but all I can think about is Battle Star Galactica. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! Not only is it the best piece of science fiction I have experienced in some time, it is also the most addictive and fascinating series I have ever watched. On top of all that it has been very inspiring.
I fancy myself a storyteller of sorts and this show has really imbued me with an excitement for telling stories. There was a period of my life during and after college where I only read non-fiction. Not only that, but it was all heavy political and theological stuff as well as some art theory and history. Theory, theory, theory. I was very disappointed with the world. I wanted to know why it was so screwed up and I believed that just having that knowledge would make me a better person. I think that I also subconsciously thought of fiction as something that was not really useful for anything except entertaining you. How silly I was.
I think the book that broke me out of this rut was THE SATANIC VERSES by Salman Rushdie. This was a book about religion, myth, sex, political turmoil, and all of it communicated in such a beautifully poetic way. I fell in love with Rushdie and fell in love, again, with fiction. I remembered that old curmudgeon, Harlan Ellison, whom I had once referred to as my favorite author (of course I often got blank stares when I mentioned his name). I remembered how ENDER'S GAME made me cry. And, I remembered comics.
I believe that I have a much better appreciation for fiction and non-fiction in my life. Really, I simply love the communication of ideas in all their forms. BSG addresses everything I care about in the world and is damned entertaining to boot. Every time I watch an episode it shows me that I can make up something totally crazy and still communicate thoughts and emotions that resonate with the real world.