Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is the title of two television series: the first, broadcast on the American ABC Network for one season beginning in September, 1978; and the second, first broadcast in 2004 on the SciFi Channel. Critically-acclaimed, the second version of Battlestar Galactica was given one of Time magazine's "Best of 2005: Television" awards.[1]
Contents
The 2004 Revival
Background
The show follows the conflict between the human race, as represented by the residents of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, and the Cylon race, a robotic race created by the humans fifty years prior to the events of the television show. Shortly after their creation, these Cylons, appearing as metallic robots, rebelled and fought a long war against the humans. After great losses by humanity, an armistice was signed.
Main Arc
In the main plot of the show, the Cylons return to destroy the human race. However, the Cylons have evolved - or developed themselves - to appear human. Using various sleeper agents, they permeate the Twelve Colonies and bring about a massive surprise attack. Twelve billion people are killed, and the 50,000 or so remaining humans retreat, the small ragtag civilian fleet protected by only a single warship, the eponymous Battlestar-class Galactica.
The first season describes humanity's escape from the Twelve Colonies after the Cylon attack. The second follows humanity's attempt to forge a political system within the fleet, ending in a presidential election and the settlement of a new planet, well-hidden from Cylon detection. The third season covers humanity's recuperation from the fall-out from both of these events, and the search for the elusive "Thirteenth Colony," Earth, a world shrouded in mythology, which the humans believe will be their safe haven from the Cylons. The third season also significantly develops the prophetic plotline, and reveals a great secret of the show - the identity of four of the Final Five Cylons. The fourth and final season, now on its midseason break, has focused on finding Earth, Starbuck's destiny, and the identity of the final Cylon. [2]
Artistic Notes
Common themes involve the topics of prophetic religions in society, the tension between liberty and safety in a world riddled with terrorism, interfamily conflicts, and the meaning of "survival" after a catastrophic event.
The show can be noted for its use of reduced (but not entirely muted) sounds in space combat - an artistic flourish that, while more accurate, has been absent from mainstream science fiction like Star Wars or the Star Trek series. It is thought that the producers of the show drew heavily from Joss Whedon's short running television show, Firefly, which muted all noises in space scenes. The style of the space scenes also shares some similarity, probably since Zoic Studios did the visuals for both series.
Other titles
The Original Series: Similar in premise to the 2004 revival, it related how humanity struggles to survive against the Cylon threat.
Battlestar Galactica 1980: It was a continuation of the Original Series. The Galacica and the fleet discover Earth; only it is in a primitive stage in the year 1980. The crew of the Galactica decides to try and advance Earth civilization subtly to the point where they can help battle the Cylons.
Common Characters
Adama: Adama is the commander of the ship called Galactica. This also means he is the commander of the entire colonial military in all of the Battlestar Galactica series. In the Original Series and the 1980 version he was also a member the Quroum of Twelve that was the colonial government. In the 2004 series his name was changed from Adama to William Adama.
Starbuck: Starbuck was a male fighter pilot in the Original Series and a female fighter pilot in the 2004 version. In the 2004 series she also became a field officer. Her real name is Kara Thrace; "Starbuck" being a callsign.
Boomer: Boomer was a male fighter pilot in the Original Series and a female raptor pilot in the 2004 series. In the 1980 version he took on the role as the executive officer (second in command) of the Galactica.
In the 2004 series she was once again a fighter pilot and mechanic. Her real name was Sharon Valerii; and used the callsign Boomer. She was later found to be a humanoid Cylon sleeper agent, although being a sleeper she did not realize this herself until, fulfilling a trigger, she shot Adama. Another copy of Sharon was found by Helo, a pilot trapped on Caprica after the attack. She helped him escape, falling in love with him in the process. Being a Cylon she was imprisoned when the pair rejoined the fleet. She helped the fleet avoid Cylon attacks, and rescue other refugees from Caprica. She became pregnant through an premarital relationship with Helo and gave birth to a Cylon-human crossbreed. After some time, this Sharon was accepted back into the fleet, with the callsign "Athena".
The Cylon number of the Sharon models is 8.
Apollo: Apollo is Adama's son (in all series). He was a fighter pilot, although in the 2004 series he advanced to command his own ship, the Pegasus. In the 2004 series he is named Lee Adama, with "Apollo" being his callsign. Apollo has a bad relationship with his father, and while they love each other, they are often at odds over philosophical differences.
Tigh: Tigh is the executive officer for the Galactica in the Original and the 2004 versions. In the 2004 series he is named Saul Tigh. In the third season finale, he discovers that he is a Cylon humanoid, like Boomer.
Baltar: Baltar is a traitor to the colonials. In the original series he was a member of the Quroum of Twelve, who helped the Cylons attack the colonies. This was used for his personal ambition to rule over Cylons and humans. However he had to escape the fleet and join the Cylons as the commander of a Cylon basestar.
In the 2004 version he was a scientist named Gaius Baltar, famous on Caprica for his brilliance and charisma. He created a defense grid around the twelve colonies that the Cylons were able to hack; this was not a flaw he introduced, but instead the result of his seduction by a humanoid Cylon (number 6). He did what he could to keep this secret, and in fact rose to vice presidency, and finally the presidency. During his brief presidency the fleet built a city on New Caprica. This was assaulted by the Cylons and Baltar was forced to sign the surrender of the colonies. When the people from New Caprica were rescued, Baltar was taken with the Cylons, only to be recaptured later and forced to stand trial, as the truth of his involvement in the destruction of the colonies was revealed.
Six: The Six-model Cylons appear as tall, slender, and very beautiful women, often sexually aggressive. Most commonly blonde, their hair can be any color. A Six seduced Gaius Baltar, allowing herself to insinuate code into the Colonies' defense systems that allowed the Cylons to shut them down remotely.
A Six that only Gaius can see, hear, and feel has been his constant companion almost since the destruction of the colonies. Her exact origin isn't known, but she calls herself an "angel sent by God" to protect and instruct him.
