I am – Hercules!!
A sci-fi Fox pilot-turned-TV-movie from “Battlestar Galactica” writers Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor, “Virtuality” follows a 12-member spaceship crew on a decade-long journey across the galaxy to find a new home for the human race before the Earth grows uninhabitable. Trouble ensues when the ship’s virtual-reality system begins to malfunction. Crew members are played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“New Amsterdam”), Sienna Guillory (“Inkheart”) and Clea Duvall (who worked with Moore on “Carnivale”), among others. Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights,” “Hancock”), who also wants to remake Frank Herbert’s “Dune” for the big screen, directs. Moore says “Virtuality” could still becomes a series if the critics like it and enough people watch, but Fox has chosen to air it in the middle of summer in the infamous Friday Death Slot that killed “Firefly” and loads of other sci-fi shows. So we’ll see how that goes. Given the sad state of the fall pilots I’ve viewed so far (though I haven’t by any means seen them all), it’s hard not to root for Fox to go forward on this one. The New York Times says:

… an impressively credentialed and stylish bit of television moviemaking, an exploration not merely of our practical dependence on technology but also of our psychological and nearly eroticized addiction to it. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… smart, handsome TV, a witty, measured mix of sci-fi, soap and satire that offers new twists on old tropes. (It sometimes plays -- and looks -- like a homage to "2001: A Space Odyssey.") …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… works as a character drama, as an observant commentary on our technology-obsessed culture and as a mystery-thriller … an ambitious meditation on truth, self-deception and the nature of reality. …

The Washington Post says:

… a promising premise and a fun bit of social commentary … smartly filmed, even given the now-obligatory use of hand-held shots … ably driven by the strong performances of its young cast, notably Ritchie Coster, who plays the wheelchair-bound, sardonic second-in-command, who would rather eat his ship's nuclear fuel than give one more blasted interview to the on-board reality-show host. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

a fascinating, over-stuffed pilot episode, and as intriguing as its concept is, you can see by the end of tonight's two-hour premiere why Fox passed on making it a weekly series. Dense and layered, this is the kind of show that would attract a loyal but small following more suited to a niche cable network than a broadcaster like Fox, a place subtlety goes to die. … Given the creators involved, I eventually came out on the side of wanting to see "Virtuality" continue, but the program offers quite a mental workout. …

USA Today says:

… better than most of the networks' summer offerings. But because there aren't likely to be answers provided by additional episodes, it can only be unequivocally recommended to Galactica acolytes and curio collectors. …

Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B” and says:

… boasts an interesting cast (including Clea DuVall) and an Alien-invoking vibe (if no aliens). …

The Newark Star Ledger says:

… there are enough intriguing, albeit deliberately unfinished, ideas in there to make it worth a look for any fan not only of "Galactica," but the kind of thoughtful science fiction it represented. …

The Boston Globe says:

… has plenty going for it. A drama about 12 astronauts on a 10-year space journey to find an alternative to a drowning Earth, it made me want to see more. … the two creepily atmospheric hours are promising and thought-provoking. …

8 p.m. Friday. Fox.

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Galactica: The Complete Series

Galactica: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)