Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome

Battlestar Galactica is a great series and Blood and Chrome is a worthy prequel to it. I won't go as far to say that it's perfect, the dialogue while mostly fine could have done with more polish, it did have some cheesiness, the story does drag a little towards the end and Lili Bordon shows little charisma. However, it is well made, the special effects are generally well-crafted and not too overused, the photography is solid and the interiors are striking. Credit must be made for the attempt to make it true to the series. The music is rousing and atmospheric, while the story is fun, doesn't take itself too seriously and maintains attention throughout(again doing a good job trying to respect the series) and the characters are written into the story well and are interesting. The acting I was very impressed by, Ben Cotton is the best of the lot, very charismatic and successfully bringing maturity to the story. Luke Pasquallino is likable in the lead role. John Pyper-Ferguson is under-utilised but not enough to still make an impression.

All in all, not on the same level as the series but still quite good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A very impressive pilot (I hope it's a pilot - but a good SyFy movie in any case) for still another addition to the Battlestar Galactica franchise. Creators Michael Taylor and his co-creator David Eick have picked up the saga post-Caprica and pre the 2004-2009 Battlestar Galactica series with a new tale centering on a young Bill Adama. Pasqualino and Cotton were excellent as Adama and Coker and the action filled plot is thankfully nothing like Caprica, which was sort of boring. This time we are back in space where the series belongs, shooting Cylons.

There is still a hint of the philosophical depth in Ronald D. Moore's re-imaging of Glen A. Larson's original series but the Taylor teleplay keeps the politic and morality questions to a minimum and we get treated to a lot of good old fashioned shoot 'em ups along the way. (Taylor and Moore worked DS9 for the Trek Franchise way back when, BTW, and David Eick worked on all the recent BG series.)

My only complaint was too little time for vet character actor John Pyper-Ferguson as a sort of bad guy (no spoilers here because he usually plays a bad guy, although some of us fondly remember him as a very funny bad guy in Brisco County Jr.) If we really do get a new series, maybe he'll be back.

BG fans should be marching for a reboot based on Blood and Chrome. This universe has plenty of room for more episodes.

****UPDATED 23 March 2017****

I just watched the Blu-ray release of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome and I've added one star as it was even better than I remembered. There is a lot of material that didn't make this, the extended cut, (included in Deleted Scenes) that is worth watching, even though this didn't become the pilot I'd hoped it would be.

I was happy with the prequel web-miniseries "Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome" (2012) – it really seemed like a return to form to the immensely popular first two seasons of the TV show. I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Gone are the weird and confusing plot lines involving divine intervention and … (sigh) angels. Instead we're treated to a decent, escapist and gratifying sci-fi war-adventure story, with a few gritty horror elements thrown in to remind us that this is still Ron Moore's unique Battlestar Galactica universe. It seemed to consciously emulate "Aliens" (1986), which is a direction I think a lot of BSG fans would have been thrilled with. (I'm a little confused about whether the SyFy Channel intended this as a possible pilot for a regular TV series … it seems that way, from how it's written.)

There are also nice nods to the series, its followup prequel series, "Caprica," and even the original 1970's TV show. I loved how one key actor/actress appeared to lend his/her voice to really nail a nice surprise in the finale. That's some damn fun continuity right there, and awesome fan service.

It's a shaky pilot (?) in some ways. Young William Adama is a two- dimensional clone of "Starship Troopers'" Johnny Rico, though he does grow a bit by the end of the story. There are also other clichés – at one point a commander states something along the lines of "the fate of the entire war hinging on this battle!!" Ugh. Another flaw was its inclusion of actors from the series – in different roles. It was probably cool for Moore to keep it in the family and give these talented people additional high-profile work. (My personal favorite is the great, underused character actor Ty Olsson.) But it's jarring, and takes you right out of the story – sometimes you're too busy saying, "Hey! It's THAT guy!" to get immersed in the show.

Still, this was cool and exciting and fun. What a shame it's (apparently) not turning into a regular series.

I love this and think it's a fantastic start too what could have been another great series, but wait, enter SyFy so they can over-think it again. I love Caprica, I loved BSG, and I love this and I cannot believe the intellectual void that would not put this on the air, in favor of plenty of wrestling, what does wrestling have to do with Science Fiction anyway? Would someone please help me understand that one.

Anyway, I am rambling, and my review is becoming pointless. Please SyFy, if you have an ounce of intelligence, don't wave this one under our noses like you did Caprica and then yank the carpet out from underneath our feet.

Why on earth this was placed on the back burner behind Caprica must be one of the most idiotic decisions ever.

This is what the fans want to see, it lives up to the original and increases the scope for visuals, suspense, battles and storyline.

I strongly suggest viewing the Web Episodes of this until Syfy broadcast the full pilot, if you enjoyed the excellent reboot of Battle Star Galactic then this will tick all the boxes.

A definite candidate for a full TV series, which if delivered as well as the pilot would definitely have high viewing figures.

Here's hoping SYFY and co get the message!