COLUMN | ‘Galactica’ deserves a fond farewell

“Battlestar Galactica” has prepared me for life after advanced robots annihilate the vast majority of the human race.

Well, not really.

But the show is a remarkable depiction of people at their wit’s end. Beyond the robots and the intergalactic travel, “Battlestar” is a tale of survival and desperation – and the many horrible things we might do along the way.

Entering its final episodes, the show is at its strongest point. The writers clearly know where they are going.

Without giving too much away, here’s the gist of it: The Cylons – robots that humans created and fought some years ago – return and destroy all of civilization. All that remains of humanity is a handful of starships, initially fleeing frantically from Cylon, pursuit.

The catch is, the Cylons figured out a way to look like humans. Gradually, they begin acting like humans – and many feel regret about having decimated all of human civilization.

The show masterfully depicts the tension among the Galactica’s crew and fellow survivors: their persistence despite exhaustion and hopelessness. The action is the show’s strongest suit, not because of special effects but because of the characters to whom it happens.

Though the humanization of the Cylons at first feels forced, the show eventually succeeds in casting some Cylons in a positive – nearly human – light. This allows the show to raise several fascinating questions without coming across as trite.

The Cylons, despite being machines, can think and feel; and they do, after all, feel significant remorse. So should we empathize with them? And what of the characters who do?

In many cases, as one would expect, most humans are far from forgiving. But not only that, they are far from understanding. Many are not willing to take seriously a life form that is not flesh and blood. (This makes for some interesting plot twists down the road).

The show does hit some lulls during the second and third seasons. Sometimes it becomes caught up with a set of mythology that is nowhere near as interesting as writers may think.

Sometimes the dialogue is cheesy.

But “Battlestar” now has combined the moral and metaphysical questions raised by the Cylons with the pitch-perfect tension from the earlier seasons. The most recent episode included some of the most riveting moments of TV I have ever seen.

Many people may be turned off from “Battlestar” because of its sci-fi elements.

However, underneath it all lies an intriguing plot bolstered by unparalleled dramatic moments.

One need not be a fan of space travel to appreciate that.

opinion@cm-life.com