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. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'', was commissioned by

Sci Fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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 Sci Fi. Sky1 had negotiated first-broadcast rights of season 1 as part of its financial backing terms. The first episode 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 (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

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 In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

that first aired in December 2003.

Cast and characters

Main cast

These actors were credited ''during'' the opening sequence: *

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

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 Awards, Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances With Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Pas ...

Laura Roslin Laura Roslin is a fictional character in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' series. Played by Mary McDonnell, she is the President of the colonies and a key character throughout the series. The character is noted in part for a realistic moral ...

Katee Sackhoff Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for being Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on '' Another Life'' (2019–2021), Victoria "Vic" Moretti on '' Longmire' ...

as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace *

Jamie Bamber Jamie St John Bamber Griffith (born 1972/73), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in t ...

as Lee "Apollo" Adama *

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is an English actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' best ...

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

Tricia Helfer Tricia Janine Helfer (born April 11, 1974) is a Canadian actress and former model. She played Number Six in the science fiction series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in the video game ''StarCraft II'' an ...

as Number Six * Grace Park as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Number Eight) These actors were credited ''after'' the opening sequence: * Michael Hogan as

Saul Tigh ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

* Aaron Douglas as

Galen Tyrol '' Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imag ...

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 ti ...

as Karl "Helo" Agathon *

Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She gained prominence through her roles in the Fox Family Channel, Fox Family series ''Higher Ground (TV series), Higher Ground'' (2000), the N ...

Anastasia Dualla ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagini ...

* Paul Campbell as

Billy Keikeya ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

Alessandro Juliani Alessandro Juliani (born 6 July 1975) is a Canadian actor and singer. He is notable for playing the roles of Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Syfy, Sci-Fi Channel television program ''Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining), Battlestar G ...

Felix Gaeta ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagi ...

Sam Witwer Samuel Weiler Witwer IV (born October 20, 1977) is an American actor and voice 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 ...

as Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo * Connor Widdows as Boxey (only episode 3)

Guest stars

The following actors were credited as guest stars. 2+ episodes: * Richard Hatch as

Tom Zarek ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagi ...

(credited as a ''special guest star'') *

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 Priestess Elosha *

Donnelly Rhodes Donnelly Rhodes Henry (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convict Dutch Leitner on the soap opera spoof ' ...

Sherman Cottle Sherman Cottle is a fictional character in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining), Battlestar Galactica'' series. Played by Donnelly Rhodes, Cottle is the Battlestar Galactica (ship)#Battlestar Galactica (2003), Battlestar ''Galactic ...

Jill Teed Jill Teed (born 9 April 1964) 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 ...

as Sergeant Hadrian, Master-at-Arms *

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 ''Battle ...

Aaron Doral ''Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced by Moore and David Eick as a re-imagini ...

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film ...

Ellen Tigh Ellen Tigh is a fictional character from the 2004 ''Battlestar Galactica'' reboot series, portrayed by Kate Vernon from 2004 to 2009. She is the manipulative wife of series regular Colonel Saul Tigh ( Michael Hogan) during the first three seasons ...

1 episode: *

Dominic Zamprogna Dominic Zamprogna (, ; born April 21, 1979) is a Canadian television actor and voice artist. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the television series '' Edgemont'', ''Battlestar Galactica'' and ''General Hospital''. Early life Zamprogna w ...

as James "Jammer" Lyman *

Callum Keith Rennie Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a Canadian actor, based in British Columbia. His breakthrough role was as punk rocker Billy Tallent in the music mockumentary ''Hard Core Logo'' (1996), followed by a starring role as Det. Stanle ...

Leoben Conoy ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' is a 2004 American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica, ''Battlestar Galactica'' franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and ...

Robert Wisden Robert Charles Wisden (Brighton, 2 June 1958) is an English actor who has an extensive career in Canadian and American film and television, for which he has won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a ...

as Wallace Gray * David Kaye as journalist James McManus *

Alex Zahara Alex Zahara is a Canadian television, film and voice actor. Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, he was involved with theatre while still in school, performing in a stage version of '' MASH''. He later taught the "Acting for Teens" class at the Van ...

as Valance * Patrick Gallagher as Leon Grimes * Malcolm Stewart as Marshall Bagot

End-credited cast

The following actors appeared in the end credits of more than one episode. 5+ episodes: * Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus *

Nicki Clyne Nicki Clyne (born February 11, 1983) is a Canadian actress, known for her role as Cally Henderson on the SyFy television series ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica''. Clyne was a member of NXIVM, a multi-level marketi ...

as Cally Henderson * Bodie Olmos as Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza * Christina Schild as journalist Playa Kohn/Palacios * Biski Gugushe as journalist Eick/Sekou Hamilton 2-4 episodes: * Colby Johannson as Dwight "Flat-Top" Saunders *

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 * Cailin Stadnyk as Ensign Davis *

Terry Chen Terence Chen (born February 3, 1975) is a Canadian actor. Early life Chen was born on February 3, 1975, in Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the ...

as Perry/Chuckles *

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 MacLaren in the TV series ''Travelers''. Early life Cairns was born ...

as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson * Jennifer Halley as Diana "Hardball" Seelix

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. 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 & C ...

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,'' as well as on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Awar ...

, 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 first episode 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 Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

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

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, 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 Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

* 2005

Spacey Award The Spacey Awards (also referred to as The Spaceys) was an annual award presented by the Canadian cable network SpaceJohn McKay, "Rings topp winner of Spacey Awards". ''The Province'', June 27, 2003. (now known as CTV Sci-Fi Channel) from 2003 to 2 ...

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 judge and current chairman of the Louis ...

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 (1959/1960 – January 30, 2023) was an American television writer and producer. He worked on numerous series throughout the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, including ''The X-Files'', ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 ...

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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

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 bel ...

for Best Television Release on DVD Season 1 * 2004 Visual Effects Society Award 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 Density Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video.

on December 4, 2007 and on

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

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 March 1963 in Melbourne) is an Australian television and film director, best known for his work on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica (reimagining), Battlestar Galactica'' TV series, for which he directed Battlestar Galact ...

. 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