The leaders of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind are making plans to sign a peace treaty with their mortal enemies, the Cylon Empire. On the eve of the ceremony, the Cylons betray the pact and destroy most of the Colonies and their entire fleet. Under the command of Commander Adama, the last of the warships, the Battlestar Galactica leads the remaining Colonial ships into space and seeks out a lost thirteenth colony, which turns out to be Earth. Along the way, the Colonials encounter various races both friendly and hostile as they escape the ever pursuing Cylons - under the command of human traitor Baltar. This classic sci-fi adventure is filled with loads of action, incredible effects and exciting stories. Battlestar Galactica was a groundbreaking series when it came out as it had quite a budget for a television series, unlike most others. It had effects and visuals that were more like a movie such as Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) which this show and other sci-fi shows/films were following the hype around. I love old sci-fi projects when they use models of ships, which have such intricate details and work put into them, then when placed into the show they look so grand and epic in size as well as visually. Some of the people who worked on Star Wars did some of the models and special effects for this series before they were formed into the company of ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) by George Lucas, creator of Star Wars. There are also many great set pieces used, like the interior of the Galactica which looks very detailed and meets that science fiction appeal. The Cylons look very futuristic and have a shiny, metallic silver body and red sensor light moving back and forth on their visor which reminds me very much of K.I.T.T.'s light sensor in Knight Rider (TV Series 1982-1986). Speaking of Knight Rider, Edward Mulhare, who played Devon in that show, also has an appearance in this show as an alien being who aids our crew on a mission. Although Knight Rider came later it was created by the very same man: Glen A. Larson, he must have liked the effect so much that he brought it back for the car's sensor. Even Stu Philips, the composer for this series, made the iconic theme for both shows which is pretty amazing as he created two incredibly memorable theme tunes. I was a bit disheartened when the show ended as we never got to see them get to Earth in the season but that doesn't hinder the amazing adventures that we endured. There were times during the show I noticed that certain characters would never show up again, just disappearing as if they no longer existed despite being prominent characters in previous episodes, which was strange and never brought up. We mainly follow three colonial viper pilots: Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck and Lieutenant Boomer, who have great chemistry and friendship. They are such fun, engaging characters with great banter and you can't help but enjoy their adventures and screen time together. They go through so much together, and their bond as a team and friends is certainly an enjoyable one to follow. The action in this film is extremely exciting, from the space battles to face-to-face, although I wish we could've seen more use of the ground fights, however, the space battles are incredibly well shot with magnificent effects on par with the ones used in films like Star Wars. One of my all-time favourite references to this incredible show has to be during the second season of The A-Team (TV Series 1983-1987). Dirk Benedict, the actor of Starbuck, plays the character of Templeton Peck (also known as Face). During one of the episodes, there are people dressed up at an amusement park and a Cylon walks past. Face proceeds to point and look puzzled which, of course, is a nod to his role in this show which has to be one of the funniest easter eggs I have witnessed, ever! Overall, this is a phenomenal Science Fiction classic for people who love anything sci-fi, especially older ones. With great visuals, stories, characters, aliens and spaceships, this show is some great space-age fun to delve into.
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