Getting over the election: Return to Escapism!

Instead of getting gloomy over the elections, I've been looking at new TV shows to veg out with. The most promising is this new sci-fi series that is a remake of this campy old TV show called Battlestar Galactica. The new series is premiering now on SkyOne in the UK. Anyway, this remake has some really notable production values and could win best new sci-fi show awards:

The camera work is edgy and liberally uses inventive techniques like shaky cam, the editing is artistic with jarring jump cuts for memories instead of flashbacks, and the acting is above par as well. It's the first music video/sci fi series. Also, the soundtrack is kinda minimalist, and pretty hip as well. I think that it's sort of the exact opposite of the original BSG, in that it's the opposite of campy. I like how characters are given some depth to balance out their campiness (like a female fighter pilot jock who likes to smoke cigars, but is hiding the guilt of being responsible for the death of her fiancee). In fact, every character is conflicted and tortured and is hiding some secret. One is insane. Another is dying of cancer, secretly. Another is an alcoholic. Another might be a sleeper agent. There are lots of close up shots - all grainy, arty, sweaty and gritty - and using bleach bypass on the film processing, so it feels more like an art film submerged into the scarred psyches of a dysfunctional family, than your run of the mill sci-fi.

This show is NOT about aliens, because you rarely see them. It's about a bunch of tragic heros marooned on a limping, straggling convoy of badly beaten losers, who are trying really hard not to self-destruct. Especially without sleep for 130 hours and the enemy attacking every 33 minutes. It's about mourning, cancer, death, ingenuity, insanity, hiding, heroism and hopelessness. It's really quite dark, but at the same time, it is this very darkness that illuminates the eternal hopefulness of the human race.

It's really brilliant filmmaking.

Also, there's another great show on BBC called Spooks, that is like methadone for 24 addicts.

Thank god for BitTorrent. It's made the world a smaller place!