The mother of all marathons: Battlestar Galactica on Sci Fi

Before you non-Battlestar Galactica fans skip this entire post, do me a favor and read this for a second.

Have I ever steered you wrong? I know many of you have taken up shows that my wife and I have recommended and ended up loving them. The Office, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Journeyman are a few examples. Heck, even our own reader (and my cousin), The Cap’n, went to see In Bruges this past weekend with me and the rest of our clan, without even knowing much about it.

They loved it. A friend just picked up Arrested Development and I’m certain he’ll end up loving it.

I’m not trying to toot my own horn really, I’m just trying to tell you that when I say Battlestar Galactica is one of the best shows on TV, I truly mean it. I don’t write about it all the time because it sucks.

Our friend (and Lost super-fan) Adam just recently decided to pick up the first season of BSG and watch it with a friend. He never saw it before because the TITLE of the show didn’t make it sound that awesome to him. It was cheesy even.

Now he thinks it’s awesome and he’s making Cylon jokes on a daily basis.

If you can get past the title, you will find a show that rivals Lost in character development, writing and layers of storytelling. BSG encompasses everything from politics and religion, to warfare and the military, with a large dose of sex, love and real world issues thrown in.

And it also has an overall mythology that is hot these days. People like Lost because there is an end to it and this whole mystery surrounding the Island. Well, in BSG, you have the same thing. Who are the Cylons? Who are the Final 5?

The biggest clincher for me was at the end of the mini-series that started it all, the quest is laid out to find the mythical “Earth” to start a new home.

It’s got all the elements you want. Yeah, it’s set in space, and there is some science fiction aspects to it, but it’s not like a geeky Star Trek show. This is real, hardcore stuff.

And if you need simpler reasons, the cast is made up of some pretty good looking people, on both sides. The acting is brilliant as well, the characters highly addicting.

Why do I tell you all this AGAIN?

The Battlestar Galactica Sci Fi Marathon!

This coming week (March 31st through April 4th), starting on Monday morning, Sci Fi is putting on a WEEK LONG marathon that has to be one of the biggest marathons I’ve ever seen done. (thanks again to Galactica Sitrep for the heads up)

The one downside is that they aren’t showing the Mini-Series nor the first two episodes (33 and Water).

But aside from that, it appears that everyday there will be 10 straight episodes played, from all three seasons, all leading up to the HUGE premiere of season 4 on Friday night.

Simply amazing.

So Start Watching!

If I’ve finally convinced you to watch the show, or at least give it a try, then do this:

1. Rent and watch the first season’s opening Mini-Series, which is like 2-3 episodes packed into one giant movie. Should be easy to grab at Blockbuster.
2. Watch episodes 33 and Water on DVD.
3. Start recording the marathon.

I challenge you to at least watch the Mini-Series and the first 2-3 episodes. If you can’t stand it, then that’s cool, it’s not for you.

But I’ll bet a lot of you will be dying to find out what happens next. I know a 50-episode marathon is pretty much an impossible task, but don’t think you have to watch the entire thing. Just get started on season 1 and see how it goes. If you like it, rent season 2, etc. Watch it at your leisure.

There’s nothing on right now anyways besides American Idol and Dancing with the Stars (yuck), so what else are you going to be watching?

Here’s the schedule for the first day of the marathon, March 31st.

Give it a shot, I think you’ll be glad you did.

So say we all!