Battlestar Galactica (2004) - Complete series

It has been more than 20 years since the remake of Battlestar Galactica came to television and we were allowed to experience the battle between humanity and Cylons again for five seasons. Reason enough to see how this series has stood the test of time. But for the sake of overview, let's start with a bit of history. In 1978 the film Battlestar Galactica was released, a film that served as a pilot for the series that followed (in the same year). This series was then followed by Galactica 1980 and the 1999 film Battlestar Galactica: Second Coming (this film would serve as a pilot for a new series that never materialized).

After this, the old Battlestar Galactica was said goodbye to and the remake was released in 2004. This was also preceded by a miniseries in 2003 that served as a pilot for the series. The remake starts with a similar basic story, but is still fundamentally different from the original.



In another galaxy, people live spread over twelve colonies. In the past there has been war with the Cylons, a mechanical race created by humanity itself. Following a truce, the Cylons have retreated to a planet of their own and have not been seen or heard from for years. Until the beginning of the miniseries, because at that moment it turns out that the Cylons are still very hateful towards their creators.

In the intervening years they have managed to recreate themselves but in human form. In addition to the 'traditional' mechanical Cylons, there are now also Cylons that are 'human'. And it turns out that they have been working on a plan to destroy humanity for a long time. By manipulating scientist Gaius Balthar (James Callis, Blood & Treasure), the Cylons manage to surprise the twelve colonies and wipe out virtually all of humanity in a coordinated attack.

Almost, because the Battlestar Galactica, an old spaceship led by William Adama (Edward James Olmos, Mayans MC) manages to survive the attack - along with a handful of ships. Adama is still from the old school and, partly due to his aversion to the Cylons, has managed to keep his ship as far away as possible from digital networks and the like. As a result, Galactica is not affected by the Cylons' digital attack and is therefore not defenseless.

Together with what is left of humanity, including the former deputy minister of education Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell, The Fall of the House of Usher) who has now been declared the new president, they search for the mythical thirteenth colony that has separated from the other colonies in the past and left for Earth.

The problem is that the Cylons are not satisfied with exterminating most of humanity, they want to exterminate all of humanity. And besides the fact that they are chasing the fleet and Gaius Balthar is still being manipulated by a virtual version of a Cylon, it soon turns out that humanity had already been infiltrated by Cylons before the attack and that they are already among the fleet. So who can be trusted?

But the story is well put together. And a large part of that lies in the battle that has to be fought in addition to the war against the Cylons.

In fact no one, as the human Cylons among the fleet often only realize that they are Cylons when they are activated. So it is not the case that you only have to look at the behavior. Something that is difficult enough in itself, since there are many special characters walking around on Galactica. What about Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan, Teen Wolf), the alcoholic old grouch who is both Adama's best friend and right-hand man, Lee 'Apollo' Adama (Jamie Bamber, Cannes Confidential), the son who struggles with the shadow that his father casts and tries to find his place or Kara 'Starbuck' Trace (Katee Sackhoff, The Mandalorian), the best pilot in the fleet, but also often completely unhinged and rather debauched. And we can go on like this for a while.

Over four seasons and 73 episodes, we follow the route Galactica takes and the battle they wage, both among themselves and against the Cylons. And that wasn't the end for fans of this series, because in addition to the necessary extra episodes that were released online, the television films The Plan (in which the story is told from the perspective of the Cylons) and Blood & Chrome (about the younger years) were released. of Adama, during the first Cylon War) and the prequel series Caprica was released.



Battlestar Galactica is one of my favorite series and a series that I regularly watch again, enjoy watching and where I always see and discover new things. Is the series perfect? Certainly not, but which series does that apply to? There are sometimes some inconsistencies and the character development of characters does not feel equally satisfying for all of them.

But the story is well put together. And a large part of that lies in the battle that has to be fought in addition to the war against the Cylons. Humanity will have to decide for itself how it wants to proceed and not everyone is on the same page. Military authority regularly clashes with political authority. And what exactly is humanity? Can you maintain the same principles when there are relatively few people left? And what role does faith play in this? These are all existential questions that arise between the lines in Battlestar Galactica and are presented in an interesting way.

The fact that the Cylons are now also in human form gives extra depth to the story, partly because this ensures that 'human intrigues' take place within the Cylons themselves. Every human Cylon has its own personality and - in addition to the greater goal - also serves its own interests. In addition, the atmosphere for the unveiling of the last Cylons is built up very well, so that, especially the first time you see the series, you are on the edge of your seat to see who the last Cylons are, how they react to this and their the rest reacts when everything becomes clear.

In any case, a lot of thought has been given to creating the atmosphere. And that starts with the intro of each episode. You get a bird's eye view of what has happened to humanity and you get to see a current count of the number of people who are still alive at that moment. Did someone die last episode? The count is then immediately adjusted accordingly.

The way in which everything is depicted also contributes to that atmosphere. Both the scenes that take place in space and the scenes on board the ships are depicted in a certain way. There will undoubtedly be a technical term for this (unknown to me), but they use a kind of jerky image that sometimes suddenly zooms in and that contributes to a more realistic feeling that draws you into the series.

Every time I watch Battlestar Galactica I enjoy it. And even after all these years, the wear and tear is still not over for me. Has Battlestar Galactica stood the test of time? As far as I'm concerned, without a doubt. And although I will undoubtedly watch the new remake that is to come, I wonder whether they can deliver the same quality.