BSG Awe

Erin was the first one to develop a love for the new Battlestar Galactica. She watched as much as she could on-line and bought episodes for her iPod.

Then we began renting Season 1 episodes from Zip.ca and gradually the rest of the family got keen. None got as keen as Fiona, though. For whatever reason, she loves loves loves BSG. She spent much time and energy engaging Erin in conversation during our recent trip to Calgary about who was the favourite / funniest / most pathetic / coolest / bravest / nicest character. When we made the decision to cancel our Zip subscription and put some of the savings into DVDs for purchase, including seasons 2 and 3 of BSG, Fiona got truly giddy.

It's fun to see Fiona and Erin sharing an interest like this. The other two kids (and their mom) like BSG, but with Fiona it's an obsession, and Erin has that history of passionate fan-dom that allows her to support and share some of Fiona's glee.

After we placed our order Fiona continued to go through giggling spells of anticipatory glee. And then ... our boxed sets started arriving. There have been two or three marathon viewing sessions so far. She is completely thrilled. She generally sits in the same chair as Erin, almost on top of her. Erin doesn't normally like people in her personal space bubble, but somehow BSG and Fiona manage to soften her up.

If you haven't seen the new Battlestar Galactica, while I wouldn't recommend it as a rule for 7-year-olds, I do think it's an impressive series. The premise, re-imagined from the original series, is of a rag-tag bunch of human survivors fleeing into space after their planet was destroyed by cylon robots. The robots, originally developed by man, have evolved consciousness and the ability to impersonate humans, and infiltrate and attack their creators. The acting is pretty good, and the character development is impressive, the treatment of political, religious, moral and social issues is thought-provoking.