Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)

Battlestar Galactica is a reinterpretation of the 1978 military science fiction classic Battlestar Galactica, which was produced and broadcast from 2003 onwards on behalf of the American SciFi Channel. It was first shown on German television on SciFi starting in 2005. Executive producers were Ronald D. Moore, who was also involved in the production of the series Deep Space Nine and Roswell, and David Eick.

The frame story is based on the original "Battlestar Galactica", although it becomes more complicated towards the end and concludes more ambiguously than the 1978 original. The focus was shifted more towards the drawing of the characters and the social problems in the new edition. In addition, Greek mythology was more heavily incorporated into the fictional civilization, with the Mormon influences woven in by then-producer Glen A. Larson all but gone. The biggest difference is probably the origin of the Cylons. This was explained in more detail in the - in the meantime cancelled - prequel Caprica: While they were alien invaders in 1978, they are now androids developed by the human civilization itself.

Although the backstory of the original series serves as the basis for the plot, the remake was completely redeveloped. According to the authors and producers, the series is explicitly aimed at adults because of the complex plot. Technology plays a central role, as it does in everyday life, but only as a means to an end. The focus is on the plot driven by the complex interaction of the main characters.

Franchise

The series ended in March 2009 with its fourth season.

Between seasons 2 and 3 as well as 3 and 4, only so-called webisodes available on the Internet were produced. In addition, a feature-length film (Razor) was produced in the run-up to season 4, which also deals with a subline of the main storyline not shown in the seasons. Another feature film (The Plan), which depicts the events from the Cylons' point of view, was released in November 2009.

The franchise was continued with the prequel Caprica, in which the emergence of the Cylons is illuminated. However, it was cancelled after only one season with 18 episodes.

Another planned prequel called "Battlestar Galactica - Blood & Chrome" has not yet been realized on a larger scale for cost reasons. Originally planned as a web series, only the pilot episode was produced as a TV movie that could have served as a starting point for a series. The pilot episode was divided into ten chapters of seven to twelve minutes in length and gradually aired from November 9 until February 2013.

Series

TV miniseries (2003)

The two-part pilot (miniseries) was shown on December 8 and 9, 2003 in the USA and had the best ratings among miniseries on cable television. It was broadcast in Germany in 2005 on Premiere and in February 2006 on the private station RTL II.

First season

After the great success of the miniseries, the first season with 13 episodes was produced, which was initially broadcast in the UK (Sky One) from October 2004. In the USA, the series was broadcast on the SciFi Channel from 14 January 2005. It had been assumed that many Americans had already downloaded the shows via file sharing and would therefore no longer watch them on television. However, the series actually achieved record ratings. In Germany, the series began airing on free TV on RTL 2 from 8 February 2006.

Second season

The second season was aired - with a three-month break after the 10th episode - in the USA from 15 July 2005. In Germany, the broadcast of the second season on Premiere was completed on September 28, 2006. The broadcast on RTL 2 took place from 28 November 2007.

The Resistance

Between the second and the third season lies a period of several months. This period was bridged as a ten-part online series (so-called webisodes) entitled "Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance". Beginning on September 5, 2006, the series aired on SciFi Pulse every Tuesday and Thursday and has a total length of 25 minutes, divided into episodes of 2 to 5 minutes in length.

The Resistance can currently only be viewed by internet users with an American IP address on SciFi's website. Whether it will be made officially available to other viewers in the future is still unclear. However, the individual episodes of The Resistance are available for download on various fan homepages for web users outside the US.

All ten webisodes are available as bonus material on the second disc of the German DVD box set, which contains the first ten episodes of the third season of "Battlestar Galactica".

Third season

The third season was broadcast - with a month break after the 11th episode - from October 6, 2006 to March 25, 2007 on the American "SciFi Channel". The first German broadcast was on Premiere from November 16, 2007. On free TV, the third season was shown on RTL 2 from 18 February 2009. In the meantime, it is available in Germany on DVD with German soundtrack (September/October 2009).

Razor/Flashbacks

Razor (also known as On a Razor's Edge) is a separate television movie to the series, revolving around the story of the Battlestar Pegasus. Chronologically, Razor takes place after episode 17 of the second season. Accompanying the initial broadcast was another, this time seven-part series of mini-episodes titled Flashbacks, set during the time of the First Cylon War. However, the plot of these mini-episodes ends a short time before the events recounted in the two-part 2003 pilot. The TV movie first aired on American television on November 24, 2007. Flashbacks aired every Friday from October 5 to November 16, 2007 as a two-minute short episode during the broadcast of Flash Gordon. In Germany, Razor was shown on February 24, 2010 on RTL 2. The Flashbacks are included on the DVD release of the film in the US, UK and Germany (with German subtitles).

Fourth season

Even before the release of the fourth season, the producers announced that it would be the last season and the story arc would come to an end. Initially, however, only ten episodes were shot due to the strike of the US screenwriters, and production stopped for several months. The season started on 4 April 2008 and also ended for the time being after the tenth episode aired on 14 June 2008. The second half of the season, also consisting of ten episodes, started on 16 January 2009 and ended on 20 March 2009. The German premiere of the first part was broadcast on FOX Channel from 15 November 2008. The second half was shown there from 15 September 2009. In German free TV, the fourth season ran from 3 March 2010 on RTL 2.

The Face of the Enemy

The several-month hiatus in season four was again bridged by a ten-part online series, with episodes ranging from three to six minutes in length. The mini-series is set in a disabled Raptor that has been separated from the fleet. On board are Lt. Felix Gaeta and two models of the "Number 8", as well as several other humans. Under mysterious circumstances, the crew members begin to die.

The Plan

In 2008, filming began on a second feature-length film, directed by Edward James Olmos. The direct-to-video release was on October 27, 2009, and the first broadcast on Syfy was on January 10, 2010.

The film picks up the events until about the end of the second season from the point of view of two model "1" Cylon agents (Brother Cavil). One coordinates the actions of the Cylon agents hidden in the fleet and wants to complete the genocide of humanity through their attacks (e.g. suicide bombings and the assassination of Adama), the other infiltrates the resistance cell of Sam Anders on Caprica. Through the movie, certain "gaps" in the series are filled in, especially regarding the motivations of the Cylons. The film consists of about half new footage, and the other half of cut-together scenes from the series.

Blood & Chrome

Back in the summer of 2010, work was already underway on another prequel series, which was to be titled Blood & Chrome. This became known to the public through producer Michael Taylor, who also wrote the scripts. As recently as the fall of 2010, SyFy confirmed the project by ordering a two-hour pilot. It was directed by Jonas Pate and starred Luke Pasqualino as the young Adama. However, after filming wrapped in the spring of 2011, SyFy backed away from their series plan. Instead, SyFy president Mark Stern announced at San Diego Comic-Con that he intended to use the filmed footage as a web series, which was ultimately confirmed in March 2012. Beginning in November 2012, Blood & Chrome was posted online weekly with circa 12-minute clips on Machinima's YouTube channel. Eventually, after fan pressure, the original film version of the web series aired on SyFy in the fall of 2013 with revised special effects. This version was also released some time later. In Germany, Blood & Chrome has been available since spring 2016. The German free-TV premiere took place on June 4, 2018 on Tele 5.

Blood & Chrome is set about 30 years before the main series and is meant to be a loose bridge between Caprica and Battlestar Galactica. In it, the 12 Colonies have been at war with the Cylons for 10 years when young fighter pilot William "Husker" Adama is assigned to Galactica. At the time, one of the most advanced ships in the fleet. He is assigned to the experienced pilot Coker, and together they are to complete a routine mission, assisting a certain Dr. Beka Kelly. However, during these missions, they are drawn into hostile activity that could decide the war.

Remake

Universal is planning a remake of the material, in which screenwriter Jack Paglen ("Transcendence") and the producer of the original series - Glen A. Larson - would be involved. However, Larson died in November 2014. No details are yet known about the cast and plot.