Battlestar Galactica

An ageing warship becomes the protection for a scattered civilian fleet after a devastating Cylon attack. The survivors need somewhere to go, but first they need fuel, water and enough trust to keep moving together. This is the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, beginning with the 2003 miniseries and continuing through four seasons of television.

Edward James Olmos plays Commander William Adama, while Mary McDonnell's Laura Roslin carries the civilian responsibilities. Their priorities don't always agree, and the series gets a great deal from making both positions understandable. Survival is a practical problem and a political one.

My favourite is Katee Sackhoff's Kara “Starbuck” Thrace: gifted in the cockpit, difficult company elsewhere and never short of personality. James Callis and Tricia Helfer add an uneasy, often funny partnership as Gaius Baltar and Number Six. The cast makes the battered fleet worth spending time with.

I enjoyed the show and have real affection for it, particularly Starbuck and Adama. His line about rolling the hard six has stayed with me. I am more reserved about recommending it today. It doesn't hold up as well for me as the strongest dramas from its era, and its mythology asks for patience. For someone who wants a substantial space opera and has run short of better options, though, there is still much to enjoy.

Start with the miniseries, not the first regular episode, 33. The miniseries sets up the people and the crisis; the series assumes you already know them. Check that it is included when choosing a viewing option.

Read my full Battlestar Galactica review. For related viewing, The Expanse offers another extended space story, while For All Mankind takes its dangerous missions into alternate history.