New Caprica: BSG Comes of Age

One reason I think Battlestar Galactica will stand the test of time as a television classic is Ron Moore and his writers weren’t afraid to shake up the status quo with plot twists that were truly “game changers.” The first such move was the One Year Later sequence at the end of the Second Season finale “Lay Down Your Burdens.”

Naysayers thought it was a trick or an alternate reality or a dream sequence. In fact, it was an example of the large brass cajones of BSG’s writing staff. Some changes to our cast of characters were drastic—Mrs. Kara Anders (or should that be Mr. Samuel T. Thrace? Hmm…), “Fat Lee” Adama, President Gaius Baltar, Cally Henderson-Tyrol, Lt. Anastasia Adama. Others were more subtle—a mustached Bill Adama, schoolmarm Laura Roslin, and a one-eyed Saul Tigh.

The brilliance of the New Caprica story arc, however, is it placed our heroes in the position where some become suicide bombers under Baltar’s Vichy government. This salient commentary on real-world issues did not go unnoticed. “Occupation” / “Precipice” received Emmy and Writers Guild nominations for writing; “Exodus, Part II” was nominated for directing and sound editing Emmys and won the Emmy Award for outstanding special visual effects in a series.

One of the signature VFX shots on New Caprica was based on David MacLean’s concept art for the grounded ragtag fleet. This oversized pencil sketch (11” x 34”) is a stunning piece of work and will soon be available on eBay

“So say we all.”

Thomas