The Golden Age of Geek TV

I know I've seen it mentioned around the web a bit, but it could have been mentioned more strongly -- the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series ROCKS!

I had stayed away from it because I wasn't a fan of the original series -- too much of that 80's goofiness and a little too space opera-y. But the new series has a gritty intensity to it and that human drama grounds it in realism despite all the science fiction elements surrounding the characters. I think the approach of the new series has also given the show its own identity, whereas the first series showed too much of its roots as a Star Wars knock-off.

Anyway, not only is the series good and watchable, but it's one of the best things I've ever watched, right up there with Lost and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and a little bit better than 24 and Alias (all in my geeky opinion of course).

Galactica, Lost, and Buffy are all examples of shows I like better than even big, successful and great films. In the end, I also like them better than the X-Files, as a series. And I think the reason for this is the excellent writing attached to the ongoing serial nature of the stories. I get into this position, like in an engrossing book, where I can't wait to watch the next episode, which works fine because I'm watching them on DVD.

Or at least works fine until I catch up to the current season -- then I have the long, awful wait until the next season comes out on DVD.

And I have to say this: the TV shows, particularly the dramas, we've had in the last decade are much better than the stuff I had growing up. You kids today don't know what it was like back then, everyone had big hair, the show had to close on a corny joke, and there was always this underlying goofiness to programs. Really, you'd have to go all the way back to The Prisoner to find a show that could compare to today's sci-fi.