BSG is perfect for our times
Mick Farren over at Los Angeles City Beat has written a thoughtful if not indulgent critique of modern sci-fi. He holds BSG up as a currently strong member of a genre that is always seeking to mirror our current worldview:
"The first Galactica took flight at the end of the hedonist Carter/Quaalude ’70s, all big hair and disco costumes. Owing much to Star Trek, even more to Star Wars, and a little to Studio 54, its mission was in a universe that was fecund and fertile, where every planet had a bipedal life form – although some were nothing short of dopey, as in the episode that featured silver Vikings with winged helmets, and bad Mylar architecture. "
"The mood was silly but optimistic. The Cylons were bad but would ultimately be eluded, if not defeated. The 2005 version has no such guarantees; the fleet of refugee ships crosses a bleak and threatening emptiness. The Cylons have infiltrated even the basic software, and can look exactly like us anytime it furthers their agenda. Nothing and no one can be trusted, and the truly depressing kicker is the revelation that we made the Cylons in the first place. Humanity sowed the seeds of its own destruction, and is now reaping the exterminating whirlwind. "
I find the author to be a bit pessimistic, but largely I can understand his perspective. There is a reason we identify with good fiction. We identify with the story because we can identify with the characters and personalize their struggle. Why do you think reality TV works?
However, I don't quite understand this quote about escapism:
"The easy answer is that fantasy entertainment was both comment and escape, multitasking, sometimes in the same production."
The author is using past-tense as if saying that science fiction no longer multitasks within the same production. I think that is exactly why BSG works so well... because it accomplishes this. It is both a Sci-fi show AND a drama... the drama allows us to identify and the sci-fi allows us to gasp in wonder and vicariously exist with those characters in their future.
Good fiction always exists both as comment and escape. I find myself drawn to science fiction specifically because it can often accomplish both much better than fictional dramas like an 'ER' or a 'West Wing' where the line between fiction and comment is much more thin. It would be nice to see a more general audience (not just 'fanboys') discovering the unique ability of science fiction to achieve this effective blend.
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