Considering that the original Battlestar Galactica‘s awfulness was only exceeded by, ahem, Galactica 1980, I’m surprised the new Battlestar Galactica is actually pretty good. I have some minor nits to pick (for example, water is not exactly rare in the universe), but, unlike recent incarnations of Star Trek, I have yet to be disappointed.
Who would have thought we would live in a universe where a remake of a crappy 70’s sci-fi would be better than Star Trek?
What do you mean, “not exactly rare?” We’ve observed it in exactly one place. If you’re thinking of the “dirty snowball” model of comets, remember that they’re believed to be composed of frozen carbon dioxide and methane, possibly with traces of water ice … but it’s just a hypothesis at this point. Besides, even if comets are solid water ice from pole to pole, they’re still incredibly rare. We have only been able to identify a few thousand of them in the entire volume of the solar system.
Water is, in fact, a very rare substance indeed, according to everything we currently know about the universe.
What about Europa?
Mars – though arid, does have some water and there are signs that water was once abundant.
Water has been detected in interstellar space.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and oxygen is fairly common – why do you think water is rare?
We have theories, but zero evidence that there’s any water on Europa. Ice, definitely, but lots of things become ice when they freeze. At those temperatures (50 K), practically everything freezes.
We have never found water on Mars. Some scientists believe that water may once have existed on Mars, but we’ve never found any evidence that it still does.
It’s incorrect to say that water has been detected in interstellar space. What we’ve observed is absorption on the water line in large interstellar gas clouds. This can be caused by individual molecules floating free in space. One molecule of H20 floating in a cubic mile of vacuum can’t really be called “water” in any meaningful sense of the word.
Water is rare because it is a very fragile substance. The molecular bonds that hold hydrogen and oxygen together are very weak. Water can only exist at all in a very narrow range of temperatures and pressures, and it comes apart very easily.
But here’s the more important part: everything is rare. The universe, even within these little neighborhoods we call galaxies, is completely, totally, 100% empty … except for occasional, microscopic specks of dust.
In the context of a television show about thirsty people floating in the vacuum of interstellar space, we’re not just talking about water in the theoretical sense. We’re not talking about “look at the hydrogen and oxygen lines; there’s water in that nebula!” We’re talking about useful, recoverable quantities of water. We’re talking about something along the lines of an ocean or a glacier. Even if you really, really stretch the definition to include every possible theory we’ve ever had, we’ve still only encountered water in two places in the entirety of the known universe.
Space is vast and empty. Creation is barren and desolate.
Yeah, I’m with Jeff: it ain’t water that we need, but recoverable, potable water.
Anyhoo, 1980 was an inadequate dose of methadone to the bad heroin of the original. Nits aside, I am quite enamoured with the new BSG. I especially love female Boomers and Starbucks, and the Commander Adama rocks. Good character, plot dev, nice production values, fair compromises (e.g., muffled sound in space POV shots), and the only show these days I can’t wait to see each week.
Thats i call really drunk posts…
You sayd, ”Space is vast and empty. Creation is barren and desolate.” Damn man, this is sad…
Life in pure sodium chloride is impossible you think, but i learn thats is a fact, in discovery channel.
Sodium chloride is essencial for life, but in high levels is one of the most toxic substances. But there is life,under sea in high temperatures, or in high level sodium. Explain this.
Exist a planet in this galaxy or another, that have life in toxic enviroment? Like gas or lava pool? Thats never touch h20 combination?
Life don’t need material rules like the union of particles, hydrogen and oxygen. Or talking about ”LARGE SEAS”, temperature, gravity…
If water is rare as you speak, why Earth have 70% in his build? Oh yeah, and you start to talking about some star trek shit, like coincidence of mathematic probabilities…
So explain that probability, what about TITAN?
If water is this rare, why europa come closes, in a system like we have here? Is fact, water is really rare,,, to our pathetic conception of a fucking Hubble. Universe is full of life, i guarantee.
You talk about ”know universe” like captain kirk, like a man that have put every foot in every planet of every system ”knowable”…