2. Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries (2003)
While not a traditional movie, this two-part miniseries serves as a backdoor pilot for the amazing 2004 rebooted Battlestar Galactica TV series. This gritty forerunner doesn’t just introduce you to the world of the rebooted series, it drops you smack-dab in the middle of the drama of an imminent apocalypse, undoing of human alliances, and the ominous menace of sentient robots, the Cylons. It’s a tad darker, sure, but it’s also undeniably immersive. One of the things that you’ll appreciate about The Miniseres is its downright refusal to be just “another space show”.
It cleverly introduces us to a whole list of characters, each with their own uniqueness, in a way that pulls you into their hectic lives and makes you care about their frailties, only to chop you at your knees with their heroism. Furthermore, it does a perfect job of setting the stage as the perfect prologue that also sets the tone for the series – a heavily intense character-driven narrative that gives you a sense of foreboding.
So many people instantly think of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica TV series when someone speaks of the franchise, and the miniseries’ success is largely responsible for that. It paved the way for what was to come, and we’re all so thankful for that. I know I am!