-Gaius Baltar-
-Commander William Adama-
"Yes we're tired. Yes there's no relief. Yes the Cylons keep coming after us time after time after time. And yes we are still expected to do our jobs."
- Colonel Saul Tigh-
As much as Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009) held a mirror up to humanity post 9/11, revisiting the series one could easily apply our own current viral reality in the fight against corona virus to the series grim unease and distrust.
It's been roughly 17 years since Ronald D. Moore reimagined the classic Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson drawing upon the despair of a nation utilizing the allusion of the terrorist attacks by radical Muslims on September 11, 2001.
In many respects Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is just as relevant today unintentionally touching upon a similar zeitgeist with the onset of the Wuhan/Corona Virus (COVID-19) that originated in China.
Where the series once worried about which of us was the terrorist, so too does the series reflect the unsettling times we live in today regarding who exactly is sick or contagious around us. Could they be in the very same room?
There are differences of course with respect to motive or lack thereof to do harm, but the concerns are there. New issues supplant old ones and BSG endures.
BSG so deftly captured the concept of the unseen enemy. Who was a Cylon? Could they have infiltrated the Olympic Carrier or another vessel in the civilian fleet?
Today, who on board is an asymptomatic carrier? Who could potentially destroy us through a pathogen? Are we willing to reintroduce a missing ship back into the fleet not knowing the potential damage it could inflict on the remaining survivors of the human race? How fitting to watch this series in these times.
And so begins Moore's imperfect but powerful allegory. His existential story on what it means to be human began with the splendid Mini-Series (2003), but capitalizes on all of it more officially with the near meticulous science fiction opener, Battlestar Galactica, Season One, Episode 1, 33.
The attack by the Cylons resulted in "fundamentally altering Colonial life" (p17, (Re)Framing Fear: Equipment for Living In A Post-9/11 World, Cylons In America). When reflecting on episode 33, one could easily replace the 9/11 attacks with the current viral seige across the planet. The scourge is changing how we live.
"The action is chaotic, the military and leadership disorganized, and the survivors shocked and fearful" (p17). The realities of March 2020 would reflect a similar reality. While it's clear our world is impacted daily with new facts and new ideas, there is no doubt about the efforts being made every day, but the struggle is real as the saying goes. Despite our inability to pinpoint what the future holds we endure and remain steadfast in the battle as much as Commander William Adama.
In this inaugural episode of BSG, 33, a perfect title if ever there was one, represents the theme and content of the opener. It also represents the pressure and stress upon humanity through a measurement of time as the Cylons relentlessly locate the fleeing humans every 33 minutes.
"Time is constructed as an oppressive and potentially destructive force second only to the omnipresent Cylon threat" (p213, Authorized Resistance: Is Fan Production Frakked?, Cylons In America). The threat of time running out is real in the series as humans race against the clock. Equally, it couldn't be more real in humanity's race against the community spread of a contagion in 2020. Every minute costs lives.
The return of the missing ship, the Olympic Carrier, in 33 even stokes fears of a viral infection impacting the fleet of a technical kind as noted in the entry. How appropriate. Fear and anxiety are in rich supply.
As Moore noted himself about episode 33, "we're in the middle of a crisis" (p232, "Kobol's Last Gleaming, I And II": Battlestar Galactica As Quality Television, Finding Battlestar Galactica). The applicability of the series then and now is resounding and almost shocking.
The series begins in crisis for the Battlestar Galactica and its survivors. Weary, exhausted and on the run, the tireless Cylons force our human survivors to jump every 33 minutes. There are thrilling moments visually that feel like an allusion to predators striking a wounded animal when it comes to the space combat of BSG. Sci-fi fans will rejoice in those sequences. When the Cylon Base Ships surround our human brethren, the scene works like a strong, modern day visual metaphor akin to the hunt of Moby Dick where seamen once pursued the great leviathan. In this story the Galactica is our massive, imperiled whale.
The great Battlestar Galactica slips away escaping destruction at the hands of the Cylons through the blessings of FTL (faster than light) jumping technology. This is perhaps my favorite technique in science fiction alongside the recent effects employed for the Discovery on Star Trek: Discovery.
The episode concentrates on the oppressive weight felt by our human characters and 33 shines. Only a brief glimpse of those dodgy (especially now) CGI Cylons reminds us why it was always the human component of Moore's BSG that kept us fully engaged and absorbed to the human plight. Maybe one day they could clean up those Cylon effects. They are flawed especially when compared to the still breathtaking space battles.
33 is a minute by minute thriller that opens the series with the fate of the Olympic Carrier and the establishment of the human race fleeing the Cylon tyranny.
This is a scary, gripping, thrilling work of television that raised the bar and set the tone for a remarkably strong science fiction series that is more a reflection on human behavior than nearly any other. This is easily one of the best television openers in science fiction history.
As for the fate of humanity today amidst a global pandemic, as Apollo says from the cockpit of his viper in 33, "Let's be careful out there."
Writer: Ronald D. Moore. Director: Michael Rymer
No comments:
Post a Comment