Battlestar Galacticastands out from other sci-fi shows of the era as much darker, especially when compared to the original show of the same name. Despite that, it also stands out as one of the most compelling sci-fi series of all time. Here are some of the best episodes.
Battlestar Galacticais not currently streaming on any subscription-based streaming services in the U.S., but it can be purchased or rented for viewing on services such as Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, and Prime Video.
7The Hand of God (Season 1, Episode 10)
Dogged by the Cylons for months, and running critically low on fuel, the crew of Galactica decides to stage a daring attack on a Cylon mining facility.
Besides the action innate to the episode, it is an episode that drives character development more than anything else. Multiple main characters are forced way outside of their comfort zones.
Lee Adama, normally a “by the book” captain, takes extraordinary risks in an attempt to complete the mission—the sort of bravado that is more typical of Starbuck.
Starbuck herself is injured and forced to take a backseat, leadership position.
And most importantly, Gauis Baltar, who has been extremely resistant to accept the role he has to play in the greater plan for the Colonial fleet, puts his faith in the Cylon god when selecting the target for the attack.
6Exodus (Season 3, Episodes 3 and 4)
Exodus covers the Colonial’s flight from their new homeworld, New Caprica. After nearly a year of captivity at the hands of the Cylons, we see just how desperate the colonial survivors—especially Colonel Tigh—have become. Resorting to public bombings and assassinations has become the norm.
Exodus also features what is arguably the most exciting and unexpected spaceship maneuver in the show’s entire run. Unfortunately, it also seriously undermines the intelligence of Lee Adama, whose decision to sacrifice the newer, much more capable Pegasus to save Galactica is the poorest strategic decision in the show’s entire run.
5Kobol’s Last Gleaming (Season 1, Episodes 12 and 13)
After months on the run, chasing the dream of a refuge that may not even exist, the fleet stumbles upon Kobol, a famous location from the Colonial religion and allegedly the birthplace of humanity.
Galactica sends a landing party to investigate, hoping to suss out clues to their own origins, and perhaps gain insight into the location of Earth.
Never a group to catch a break, they quickly fall under Cylon attack. Meanwhile, Gauis Baltar has a religious vision of an opera house—a vision that will recur throughout the series.
The show features a heavy religious angle throughout its entire run, butKobol’s Last Gleamingprovides the first concrete information about what “the plan” actually is.
4Dirty Hands (Season 3, Episode 10)
Several years after the Colonial fleet had settled into a new normal, constantly on the run from the Cylons, they began to face a new problem: an entrenched class system. The people that flew vipers were viper pilots; the people that refined the fuel for the fleet’s faster-than-light travel to operate—tylium—were tylium refiners.
With precious few people to spare and resources stretched to the max, Dirty Hands explores how necessity had created a class system with absolutely no social mobility, and the social volatility such a system can create.
Many episodes ofBattlestar Galacticaexplore the darker aspects of surviving an apocalypse, butDirty Handsis the only one to consider how the status quo in the fleet was going to create what amounted to multi-generational indentured servants.
Tylium refining might not be as glamorous or as exciting as being a Viper pilot, but it was every bit as essential for survival.
3Pegasus (Season 2, Episode 10)
From the onset, Galactica was believed to be the lone survivor of the Colonial fleet. Her more modern sister ships were all thought to have been crippled and destroyed during the initial Cylon strike.
Pegasus upends that belief when Galactica accidentally stumbles into the Battlestar Pegasus, commanded by the domineering Admiral Caine.
The episode radically changes the balance of political and military power in the fleet, and forces Commander Adama and President Roslin to confront an entirely different kind of threat to the fragile society they’ve cobbled together. Admiral Caine’s brutal pragmatism has led her and her crew to actions the crew of the Galactica find nearly incomprehensible. It explores what happens when you put efficiency and survival at all costs ahead of your humanity.
2The Miniseries (The Pilot Episode)
Technically two episodes, The Miniseries was the event that launched it all.
The episode begins in a time of peace—the Cylons, the long-standing enemy of humans, have been gone for years, and the Colonies have become complacent about their defense. Galactica, the last Battlestar from the original Cylon conflict, has been converted into a museum.
That peace doesn’t last long, however, as we soon witness a nuclear holocaust on Caprica (and all the other colonies) at the hands of the Cylons, who now look human. With the entire Colonial fleet rendered helpless and destroyed, Galactica rounds up what few surviving civilian ships it can find and jumps away in search of a new home: Earth.
133 (Season 1, Episode 1)
If the Miniseries served to introduce us to the characters and the setting of Battlestar Galactica, 33 defined the tone of the show.
Set immediately after the events of the miniseries, the remnants of the Colonial fleet find themselves stretched to the limit as the Cylon fleet manages to catch up to them—like clockwork—every 33 minutes.
The crew of the Galactica contends with the effects of prolonged sleep deprivation and constant stress as they race to figure out just how the Cylons are tracking them while defending the fleet against Cylon attackers.
Despite the middling reviews of the series finale,Battlestar Galacticais definitely a worthwhile watch. Even its worst episodes aren’tbad, and there are redeeming moments in all of them.
