The World of Battlestar Galactica is often said to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle and end - like a truly great novel. But where are these sections located? Looking back at the series this is how I see it.
Battlestar Galactica - The Beginning or
The World Before the Fall:
Caprica: The Series [2009-2011]
Caprica is set more than 18 years before the arrival of the Final Five, the Razor flashbacks, & the end of the First Cylon War; more than 58 years Before The Fall depicted in the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries. The series introduces us to the 12 Colonies, the Adamas, the Cylons, angels, religions, beliefs, music, foods and all manner of other aspects of the BSG universe.
01
1x01
Caprica Pilot Episode [Televised Version]
02 1x02 Rebirth
03 1x03 The Reins of a Waterfall
04 1x04 Grave Dancing
05 1x05 There is Another Sky
06 1x06 Know Thy Enemy
07 1x07 The Imperfections of Memory
08 1x08 Ghosts in the Machine
09 1x09 End of Line (Season 1.0 Finale)
10 1x10 Unvanquished
11 1x11 Retribution
12 1x12 Things We Lock Away
13 1x13 False Labor
14 1x14 Blowback
15 1x15 The Dirteaters
16 1x16 The Heavens Will Rise
17 1x17 Here Be Dragons
18 1x18 Apotheosis (Series Finale)
Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome [2011 / 2012 ?]
A 2-hour pilot movie has been green-lit for this story set 10 years into the First Cylon War centered on a young Bill Adama onboard the Battlestar Galactica.
"Ensign William Adama, barely in his 20's and a recent Academy graduate, finds himself assigned to the newest Battlestar in the Colonial fleet...the Galactica. The talented but hot-headed risk-taker soon finds himself leading a dangerous top secret mission that, if successful, will turn the tide of the decade long war in favor of the desperate fleet."
Executive Producer David Eick calls this an "authentic, relentless depiction of combat and the agony and ecstasy of human-Cylon war, which was the hallmark of Battlestar Galactica's early seasons."
Battlestar Galactica - The Middle or
The Heart of the Story:
An average episode of BSG runs about 43 minutes.
01 Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries [183 Minutes]
02 1x01 33
03 1x02 Water
04 1x03 Bastille Day
05 1x04 Act of Contrition
06 1x05 You
Can't Go Home Again
07 1x06 Litmus
08 1x07 Six Degrees of Separation
09 1x08 Flesh and Bone
10 1x09 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
11 1x10 The Hand of God
12 1x11 Colonial Day
13 1x12 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1
14 1x13 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2
15 2x01
Scattered
16 2x02 Valley of Darkness
17 2x03 Fragged
18 2x04 Resistance
19 2x05 The Farm
20 2x06 Home, Part 1
21 2x07 Home, Part 2
22 2x08 Final Cut
23 2x09 Flight of the Phoenix
24 2x10 Pegasus [Extended Cut - 59 Minutes]
25 2x11 Resurrection Ship, Part 1
26 2x12 Resurrection Ship, Part 2
27 2x13 Epiphanies
28 2x14 Black Market
29 2x15 Scar
30 2x16 Sacrifice
31 2x17 The Captain's Hand
32 2x18 Downloaded
33 Battlestar Galactica: Razor* [Unrated Extended Edition - 101 Minutes]
34 2x19 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1
35 2x20 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 [First Airing Extended Cut / DVD
Cut - 68 minutes]
In the last 20 minutes or so of "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2", the series jumps forward a year...changing everything we think we know about the series. This is what I think of as the beginning of the end. The storyline from this cliffhanger does not pick up where it left off when the next section begins, providing a nice break between what was and what shall be.
Also around this time we have 2 major installments which look back on what we've just seen and provide answers and insights to questions and mysteries from these first 2 sections. The episodes are "Downloaded" & "Razor". These two installments provide a kind of closure on this section while hinting at things to come, which in retrospect is quite beautiful.
*Though "Razor" was produced and aired between Seasons 3 & 4, the movie is set between "Downloaded" & "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1", and I strongly recommend that any viewer (new or old) watch the movie where it takes place, rather than where it was aired.
It should also be noted that for those who have already seen the entire run of Battlestar Galactica, this point, after "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" is where Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is best viewed, which is another installment that looks back on what we've just seen and gives us still more information. However, for those viewers who are new to the series it is recommended that they view The Plan only after the Season 4 episode "No Exit" as this particular BSG film spoils many plot twists of Seasons 3 & 4.
Battlestar Galactica - The End
orThe Final Chapter:
01 Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance
** (Webisodes 1-10)
34
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy***
(Webisodes 1-10)
35 4x13
The Oath
36 4x14
Blood on the Scales
37 4x15
No Exit
38 Battlestar Galactica: The Plan****
[Unrated Extended Edition - 111 Minutes]
39 4x16
Deadlock
40 4x17
Someone To Watch Over Me
41 4x18
Islanded in a Stream of Stars [Extended Cut - 63 Minutes]
42 4x19
Daybreak [Extended Cut - 152 Minutes] (Series Finale)
**These 10 webisodes ("The Resistance") take place between the end of Season 2 & the beginning of Season 3. You can watch
Season 3 without having seen these webisodes but they do provide a deeper back-story for several characters that pay off nicely as the season progresses, and they give more depth to the occupation of New Caprica storyline. The webisodes can be found on Disc 2 of Season 3.
***These 10 webisodes ("The Face of the Enemy") are harder to place than "The Resistance". Though the bulk of this second group of webisodes take place in the gap of time between 4x11 ("Sometimes a Great Notion") & 4x12 ("A Disquiet Follows My Soul"), there are at least 2 scenes that take place during the latter, plus flashback scenes that take place during the New Caprica arc (2x20 "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" - 3x04 "Exodus, Part II), and another flashback set during 3x13 ("Taking a Break From All Your Worries"). I've tried watching the webisodes before 4x12, but found the experience confusing; the way the scenes from the ending blend with 4x12 doesn't seem to flow as smoothly as it should. However, if you view the entire run of webisodes as a series of flashbacks explaining Gaeta's stance at the end of 4x12 and setting the stage for 4x13 ("The Oath") & 4x14 ("Blood on the Scales") they seem to work perfectly, in my opinion - so that's why I place this set of webisodes here.
****"The Plan" was produced after the end of the series and IMO should only ever be seen after one has already viewed all of the other Battlestar Galactica episodes up to "No Exit", as this movie SPOILS much of the plot twists in Seasons 1-4. The Plan gives us new information on the first 2 seasons of Battlestar Galactica while tying together the plot twists revealed in seasons 3 & 4, and giving us the Cylon perspectives we were denied during the early seasons of the series. Much like the 2 installments near the end of the last section ("Downloaded" & "Razor"), "No Exit" & "The Plan" look back on Seasons 1-4 and provide us with key information, changing our understanding of what we've just seen. One of the truly remarkable things about Battlestar Galactica is that once you've seen the entire story, you're almost compelled to rewatch it as things you learn in later episodes change how you perceive events in earlier installments. This was true after the first revelations in the original miniseries and has continued throughout the rest of the run of the series that followed. When rewatching the series, after all the episodes have been seen previously & all the revelations have been explored it's possible to view this installment just after the 2nd Season Finale ("Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2").