Tikkabik

So Sci-Fi is showing a new series based on a mini-series they first ran last year, in turn based on the old 70's sci-fi series "Battlestar Galactica."

I admit it's always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Despite wooden acting, laughably two-dimensional scripts and a total absence of character development, it was always fun watching the show. Maybe it's because I was only 8 or 9 and didn't know much better.

So while I was on my trip I recorded the repeat of the mini-series and the first two episodes, and holy crap, am I surprised.

In the mini-series alone, the writers have been able to flesh out more character development and backstory than the entire first series did during its whole run. The special effects are, of course, much better, and the acting is way better too. How can you lose when you've got Edward Olmos as Commander Adama? And the series itself is off to a rousing start with two gripping episodes dealing with practical aspects of what life on the run, leading a convoy of ships, must be like.

One thing I really like about this incarnation of Battlestar Galactica is that they've really grounded the series in a tangibly human setting. The premise was always that these were the "original" twelve tribes of humanity and that Earth was their long-lost cousin, but still, despite the occasional "Frack!" and "By the Lords of Kobol," you really get a sense that these people live like we do. It connects the show and its characters in a way that the original never did.

Anyway, check it out if you get a chance. Looks like Sci-Fi's new Friday night lineup: This, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis -- will be an unbeatable combination.