Battlestar Galactica
My favourite series right now is 'Battlestar Galactica,' because of its interstellar proportions. Its story also causes perturbation regarding the future of the human race.
Synopsis: Humans have just lost to the Cylons, their robotic spawns. Forced to flee throughout the universe, this fledgling fleet of refugees are constantly on the run (at FTL speed) from the Cylons. Led by the military commander of BSG, William Adama, and the education-secretary-turned-president Laura Roslin, we learn that humanity's survivors (less than 50,000) are headed towards the mythical 13th colony - Earth.
Background to doomsday: The colonies have been at peace for forty years since the last of the Cylon Wars. Cylons are robots that were created by humans to do their work for them, and even fight the inter-colonial wars. The robots become sentient and fight their creators. The humans' advanced technologies were infiltrated. Networked systems were breached. Humans had to create systems that were less technologically advanced. One of their weapons was Battlestar Galactica. (It's like computerized networks disarmed by EMPs while the gun can still be a weapon). In the First Cylon Wars, humans won.
Forty years of infiltration and strategy made the return of 'Humanity's children' as a surprise and quick defeat for humans. We learn that the scientist in charge of the development of navigation protocols and codes for all the colonies, Dr. Baltar, was used by a cylon disguised as a seductive woman to steal all defense secrets. Thus when the holocaust came, defenses were put down and nuclear attacks were swift and targeted. Humanity didn't stand a chance.
The president of the colonies is dead, and the next-in-line was the female education secretary (which makes for a long-awaited teacher-as-leader twist). At first, there was an initial clash in strategy between the BSG commander and the president. (BSG officers insisted on a counter-attack). But in the end it was realized that humans have lost, and their only chance at survival was to flee and procreate somewhere else. They gathered all ships - ultimately, only those with FTL engines - and fled the colonies, their destination initially unknown. Later, Commander Adama tells everyone that he knows where mythical Earth is, but we discover later on that Earth may not even exist (though of course viewers know better).
Cylons know that human nature would probably dictate that they'd return and destroy them, hence there is an endless chase to eradicate all of humanity's vestiges. We also learn that there may be infiltrators in the fleet led by BSG. This is the beginning of the series.
Sci-buffs and fans of the original series may have lots to criticize about the science, the scenarios, and the reimagination, but my personal sentiment is I liked it. Imagine a bleak condition where only a few people are left of your species and you're in constant threat of being eliminated. Everyone has to rely on each other; people reveal themselves at their heroic best or at their worst villainy. It makes for great sci-fi, not to mention epic drama.
Though again, fiction may be nothing compared to reality, as the possibility of human extinction is more than plausible at the hands of the powerful. Now that is scarier than sci-fi.
Synopsis: Humans have just lost to the Cylons, their robotic spawns. Forced to flee throughout the universe, this fledgling fleet of refugees are constantly on the run (at FTL speed) from the Cylons. Led by the military commander of BSG, William Adama, and the education-secretary-turned-president Laura Roslin, we learn that humanity's survivors (less than 50,000) are headed towards the mythical 13th colony - Earth.
Background to doomsday: The colonies have been at peace for forty years since the last of the Cylon Wars. Cylons are robots that were created by humans to do their work for them, and even fight the inter-colonial wars. The robots become sentient and fight their creators. The humans' advanced technologies were infiltrated. Networked systems were breached. Humans had to create systems that were less technologically advanced. One of their weapons was Battlestar Galactica. (It's like computerized networks disarmed by EMPs while the gun can still be a weapon). In the First Cylon Wars, humans won.
Forty years of infiltration and strategy made the return of 'Humanity's children' as a surprise and quick defeat for humans. We learn that the scientist in charge of the development of navigation protocols and codes for all the colonies, Dr. Baltar, was used by a cylon disguised as a seductive woman to steal all defense secrets. Thus when the holocaust came, defenses were put down and nuclear attacks were swift and targeted. Humanity didn't stand a chance.
The president of the colonies is dead, and the next-in-line was the female education secretary (which makes for a long-awaited teacher-as-leader twist). At first, there was an initial clash in strategy between the BSG commander and the president. (BSG officers insisted on a counter-attack). But in the end it was realized that humans have lost, and their only chance at survival was to flee and procreate somewhere else. They gathered all ships - ultimately, only those with FTL engines - and fled the colonies, their destination initially unknown. Later, Commander Adama tells everyone that he knows where mythical Earth is, but we discover later on that Earth may not even exist (though of course viewers know better).
Cylons know that human nature would probably dictate that they'd return and destroy them, hence there is an endless chase to eradicate all of humanity's vestiges. We also learn that there may be infiltrators in the fleet led by BSG. This is the beginning of the series.
Sci-buffs and fans of the original series may have lots to criticize about the science, the scenarios, and the reimagination, but my personal sentiment is I liked it. Imagine a bleak condition where only a few people are left of your species and you're in constant threat of being eliminated. Everyone has to rely on each other; people reveal themselves at their heroic best or at their worst villainy. It makes for great sci-fi, not to mention epic drama.
Though again, fiction may be nothing compared to reality, as the possibility of human extinction is more than plausible at the hands of the powerful. Now that is scarier than sci-fi.
posted by www.newfreemedia.com @ 10:02 AM
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