The Truth of Battlestar Galactica

Ever since my dad handed down his tattered copy of The Warlord of Mars to me when I was a kid, I have been a science fiction aficionado. I have a Star Trek uniform in my closet (a couple, actually), a collection of Star War action figures in the garage, and an unfinished science fiction novel on my computer. I go to conventions, where I get autographs and buy things like earrings in the shape of the Enterprise.

I have read the classics--Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, 2001, and more, and have seen every single episode of Star Trek (the original, Next Generation, and Voyager) and even a lot of Deep Space Nine, which I'm sorry, just didn't work for me. I have stood in line with my kids for the midnight premieres of science fiction blockbusters and own them all on DVD, soon to be replaced by Blu-ray. I love the excitement, the escape, the hope of possibilities for the future of science fiction. But I have never experienced anything like Battlestar Galactica before.

Battlestar Galactica felt real. That is the highest compliment I can give it. There were no aliens-of-the-week, no beaming down to the planet with expendable Red Shirts, no perfect heroes. Just a bunch of people like you and me who were trying to survive, making mistakes along the way, learning lessons, growing, and working hard. By the time the series was over, I believed in those people and I felt like I had learned a few lessons along the way right along side them.

Shot in documentary-style, the show aims to deliver filmic truth. In the show's "Bible," Ronald D. Moore, the creator of the series, calls it "Naturalistic Science Fiction," or "Taking the Opera Out of Space Opera." I call it genius.

You should watch it.