In response to picspammy's March challenge, but more importantly, my ode to one of the grandest shows to ever grace our televisions. I love this show so much, and it will probably remain as my favourite show for a long time.





01. they are beautiful
























02. they have so much fun together






















Credit goes to tracy_loo_who for uploading pictures of the wrap book.


03. they are funny

Katee Sackhoff: The cast had to attend some kind of workplace "sexual harassment" talk and would torture the lecturer with ridiculous questions: "So if Eddie grabs my ass and tells me to do 'blah blah blah', is that sexual harassment? Okay. Just checking. And if I turn around and grab Eddie's package, is that sexual harassment? Just checking."

Taken from canadiangirl_86's Polaris Con report (picture included)

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Eddie: Maybe she’s seen it in her visions!
[everyone laughs]
Eddie: Shut up! I’m serious!
Mary: Yeah, you tell them, Commander!
Eddie: I’m serious.
Mary: Haha, yah.
Eddie: She claims to see things.
[Mary drinks from a bottle]
Eddie: She saw me naked, twice!
[Mary chokes and flails]

From David Eick's Video Blog, Episode 207 Day 4

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David Eick's Video Blog, David Who?

GO WATCH THE VLOGS. They are mostly quite hilarious and sadly, Skiffy only allows people within the US to watch them. However, do check out the season 4.5 vlogs as they are still available worldwide (yes, I'm talking about Rekha-San).

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The Music of Battlestar Galactica (a mockumentary)
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Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Gag Reel
04. they are fanfuckingtastic actors

Stephen King: This is a beautifully written show, driven by character rather than effects… but the effects are damn good. And there’s not a better acting troupe at work on television.

Alan Sepinwall, The Star-Ledger: What makes Galactica so gripping is its emphasis on character over hardware. The explosions and the killer robots are cool, but they don't stack up to seeing fully-drawn people - brought to life by a great writing staff led by producer Ron Moore and an astonishing cast led by Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell - grapple with these life-or-death, genocide-level decisions.

Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle: The acting in Battlestar Galactica is superb, the characters nuanced and multilayered, and the issues broad, deep and current. / Instead of pyrotechnic effects, the emphasis is on the writing; the acting, which is raw but nuanced; and the direction, which must be nimble as most scenes are shot inside a cramped spaceship… Both Olmos and McDonnell lend a certain ballast to the old notions of sci-fi theatricality. As veteran actors, they hold down the series but, in truth, a wide variety of solid performances throughout the ensemble cast kept this series intriguing and viable from Season 1 on.

James Poniewozik, Time: Most of you probably think this entry has got to be a joke. The rest of you have actually watched the show. Adapted from a cheesy '70s Star Wars clone of the same name, Galactica (returning in January) is a ripping sci-fi allegory of the war on terror, complete with religious fundamentalists (here, genocidal robots called Cylons), sleeper cells, civil-liberties crackdowns and even a prisoner-torture scandal. The basic-cable budget sometimes shows in the production, but the writing and performances are first-class, especially Edward James Olmos as the noble but authoritarian commander in charge of saving the last remnants of humanity. Laugh if you want, but this story of enemies within is dead serious, and seriously good.

Jen Segrest, reviewing ‘Pegasus’ for TV Squad: Tricia Helfer's portrayal of the distraught imaginary Six, and that of the abused clone, was hard to watch. Even though she did little but lay there, when she did move it was heartbreaking as her mind finally connects back to cruel reality and a shaky hand reaches for food. You really feel they are far more human than they are getting credit for, but at the same time you have a problem trying to feel sympathy for any form of Six. She's always been so manipulative and domineering, at least the version we know, to see one so vulnerable is almost as shocking as what they did to her.

Katee Sackhoff:I’ve never seen growth in an actress like Grace. You’re inspiring.

Katee Sackhoff: Up to that point, I had always played pretty stereotypical blond roles. This was definitely a stretch for me. I wear high heels and dresses. I am a total girly girl. Now people avoid me at the gym.

And we can never, ever forget Michael Hogan's acting eye. SRSLY.




05. they are wicked smart (most of the time)


From an interview with Hollywood North Report

Galactica deals with the fundamental survival of the human race, and yet even in the shadow of Armageddon we still bring all our human foibles with us; our prejudices, dysfunctions, insecurities – what do you think these people have learned from their predicament, thus far?

Edward James Olmos: I honestly think that these people are learning that things are only going to get worse. I think they’re learning that hope is something that is bred inside and must be sustained inside because there’s really nothing on the outside showing them any kind of relief. They must develop their inner strengths, and I think that leads you into what is happening to most of these people now. Those who have not committed suicide, those who have not self-destructed, those who want to see the advancement of the human species; they are the “Alpha” and the Alpha represents the survival of the fittest.

There’s a scene in the last episode of season two where I’m with Colonel Tigh and I tell him that his wife, Ellen, is the most gifted person I’ve [Adama] ever seen in my life because she’ll live no matter what she has to do or who she has to go through. It’s incredible. But sometimes that’s in fact what it takes, and people like that, ironically, are often the ones who survive. Interesting, isn’t it?

From an interview with Chicago Tribune

Jamie Bamber: [On the themes of the show] It's that human struggle of waking up every day in the world and trying to make sense of a sometimes absurd existence. We all try to do that. These people are searching for meaning in very fragmented lives, but that's what we all do when you pare it down. When you pare it down to 50,000 people, the drama is greater. That's the essence of good drama, it's about trying to find out why and what, and it’s a quest for meaning. We've got our own refugees [in our world], people are just trying to find a place to thrive and prosper in the galaxy. I think that's also the key to it, it's not about party politics, it examines many different things and we can debate whether the Cylons are more sympathetic than humans, and that often surprises people. In the original, it was much more a good versus evil story.

From an interview with Cinema Blend

What do you think the impact of the show has had on the sci fi genre?

Katee Sackhoff: I think what Battlestar Galactica did for Sci Fi is they treated it like a reality. That’s what was so interesting about our show. We never relied on science fiction to drive the show. We relied on the drama and the communication, and those really important questions. That’s what we depended on for the show, and to get the show moving along. Most science fiction shows rely too much on the bells and whistles. I think this kind of opens the door for science fiction to realize that regardless – science fiction is just a setting, it’s not a show. It’s a setting; it’s where something takes place. It should not ever have been what the show is. I think that for the first time what [BSG] has done is to prove that it could be done.

From an interview with Chicago Tribune

Mary McDonnell: The thing I love most about Battlestar is the question it's raising - and this season, the question is more prominent - of how do we perceive ourselves in relation to 'the other'? That is the essential question to me of our planet. Until we understand that the other is us, we are going to be continually in these wars and do things that create divisiveness.

A lot of what I see in the world is us and them, the good guy and the bad guy. To begin to understand that there's a bit of projecting on the bad guy and that he's a part of us... That's kind of why this show is so compelling. Even when people don't quite get it, there is something in here that we need to evolve toward.

All the paradigms we had [in our world] are colliding. For me as an actress, to go inside this work is refreshing and illuminating and feels more alive, because it's about that which we must move toward.

And of course, just when you think you can't love EJO even more.


From United Nations and the Sci Fi Channel present Battlestar Galactica: A Retrospective

And I still find it incredible, Craig, that we still use the word ‘race’ as a cultural determinant... Because I detest what we’ve done to ourselves. Out of a need to make ourselves different from one another, we’ve made the word ‘race’ a way of expressing culture... I just heard one of the most prolific statements done by one of the great humanitarians, who’s really trying to organize and bring us together, and he used the word ‘race’ as if there was a Latino race, an Asian race, an Indigenous race, a Caucasian race... or a Latino race. There’s no such thing as a Latino race. There never has been. There never has been. There never will be. There’s only one race, and that’s what the show brought out. That is the human race. Period.

Now the pressure comes, why did we start to use the word ‘race’ as a cultural determinant? The truth is, over 600 years ago, the Caucasian race decided to use it as a cultural determinant so it’ll be easier for them to kill another culture. That was a total understanding. To kill one culture from another culture; you couldn’t kill your own race. So you had to make them the other. And till this day, I spent 37 years of my adult life, trying to get this word out, and now I end up well-prepared as the Admiral of the Battlestar Galactica, to say it to all of you. There is but one race, and that is it. So say we all!

Watch the panel

However, the cast have their moments as well -- Minotaur vs Centaur

Eddie: Centaur.
UGO: Any logic within that?
Eddie: No.

Mary: I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about!
UGO: Half man half bull, versus half man half horse.
Mary: Half man half bull, versus half man half horse... I would say half man half horse. And the reason is the bullish part would already be in the man, and he would have the swiftness of a horse.

Grace: Probably the... wait, and we’re gonna say that they both have equal ability with their weapons?
UGO: Yeah.
Grace: I would say that the half man half horse with the crossbow. Is that what you said? That’s one of the options? Uhm, because I feel a horse has… a horse can run fast, it’s very strong and with a crossbow you can probably attack a bull before it has a chance to start getting going at you.

Tricia: I don’t know what a minotaur is, or a centaur.
UGO: Half man half bull is a minotaur, and half man half horse is a centaur.
Tricia: A bull. The minotaur thing. Uh, bulls are usually meaner than horses? That’s all I can say.

James: I have no idea. Who thinks of those things? You do? Uh, a minotaur with a trident and a centaur with a crossbow… I would imagine the centaur because uh, the centaur has an element of humanity that the minotaur is lacking. The minotaur is a bit more brutal but I would imagine a bit more stupid...

Katee: I have no idea what you are talking about.
UGO: Half man half bull, or half man half horse.
Katee: I’m still completely lost.
UGO: Just pick one. Give it a go. Half bull or half horse.
Katee: Half… bull. They have horns.

Their answers make me lol.


06. they have an overwhelming love for each other and the show

Read letters from the wrap book! Courtesy of tracy_loo_who. One, two, three and four.

A spam of the last three minutes of The Last Frakking Special

James Callis: As Battlestar comes to a close, it remains really only to thank Ron and David, for putting together such an amazing show, to the best cast and crew in the history of television, and of course to you, the viewers. For putting up with all of our drama.

EJO: The one question that people always ask me when I’m walking around is, "How does it feel to be on Battlestar Galactica?" And I always tell them, “It’s the frakking best job I’ve ever had.”

Mary McDonnell: Battlestar to me is a period in my life where things went well. It’s… laughter.

Dean Stockwell: My opinion? It’s the best show on television.

Katee Sackhoff: It will come to me when I’m home and by myself and I’ll go, "Oh! I know what Battlestar Galactica meant to me!"

James Callis: Battlestar means for me kissing Tricia Helfer lots. And lots. And... and lots.

Tricia Helfer: First of all, amazing friendships made. Second, career boost. Huuuuge career boost, thank you!

Jamie Bamber: Battlestar Galactica would always be the pivotal moment in my life when I discovered the flight suit weight loss programme.

Kate Vernon: Who knew? I was completely stunned and flattered and honoured to be a part of this show.

Michael Trucco: Battlestar Galactica to me means being one of the Final Five cylons. And that’s cool with me, man, because chicks dig cylons.

Grace Park: When I got married, Edward James Olmos stood up and he told me whole family that I’ve a new family now. And uh, he was right because that’s really what it has turned into.

Tahmoh Penikett: We’ve all been through so much together over the last five years and very supportive. It’s been an incredible experience. It’s a family, family more than anything I can think of.

Rekha Sharma: I don’t want it to end at all. Nope, I don’t.

Michael Hogan: Shooting Battlestar Galactica has been, as an actor, the greatest experience of my life to date. How often do you get to shoot a five year movie?

Bodie Olmos: To me it was a great honour to work with the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica and working with my father on the show has been a real special experience for me. It’s filled with lots of love and heartfelt moments and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. And uh, I’ll really miss it when it’s gone. So, to all of you, my love, and I appreciate it.

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A message from Ronald D. Moore (You've probably read this before.)
From here.

Somebody Stop Today, I Want to Get Off, From Ron

I don't want this day to happen.

I want it to be rescheduled, rethought, removed and recalled.

Tomorrow the story will be over, my tale having been told, and never again will there be the sweet anticipation of waiting for the next episode to be shown to fans and friends. The thought of it makes my heart ache even as swells with pride.

All I know is that today there is a show called Battlestar Galactica and tomorrow there was.

There will be joy in that too, I'm sure, touching the thread of memory and feeling it resonate all the way back to soundstages, locations, cutting rooms, writers' rooms, and sound bays where I lived for all these years and being comforted by the knowledge that a part of me will never truly leave those places. There will be reunions and retrospectives, special editions and extended cuts, interviews and seminars. Solace can be found.

We'd called the last season Senior Year and here, today, as I prepare to present the final episode to an audience of friends, colleagues, and family, I find myself feeling the same way I did on Graduation day at Chowchilla Union High, all those years ago. The mosaic of faces I'd grown accustomed to seeing day after day would regroup for one last event, one last celebration of our lives together and what we'd done, and then it would be gone but for the transcendent threads of memory waiting to resonant down through the years. I didn't want that day to happen either and fervently wished for it to be rescheduled, rethought, removed and recalled.

Somehow I get the feeling that today's wish will not be granted either. So this day, like that one, will wax and wane and all I can do is ride the wave and let it carry me where it will.

Thank you, all of you for coming here through the years. The shippers and the haters, and everyone in between; you've watched and you've posted and you've been a touchstone for my experience with the audience ever since that night back in 2003 when we first declared that the Cylons were created by Man and things were going to be different. It's been a genuine pleasure to surf your thoughts, rants, questions, snarks, complaints, praise, and humor as you watched our story play out and rest assured I will be here again tomorrow poring through the posts, laughing, cursing, sometimes just shrugging at what you take away from this crazy show.

It's been an honor to be your storyteller.

Ronald D. Moore
About to be former Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica

To Battlestar Galactica. One of the best shows ever. And I'm just gonna leave you guys with this.