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Battlestar Galactica is a science fiction television program created by Ronald D. Moore that first aired on October 18, 2004 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky One, and January 14, 2005 in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel. Repeats of episodes have been shown in the United States on NBC, Bravo, and in high definition on Universal HD.

The introduction to the television series is a three-hour miniseries that aired from December 8-9, 2003, on the Sci Fi Channel. The series has gained a wide range of critical acclaim and has won Peabody, Hugo, and Saturn awards.

Synopsis

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Battlestar Galactica continues on from the 2003 mini-series to chronicle the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Man after their nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President Laura Roslin and Commander (later Admiral) William Adama in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar Galactica, a powerful, but out of date, warship, at its head. 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: Earth.

Cast

Main characters

• Edward James Olmos - William Adama
• Mary McDonnell - Laura Roslin
• Katee Sackhoff - Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
• Jamie Bamber - Lee "Apollo" Adama
• James Callis - Gaius Baltar
• Tricia Helfer - Number Six / Caprica Six / Gina
• Grace Park - Sharon "Athena" Agathon / Sharon "Boomer" Valerii / Number Eight

Supporting characters

• Michael Hogan - Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas - Galen "Chief" Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett - Karl C. "Helo" Agathon
• Alessandro Juliani - Felix Gaeta
• Nicki Clyne - Cally Tyrol
• Kandyse McClure - Anastasia "Dee" Dualla (Adama)
• Paul Campbell - Billy Keikeya (2004-2006)

Production

The series is filmed at Vancouver Film Studios and on physical locations in the Greater Vancouver and Kelowna areas, British Columbia, Canada.

Season one

The first season of thirteen one-hour episodes was ordered by the Sci Fi Channel on February 10, 2004 and aired in the UK & Ireland between October 18, 2004 and January 24, 2005 on Sky One, which co-financed the series with the Sci Fi Channel and NBC Universal. Produced in 2004 by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore and starring the original cast from the 2003 miniseries, it was aired in the United States from January 14, 2005 and from January 15 in Canada. Moore left his position as producer on HBO's Carnivàle after its first season to concentrate more on BSG.

Battlestar Galactica's first season aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland three months ahead of the show's premiere in the U.S. and Canada. This rare example of a North American television show being aired across the Atlantic before its first broadcast "at home" was the result of Sky's partially funding the first season's production.

The time lag between the UK and Ireland and the U.S. screenings led to widespread distribution of episodes via peer-to-peer networks, such as eDonkey and BitTorrent, often within only a few hours of Sky One airing them. Although Sci Fi and Moore deplored this and publicly appealed for downloaders not to pirate the show, there was widespread speculation that its unauthorized electronic distribution contributed to the U.S. success of the show by creating a favourable word of mouth impression among key demographic groups. Perhaps in recognition of this, the first episode 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 commentaries on individual episodes on the Sci Fi website.

The series proved successful on its UK and Ireland premiere, attracting favourable comments from reviewers and generating considerable anticipation in the U.S. The first episode aired in the U.S. became one of the highest-rated programs ever on Sci Fi with 3.1 million viewers. Successive episodes proved equally successful. The first episode of the regular series, "33", won the 2005 short form Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Season two

Following the success of the 13-episode season one, the Sci Fi Channel ordered a full 20-episode second season on February 9, 2005. The season premiered in the U.S. on Sci Fi Channel on July 15, 2005, with the UK, Ireland and Canadian premiere in January 2006. In the Fall of 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). Universal Home Video took this break as an opportunity to package the episodes aired thus far into a DVD set, calling it Season 2.0. The final episode of the first half, "Pegasus," was originally 15 minutes too long for broadcast, but according to creator Ronald Moore, the production team decided to cut the episode to time rather than pad it out to fill 90 minutes, as this was deemed impractical. The longer version of "Pegasus" appears on the Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 DVD set, which was released in the U.S. on September 19, 2006. Sky did not contribute financially to the second season, though UK Broadcasts credit the company at the end of every episode because many of the sets from the first series were co-funded by them.

The second half of Season Two began airing on January 6, 2006, after a three-month hiatus during which the Sci Fi Channel mounted a huge publicity effort. Battlestar Galactica picked up considerable critical acclaim from the mainstream press, including being named the #1 show of 2005 by Time Magazine, and being listed on numerous Top Ten lists by publications such as the Boston Globe. The American Film Institute also named it one of the ten best television shows of 2005. There was some criticism that a few episodes following "Resurrection Ship, Part 2" were not up to par with previous episodes, such as the episode "Black Market" for which even Ron Moore expressed dislike and embarrassment. Moore stated in his blog that he felt this was a result of the larger workload the series faced with 20 episodes instead of 13 in season one. However, episode 15 "Scar" was thought to bring the series back up to its high level of quality, and subsequent episodes "The Captain's Hand", "Downloaded" and the two part finale "Lay Down Your Burdens", were hailed by fans and critics alike. Moore has expressed that he feels that the longer break between seasons two and three (four months instead of two) will help to ensure that all episodes are up to the high level of quality that the production team is trying to maintain.

Season Two was released on DVD in Australia on August 15, 2006. The entire season is collected in one box set. Season Two however began its first run on Australian television just two weeks prior to this on Network Ten, at 11pm on Wednesdays, meaning that the complete season became available the day before the third episode aired.

Webisodes

Ten "webisodes" called Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance were designed to focus on events that take place on New Caprica between seasons two and three of the television series, and aired on SCI FI PULSE. Because of legal issues, almost no news appeared after the original announcement , but the broadcast date was eventually revealed on August 28, 2006 on Sci Fi's website by Sci Fi's head of Internet Programming, Craig Engler. The release schedule was twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday. The first Webisode was posted Tuesday, September 5, and the last posted on Thursday, October 5, one day before the first episode of Season Three.

The Webisodes themselves have caused a conflict between NBC and those involved in their development, relating to the royalties that the developers should receive. As of this time, it is uncertain whether the DVDs for Season Three will include the Webisodes or not. Ronald Moore has claimed that he controls the copies of the Webisodes already made, and does not intend to give them to NBC.

Season three

The Sci Fi Channel ordered a 20-episode third season on November 16, 2005, which premiered in the U.S. on October 6, 2006 and in Canada on October 7, 2006 with the first two episodes being shown together. The broadcast schedule for Season Three does not include a long hiatus in the middle of the season as with Season Two. Production began in April 2006 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Sci Fi Channel moved the show to Sundays on January 21, 2007, the first time the show had changed nights since it began airing.

Season three is being broadcast in high-definition on Sky One in the UK & Ireland starting on January 9, 2007, and in the US on Universal HD starting on January 27, 2007.

Season four

SCI FI Channel confirmed on March 22, 2007 that the show has been renewed for a fourth season of 22 episodes, an increase from the previously announced 13 episodes. The order includes a two hour presentation of a direct-to-video movie airing in the fourth quarter of 2007. However, Ronald Moore has indicated that this two-hour special will not pick up the plotline from the end of the 3rd season, but will rather go back and tell a story involving the Pegasus. The regular fourth season will air beginning in early 2008. Ronald D. Moore has said that it may be the final season of the show.

Theological references

Religion and theology flavored the original series, and they are prominent in the reimagined series.

Perhaps the most prominent religious component is the series' overarching theme: the human survivors' search for Earth. That search is motivated by ancient religious texts' references to a 13th tribe of humans that established a civilization on a distant planet called Earth. Various religious relics and ruins, both on the 12 colonies and elsewhere in the galaxy, provide clues to Earth's location.

Human polytheism

Many of the humans share in polytheism, worshipping the gods of Kobol. This appears to be the official state religion of the colonies; government oaths reference the gods and, back on the 12 planets, public museums housed artifacts of the gods.

The Kobol gods have the same names and characteristics as the Greek Olympic gods, and the show makes repeated references to Zeus, Hera, Athena, Ares and Apollo. As evidenced by prayers offered by the human characters, the Kobol gods are morally refined and are believed to watch over and intervene benevolently in the lives of the just. This is similar to the conception of the gods during the Greek classical and Hellenic periods, not the amoral (and very human) gods of the Greek archaic period.

In another parallel to Western (Terran) polytheism, the names of the Twelve Colonies and their planets are similar to the names of the characters in the Greco-Roman zodiac. In the early days of the 12 colonies, each colony's flag showed the stellar constellation of its zodiac sign ("Home Pt. 2").

Divine Texts

The principal means of transmitting divine knowledge is the Sacred Scroll. The Scroll chronicles the early period of human existence, when people and the gods lived together on the planet Kobol (at the beginning of the series, the location of Kobol is unknown). The Scrolls tell that at some point in time, 12 Human tribes left Kobol and founded the 12 colonies, with a 13th heading towards Earth (miniseries et al.).This is also referenced in the opening words of the Scroll, "Life here began out there" (miniseries).

So far, the show has offered little detail of the Sacred Scroll, other than that it contains the Book of Pythia, which chronicles an ancient female (similar to the Oracle of Delphi), who journeyed with the 13th tribe on their voyage to earth. Pythia also described the exodus of the 12 tribes, and the things to happen to them. She described a dying leader, who will guide the tribes to salvation. Among other things, the scriptures tell of the return to Kobol, stating that bringing the Arrow of Apollo to the Tomb of Athena. The dying leader is to die just before the end of the journey. President Roslin sees herself as playing the part of the leader in the texts, as she is dying of terminal breast cancer which was cured for a time, but has now returned.

Schisms

So far, there appears to be no rival religion among the humans, save for atheism/agnosticism (and Gaius Baltar's silent monotheism); however, differences in interpretation and worship exist between the 12 colonies. Sagitarons, for instance, apply folkish traditions and avoid modern medicine ("The Woman King"), and Geminese believe in the literal truth of the scrolls and thusly oppose abortion and separation of church and state, while residents of the more cosmopolitan worlds like Caprica are generally more theologically liberal, and are often atheists, agnostics, or apatheists.

Cylon monotheism

Many of the human-form Cylons also share a religious belief -- in this case, monotheism. The Cylons' monotheism seems to share many of the characteristics of some monotheistic religions: belief that God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, that he will one day deliver divine retribution, and that he intervenes in the secular world. The actual teachings and laws of the Cylon god are infrequently referenced, but when they are, it is usually conveyed by Gina or Number Six.

Military rank structure

The Colonial military is organized much the same as in the original series, however both are significantly different from any existing military organization. From the episodes aired, a Battlestar is the lead vessel in a battle group which normally consists of many smaller vessels. The re-imagined series explicitly places the Galactica as one of two (or three) Battlestars within battle group 75. A Colonial Fleet and Colonial Marines exist; there are very few of the latter as Galactica only had a small contingent on board due to its impending decommissioning. Also, no marines appeared in the miniseries. Security duties were handled by what appeared to be fleet officers. A distinct marine corps did not start appearing until after the television series began running.

Officers in the Colonial Fleet are given ranks that are a fusion of those presently used in western armies and navies. Ronald D. Moore outlined the rank structure in a blog entry in February of 2005, stating that he wanted to keep the "co-mingled" ranks of the original series rather than reassign ranks based on real-world naval structure. Below is a list of ranks for both officers and enlisted crewmen with the highest rank at the top.

The Colonial Marines have a different rank structure for enlisted men: Private, Corporal, Sergeant, etc. Their officer rank structure, has not been shown and it is unknown whether any commissioned Marine officers survived. (Marines on the show have only been led by Fleet officers such as Apollo, Starbuck, Tigh, Athena or Sergeant Hadrian).

The command and executive officers of the Galactica are a Commander and Colonel, respectively, and have been since before the destruction of the colonies. Dr. Cottle holds the rank of Major, as did Lee Adama prior to his promotion to Commander (this is later reversed). There are a few senior officers with the rank of Captain as well as several lieutenants. The second season introduced Admiral Helena Cain (played by Michelle Forbes), in command of the Battlestar Pegasus (mentioned by Admiral Adama as being specifically a Rear Admiral at one point).

Recurring Marine characters include Galactica's Master-at-arms, Sergeant Hadrian, played by Jill Teed. The character, however, is never explicitly identified as a Marine. Another recurring Marine character is Corporal Venner, played by Chris Shields. In addition to these Marines, numerous Privates and at least two Gunnery Sergeants are known to exist (one appeared in the season 2 episode "Sacrifice" and another appeared in the season 3 episode "Exodus Part 1").

In addition, at least two Marines have been seen with two vertical, white bars painted on the backs of their helmets, similar to the symbol used for a Captain by the US Military.

Main title

Season one's main title is divided into two segments, the first containing clips from the 2003 miniseries and previous episodes, and the second an action-oriented montage of images from the coming episode. Moore intended the montage sequence to be a direct homage to the titles of Space: 1999, which used a similar device at the start of each episode of its first season. The original Battlestar Galactica used a similar device, where clips from the episode gave a reasonably detailed summary of what was about to happen.

The Sky One version of the title sequence for season one featured a Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda. In the U.S., the music was an original instrumental piece by composer Bear McCreary called "Two Funerals" originally written for the episode "Act of Contrition". As of season two, the main title sequences in all territories where the show airs now use the Sky One title sequence, the Gayatri Mantra version written by miniseries composer Richard Gibbs.

The words in the mantra are "Om bhūr bhuvah svah tat savitur varēnyam bhargō dēvasya dhīmahi dhiyō yō nah pracōdayāt", which may be translated in various ways but means approximately: "Oh all-protecting lord, please guide our intellects, so that we may proceed in the right direction towards enlightenment"

For season two, the Sci Fi Channel eschewed Moore's "in this episode" montage until the fifth episode, as some fans complained that the sequence spoiled the episode.

The opening from the season two onwards, with the exception of a few episodes, lists the exact number of survivors in the fleet. The number is updated for each episode following deaths and births from the previous one (and anything that occurs during the pre-credits sequence, such as the discovery of the Battlestar Pegasus).

Opening text

Season one

The opening text in the first season:

The Cylons were created by Man.
They Rebelled.
They Evolved.
They Look
And Feel
Human.
Some are programmed to think they are Human.
There are many copies.
And they have a Plan.

Season two

This was changed in the second season to:

The Cylons were created by man
They evolved
They rebelled
There are many copies
And they have a plan

Season three

This was changed again in the third season to:

The Cylons were created by Man
They Rebelled
They Evolved
There are many copies
And they have a plan

Spin-offs

On April 27, 2006, the Sci Fi Channel announced that a prequel spin-off of BSG (known as Caprica) was in development. It will take place over 50 years before the current series, before the original Cylon War, and will chronicle the Adama family and Caprican society as well as show the advancement of technology leading to the Cylon revolt.

On March 26, 2007, Ronald Moore said that the Sci Fi Channel was not picking up Caprica as a pilot, though a movie or DVD release were still possibilities. According to Moore, the show was currently "on the back burner."

Tie-in novels

In 2006, Tor Books inaugurated a series of Battlestar Galactica tie-in novels:

• Battlestar Galactica (the miniseries), by Jeffrey A. Carver -- a novelization of the 2003 miniseries
• The Cylons' Secret, by Craig Shaw Gardner -- an original prequel novel, set 20 years after the end of the first Cylon war
• Sagittarius Is Bleeding, by Peter David -- an original novel, set during the time-frame of the ongoing series
• Unity, by Steven Harper -- an original novel, set during the time-frame of the ongoing series (forthcoming)

Dynamite Entertainment also started several comic book series in 2006:

• An ongoing series, set sometime in Season 2 between the episodes "Home" and "Pegasus". In the first story arc, the fleet finds a debris field from an earlier inter-Colony war and ends up meeting resurrected lost loved ones, such as Zak Adama. The current arc introduces a group of old-model Cylons that are still loyal to the Colonies and serve Galactica.
• A four-issue miniseries, serving as a biography of Tom Zarek
• A BSG flipbook, issued on Free Comic Book Day in 2007
• A six-issue miniseries entitled Battlestar Galactica: Year One that may expand to an additional six issues
• An upcoming four-part miniseries based on the First Cylon War

Awards

• 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. "33" (episode one)
• 2005 American Film Institute's Top 10 Television Shows of the Year
• 2005 Time Magazine's Best of 2005: Television (Position: #1)
• 2005 TV Guide's and TV Land's The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments for "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2" (Position: #98)
• 2005 Peabody Award
• 2006 American Film Institute's Top 10 Television Shows of the Year
• 2006 Time Magazine's Best of 2006: Television (Position: #7)
• 2006 Scream Awards, Best Television Show
• 2007 RedEye, Best TV Character - 2007 - Kara Thrace aka Starbuck

References

1. Ronald D. Moore (2006-10-06). Battlestar Galactica, "Precipice". R&D TV.
2. Sky One are co-production partners with Sci Fi Channel United States of America and Seasons 1, 2 and 3 credits.
3. TVShowsOnDVD.com - Universal Officially Announces Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5
4. TIME.com: Best of 2005: Television
5. Hollywood North Report - Galactica Webisodes Threatened By Dispute
6. GateWorld - Galactica set for October season premiere
7. Variety - New 'Battlestar' orbit - Sci Fi Channel drama moving to Sundays at 10
8. SciFi news - Battlestar Galactica
9. Sci Fi Extends 'Battlestar'
10. Salon.com interview
11. Ron Moore blog - Season Two and Q & A
12. SCI FI Wire - SCI FI Announces Caprica
13. Tuned In Journal - Executive producer Ron Moore discusses thrilling 'Galactica' cliffhanger
14. "Best of 2005: Television". Time (magazine).
15. "Starbuck Wins!". RedEye.

See also

• Caprica (TV series)
• Battlestar Galactica (DVD movie)
• List of Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined series) episodes
• Music of Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining)

External links

• The Official Site with podcast commentaries for each episode
• Battlestar Galactica at Scifipedia
• Universal Studios - Battlestar Galactica DVD
• BattlestarWiki a Battlestar Galactica wiki.
• Battlestar Galactica: the only award-winning drama that dares tackle the war on terror The Guardian, 13 January 2007

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• 2000s American television series
• Battlestar Galactica
• Military science fiction
• Peabody Award winners
• Drama television series in Canada
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• Space: The Imagination Station network shows
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