8. Battlestar Galactica— This would have been the best television I watched this year had I not seen The Wire. This was a reimaging of the old show from the 1970s, but it really only kept the names and some visual designs of the original series. This show was made to stand on its own, and it did. It also explored topics rarely found on a television show. Topics like religion, terrorism, morals—and, maybe the most rare of all: what makes humans human.
The show is in the science fiction genre, but it was one of the most grounded and human shows I’ve ever seen. Take away the ships and the Cylons, and you’ve got a show with none of the sci fi elements we’re used to. At its heart, it’s a “journey” show. Machines humans created rebelled and disappeared. Then they returned and nearly wiped out the human race. There are roughly 50,000 humans left, and they are on the run. Running from their Cylon creations—and running toward their destiny, a planet called Earth. Along the way, they come across the Cylons again and again; sometimes they fight, sometimes they try to work together. During all that, we see some of the human characters get more vicious and some of the Cylons get more compassionate.
The acting and directing was superb; the writing was well done as well.
But I’ll admit while I was impressed by the technical aspects and underlying philosophy of the show, I never did fall in love with it. I was very much involved with it—and I usually went as soon as I could right to the next set of DVDs (I watched the first season in July, and then Seasons 2, 2.5, 3, and 4.0 from November and January before I settled in and watched Season 4.5 as it aired), but I never became a rabid fan. I’m not sure why-- other than I didn't watch the majority of the episodes "with" other people (as it aired) because this is excellent television.
As a side note—and because it’s the only season I watched as it aired; during the timeframe I’m supposedly critiquing—I was a bit disappointed in Season 4.5. I felt the revelation of the Fifth Cylon was a letdown, and I was also disappointed by what I felt was left on the table by the time the finale ended. There was a mythology to the show that it seemed to relish (at least the Sci Fi Channel did in its advertising) that didn’t have much answered by the end. Had the season tied off some of the ends and gone into a little more real backstory the last few episodes, I would have enjoyed the finale more. But taking a step back, after my disappointment was shelved; I can say the series finale was fantastic. It was unexpected and also very emotionally satisfying. Without saying much more that could ruin it, I can honestly say the show ended perfectly for the story it was telling.
Even though I had a few negative things to say, this series is excellent and exceptional in almost every way. I was probably a little too close to it (even though I hadn't been watching the entire run, I was reading the dozens of articles and reviews about it), and that's why I was never 100% satisfied.
But 98% satisfied is light-years ahead of most shows...
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