OM bhūr bhuvah svah

My wife and I have been hooked on the new Battlestar Galactica series on the Sci-Fi channel. We watched our first episode two weeks ago, and it was so good (even dropping into the middle of a story arc where we had no idea who the characters were), that we immediately ran out and bought the miniseries and first season on DVD and have been watching two or three episodes a night to catch up. The writing and overall quality was excellent to begin with and it hasn’t let up. As a result, we’re getting short on sleep — each night, we find it’s past our bedtime but we plaintively look at each other and say in unison, “one more?”

Anyway, the main title theme is a haunting melody that is apparently a Westernized version of the Gayatri mantra, the highest mantra in Hinduism. (I’m told that in India, it’s so pervasive that it plays at the beginning of movies in theaters.) I attended a Hindu funeral recently, and the Gayatri recited there was unexceptional, just another of many mantras. But as arranged by composer Richard Gibbs, it’s quite beautiful and affecting. Take thirty seconds out of your day and have a listen: battlestar.galactica.theme.2004.mp3

If that doesn’t sound like a good main title theme for an action-oriented drama developed with obvious parallels to 9/11, well, you’ll have to watch the show. It works very, very well played over the opening montage. The meaning of the lyrics doesn’t hurt, either.

A final note: I think it’s significant that there aren’t any Hindu fanatics threatening to retaliate against the Battlestar Galactica production crew for using a sacred prayer in a Western TV series. Contrast that with these people. Makes sense that Caspar Weinberger would be saying that the road to America’s success mid-century runs straight through India, historically hostile to certain other cultures.

The next episode of Battlestar Galactica airs tonight. Watch it! It really is “the best show on television.”