Battlestar Galactica Series Overview
Looking Back at Ronald D. Moore's Re-Imagining of the Cult-Classic
Mar 27, 2009
In December, 2003, audiences around the world witnessed the birth, and the reinvention, of a classic science-fiction series, Battlestar Galactica. Bold changes were made to the original source material, and even bolder decisions were made about what the show would encompass.
Across its four seasons and numerous miniseries, Battlestar Galactica has seen nuclear holocausts ravage the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, had its heroes strap on explosives and become suicide bombers, and provided thoughtful musings on what it means to be human or machine and whether God has a say in such matters.
Battlestar Galactica Breaks Sci-Fi Boundaries
It’s widely considered one of the best television shows around, and has helped to break boundaries for the science-fiction genre. So often thought of as a genre meant solely for geeky teenagers and obsessed, costumed fanatics, BSG’s emphasis on characters over technology helped attract a wider audience.
It may have been set in space, had faster than light travel and sentient artificial intelligences, but BSG was really a show about people and human nature.
Ronald D. Moore Re-Imagines Battlestar Galactica
Attempts had been made at continuing the Battlestar Galactica series by the likes of Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto, but it would be a former Star Trek writer who succeeded where they’d failed. Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of BSG as a darker, more character-based affair convinced the Sci-Fi Channel to commission a miniseries.
Humanity Made The Cylons
Moore and his colleagues made some significant changes to the Battlestar Galactica formula with their reinvention. Instead of being the robotic warriors of an extinct reptilian species, the Cylons were humanity’s creation who, after gaining sentience, turned on their masters and war ensued.
It was a much more relevant premise, and the Cylons would go on to transcend their mechanical bodies and manufacture organic versions, identical to their human counterparts and able to infiltrate their ranks.
It was a bold move that paid off, as over BSG’s four seasons the Cylons have continued to evolve as a species. What’s funny is the Cylons are more spiritual than the humans, and have far deeper, stronger convictions in their faith.
But to maintain their appeal as a realistic and believable foe, the writers decided the Cylons should be as inherently flawed as humans are. Some Cylons have regretted the acts of genocide they have committed and have defected en masse. Others have rebelled against their design, malfunctioning essentially. It all adds up to them being one of television’s finest enemies.
Starbuck Becomes a Woman
Not content with shuffling the original series’ foundations around, Moore and co.’s changes didn’t end there. The decision that attracted the most ire was changing Starbuck’s character, a roguish but extremely talented pilot, from a man to a woman.
Kara Thrace would become the new Starbuck, but, in typical BSG form, the writers eschewed traditional gender conventions in their portrayal of Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace. A skilled pilot and heavy drinker, Starbuck was equally adept at striking a commanding officer as she was at bedding them.
Suicide Bombers in Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica has broken more than just genre boundaries. It’s approached topics and subjects others shows in more relevant genres haven’t. In Season 3, humanity found itself under Cylon Rule on New Caprica. Instead of surrendering, splinters of the original Colonial fleet, Saul Tigh and Galen Tyrol among them, resorted to suicide-bombing in an effort to disrupt the Cylon organisation.
It takes considerable courage for a show to portray such acts of terrorism, and significantly more to have the protagonists, the heroes the audience is rooting for, be the ones committing these terrorist acts. The New Caprica story arc is considered one of the show’s finest, and rightfully so.
Battlestar Galactica Isn't Over
The final episode of Battlestar Galactica tied up a few loose strings, but left some hanging. Some characters found peace, while others did not. The war came to an end, the Cylon threat had all but vanished, and a shocking, major twist occurred to bookend what has been a terrific, captivating four series of television.
This isn’t the end for the Battlestar Galactica universe. There’s still one last TV-movie to come, The Plan, which should hopefully tie up the aforementioned loose threads. And then there’s Caprica, a new series Ronald D. Moore is involved in detailing the Cylon genesis and how the war began. There’s still much more story to be told.
In the immortal words of Admiral Adama, So Say We All.
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