Screening - Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries

Look at those clouds. Sharon, look at those clouds, and tell me this isn't the end of everything.

Many cultures and religions have creation myths that detail a supposed (and usually obviously untrue, at least to us) origin of the world, mankind, or their people. In doing so, these myths often tell crucial lessons and provide a purpose for life. Battlestar Galactica lays out an epic creation myth for humanity, painting a picture of who we are and why we're here. Ultimately, it asks whether human heroism, love, and wisdom can save us from our greed, selfishness, and shortsightedness--and whether we even deserve to be saved.

The Battlestar Galactica miniseries, which we'll watch on Friday, tells the story of human civilization being attacked by the Cylons--a race of intelligent machines created by humanity. After forty years of radio silence following a previous war, the Cylons arrive in massive, sudden, overwhelming force with weapons and tactics unbeknownst to the humans--plus a ton of nukes. The humans soon find themselves brutally outmatched, with entire warships mysteriously shutting down. After all, networked computers couldn't possibly be an existential danger...

The Battlestar Galactica, a mighty but obsolescent warship, is in the middle of a retirement ceremony. As humanity is being annihilated around it, the Galactica tries to rearm and join the fight. Despite its pilots fighting with relics pulled from a museum, the Battlestar is forced to shoulder the burden of saving the human race from its mistakes--alone.