The first season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, was commissioned by Sci Fi in February 2004. The first episode, "33", was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2004, on Sky1, 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 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 that first aired in December 2003.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main cast
These actors are credited during the opening sequence:
Edward James Olmos as William Adama
Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Jamie Bamber as Lee "Apollo" Adama
James Callis as Gaius Baltar
Tricia Helfer as Number Six
Grace Park as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Number Eight)
These actors are credited after the opening sequence:
Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
Tahmoh Penikett as Karl "Helo" Agathon
Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
Paul Campbell as Billy Keikeya
Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
Sam Witwer as Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo
Connor Widdows as Boxey (only episode 3)
Recurring
Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
Lorena Gale as Priestess Elosha
Donnelly Rhodes as Sherman Cottle
Jill Teed as Sergeant Hadrian, Master-at-Arms
Matthew Bennett as Aaron Doral
Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus
Nicki Clyne as Cally Henderson
Bodie Olmos as Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza
Christina Schild as journalist Playa Kohn/Palacios
Biski Gugushe as journalist Eick/Sekou Hamilton
Colby Johannson as Dwight "Flat-Top" Saunders
Luciana Carro as Louanne "Kat" Katraine
Cailin Stadnyk as Ensign Davis
Terry Chen as Perry/Chuckles
Leah Cairns as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
Jennifer Halley as Diana "Hardball" Seelix
Guest
Dominic Zamprogna as James "Jammer" Lyman
Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
Robert Wisden as Wallace Gray
David Kaye as journalist James McManus
Alex Zahara as Valance
Patrick Gallagher as Leon Grimes
Malcolm Stewart as Marshall Bagot
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
Battlestar Galactica'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, British Columbia, Canada. Produced in 2004 by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore, 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 commentaries on individual episodes on the official Sci-Fi website.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, 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 ("33")
2005 Peabody Award
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 Ronald D. Moore, Toni Graphia, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson, Carla Robinson, Jeff Vlaming, Michael Angeli, and David Eick 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 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series ("33", "The Hand of God")
2005 Saturn Awards 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 on December 4, 2007 and on Blu-ray Disc on January 5, 2010.
The sets include all 13 episodes of the first season and the miniseries. Special features include commentary on the miniseries and "33" by executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and director Michael Rymer. 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.