Classic Sci Fi TV: Battlestar: Galactica (2003)

Classic Sci Fi TV: Our ongoing look back at many of the classics of science fiction and fantasy television.

What Is It? The twelve colonies had been at war with the robotic Cylons, which they had created as servants, but an armistice has kept the peace for 40 years. However, the Cylons unleash a surprise attack which wipes out the majority of the human population as well as their ability to retaliate. The aging Battlestar: Galactica is the only warship to survive and it must lead a fleet containing the remaining refugees of the human race to the legendary thirteenth colony known as Earth.

Aired: The Sci Fi Channel, 2003-09, 4 Seasons Totaling 76 Episodes plus a Two-Part Mini-Series

Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park

Developed By: Ronald D. Moore

Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi? Yes. This series mixed science fiction with politically-charged themes and produced some hard-hitting episodes that rank among the best in sci fi TV.

The Skinny: The original Battlestar: Galactica from 1978 was a campy affair that rode in on the wave of Star Wars popularity but then disappeared from the airwaves in about a year’s time. It certainly did not seem like a good fit for a dark remake, but Star Trek veteran Ronald D. Moore saw it as an opportunity to explore some themes about human nature that he had not had the chance to delve into on Trek shows like TNG and DS9. Starting out as a mini-series in 2003, BSG delivered a complete reboot of the original that drew from some of the basic concepts of the 70’s show but that fully reworked the characters and the universe.

Unlike the original, the new BSG went for more of a hard sci fi angle (though it did work in some mysticism as well), and it also completely dispensed with the campy tone. This was an intense series that focused on the fact that the humans were in a desperate struggle for survival and had to face many hard choices. It worked in themes that related to the contemporary political environment at the time it was produced, and the show was not afraid push the boundaries with some of its stories. It did not pull its punches and had a palpable grimness, perhaps going too dark at times. But when the show was at its best, which was quite often during its first three seasons, it delivered some hard-hitting, essential sci fi TV.

Ultimately, how you feel about the show as a whole comes down to its fourth and final season. It arguably jumped the shark right about the end of the third season, with the fourth year and series finale doing plenty to unravel what the show had accomplished up to that point. It’s hard to knock a great series because it had a poor finish, but the final season definitely did some damage to the show’s reputation. Still, this is a must-watch sci fi TV entry. If you only want to watch through the third season (minus the final five minutes of the season finale), and then come up with your own ending, that’s understandable. But Battlestar: Galactica is an important series and it definitely had a notable impact on the genre in the years that followed.

Cancelled Too Soon? Maybe. The show’s fourth season was announced as its last in advance, and allegedly that is what the creative team had planned all along. But the ratings had already been on the decline (and this was an expensive series to produce), so it’s possible that execs at the Sci Fi Channel nudged the show towards ending sooner than it needed to (the lead actors had originally signed seven-year contracts). That might explain why the fourth season derailed and came to an unsatisfying ending. And within a couple of years, the network’s other space-based franchise Stargate ended its run and the cable channel was heading in a different direction with the newly renamed Syfy moniker.

Should It Be Rebooted? No. We don’t need a reboot of the reboot nor do we need a reboot of the original. There were talks of the latter happening on the big screen, but that effort seems to have died off. There are currently plans for a new Battlestar: Galactica series that will run on NBC’s upcoming Peacock streaming service and will come from Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail, but he has said that will not be a reboot and will take place in the same universe.

Interesting Facts: Richard Hatch, star of the original series, had been lobbying for a revival that would have continued the story from the 70’s show and he actually put together a trailer as a proof-of-concept (which you can see on YouTube at this link). He was unhappy with the decision to go forward with a complete reboot, but eventually accepted that and agreed to appear in a recurring role as Tom Zarek. The show drew plenty of attention in its first few seasons and the United Nations even held a special symposium to discuss the themes of race, gender, sexuality, religion and terrorism explored by BSG.

Where Can You Watch It? The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and it is also available for purchase VOD. It is available for streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video which includes the mini-series.

Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com