Battlestar Galactica is a science-fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson, which began in 1978 with the eponymous TV series. By the 21st century, it includes two TV series, two spin-off TV series, TV movies, two film movies (three if you count the original being re-edited for movie release), comic books, tie-in books for both TV series, a board game, and video games.
Titles in the franchise include:
- Battlestar Galactica (1978): The original 1970s series by Glen A. Larson.
- Galactica 1980: A sequel series to the original, largely considered Canon Discontinuity.
- Battlestar Galactica (2003): The 2000s remake by Ronald D. Moore.
- Caprica: The first spin-off of the 2000s remake, a prequel series.
- Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome: The second spinoff of the 2000s remake, the pilot of which debuted online.
- Battlestar Galactica Online: An Internet-based MMO inspired by the 2000s remake.
- Battlestar Galactica Deadlock: A turn-based strategy game prequel to the 2000s remake.
- Battlestar Galactica: A 2003 Space-Combat Simulation for the Playstation 2 and Xbox set in an Alternate Continuity from both the 1978 and 2004 series.
- Battlestar Galactica Vs Battlestar Galactica: A 2018 6-issue miniseries from Dynamite Comics which is a Crossover between the original 1978 series and the 2000s reimagined series.
Recurrent tropes in the franchise:
- Space Cossacks: In both the 1978 and 2003 versions, the remnants of the Twelve Colonies flee to Earth in a rag-tag space fleet who Survived the Beginning. On one occasion, the fleet has to ration supplies because resources are extremely scarce when you are running from a Robot Empire.
- Survived the Beginning:
- Battlestar Galactica (1978): Billions are killed in the Cylon attack but once safely away, the fleet manages to avoid substantial losses for quite a while.
- Battlestar Galactica (2003): Helo was supposed to die, having been left behind on Caprica, but the
fandom took a liking to him, and he showed up in the series as a main character.
- Truce Trickery:
- Battlestar Galactica (1978) opens with the Twelve Colonies celebrating a peace agreement between themselves and the Cylons, only for the Cylons to suddenly attack amidst the celebrations, killing most of humanity.
- Battlestar Galactica (2003): The Cylons have had a peace treaty with the Twelve Colonies for forty years, but without warning they launch a massive attack that kills all but a few tens of thousands of humans who escape on ships.
