Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Battlestar Galactica out


The last ever episode of Battlestar Galactica has been shown. Hard to believe that six years have gone by since the mini series. What will I do now on Tuesday nights? Sniff.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Life's for sharing

On Thursday 15 January at 11:00 AM, a flashmob-style dance broke out in Liverpool Street station in London, courtesy of T-Mobile. 400 dancers performed 8 different dance routines to tracks as varied as Lulu's Shout and Johan Strauss Blue Danube Waltz, whilst unsuspecting travellers whipped out their mobiles and took pictures and videos - those who didn't join in the dancing, that is.



To watch a high quality version of the clip, go to YouTube and select "watch in high quality".

The event, albeit short, was quite impressive. It was filmed with 10 hidden cameras and was shown simultaneously on TV and YouTube the next day at 9:10 PM.

For me, it's one of the best TV adverts ever. What do you think?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Detective Crews is back


One of the best things about autumn is that all the TV shows start again. I've just watched the first S2 episode of Life and can't wait for the next one! S1 finished ubruptly last December with the scriptwriter's strike, so this has been a long time coming. It's also nice to have a quirky alternative to CSI, repeats of which are currently shown every day on a number of channels, making it almost impossible to escape Grissom and his team.

Welcome back Detective Crews :-)

Monday, April 21, 2008

The hidden Cylon at No. 7


Having come up with a neat theory about the final Cylon, Sarah has changed her mind and has now formulated another BSG theory, which, if I'm honest I don't like at all, although I have to admit it sounds more plausible than the earlier one about Dualla - but I still hope it's not true.

So, without further ado, here is Sarah's definitive BSG theory in her own words:


I read the beginnings of this theory on a board last year, and now that I’ve seen Friday’s episodes, I am 98% certain that it’s not a theory at all: it is the connection between the Cylons. Like, there’s not really a question in my mind right now. And what does it mean? Well, among other things, I am relieved because it seems to indicate there’s been a plan all along.

*** Long complicated BSG theory below with spoilers through Season 3 AND Season 4!!! I know there are people who read here who haven’t watched these episodes yet, and I don’t want to spoil anyone, so I’m actually sticking this under a cut. On which you should NOT CLICK. ***

(OK, I don't know how to do a cut, so if you've not seen Season 3 yet and you don't like spoilers, stop reading now-now-now.)

In the episode “Six of One” that aired on Friday, we saw the Cylons begin to splinter due to internal disagreements between models. One of the coolest things was that we FINALLY learned everyone’s model number.

1- Cavil
2- Leoben
3- D’Anna
4- Simon
5- Doral
6- Six
7- ?
8- Boomer
9- ?
10- ?
11- ?
12- ?

Now we know there’s this “Final Five” whose identities aren’t known to the regular seven Cylons. Four of them– Anders, Tory, Tigh, and Chief– appeared to be revealed in the Season 3 finale. One is still out there, presumably in the Fleet. When the “Final Five” idea was aired, we were all like, “What the hell. They came up with this at the last second. They’re making things up as they go along. THE NUMBERS DON’T EVEN MATCH UP. How are they going to explain that?” Because, obviously, the Five being special, you’d assume them to be made first, thus making them Numbers 1-5. But they’re not, since we already know 3 is D’Anna and 5 is Doral. OK, then. Maybe they’re #7-12? But they’re not, because we know Boomer is an 8.

It’s always been obvious that the number 12 is important in the show. 12 colonies of Kobol, 12 Lords of Kobol, 12 Cylon models. But what’s the significance of this? There are about a billion different theories you can come up with… and then I re-watched Home Part 1 and Home Part 2 last week. It was something Sharon said on Kobol that I couldn’t forget.

Elosha: “And the blaze pursued them, and the people of Kobol had a choice. To board the great ship, or take the high road through the rocky ridge.”
Valerii (continuing): “And the body of each tribe’s leader was offered to the gods in the tomb of Athena.” And the great ship was the galleon that departed from here, where we’re standing. And it took the founders of the thirteen colonies to their destiny. And those that didn’t board the galleon took the high road, a rocky ridge that led to the tomb.

So wait. What? There was some sort of sacrifice or ritual suicide of 12 leaders? What if… the Lords of Kobol weren’t gods at all? What if the leaders of the tribes had some sort of power… to live over and over, to project their consciousnesses? Wouldn’t that make them look like gods to the humans they lived together with? What if… the original Cylons go off into space at the end of the first Cylon war and they run into… something or someone… out there? For this to be the case, each Cylon model would have to be the leader of a colony.

First Mike and I kicked around the idea of the Cylons each matching up with a god. But the problem is, although we can assume they more or less match up with the Greek gods, we’ve only actually heard the names of 7 or 8 of the Lords of Kobol. And besides, how would you get the numbers 1-12?

The Zodiac.

Check it out. The names of the 12 Colonies of Kobol are derived from the 12 zodiac signs. Caprica = Capricorn, Gemenon = Gemini, Picon = Pisces, etc. When they’re in the Tomb of Athena, Laura Roslin acknowledges this, saying the symbols on the 12 Colonies’ flags are based on constellations, which used to have different names: the names of our Earth zodiac. Watch what happens when you look at the zodiac signs, not based on the calendar year, but as numbered 1-12:

1. Aries - a leader type, blunt and to the point, tendency to force ideas on others, strong-willed. Cavil is Model Number One.

2. Taurus - persistent, sensual, loyal, can be possessive. Leoben is Model Number Two.

3. Gemini - curious to a fault, intelligent, can be two-faced, excellent sign for careers in journalism. D’Anna is Model Number Three (when she’s in the fleet, she’s a documentary filmmaker).

4. Cancer - Nurturing, emotional, a caregiver, suited to medical careers. Simon is Model Number Four (we see him masquerading as a doctor on Caprica).

5. Leo - Egotistical, likes to be center stage, outgoing, suited to careers such as actor, tour guide, or public relations. Doral is Model Number Five (and he’s also a PR guy when we meet him).

6. Virgo - Perfectionist, practical, high sense of duty, places value on appearance/beauty. Six is, obviously, Model Number Six.

8. Scorpio - Associated with transformation and rebirth (!!), hardworking, complex, secretive, can become vindictive, does well in a military career. Boomer is Model Number Eight.

Now. We’ve got four known Final Five Cylons. And we’ve got four slots open that are all in a row. Why not see if our four known Cylons fit? I’ll tell you why I’m putting these four here in a minute.

9. Sagittarius - Easygoing, idealistic, values freedom highly, honest, often athletic. It seems like an easy choice to plug Sam Anders in at Model Number Nine.

10. Capricorn - Ambitious, serious, detail-oriented and organized, responsible. “Capricorns make great civil servants, law enforcement specialists, politicians, and members of any other administration or government profession.” Tory is most likely Model Number Ten, as Roslin’s chief of staff.

11. Aquarius - Rigid and dogmatic, derives a sense of identity from groups and their goals, impersonal and detached, sometimes eccentric, they love to think they’re right. “People born under this sign are said to be the strongest and the weakest people in the world.” Tigh is my choice for Model Number Eleven.

12. Pisces - Compassion and empathy, selfless work, a person people can count on, self-sacrificing, can be associated with mysticism (remember the Temple of the Five). Chief is Model Number Twelve. (He’s said to fans that he’s been told he’s #12, but it’s not officially confirmed.)

Why did I skip #7? There are two reasons.

1) It seems to make sense that the four we know go in the four slots next to each other. Now that I’m certain the numbers are based on the zodiac signs and therefore aren’t chronological, this is sort of a leap to make. But… it works for me because those four signs fit the four members of the Fleet who heard the music. And because…

2) #7 would be our final hidden Cylon. And there is absolutely no better choice than the Libra.

7. Libra - This sign is represented by the scales, bringing balance. Strives for peace and harmony. A communicator, mediator, and negotiator. Sociable and somewhat intellectual, just, charming, “peace at any price”, represents the laws of civilization.

My first thought was, “Shit. It’s Lee.” But it could also be Roslin. I don’t like either of those characters as the final Cylon model, but I have to admit it fits with the sign. Clearly the Libra being the last one makes sense, because this is the person who is going to bring the two sides — Cylon and Human– together.

And finally, the final piece of my theory is that I think the real entity controlling things– the Hybrids, HeadSix, HeadBaltar, and HeadLeoben– is not the Libra, ultimately, but an unknown 13th. The “One True Cylon God”? Maybe, maybe not. But I do think there’s going to be the last of the Final Five, and there’s going to be someone else. And I think there’s a connection between all those visions that have been guiding certain people and groups all along to some place where things are going to come together.

Oh nooooooooo! Don't let it be Lee. Please, pretty please RDM, don't make it be Lee.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Humanity's children are back today

Those of you who watch Battlestar Galactica will know that today is the much awaited Final Season premiere (whey hey!!) and that we're on the lookout for the final Cylon. There are many theories as to who is the 12th model, and this is my fave - first formulated by Sarah and shamelessly copied from her blog, where it was first posted last January.

Those of you who do not watch Battlestar Galactica, get thee to the nearest video store and rent the mini series. If you're remotely interested in sci-fi and possibly even if you're not, you'll love it.

So this is not *the* theory. It is not the be-all and end-all of all BSG theories. But it is a theory. And, having come up with a set of compelling evidence, I wanted to put it out there. Ready?

Oh, needless to say, if you don’t want spoilers for Season 3, read no further. And now, here’s the theory.


It’s Dualla. Consider carefully the following:

Leoben tells Starbuck, “Adama is a Cylon.” Well, if the promo picture from Season 4 is to be believed, we can rule out both big Adama and Lee as Cylons. One of my favorite early throwaway theories was how awesome it would be if it was Zak, the dead brother. But wait – Dee married Lee, which makes her an Adama by marriage. One counterargument would be that Leoben is a liar. This is true. Personally, I’ve always assumed he was lying about that to make Roslin question her trust in Adama. Another point against is the fact that he said it way back in Season 1, when Dee wasn’t even involved with Apollo yet. But you know, Leoben talks to the hybrid. He sees the pattern, he swims in the stream, and all that.

Remember 33, the very first episode? Who gets reamed out by Tigh for “losing” the Olympic Carrier in the jump? Dualla. Later they blow the ship up because they figure out it’s been taken over by Cylons and that’s how they’re tracking the fleet.

The last name Dualla suggests a duality. “Two” of something. Personalities, perhaps? Two distinct sides? Something duplicitous?

They’ve rarely mentioned her first name, but it’s Anastasia, which means “resurrection” in Greek.

This doesn’t mean much, but so far we have 7 male Cylons and only 4 female. I just don’t think it makes sense to leave it that imbalanced. If the last one turns out male, I’ll be like, WTF?

Of the Final Four supposedly revealed to us at the end of Season 3, three are close to a person of some significance. In fact, most of the major characters have “their” Cylon. Tigh is Adama’s XO. Tory is Roslin’s top aide. Anders is married to Starbuck. Chief doesn’t quite fit this theory, but he was very involved in the Resistance on New Caprica, which does also seem to be a common thread. We know this is a Cylon strategy, whether conscious or unconscious, because of 6 and Baltar. Apollo is one of the only major characters without a Cylon. And Dee is his wife.

Speaking of which, didn’t that come out of nowhere? That Dualla dropped Billy like that and went for Lee instead? She kind of became hated right about then, because everyone liked Billy and she was indirectly responsible for his death. What a heinous bitch. The death of Billy seemed sort of out of place. But looking back now, who benefited the most from Billy’s death? Which character replaced him as Roslin’s aide, putting a Cylon into a position of power? Tory.

Remember when Cylons boarded the Galactica? And rooms full of people are dead, but they find Dee with just a concussion? Yeah.

Dee helps Roslin escape from the military coup in Season 1 and steal the election in Season 3. You might say, “Why would a Cylon want to help Roslin?” But we also seem to have been told that the motivations of the “mysterious” Cylons don’t necessarily match the motivations of the others. And we know too that Roslin is the dying leader from prophecy who will lead the humans to Earth. Don’t forget that the Cylons want to get to Earth too. They have every interest in making sure these prophecies play out. Six, for one, has been adamant about this type of thing in the past.

Dee gets strangely P.O.-ed and leaves Lee because of his role in Baltar’s proceedings at the end of Season 3. “He isn’t who she thought he was,” and all that. Or is it that with a rift between Lee and his father, and the fact that he is leaving the military, he won’t be in a position of power anymore? She has no use for him.

Rewatch the scene where Adama is working on his model ship and Dee urges him to reconcile with Roslin and put the fleet back together. I challenge you to watch it, after reading everything I just said, and tell me it doesn’t creep you out a bit now. I did last weekend. “Children are separated from their parents.” The Cylons are the children of humanity.

Of course for this theory to work, they’d have had to know she was a Cylon from the beginning. Or put on some really good spin. We know for a fact they didn’t decide on the most recent four until fairly late in the show. I’m just saying there’s evidence. But it’s Dee. I said it here first.



Well, in fact Sarah said it in her own blog first, I've just copied her throughts and pasted them here with some very minor adjustments. Personally, I reckon it's a pretty good theory. Does anyone else have any others?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Mma Ramotse comes to life

From L to R: Anika Noni Rose as Mma Makutsi, Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, Lucian Msamati as JLB Matekoni.

Apart from scrumptious chocolate eggs, there's another treat to look forward to this Easter: a 90-minute drama based on Alexander McCall-Smith's book The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is set to be screened on BBC One around Easter (possibly on Easter Monday, although as far as I can work out the exact date hasn't been formally announced).

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is the first in a series of 9 books that chronicle the adventures of "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana, and her assistant Grace Makutsi. They're not detective stories in the traditional sense of the word, as there are no murders and no serious assaults to deal with. Instead, the storylines evolve around human relationships and problems that can be solved over endless cups of red bush tea. They're the perfect "feel-good" read and have become very successful in the UK and (I believe) elsewhere in the world.

This first episode that's about to be screened was filmed entirely in Botswana. It was directed by Anthony Minghella, who won an Oscar for directing The English Patient, and was also nominated for writing the screenplay for The Talented Mr Ripley. Mma Ramotswe is played by double Grammy winning jazz and blues singer Jill Scott, and the screenplay has been co-written by Minghella and Richard Curtis, best known for Four Weddings and Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Joining Jill Scott on the series will be Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose in the role of Mma Makutsi. David Oyelowo (Danny from Spooks) also makes an appearance in the first episode, as philandering husband Kremlin Busang.

Many hate the idea of a favourite book being turned into a movie. I'm the exact opposite. I can't imagine anything better than the characters who have lived in the pages of a book coming to life on the big or smaller screen, particularly when care has been taken to remain true to the story's essense. With such a stardusted cast, I think we can expect a worthwhile result.

The author of the series Alexander McCall-Smith with Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe.

What's more, following the screening of the pilot episode at Easter, filming will begin for a 13-part television series jointly funded by the BBC and US television network HBO. Even more Mma Ramotse!

This month's Condé Nast Traveller magazine features an article by Anthony Minghella written while location scouting in Botswana. The pictures that accompany the article are exactly as you'd imagine Botswana to be from "listening" to Mma Ramotswe - simply stunning.

If you've not read the books yet, I can't recommend them highly enough. Eight of them are out in paperback and the latest one has just come out in hardback, so there's plenty to keep you busy. The order they come in is this:

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Tears of the Giraffe
Morality for Beautiful Girls
The Kalahari Typing School for Men
The Full Cupboard of Life
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
Blue Shoes and Happiness
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
The Miracle at Speedy Motors

I can't wait for Easter :-)

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Does time fold?

WARNING: The clip below contains spoilers for this week's epidode 5.



Coming soon to a small screen near you :-)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Go Carrie!



Should we get you a diamond?
No, just get me a *really big* closet.


What can I say, Carrie Bradshaw is a girl after my own heart :-)

I can't wait for Sex and the City: The Movie to come out. Anyone else looking forward to it?

Monday, October 15, 2007

Season 6 of Spooks starts tomorrow


Finally, they're back :-)

I can't wait for Adam - the babe - Carter to appear on my TV screen again. I'm sooooo delighted he didn't drown after all. It's bad enough that the writers have got rid of all my favourite characters (Tom, Zoe, Danny, Sam, Christine). If Adam goes, too, that's the end of Spooks for me. So there.

Tuesday nights, BBC ONE @ 9:00 PM.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

BSG vs. Star Trek

I first read this post in Sarah's blog and laughed so much I asked her if I could re-publish it in mine, as many of my friends are into Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek or both. I hope you like it as much as I did.

My comments are in purple.


In the latest of our household Trek vs. Galactica debates, I questioned why there are no hot guys on Star Trek. Each Trek has at least one hot female character, but the male characters? Not so much. The B-Star G has Apollo, Helo, and Anders [Tinsie fans herself furiously at this point]. The three of them are solidly in the realm of superhotness. And then? The "lesser" characters like Baltar, the Chief, and Gaeta aren't terribly hard on the eyes either. Clearly humanity is going to make it, having managed to save all the hot people when the Cylons nuked civilization. (Which raises one of my major beefs with the Cylons, actually: How come all the female Cylon models are smoking, while the males are all "ehhh"? Six: hot [more furious fanning]. Boomer: hot. Three: hot. Cavil: old. Doral: balding [Poor man's Kevin Spacey]. Simon: could be hot if we saw him longer than 3 seconds. Leoben: the Leobens are the best-looking male Cylon model, but they've got that hot-in-a-creepy-way thing going on.)

Perhaps if Star Trek introduced Hot Off-Duty Tank Tops like BSG, we'd know whether anyone had a good body under their yicky 80's spandex. Alas, spandex seems to be the clothing for all occasions. The Trek may be uber-popular scifi, but it doesn't have a history of doing much for its female viewers.

I rank the various Star Treks in terms of guy hotness:

*** no ranking *** Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Now, this is the Trek it's been the longest since I've seen. Therefore I'm not going to pass judgment at this time. I will say, though, that I've gone through the main characters to refresh my memory, and no one jumps out at me as hot. Bashir is cute [awww I do like Alexander Siddig], but not my type. Eventually I will Netflix these and determine at that time if anyone surprises, and jumps out at me as hot.

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation. I think the following conversation sums this one up:
Mike: But didn't you think Picard was totally attractive? [Picard?!!]
Me: Eeeeeew! [Eeeeeew indeed]
Mike: I mean, because of the power, and the voice. You didn't find him attractive?
Me: Eeeeew he's old! But I think I did have a mini-crush on Riker when I was a kid, and a girl-crush on Counselor Troi. [Counselor Troi was a hottie, I'll give you that]
Mike: Ew, Riker?
So, yeah, not a lot of hotties on TNG. Everyone's stubbornly average. And Riker doesn't do it for me anymore. Sorry, TNG. I like you, but you're Not Hot.

3. Star Trek: Enterprise. We've watched through Season 2 of Enterprise on Netflix, and this was what prompted the whole discussion. They don't wear spandex on Enterprise, which can only be counted as a good thing. The guys have T'Pol [female Spock?], who is always having to be wiped down in the weird decontamination gel room. Plus Hoshi is also cute. But for the girls? Archer: average. Malcolm: average. Travis: I thought he was cute when he got his own episode, but he always has that "gee whiz!" expression on his face, which is Not Hot. Trip: He seems to get laid the most, and from his decon gel scenes has a pretty good body (which is under a jumpsuit all the time!), but I'd rank him "cute but not hot." Plus his southern hick accent is off-putting to me.

2. Star Trek: The Original Series. This series features Captain Kirk as the ultimate space pimp. The Shatner at that age is pretty good-looking [oh yes!] But no one else is cute. So I guess this Trek is getting its rating purely for the Space Pimp Factor.

1. Star Trek: Voyager. Clearly the winner. I watch Voyager on SpikeTV every afternoon, and therefore consider myself qualified to declare it the Hottest Trek. Tom Paris is a total cutie [not bad, but he's no Jamie Bamber]. Chakotay? Hot. In an older man with bad-ass facial tattoo kind of way. I don't know, am I alone out there with this one? Whatever. Chakotay is hot. Ensign Kim is not entirely uncute, either. Congratulations, Star Trek: Voyager, and thank you!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

I'm a true Adama

Finally, a questionnaire that matters: you answer 40 questions to determine which Battlestar Galactica character you're most like. Apparently I'm 50% Admiral Adama and 50% Chief Tyrol. I was hoping to turn out to be more like Six, but I guess I screwed my chances when I answered "No Frakking Way" to Q9 - there are many copies. Oh well. It could have been worse, I could have turned out to be Starbuck, which would have been awful for two reasons: a) Starbuck has a destiny which doesn't involve living to be 90; and b) Jasmine may never speak to me again (which would be awful since she's my best friend).

You scored as Commander William Adama. You have risen to your position by being damn good at what you do. Not only that, you have the deepest respect for the people under your command. You may be a little grumpy and unapproachable, but every commander needs to distance himself. Shame that you apply that to your children too.

CPO Galen Tyrol

50%

Commander William Adama

50%

Dr Gaius Baltar

44%

President Laura Roslin

38%

Tom Zarek

38%

Capt. Lee Adama (Apollo)

38%

Number 6

31%

Col. Saul Tigh

25%

Lt. Kara Thrace (Starbuck)

13%

Lt. Sharon Valerii (Boomer)

13%

What New Battlestar Galactica character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Thank you, Sarah, for giving me the idea for this post!

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Planet Earth (BBC)

Since I've already recommended a movie and a theatrical piece this week, I thought I'd add a DVD to the line-up. I don't watch much TV and had completely missed the Planet Earth series on BBC. Even if I knew about it, I'd probably not go out of my way to watch it, as I'm not a big fan of nature generally and nature programmes in particular. Suffice to say I've only watched one of Sir David Attenborough's previous documentaries - and that was through pure chance than intention. The only reason why I rented this is because of the brilliant reviews it had on Amazon. I rent DVDs from Amazon.co.uk and often browse through lists, or look through "my recommendations" in the hope of finding DVDs that I'll enjoy but wouldn't normally choose. That's how I got to rent the first disc of the series.

It was fantastic. An absolute pleasure to watch. If you're remotely interested in animals or plants, you'll love it. I'm not particularly keen on either, and I was left mesmerised and totally in awe. I'm not going to rent the rest of the discs (there are five in total) because I'll buy the whole set, and when my godchildren are old enough, I'll sit and watch it with them.

Read more about it here.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The OC


I've just finished watching episode 9 of season 4 and I must say, I'm really enjoying this season.

I couldn't find a Taylor-Ryan picture, so I'll have to make do with a Summer-Seth one. Even so. I don't care what the devoted Marissa fans are saying, this is a good season and a huge improvement on the last two.

They even say frakk ;-)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Battlestar Galactica news

SCI FI Channel announced yesterday that it's renewing its Peabody-winning series Battlestar Galactica for a fourth season, ordering at least 13 new episodes. Production will resume this summer, with an eye toward a January 2008 premiere. Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Frakking awesome

Just watched the fourth episode of the third season - Exodus Part II. Simply put, WOW. Battlestar Galactica rocks. I was on the edge of my seat for the duration. I won't say more in case I spoil it for you, but if you're not watching it, you don't know what you're missing.

If you're thinking of the Battlestar Galactica of our childhoods, think again. This new series is on a different level. The basic story is pretty much the same: we follow the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies after their nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) in a ragtag fleet of ships, with the Battlestar Galactica at the lead. The humans are pursued by the Cylons who are intent on wiping out the remnants of the human race, while they travel across the galaxies looking for the fabled Thirteenth colony, which is none other than Earth. This is pretty much as sci-fi as it gets. In between the occasional space battle, the issues tackled by the show are very earthly indeed: birth rights, justice, friendship, religion, prejudice, genocide, love triangles, father/son relationships, suicide bombing, and the nature of humanity.

Battlestar Galactica is smartly written and wonderfully acted. There are no actors in stupid alien makeup, no fancy laser guns, no mumbo-jumbo sci-fi lingo. This isn't a show for hard core sci-fi enthusiasts. It's a show for those who are looking for food for thought as opposed to light entertainment. It's dark and compelling. It's the kind of show where you can watch each episode two or three times and still spot things - references, nuances, the odd meaningful look - that you'd missed first time round, which will shed light to something that happens five episodes later.

For me, Battlestar Galactica is the best TV show there is at the moment. Simple as that.

Watch it on Tuesday nights at 9:00 PM on Sky One. http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/