Battlestar Ponderosa no longer.

I’m not crazy about remakes.

That goes without saying. I steer clear of remakes like the plague. Newer versions of “Psycho” and “The Pink Panther” shouldn’t even be discussed. They’re not necessary.

Forgive and forget? I don’t think so.

Yet there is one show that's always in dire need of being remade. The Sci-Fi Channel launched the “Battlestar Galactica” series after the miniseries anchored an audience in Dec. of 2003. It’s given a facelift. It’s for the better.

I don’t mind this one. I’ve only seen a few bits here and there and a couple of full episodes. So don't take what I'm saying here as the holy gospel. I do like what I've seen so far.

There’s potential in the born-again series. It looks interesting. Edward James Olmos performs well as Commander Amada. He’s a stalwart presence on the show who replaces Lorne Greene from the original series. And it’s a very welcome one.

The most jarring change? Starbuck played by Katee Sackhoff. It’s a gender change. They have a sleeker, blonde bombshell replacing a guy Dirk Benedict in the role: she’s a woman with a sexual overdrive. It’ll take a while for me to get used to it. The acting’s pretty good. The writing keeps a solid beat. Some good dialogue.

This update takes the old show and puts it on a new direction. Literally. Even the mood turns darker. Like the coldness of space. What’s left of the ailing humankind puts together a search for the planet Earth. It remains a myth. Like the legends of Atlantis and the Lemurians who once supposedly harbored with greatness many generations ago.

The settings on the ship should feel claustophobic. They're narrow halls, cramped bridges. They reflect the feelings of the show's characters. Tension builds. Sometimes anger cuts loose.

There’s character conflict in the show. Perhaps a bit too much. Sort of like a male’s version of a soap opera in space. With recent addition of the Pegasus to the series, along with another crew commandeered by a woman, characters go at it head to toe. Keep in mind about internal conflict in stories. The so-called heart of darkness. Without conflict, there’s no story.

Every writer knows this.

“Battlestar Galactica” is about a search. It’s the quest for the Holy Grail. A spiritual journey for many. And people realize that the cosmos isn’t always a friendly place. Particularly when many universal residents turn out to be human looking Cylons.

Now I admit to taking a great dislike for the putrid, old stuff back in the early 1980s. It was Star Trek in reverse. (Instead of us going out there, they’re coming here). Though the Cylons of the old were pretty nifty with the shifting red eye, glaring across the metallic faces, like a burning storm.

In this remake, the Cylons pretend to be humans. Lucy Lawless of Xena fame plays a journalist D’anne Biers who may or may not be who she seems. It makes for interesting stories. Everyone has their own motive. No one could be trusted. Even solitude threatens man’s existence.

Not many viwers like the idea of Cylons being human-looking. It’s a bold idea for the series. It owes more to legendary science-fiction author Phillip K. Dick’s thematic books regarding the ideal of double life: how identity of one’s self is stripped away in a modern world. The conflict between man and machine. It’s seen again in “Battlestar Galactica.”

I’m basing my opinion on what little I’ve seen in the series. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if I find myself perched in the sofa following the journey of our forefathers in space. Save me a seat.