*- This review is for parts 1 & 2 of War of the Gods Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba encounter a mysterious man on a desolate planet. Brought back with them to the Galactica, he slowly begins to reveal both his powers and less than noble intentions.
Now more than half way through the first and only season of the original Battlestar Galactica, I can say with some confidence that it is much better than its reputation. Sure there's a certain nostalgia factor for me, as I grew up with it (mostly in re-runs and Saturday marathons in the 80s), but not enough to color my opinion. There's a reasonably well thought out mythology here that I had no memory of, and it's fleshed out even more in this rock solid two-parter. Featuring guest star Patrick Macnee as the mysterious Count Iblis, it maintains an atmosphere of mystery and quiet dread while also taking the drama off the Galactica and letting us see life amongst the rest of the "rag tag" fleet. Not since the pilot movie had they shown this much of the Galactica beyond its bridge or the rest of the fleet in its charge.
Mcnee is wonderful here, playing Iblis with a mixture of charm and subdued menace. Every bit his equal is Lorne Greene, who brings gravitas and veritas to dialog and situations that would be or sound silly in lesser hands. The rest of the cast also raise their game, feeding off the quality of the material and the veteran actors leading the charge.
Things get as little New Agey in the climax, but then was the 70s. At least they didn't disco dance.
Now more than half way through the first and only season of the original Battlestar Galactica, I can say with some confidence that it is much better than its reputation. Sure there's a certain nostalgia factor for me, as I grew up with it (mostly in re-runs and Saturday marathons in the 80s), but not enough to color my opinion. There's a reasonably well thought out mythology here that I had no memory of, and it's fleshed out even more in this rock solid two-parter. Featuring guest star Patrick Macnee as the mysterious Count Iblis, it maintains an atmosphere of mystery and quiet dread while also taking the drama off the Galactica and letting us see life amongst the rest of the "rag tag" fleet. Not since the pilot movie had they shown this much of the Galactica beyond its bridge or the rest of the fleet in its charge.
Mcnee is wonderful here, playing Iblis with a mixture of charm and subdued menace. Every bit his equal is Lorne Greene, who brings gravitas and veritas to dialog and situations that would be or sound silly in lesser hands. The rest of the cast also raise their game, feeding off the quality of the material and the veteran actors leading the charge.
Things get as little New Agey in the climax, but then was the 70s. At least they didn't disco dance.
