“The Cylons were created by the people of the Twelve Colonies. Intelligent robots, they were used as slaves and soldiers to fight humanity’s wars. But the Cylons became sentient and they rebelled. Man and machine fought to a bloody stalemate, then the Cylons withdrew to a remote region of space. A truce between the Twelve Colonies and the Cylons lasted for 40 tense and silent years. Each year, on the anniversary of the treaty-signing, humanity sent an envoy to the neutral ground of Armistice Station to meet with a Cylon envoy. For 39 years, no Cylon envoy came. Then, on the 40th anniversary, a stunning blonde — a Cylon in human form — met the human envoy … moments before the Cylons vaporized the station and launched a genocidal attack on the Twelve Colonies. In one devastating day, billions of human lives were consumed by nuclear fires. Only those souls fortunate enough to be aboard starships were able to band together and escape and flee into deep space, led by the sole surviving Colonial warship, the battlestar Galactica…”

Every so often, there’s a TV show that comes along the accomplishes it’s task better than almost any show before it and sets a new high-bar for quality. These are the shows that people will remember 30 years from now. The Sopranos, ER, The Simpsons - shows that, for better or worse, make an impact and stay with you. Battlestar Galactica is an unlikely entry in the pantheon of such shows, but it’s a TV unlike any other I’ve seen and is executed upon so masterfully I’m honestly in awe of Ron Moore and his team.

It’s easy to see a trailer of Battlestar Galactica and think “Oh, it’s a Star Trek-type show in space” and think that’s the end of it. Battlestar is, at it’s heart, a drama about people - it just happens to be set in space. The best shows are always like that - they focus on the people, the characters, and the sci-fi action is merely the backdrop for the events that propel the characters to evolve and adapt. The show is gritty, harsh, and all too real. When you’re watching it, you can very easily believe it’s a documentary - the acting is convincing, and the characters are all flawed, just like everyone in real life. Regardless of whether or not you enjoy sci-fi TV shows, I’d urge you to watch (on DVD) the four-hour mini-series that started the whole thing. If you enjoy that, you’ll enjoy Battlestar Galactica.

Here’s the backstory on why I’m looking at new TVs. This post is a rant about why it’s so hard to find reviews of big screen TVs. I suppose from a PR/marketing standpoint I know how difficult it would be to freight-ship a 72″ TV to a review site, let them keep it for a month, then arrange to get it back. Much pain. But, still, as a consumer I want to read more than just marketing fluff. If I do a specific search for “toshiba 72MX196 review”, I get only one result, a completely useless entry over at Digital Trends. If I remove the quotes, I get far more results. But are any of them quality? Let’s take a look at the “review” posted on the Yahoo page:

“i have never owned a tv that is bigger than 32 inches and i want my first one to be at least 90 inches, not only is this tv to small but it doesnt even hook up to my hairdyer. i know what i am talking about because i have a pHd in male nursing from rhode island tech new jersey state located in oregon. another con is when i am trying to cook my curi in it i cant seem to make it work, it has also become covered in wierd food substance and my friends say the picture isnt as clear anymore. that is all.” 

Great, that was super helpful. Oh look, here’s another review from the Amazon.com page:

“all i can say after my research whuich was very thorough, it came down to toshiba and mitsubishi the samsung was good but not there the toshiba came ot on top vivd colours wow sharp and crisp is what you want this has it all its a must see in person buy this tv you wont be disappointed dont be fooled if you buy this toshiba make surew its the cinema series pro edition makes a big difference 72MX196″

Slightly more useful, but not terribly intelligible. Looks like AVS Forum is my only good source of information.