Like the original 1970s series (Battlestar Galactica (1970s), the new Battlestar Galactica tells the tale of the last remnants of humanity who are searching for the lost planet of Earth after the twelve colonies are destroyed in a surprise attack by the Cylons. And that is very much where the similarities between the two versions end.

But whereas the original series has rightly been criticised for being pretty awful on just about every level imaginable, the new series is very much a post-9/11, hard-edged drama that takes the basic premise of the original and has turned it into an epic struggle for survival against unbelievable odds. And to up the paranoia level, this time around the Cylons come in twelve different human forms (not all of which have yet been revealed), meaning that the enemy can be lurking (or spying) around every corner...

As expected, familiar characters like Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos), Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan), Apollo (Jamie Bamber), Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), Boomer (Grace Park) and Dr Baltar (James Callis) are all present although, as may be noted, Starbuck and Boomer have changed sex in the process of re-balancing the cast for a modern audience. In the case of Boomer, the changes go a little further as she was unexpectedly revealed to be a Cylon at the end of the original mini-series...

Unlike the 1970s series, Dr Baltar is a highly respected member of the crew (even being elected Vice President), although unknown to anyone else he was tricked into giving the Cylons the information needed to launch their original attack. One Cylon in particular, known as Number Six (Tricia Helfer), was involved in a relationship with Baltar before the attacks, and after being killed is still haunting him — although the exact nature of how this is happening has not yet been explained. The other main addition to the cast is President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a junior member of the previous President's staff who has now assumed the top job and is determined to lead the survivors to Earth, despite being terminally ill with breast cancer.

Declining ratings, and also a desire on the part of the production team to go out on a high, have resulted in Season Four being announced as the final one, with a feature-length TV movie, Razor, also being produced.

However, despite some sections of Galactica fandom actively campaigning for the series to be cancelled — particularly those fixated on the religious aspects of the original series and who consider it to be beyond criticism — most people, including the critics, consider it to be a first-rate piece of television drama which seems destined to be remembered as the first truly brilliant TV science fiction series of the 21st century.