Battlestar Galactica (2003)
This article is about the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica in 2003; for more about the miniseries, see Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries); for more about the subsequent television series, see Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series); for other versions, see the main Battlestar Galactica page or Battlestar Galactica (disambiguation). network = Sci Fi Channel (United States) | first_aired = December 8, 2003 (mini-series)
October 18, 2004 (regular series - UK)
January 14, 2005 (regular series - U.S.) | last_aired = present | num_episodes = 2 (mini-series)
33 (series to date) | imdb_id = 0407362Battlestar Galactica was first re-imagined as a science fiction miniseries that was initially broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel on December 8, 2003. It spawned a regular television series which premiered on Sky One in the UK on October 18, 2004 and on Sci Fi Channel in the U.S. on January 14, 2005.
This new series was promoted as a "re-imagining" of the Universal Studios 1978 movie and television series Battlestar Galactica. It is not simply a remake of the original but a new direction taken from the same original premise, analogous to a "reboot" in comic books.
The series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
A new comic book series was released in 2006 by Dynamite Entertainment, featuring the characters from the re-imagined show.
Despite the shows second complete season out on DVD August 16th 2006 in Australia, Australia's Channel Ten began airing the second season at 11:00pm on Wednesday, August 2nd 2006. The show will keep it's timeslot for the subsequent 20 weeks.The new series departs from the original in several respects. It rejects the traditional televised science fiction styles of Star Trek adopted by the original in favor of what executive producer Ronald D. Moore calls "naturalistic science fiction." In premise, the new series recasts several key characters from male to female and introduces the notion that the Cylons, the cybernetic enemies of the humans, were created by man. In addition to the Cylon Centurions there are also humanoid models that closely mimic a complete human down to the cellular level. The look of the new series also benefits from recent advances in computer-generated imaging and digital special effects.
Although a small group of purists from the original series' fandom loudly disapproved of changes to the premise, the show was the highest-rated cable miniseries of 2003. In fact, it has been the highest rated original program in the Sci Fi Channel's history. Its strong audience draw was enough to prompt the channel to commission a new ongoing television series, the first episode of which drew an estimated 850,000 viewersâ€"an 8% multichannel viewer shareâ€"on its world premiere on Sky One in the United Kingdom. In the tradition of science fiction series such as Star Trek, the writers use science fiction to examine contemporary social, moral, and ethical issues in allegory.
The miniseries and the subsequent weekly series have enjoyed general critical acclaim as being superior to the original, leading TIME magazine to declare in the spring of 2005 that the new show was one of the six best drama series on television. It would proclaim the series the best show on television in September of the same year. The American Film Institute named the show to its list of the ten best shows on television. Other mainstream publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone magazine, and Newsday also named the series one of the best on television for 2005. In 2006, the series won a prestigious Peabody Award in recognition of its creative excellence. | North American DVD release of the first season. |
HistoryPrevious efforts to remake or continue the story of Battlestar Galactica by Tom DeSanto, Bryan Singer, and original series star Richard Hatch involved using either the original cast or the original characters and plot. None of these projects proceeded beyond the development stage.
Ronald D. Moore, executive producer and screenwriter of the new Battlestar Galactica, wrote in February 2003: "Here lies a slumbering giant, its name known to many, its voice remembered by but a few. For a brief moment, it strode the Earth, telling tall tales of things that never were, then stumbled over a rating point and fell into a deep sleep." He tackled the re-imagining with realism in mind, portraying the show's heroes as being part of a "flawed" humanity. Those flaws include Adama and his son harboring resentment toward one another, Colonel Tigh's alcoholism and deep personal demons, and an outdated battlestar prone to problems and outside sabotage. The muted special effects are without the unscientific sounds commonplace in most television and film science fiction. Comparatively realistic Newtonian physics and the use of bullets and missiles instead of energy weapons such as lasers also make the re-imagining stand out.
Ronald D. Moore has admitted that the miniseries and series drew inspiration from the tragic events of 9/11 and its aftermath. The shows feature elements such as "sleeper" agents, the threat of sneak terrorist attacks using civilian transports, Cylon suicide bombers, the torture of prisoners, and a struggle motivated by intense religious differences. Episode thirteen of the second season featured political activists attempting to use sabotage against the fleet to force "peace talks" with the Cylons.Comparison with the 1978 seriesAmong the most notable changes made from the older series are the inclusion of Cylon models which mimic humans and numerous characters who are of a different race or gender. Human culture is made to closely resemble contemporary 21st century Western culture, with names and costuming often indistinguishable from other television shows. Human technology is deliberately retro, which is explained as a military necessity given Cylon tactical advantages. The tone is also changed from a heroic fantasy to a more naturalistic survival narrative with many allusions, both subtle and obvious, to current events.References to modern cultureThe re-imagined show references many aspects of modern culture and the military. The original Cylon attack plays upon post-9/11 fears; frequent outbreaks of xenophobia and fear of Cylon "sleeper agents" mirror current fears of terrorist "sleeper cells" in Europe and North America. In one episode, a Cylon android blows itself up in a successful suicide bombing attempt. In the first episode of the series, 33, Apollo and Starbuck are ordered to destroy a civilian transport attempting a suicide attack on Galactica, having serious ethical ramifications later. The show has also addressed other issues, such as abortion and the morality of prisoner torture.For the first season, thirteen episodes were produced and all have been made available on DVD in the United States and United Kingdom. The second season consists of twenty episodes, ten of which have been released on DVD in the United States. A third season has been greenlighted for 20 episodes, and begins October 6, 2006 on the Sci-Fi channel in the United States.
In January, 2006, Apple's iTunes began offering the miniseries, season one, and season two episodes for purchase on its service. NBC Universal, the owner and distributor of the show, has provided a number of its shows for purchase to U.S. customers, to be released the day after the original broadcast.[1] All episodes of the series, as well as the miniseries, are available.
Downloadable podcasts for some episodes of season one and all episodes of season two are also available via iTunes and SciFi.com. SciFi.com also usually has an episode available for viewing on the website.# Although it is funded and produced by American (and, in the case of the first season, British) companies, Battlestar Galactica is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Two of the stars (Grace Park and Tricia Helfer) are Canadian. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, and Katee Sackhoff are American, while James Callis and Jamie Bamber are British. The vast majority of the secondary actors (e.g. Michael Hogan), extras, and day players are hired from within Canada, as are many guest-stars (most notably Donnelly Rhodes, who has a recurring role as the ship's chain-smoking doctor).* Galactica 1980, the 1980 series
* Battlestar Galactica (video game)* David Bassom's Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion (Titan Books 2006, ISBN 1845760972)
*Official Blog of series developer, executive producer, main writer, and show runner Ron D. Moore
*The Battlestar Galactica DVD Official Universal Studios Site
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*Scifi Channel miniseries site
*Scifi Channel regular series site
*Battlestar Galactica 2003 at EPisodeWorld.com
*Battlestar Galactica Wiki
*HollywoodNorthReport.com Flight Deck News
*Piracy is Good?: How Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV, Mindjack, (May 13, 2005)
*Official Battlestar Galactica CCG site
*[2] Dynamite Entertainment -- publisher of Battlestar Galactica Comic Book Series
* Rocket Man: Jamie Bamber and the Queering of Sci-Fi August 2006 Out magazine cover story
*Colonial Defense Forces
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