Underseer
King
OK.
First, let me preface this by saying that I'm not really all that concerned about racial diversity in science fiction TV shows anymore. More than most other genres, science fiction has been really good about both racial diversity and not promoting negative stereotypes, so as long as the cast isn't completely monochromatic, I'm pretty much not going to complain about racial diversity.
A good example of this was the casting choice for Kingpin in an otherwise laughable movie (Daredevil). For those of you who don't know, the Kingpin is an arch villain that appears in several different superhero comic books, and he's been a staple in the Marvel universe for decades. The character has also always been white in the comic books. When they cast a black actor, I was amazed at the lack of complaints about it. There weren't too many conservatives complaining about "political correctness" in changing a traditionally white character into a minority, and there weren't too many liberals complaining about the possibility of negative stereotypes (Kingpin is an organized crime boss). The vast majority of comic book fans simply accepted that they found the best actor for the role, and the actor just happened to be of a different race (Kingpin really needs a particular presence to satisfy comic book fans, and Michael Clark Duncan is really the only actor I can think of who could pull it off). The lack of hair-pulling over this casting choice really shows how far we've come... at least in the sci-fi/comic book genres.
Furthermore, Battlestar Galactica (the new series) is plenty diverse, so even if I were generally inclined to complain about such things, I wouldn't in this case.
It's just that one of the very few things I liked about the otherwise crappy original series was the casting of black actors in certain roles. Even after Star Trek, blacks were still depressingly absent from most science fiction, which sent an unintentional message that black people didn't have a future. Even though the original BSG wasn't the first to include prominent black characters, they were bold in where they chose to put black characters: the executive officer and one of the ace fighter pilots. Back in the late seventies, you didn't see blacks in roles like that in any genre, much less science fiction.
So when the new BSG aired, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.
Sure, they made colonel Tigh white. No big deal. The character is far more interesting, and the actor is phenomenal, and really that's what matters (re: the casting of Kingpin mentioned above). Sure, they made Boomer into an Asian woman. Again, no big deal. Although the actress doesn't impress me, they took the character in a radically different and interesting direction.
It's just that I wanted to see at least one black pilot, just to tip the hat at one of the few things I liked about the original series. The new series disappointed me in that regard... until now.
Introducing Bulldog
(Video blog entry at the official site)
All I have to say is: YAY!
First, let me preface this by saying that I'm not really all that concerned about racial diversity in science fiction TV shows anymore. More than most other genres, science fiction has been really good about both racial diversity and not promoting negative stereotypes, so as long as the cast isn't completely monochromatic, I'm pretty much not going to complain about racial diversity.
A good example of this was the casting choice for Kingpin in an otherwise laughable movie (Daredevil). For those of you who don't know, the Kingpin is an arch villain that appears in several different superhero comic books, and he's been a staple in the Marvel universe for decades. The character has also always been white in the comic books. When they cast a black actor, I was amazed at the lack of complaints about it. There weren't too many conservatives complaining about "political correctness" in changing a traditionally white character into a minority, and there weren't too many liberals complaining about the possibility of negative stereotypes (Kingpin is an organized crime boss). The vast majority of comic book fans simply accepted that they found the best actor for the role, and the actor just happened to be of a different race (Kingpin really needs a particular presence to satisfy comic book fans, and Michael Clark Duncan is really the only actor I can think of who could pull it off). The lack of hair-pulling over this casting choice really shows how far we've come... at least in the sci-fi/comic book genres.
Furthermore, Battlestar Galactica (the new series) is plenty diverse, so even if I were generally inclined to complain about such things, I wouldn't in this case.
It's just that one of the very few things I liked about the otherwise crappy original series was the casting of black actors in certain roles. Even after Star Trek, blacks were still depressingly absent from most science fiction, which sent an unintentional message that black people didn't have a future. Even though the original BSG wasn't the first to include prominent black characters, they were bold in where they chose to put black characters: the executive officer and one of the ace fighter pilots. Back in the late seventies, you didn't see blacks in roles like that in any genre, much less science fiction.
So when the new BSG aired, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.
Sure, they made colonel Tigh white. No big deal. The character is far more interesting, and the actor is phenomenal, and really that's what matters (re: the casting of Kingpin mentioned above). Sure, they made Boomer into an Asian woman. Again, no big deal. Although the actress doesn't impress me, they took the character in a radically different and interesting direction.
It's just that I wanted to see at least one black pilot, just to tip the hat at one of the few things I liked about the original series. The new series disappointed me in that regard... until now.
Introducing Bulldog
(Video blog entry at the official site)
All I have to say is: YAY!
