Ronald D. Moore, who was a driving storytelling force behind Star Trek: The Next Generation, took Glen Larson’s beloved (but expensive) 70s television series and retooled it. He and his creative crew and cast delivered a proof-of-concept miniseries, which would introduce us to the characters and situations that would drive this incarnation.

The miniseries aired in two parts over consecutive nights, with night one debuting on 8 December, 2003. It was written by Moore and Christopher Eric James, and was notably directed by Michael Rymer, who set the visual style and look of the show.

The Twelve Colonies of Man have lived in peace for forty years, after the Cylons, robotic beings that man created, disappeared following a conflict with their creators. Now, it seems they have returned. They have evolved. And they have a plan.

And now… some of them look like us.

The Colonial Battlestar, Galactica, is about to be retired and turned into a museum, and her Commander, Adama (Edward James Olmos) is less than thrilled. His exec, Tigh (Michael Hogan) is a drunk with wife troubles, his son, Apollo (Jamie Bamber), is the lead viper pilot. And then there was the big shakeup for fans, Starbuck, brought to life by Dirk Benedict in the original series, was gender swapped, and became Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace played by Katee Sackhoff, and any doubts about the changes to the character were brushed away immediately. She kicks ass!

On Caprica, one of the colonies, we are introduced to Gaius Baltar (James Callis), a genius on many levels, but one being manipulated. He’s being guided by a Cylon, Six (Tricia Helfer), who is sometimes real, and sometimes only a projection in his mind. And they use him to allow for an assault on the home worlds, something he realises far too late.

The Galactica is the only ship in the fleet that may be able to lend a hand, but it’s also a relic, hardlines, and wires (like an actual battleship). And they may not be ready for war.

Throw in a visiting minister of education, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and a lot of stuff with Kara is keeping, and you have fuel for lots of character drama, even as the Cylon assault begins.

As the first night comes to its conclusion, Roslin finds out she’s become the new President of the Twelve Colonies, a raptor pilot, Boomer (Grace Park) leaves her flight partner, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) behind on a nuked Caprica to get some survivors including Baltar off planet, Adama assumes command of the fleet, and he watches the apparent destruction of Apollo and the President’s transport after a nuclear explosion wipes out sensor readings.

While the original series was not quite camp, it did have very direct lines between the good guys and bad guys. There are more themes explored in this post-9/11 series, more ideas presented, and some stunning VFX shots, that for the most part, continue to stand up today.

And of course, there’s a famous Firefly-class ship spotted flying over Caprica City.

It’s been a number of years since I watched this mini-series, and even longer since I watched the whole series, I cannot wait to dig into it again, and see if I still love it as much as I did.

I will say this, the casting and the look is spectacular.