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Battlestar Galactica

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Battlestar Galactica is a major American science fiction media franchise.

Cylon Centurion
Cylon Centurion

It was created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise includes television series, books, comic books, and games. It has existed in several different versions over many decades. The core idea involves a struggle for survival in deep space. This theme makes the stories feel very grand and important. People enjoy the franchise for its intense drama and complex characters.

The central plot takes place in a distant part of the universe. Human civilization lives across a group of planets called the Twelve Colonies. These humans originally migrated from an ancestral homeworld known as Kobol. A cybernetic race called the Cylons seeks to exterminate all humans. The Cylons use a ruse to offer peace to the humans. During this trick, they launch a massive nuclear attack. This attack devastates the Twelve Colonies and the Colonial Fleet.

Battlestar Galactica hand-held LED game
Battlestar Galactica hand-held LED game

Most of humanity is destroyed in this event.

Survivors must flee into outer space using a small fleet of ships. The Battlestar Galactica is a gigantic battleship and spacecraft carrier. It is one of the few ships to survive the Cylon attack. Under the leadership of Commander Adama, the ship protects the survivors. Pilots fly small fighter craft known as "Viper fighters" to defend the fleet. Their main goal is to find the fabled thirteenth colony called Earth. This journey creates the tension found in most of the stories.

The franchise began with an original series in 1978. Glen A. Larson conceived the idea in the late 1960s. He originally called his concept "Adam's Ark." Larson was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some scholars believe the series includes themes from Mormon theology. These include a "council of twelve" and a lost thirteenth tribe. The design of the Cylons was also influenced by other works. They drew inspiration from Fred Saberhagen's "berserker" stories. Specifically, the Cylons adopted a single, sliding red eye design.

After the original series, a sequel titled Galactica 1980 was produced in 1980. This series moved the setting to contemporary Earth. It had a low budget and used recycled footage from older movies. This version was not as popular as the original. However, a major change occurred in 2003 with a "re-imagined" reboot. This version was developed by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. It began as a three-hour miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel. This reboot was a massive success and led to a new weekly series.

DF-ST-83-00093
DF-ST-83-00093

The new series ran for four seasons until 2009.

The re-imagined series received significant critical acclaim and awards. It won a Peabody Award for overall excellence. It also won several Emmy Awards for Visual Effects. The show received Emmy nominations for Writing and Directing. Time magazine even named it one of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time. In 2005, New York Newsday called it the best show on television. These honors show how much the series impacted the science fiction genre. It proved that science fiction could be high-quality drama.

The franchise also includes stories that expand the timeline. A prequel series called Caprica aired in 2010. It is set 58 years before the main events. It follows the families involved in the creation of the Cylons. There are also webisodes like "The Resistance" and "Razor Flashbacks." These short digital episodes fill in gaps between the main seasons. They help connect different parts of the complex history. This variety allows fans to explore the universe from many angles.

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File:Cylon Centurion.png
Cylon Centurion.png
File:Battlestar Galactica hand-held LED game.JPG
Battlestar Galactica hand-held LED game.JPG
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