Battlestar Galactica (2003)

:This article is about the 2003 miniseries and subsequent television series; for other versions, see Battlestar Galactica (disambiguation).

Regular series

Production

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 fully on BSG.

Related Topics:
Episode - February 10 - 2004 - October 18 - January 24 - 2005 - NBC Universal - David Eick - January 14 - January 15 - HBO - Carnivàle

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Battlestar Galactica's first season aired in the UK three months ahead of the show's premiere in the US 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.

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The time lag between the UK and US 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 US 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.

Related Topics:
Peer-to-peer - EDonkey - BitTorrent - Word of mouth - Podcast

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The series proved successful on its UK 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, and on February 9, 2005, Sci Fi announced that it was commissioning a 20-episode second season — seven episodes more than the first season. Premiering in the US on Sci Fi on July 15, 2005, a UK premiere will follow in January 2006 — the second season, unlike the first, is funded entirely from US sources, so Sky will revert to its normal practice of only broadcasting it after its US premiere. The second season will feature all of the first season cast.

Related Topics:
February 9 - 2005 - July 15

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The first episode of the regular series, "33", won the 2005 short form Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

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See also: List of Battlestar Galactica (2003) episodes

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Season 1 (2004)

Synopsis

The opening text before each episode:

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:The Cylons were created by Man.

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:They Rebelled.

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:They Evolved.

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:They Look and Feel Human.

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:Some are programmed to think they are Human.

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:There are many copies.

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:And they have a Plan.

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Battlestar Galactica follows on from the miniseries to chronicle the journey of the last remaining humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol after their annihilation by the Cylons. The last surviving humans are led by President Laura Roslin and Commander William Adama in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar Galactica at its lead. Their mission: evade the Cylons and search for a new home (ostensibly Earth).

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Main title

The first season's main title is divided into two segments, the first a reflective series of flashbacks showing the Colonies' destruction and the Cylon invasion, 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 ', which used a similar device at the start of each episode of its first season.

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There are significant differences in the titles between the UK and US versions of the show. The "reflective" segment of the title sequence has vocals over a lilting theme in the UK version, while the US version is slow and somber and lacks vocals, but with percussion (snare drums) throughout. The UK and US versions have similar music in the "active" segment of the titles, using a fast-paced version of the distinctive taiko drumming that characterises the Galactica score.

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The vocals sound Celtic but are in fact a famous Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda. The words 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 Savitar the God / so May he stimulate our prayers".

Related Topics:
Celtic - Hindu - Mantra - Gayatri Mantra - Rig Veda

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The contrasting UK and US versions arose as a result of creative differences between Moore, the series composer Richard Gibbs and the Sci Fi Channel's management. The Vedic vocals were originally devised as "temp music" intended to serve as a placeholder for a forthcoming score. Moore and fellow producer David Eick liked the temp music so much that they opted to retain it, and instructed Gibbs to work it up into a full score, though the composer himself was far from happy with this.

Related Topics:
Richard Gibbs - Temp music

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However, the Sci Fi Channel disliked the vocals on the grounds that they were "too sad", overruled Moore and created a new version for the US screening of the series. This was based on existing background music for the show, which Gibbs felt was even less suitable for a title sequence. The titles themselves were slightly shorter than the UK version, and the end result was two differing versions both of which satisfied only one party out of the three involved. http://www.galactica2003.net/articles/gibbs122404.shtml.

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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:

Related Topics:
Bear McCreary - Gaelic - Latin - Italian - Opera

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:Woe upon your Cylon heart

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:There's a toaster in your head

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:And it wears high heels

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:Number Six calls to you

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:The Cylon Detector beckons

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:Your girlfriend is a toaster

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Story arcs

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

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• 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. They were also 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.

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Season 2 (2005)

Synopsis

The opening text before each episode recap:

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:The Cylons were created by Man.

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:They Evolved.

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:They Rebelled.

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:There are many copies.

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:And they have a Plan.

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The main title text:

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:47,875 survivors

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:In search of a home

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:Called Earth

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This text is updated every episode to show the current population of the fleet, a number that previously was visible in many episodes on the whiteboard aboard Colonial One.

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Main title

For BSG's second season, the Sci Fi Channel eschewed Moore's "in this episode" montage until the fifth episode. Sci Fi adapted the UK version of the main title theme for the second season of the show, using the vocal part missing from the US first season title. The length of the opening title has been reduced to 35 seconds, as Sci Fi chose to shorten all its main franchises' opening sequences, including fellow Friday shows Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. It remains to be seen if a longer sequence will be shown abroad and in syndication, or if the UK theme song will be accepted or rejected by the US audience.

Related Topics:
Stargate SG-1 - Stargate Atlantis

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Story arcs

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

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The second season story arcs include:

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• 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, the Caprican copy of Boomer, and Helo's escape from Caprica.
• 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.
• The discovery of the Battlestar Pegasus, under the command of Admiral Nelena Cain, probably the only other Battlestar to survive the Cylon attack.

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)

Reruns/syndication

• Universal HD (United States)