Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)

This article is about the 2004 television series. For Battlestar Galactica (disambiguation), see Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) (disambiguation).

Battlestar Galactica
File:Battlestar Galactica intro.jpg Battlestar Galactica title
Genre	Military science fiction drama
Created by	Ronald D. Moore
Developed by	David Eick, Ronald D. Moore
Starring	see below
Opening theme	Gayatri by Richard Gibbs
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	63 (episodes to date), 10 (webisodes), 1 (TV movie), 7 (prequel webisodes)
Production
Production locations	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Running time	approx. 42 minutes
Original release
Network	Sky One (Season One) Sci Fi Channel (Season One - )
Release	October 18, 2004 – present
Related
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series) Caprica (TV series)

Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy Award winning science fiction television program created by Ronald D. Moore that first aired in a three-hour miniseries in December of 2003, on SCI FI. The series has gained a wide range of critical acclaim.

Synopsis

Main article: List of Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined series) episodes

See also: Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)

Battlestar Galactica continues from the 2003 mini-series 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 Laura Roslin and Commander William Adama 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: Earth.

In a major difference between the original and the re-imagined series, there are currently no alien (non-human) sentient life-forms in the galaxy. Dogs, cats and rats have been shown, and other terrestrial animals mentioned, but no other sign of life other than human or (in the case of the Cylons) human-created.

Cast

Main article: List of Battlestar Galactica (2004) cast members

See also: List of minor characters in Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining)

Main characters

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

Supporting characters

• Michael Hogan — Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas — Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett — Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Alessandro Juliani — Felix Gaeta
• Nicki Clyne — Cally Henderson Tyrol (2003-2008)
• Kandyse McClure — Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
• Paul Campbell — Billy Keikeya (2003–2006)
• Michael Trucco — Samuel Anders (2005–present)

Recurring characters

• Richard Hatch — Tom Zarek (2004–present)
• Lucy Lawless — Number Three (2005–present)
• Matthew Bennett — Number Five (2003–present)
• Callum Keith Rennie — Number Two (2003–present)
• Dean Stockwell — Number One (2006–present)
• Lorena Gale — Elosha (2003–2005, 2008)
• Rekha Sharma — Tory Foster (2006–present)
• Kate Vernon — Ellen Tigh (2004–2007, 2008)
• Donnelly Rhodes — Dr. Cottle (2004–present)
• Luciana Carro — Louanne "Kat" Katraine (2004–2007)
• Rick Worthy — Number Four (2005–present)
• Samuel Witwer — Alex "Crashdown" Quatararo (2004–2005)
• Leah Cairns — Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson (2004–present)

Production

The series is filmed at Vancouver Film Studios, and on physical locations in and around Vancouver, Kamloops and Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

Season One

The first season of thirteen one-hour episodes was ordered by the Sci-Fi Channel on February 10, 2004. 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 US and Canada. The time lag between the UK and Ireland and the US screenings led to widespread distribution of episodes via peer-to-peer networks, such as eDonkey and BitTorrent, often within a few hours of Sky One airing them. Although Sci-Fi and Ron 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 US success of the show by creating a favorable 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, although at relatively low quality. Moore also sought to address the "Internet Generation" by posting podcast commentaries on individual episodes on the official Sci-Fi website.

The series proved successful on its UK and Ireland premiere, attracting favorable comments from reviewers, and generating considerable anticipation in the US. The first episode aired in the US 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 20-episode second season on February 9, 2005. The season premiered in the US on the 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 US 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.

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 some disdain. Moore stated in his blog that he felt this was a result of the larger workload the series faced with twenty episodes, instead of thirteen 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 expressed that the longer break between Seasons Two and Three (seven months instead of two) would help to ensure that all episodes were up to the high level of quality that the production team strove 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 - The Resistance

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 SciFi 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 Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first webisode was posted Tuesday, September 5, 2006, and the last posted on Thursday, October 5, 2006, 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. NBC Universal, the major studio behind the reimagined series, refused to pay residuals to or credit the webisode writers on the grounds that the webisodes were promotional materials. In response, Ronald D. Moore said he would no longer release any webisodes to the studio's custody. NBC Universal then took control of the webisodes, and filed an unfair labor-practices suit against the Writers Guild of America. The Guild told Moore and other NBC Universal television show producers to halt production of any further webisodes until a deal over residuals had been reached.

The Resistance webisodes are included in the Region 1 DVD release of Season Three, and are expanded in content and running-time from their original online incarnation. They are not available on the Region 2 and Region 4 DVD releases.

Season Three

The Sci-Fi Channel ordered a 20-episode third season on November 16, 2005, which premiered in the US 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 did 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 was broadcast in high-definition on Sky One HD in the UK and Ireland, starting on January 9, 2007, and in the US on Universal HD, starting on January 27, 2007.

After the initial five episode long New Caprica story arc, Season Three consisted of mostly stand-alone episodes. In the podcast for the Season Three finale, Ron Moore stated that in an effort to attract new viewers, the Sci-Fi Channel pressured the production team to make stand-alone episodes, instead of focusing on previously established storylines. However, this met with a negative critical reception, and Moore stated that by the end of Season Three, the critical reaction and declining ratings following this paradigm shift forced the Sci-Fi Channel to admit that stand-alone episodes simply do not work in the format that the series has established for itself, and Moore went on to say that because of this the Sci-Fi Channel promised that it would not put any pressure to make stand-alone episodes in Season Four.

That the Sci-Fi Channel would pressure for changes in the series' formula is remarkable, considering that Moore and his production team routinely cited the network's "hands off" approach to the series as one of its strong points; that the writers were being given free rein to do what they thought best in the first two seasons. Moore infamously explained in the episode podcasts for season 1 that literally the only time Sci-Fi Channel asked him to change something in the first two seasons, was early in production when they were a bit uneasy about the extremely dark tone of the series, and asked if Moore could insert some lighter material, such as everyone having a birthday party for someone. The result was that Moore sarcastically inserted a scene into the beginning of the fourth episode, "Act of Contrition", in which a number of pilots are celebrating a Raptor pilot's 1,000th landing when a drone falls from its rack due to metal and strap fatigue, ignites and flies towards the groups of pilots, killing 13 and injuring 7 more. Moore said that Sci-Fi Channel responded by saying, "We get it," and never tried to interfere in the running of the series again.

Season Three was released on DVD in the United States on March 18, 2008.

Razor and Webisode Flashbacks

See also Battlestar Galactica: Razor & Battlestar Galactica: Razor Flashbacks.

Beginning October 5, 2007, the Sci-Fi Channel began airing short, two-minute vignettes chronicling the rookie mission of young William Adama during the last day of the First Cylon War. These short presentations include depictions of Cylons and their vehicles in incarnations similar to those made popular by the original 1978 series. The mini-episodes, collectively known as "Razor Flashbacks", serve as a backdrop leading up to the television movie, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, and aired during the Friday-night presentation of Flash Gordon for eight weeks as well as being made available online at SciFi Pulse. The Razor Flashbacks are actually taken from the made for TV movie Razor and were not originally intended as stand-alone web features. Instead they were aired early as a promotion for the main feature. As of November 25, 2007 the Razor Flashbacks are no longer available on SciFi, and the entire Razor website on SciFi.com has been removed.

Season Four

The Sci-Fi Channel confirmed on March 22, 2007 that Battlestar Galactica had been renewed for a fourth season of 20 episodes. (The order was originally announced as a 22-episode commitment, including the two-hour TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor.) Producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore have announced that the fourth season will be the series' last.

The fourth season was split into two parts, with the first 10 episodes airing beginning April 4 2008, and with the second 10 installments likely airing in early 2009. The Canadian cable channel Space has stated they will start airing season four on the same date. In the UK, Sky One began airing Season Four on April 15, showing the first two episodes on that date, placing the UK just 4 days behind the US screenings.

Season 4 will begin broadcast on Universal HD on July 19, 2008.

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, worshiping 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, Poseidon, Ares and Apollo. In one story in season 3, the crew fights with the Cylons to obtain "The Eye of Jupiter"; Jupiter is the Roman equivalent of Zeus. 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 Hellenistic periods, not the amoral (and very human) gods of the Greek archaic period.

In a reference to Hinduism, the opening credits are accompanied by an operatic version of the very important Gayatri Mantra, a hymn to Surya, the Sun God. During a memorial service, the residing chaplain recites another important Hindu prayer, actually a sample from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (one of many Upanishads) which is transliterated here:

Om Asato maa sad-gamaya;

tamaso maa jyotir-ga-maya;

mrtyor-maa amrutam gamaya.

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih.

O Lord Lead me from the unreal to the real.

Lead me from the darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishads (1.3.28)

In another parallel to Western polytheism, the names of the Twelve Colonies and their planets are similar to the names of the constellations 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, twelve 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).

The show offers 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, herself named Pythia), who journeyed with the 13th tribe on their voyage to Earth. Pythia also described the exodus of the twelve tribes, and the things that happened to them. She describes 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 will reveal the road to Earth. 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 has terminal breast cancer which was cured for a time, but has now returned.

Cylon monotheism

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

It is shown that the centurions have no belief in god until Baltar tells one, which dies shortly after in the episode The Hub.

Military rank structure

Officers Admiral Vice Admiral Rear Admiral Commander Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Lieutenant Junior Grade Ensign

Enlisted Master Chief Petty Officer Chief Petty Officer Petty Officer First Class Petty Officer Second Class Specialist Deckhand Recruit

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 Battlestar Group 75. A Colonial Fleet and Colonial Marines exist.

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 Galactica's Master-at-Arms).

The CO and XO of a battlestar like Galactica are usually 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 spot promotion to commander for command of the Pegasus. There are a few officers with the rank of captain as well as several lieutenants. The second season introduced Helena Cain (played by Michelle Forbes) as a rear admiral, in command of the Battlestar Pegasus.

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").

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.

The Sky One version of the title sequence for season one featured a Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda (3.62.10). In the US, 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.

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).

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."

On March 18, 2008, Ronald Moore said that it has been confirmed that the long rumored and scantily reported spin-off, Caprica is in fact a go project. Sci Fi Channel has given the green light to a two-hour backdoor pilot for the series – which means it will air as a TV movie (not unlike the promotion and rollout for "Razor") – and if successful it will get a series commitment from the network. The project is currently slated to shoot in Spring 2008 and air in the Fall.

Tie-in books

• In 2006, Tor Books inaugurated a series of Battlestar Galactica tie-in novels, though the television series writers do not consider them canonical:
  • 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

• Titan Books has published official companions to the mini-series and the first to the third season. These companions feature photos, cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes info and episode guides.

• Dynamite Entertainment also launched a series of comic book titles in 2006:
  • An ongoing series, set in Season 2 between the episodes "Home" and "Pegasus". 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 arc introduces a group of old-model Cylons that are still loyal to the Colonies and serve Galactica. The series consists of 13 issues: #0 and #1-12.
  • A four-issue miniseries, serving as a biography of Tom Zarek
  • An eight-issue series entitled Battlestar Galactica: Origins, detailing the backgrounds of Adama and Baltar.
  • A one-shot entitled Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus.
  • A 13-part series entitled Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero, consisting of a BSG flipbook, issued on Free Comic Book Day in 2007, and 12 monthly issues.

Critical response

In May 2004, Dreamwatch magazine published an article entitled "Starbuck: Lost in Castration". The report featured Dirk Benedict, the actor who portrayed Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica series, harshly criticizing the re-imagined series, its dark tone and supposed moral relativism. Benedict said, "'Re-imagining', they call it. 'Un-imagining' is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith, and family is unimagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction.

Benedict's primary focus was on the decision to recast Starbuck as a female character, Kara Thrace, whom he derisively refers to as "Stardoe". He relates the change to what he perceives as a general anti-masculinity agenda, saying "One thing is certain. In the new un-imagined, re-imagined world of Battlestar Galactica everything is female driven. The male characters, from Adama on down, are confused, weak, and wracked with indecision while the female characters are decisive, bold, angry as hell, puffing cigars (gasp) and not about to take it any more."

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
• 2005 Spacey Awards Favorite Limited TV Series
• 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
• 2006 Saturn Awards, Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• 2006 Spacey Awards Best Television show
• 2006 Saturn Awards, Best Supporting Actor on Television, James Callis
• 2006 Saturn Awards, Best Supporting Actress on Television, Katee Sackhoff
• 2007 RedEye, Best TV Character - 2007 - Kara Thrace aka Starbuck
• 2007 Saturn Awards, Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
• 2007 Emmy Awards, Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series

See also

• Caprica (TV series)
• Battlestar Galactica: Razor
• List of Battlestar Galactica (reimagined 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
• G2: The new sci-fi The Guardian, 27 June 2007