Battlestar Galactica

Glen A. Larson, the creator and executive producer of Battlestar Galactica, claimed he had conceived of the Battlestar Galactica premise, which he called Adam's Ark, during the late 1960s. As James E. Ford detailed in “Battlestar Galactica and Mormon Theology,” a paper read at the Joint Conference of the American Culture and Popular Culture Associations on April 17, 1980 (and published as “Theology in Prime Time Science Fiction: Battlestar Galactica and Mormon Doctrine,” Journal of Popular Culture #17 [1983]: 83–87), the series incorporated many themes from Mormon theology, such as marriage for "time and eternity", a "council of twelve," a lost thirteenth tribe of humans, and a planet called Kobol (an anagram of Kolob), as Larson was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1][2] However, he was unable to find financial backing for his TV series for a number of years. Battlestar Galactica was finally produced in the wake of the success of the 1977 film Star Wars. The original Cylons of Battlestar Galactica, robotic antagonists bent on destroying all humankind, owe much to Fred Saberhagen's berserker stories, including Saberhagen's fictional race The Builders whose "sliding single red eye" became the signature design element for the Cylons.

Larson had envisioned Battlestar Galactica as a series of made-for-TV movies (a three-hour pilot program and two two-hour episodes) for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). A shortened version of the three-hour pilot, Saga of a Star World, was screened in Canadian theaters (before the TV series was telecast) and in American, European and Australian theaters later on. Instead of two additional TV movies, ABC decided to commission a weekly TV series of one-hour episodes.

In 1979 at the sixth annual People's Choice Awards, the TV series won in the category of "Best New TV Drama Series".[3]

The first episode of the TV series (the long pilot TV movie) was broadcast on September 17, 1978. However, about 30 minutes before the end, that broadcast was interrupted by the signing of the Egyptian–Israeli Camp David Accords. After the interruption (which was nearly an hour in length), the episode picked back up where it left off.

During the eight months after the pilot's first broadcast, 17 original episodes of the series were made (five of them two-part shows), equivalent to a standard 24-episode TV season. Citing declining ratings and cost overruns, ABC canceled Battlestar Galactica in April 1979. Its final episode "The Hand of God" was telecast on April 29, 1979.

During the autumn of 1979, ABC executives met with Battlestar Galactica's creator Glen Larson to consider restarting the series. A suitable concept was needed to draw viewers, and it was decided that the arrival of the Colonial Fleet at present-day Earth would be the storyline. A new TV movie called Galactica 1980 was produced. Again, it was decided this new version of Battlestar Galactica would be made into a weekly TV series. Despite the early success of the premiere, this program failed to achieve the popularity of the original series, and it was canceled after just ten episodes.

In this 1980 sequel series, the Colonial fleet finds the Earth, and then it covertly protects it from the Cylons. This series was a quick failure due to its low budget (e.g., recycling footage from the 1974 Universal Studios movie Earthquake during a Cylon attack sequence), widely panned writing, and ill-chosen time slot (Sunday evenings, a time generally reserved for family-oriented programming and, more specifically, also for the 60 Minutes newsmagazine program). The TV series also had to adhere to strict content restrictions such as limiting the number of acts of violence and being required to shoehorn educational content into the script and dialogue.

To cut costs, the show was set mostly on the contemporary Earth, to the great dismay of fans. Another factor for fan apathy was the nearly complete recasting of the original series: Lorne Greene reprised his role as Adama (working unpaid), Herb Jefferson, Jr. played "Colonel" Boomer in about half of the episodes (with little screentime), and Dirk Benedict as Starbuck for one episode (the abrupt final episode, though his character was to have also appeared in the unfilmed episode "Wheel of Fire", which was a semi-sequel to "The Return of Starbuck"). Richard Hatch (Apollo in the original series) was sent a script for Galactica 1980, but he turned it down since he was not sure what his part in the series would be now that all the characters had changed.[4]

Some TV syndication packages for Battlestar Galactica incorporate the episodes of this series.

Despite attempts to revive the series over the years, none came to fruition until it was reimagined in 2003 by Universal Television as Battlestar Galactica, a three-hour miniseries. Commissioned by the Sci-Fi Channel, screenwriter Ronald D. Moore and producer David Eick were the creative forces behind it. Academy Award-nominated actor Edward James Olmos was cast in the role of Commander Adama, while two-time Academy Award nominee Mary McDonnell was cast as President Laura Roslin. Starbuck and Boomer were now female characters, portrayed by Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park respectively. Other cast members included Jamie Bamber (Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), and Tricia Helfer as a Cylon-humanoid known as "Number Six".[5] The mini-series was a ratings success for the Sci-Fi Channel and they commissioned a new weekly Battlestar Galactica series to follow.

The new television series was co-funded by the UK's Sky Television, and premiered in the United Kingdom on the Sky1 satellite channel in October 2004. The series was then broadcast in North America on the Sci-Fi Channel in January 2005. Continuing where the 2003 mini-series left off, the main cast all returned to reprise their roles. Several new characters were introduced, and Richard Hatch, who played Captain Apollo in the 1970s Battlestar Galactica TV series, also appeared in several episodes as Tom Zarek, a former political terrorist who later becomes part of the new Colonial government.

An edited version of the pilot miniseries was aired on NBC on January 9, 2005, five days before the Sci-Fi series premiere. NBC also aired three selected first-season episodes to promote the show in advance of the second-season premiere in July 2005. The series ran for four seasons between 2004 and 2009. The second season was split into two halves screened several months apart. Due to production delays caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild strike, the fourth season was also split into two parts, with a seven-month hiatus in between.

The series has won widespread critical acclaim among many mainstream non-SF-genre publications. Time[6] and New York Newsday[7] named it the best show on television in 2005. Other publications such as The New York Times,[8] The New Yorker,[9] National Review[10] and Rolling Stone magazine[11] also gave the show positive reviews.

The show has received a Peabody Award for overall excellence, several Emmy Awards for Visual Effects, and Emmy nominations for Writing and Directing. Time Magazine named it one of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time.[12]

The first set of webisodes were a series of shorts produced in 2006 to promote the third season of the re-imagined show. Made as an "optional extra" to Season 3, the webisodes filled in some of the events between the second and third seasons and featured some of the main cast, though did not reveal what would happen in the beginning of Season 3, nor was viewing them essential to follow the story of the third season. Each of the ten webisodes was approximately three minutes long, and they were released twice a week leading up to the U.S. Season 3 premiere in 2006.

The Razor Flashbacks were a series of seven webisodes produced in 2007, set some 40 years earlier during William Adama's fighter pilot days during the later stages of the First Cylon War. They were released on the Internet as "webisodes" leading up to Razor's release. They are now available on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Battlestar Galactica: Razor, and some are inserted into both the broadcast and extended cuts of the movie on DVD and Blu-Ray. The installments that did not make the final cut include 1, 2, and the latter half of 7.

A set of ten webisodes were released during the seven-month hiatus between episodes 10 and 11 of Season 4.[13] Titled The Face of the Enemy, the web series premiered on December 12, 2008 on SciFi.com.

Caprica is a prequel television series to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. It premiered on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi) on January 22, 2010, and was described as "television's first science fiction family saga". It was a two-hour back door pilot for a possible weekly television series, but on December 2, 2008, Syfy gave the go-ahead to expand the project into a full, 20-episode series. Caprica is set on the titular planet, 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica. The show revolves around two families, the Adamas and the Graystones, and the creation of the Cylons.

The pilot was directed by Jeffrey Reiner and starred Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson, Alessandra Torresani, and Polly Walker.[14] The pilot was released on DVD on April 21, 2009[15] and the series was broadcast in January 2010.

On October 27, 2010, Syfy canceled Caprica due to low ratings. The final five episodes were aired in the US on January 4, 2011[16] though they had aired a couple of months earlier on the Canadian network Space. The entire series was released on DVD in 2011.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome was to be a spin-off series from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series.[17] Syfy approached show runner Ronald D. Moore to produce another spin-off set in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica universe, which was to begin as a two-hour pilot focused on William "Husker" Adama (portrayed by Luke Pasqualino) during the First Cylon War (as was glimpsed in Razor and the corresponding webisodes).

Syfy decided against moving forward with the Blood and Chrome TV series, but aired a 10-part webseries over four weeks via Machinima.com, beginning on November 9, 2012. The webseries was also aired as a 2-hour movie on Syfy on February 10, 2013,[18] and was released on DVD shortly afterwards.[19]

As of September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal is planning a straight-to-series set in the same continuity as the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series,[20] produced by Sam Esmail as part of their new Peacock streaming service.[21]

Battlestar Galactica: Razor is a 2007 television movie produced and broadcast in the gap between Seasons 3 and 4 of the re-imagined series. Razor is also the first two episodes of Season 4 though it chronicles events on Battlestar Pegasus in two time periods, both of which are "in the past" with respect to the Season 4 continuity. The "present day" framing scenes are set during Lee Adama's command of the Pegasus in the latter half of Season 2, while "flashback" scenes depict Helena Cain's command in the period between the Cylon attack (shown in the 2003 mini-series) and the reunion with the Galactica in the second season. It aired in the United States and Canada on November 24, 2007 and in the UK and Ireland on December 18, 2007. An expanded version of the movie was released on DVD on December 4, 2007.

Sci Fi Channel produced a two-hour TV movie which was planned to air after the final episode of the series in 2009. The movie began production on September 8, 2008.[22] The movie premiered exclusively on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on October 27, 2009 and aired on January 10, 2010, on Sci Fi. Written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, The Plan storyline begins before the attack on the 12 colonies and shows events primarily from the perspective of the Cylons.[23] Edward James Olmos reprised his role as Adama, and ten of the eleven actors who played Cylons appeared, including Michael Trucco, Aaron Douglas, Dean Stockwell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Rick Worthy, Matthew Bennett, Callum Keith Rennie, Michael Hogan and Rekha Sharma.[22] The only "Cylon" actor not present was Lucy Lawless (although previously filmed footage of her was included).[24]

Creator Glen A. Larson entered negotiations with Universal Pictures for a film adaptation of the 1978 series in February 2009.[25] Bryan Singer signed on to direct the reboot the following August, but was obliged to direct Jack the Giant Slayer.[26] In October 2011 John Orloff was hired to write the script. "I have wanted to write this movie since I was 12 years old, and built a Galactica model from scratch out of balsa wood, cardboard, old model parts and LEDs," Orloff told Deadline Hollywood.[27] By August 2012 the script was being rewritten, with Singer explaining that "It will exist, I think, quite well between the Glen Larson and Ron Moore universes".[28] On April 7, 2014, the studio hired Jack Paglen to write the script for the film.[29] On February 12, 2016, Universal signed Michael De Luca, Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark to produce the Battlestar Galactica film.[30] On June 9, 2016, Lisa Joy was reportedly writing the film, and Francis Lawrence was in talks to direct.[31] On December 18, 2018, it was reported that Jay Basu (The Girl in the Spider's Web) had been hired to rewrite Joy's script.[32] On October 22, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Simon Kinberg will be writing and co-producing the film with Dylan Clark.[33]

Besides a re-edited version of the pilot, released in Canada, Europe, parts of Latin America, and, following the broadcast of the series, in the U.S., two other Battlestar Galactica feature films were released in cinemas. Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack and Conquest of the Earth were made up of various episodes of the original series and Galactica 1980 respectively. (See List of Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series) and Galactica 1980 episodes § Theatrical releases)

These Battlestar Galactica softcover novelisations were written by Glen A. Larson with the authors listed below.[38] They were critically disparaged, but proved popular, with the first novel selling over a million copies within its first year.[39] The first ten novels adapt the episode of the same title except as indicated. All novels except Battlestar Galactica 14: Surrender the Galactica! (ACE publishing) were originally published by Berkley, and have been republished, recently, by I Books, which called them Battlestar Galactica Classic to differentiate it from the reimagined series. The episodic novels featured expanded scenes, excerpts from "The Adama Journals," more background on the characters, and the expansion of the ragtag fleet to almost 22,000 ships as opposed to the 220 in the TV series.

A new book series written by series star Richard Hatch starting in the 1990s continued the original story based on his attempt to revive the series, and ignored the events of Galactica 1980. His series picked up several years after the TV series ended, and featured Apollo in command of the Galactica after the death of Adama, a grown-up Boxey, who was now a Viper pilot, and the rediscovery of Commander Cain and the battlestar Pegasus, who had started a new colony and was preparing to restart the war with the Cylons.

Episodic novels

• Battlestar Galactica, with Robert Thurston (novel version of "Saga of a Star-World")
• Battlestar Galactica 2: The Cylon Death Machine, with Robert Thurston (novel version of "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero")
• Battlestar Galactica 3: The Tombs of Kobol, with Robert Thurston (novel version of "Lost Planet of the Gods")
• Battlestar Galactica 4: The Young Warriors, with Robert Thurston (adapts "The Young Lords")
• Battlestar Galactica 5: Galactica Discovers Earth, with Michael Resnick (adapts the Galactica 1980 three part episode)
• Battlestar Galactica 6: The Living Legend, with Nicholas Yermakov
• Battlestar Galactica 7: War of the Gods, with Nicholas Yermakov
• Battlestar Galactica 8: Greetings from Earth, with Ron Goulart
• Battlestar Galactica 9: Experiment in Terra, with Ron Goulart (adapts the titular episode as well as "Baltar's Escape")
• Battlestar Galactica 10: The Long Patrol, with Ron Goulart

Original novels

• Battlestar Galactica 11: The Nightmare Machine, with Robert Thurston
• Battlestar Galactica 12: "Die, Chameleon!", with Robert Thurston
• Battlestar Galactica 13: Apollo's War, with Robert Thurston
• Battlestar Galactica 14: Surrender the Galactica!, with Robert Thurston

Original novels by Richard Hatch

• Battlestar Galactica: Armageddon, with Christopher Golden
• Battlestar Galactica: Warhawk, with Christopher Golden
• Battlestar Galactica: Resurrection, with Stan Timmons
• Battlestar Galactica: Rebellion, with Alan Rogers
• Battlestar Galactica: Paradis, with Brad Linaweaver
• Battlestar Galactica: Destiny, with Brad Linaweaver
• Battlestar Galactica: Redemption, with Brad Linaweaver

Tor Science Fiction has published the following works in both hardcover and paperback format.

• Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver
• The Cylons' Secret by Craig Shaw Gardner
• Sagittarius Is Bleeding by Peter David
• Unity by Steven Harper

• Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica[40]
• So Say We All: An Unauthorized Collection of Thoughts and Opinions on Battlestar Galactica, edited by Richard Hatch
• Battlestar Galactica and International Relations[41] by Nicholas J. Kiersey and Iver B. Neumann (editors)
• An Analytical Guide to Television's Battlestar Galactica[42] by John Kenneth Muir

Mattel Battlestar Galactica game, circa 1978

In 1978, Mattel Electronics released a handheld electronic LED game based on the series. The player tries to defend Galactica from kamikaze Cylon Raiders by manipulating a switch on the game unit to direct their fire, triggered by a red button to the left of the unit.[43]

In November 2003, shortly before the premiere of the re-imagined TV series, Sierra released a 3D space combat Battlestar Galactica computer game for the original Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC. The game took place 40 years before the original series and featured an ensign Adama flying a Viper during the Cylon war. The game was developed by Warthog.[44]

There is also a 2D Xbox 360 Live Arcade title called Battlestar Galactica wherein players can co-op or dogfight with up to 8 people over Xbox Live.[45]

Battlestar Galactica Online was a 3D browser-based MMOG released as an open beta on February 8, 2011 by Bigpoint Games.[46]

Battlestar Galactica Deadlock is a 2017 3D turn based strategy game (released on PC, Xbox One and PS4) featuring the First Cylon War. The game is developed by Black Lab Games and published by the Slitherine Software.

The original series inspired a Battlestar Galactica board game. The game is set during a training mission, where two to four players maneuver pieces representing Colonial Vipers to capture a damaged Cylon Raider. Play includes using terrain elements and a number of special-ability cards to the players' advantage.

In 1979, FASA released a tabletop counter piece game for Battlestar Galactica based on the fighter combat, which included the Galactica and a Cylon Basestar to be launched from, attack with and be attacked/defended. The counters for the Vipers and the Raiders included three model versions MKI/MKII/MKIII, not just the MKII Viper and Raider MKI.[47]

Wiz Kids, Inc. (a collectible game manufacturer) produced the Battlestar Galactica Collectible Card Game based on the 2003 mini-series and 2004 TV show. The premier set of this game was released in May 2006. After the release of one expansion set, Wizkids cancelled the game on March 13, 2007.[48]

A Battlestar Galactica role-playing game was released in August 2007 by Margaret Weis Productions at Gen Con.[49]

In 2008 Fantasy Flight Games produced Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, based on the 2003 re-imagined series. It is a semi-cooperative game of strategy for 3–6 players with some players being Cylon agents, either aware at start of the game or become aware later, as sleeper agents. Each of the 10 playable character has its own abilities and weaknesses, and they must all work together in order for humanity to survive, as well as attempt to expose the traitor while fuel shortages, food contaminations, and political unrest threaten to tear the fleet apart.[50] The game had three expansions, Pegasus, Exodus and Daybreak.[51][52]

In 2018, Ares Games released Battlestar Galactica: Starship Battles, a miniature game by Andrea Angiolino and Andrea Mainini simulating space duels between Vipers and Raiders, with expansions including further models. The game is based on the 2003 re-imagined series, but the license will also allow use of spaceships from the original series, with a game approach similar to Wings of War.[53]