The conclusion of the first season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica first aired on 1 April, 2005. It was written by showrunner Ronald D. Moore from a story by David Eick.

Adama (Edward James Olmos) is furious with Roslin (Mary McDonnell) for convincing Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) to take the Cylon Raider and fly it back to Caprica to find the Arrow of Apollo. He prepares an assault on Colonial One, to remove her from her position, led by Apollo (Jamie Bamber) and Tigh (Michael Hogan) – how much do you want to bet that goes sideways?

Starbuck’s faith in Adama was shaken by the fact that Adama lied about knowing where Earth is, but that Roslin may be able to help them get there.

He sends Boomer (Grace Park) and Racetrack (Leah Cairns) to Kobol to help recover the crashed Raptor and its occupants, but first they have to deal with the Cylons. Adama tasks her with destroying the Cylon Basestar in orbit, by faking them out with a Cylon transponder, and then launching a nuclear weapon into its landing bay. But I guarantee that’s not going to go to plan, and Boomer has a terrifying revelation, which triggers her actions in the last scene of the episode.

And speaking of Kobol, those who survived the crash are trying to survive the planet, and wait out a ride back to the fleet. Baltar (James Callis), Crashdown (Sam Witwer) and Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) are among the survivors, and it seems despite his rank, Tyrol may be the one to keep the group alive, long enough to be rescued.

And through it all Baltar continues a dialogue with Six (Tricia Helfer) that lays down some serious questions about what the Cylons are up to, an what their plan is. Or part of it…

On Caprica, Boomer seems to know about the importance of the Arrow, and also reveals that she has feelings for Helo (Tahmoh Penikett). You just know that’s not going to end well. And then when Starbuck arrives, things are going to get even more complicated. And we get a throwdown knockdown fight between Starbuck and Six!

And none of us were ready for that cliffhanger ending when Boomer shoots Adama!

Scattered launched season two on 15 July, 2005. It was written by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson.

Roslin and Apollo are in cells, Adama has been shot, Starbuck and Helo need a way off Caprica, and a miscalculation on a jump separates Galactica from the rest of the fleet!

And let’s just a quick breather here to recognize that Bear McCreary delivers a frakking fantastic score for the entire series.

Tigh is in command and when a basestar shows they engage the FTL, but the Galactica is alone.

Baltar is still trying to wrap his brains around what Six has shown him, and what it means. He and the rest of the survivors on Kobol are trying to find a safe place to wait out their rescue, and avoid Cylons should they arrive.

The Galactica leaps back to Kobol to recalculate where the fleet ended up, but they are going to have to hold off the Cylons the whole time. And during that battle, Adama is under the knife in an attempt to save his life.

The episode deals with the horrors and responsibilities of command, in this case, decisions can lead to lives lost.

We also get to see Tigh and Adama back in the day.

It’s a tense, brutal episode, that throws us right back into the thick of things. I remember the break between seasons, and this opener was absolutely gob-smacking.

Galactica remains brilliant television!