Every now and then, comes a television series that unexpectedly offers entertainment plus characters and situations that are more complex than those of the average 60 minute TV "morality play". Three of the absolute best have been Deadwood, the Wire, and Battlestar Galactica. As an astrologer and a science fiction fan, I have a particular fondness for Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar is the creation of TV producer Glen Larson - first presented in a 1978 series. While intersting, that series struggled with poor scripts and erratic production values. It lasted only one season.

Larson resurrected Battlestar as a mini-series in 2003 and that launched a four year series run that ended just this year. Significantly different from the original series, this incarnation is complex and multilayered. At first glance, it appears to be nothing more than a shoot em up space opera. Be patient. Ultimately you get a rich intriguing story where there are no good guys and no bad guys. It is far too interesting for something that simple.

Battlestar Galactica for Beginners

Battlestar Galactica imagines a universe where man has left his original homeworld (Kobol) to populate 13 colonies in a distant part of space. Tweleve of these colonies settled the same general area of space. These colonies are called: Aerilon, Tauron, Geminon, Canceron, Lionis, Virgon, Libran, Scorpia, Sagittaron, Caprica, Aquaron, and Picon. Sound familiar?

The 13th tribe? The lost tribe? They inhabited a new planet in an entirely different part of space. That planet is called Earth.

Over the centuries the 12 colonies of mankind developed. They united into a single government centered around the planet Caprica. They mastered space flight. They developed a race of cybernetic robots to ease the burdens of day to day life. Those robots are the Cylons.

The backstory of the Battlestar Galactica is this:
At some point, the Cylons became conscious and rebelled, initiating a long and bloody war between themselves and their creators. Eventually a truce was reached and the Cylons withdrew to a far distant planet.

As the 2003 mini-series opens, the Cylons have not been heard from for over 40 years. The Battlestar Galactica is being prepared to retire from active service to become a museum. It is at this point that the Cylons reappear in a massive and successful suprise attack on the 12 colonies - destroying mankind with the exception of the Galactica and several dozen civilian ships stranded in space. Mankind has been reduced to fewer than 50,000 people.

The narrative thread from this point forward is the struggle of man against the pursuing Cylons in what becomes a race to find Earth. Woven around and through this narrative are substories that deal with totalitarianism, terrorism, suicide bombing, election fixing, mythology, reincarnation, military coups, monotheism vs. polytheism, religious fanatacism, prejudice, karma, fate, love, hate, destiny, sacrifice . . .
Find a theme that is relevant to human existence - particularly today - you are likely to find it in the four seasons of Galactica.

Galactica doesn't let any characters off the hook. From the main players - Bill Adama, Kara Thrace, Laura Roslyn to the minor characters to the Cylons - all exhibit the good, the bad, the laudable, and the reprehensible.

Unlike it's first incarnation, the scripts are almost uniformly first rate. The set design and production values are high, and the effects are what one would expect in these high tech days. You'll also find yourself embedded with Galactica's sound track - a combination of thematic music from Sanscrit chant, Taiko drumming, Celtic sounds, and a heavy solo piano that always reminds me of the funeral music of the imaginary Van Den Budenmeyer from Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy.

Galactica isn't for everyone. My wife reluctantly watches it in bits and pieces - and while she finds it interesting and even compelling, she can't really abide the stark coldness of life in metal boxes in space. Others may find the melodramatic elements a bit much, while others may find the action sequences pointless or distracting (they aren't).

The entire series is on DVD. Start from the beginning and enjoy. I have and continue to do so.