Battlestar Galactica Summary
April 2, 2008 |
When the “Battlestar Galactica” miniseries premiered in 2003, viewers could be forgiven for having low expectations. At the time, the Sci Fi Channel, on which “Battlestar” aired, was a niche cable channel known mostly for “Stargate SG-1″ and “Star Trek” reruns, and the show’s source material, a cheesy ’70s flop for ABC, wasn’t exactly “The Sopranos.” The series’ premise, furthermore, involved enough clichéd science fiction elements — an evil race of robots, a hotshot fighter pilot and characters with names like “Apollo” — to make the show’s fans wince when explaining it to their friends.
Three seasons later, “Battlestar Galactica” has become one of TV’s smartest series. It has won a Peabody Award, made the Sci Fi Channel a semireputable cable outlet and revolutionized science fiction on television. It has proved that the genre, when liberated from the body-hugging Lycra jumpsuits and staid dialogue that have plagued most post-”Trek” science fiction series, can be a vehicle for both scathing political commentary and genuine pathos. The network recently greenlighted a prequel spinoff series called “Caprica,” and on Friday, April 4, “Battlestar” returns to Sci Fi after a yearlong hiatus for its fourth and final season.
If you haven’t been watching, the show follows a fleet of human survivors from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol — a group of planets decimated by a surprise attack from the Cylons. The Cylons are a race of partially humanoid robots that were created by humans, and then revolted. Protecting the tiny fleet of survivors is a large aircraft-carrier-like spaceship called the Battlestar Galactica, whose crew is the main focus of the show. In each episode, the humans must evade the Cylons as they slowly make their way to salvation on the mythical planet Earth.
The premise may sound like derivative schlock, but by virtue of its strong writing and naturalistic style, the series manages to be engaging and politically relevant. Its creator, Ronald Moore, uses “Battlestar’s” universe as a funhouse mirror for American post-9/11 cultural anxieties. Since the miniseries’ initial Cylon attack — with its parallels to the events of Sept. 11 — “Battlestar” has broached topical debates about torture, military occupation, abortion, genocide and war crimes. It has managed to do so while avoiding the trap of strained allegory and partisan politics, and has maintained the escapist thrill that makes science fiction, well, science fiction.
Over the past five years, however, the show’s universe has also become awfully complicated. At this point, there are good Cylons and bad Cylons and morally ambiguous Cylons and, if the third-season finale is to be believed, Cylons with an inexplicable affinity for Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” With that in mind, we’ve prepared a “Battlestar Galactica” explainer — as we’ve done for “The Wire,” “Mulholland Drive,” “Donnie Darko and “Southland Tales” — to prepare you for the upcoming season premiere (which Salon’s Heather Havrilesky will review on Friday) and square away any confusion. We’ll begin with a summary of the “Battlestar” story line, and briefly outline the characters, before answering some nagging questions.
Let’s begin with the summary:
The Miniseries
“Battlestar Galactica” begins 40 years after the end of the First Cylon War (when the Cylons first attacked their former masters). Cmdr. William Adama (Edward James Olmos) is preparing his Battlestar, the Galactica, for its retirement ceremony. It will be converted into a museum.
The ship’s crew includes Col. Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan), a crotchety alcoholic and the ship’s executive officer; Lt. Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani), the tactical officer; and Lt. Anastasia Dualla (Kandyse McClure), who serves in the Combat Information Center. The rest of the ship’s notable crew consists of Lt. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), a fighter pilot; Lt. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii (Grace Park), another pilot; and Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), who is in charge of the hangar deck.
We quickly learn that Starbuck has a problem with authority — when she promptly punches Col. Tigh in the face — and that Boomer and Chief Tyrol are having an illicit affair. Meanwhile, on the planet Caprica, Gaius Baltar (James Callis), a famous scientist working in the defense sector, is sleeping with a beautiful and pious blond woman (Tricia Helfer), and has given her access to confidential defense materials. Elsewhere on the planet, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), the Twelve Colonies’ secretary of education, learns that she has inoperable breast cancer.
Shortly thereafter, Roslin and Lee “Apollo” Adama (Jamie Bamber), the commander’s son, arrive on the Galactica to participate in the ceremony, and we learn that Apollo blames the commander for his brother’s flying-related death. Once the event concludes, Roslin heads back to Caprica with Apollo.
Meanwhile, Baltar’s mysterious lover turns out to be a Cylon agent planning an attack. She is one of 12 humanoid Cylon models, who look and sound like humans — though only seven of the Cylon models are known to each other, and the remaining five are shrouded in mystery. Nuclear explosions begin detonating on the planet. War begins, and spreads into space. When the Galactica attacks Cylon raiders, many of its fighters — called “Vipers” — are disabled and destroyed.
After the attack, Boomer and Lt. Karl “Helo” Agathon — another pilot — crash-land on Caprica, where their ship is swamped with refugees. In a moment of resignation, Helo gives up his seat for Baltar, whom he recognizes, and who happens to be near the ship. Reeling from a Cylon nuclear strike, the Galactica heads to Ragnar Anchorage, a weapons depot, to pick up supplies. Once there, they discover and kill a humanoid Cylon named Leoben (Callum Keith Rennie).
On board her ship, Roslin is named president of the Twelve Colonies and begins assembling a fleet of civilian ships. Her ship also rescues Apollo — whose Viper has been disabled — Boomer and Baltar. In the wake of the attack, Baltar is tormented by feelings of guilt and begins having visions of his former Cylon lover, who we learn is named Number Six. After several close calls with the Cylons, Roslin’s fleet meets up with the Galactica.
Following an argument with Roslin, Adama decides that the Galactica’s primary objective should be to protect Roslin’s civilian fleet. After a tense battle with the Cylons, the humans jump away to safety, and Adama announces that their new objective is to find the legendary 13th colony, Earth, and settle there. As Cylon ships disembark on Ragnar, and the miniseries ends, we discover, rather surprisingly, that Boomer is a Cylon.
