Everyone knows how wonderful it is to have something shiny and new. Then it happens, you get your first ding or scratch. Dirt and grime accumulates. Eventually, even with the best effort, the something new becomes something old. It begins to wear out. Paint dulls and becomes chalky until chips start forming. Woodpeckers make holes all over your house siding. (Damn #@%&$! woodpeckers!)

This is the real world. We can't escape the ravages of time on an object. George knew this when creating his space opera, and incorporated it within the frame work of the story. It was an innovation in the sci-fi genre since at that time most of what was shown up to that point was sleek and shiny. Usually having some Utopian slant to it. By putting this "used universe" look into the films, he made it possible for what was to come. Things became edgier, dirty, greasy, and beat up. It allowed a darker but more realistic concept of the future to take hold.

Movies and shows like Aliens, Matrix, Serinity, Farscape, and BSG all owe their look to Star Wars. Look at the Millenium Falcon. It was covered in rust, scorchmarks, grease, and not to mention several large blaster made holes. It was old and had been through a lot, and it showed. The X-wings "and Y-wings were kept up as best they could, but lack of time, funds and supplies they looked as though it was the minimum they could do while still maintaining safety.While the look of CGI took away a little of this in the prequels, but it still was noticeable and could be explained by a wealthier era.

While all of this has been put into use in sci-fi. The continuation of the shows depends on the ships actually working. A ship will take a beating in one show then the next it is nice, undamaged and clean. Star Trek Voyager could have taken advantage of the "used universe" concept but it didn't. They had the "Year of Hell" episode but at the end, time was changed and the year never happened. All shiny and new looking again. It seems a lot of shows even today still don't want to take the major commitment to the "used universe". Some take an easy way out and just blow up their ships every episode like SG-1. (Get some better sheilds already! Sheesh!)
The only show I feel has really taken the idea and run with it is one that has a tangled past with Star Wars. It is possibly my favorite sci-fi show on TV ever and the use of Lucas' "used universe" has a lot to do with it (beside intrigue and all out great writing. The show is BSG if you hadn't guessed.

The reimagined take on the original Battlestar Galactica if you have watched from the begining has evolved. A truly ragtag fleet of ships on the run. They have no safehavens, dwindling supplies, and no where to make repairs. They do what they can on the fly and like the Falcon, it shows. There are craters completely pockmarking the outside of the Galactica. Damage impossible to fix without a shipyard. So it only makes sense that they be left to be indicators of their hard journey.

Railing inside many ships are chiped and coated with many layers of paint to site another example. The fighters are barely maintained by the overworked crews. Supplies are stacked up against walls wherever they could fit. It makes what I feel is a more realistic journey from their home world. It creates the empathy for the characters that make me want to come back to see them each week of the season.

George's contributions to sci-fi film making are immense and I realize this is just one of his innovations. It is an important one that makes it easier to belive what you are seeing. I hope George takes a look what BSG did with his creation and gives the upcoming TV series this edgy feel. If he does it will leave franchises like Star Trek (which I like by the way) in the dust.