Battlestar Galactica has died and been born again, much like the regenerating Cylons at the heart of its dark, convoluted storyline. It started as an expensive and risky sci-fi series in 1978; it was allowed a second season only with a radical change in format, then was canceled.
But in the 90s, fan support for a new movie or TV series began to build. A number of competing plans for reviving Battlestar ultimately resulted in a complete reboot and reenvisioning by Ronald D. Moore, previously responsible (among other things) for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s third-season revamp and the cult hits Roswell and Carnivàle.
Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries burst onto the Sci Fi network in 2003 and quickly became the most successful and most talked-about sci-fi miniseries since V. A series, also on Sci Fi, followed in 2004, and continues to inspire broad devotion even as its flawed heroes, compelling villains, and occasionally unpalatable plot developments constantly challenge even the most die-hard fans.
The following is about the new series. For an overview of the original 1978 series, see Battlestar Galactica (Classic Series). For a comparison of the two shows, see Battlestar Galactica: Old vs. New.
The Setup
The Cylons were created by man. They’re machines, but they come in two forms: chrome-plated robots (derisively called “toasters” by the humans) and models so human that they cannot be told apart from an ordinary person even with medical scan.
The humanoid Cylons (we are told) exist in only twelve types, each with a distinct appearance and personality. Within each type they are physically identical. When a Cylon dies, its consciousness “downloads” into a new model of the same type. This makes the Cylons effectively immortal – assuming the transfer works.
At the start of the story, the human race is living in peace and prosperity across the twelve colonies – settlements on Caprica and eleven other planets that were founded, according to legend, by emigrants from humanity’s lost home world: Kobol. The humans fought the robotic models forty years ago, resulting in an armistice that separated off Cylon space from the worlds of the colonies. The humans don’t know about the humanoid Cylons, which are a new development – or that Cylons secretly walk among them, plotting their creators’ destruction.
What Makes It Different
- Combining drama and humor: Battlestar is a rare show capable of delving deep and having fun at the same time. A good example of this is the first season episode “Six Degrees of Separation,” which takes one of the characters through terror, desperation, and a self-created redemption, and yet is paced with dry comic asides and ends with bemused laughter.
- Flawed humanity: When Battlestar goes deep, it goes dark. For a series about hope and survival, Battlestar is at its strongest (and most disturbing) when its heroes fail and founder. When pushed to the extreme, individuals make choices out of desperation and fear and rage that reason or morality can’t always justify.
- No ray guns: Battlestar is a very “contemporary” science fiction series. The people in Battlestar wear clothes like ours and use guns like ours; the inside of Galactica feels more like a present-day aircraft carrier than a spacecraft. There is very little effort to make Battlestar “futuristic” or “alien”; the few consistent deviations, like the “octagonal” paper (which is regular paper with the corners chopped off), only emphasize the other similarities. This contemporary feel is a deliberate effort by the creators to draw the viewer directly into the crisis. The question constantly being asked is – If you were in this situation, what would you do?
- Each race has a journey: One of the most provocative innovations of the new series is the way it sees the humans and the Cylons as two races in search of answers. They’re both flawed, and the best of them recognize it – and can even see some of what they’re missing in the other. One of the ways in which this parallelism is expressed is religion: the humans have many gods (in fact, they’re precursors to the Greek pantheon); the Cylons have one. Both races have believers and doubters, and both seek to improve the condition of their people either through religion or despite it.
- Nods to the Classic series: One of the stars of the Classic series, Richard Hatch (Apollo), was given not just a cameo but a meaty recurring role as a former terrorist turned politician. Occasional resonances with the classic series, however, are normally kept from being intrusive or distracting by being integrated into the storyline.
Episode Guides
Note: Episode guides may contain spoilers.
- Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries
- Season 1
- Season 2
- Season 2.5
- Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance (webisodes)
- Season 3
- Battlestar Galactica: Razor (coming fall 2007)
- Season 4 (coming January 2008)
- Battlestar Galactica: Caprica (coming April 2008)
