''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...

television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by

Ronald D. Moore Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Star Trek,'' as well as on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Awar ...

and executive produced by Moore and

David Eick David Eick () (born 1968) is an American writer and producer, best known as the executive producer of ''Battlestar Galactica'', for which he also wrote several episodes. Eick executive produced '' Caprica'' and '' Battlestar Galactica: Blood & C ...

as a

re-imagining Re-Imagining was a Minneapolis interfaith conference of clergy, laypeople, and feminist theologians in 1993 that stirred controversy in U.S. Mainline Protestant denominations,Peter Steinfels"Cries of Heresy After Feminists Meet" ''The New York Tim ...

of the 1978 ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series created by

Glen A. Larson Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American television producer, writer, and composer. He created many series, including '' Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ' ...

. The pilot for the series first aired as a three-hour miniseries in December 2003 on the Sci-Fi Channel, which was then followed by four regular seasons, ending its run on March 20, 2009. The cast includes

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

Mary McDonnell Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances With Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Pas ...

Katee Sackhoff Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for being Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on '' Another Life'' (2019–2021), Victoria "Vic" Moretti on '' Longmire' ...

Jamie Bamber Jamie St John Bamber Griffith (born 1972/73), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in t ...

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is an English actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' best ...

Tricia Helfer Tricia Janine Helfer (born April 11, 1974) is a Canadian actress and former model. She played Number Six in the science fiction series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in the video game ''StarCraft II'' an ...

, and Grace Park. ''Battlestar Galactica'' is set in a distant star system, where a civilization of humans lives on a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. In the past, the Colonies had been at war with an android race of their own creation, known as the Cylons. With the unwitting help of a human scientist named

Gaius Baltar Dr. Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series ''Battlestar Galactica'' played by James Callis, a reimagining of Lord Baltar from the 1978 ''Battlestar Galactica'' series. He is one of the show's primary characters. Personality Gaiu ...

(Callis), the Cylons launch a sudden sneak attack on the Colonies, laying waste to the planets and devastating their populations. Out of a population of several billion, there are about 50,000 human survivors; most were aboard civilian space ships that were not near the initial attacks. Of all the Colonial Fleet, the Battlestar ''Galactica'' (an older ship about to be decommissioned and turned into a museum) appears to be the only military capital ship that survived the attack. Under the leadership of Colonial Fleet officer Commander William "Bill" Adama (Olmos) and President

Laura Roslin Laura Roslin is a fictional character in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' series. Played by Mary McDonnell, she is the President of the colonies and a key character throughout the series. The character is noted in part for a realistic moral ...

(McDonnell), the ''Galactica'' and its crew take up the task of leading the small fleet of refugee survivors into space in search of a fabled thirteenth colony known as

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. The series received critical acclaim at the time and since, including a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

, the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...

's Program of the Year Award, a placement inside ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''s 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time and 19 Emmy nominations for its writing, directing, costume design, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing, with three Emmy wins (visual effects and sound editing). In 2019, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' placed the show on its list of "The 20 Best TV Dramas Since ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

''", a period many critics call a "

golden age of television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology '' Kraft Televi ...

". The series was followed by the prequel

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

TV series ''

Caprica ''Caprica'' is a 2010 American science fiction drama television series, which is a prequel spin-off of the 2004–2009 series ''Battlestar Galactica''. ''Caprica'' is set 58 years before the main series, and shows how humanity first created the ...

'', which aired for one season in 2010. A further spin-off, '' Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome'', was released in November 2012 as a

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

of ten 10-minute episodes and aired on February 10, 2013, on Syfy as a televised movie.

Series overview

''Battlestar Galactica'' continued from the 2003 miniseries to chronicle the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, after their nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President

and Commander

William Adama William "Bill" Adama (callsign "Husker") is a fictional character in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series produced and aired by the SyFy cable network. He is one of the main characters in the series and is portrayed by Ed ...

in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar ''Galactica'', an old but powerful warship, as its command ship. Pursued by Cylons intent on wiping out the remnants of the human race, the survivors travel across the galaxy looking for the fabled and long-lost "thirteenth" colony:

. Unlike most

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...

series, ''Battlestar Galactica'' has no humanoid aliens (the antagonists are man-made Cylon androids), the primary armaments used by both military forces utilize bullets, rail guns, and missiles instead of lasers, and the series intentionally avoids

technobabble Technobabble (a portmanteau of ''technology'' and ''babble''), also called technospeak, is a type of nonsense that consists of buzzwords, esoteric language, or technical jargon. It is common in science fiction. Use of technobabble in the ''Star T ...

. Instead, most of the stories deal with the apocalyptic fallout of the destruction of the Twelve Colonies upon the survivors, and the moral choices they must make as they deal with the decline of the human race and their war with the Cylons. Stories also portray the concept of perpetuated cycles of hate and violence driving the human-Cylon conflict, and religion, with the implication of a "God" whose possibly angelic agents appear to certain main characters (most notably

). Over the course of the show's four seasons, the war between the Colonials and the Cylons takes many twists and turns. Despite the animosity on both sides, the humans and a faction of the Cylons eventually form an uneasy alliance, in the wake of the Cylon Civil War. The Cylon leader, a Cylon-humanoid "Number One" named

John Cavil John Cavil (Number One) is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' television series. He is portrayed by Dean Stockwell. In the fourth-season episode "Six ...

, precipitated the schism in the Cylon ranks. Cavil deceives the other models by obsessively hiding the identities and origins of the remaining five humanoid Cylon models, the "Final Five", who, known only to him, are a more ancient type of Cylon, created by a previous iteration of human civilization. Other plotlines involve the mysterious destiny of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, who is the subject of a prophecy claiming that she is the "Harbinger of Death" who will "lead them all umanityto its end", as well as the redemption of Gaius Baltar through the Cylons' monotheistic religion, after he becomes a pariah within the fleet. In the final episodes, an inexplicably resurrected Kara Thrace leads the surviving humans and their Cylon allies to a new planet, which Adama names "Earth". The first group of survivors settle in ancient Africa. The "real" Earth that the Colonials had searched for during their years in space was revealed in an earlier episode to have been originally inhabited thousands of years before by a previous form of humanoid Cylons; the "Final Five" were the last of these Cylons. Ironically, these humanoid Cylons had created their own Centurion robotic slaves, who waged a nuclear attack against their masters, devastating the planet and making it uninhabitable. The new Earth is found to be inhabited by early humans, who are genetically compatible with the humans from ''Galactica'' and the rest of the fleet, but who possess only the most rudimentary civilization. The surviving humans and humanoid Cylons settle on the new planet Earth; they discard all

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, destroying the fleet by flying it into the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, in an attempt to break the human-Cylon cycle of conflict and begin anew with the tribal humans already present on the new Earth. The surviving Cylon Centurions are given possession of the remaining Cylon Basestar, and proceed to jump away from Earth. In the final scenes, modern-day Earth humans are shown to be descendants of the colonists, their humanoid Cylon allies, and the early humans. At the end of the series finale, an angelic Baltar and Cylon Number Six are walking along a sidewalk in modern-day

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. They are unseen and unheard by the people around them. As the two walk, they notice technologically advanced robots, computers, and other cybernetic devices, and they talk about the technological advancements the humans have made since the Colonials and Humanoid Cylons first arrived on this Earth, over 150,000 years earlier. Cylon Number Six and Baltar have an exchange over one of the ongoing themes from the series: "All of this has happened before. But the question remains, does all of this have to happen again?" Consequently, the revelation that ''Battlestar Galactica'' takes place in our collective

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

past means that unlike most

science fiction stories, the series is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

tale of

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

rather than

future history A future history, imaginary history or anticipatory history is a fictional conjecture of the future used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for stories. Sometimes the author publishes a t ...

, and serves as a fictional tale of origin for modern humanity.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as ( CDR/ ADM)

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of Battlestar ''Galactica''; his call sign was "Husker" when he was a young Viper pilot *

as President

, sole survivor of the former Colonial Government; was Secretary of Education before the destruction of the Colonies *

as ( LT/

CAPT Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

) Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, hotshot Viper pilot of ''Galactica'' *

as (

/ MAJ/ CDR) Lee "Apollo" Adama, elder son of William Adama, CAG of ''Galactica'', later CO of Battlestar ''Pegasus'' *

as Dr.

, a brilliant scientist, and later President *

as Number Six, a humanoid Cylon * Grace Park as: ** Number Eight, a humanoid Cylon ** (

LTJG Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

) Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, Raptor pilot of ''Galactica''; a copy of Number Eight ** (

) Sharon "Athena" Agathon, another copy of Number Eight; later also a Raptor pilot of ''Galactica''

Supporting cast

* Michael Hogan as (

COL A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

)

Saul Tigh ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of ''Galactica'' * Aaron Douglas as ( CPO)

Galen Tyrol '' Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imag ...

a.k.a. "Chief", leader of the combined engineering/maintenance/safety/supply department, senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

of ''Galactica'' *

Tahmoh Penikett Tahmoh Penikett (; ; born May 20, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Karl "Helo" Agathon on SyFy's 2004 television series '' Battlestar Galactica''. He has appeared in TV series ''Supernatural'', '' Dollhouse'', the Showcase ti ...

as ( LT/

) Karl "Helo" Agathon, an electronic warfare officer of a Raptor, paired with "Athena" *

Alessandro Juliani Alessandro Juliani (born 6 July 1975) is a Canadian actor and singer. He is notable for playing the roles of Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Syfy, Sci-Fi Channel television program ''Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining), Battlestar G ...

as (

)

Felix Gaeta ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagi ...

combat information center A combat information center (CIC) or action information centre (AIC) is a room in a warship or Airborne early warning and control, AWACS aircraft that functions as a tactical center and provides processed information for command and control of ...

tactical officer of ''Galactica'' *

Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She gained prominence through her roles in the Fox Family Channel, Fox Family series ''Higher Ground (TV series), Higher Ground'' (2000), the N ...

as ( PO2/

)

Anastasia Dualla ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagini ...

a.k.a. "Dee",

CIC CIC may refer to: Organizations Canada * Cadet Instructors Cadre, a part of the Canadian Armed Forces * Canadian Infantry Corps, renamed in 1947 to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps * Canadian International Council * Canadian Islamic Congress * Chemi ...

communications officer of ''Galactica'', later married to Lee Adama * Paul Campbell as

Billy Keikeya ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

personal aide A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task. It is a subspecialty of secretarial duties. ...

of President Roslin *

Nicki Clyne Nicki Clyne (born February 11, 1983) is a Canadian actress, known for her role as Cally Henderson on the SyFy television series ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica''. Clyne was a member of NXIVM, a multi-level marketi ...

as ( SPC) Cally Henderson, member of the landing bay deck crew of ''Galactica'', later married to "Chief" Tyrol *

Michael Trucco Edward Michael Trucco (born June 22, 1970) is an American actor known for his role as Samuel Anders on the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' and his recurring role as Nick Petteruti in ''How I Met Your Mother''. He also appeared on the 2017� ...

as ( ENS) Samuel "Longshot" Anders, athlete, Caprican resistance leader and later Viper pilot of ''Galactica''

Recurring cast

''Galactica''

Donnelly Rhodes Donnelly Rhodes Henry (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convict Dutch Leitner on the soap opera spoof ' ...

as ( MAJ) Dr.

Sherman Cottle Sherman Cottle is a fictional character in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining), Battlestar Galactica'' series. Played by Donnelly Rhodes, Cottle is the Battlestar Galactica (ship)#Battlestar Galactica (2003), Battlestar ''Galactic ...

, chief medical officer of ''Galactica'' * Bodie Olmos as ( LT) Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza, a Viper pilot of ''Galactica'' *

Leah Cairns Leah Cairns (born June 2, 1974) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Kathryn MacLaren in the TV series ''Travelers''. Early life Cairns was born ...

as ( LT) Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson, an ECO of a Raptor of ''Galactica'' *

Rekha Sharma Rekha Shanti Sharma is a Canadian actress of Indo-Fijian descent, best known for her role as Tory Foster on ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2006–2009),"Getting a sense of Huma; Lots of twists and turns as Galactica plows ahead" by Glen Schaefer, '' ...

as Tory Foster, President Roslin's PA succeeding Billy *

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film ...

Ellen Tigh Ellen Tigh is a fictional character from the 2004 ''Battlestar Galactica'' reboot series, portrayed by Kate Vernon from 2004 to 2009. She is the manipulative wife of series regular Colonel Saul Tigh ( Michael Hogan) during the first three seasons ...

, wife of Saul Tigh * Richard Hatch as

Tom Zarek ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagi ...

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

political figure and former terrorist, later Vice-President under Gaius Baltar's Presidency (Hatch played

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

in the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' series.) * Jen Halley as ( SPC / ENS) Diana "Hardball" Seelix, a Viper pilot of ''Galactica'' *

Luciana Carro Luciana Carro (born March 23, 1981) is a Canadian actress best known for her appearances on the television series ''Battlestar Galactica'', ''Caprica'', and ''Falling Skies'' and in movies such as '' Two for the Money'' and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. ...

as ( LT /

) Louanne "Kat" Katraine, a Viper pilot of ''Galactica'' *

Sam Witwer Samuel Weiler Witwer IV (born October 20, 1977) is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in ''Battlestar Galactica'', Davis Bloome in ''Smallville'', Aidan Waite in '' Being Human'', Mr. Hyde in ''Once Upon ...

as ( LT) Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo, a Raptor ECO, paired with "Boomer" after "Helo" being stranded on Caprica *

Dominic Zamprogna Dominic Zamprogna (, ; born April 21, 1979) is a Canadian television actor and voice artist. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the television series '' Edgemont'', ''Battlestar Galactica'' and ''General Hospital''. Early life Zamprogna w ...

as ( SPC) James "Jammer" Lyman, a deckhand of ''Galactica'', later an officer in the New Caprica Police (NPC) *

Mark Sheppard Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician. Sheppard is known for playing the demon/King of Hell Crowley on ''Supernatural'' and for his recurring roles as lawyer Romo Lampkin on the ''Battlestar Galactica'' reboot, Interpol inves ...

Romo Lampkin ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imaginin ...

, an appointed

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

of Gaius Baltar *

Michelle Forbes Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo (born January 8, 1965) is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. She is a Saturn Award winner with three nominations. Forbes first garnered attention for her dual role in t ...

as (

RADM Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is u ...

) Helena Cain, CO of Battlestar ''Pegasus''

Cylons

Callum Keith Rennie Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a Canadian actor, based in British Columbia. His breakthrough role was as punk rocker Billy Tallent in the music mockumentary ''Hard Core Logo'' (1996), followed by a starring role as Det. Stanle ...

Leoben Conoy ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

, an arms dealer and smuggler/ Number Two, a humanoid Cylon *

Matthew Bennett Matthew Ray Bennett (born April 9, 1968) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is best known for portraying Detective Len Harper on ''Cold Squad'' and his recurring roles as Aaron Doral cylon model number five in the reimagined ''Battle ...

Aaron Doral ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagini ...

, a public relations specialist/ Number Five, a humanoid Cylon *

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and director. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', as Number Three (Battlestar Galactica), D'Anna Biers on the re-im ...

D'Anna Biers ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

, a "Colonial Fleet News" reporter/ Number Three, a humanoid Cylon *

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he appeared in '' Anchors Aweigh'' (1945), '' ...

as Brother

, a priest/ Number One, a humanoid Cylon * Rick Worthy as

Simon O'Neill Simon O'Neill (born 1971) is a New Zealand operatic tenor internationally recognised for his performances of the major Heldentenor roles in the operas of Richard Wagner. Biography Simon O'Neill has performed with many of the world’s leading ...

, a doctor working for the resistance of Caprica/ Number Four a humanoid Cylon

Themes and allusions

''Time'' described ''Battlestar Galactica'' as "a gripping sci-fi allegory of the war on terror, complete with monotheistic religious fundamentalists (here genocidal cyborgs called Cylons),

sleeper cell A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people, such as resistance fighters, spies, mercenaries, organized crime members, or terrorists, to make it harder for police, military or other hostile groups to catch them. In ...

s, civil-liberties crackdowns and even a prisoner-

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

scandal". The show attempted to maintain its realism by referring to familiar elements of contemporary history –

's swearing in on Colonial One directly "cited the swearing in of

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

after the Kennedy assassination" – and the developing political situation since the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Many people have drawn parallels between the Cylons and

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

" and according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' "''Battlestar Galactica'' is the only award-winning drama that dares tackle the war on terror". The show has also tackled issues regarding terrorist sleeper cells with stories involving the reality and fear of Cylon

suicide attack A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

s, Cylon Number 5 (Aaron Doral) in the episode called "Litmus," sneaks aboard ''Galactica'' and blows himself up in the middle of the corridor and

sleeper agent A sleeper agent is a spy or operative who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but instead to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future. Even if not activated, the "sle ...

Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii activates after destroying a Cylon basestar and shooting Commander Adama at the end of season 1. (Note that Sharon, as with some of the other human-form Cylons, had no idea that she was a Cylon.) Similar themes are revisited in season 3 (Episode 3.1, "Occupation") with a far different perspective: the humans, rather than the Cylons, are the suicide bombers. It has been suggested that these plotlines extensively "hinted at war-on-terrorism overtones." After 9/11, the original series' "broad premise – the human military's struggles in the wake of a massive terrorist attack – suddenly gained resonance" and let the show tackle issues like suicide bombings, torture ("evoking the darker side of the war on terror") and "civil liberties crackdowns". Executive producer Ronald D. Moore points out that the Cylons and Al Qaeda are not necessarily intended to be allegorical: "They have aspects of Al Qaeda and they have aspects of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and they have aspects of America." On the other hand, abortion is illegal throughout the fleet, because the survival of what remains of humanity is at stake. In contrast, with the New Caprica storyline the show's humans have been discussed as an allegory not for an America under attack but for an occupied people mounting an

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

and turning to suicide bombings as a tactic. There is a consensus that with "its third season, the show has morphed into a stinging allegorical critique of America's three-year occupation of Iraq" as the "cameras record Cylon occupation raids on unsuspecting human civilians with the

night-vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vis ...

green familiar to any TV news viewer. The reasoning of the Cylons is horrifically familiar, they would prefer not to be brutal but they won't accept the failure of a glorious mission." According to ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' "If this sounds like Iraq, it should", and "In unmistakable terms, ''Battlestar Galactica'' is telling viewers that insurgency (like, say, the one in Iraq) might have some moral flaws, such as the whole suicide bombing thing, but is ultimately virtuous and worthy of support." The "really audacious stroke of this season was showing us a story about a suicide bomber from the point of view of the bomber and his comrades... because the cause of this terrorist was unquestioningly our own. We sympathize with the insurgents wholeheartedly." If the Cylon occupying force is an allegory of the Coalition Forces in Iraq, then some of the other references are equally controversial; the "scene of the shiny, terrifying Cylon centurions (a servant class of robots that actually look like robots) marching down the main road of New Caprica while the devastated colonists looked on was the Nazis marching into Paris." Although

has said the production staff "don't need to say 'OK, let's do the episode where we're gonna do the Abu Ghraib scandal'" and points out that events depicted on New Caprica "are as much a story rooted in political tales like the

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

" rather than current events, he acknowledges that they "do gravitate in those directions when it comes to the storytelling".

Music

The opening theme is a new-age-inflected version of the

Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatr ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

hymn dedicated to the solar deity

Savitr Savitṛ ( , nominative Grammatical number, singular: , also rendered as Savitur), in Vedic scriptures is an Ādityas, Aditya (i.e., an "offspring" of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi). His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, ro ...

Bear McCreary Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American composer of film, television, and video game scores. His work includes the scores of the television series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', '' Black Sails'', '' ...

was the primary composer for the television series, having assisted

Richard Gibbs Richard "Ribbs" Gibbs (born December 5, 1955) is an American film composer and music producer whose credits include '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Big Momma's House'', '' Queen of the Damned'', the television series ''Battlestar Galactica'' and the fir ...

on the 3-hour miniseries. When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to devote full-time to the regular series' production and McCreary became the composer. He scored over 70 episodes. Six ''Battlestar Galactica'' soundtrack albums have been released to great critical acclaim - one for the miniseries, one for each of the four seasons, and one combining music from the inter-season ''

Razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since be ...

'' and post-finale prequel '' The Plan''. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

's'' Maureen Ryan hailed the music as "sensational" and "innovative", Joanna Weiss of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' praised McCreary as a "visionary composer" who did much to create "the rich atmosphere of ''Battlestar''", Alan Sepinwall, then of ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' described McCreary's work on the show as "transcendent" and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said "''Galactica'' offers some of the most innovative music on TV today." The music of ''Battlestar Galactica'' displays a wide variety of influences and intentionally tries to avoid the "usual" style of a science fiction score. For some of the series' more important episodes, McCreary was granted a full orchestra. Character themes and

leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...

s gradually took on importance, despite being avoided earlier. A variety of instruments have been used. One season 4 episode employed: Chinese membrane flute, Indian bansuri flute,

duduk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

(Armenian woodwind),

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

(Chinese violin),

yaylı tambur The ''yaylı tambur'' is a bowed long-neck lute from Turkey. Derived from the older plucked ''mızraplı tambur'' variant of the Turkish tambur, it has a long, fretted neck and a round metal or wooden soundbox which is often covered on the front ...

(a Turkish lute),

dumbek The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...

(Middle Eastern drum), Japanese taiko drums and four brass players, 30 string players and a 12-voice choir. There have been several live concerts featuring the music of ''Battlestar Galactica''. In April 2008, more than 1,000 fans attended two sold-out shows at L.A.'s Roxy on Sunset Boulevard, with some fans flying in from as far as England and Australia. A ballet based on McCreary's scores for ''Galactica'' premiered on March 7, 2009, for a 13-week run. Entitled "Prelude to War", it was performed by the dancers of the Theaterhagen in

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

, Germany with choreography by Ricardo Fernando, and the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bernhard Steiner.

Broadcast and release

The first season originally premiered in the United Kingdom, on October 18, 2004, on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...

. The first season was co-commissioned by Sky Television and Sci-Fi Channel. Season 1 began airing in North America three months later, on January 14, 2005, in the United States, and January 15 in Canada. The first episode aired in the U.S. became one of the highest-rated programs ever on

Sci-Fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, with 3.1 million viewers. Subsequent episodes proved equally successful. The first episode of the season was later made available for viewing in its entirety, and without charge from the Sci-Fi website. Moore also sought to address the "Internet Generation" by posting

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

commentaries on individual episodes on the official Sci-Fi website. Following the success of the 13-episode first season, the Sci-Fi Channel ordered a 20-episode second season on February 23, 2005. The season premiered in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 15, 2005, with the UK, Ireland, and Canadian premiere in January 2006. In fall 2005, airing of the second season halted, as it was part of Sci-Fi Channel's standard airing schedule normally used for its ''Stargate'' series, which was to split a 20-episode season into two parts (a "winter season" and a "summer season") to avoid heavy competition with major networks that follow a spring/fall schedule. The second half of season 2 ("Season 2.5") began airing on January 6, 2006, after a three-month hiatus. The Sci-Fi Channel ordered a 20-episode third season on November 16, 2005, with production beginning in April 2006 in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. The season premiered in the United States on October 6, 2006, in Canada the following day, and in the UK on January 9, 2007; with the first two episodes being shown together. The broadcast schedule for season 3 did not include a long hiatus in the middle of the season, as with season 2. The Sci-Fi Channel moved the series to Sundays on January 21, 2007, the first time the show had changed nights since it began airing. Season 3 was broadcast in high-definition on Sky 1 HD in the UK and Ireland, starting on January 9, 2007, and in the U.S. on

Universal HD Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of ...

, starting on January 27, 2007. The Sci-Fi Channel confirmed on May 31, 2007, that ''Battlestar Galactica'' had been renewed for a fourth season of 22 episodes, which producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore later announced to be the series' last. Preceding this was the airing of the ''

'' TV movie (comprising two of the ordered broadcast hours), while the remaining season of 20 episodes was split into two halves, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The first half comprised episodes 3 to 10, while the second half comprised episodes 11 to 22. The series finale aired on March 20, 2009. The first two slots of season 4's 22-episode order were taken up by the two-hour TV movie ''Razor'', which was broadcast as an unbroken extended episode detailing the chronicles of the Battlestar ''Pegasus''. It premiered November 24, 2007 in the U.S. and December 18, 2007, in the UK, with a limited U.S. theatrical engagement in major cities, and an extended version was released on DVD the following week. ''Razor'' had

reprise her role as Helena Cain, and co-starred Australian actress

Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (born 1980), is a Hong Kong-born Australian actress. Early life and education Jacobsen was born in British Hong Kong. Her family moved to Australia when she was twelve years old. She is of Chinese, Portuguese, Norweg ...

, who played

Kendra Shaw ''Battlestar Galactica: Razor'' is a television film of the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series. It premiered in the United States on Sci Fi, in Canada on the Space channel and in the United Kingdom on Sky One. Synopsis (ext ...

. The first half of season 4 (dubbed "Season 4.0" in its DVD release) consisted of ten episodes, and premiered April 4, 2008. The Canadian cable channel

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

aired season 4 on the same dates. In the UK, Sky1 began airing season 4 on April 15, showing the first two episodes on that date, placing the UK four days behind the U.S. airing. The first part of season 4 began broadcast on

on August 30, 2008. In Australia, the first half of season 4 began screening on Ten HD on September 4, 2008, beginning with ''Razor''. Linking both halves of season 4 together was a set of ten webisodes, which played a similar role to that which '' The Resistance'' played between seasons 2 and 3. '' Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy'' was released during the weeks leading up to the premiere of episode 13, starting on December 12, 2008, and ending on January 12, 2009. The second half of season 4 (dubbed "Season 4.5", and marketed in the UK as "the Final Season") consisted of ten episodes, and began airing on January 16, 2009. The season (and series) finale was split into two episodes in the U.S., with the normal-length first part airing on March 13, and the second, with a runtime (including advertisements) of two hours and eleven minutes, airing March 20. In Australia, the second half of season 4 premiered on the Australian Sci-Fi Channel on Foxtel January 31, and continued on a weekly basis with each of the remaining episodes of the series airing about six hours after the U.S. broadcast, until the final episode on March 21. The show re-ran on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

in 2011, including all 4 seasons and the two-part miniseries.

Continuation

On April 27, 2006, the Sci Fi Channel announced that a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

of ''BSG'' was in development. ''

'' takes place more than 50 years before the main series, before the original Cylon War, and chronicles the Adama family and Caprican society, showing the advancement of technology leading to the Cylon revolt. On March 18, 2008, Ronald Moore, the head writer, confirmed that ''Caprica'' would in fact be produced beginning with a two-hour

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

. On December 2, 2008, SCI FI announced that it had approved the full series. The first season, composed of 20 episodes including the pilot, premiered on January 22, 2010. An uncut version of the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

was released on DVD on April 21, 2009, prior to the series' broadcast debut. On July 24, 2009, Edward James Olmos suggested that ''The Plan'' would not be the last ''BSG'' movie, saying that he had written a script involving ''Galactica'' characters in which a crisis occurs at some point after their arrival on Earth. On March 15, 2010, Syfy executive Mark Stern said that Syfy was working with Ronald D. Moore to develop a second spinoff of ''Battlestar Galactica'', which would "mark a return to the franchise's space-opera roots" and "not necessarily be a traditional series." On July 27, 2010, it was revealed that the series would be called '' Blood & Chrome'', featuring William Adama during the First Cylon War, and written by Michael Taylor. The series was distributed as a 10-episode online series on Machinima.com starting November 9, 2012, and aired as a televised movie on February 10, 2013, on Syfy.

Home media

The miniseries was released in region 2 on March 1, 2004, and in region 1 on December 28, 2004, and included deleted scenes, audio commentary, and a behind-the-scenes documentary. The first season was released to DVD on March 28, 2005, and September 20, 2005, in region 2 and region 1 respectively and included deleted scenes. The region 1 set also included featurettes, and a tongue-in-cheek promotional special filmed for the Sci Fi Channel in addition to the miniseries. However, it does not contain the special features that were included on the miniseries stand alone DVD release. The second season was released in its entirety in a single volume in regions 2 and 4, but issued in two separate volumes (dubbed "Season 2.0" and "Season 2.5") in the region 1, which corresponded with the mid-season break in the broadcast schedule. Each region 1 volume contains half of the season, along with deleted scenes and podcasts that were previously available on the official website. "Season 2.5" also contains an extended version of "Pegasus", the last episode of the first half of the season. The region 2 DVDs include the extended version of "Pegasus", as well as the commentaries and deleted scenes from the region 1 "2.0" release, but do not contain any of the commentaries and deleted scenes from the "2.5" release (other than the extended "Pegasus" episode), nor the original, shorter version of "Pegasus" included on the region 1 "2.0" release. The Canadian DVD release of "Season 2.0" was delayed until April 25, 2006, as the episodes had only begun airing in January 2006. The third season was released in region 1 on March 18, 2008, in region 2 on September 3, 2007, and in region 4 on November 20, 2007. The region 2 and 4 DVDs do not contain any extras but region 2's box set comes with a 45-minute recap of the previous two seasons (consisting of clips of the seasons strung together with a voice-over). The fourth season, like season 2, was released in two parts. In regions 1, 2 and 4, the television movie ''

'' is included in "Season 4.0" (as it is technically a part of the season despite it being released separately at an earlier date). In region 1, however, both the extended and shortened versions of ''Razor'' are included in the "4.0" box set. On August 14, 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced that the miniseries and season 1 would be released on December 4, 2007, in region 1, on the now discontinued high definition disc format

HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Density Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video.

. The technical specifications include

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

VC-1 SMPTE 421, informally known as VC-1, is a video coding format. Most of it was initially developed as Microsoft's proprietary video format Windows Media Video 9 in 2003. With some enhancements including the development of a new Advanced Profile, ...

transfers of the miniseries and each episode is in 16:9

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

aspect ratio, plus

Dolby TrueHD Dolby TrueHD is a lossless, multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories for home video, used principally in Blu-ray Disc and compatible hardware. Dolby TrueHD, along with Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3) and Dolby AC-4, is one of th ...

5.1 surround sound 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full-bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dolb ...

and Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround audio options. Each individual season has also subsequently been released on

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

. The complete series set was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 28, 2009, in limited edition packaging and with a Cylon Centurion figurine in certain territories. It was re-released on April 6, 2010, in new packaging, with the Region 1 re-release now including '' The Plan'' TV movie (this was not included in the Region 2 release).

Reception

Critical response

Praise

Throughout its run, the series earned critical acclaim from ''

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', the ''

'', and ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''. Diane Werts of ''Newsday'' wrote: "You can look at this saga any way you want—as political drama, religious debate, psychological suspenser, sci-fi adventure, deep metaphor or just plain fun—and it's scintillating from every angle." Robert Bianco of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' commented: "Driven by violence and rage, ''Galactica'' is perhaps the darkest space opera American TV has ever produced. In ''Galactica'' future, humans are on the run, and if external enemies don't get us, internal divisions will... You'll understand them

he characters He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

their conflicts and their desires, because they're recognizable humans in all their glorious complexity. And that's what makes ''Galactica'' a great TV series." Peter Suderman of ''National Review'' stated that the series is "arguably the most potent, dramatically vibrant series on television. ... packs the power of a gut punch on screen. For that, much credit is due to the immensely compelling cast of characters... ''Battlestar Galactica'' burns with a combustive mixture of political turmoil and human drama that is as achingly real and relevant as anything on television. Jeff Jensen of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that the show "has distinguished itself as one of television's very best dramas — on a par with '' 24'', ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'', and '' Lost'' — because it so utterly transcends both its genre and its source material. ... heseries' sophisticated stories have also attracted a distinctively new breed of fan, one who's not necessarily a sci-fi buff." Moreover, in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed the show at #7 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years," saying that producer Moore "expanded the show's central premise into an addictive post-

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

parable and one of the most critically acclaimed series of the decade." The article credited Starbuck and Number Six as "geek and feminist icons," adding, "best of all, the show introduced this peerless profanity into the national lexicon: ''Frak''!" Mary McNamara of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' praised the show's ability to "anchor fantasy with vivid and recognizable human psychology" and declares that the series is "not just a cult hit but a significant piece of television." Maureen Ryan of the ''Chicago Tribune'' described it as a "sprawling, enthralling tale of human survival" that is "full of political allegories and fascinating, multifaceted characters." She finds, "Like ''

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

'', ''Battlestar Galactica'' is interested in exploring how a society on the edge decides to govern itself. What rights and actions are sacrosanct, which are outlawed, when most of the human race is eliminated? ... Thanks to a stellar cast and brave writing, ''Battlestar'' soars." Throughout its run, the series has often surprised reviewers with its many twists and turns. Ryan comments: "There's nothing like a good ''Battlestar''

plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...

to make your head spin, but the 'holy cow' moments aren't the main point (though they're one heck of a tasty side dish). The show and its twists and turns are grounded in deep curiosity about human nature, and how contradictory and confounding it can be." Matt Soergel of ''

The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when t ...

'' stated: "Its propulsive and complex storytelling is matched by, at best, just a handful of theatrical movies a year." Tim Goodman of the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' opines, "''Battlestar Galactica'' transcends the sci-fi genre; it competes, creatively, on the same level as any other top-tier drama." Mark Perigard of the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'' stated: "A drama this gripping comes 'round rarely." James Poniewozik of ''

'' magazine named it one of the 100 best TV shows of all time. ''Time'' also wrote in the spring of 2005 that the new show was one of the six best drama programs on television. It would proclaim the program the best show on television in December of the same year.

Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarcastic criticism a ...

described ''Battlestar Galactica'' as "one of the finest, most beautifully written, expertly acted shows on television." Alan Sepinwall, then of ''

'' wrote: " at makes ''Galactica'' so gripping is its emphasis on character over hardware. The explosions and the killer robots are cool, but they don't stack up to seeing drawn people - brought to life by a great writing staff led by producer Ron Moore and an astonishing cast led by Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell - grapple with these life-or-death, genocide-level decisions." Joshua Alston of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' declares that the show "captures better than any other

TV drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

of the past eight years the fear, uncertainty and moral ambiguity of the post-9/11 world" and "always finds ways to challenge the audience's beliefs." It has also been named the best science fiction series by IGN.com and

Boston.com ''Boston.com'' is a regional website that offers news and information about the Boston, Massachusetts, area. It is owned and operated by Boston Globe Media Partners, publisher of ''The Boston Globe''. History ''Boston.com'' was one of the firs ...

. The series placed #59 on ''

'' "New TV Classics" list. ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' ranked it #6 on its list of the 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, then reranked it as #12 in a list of the Top 100 Best TV Shows. They explain it was a reboot "done right" with interesting character story arcs. In 2013 ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time and ranked it as the #3 sci-fi show and the #57 best series of all time. Also in 2013, the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

ranked it 38th on their list of the 101 Best-Written TV Series of All Time. The series also draws praise for having many strong and complex female characters. The ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'' Melanie McFarland notes, " tarbuck played with a tomboyish swagger by Katee Sackhoff, is fast becoming the latest in a long line of feminist television icons." The series has also received favorable reviews from other writers.

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

wrote, "This is a beautifully written show, driven by character rather than effects...but the effects are damn good. And there's not a better acting troupe at work on television."

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

commented: "I think it's so passionate, textured, complex, subversive and challenging that it dwarfs everything on TV." On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the first season has an approval rating of 90% with an average score of 8.4/10 based on 20 reviews; with a critics consensus stating, "A captivating combination of riveting political drama and science fiction fantasy make ''Battlestar Galactica'' must-see sci-fi." The second season has an approval rating of 100% with an average score of 9.5/10 based on 12 reviews; with a critics consensus stating, "In its second season, ''Battlestar Galatica'' doubles down on the series' high-minded themes and satisfyingly complex storylines." The third season has an approval rating of 100% with an average score of 9/10 based on 20 reviews; with a critics consensus stating, "Dark, charming and unusually thoughtful, ''Battlestar Galactica''s third season continues to improve on the show's most addictive elements." The fourth season has an approval rating of 92% with an average score of 8.1/10 based on 38 reviews; with a critics consensus stating, "''Battlestar Galactica''s final season proves a satisfying conclusion to TV's best science fiction offering." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, seasons 1 and 2 have a score of 89/100, season 3 is scored 89/100, and season 4 is scored 85/100.

Criticism

Some fans of the original 1970s series opposed the re-imagined series since the time it premiered, due to what was perceived as its darker, more confused tone. In a May 2004 article from ''

Dreamwatch ''Dreamwatch'' was a British magazine covering science fiction and fantasy films, books and television programmes. Published monthly by Gary Leigh (July 1983 to January 2001) and then Titan Magazines (2001 to 2007), it was a leading genre entert ...

'' magazine titled "Starbuck: Lost in Castration",

Dirk Benedict Dirk Benedict (born Dirk Niewoehner; March 1, 1945) is an American actor and author. He is best known for playing the characters Lieutenant Starbuck in the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' film and television series and Templeton "Face" Peck ...

, who portrayed

Lieutenant Starbuck ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction television series created by Glen A. Larson that aired on the ABC network from September 17, 1978, to April 29, 1979. It stars an ensemble cast led by Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Lor ...

in the original series, harshly criticized the re-imagined series, citing its dark tone and supposed moral relativism. Benedict devoted the greatest part of the article to criticizing the producers' decision to turn Starbuck into a female character, tying it in to what he perceived as a general anti-masculinity agenda. Other critics, even those who wrote rave reviews about the first two seasons of the series, felt that a major drop in quality occurred in the third season, continuing into the fourth and final season. In particular, the controversial series finale drew heavy criticism, largely due to the view that it failed to explain many of the main plotlines which had been teased throughout the series' run. Charlie Jane Anders of io9.com wrote: Anders later included the series on her list of "10 Once-Great TV Shows (And The Exact Moments They Started to Suck)", saying: In a ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'' article on the prevalence of

Bush Derangement Syndrome George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has elicited a variety of public perceptions regarding his policies, personality and performance as a head of state. In the United States and elsewhere, journalists, polling organizations a ...

in popular culture,

Jonah Goldberg Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969) is an American conservative journalist, author, and political commentator. The founding editor of ''National Review Online'', from 1998 until 2019, he was an editor at ''National Review''. Goldberg writ ...

analyzed the show's "radically bizarre and nonsensical turn of events ... that led inexorably to its self-destruction": Fantasy author George R.R. Martin expressed his dissatisfaction with how the writers handled the ending of the TV series, commenting:

Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties. It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...

's Chairman Emeritus

Brad Templeton Brad Templeton (born June 1960 near Toronto) is a Canadian software developer, internet entrepreneur, online community pioneer, publisher of news, comedy, science fiction and e-books, writer, photographer, civil rights advocate, futurist, public s ...

, an adherent of the show, penned an essay that greatly detailed the failings of ''Battlestar Galactica'' and its ending, noting that it was the most disappointing finale to a promising series due to the "God did it" ''

deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

,'' bad science around the

Mitochondrial Eve In human genetics, the Mitochondrial Eve (more technically known as the Mitochondrial-Most Recent Common Ancestor, shortened to mt-Eve or mt-MRCA) is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all living humans. In other words, she ...

aspect vis-a-vis Hera Agathon, and the inherent nod to the " ancient astronaut" pseudo-science that eschews Moore's "naturalistic science fiction" decrees relating to the pitfalls of pre-''Battlestar'' science fiction television. Josh Tyler of ''

CinemaBlend Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson as ...

'' concluded that the series finale made no real attempt to resolve any of the plotlines or mysteries set up during the earlier run of the show.

Wider influence

On March 17, 2009, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

hosted a ''Battlestar Galactica'' retrospective including a discussion with

and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, children and

armed conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths. The Discussion was moderated by actress

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

and also included

Radhika Coomaraswamy Deshamanya Radhika Coomaraswamy (born 17 September 1953) is a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate who served as aUnder-Secretary General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 2006 to 2012 Secretary-G ...

, the

Special Representative Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Robert C. Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Planning; and Famatta Rose Osode, from the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the UN. ''Battlestar Galactica'' was the basis for a special session at the 2009

World Science Festival The World Science Festival is an annual science festival hosted by the World Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City. There is also an Asia-Pacific event held in Brisbane, Australia. The foundation's go ...

. The session included presentations from

and Michael Hogan, as well as scientists

Hod Lipson Hod Lipson (born 1967) is an Israeli - American robotics engineer. He is the director of Columbia University's Creative Machines Lab. Lipson's work focuses on evolutionary robotics, design automation, rapid prototyping, artificial life, and creat ...

and

Kevin Warwick Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954) is an English engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University. He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done ...

. The

Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame The Museum of Pop Culture (or MoPOP) is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

in Seattle organised a special exhibition on the series with props of three spacecraft models and guest speakers starting October 23, 2010.

Awards

Video games

Board games

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battlestar Galactica (2004 Tv Series) 2000s American drama television series 2000s American science fiction television series 2004 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings American adventure television series Androids in television Battlestar Galactica television series Emmy Award–winning programs American English-language television shows Hugo Award–winning television series Military science fiction television series Peabody Award–winning television programs American post-apocalyptic television series Saturn Award–winning television series Serial drama television series Space adventure television series Syfy original programming Television series by Universal Television Television series set in the Stone Age Television series set on fictional planets American television series reboots Fiction about artificial intelligence Fiction about consciousness transfer Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series by Universal Cable Productions