Jan
19
Somebody doesn’t like the new Battlestar Galactica
January 19, 2009 | 2 Comments
And it happens to be the star of the old one.
If you want to read the rant, I suggest playing the “All in the Family” theme in the background, because Archie Bunker Dirk Benedict is pining for the good old days.
The best minds in the world of un-imagination doubled their intake of Double Soy Latte’s as they gathered in their smoke-free offices to curse the day that this chauvinistic Viper Pilot was allowed to be. But never under-estimate the power of the un-imaginative mind when it encounters an obstacle (character) it subconsciously loathes. ”Re-inspiration” struck. Starbuck would go the way of most men in today’s society. Starbuck would become “Stardoe.” What the Suits of yesteryear had been incapable of doing to Starbuck 25 years ago was accomplished quicker than you can say orchiectomy. Much quicker, as in, “Frak! Gonads Gone!”
And the word went out to all the Suits in all the smoke-free offices throughout the land of Un-imagination, “Starbuck is dead. Long live Stardoe!”
And it kind of goes on. And on.
I want to agree with Benedict, and he makes many valid points. I’m not entirely sure his memories of Hollywood are exactly accurate (was Hollywood in the 70s really that much better?), but he’s right about the inability of television executives to understand what it is their audience wants. And let’s face it, many of us who enjoy the new BSG also think its moral relativism can be maddening.
But I can’t help but think this is a bit of sour grapes.
To be honest, I don’t really remember the original BSG all that well. I used to watch it all the time as a kid. In fact, it’s one of the first things I remember watching at all. I loved it. But I also haven’t seen it since I was about six years old. The “re-imagined” BSG is as dreery as he makes it out to be, but I still think it’s a great show, even if there are enough plot holes to fly a Viper through. It’s creative, thought provoking, but most importantly, entertaining.
RS McCain, on the other hand, is in total agreement with Benedict.
The comments on the original post are pretty interesting themselves.
Addendum: One thing that Benedict absolutely nails is the hopelessness of modern entertainment. It is a hallmark of our culture that everything has to be dreery, depressing, and offer little in the way of – dare I say it -hope. And yet the movies that really sell are the ones that are inspiring – Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Dark Knight. Okay, so maybe dark and depressing can sell, but nihilism has its limits. People really don’t want to be told over and over again that all of humanity basically sucks.
Comments
2 Comments so far
I am going to post about this on American Catholic. I have enjoyed parts of Battlestar Galactica, but I think Benedict’s critcism’s are largely on target, especially about the bleak dystopian atmosphere, as you note. I can’t tell you how many modern science fiction stories I stop reading because of the bleak nihilism they revel in. I find it not entertaining and pretty silly, since it is written by well fed writers who live in freedom in Western nations. It also doesn’t help that it is repetitive beyond belief with the writers showing zero imagination and allowing their usually, make that almost always, leftist politics completely control their art.
[...] Hattip to Cranky Con. Since there is nothing of real importance going on today, at least nothing that can’t wait for comment over the next four years, I thought this might be a good time to take a look at these reflections by Dirk Benedict on the current Battlestar Galactica show. [...]