UNCUT REACTION - Battlestar Galactica S1E1 - 33

Finished the Three Hour butt buster last night from my own life experience of having a surgical removal of infectious tissue from my foot last weekend and still suffering a serious infection combating it with Hyper antibiotics my sleep has been disrupted for the last seven days , Kinda makes me think I am living through 33 minutes in the ragged edge of consciousness Oh, well I live in the subliminal, anyway. I will see you in a few I think I need some water….

I do remember that just like almost any other show the crew had to get used to working together before they could really shine. It isn't too obvious but simply quality goes up during first season. And I owe my eternal apologies to Tricia Helfer. I thought they brought her on, just because she is beautiful. Not only she plays great, she plays with greatest TV actors and not only doesn't look worse - there is synergy in her performances with other great actors, just like between any other 2 (or more) great actors. And acting in this.... oooof. Fantastic generally speaking. Though I'll comment on it later.

I freaking love this show. It's SO different from our beloved Star Trek, though it hits the same spot in my heart. You guys won't like being ahead of the characters in the story for certain things, but trust me, things don't stay that way. It gets so good.

Dreary, for sure. Ronald D. Moore has lots of really interesting modes of writing, and he used one for this show. That said, it really is a good watch, almost all the time.

I enjoyed watching this back with you guys, such a great start to setting the tone and building on the foundation of the mini-series. Looking forward to the next one!

This episode won a Hugo award. Its widely considered to be one of the best pilot episodes in TV history. And yes its very much a serious drama...not much comic relief here. Its an exceptionally well written and acted drama in a scifi setting...very different from Trek, which is of course much lighter.

I like the series but for me it made a series of missteps from season 3 on that it never covered from, it seemed like x-files another great series they never had and end game and made it up as they went along

It's hard for me to rewatch BSG. I loved the mini-series, and the actual show itself was impressive, at times being amazing. But there's definitely some boring stretches that last way too long that get to me after awhile. I'm not saying the good guys should always win. I'm just saying that, unlike Star Trek and most other Sci-Fi series', don't expect them to win here all of the time. Or even most of the time in some seasons.

I believe that people who work with him closely are more likely to use his callsign and call him Captain Apollo; whereas, in more distant or formal relationships, people are more likely to call him Captain (Lee) Adama.

It's pretty cool that you're starting this show and season 3 of TNG at the same time. Because season 3 is when Ronald D Moore joined the writing staff. I think you'll enjoy seeing the similarities and differences between TNG Ron Moore and BSG Ron Moore.

Hey Guys, I am thrilled you are watching "nuBSG" as it is referred to online. To Alex's point this is not Star Trek. But still a worthy venture in SF. The universe is a big place, room enough for many types of stories. To understand and maybe depending on your feelings appreciate this type of show, take a look at Ronald D. Moore. You have seen his contribution in the Next Generation. Well he saw something worth exploring with BSG. If you choose to stick with this, I think you may find very nuanced characters well beyond the "911" themes and an approch to a world that is suddenly unreconizable .. I look forward to your journey!

I remember absolutely loving this show as it aired. It had a magical mix of edgy, mystic, and overall really cool. But.. then it ended. The very notion of rewatching this has never entered my mind.

Like I said, downer of a show that's a slow burn to worse. Galactica 1978: "Let's do this!" Galactica 2003: "We're fucked!''

Probably doesn’t bode well that you were this lukewarm to this. This is considered a tiptop ep of the show. Maybe not Top 10, but close. Certainly a much better episode relative to the rest of the show than Man Trap.

Glad to see you guys decided to continue on with the full season. I joined the patreon just so i could do the full watch along of the series with you. It is definitely a much darker approach to Sci-Fi compared to Star Trek. It tries to ask lots of tough questions about humanity in a post apocalyptic situation. The current events from when it came out like others have said (9/11, the war on terror, etc.) had a large impact on what themes the show explores, which I'm sure you will continue to pick up on. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the series and your thoughtful reaction to the mini- series and this episode have encouraged me to go back and check out your star trek reactions as well.

Fun factoid I forgot to mention in my comment on the miniseries, there are a few scifi easter eggs worked into the miniseries that I think slipped by you. The first was Serenity in the shot just before Roslin gets her cancer diagnosis. The second was the TOS Enterprise in the background of one of the fleet shots. But yeah, 33 is a really strong place to start the series IMO. It doesn't have a big "first episode" feel to it like a lot of Trek pilots do, but of course that's because that was the miniseries' job. This is effectively the second episode and can just tell it's own story with the benefit of all the establishing of the characters and world already out of the way. It actually wasn't too long after the miniseries that this came out. The miniseries was released just over 20 years ago, December of 2003, and this episode released 10 months later on Sky1 in the UK, and then January of 2005 in North America. I'm still going through the TAS reactions, but I have seen the thumbnail for the discussion backlash video for Wrath of Khan, and I was thinking of the "he was going blind from the radiation, you idiots" comment right before you brought it up. Got a bit of a laugh out of that. Glad they decided to bring Helo back from the miniseries. I also like that Apollo didn't just pass off responsibility to Adama for giving the order. He knows it's just as much on him for destroying that ship, and "just following orders" doesn't absolve him of that. That says something about his character. This is an unusually tense episode with the constant 33 minute encounters. Staying awake for over 5 days is crazy and will really start to mess with people's heads. I'm sure people were taking little naps of just passing out in the hallways, but that's never going to be enough. Nice touch ending the episode on news of a baby being born though. Even as bleak as this episode was, there's this tiny glimmer of hope.

I will be watching from a totally different perspective than Trek. I've never seen this but it's fun to have buddies to experience a first watch. I've heard Ronald D. Moore takes a different path.

The Director didn't make the cast stay awake for a week, Edward James Olmos did. He's an actor that COMMITS. And he dragged everyone he could along. Katee Sackoff said "forget that" and got good sleeps.

BSG watchthrough has begun... START THE CLOCK!

Such great timing! It's streaming on prime, easier to watch with you.

Yes, yes it can and WILL be successful

I see some negative comments about you starting BSG reactions... I just wanted to counter that with my voice. I love BSG, and look forward to your exploration of the show.

I've always appreciated that this is not attempting to be anything like Trek. This is a realistic survival drama with a scifi setting. Amazing characters, great direction, superb writing. This is the perfect balance for the channel, with TNG's optimistic tone on the other end. Well done. Great reaction!

I'm in for now. I haven't watched this BSG series since it first aired. The depressing aspect of it got to me after a while and I ended up skipping the whole last season. Ronald Moore went deliberately in the opposite direction of the optimistic Star Trek-vision of the future. I will watch along for now and see if I can go the distance with you guys. No promises. Something I remember from when I first watched it: the cylons appear to be monotheists (God-centric) whereas the humans seem to be polytheists (Lords of Kobol). I found that interesting.

This show NEVER stops being very intense. I honestly have almost no memory at all of the original BSG, though I was very much alive and the 'target market' of it at the time (would have been 9 that year). I had the toys, including the Viper that they banned later because of the kids shooting each other in the eyes with the little pellet thingie, but the show itself wasn't really all that fun, I thought. I thought of it as a ripoff at the time. I liked the Buck Rogers reboot better, TBH. Apologies if I said all that already lol. This one was the one that stuck with me. I hope it will stick with you. Edward James Olmos is so perfect for Adama. All I can say is I come back to this when I need a good dose of him. He's probably my favorite part of this, unwaveringly. I believe in his Adama.

"Fun fact: 9/11."

It's sad you don't appreciate this show for the genius it is. How did you not understand that there could be more than one Boomer? I'll tell you how, you were talking in the scene explaining it in the mini. YOU MISSED IT! You don't get it but you need to keep in mind when this was made people had longer attention spans and actually would pay attention. Also, you guys need to remember that this is not a kiddie show like Star Trek. You guys clearly just don't get it I'm afraid. Be better.

The character of Helo (on nuked Caprica) was originally intended to have died offscreen in the miniseries, but they were so impressed by the actor that they brought him back.

You guys are fuckin nuts. I can't believe you watched all 33 episodes of S1 in one sitting. You must really love the show. I still gotta watch the miniseries reaction. Off to do that now.

this ain't no frakin' TNG. Fun watching with y'all. I think you'll end up getting into it.

I think you're starting to see the huge difference in tone between the original show and this one. They really wanted to set this apart. It makes it very hard to directly compare the two. The show is very dark, but the first episode shows how they offset that with some hope (the baby being born). "33" is a very strong opening, but I got really hooked by about episode 4 or 5. I think this episode really made you feel the weight and tragedy with the heavy focus on things like the wall of pictures, the constant countdown timer, how tired everybody is, and the loss of life on the Olympic Carrier.

CGI technology got a lot better between when the miniseries was made and this episode. The metal cylons and the CGI spaceships both look quite a bit better, so I think it is more to do with that than the fact that you guys watched the miniseries on DVD.

Trying to create a comment using NOTHING BUT the banned phrases.... xD (well it's not coming together yet so...) :D

Just remember, it's spelled "frak." It's a four letter word, and there is no "C". I can lucid dream; I trained myself to when I was in high school. I have enough control that if something happens in the dream that I don't like, I can actually rewind it and make a different choice. Not all of my dreams are lucid dreams, but most of them are. And yeah... this show is much more bleak and dark than Star Trek. Star Trek is showing a utopian future. This is a post-apocalyptic future. I still love TNG, even if it's not my favorite of the non-original but older-than-modern Treks (DS9 is my fave), but comparing it to Battlestar Galactica is very much like comparing apples and oranges. The two shows have very different themes, convey very different messages. I know which of them I like more, but also, I can grab a single episode of TNG that I enjoy and watch it without needing to watch the previous two and a half seasons for context. The other major difference is that this show doesn't start out rocky like Star Trek did. It doesn't take it two seasons to find its legs.

What the frak! Not for everybody, but I'm sure you guys will be in love with BSG by seasons end.

This and Star Trek are different kinds of storytelling. Star Trek (at least through TNG) is classic episodic. This is story arc all the way. No spoilers, but forward opinion: I really do not think they wrap it up all that well. But some of this series is just incredible and brave storytelling. I know you've been beaten over the head with the 9/11 element, but they don't just stick to that. It asks big questions about the rights and wrongs of it all as it goes along. I think it is worth it. But not worth slowing down on Star Trek! Finally, I was kid when Captain Kirk was new. Star Trek was my thing, but adult life drew me away after TNG and part way through DS9, so I'm counting on your guys to lead me through the rest of the franchise myself!

Is it bleak? This show can chew you up and spit you out bleak!

Yeah this will be the one. Potential sp0ilers are going to be bigger with this show, I remember the rampant speculation back in the day. Stay careful out there boys. Can’t wait.

Sam Witwer was a vampire on the US version of Being Human, I only watched the first season but I remember it being pretty good.

I ended up loving this series, but wasn't really thrilled with the first few episodes. It was a slow build for me, but I got hooked by the end of the first season. I would suggest that if you're not into it after 13 episodes, definitely move on to greener pastures.

Actually, everyone took a vote, and uh, they want you to continue Quantum Leap instead.

I don't have the slightest interest in BG and never have since its beginning, but I hope everyone who does enjoys it.

All of this has happened before, can’t wait to watch it again with you guys!

You boys are crazy! Tackling two scifi empires at once! Best of luck to you at keeping your stories straight! So say we live longer and prosper!

It is impossible for me to not tear up whenever I think about the ending, after all the death, their tally is “+1” because a baby was born.

Sorry this is not for me I welcome your opinion s but I can't stand it good luck with this .

At last you mother f^%65in fabulous mother f&#@in people