Summary
- Battlestar Galactica takes place in a dangerous universe where survivors of a devastating attack must face power struggles and constant attacks from the robotic Cylons.
- The ships in Battlestar Galactica vary in quality of life, with the exception of Cloud 9, a luxury liner with peaceful and dangerous elements.
- Despite having superior technology, Pegasus struggles to overshadow its older sibling Galactica due to command and crew issues. The Cylon Centurions are a terrifying opponent, but some later form a cooperative alliance with the humans.
The universe of Battlestar Galactica is a dangerous one, full of power struggles and deadly foes. Following a devastating attack on its Twelve Colonies, the few surviving members of the human race must embark on a troubled trip back to Earth. Along the way, the refugee fleet faces attempted coups, moral dilemmas, and unrelenting attacks from the robotic Cylons.
Led by Admiral William Adama and President Laura Roslin, the survivors rely on advanced technology and their dwindling ships to endure. While technology poses a threat to humanity in the form of the Cylons, it might also be the one thing standing between the human race and extinction.
8 Cloud 9
The quality of life aboard starships varies widely within the science fiction genre: for every utopian Enterprise-D, there is a claustrophobic freighter like Alien's Nostromo. Unsurprisingly, Battlestar Galactica tends to favor dark, industrial interiors for many of the ships in the human fleet, although there are exceptions.
The most notable of these is Cloud 9, a massive luxury liner. The pleasure cruiser is built around a large domed area containing natural grassland and trees, providing a space for the refugees to decompress. Yet Cloud 9 is also home to less peaceful activities, including a bustling black market, and is the site of various power struggles and deadly clashes.
7 Pegasus
One of the few ships of the Colonial Fleet to survive the Cylon's initial assault, Pegasus rendezvouses with the refugee convoy during Battlestar Galactica's second season. Pegasus is a newer model than Galactica and initially represents a great addition to the fleet. However, tensions between Galactica's Adama and Pegasus's Helena Cain soon lead to a tense standoff between the two ships.
The continuing problems with Pegasus demonstrate that raw technological power is not the most important factor in a vessel's success. Although superior in terms of technology to Galactica, Pegasus struggles in terms of its command and crew and never overshadows its older sibling.
6 Cylon Centurion
The Cylon Centurion is a truly terrifying opponent. Acting as the infantry of the Cylon hordes, these deadly automatons are more than a match for the human race. When the Cylons launch their attack on the Twelve Colonies early in Battlestar Galactica, Centurions are deployed to attack both orbital and planetary facilities, showing no mercy.
However, some Centurions later become self-aware and form an uneasy alliance with the surviving humans. While the possibility of a future conflict remains, the cooperation between the Cylon rebels and the human race demonstrates that peaceful coexistence might not be impossible.
5 Viper
The Viper is a single-pilot craft and the key to the defense of the refugee convoy. Galactica, like all Battlestars, carries dozens of these fighters, which are launched from tubes within the carrier vessel. Armed with dual kinetic energy weapons and powered by miniature nuclear reactors, the Viper crews (including hotshot pilot Starbuck) often prevail against Cylon forces.
However, these maneuverable vessels are not limited to dogfights. They are also seen escorting other auxiliary vessels, such as the Raptor, a type of FTL-equipped shuttlecraft carried aboard Galactica. Various models of the Viper are seen in Battlestar Galactica, including the classic Mark I and the larger and more agile Mark III.
4 Cylon Raider
The imposing Cylon Raider is a type of starfighter that harasses the refugee convoy throughout Battlestar Galactica. Launched from the massive Cylon Basestars, these vessels pose a significant threat to both Galactica and the ships it protects. Individual Raiders even become infamous among the fleet, with one, nicknamed Scar, earning the ire of Galactica's pilots.
Talented pilot Starbuck is able to modify a crashed Raider into a craft suitable for human navigation and discovers that the metallic exterior conceals an organic operating system. Writer Ronald D. Moore compared the Raiders to horses, saying that they are alive, but not intelligent. However, they remain a difficult enemy to beat.
3 Humanoid Cylon
While the robotic Cylon Centurion represents an obvious threat to the human race, a more nefarious force lurks among the convoy's ships. At first glance, these humanoid Cylons are indistinguishable from any natural human, allowing them to infiltrate and destroy the refugees. From terrorist attacks to fostering a sense of creeping paranoia, the humanoid Cylons represent a deadly foe.
Tricia Helfer's seductive Number Six came to define the humanoid Cylon in pop culture and is in many ways the most iconic element of the franchise as a whole. Humanoid Cylons also allowed the revival's writers to make allusions to the then-contemporary War on Terror, grounding the series in a real-world context.
2 FTL Drive
Faster-than-light technology is a classic trope of science fiction. From Star Trek's warp drive to trips to the star-streaked hyperspace of Star Wars, the ability to traverse vast tracts of space in a relatively short time is central to the plotting and worldbuilding of many a space opera. Battlestar Galactica is no exception, with the FTL drive playing a significant role in many episodes.
However, FTL drives have their limitations. Galactica's FTL drive is less advanced than those utilized by the Cylons, and the early episode "33" sees the human refugees being forced to jump every 33 minutes to avoid being caught. As such, the FTL drive is not only a cool piece of technology but a plot device for creating nail-biting drama.
1 Galactica
The eponymous Battlestar Galactica survives the Cylon assault on the Twelve Colonies almost by fluke. The elderly carrier ship is not connected to the same network as its sister ships and, therefore, avoids becoming infected with crippling malware. This allows Galactica to reach safely and become the protector of the ragtag refugee convoy.
Galactica's iconic design in the reboot series draws on the original 1970s model while matching the revival's grungy aesthetic. At nearly 5,000 feet long and capable of launching dozens of deadly Vipers, as well as a supply of nuclear weapons, Galactica packs a punch despite its age—due in part to the tactical insight of its commander, William Adama.