TV Meme: Day 10 - A Show I Thought I'd Hate But Ended Up Loving.

For this Day 10, a show I thought I'd hate but ended up loving, it took me a while to figure something out. Like most people, I don't go out of my way to watch a show I think I'm gonna hate--or even moderately dislike. So what I really had to come up with was a show that I saw the first episode of and was, at the least, incredibly underwhelmed. And I came up with two.

Now, it was hard to choose between these two, because neither of them really fit the full criteria. For instance, with the first one, I watched the first episode and thought it was incredibly stupid, and I didn't want to watch it again. Then I watched it again and thought it was great. The reason it doesn't work for this choice? I don't love the show. I haven't kept up with it, and I didn't go out of my way to watch every new episode when I did watch it. I've seen most of the first couple seasons, I think, but that's about it. And the show? The American version of The Office.

So I'm going with my second choice, which is pretty much the opposite, emotion-wise. When I watched the premier episode, I didn't hate it, but I was incredibly underwhelmed. I wasn't impressed at all, and I thought the show was going to be really boring. That is... until about the last 5-10 minutes of that premier episode, when there's a major twist that made the rest of the episode worth it. And from that point on, I loved this show. And the show? The newest version of Battlestar Galactica.


Sure, the show had a few missteps (and I know I'm way long-past due on my reviews for every season after the first), but it was just so damn entertaining. The characters were deep, involved, layered, and human (sometimes). The stories were engaging. The action was fun. And there were so many great mysteries, including the major "Who's a Cylon?!" mystery that spanned the entire show.

I'm not gonna ramble on about the show like I have with others. I'm pretty much just gonna leave it with that. I wasn't sure I was going to like the show when I started watching it, and it turned out that I really loved it.

TV Review: Battlestar Galactica - Season One.

So I finally got around to seeing Battlestar Galactica. And, dear God, it has to be one of the most addicting shows I've ever watched. It starts with a 3-hour miniseries that depicts, basically, the end of the world by the Cylons, a robotic and/or android race. But there's a group of people--military and otherwise--already in space, some of which are aboard the Battlestar Galactica, an old warship that is being turned into a museum. Running the Galactica is Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos), and his second-hand, Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan). But there are tons of characters in this show, from the pit crew to pilots to  to communications to medical to press to criminals to government (including a newly appointed President, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell)).

I'm not sure where to even start. The characters are phenominal, and it's hard to pick a favorite. From Starbuck to Gaius to Billy (the President's helper), I love any spectrum of character. There are just so many characters to choose from--it's almost like a Harry Potter situation in the scope.

Besides the characters, obviously, the story is where it's at. There are so many twists and turns, especially at the end of the miniseries. I was a bit iffy throughout the miniseries until the end of it when the first major twist is revealed. That blew my mind. But the story itself is a total space drama (with a bit of comedy here and there), but it has deep themes. There is all the Greek Mythology that surrounds the story (which I love). But then there's the budding Christianity, too. Interestingly enough, I love how the humans are connected to Greek Mythology, while the Cyclons (technology) are connected to the Christianity aspect.

Then there's the visuals. From the metallic Cylons to the space flight and/or battles, the SFX are pretty top notch for a television show. The action scenes are fantastic, and I wish there were more of them. And the camera work is unique, too. For a sci-fi space drama, you wouldn't really expect the more documentary feel that you're given. It's not documentary like The Office. But the way the camera moves, from quick movements to zooms in and out, there's a real raw feel to the camera.

You really get into the whole universe of the show (no pun intended). You quickly learn how things are run, what the names of the planes are (Vipers and Raptors), the religious mythologies, etc.  It really just pulls you in and refuses to let go. It really does hang on the shoulders of the characters. And even though there are so many characters, it never feels like there are too many (like in LOST or Heroes, for instance). There's probably just as many characters as those shows (if not more), but this one still found a way to show almost every character in every episode and still not feel convoluted. Everybody and everything works together organically. And that's the real trick to how this show works: it's a futuristic space drama, but it still feels organic, still feels all real.

I don't want to continue rambling on and on, so I'll leave it here. It's a brilliant show, and I didn't expect to be as addicted to it as I became. I've gotten the first disc of the second season already, so I'm about to start that one soon, and I can't wait. I know I didn't talk as much about this season as I usually do, but there's just so much that happens that it'd be impossible to talk about it all in one post. And I don't want to deprive y'all from going through the journey surprise-free like I did. If you haven't checked out this show yet, you should. It's great fun.