The first season of the reimagined science fiction television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

'', was commissioned by the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

in February 2004. The first episode, "33", was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2004, on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

, three months before its premiere in the United States on January 14, 2005 on the Sci-Fi Channel. Sky1 had negotiated first-broadcast rights of season 1 as part of its financial backing terms. The

first episode A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...

of the series received a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

and the season's 13 episodes were recognized with a Peabody Award "for pushing the limits of science fiction and making it accessible to all." The first season is a follow-up to the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

that first aired in December 2003.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

William Adama William "Bill" Adama (callsign "Husker") is a fictional character in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series produced and aired by the SyFy cable network. He is one of the main characters in the series, and is portrayed by Ed ...

Mary McDonnell Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances with Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Passion Fish''. McD ...

Laura Roslin Laura Roslin is a fictional character in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' series, portrayed by Mary McDonnell. She is the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and is one of the primary characters in the show. Character biography Ba ...

Katee Sackhoff Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another ...

as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace *

Jamie Bamber Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith (born 3 April 1973), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series '' Law & Order: ...

as Lee "Apollo" Adama *

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a British actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones's best friend Tom in ''Bridget Jones's Diar ...

Gaius Baltar Dr. Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series '' Battlestar Galactica'' played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. He is one of the show's primary characters. Personality G ...

Tricia Helfer Tricia Janine Helfer (born April 11, 1974) is a Canadian-American actress and former model. She played the enigmatic Cylon model Number Six in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' series (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in ''S ...

as Number Six * Grace Park as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Number Eight) * Michael Hogan as

Saul Tigh Saul Tigh is a fictional character on ''Battlestar Galactica'' played by Michael Hogan. He is one of the main characters of the show. Biography Overview and personality Saul Tigh is a line officer assigned as executive officer on the Galacti ...

* Aaron Douglas as

Galen Tyrol Galen Tyrol (commonly referred to as The Chief) is a character on the television series ''Battlestar Galactica''. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard. Battlestar ''Galactica''. After the events of the mi ...

Tahmoh Penikett Tahmoh Penikett (; ; born May 20, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Karl "Helo" Agathon on SyFy's 2004 television series ''Battlestar Galactica''. He has appeared in TV series ''Supernatural'', ''Dollhouse'', the Showcase time ...

as Karl "Helo" Agathon *

Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Anastasia Dualla in the SyFy series ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Dr. Clementine Chasseur in the Netflix series ...

Anastasia Dualla Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, portrayed by Kandyse McClure, is a fictional character in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica (reimagining), Battlestar Galactica.'' Character history A native of Sagittaron, Anastasia Dualla joined the Colonial Force ...

* Paul Campbell as

Billy Keikeya Billy Keikeya is a fictional character in the miniseries and television remake of '' Battlestar Galactica''. He is portrayed by Paul Campbell. Billy appeared until late in the second season, at which point he was killed by terrorists. Paul Campb ...

* Alessandro Juliani as

Felix Gaeta Lieutenant Junior Grade Felix Gaeta is a fictional character on '' Battlestar Galactica'' played by Alessandro Juliani. Arc Character overview in his early career Felix Gaeta is known for his friendly, encouraging, trusting, and idealistic na ...

Samuel Witwer Sam Witwer (born October 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in ''Battlestar Galactica'', Davis Bloome in ''Smallville'', Aidan Waite in '' Being Human'', Mr. Hyde in '' Once Upon a Time'', Ben Lockwood in '' ...

as Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo

Recurring cast

Nicki Clyne Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress, known for her role as Cally Henderson on the SyFy television series ''Battlestar Galactica''. Clyne is a member of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company founded by Keith Raniere. Former members, the media, an ...

as Cally Henderson *

Donnelly Rhodes Henry Donnelly Rhodes (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor, known professionally as Donnelly Rhodes. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convic ...

Sherman Cottle Major Sherman Cottle is a fictional character in the reimagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. The battlestar ''Galacticas Chief Medical Officer, Cottle is played by Donnelly Rhodes. Character biography Cottle is gruff, sarcastic, and po ...

* Callum Keith Rennie as

Leoben Conoy Leoben Conoy (Number Two) is a fictional character portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie appearing in the reimagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. Leoben is a humanoid Cylon agent who portrays himself as possessing philosophical and religious e ...

Matthew Bennett Matthew Ray Bennett (born April 9, 1968) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for portraying Detective Len Harper on ''Cold Squad'' and his recurring roles as Aaron Doral cylon model number five in the reimagined ''Battles ...

as Aaron Doral * Richard Hatch as

Tom Zarek These are lists of characters from the various ''Battlestar Galactica'' incarnations. Original 1978 movie and series People from the ''Galactica'': * Commander Adama - played by Lorne Greene * Commander Cain - played by Lloyd Bridges * Captain ...

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (from 1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in t ...

Ellen Tigh Ellen Tigh is a fictional character from the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. She is played by the actress Kate Vernon. Overview Ellen Tigh is the wife of Colonel Saul Tigh. At the beginning of the series, he believes she has been ...

Lorena Gale Lorena Gale (May 9, 1958 – June 21, 2009) was a Canadian actress, playwright and theatre director. She was active onstage and in films and television since the 1980s. She also authored two award-winning plays, ''Angélique'' and ''Je me so ...

as Elosha *

Leah Cairns Leah Cairns (born June 2, 1974) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Kathryn McLaren in the TV series " Travelers." Early life Cairns was born in ...

as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson *

Bodie Olmos Bodie James Olmos (born August 27, 1975) is an American actor. He is the son of Edward James Olmos and Kaija Keel, and grandson of Howard Keel. His older brother is actor Mico Olmos, and his younger sister is Daniela Olmos. His first on screen ...

as Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza *

Luciana Carro Luciana Carro (born March 23, 1981) is a Canadian actress best known for her appearances on the television series '' Battlestar Galactica'', '' Caprica'', and '' Falling Skies'' and in movies such as '' Two for the Money'' and '' Dr. Dolittle 3 ...

as Louanne "Kat" Katraine * Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus * Jennifer Halley as Diana "Hardball" Seelix *

Jill Teed Jill Teed is a Canadian actress. She is an actress who has appeared in many sci-fi roles. She has appeared in a number of television guest roles such as ''Street Justice'', ''The X-Files'', ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Sliders'', and '' The Outer Limits ...

as Sergeant Hadrian, Master-at-Arms

Episodes

In the following list, "Survivor count" refers to the number of surviving Colonial citizens and military, provided at some point during the episode. ; Notes

Production

''s first season of thirteen one-hour episodes was ordered by the Sci-Fi Channel on February 10, 2004, with production taking place in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Produced in 2004 by

David Eick David Eick () (born 1968) is an American writer and producer, best known as the executive producer of '' Battlestar Galactica'', for which he also wrote several episodes. Eick executive produced '' Caprica'' and '' Battlestar Galactica: Blood & ...

and

Ronald D. Moore Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Star Trek''; on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Award and an Em ...

, and starring the original cast from the 2003 miniseries, it began airing in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 18, 2004. The series proved successful, attracting favorable comments from reviewers, and generating considerable anticipation in the U.S. It began airing in North America three months later, on January 14, 2005 in the United States, and January 15 in Canada. The first episode aired in the U.S. became one of the highest-rated programs ever on Sci-Fi, with 3.1 million viewers. The series' first season became the network's highest-rated original series to date. ''Battlestar Galactica''s

was later made available for viewing in its entirety, and without charge from the Sci-Fi website. Moore also sought to address the "Internet Generation" by posting

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

commentaries on individual episodes on the official Sci-Fi website.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the season has an approval rating of 90% with an average score of 8.4 out of 10 based on 20 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A captivating combination of riveting political drama and science fiction fantasy make ''Battlestar Galactica'' must-see sci-fi."

Awards

;Wins * 2005

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

(" 33") * 2005

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

* 2005 Spacey Award for Favorite Limited TV Series In its statement accompanying the announcement of the show's Peabody Award, the Peabody Board noted "''Battlestar Galactica'' is not just another apocalyptic vision of the future but an intense drama that poses provocative questions regarding religion, politics, sex and what it truly means to be 'human'.... Writers

Toni Graphia Toni Graphia (born May 11, 1960) is an American writer and television producer. Early life and education Graphia was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Anthony J. "Tony" Graphia, a prominent Louisiana judge and current Chairman ...

David Weddle David Weddle is an American television writer and producer known for episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1996–1999), ''The Twilight Zone'' (2002–2003), '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (200 ...

Bradley Thompson Bradley Thompson is an American television writer and producer known for episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1996–1999), ''The Twilight Zone'' (2002–2003), ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' ( ...

, Carla Robinson,

Jeff Vlaming Jeff Vlaming (sometimes credited as Jeffrey Vlaming) is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on numerous series throughout the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, including ''The X-Files'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', '' Battlestar Gal ...

Michael Angeli Michael Angeli (born 1970/1971) is an American writer and television producer, best known for his award-nominated work on television series including ''Monk'' and the remake of ''Battlestar Galactica'', a show for which he was also a co-executiv ...

, and

take full advantage to give us plotlines that are deeply personal and relatable, while never compromising their affinity and passion for science fiction". ;Nominations * 2005

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series ("33", "The Hand of God") * 2005

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for Best Television Release on DVD (Season 1) * 2004

Visual Effects Society Award The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and p ...

for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Act on Broadcast Program ("33")

Home video releases

The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 20, 2005, in region 2 on March 28, 2005 and in region 4 on August 15, 2006. It was also released in region 1 in

HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to th ...

on December 4, 2007 and on

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

on January 5, 2010. The sets include all 13 episodes of the first season and the

. Special features include commentary on the miniseries and "33" by executive producers

and director

Michael Rymer Michael Rymer (born 1 March 1963 in Melbourne) is an Australian television and film director, best known for his work on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' TV series, for which he directed the pilot miniseries and several episodes of the ...

. Moore and Eick provide commentaries for "Bastille Day", "Act of Contrition" and "You Can't Go Home Again". Beginning with episode 9, Moore began recording podcast commentaries for the episodes on the official ''Battlestar Galactica'' website; Moore provides commentaries for "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", "The Hand of God", "Colonial Day", "Kobol's Last Gleaming (Part 1)" and "Kobol's Last Gleaming (Part 2)". Behind-the-scenes featurettes include a collection of individual featurettes—"From Miniseries to Series", "Change is Good, Now They're Babes", "The Cylon Centurion", "Future/Past Technology", "The Doctor is out (of his mind)", "Production", "Visual Effects" and "Epilogue". Also included is a featurette titled "''Battlestar Galactica'': The Series Lowdown", deleted scenes for various episodes, and a montage of sketches and art for the series.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battlestar Galactica (season 1) *2 2004 American television seasons 2005 American television seasons