Battlestar Galactica is one of the best-known sci-fi television series of all time, having been a popular series long before the rebooted series brought a more modern audience to the franchise. With two primary television series in the franchise, as well as multiple television spin-offs and even a few movies, there is plenty for fans to explore in the world of BSG.
With the franchise gearing up for a return after a quiet period, with new shows and films both on the way, the Battlestar Galactica series is ripe for a revisit. Fans and newcomers to the franchise alike will love checking out some of the amazing sci-fi action available in what can be described as a more militaristic Star Trek.
Updated April 7, 2024, by Chris Harkin: The Battlestar Galactica franchise still doesn't look ready to move forward with many new projects. But the long history of the series has continued to fascinate fans as they argue eternally about which of the shows and movies released under the Battlestar Galactica banner are the best. This sci-fi franchise has encouraged creativity in the genre, showing a different style that few other major series work with so successfully. Fans continue to hope that it will receive more new additions in the future, as other franchises like Star Wars continue to rejuvenate the television side of science fiction.
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Battlestar Galactica's showdowns between humans and Cylons are action-packed, thrilling sci-fi television.
12 Galactica 1980
IMDb Score: 5.4/10
- Number Of Episodes: 10
- Starring: Robyn Douglass, Kent McCord & Lorne Greene
This follow-up/spin-off series to the original 1978 show involved the crew of the Galactica finding Earth after a generation. However, they discovered that the planet could not defend itself from Cylons. Thus, Commander Adama sends his people to Earth in the past in an attempt to begin integrating with the population and preparing them, raising their technological level.
This was a bold attempt to add new sci-fi elements like time travel to the franchise, and simultaneously bring down the cost of making the show. Being set on Earth and in a more contemporary time was a much easier style and format. The problem came from the overall plot, and a number of former cast members not returning. Characterization was also poor for figures like Commander Adama, who was a much weaker leader in this show. Unfortunately, it was a failed project, and the ten-episode first season was all that was ever made for Galactica 1980.
11 Battlestar Galactica (1978 Movie)
IMDb Score: 6.7/10
- Runtime: 148 Minutes
- Starring: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict & Lorne Greene
The original pilot episodes for the first Battlestar Galactica series were released separately as a film, which can be watched today as a great project in its own right. It remains the only theatrically released film in the franchise. It deals with the Cylons, after a 1000-year war, attempting to make peace. However, they reveal their betrayal as they destroy most of the Battlestar ships in one fell swoop.
For the time, and with the constraints of a television-level budget, Battlestar Galactica (released in some territories as Saga Of A Star World) looked great. It also managed to generate a lot of interest for the ensuing series. It ended with a great victory and the humans deciding to set out for the legendary planet Earth made for a perfectly rounded-out standalone film, with the leftover tease of more to come in the series.
10 Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
- Runtime: 112 Minutes
- Starring: Edward James Olmos, Dean Stockwell & Michael Trucco
A fascinating special event, the television film The Plan featured many of the events from throughout the newer Battlestar Galactica series. These events were retold and expanded upon from the perspective of the Cylons hiding among the humans. It followed them from their initial genocidal plot in the human colonies, onward through the events of the first two seasons of the show.
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Released to expand upon the secretive nature of many characters in the show, the focus of The Plan was on the two different versions of Cavil, known as Number One. Their story is about how they argued over the fate of humankind. The Final Five are also brought into more focus by this event, which was a great piece of lore and world-building for the villains of the franchise. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fantastic film in its own right.
9 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
- Runtime: 91 Minutes
- Starring: Luke Pasqualino, Ben Cotton & Lili Bordan
Initially released as a web series but later compiled into a film, Blood & Chrome took place during the first Cylon War, decades before the events of the Battlestar Galactica series. It followed a young William Adama, having just graduated as a pilot from the Academy and joining the fight against the Cylons aboard the Galactica. This younger version of Adama was a brash character, but a fascinating one to explore.
Assigned to a mission aboard a transport ship, instead of getting his own Viper, Adama is frustrated and learns throughout this adventure about the lengths his compatriots are willing to go to beat the Cylons. His acquiescence to this reality shows how he manages to rise through the ranks to the position he is seen in the main series. While this prequel was an interesting look at the earlier days of Adama and the Cylons, it wasn’t the fantastic victory and pilot for a prequel series that the creators hoped it would be.
8 Caprica
IMDb Score: 7.1/10
- Number Of Episodes: 18
- Starring: Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales & Paula Malcomson
This prequel series, though, did pan out, at least for a single season. Caprica was released in 2010. Set 58 years before the re-imagined series, Caprica focused on the creation of the Cylons by humans. The world, filled with success, peace, and order, was a far cry from what humanity would become, and this was a focus for the series, as humans began their own downfall. This made the series vastly different from previous entries in the Battlestar Galactica franchise. It was a sci-fi drama series, not even coming close to the usual level of action and thriller aspects that fans expected.
Following the Adama and Graystone families, their heads begin attempting to find a way to bring their loved ones back to life. One of the main characters was Joseph Adama, the father of William. The plot followed their family as fans saw William starting to develop into the man he would become while shaping the world into the one he would have to fight to try and save. Caprica was a fascinating attempt to keep the IP alive following the conclusion of the main BSG series, but it fell a little flat when it came to longevity.
7 Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV Series)
IMDb Score: 7.2/10
- Number Of Episodes: 21
- Starring: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, & Lorne Greene
The original series, despite being deemed too expensive at the time to continue for more than one season, was a fascinating look at sci-fi in the late 70s. It is remembered for kick-starting this beloved franchise and for having what was, for the time, a truly all-star TV cast.
The series features Commander Adama leading a fleet of 220 surviving ships, protecting them with the Battlestar Galactica, on their way to try and find a new home, after the Cylon sneak attack which destroyed their home and most of their race. The series was beloved, and the early cancelation resulted in a huge write-in campaign filled with complaints. Despite the differences between this and the modern series, it is still beloved by many today.
6 Battlestar Galactica: Razor Flashbacks
IMDb Score: 7.5/10
- Number Of Episodes: 7
- Starring: Nico Cortez, Matthew Bennett, & Chris Bradford
Leading to a TV movie set within the Battlestar Galactica Universe, Razor Flashbacks was a web series that featured a young William Adama when he was a fighter in the First Cylon War. It focused on him as he uncovered a plot by the Cylons involving a super weapon.
Adama is dealing with issues between him and his lover, whom Cylons have wounded. Meanwhile, the Galactica fights on and Adama himself is shot down. This leads to a horrible discovery about what the Cylons may be planning. This fun sequence of short episodes was made up of content cut from the Razor film, but it was well worth checking out.
5 Battlestar Galactica: The Face Of The Enemy
IMDb Score: 7.5/10
- Number Of Episodes: 10
- Starring: Alessandro Juliani, Grace Park, & Jessica Harmon
A short web series created as additional content around the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, The Face Of The Enemy took place between episodes of the fourth season of the show, when the ship that Lt. Felix Gaeta was on with two Cylons and three humans made an error in FTL jump.
This led to them being stranded, potentially doomed to run out of oxygen before they could be found. Then murders start being committed, with everyone a suspect. This made for a short but hugely intriguing look at the distrust between the Cylons and humans, which has been the heartbeat of almost every entry in the franchise.
4 Battlestar Galactica: Razor
IMDb Score: 7.6/10
- Runtime: 101 Minutes
- Starring: Michelle Forbes, Stephanie Jacobsen & Mary McDonnell
Another television film that added to the lore of the series, Razor followed Lee Adama during his first mission in command of the Pegasus, set during the events of Season 2 of the Battlestar Galactica show. Simultaneously, flashbacks are shown of the Cylon attack and events from the final day of the First Cylon War, providing more background on characters like Rear Admiral Cain.
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This fascinating special was a great addition to the series, and fans loved the world-building that it added. However, many were surprised at the lack of main characters from the series appearing, as marketing hadn’t made it clear that this would be a standalone piece. The jumping between time periods helped keep an effective pace and expand further on the already massive universe of the series.
3 Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance
IMDb Score: 7.8/10
- Number Of Episodes: 10
- Starring: Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas & Nicki Clyne
Time jumps are always difficult to deal with in major TV series, and can create a lot of confusion. So, when the time jump on New Caprica occurred between Seasons 2 and 3 of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, the showrunners decided to help bridge the gap with a web series.
The Resistance was the result, ten minuscule episodes that, added together, only totaled about 26 minutes. Nevertheless, it provided useful context for fans on the events around the formation of resistance against the Cylons and has been considered one of the better in-between projects the series had. Focus on different characters and a helpful explanation of the events that had occurred kept fans in the loop.
2 Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)
IMDb Score: 8.5/10
- Number Of Episodes: 2
- Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell & Katee Sackhoff
The precursor miniseries that restarted the franchise in a re-imagined universe had to be huge to gather the old fans with new ones. It had to be enough to generate the interest required for a major new sci-fi series. Fortunately, it was successful, showing how Number Six managed to render much of the military of the Twelve Colonies ineffective during the Cylon surprise nuclear attack that utterly destroyed all of the colonies. This set the benchmark for what the rest of the series would become.
The miniseries introduced new versions of several characters known to fans from the previous series, while adding much to the lore and world-building and rendering the universe its own, separate from the original show. It managed to do something incredible and is remembered by fans as one of the heights of the franchise. It tells a perfect story of betrayal and a civilization being crushed, all while retaining the intrigue in the audience about what was to come.
1 Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV Series)
IMDb Score: 8.7/10
- Number Of Episodes: 74
- Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell & Katee Sackhoff
The franchise's most successful run to date came from the 2004 series. A reimagined version of the 1978 show, this featured a fleet of ships, led by the Battlestar Galactica, on the run from the Cylons. This all followed a nuclear attack that took out both the home planets of the twelve colonies and most of their populations. Mixing many themes together, as comfortable as a drama and thriller as it was an action sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica was hugely beloved.
The show featured a huge cast of characters, constant twists as everyone came under suspicion of being a Cylon in disguise, and amazing battle scenes. This Battlestar Galactica series managed to do what the previous series hadn’t achieved. It ended on its own terms and told the complete version of the story that had never been seen until now: namely having the ship reach Earth. It easily managed to become the pinnacle of the franchise.
