10 TV Shows That Improved Upon The Source Material
7. Battlestar Galactica
2004's Battlestar Galactica series was a re-imagining of Glen A. Larson's original 1978 show, and while so many reboots and revivals lose the thread that made the original a hit in the first place, that's not at all the case here.
This new take was slicker, yes, but also grittier, touted deeper character development, and benefitted from its considerably more vast world-building.
Though the '70s series is still a fun, campy watch today, it just can't measure up to the reboot, which fleshes out everything, what with its larger four season, 76-episode run compared to the original's unfortunately curtailed single 24-episode season.
If the '78 Battlestar is a more giddy, adventurous yarn, the 2004 show emerged in the shadow of 9/11 and reflects the concerns of that period, namely fundamentalist terrorism, in a way that can still be taken seriously and remains compulsively watchable almost 20 years later.
Plus, there's just no beating Katee Sackhoff's gender-swapped Starbuck in the reboot, no siree.