Battlestar Galactica
(2003 — 2009)
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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
60 Minute Drama
Science Fiction

ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION
2003 — 2009

BROADCASTER
Sci-Fi

SEASONS / EPISODES
Mini-Series
5 Seasons / 73 Episodes
2 TV Movies

Like the original 1970s series (Battlestar Galactica (1970s), this re-imagined version 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, it does have to be said, is very much where the similarities between the two versions end.

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

As could be 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) were all present although, as may be noted, Starbuck and Boomer changed sex in the process of re-balancing the cast for a modern audience. In the case of Boomer, the changes went a little further, as she was unexpectedly revealed to be a Cylon at the conclusion of the original mini-series...

Unlike the 1970s series, Dr Baltar was a highly respected member of the crew (even being elected Vice President), although unknown to anyone else he had been 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 was still haunting him, by mean unknown. The other main addition to the cast was President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a junior member of the previous President's staff who ascended to the top job after the Cylon attack, and who was 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, resulted in Season 4 (split into Seasons 4 and 5 on transmission) being announced as the final one, with several feature-length TV movies 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.
Novelisations
Battlestar Galactica

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Battlestar Galactica cover image
by Jeffrey Carver
  • United States
  • Hardback
  • Tor Books
  • 2005
Other Editions
Flag of United States Battlestar Galactica
United States / Paperback / Tor Books / 2005
Back Cover Blurb — Tor Books
"Even if you're not normally a fan of the genre, you may find that this Battlestar is smart enough and entertaining enough to win you over." — USA Today

Battlestar Galactica, an original Sci Fi channel miniseries, electrified viewers and critics alike and was hailed as a landmark in sci-fi television. Here, for the first time, is the novel based on that exciting drama.

For forty years, the Twelve Colonies of Man were at peace, united since the war against the robotic Cylons. These mechanical beings, created by mankind to perform the manual labor civiliazation required, were gone forever...or so humanity thought.

But in those years, the Cylons developed new Cylons that looked and acted like humans...and then they attacked the Twelve Worlds.

Only a single warship survived the massive attack: Battlestar Galactica, the oldest ship in the fleet, ready to be decomissioned and turned into a museum. Commander William Adama, himself set to retire, had but one course: to marshal his meager forces, and somehow keep the Cylons from wiping out the last vestiges of the human race. But their inhuman Cylon enemies — stronger, smarter, and driven to destroy — may be too powerful for them, and all of humanity, to survive.
Novelised Episodes
Battlestar Galactica (2003 mini-series)
Notes
  • A novelisation of the four-hour mini-series that led into the full television series from the US Sci-Fi Channel. The basic plot is based on Saga of a Star World, the three-hour opening episode of the original series which was novelised in 1978 by Robert Thurston as Battlestar Galactica.
Original Novels
Battlestar Galactica: The Cylons' Secret

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The Cylons' Secret cover image
by Craig Shaw Gardner
  • United States
  • Hardback
  • Tor Books
  • 2006
Other Editions
Flag of United States Battlestar Galactica: The Cylons' Secret
United States / Paperback / Tor Books / 2007
Notes
Battlestar Galactica: Sagittarius is Bleeding

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Sagittarius is Bleeding cover image
by Peter David
  • United States
  • Hardback
  • Tor Books
  • 2006
Other Editions
Flag of United States Battlestar Galactica: Sagittarius is Bleeding
United States / Paperback / Tor Books / 2007
Notes
Battlestar Galactica: Unity

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Unity cover image
by Steven Harper
  • United States
  • Hardback
  • Tor Books
  • 2007
Other Editions
Flag of United States Battlestar Galactica: Unity
United States / Paperback / Tor Books / 2007
Notes
Omnibus Editions
Battlestar Galactica Trilogy

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Battlestar Galactica Trilogy
by Peter David, Craig Shaw Gardner and Steven Harper
  • United States
  • Paperback
  • Tor Books
  • 2009
Back Cover Blurb
Battlestar Galactica, recognized as one of the most provocative, and socially relevant series of the new millennium, earned its status as a classic American drama series after its very first, Peabody Award-winning season. Here, for the first time in one volume, are all three original Battlestar Galactica novels — based on the highly-lauded TV series that took the country by storm.

In The Cylons' Secret, by Craig Shaw Gardner, a ship, scavenging the outer settlements for valuable Cylon technologies after the first human-Cylon war, stumbles on a super-secret scientific outpost beyond charted space. Mere hours later, Battlestar Galactica receives a one-word distress call from the scavenging ship: "Cylons," causing the young Colonel William Adama to investigate.

Sagittarius Is Bleeding, by Peter David, concerns President Laura Roslin, whose prophetic dreams have infused her people with hope that they will find Earth, humanity's cradle. But her new dreams of a galaxy overrun by the Cylons disturb her even as they energize an extremist political group. The threat of violent revolt puts Roslin at personal risk and endangers the fleet.

In Unity by Steven Harper, Peter Attis, a rock star adored by all the fleet, including Starbuck, has recently been rescued from a Cylon prison ship. But after his first post-return concert, crewmembers are stricken by a strange malady that threatens to lay the fleet open to Cylon attack.
Notes
  • Omnibus edition of all three original novels.