, but we're not 100% sure who they are. They could be anyone.

At the end of the last season, the humans, called colonials, have finally found a home, on a planet called New Caprica. They think they're safe from the Cylons and set up camp. Unfortunately, the Cylons have found them, and in the last moments, were marching through town, Nazi-like, about to take over. Some of the fleet was still in orbit, including Admiral Adama and his son, Apollo, who is commander of another Battlestar, Pegasus. They jumped out with the hope of coming back at some point to rescue the thousands of people who settled on New Caprica and are not presumed prisoners of the Cylons.

There are way too many characters to talk about, but this show some have called "The West Wing" in space. I don't think that's a really fair statement. Battlestar is its own show, and it's not about space and aliens, and flying saucers. It's about politics, revenge, love, the military. Just about everything good about shows with all of that can be found in this show. And the writing is amazing, with catch phrases like "Frak" and "So Say We All" and my personal favorite, "The Lords of Kobol".

If you haven't seen any of the show, there are tons of ways to catch up, including a show called Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far which is available for download on iTunes. If you don't get a chance to catch up with that, the show is easier then most people think to jump in, especially at the beginning of the season. See, they do this cool thing called "Previously On" before each episode that will catch you up. Trust me, it's worth it.