At the time it was considered to be as groundbreaking as the new BSG was to us. Before that, SF movies were in the alien invasions stopped by hero scientist or Flash Gordon vs. Ming. A real story made the movie stand out.
Well put. At least at the movie level, DtESS was groundbreaking. It’s tough to remember that as the years go by and everyone has grown up with that broken ground. (Sort of like finding Shakespeare annoying because of all the cliches…)