UNCUT REACTION - Battlestar Galactica The Miniseries (2003)
Watching off a DVD, which is presented all as one part. YouTube edit will be coming hopefully by the end of the month.
Technical issue caused reaction to be audio only for a few minutes from 1:23:45 - 1:27:55 of our video.
Comments (79)
I remember being about 15 when this came out. I'd never seen more than the odd episode of the original, and it always seemed a little campy to me, having grown up on 90s Trek(not that there was never camp in 90s Trek). Point being, when I saw the trailers and it seemed like a very modern, high octane reboot, I figured a 2 night event was something I could spare the time to check out. It was just so different at the time and really grabbed mine and my brother's attention. We ended up watching into the 3rd season, but I kind of lost track of it at that point. This show can be pretty dark, especially when the characters you're supposed to root for are anything but paragons of virtue at times. Some are, and would fit right into Trek, but others are basically anti heroes. Having grown up on trek's optimism, the darkness of BSG turned me off as a teenager. Some time around 2011 I checked out the show again, and as a young adult I enjoyed it a LOT more. The miniseries is a long watch for a single sitting, but I think it does a great job setting up the premise of the series. There wasn't a series planned at first as I recall, but the reception was so good that it got greenlit pretty fast.
Something I'd like to hit on from the space battle complaint. yes it's not all flashy and high tech(i think i heard once that the budget was so low that the writers inserted a joke in the show about all the paper and pictures have their corners cut off to symbolize them cutting corners to make the show), however, the Galactica has very REAL world practical elements of military procedure. The Galactica serves actually has 3 separate military vessels we use in the USA. a battlship with heavy ordinance, a submarine(no windows cause of space, and moves like a ship underwater...CIC commands the ship to move in 3d space), and also a Command Carrier ship that holds fighter jets(vipers). there are NO lasers and shields in this show..very well grounded to simple technology to give it realism. Another element is the rank and command structure aboard the ship is extremely accurate(me speaking from experience serving myself). the chain of command and all the ranks are completey spot on. also, i hope the audio improves, it was kinda hard for me to hear you guys talking....i had my volume on MAX
Also, stick with this because of Edward James Olmos. He is a titan in this show. He'll change you.
Stick through it till the end, this show will blow your mind. Truly a much deeper take on the whole concept than the original.
As you edit see if you can see the firefly class ship they placed as an Easter egg.
This is my favorite dark sci-fi series and it only gets better as it goes on. Some seasons have dips, but it's an interesting journey. Hope you decide to continue it eventually.
I agree - some times it needed incredible actors to hold the show on their back while the producers screwed with the format but man, it had incredible actors and it worked. Also this was Ronald D Moore's passion project and his first TV writing job was TNG which is fun
Fantastic reaction, gentlemen! Quite enjoyed watching this. Thank you very much.
After two seasons of TNG we have established Data as a new form of sentient life. Can't the same argument be made for Lore? To me that sums up the BSG reboot. I'd rather have humanoid Cylon villains over autonomous drones.
I hope you don't let a few unhappy people change your mind about watching the series. We all come to a series with different perspectives. The thing I like about all of your reactions is that you often point out things, negative and positive that I've missed. Yes, a lot of us can be protective about our own favorites. BSG is one of mine. Let's all be polite about responding to these two guys who have given us a lot of fun watching their reactions.
Amazing, you managed to talk over almost every logistical explanation the characters gave for questions you'd ask 5 minutes later. I know it's the danger of reactions, and normally I don't mind that much, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little annoyed, lol. Maybe I just like the show too much. But honestly, it's just impressive how consistently you guys managed to do so in this one. Like EVERY time they brought up Baltar creating a navigation program that Six took advantage of to facilitate the attack, you guys thought you were in a safe spot to talk just before the characters spoke. Be a pretty harsh drinking game boys. 🙃
Yeah. Even though we really enjoyed it, this is the reason I’m not sure it’s the right move to react to the series. People seem very protective of it, and given our style I’m really not trying to deal with a bunch of people yelling at us every episode.
As someone who never saw the original BSG, I went into this reboot without any baggage. I remember there was a bunch of people angry about the Starbuck gender swap at the time. I couldn't understand the backlash because Kate Sackhoff KILLED it in role. In fact, I thought the entire cast was excellent, especially Edward James Olmos as Adama. I wouldn't expect you to watch more of the BSG series since you're on the Star Trek journey, but definitely check it out in your free time if nothing else.
Does anyone know where to watch this on streaming?
Prime has it. But you have to pay additional money.
An amazing revamp that slowly over the course of five years lost its way and became self-important, dreary, and humorless. This is one of those times when I think it should've just stopped at this mini-series instead of the slow burn into depressive sci-fi.
Humour doesn’t really mix with end of civilization, dreary does
Awesome! Love it. Love you two! So cool to see you doing this and hope eventually you'll do a watch of the show, it's worth it! I remember seeing this when released and it was amazing time! Please I hope you two watch. But I do get the time thing. I would rather see you two obviously do Star Trek all lol, that is the GOAT lol, like cmon what's better than Trek lol and it feels so great to watch with you and experience Trek the absolute best thing ever no joke and I think you guys have understood that now with Trek. But maybe one day BSG eventually. You're the only Patreon I do and it's so worth it!!! I think I will change to highest 1 year sub $10 from my new sub of the $5 year lol. You guys are so great and it's so fulfilling to watch you two Trek all, like you two are our friends. Thanks so much guys! Much love!!!
Watched this one along with you guys and wow I forgot how good it was! One thing to know about this show is that much of the feel of it was influenced by 9/11. Those of us who there around remember the outrageous paranoia that gripped our nation, where people were being harassed, assaulted, or arrested because they “looked like terrorists”. While there is definitely an obvious budgetary reason to make Cyclons human, it can also lead to some great storytelling (as was hinted by the reveal of Boomer being a Cylon). Hope you watch the rest of the series! It would be fun to revisit it with your reactions. So say we all!
Prime demands additional money for a show that's 20 years old. Sorry, have to wait for the YT version.
No worries! Should be out by the end of the month
Fair. I don't think I was incredibly pretentious and rude, but it probably came across that way. That's why I tried to take the temperature back with my remark. I get it, someone who disagrees probably comes around as someone being condescending, but I tried not to be. Not everyone is necessarily out to get you. I wrote a lot because I care. If I didn't, I could have done something else. Write a lot of bullshit or actually acurate stuff about me if you want. But not every reply is malicious.
"Not everyone is necessarily out to get you." No, but you can't blame them for thinking the dude who tells them they only like TNG seasons 1 and 2 is because they don't know good tv might be. Keep in mind when they record themselves watching tv they have to talk and make comments so that there's a reason for us to watch the video, if they just sit silently and take in the episode it would be a very boring reaction but of course if they make comments and talk to each other they are bound to miss some things.
I think that is one of my favourite watches with you guys.
I'm sorry, but this reaction was disappointing. They spent like an hour of talking about how the Galactica is an outdated battleship, as if their command center wasn't a hint by working like a real ship, and all the converting it into a museum wasn't a thing. There was an entire plot arch about how they found Cmdr. Adama's old Fighter. And just for the slow ones, the old ones are Viper Mk2s, while the modern ones where the Viper Mk7s. For their DECOMMISSIONING celebration. They spell this out throughout the movie. Old stuff survives and new stuff gets shut off by the Cylons. Why does Starbuck win a fight? She is flying a museum piece. Because the Co hates computers. They had a whole story arch about how new interconnected defenses get taken out, but the Galactica, thanks to being the last of her old class with entirely anachronistic tech survives. Like during the entire reaction, there was silly stuff like "Why are they using paper and whiteboards?" and I'm silently screaming "because they are fighting computers!" They are ANACHRONISTIC! because the other side is a bunch of robots controlled by a machine intelligence. They lost 30 battlestars in the first half and your reaction is "well, they used all of their ressources on Galactica!?" Yeah, they don't. The famous dude who controlled all their computers let the Cylons into their defense network. I'm going to be honest, I had high hopes for this thanks to your Star Trek reactions, but you liking the first two seasons of TNG wasn't thanks to you appreciating good TV, it was thanks to you not realizing good or bad TV even if it's right in front of your faces. And like half of the series is the conflict between Cmdr. Adama and the president. It's a geniune interesting conflict. A commander who was on the verge of retirement vs a education minister who was never supposed to be the leader. This shit isn't solved by "well she knows how to be unlikable", Wtf is this? It's an incredibly interesting Sci-Fi conflict. What's important? The 'theoretical' line of successsion or the line of command among soldiers? The entire point is a soldier knowing he is in command (!) but still relingquishing it because someone else has more legitimacy. Battlestar Galactica starts with a more interesting moral dillema than Star Trek ever had to deal with. And I'm sorry you don't see it that way. Have fun with the good half of Star Trek, this part of Sci Fi was really disapointing. Enough to stop me from being interested in this.
Sounds like you are way too intelligent for us. Bummer. Hope you find a channel that can match your high IQ. Thanks for watching this though 🫡
The mixture of tech levels I feel was a great aesthetic choice to give that other-worldly, 'not Earth' but human vibe.
BTW Jamie Bamber (Apollo) is English. I was blown away when I first found this out. His accent is bang on.
Me, too. He had that American accent nailed down.
Great reactions boys. Truly one of the finest sci fi shows of all time. The original show pales in comparison to the reboot and if you do watch the full show you will quickly forget about it. I do wish you had watched the entire 90s Trek shows first but I predict high viewing figures for this video.
Even if it's just Patreon only, I highly recommend that you jump into the series at some point. One of my top 10 TV series of all time.
The thing that's always bothered me about this is it's like they (the writers) weren't sure what the human cylons were. Like they mentioned them having silicon pathways and 6's back glow which makes you think oh so they are extremely like humans but physically made of a different material or a blending of flesh and tech......but then there's stuff like it being very difficult to tell them apart from humans medically that makes you think are they just legit human bodies with cylons brains downloaded inside. It's like it is whatever the writers feel like at any poy, very confusing. I still really like a lot about this show...and dislike a lot too, cough cough second half of the whole series
That evolution of peoples perspectives though is kinda the point….they are just exactly like us…whether the enemy is terrorists in real life or synthetic life forms that we made…we/the colonials slowly grow to appreciate they are not just chrome toasters with circuits etc…they are just like us
I can feel your pain. When I saw this the first time it dragged. Rewatching it I enjoy this way more. I had only seen little bits of the original when this aired so I got some Easter eggs from the original. The dead baby (which I guessed was the shot from the thumbnail was from) has been interpreted both as evil and as a mercy killing. I always took it as Ron and company starting out pushing boundaries they couldn’t in Trek. I have always thought this show is what kept Trek off the air for years because the critical acclaim this got is bigger than Star Trek ever had while airing, even if most early articles focused on the backlash against female Starbuck. Season 1 is suitable for watching in a similar model to the original when you have nothing else on the calendar. I do think this will do well for you guys. I have been wondering what you would think since you watched the first episode of the original.
When I first heard about this series, it was during Sci-Fi's heyday when I was watching Stargate SG-1 and Farscape (and possibly Haven), so I immediately decided to give this a try. I was not disappointed by the mini-series and was so thrilled to see it being made into a series. And it really did not disappoint me in the least. It was great. I understand if you guys can't get to it. Star Trek is awesome in its own right, and it is the reason you started your channel. But the series is good, so keep it on your back burner.
All I can say is if you guys never watch the rest of this show either as a reaction or on your own, you will deprive yourself of one of the greatest shows ever made
Let's make this happen.
I missed this mini-series when it aired and I also missed the first couple episodes of the series before I discovered it and started watching. I enjoyed it for the first 3 seasons, then fell away and never went back. I was glad to be able to finally watch this pilot with you guys. One thing that I found fascinating about the story in this BSG is the humans are essentially polytheists: they believe in the lords of kobol and essentially multiple gods. The Cylons are monotheists: they believe in 1 god (God). Nice twist.
The baby scene is intense and show the show is not messing about. Loved your faces at the end.
I think that the point of human Cylons is actors emoting. As opposed to a half assed 3po, before this series premiered I pictured a reboot series being like Star Wars vs the Matrix! Which would have been cool, but hard to do on a television budget and again machines emoting? They wanted Edward James Olmos to play Kruge in Star Trek 3. They loved him, but they thought he was too short to be threatening.
My favorite in this mini series was The Chief. He was a supporting character but really they did a great job in bringing him to life. Gaius is another one you kind of get his personality, same with Tighe. Ok, all of them except Boxey.
He was one of my favorites, too. I have not seen any of this series since the 3rd season originally aired, so it was nice to revisit some old friends, so to speak.
The series is really excellent. I hope you do continue it. It is so much better than the original show. In my case, I really didn't like the original show too much, so when I heard they were rebooting it, I wasn't really interested in it for that reason. It quickly became probably my favorite sci-fi series, and still is.
I watched this entire show back in 2011. its a long watch. worth it. like you said its more based in todays reality vs the ideal future in Star Trek... much more gritty and dark.
I got a big laugh right at the beginning before you guys realized that it was a reboot, and you suggested that Number Six was Baltar's daughter. That would make certain events/scenes later in the episode a bit weird.
There's an amusing irony to you being excited to see Katee Sackhoff show up here, since this was the role that made her famous in the first place.
This very adult series rewards in each episode. Thumbs up for you to continue.
Sorry, guys, the President has authority above the military. It's sorta designed according to what we recognize in America. The American president is Commander-in-Chief. So is the BSG president. The actress is great, and the character has a great arc throughout the series. : )
I found this series presented the humans as always treating each other like such crap that I started pulling for the cylons to win it.
I did, too, at times.
I really hope you guys continue with the series. I think you’ll be blown away. Also I really want to see your reaction to the first episode of the series after the pilot. It’s a masterpiece!
I don't see that anyone say this so I am sure I'm the 4th to mention and I missed it..... You said very Fire Fly like.... Well in the Sec of Ed (later Prez) learning about her cancer scene, before the doc comes into the room you see a little beauty of a ship landing.
damn forgot also..... RIP Jolly we hardly knew ye... You lasted a few minutes with little or no real air time. The re-boot matches the OG. On the bright side, Jolly won't be in the opening credits just to be missing in the episode. OR WILL HE/SHE
There being Cylon models that appear human was actually part of the original show's sequel series 'Galactica 1980' - Episodes 7 & 8: 'The Night the Cylons Landed, Parts 1 & 2'.
Babylon 5 is criminally underrated. Plus it's fun to see the network of actors move to and from Star Trek in Babylon 5's run.
Do you mean Battlestar Galactica?
Finally ! This series is AMAZING. In my opinion, so much more depth than the original TV series. This series is a classic.. I hope you watch every season.
Ok - so now I've watched your entire reaction. I enjoyed watching the mini series over again with you for about the 5th time over the last 20 years. I did think you'd be more enthused about it, but I understand that it's natural you would be comparing it to the original. I did watch a little of the original when I was young, but found it a bit hokey. I probably never gave it a fair chance. I'm hoping that you give this series a shot and start watching Season 1 at some point. Thanks, guys.
Very happy to see BSG pop onto the Patreon feed today - a treat to revisit that show. Looking forward to more BSG content if and when it happens. Happy Weekend Fellas!
"dead baby" Yeah, the original air thing was "Night 1" and "Night 2." Night 1 ends with Adama thinking Lee just died, as I recall. (Great fucking acting by Olmos.) I don't mind the casting of Starbuck. I will say, Katee Sackoff did not endear herself to oldschool fans at the time by basically telling them to fuck off if they had a problem with it... Imagine, as a Star Trek fan, if they gender-bent Spock. For my fellow Patrons, you can get this on Amazon Prime for 12.99. WTF is that price? Star Trek fact: Edward James Olmos was almost Kruge in Star Trek 3. Nimoy felt his stature... He wasn't tall enough. Yet here... Holy shit his presence. ...So, when's the next episode coming out? :) Eh? Eh? C'mahn.
The Spock thing is not a fair comparison....there is so much that is different in this show...it's not a simple reboot or an alternate timeline like Kelvin Star Trek...it's a completely different world/universe and story....it shares only the most basic superficial things in common, like character names (and even then its now call signs) and ship names and a post apocalypse setting. Cylons where not at all tied to humans in the OG, they where an alien lizard species who made robots. There are no aliens in this show
"the mystery beens solved now" ....OMG lol must bite tongue lol
It will be the whole cast in the series....with one minor exception:) Gotta admit I was sad you guys didn't seem to feel the intensity of the epic battle. And OMG don't worry about the score....the music in this show will blow your mind very soon
You're definitely going to have to let go of your memories and context of the original BSG....the things that are the same are largely incidental and not relevant to this show. It's a completely different thing. It's like comparing Crimson Tide to some goody cartoon about a submarine with aliens and silly stuff.
Definitely. It's it's own thing. This ain't your daddy's Battlestar Galactica.
What made the space battle scenes stand-out in the day was how they used real physics and inertia, with the small thrusters constantly making adjustments and the like. Also, the Bear McCreary score is minimalist as an answer to Star Trek/Wars bombastic orchestral score. I love this with all my heart, if only because while it's part of a known IP, it still has its own full identity and style. It's refreshing and gripping, with badass realistic characters. The series is even better. Thanks for watching this one!
(Babylon 5 did it first!)
The Cylons didn't just become humanoid for the show to save money, it was mostly done to add paranoia to the show. The show was developed in the aftermath of 9/11, so the enemy being able to hide in plain sight like a terrorist planning an attack was fresh in the writers minds.
100%. This series is science fiction's answer to US post-9/11 paranoia.
Not gonna be able to watch this until the weekend, but I choose to believe this thumbnail is the moment with number 6 and the baby...
It’s when we get the Boxey reveal
Ugh, I don't want to see Buffy. But I DO want to see Babylon 5!!
HERE HERE! BABYLON 5! BABYLON 5! BABYLON 5! ...Nobody cares. *single tear*
Their first time seeing that opening scene and what a scene that is
Got the day off...time to roll one for TA and settle in for the long haul...SO SAY WE ALL!!
So say we all
One long movie? Oh boy 🤪
OMG so wanted you guys to see this
So say we all!