Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)

*Battlestar Galactica*
Battlestar Galactica
	File:Batstarg.png The cast of Battlestar Galactica.
Created by	Ronald D. Moore
Starring	See Cast and characters below
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	Season One - 13; Season Two - 20; Season Three - 20
Production
Running time	approx. 42 minutes
Original release
Network	Sky One/Scifi Channel
Release	October 18, 2004 –; present

Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series created by Ronald D. Moore that first aired on October 18, 2004 in the United Kingdom on Sky One, and January 14, 2005 in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel. Repeats of episodes have also been shown on NBC. The introduction to the television series is a four-hour miniseries that first aired on December 8, 2003 on the Sci Fi Channel.

Synopsis

The concept of the show, as described by the opening text in each episode^[1]:

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.

47,875 survivors ^[2]

In search of a home

Called Earth

Battlestar Galactica follows on from the 2003 mini-series to chronicle the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Man after their annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President Laura Roslin and Admiral William Adama (previously a Commander) in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar Galactica, a massive warship, at its lead. Pursued by the Cylons who are 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.

Plot

Template:Spoilers

Episode list

Season 1 (2004)

While the first season mostly consists of stand-alone episodes plus one two-part episode, it features a number of major story arcs, including:

What happens to Helo, who chose to stay behind on Caprica in the miniseries. Helo was originally intended to have died there, but the writers "resurrected" Helo after repeated fan queries regarding his fate. Producers also were impressed by the performance of the actor, Tahmoh Penikett.
How the relationship between Adama and Roslin evolves.
How Dr. Gaius Baltar manages to evade being exposed as the man responsible for the fall of the Colonies to the Cylons.
How the fleet tackles its shortages of supplies and fuel.
What happens to Boomer, who is revealed to be a Cylon sleeper agent in the miniseries.
What the Cylons' master plan really is.
How the humans handle the discovery of the believed-mythical world of Kobol, the original home of humanity, and its secrets.

Development of the arcs is featured in almost every episode of the season.

Season 2.0

Moore has stated that in the second season, he wanted to resolve the many cliffhangers from the first, while examining the Cylons and the religious themes already introduced in more detail.

The second season story arcs include:

Commander Adama's recovery from Boomer's assassination attempt, and Colonel Tigh's forced command of the fleet after the collapse of the civilian government.
The Kobol landing party's struggle for survival and subsequent rescue.
Starbuck's return to Caprica to retrieve The Arrow of Apollo, to help Roslin find Earth. While on Caprica, she has a brief affair with Anders, a resistance fighter, before being captured by the Cylons and mysteriously experimented on.
The escape from Caprica of Starbuck, Helo, and the Caprican copy of Boomer.
Deposed president Laura Roslin's escape from imprisonment and return to Kobol with sympathetic ships from the fleet to find the location of Earth.
Reconciliation of Adama and Roslin, and the re-unification of the fleet after they use The Arrow of Apollo to find a true map to Earth.
The discovery of the Battlestar Pegasus, under the command of Admiral Helena Cain, probably the only other Battlestar to survive the Cylon attack, and subsequent conflicts between Admiral Cain aboard Pegasus and Commander Adama of Galactica.

Season 2.5

The second half of the season began airing on January 6, 2006.

The story arcs included:

Conflict between the Galactica and the Pegasus crews.
Discovery and destruction of the Resurrection Ship, which has been following the fleet since the beginning, allowing Cylons to be downloaded into new bodies when their current ones die. Following the destruction of the Resurrection Ship, Admiral Cain is killed by a physically embodied version of Number Six named "Gina," who escapes with the help of Dr. Baltar. Commander Adama is subsequently promoted to Admiral since he now commands the Galactica and the Pegasus.
President Laura Roslin nearly dies from her cancer and, during the process, she experiences memories that lead her to suspect Dr. Baltar of collusion with the Cylons. Her life is saved at the last minute--and her cancer apparently cured--by a transfusion of blood from Boomer's unborn child, which is half-human and half-Cylon and has an unusual immune system. Meanwhile, Gina becomes the leader of a so-called pacifist movement within the fleet that uses sabotage and violence to force peace talks with the Cylons.
The birth of Caprica Sharon's baby, the Cylon-Human Hybrid. In an effort to reduce complications arising from knowledge of the child's existence, the decision is made to tell Sharon that her baby died, while the living hybrid infant is given to a mother who has lost her own newborn. The mother is sworn to secrecy by Roslin. This deception does not sit well with Doc Cottle. Sharon is enraged, thinking that her baby has been ordered murdered.
The situation on Pegasus after the death of Admiral Cain. After her death, Commander (formerly Colonel) Jack Fisk took command of the ship but was killed. Fisk was succeeded by Commander Garner, who died defending the Pegasus during a Cylon attack. At that point Commander (formerly Major) Lee Adama was assigned to command the Pegasus.
Cylon Society is shown on Caprica. A facist state of conformity is challenged by the re-incarations of Galactica Sharon and Baltar's Six. Cylon D'Anna Biers (Lucy Lawless) unites the unstable Sharon and Six, expecting them to reveal their instability. Her plan is to have them "Boxed" (the penalty for non conformity). Their minds would be put into storage, never to inhabit a body again. The plan backfires during a compassionate encounter with the human resistance. This sparks a rebellion led by the two "Heroes of the Cylon".
The election for the presidency of the colonies commences. Vice President Gaius Baltar runs against President Laura Roslin. Meanwhile an expedition back to Caprica led by Captain Thrace (Starbuck) searches for the survivors left behind. On the way a raptor gets lost but discovers a habitable planet. When word of the discovery reaches the fleet Baltar and Roslin begin a debate over colonizing the planet, Baltar in favor, Roslin against. On Caprica Starbuck finds the survivors but is attacked by Cylons.
The Cylons decide to desert the colonies and cease their pursuit of the Battlestars, according to the newly revealed-as-Cylon Brother Cavil brought back from Caprica. Laura Roslin rigs the election, but is convinced by Adama to cede the election to Baltar because of the moral implications. Gina then commits suicide with a nuclear warhead given to her by Baltar, destroying the "Cloud Nine" ship and several others. Despite Adama's reservations, Baltar follows through with his plan to settle New Caprica.
The action jumps to one year later, by which time much of the military has joined the settlers on New Caprica, including Colonel Tigh, Starbuck, Chief Tyrol, and others, including the Hybrid. A large Cylon fleet arrives (originally a light year away from the colonists, the trace of Gina's nuclear detonation therefore took a year to reach the Cylons, giving away the colonist's location). Admiral Adama realizes the severely understaffed Galactica and Pegasus will be destroyed quickly by the much larger Cylon forces, and grimly orders them both (along with the rest of the fleet still in orbit at the time) to jump away, leaving the New Caprica colonists to fend for themselves. The Cylons land on New Caprica, and a humiliated Baltar quickly surrenders to a Sharon, a Doral, and his re-incarnated Six. The season ends with Cylon Centurions marching through the streets of New Caprica, as the colonials look on in dismay.

Themes

Battlestar Galactica in its current incarnation deals with a number of interesting themes. As in the original series, it is loosely based on ancient astronaut theories and carries over several motifs from the Original Series which Glen Larson based on Mormon theology. But as a show centered around the near extinction of humanity, it is able to raise issues surrounding human nature and the meaning of life.

The Clash of Religions

The Gods of Kobol

The humans worship the Lords of Kobol, these being the gods of the ancient Greek Pantheon. In a twist on the audience's expectations, the "good" humans of the Twelve Colonies are polytheists, unlike many modern Earth religions. According to series, humans originate from the planet Kobol where they lived with the Gods. The first season revolves around the ancient book of Pythia in the Colonia's scripture, which tells that any return to Kobol has a price of blood, a declaration set forth by Zeus. (Pythia was the title given to the ancient oracle at Delphi). This occurred sometime later than 3,600 years ago when Pythia received her vision of the future events unfolding in the series.

As stated by Roslin, seemingly quoting scriptures, the humans apparently believe in the version of eternal recurrence. She came to believe that she was playing a part that she had played before and that would eventually play again.

The "One True God"

The Cylons, created by the humans as simple labour-saving robots, rebelled (in the fashion of many popular movies (The Terminator, The Matrix, Bladerunner)). In the 40 year period during which the Cylons retreated from the 12 Colonies, they developed bio-mechanical models of Cylon, which were for all effects and purposes indistinguishable from humans (to the point of being able to reproduce sexually with humans). Their minds can be downloaded and resurrected into other copies of these bio-models.

Over time after their rebellion, the Cylons developed their own concept of a soul and religion. In another twist on audience expectations, the "evil" Cylons are fundamentalist monotheists, believing in "one true God", like prevalent modern Earth Abrahamic religions. The clash of beliefs between the Colonial and Cylon religions is a major theme of the show: the Cylons believe they have been ordered on a religious crusade by their one God to eradicate the humans. Number Six has often quoted the Judeo-Christian idea that 'God is love' and while Baltar began as a secular atheist, has found himself believing at times that he is an agent of the Cylon's One True God. Not all Cylons believe in this one true God apparently as seen by the recent discovery of a cylon posing as a human priest. Upon discovery and capture, he declared, "There is no God," raising some questions about how monolithic the Cylon religion really is.

Society's worthiness to survive

As Season 2 progressed, the reasons behind the conflict began to be explained. While trapped on Kobol in the episode Fragged Baltar is forced to a kill a man. After Baltar has killed someone, Six tells him that he is now a real man, for he has killed for the first time.

In the episode Resurrection Ship Part 2 Adama meets with the Cylon Sharon and asks her why the Cylons seem intent on exterminating them. Sharon quotes one of Adama's own speeches, turning his rhetorical statement "we never asked ourselves if we deserved to survive" into the key question of the episode, given that both he and Admiral Cain were planning to execute one another.

Cain and Adama handled the fall of the Twelve Colonies civilization in two very different ways: Adama tried to maintain democracy and rule of law within the refugee fleet he is shepherding, while Cain took an "ends justify the means" approach, becoming incredibly ruthless in order to make sure that Battlestar Pegasus survived. Later in Resurrection Ship, Part II Adama decided not to order the assassination of Cain, because he says that "it is not enough to survive, one has to be worthy of survival", which creator Ron Moore stated is one of the central themes of the series. Cain placed survival and protecting her ship over freedom and morality in order to survive an apocalyptic situation, while Adama would not compromise his principles in the face of adversity.

The Cylons thus see humans as dangerous killers who don't deserve to live, monsters who worship false gods. They are characterized in such a way as to emphasize the negative and pessimistic views of human beings. The Cylons represent humanity at its worst - as when driven by ideology and conformity - yet the humans seem no better, as they fall easily into petty bickering and power struggles.

Nevertheless, the explicit metaphor for the series is the current conflicts between the United States and the United Kingdom against the threat of Islamic terrorism. The 2003 Miniseries purposefully echoed the drama of 9/11 and the depiction of the Cylons as monotheistic ideologues mirrors the perception that Islamic terrorists are similar, while raising the accusation that Western society is too degenerate to deserve survival.

The Nature of Humanity

The series asks the question of if the humanoid Cylon models are actually "human", are they "real"? people? Or are they just machines? The humanoid Cylons are able to breathe, eat, bleed, get sick or injured, they are able to think for themselves, make decisions, feel emotions like love, hate and anger, they are even able to have sexual intercourse with and be impregnated by humans. Yet they are created artificially.

Main title

The first season's main title is divided into two segments, the first containing clips from the 2003 miniseries, 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 U.K 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" which was originally included as temp music. As of season two, the main title sequences in all territories where the show airs now uses the U.K. title sequence, the Gayatri Mantra 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: "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitri the Goddess / so May she stimulate our prayers."

For the second season, 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.

As of season two, the opening intro lists the exact number of survivors in the fleet. The number is updated for each episode following deaths and births from the previous one.

Musical score

The score for the series was created by composer Bear McCreary, generally following the template set by Gibbs for the miniseries but adding a great number of Western influences. It includes a number of vocal pieces, including songs in Gaelic and Latin as well as a spoof Italian operatic piece entitled "Battlestar Operatica," which includes the lyrics (translated from Italian):

Woe upon your Cylon heart

There's a toaster in your head

And it wears high heels

Number Six calls to you

The Cylon Detector beckons

Your girlfriend is a toaster

The full lyrics to "Battlestar Operatica" are presented in Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion (Titan Books, 2005), written by David Bassom.

Another example of McCreary's eclectic approach is the track entitled "Wander My Friends", which aired in the episode "The Hand of God" in Season One. With flourishing Celtic pipes and vocals, the motif is associated with the relationship between William Adama and his son Lee, and can be heard twice in the episode. The motif repeats at least twice in Season Two, usually whenever the theme of family is brought up in the storyline.

A sample of the Gaelic lyrics appears below, from the official "Battlestar Galactica: Season One Soundtrack":

(original Gaelic)

Siulaigi a chairde, siulaidh liom

Mar cheo an tsleibhe uaine ag

imeacht go deo

D’ainneoin ar dtuirse leanfam an tsli

Thar chnoic is thar ghleannta

go deireadh na scrib’.

(English Translation)

Wander my friends, wander with me

Like the mist on the green mountain, moving eternally

Despite our weariness,

we’ll follow the road

Over hills and valleys

to the end of the journey

On several occasions, the show's soundtrack incorporates music by acclaimed composer Philip Glass, including excerpts from his albums Glassworks and Metamorphosis One.

Production

Season 1

The first season of thirteen one-hour episodes was announced by the Sci Fi Channel on February 10 2004, and aired in the United Kingdom 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 UK 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 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 premiere, attracting favorable 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 2

Following the success of the 13-episode season one, the Sci Fi Channel commissioned a full 20-episode second season. The season premiered in the U.S. on Sci Fi Channel on July 15, 2005, with the U.K. & Canadian premiere in January 2006. In the Fall of 2005, production on the second season halted as it was part of Sci-Fi Channel's standard production 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 Sci-Fi Channel took this break as an opportunity to package the episodes aired thus far into a DVD set, calling it Season 2.0. This episode, "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" will appear on the Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 DVD set when it is eventually released. Sky did not contribute financially to the second series, although they are credited at the end of every episode because many of the sets from the first series were co-funded by them.

Season 2.5 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 10 best television shows of 2005. There was some criticism that a few episodes following "Resurrection Ship, Part II" were not up to par with previous episodes, such as the episode "Black Market" which even Ron Moore especially expressed his dislike for, and his embarrassment at how it turned out. 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 1. However, episode 15 "Scar" was thought to bring the series back up to its Cain-trilogy levels 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 2 and 3 (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.

The UK based DVD review magazine - May 2006 issue - has listed Season 2 for release on the 19 June 2006.

Season 3

The SCI FI channel has ordered a 20-episode third season, which will premiere both the US and UK in October 2006. There will be no "split" between Episode 10 and Episode 11. Production began in April 2006 in Vancouver, British Columbia.[3]

Michael Taylor has joined the writing staff for season 3.[4] Taylor was previously a writer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and The Dead Zone. He is known for writing the acclaimed Deep Space Nine episode "The Visitor", as well as "In the Pale Moonlight", which was controversial in challenging some of Star Trek's utopian ideas.

Cast

Main characters

Supporting characters

Guest appearances

Graham Beckel - Colonel/Commander Jack Fisk
Matthew Bennett - Cylon 'Aaron Doral' - Number Five
Leah Cairns - Lieutenant Margaret 'Racetrack' Edmondson
Dana Delany - Sesha Abinell
Colm Feore - President Richard Adar
Michelle Forbes - Admiral Helena Cain
Lorena Gale - Priestess Elosha
John Heard - Commander Barry Garner
Lucy Lawless - Cylon 'D'anna Biers' - Number Three
Bodie Olmos - Brendan 'Hot Dog' Constanza
Luciana Carro - Louanne 'Kat' Katraine

Alonso Oyarzun - Specialist Socinus
Callum Keith Rennie - Cylon 'Leoben Conoy'
Dean Stockwell - Cylon 'Brother Cavil'
Donnelly Rhodes - Doctor Cottle
Michael Trucco - Samuel Anders
Kate Vernon - Ellen Tigh
Connor Widdows - Boxey
Samuel Witwer - Lieutenant, Junior Grade 'Crashdown'
Rick Worthy - Cylon 'Simon'
Erica Cerra - Maya

Boxey was originally intended to appear regularly during the first season, but virtually all scenes featuring the character were edited out of the final episodes; these deleted scenes are included on the season one DVD release. There has been some speculation of some of the cast of the original series (besides Richard Hatch) possibly guest starring in future episodes.

Military characters

The Colonial military is organized much the same as in the original. From the episodes aired, a Battlestar is apparently meant to be the lead vessel in a battle group which normally consists of many smaller vessels. The reimagined 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.

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.

The Colonial Fleet commissioned officers are identified as:

For enlisted crewmen, including warrant officers, the ranks are:

Chief Petty Officer
Petty Officer (first class)
Petty Officer (second class)
Petty Officer (third class)
Specialist
Deckhand
Recruit

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

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. 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.

Recurring Marine characters include Galactica's Master-at-arms, Sergeant Hadrian, played by Jill Teed, and Corporal Venner, played by Chris Shields. In addition to these Marines, Privates are known to exist.

Cylon characters

In order of appearance:

Number Six - Tricia Helfer
'Aaron Doral' (Number Five) - Matthew Bennett
Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii (Number Eight) - Grace Park
'Leoben Conoy' - Callum Keith Rennie
'Simon' - Rick Worthy
'D'anna Biers' (Number Three) - Lucy Lawless
'Brother Cavil' - Dean Stockwell

Broadcasters

First-run

Sky One (United Kingdom)
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Space: The Imagination Station (Canada)
Network Ten (Australia)
TV3 (New Zealand)
TNT Latin America (Latin America)
ActionX, DStv (South Africa)
Veronica (Netherlands)
Calle 13 (Spain)
Nelonen (Finland)
RTL 2 (Germany)
Telewizja Polska (Poland)
13ème Rue, first run of the 2003 miniseries (France)
Sci Fi France, first run of seasons 1 & 2 (France)

Reruns/syndication

Universal HD (United States)
NBC (United States)
Métropole 6 (miniseries) (France)

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
2005 Time's - Best of 2005: Television (Position: #1) [5]
2005 Newsday's - Best of 2005: Television (Position: #1) [6]
2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's - Best of 2005: Television (Position: #1) [7]
2005 Chicago Tribune's - Best of 2005: Television [8]
2005 TV Guide's and TV Land's The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments for "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2" (Position: #98)
2006 George Foster Peabody Award
2006 Saturn Awards for best syndicated/cable TV series, best supporting actor on TV (James Callis), and best supporting actress (Katee Sackhoff). [9]

Notes

^ The lines about the Cylons appear in a prologue before the episode. In the second season, the line "They look and feel human" was removed, but the lines about the survivors in search of Earth were added to the main title sequence.
^ The population count is updated in each episode.

References

David Bassom's Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion (Titan Books 2006, ISBN 1845760972) covers the making of season one. A season two companion is due in August 2006.