No Guts, No Galaxy. Why everyone needs to watch Battlestar Galactica

Star Trek veteran Ronald D. Moore has produced a masterpiece of a series which from the moment of its conception has transcended the science fiction realm and has become a mythology all unto its own. In the distant future or past, or in a separate universe altogether, mankind is living peacefully as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. It has been 40 years since the end of the First War against the Cylons; artificial machines who rebelled against the humans who had created them to serve as their slaves and soldiers. Over the last three years, the saga of BSG has touched upon war, torture, and suicide bombing and other controversial issues in the real world today.

The audience is left to sympathize with the human suicide bombers and his reasons for strapping on a bomb and killing himself and others. The religious fanatics are the Cylons who worship the “one true God.” The protagonists in the series are flawed beings and you almost find yourself wondering who to root for in every episode. The commander of the beleaguered human fleet is William Adama who, upon the eve of the Cylon attacks, was about to retire from 40 years of service. The leader of humanity is the soft-spoken but firm-minded Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education who becomes President when the 42 people ahead of her in the line of succession is killed. This is television at its finest and I encourage everyone to watch it.

Note: BSG starts with a miniseries which eventually paved the way for a full season.