The first I really heard of the upcoming Battlestar Galactica remake was in articles about Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) warning fans of the original show not to watch it, because they would hate it. Everything I heard after that — Cylons were going to look human, Starbuck would now be female, the characters were Earthlings — made me wonder why the producers didn't just give it a different name and try to pass it off as a Sci-Fi Channel Original.

Olmos seems to know science fiction fans a lot better than the producers do; fans' attachment to their favorite shows borders on the pathological, and any deviation from "canon" is met with horror and hatred. However, after doing some research, it seems that at least some of the scuttlebutt was incorrect; the characters aren't from Earth, but as in the original, they will be trying to find it after the Colonies are destroyed. Starbuck (and Boomer) will in fact be female, but what the hell, it works for Sam Carter on Stargate SG-1. At least they don't seem to be blatantly aimed towards the same demographic that the "Seven of Nine" and "T'Pol" characters on Star Trek were created for (no, apparently they've got a character named "Number Six" who seems to fulfill that role. At least she's sexier than Patrick McGoohan, the other Number Six, but her name indicates that there might, in fact, be some truth to the "Cylons look like humans" rumor).

As a twelve-year-old, I thought Battlestar Galactica was the coolest thing since sliced agro primaries. But looking back on it from an adult's perspective, perhaps a "modern reimagining" wouldn't be such a bad thing. Upon rewatching a number of the original episodes, there are a lot of cringeworthy bits:

• That damned robot dog — not only did it have the most annoying bark in the world, but every single time it went down to a planet, it ran off, causing Boxey (q.v.) to run after it, causing the adults to go looking for them both. You'd think after the seventh or eighth time, the adults might consider reprogramming the dog to, say, not run off. Or maybe destroy it. (Good news: it won't be in the remake. That in itself has made me more receptive to the idea of departing from the original canon.)
• Boxey — Why, oh why do we have to stick a cute kid in there and just load on the Family Circus-style sweetness to the point where the audience needs insulin? If they'd handled him like on Everybody Loves Raymond, I wouldn't care; an acknowledgement that there are children around, that's fine. But why do we have to see him, again and again, stowing away on shuttles, wandering away, endangering the adults? Cripes. (Bad news: there's a kid named Boxey in the cast list for the new miniseries.)
• Commander Adama — Part military leader, part new-age mystic, part Ben Cartwright In Space. The writing for him was embarassingly uneven, and he never had the cojones to openly stand up to the...
• Newly re-formed Council of the Twelve — Hey, let's destroy all our weapons so the Cylons will no longer see us as a threat! Hey, let's insist that all of our warriors leave the entire fleet unprotected, so that we can hold an awards ceremony down on a planet! Hey, let's release these "Terrans" who were trying to wipe us out! Hey, let's welcome the Terrans with open arms and no warriors around after they've broken out of the prison ship and possibly killed everyone aboard! Hey, let's give Baltar the benefit of the doubt once again, even though he's betrayed us every fracking time! With morons like these in charge, the human race deserved to be wiped out.
• Cylon marksmanship — With the way these guys shoot, it's absolutely impossible that they could have taken control of half the universe. Which reminds me...
• Not even the simplest understanding of space — "Earth is in a galaxy similar to our own." Yeah, with a fleet traveling at the top speed of the slowest ships, which aren't capable of light speed. Do you have any idea how many thousands of years it would take to get that far, Mr. Glen A. Larson? No, apparently you don't. "As long as the Cylons have Gamorray, they can control half the universe." One planet gives them a foothold on half the universe? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is, Mr. Glen A. Larson? No, apparently you don't.
• Stock footage — Yeah, I know special effects were extremely expensive back then. But every time we had "space mines", we saw the same damned sequence from the pilot. Every time we encountered a Cylon tanker, there just happened to be two of them, and we saw the same damned sequence from the pilot. Every time we saw that chick on the bridge with braids in her hair, she said the same thing, because it was just the same damned clip from the pilot. Oh, and every time the Cylons engaged the Galactica in battle, they crashed a ship into the hangar bay, causing a major fire and preventing the pilots from landing to refuel and rearm. Just like in the pilot. Build a garage door, for crying out loud!
• Mormon theology — Okay, I'll grant that using Mormon theology was an easy way to introduce an exotic and unfamiliar mythology/backstory to the majority of the show's viewers. On the other hand, from a writing standpoint, it was kind of lazy. On the third hand, I was highly amused that the corrupt and evil "Enforcers" in one episode (The Long Patrol) were wearing the emblem of Scientology's "Sea Org" (the inner cadre who've signed a billion-year contract to serve Scientology).
• The interior decorators — I'm sorry, guys, but bubble wrap does not look like a futuristic wall hanging. It looks like someone stapled bubble wrap to the wall.

There's much, much more, but this entry is far too long as it is; so perhaps slavishly adhering to the original isn't necessarily a desirable thing. The ships and the Cylons were visually appealing, but the writing was pretty awful. I'll give the "re-imagining" a chance; it could hardly be worse than the original.

Well, no, that's not true. It could be as bad as Enterprise.