The Pilot Granted, creator Ronald D. Moores grand re-imagining of this sc-fi franchise first came about by way of miniseries, rather than the traditional pilot format, but this opening glimpse of one of the genres greatest ever shows is simply too important to leave of this list. Airing on the Sci-Fi Channel - now known as SyFy on 8 December 2003, this three hour miniseries brought the BSG universe bang up to date, using its ample running time to introduce old and new fans to the raging war between the Twelve Colonies and the robotic Cylon race. The miniseries succeeded on all counts by setting the primary story Caprica goes boom and human survival ensues as well as introducing principal cast members that would be later seen in the first season of the show, which aired in 2004. What Did It Change? Whereas Star Trek set a grand precedent by embedding hot topics of community, race and sexuality into its plotlines, BSG did something equally as bold by thrusting real world issues of politics and terrorism into its core story arc and went on to let the series transform in conjunction with our ever-changing times. All of this was evident in the miniseries, which set a statement of intent quite unlike any other show that came before it. Legacy Moores relaunch spawned two offshoot shows (the short-lived Caprica and web series Blood & Chrome) and a popular MMO online game, Battlestar Galactica Online. Outside of this star system, some exciting series have followed in BSGs wake in the form of Stargate Universe, Falling Skies, Continuum and Moores own Helix. It can also be cited as bucking the revival trend, with the likes of Doctor Who following suit. On the downside, though, we had Knight Rider and Bionic Woman.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
