BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
So Say We All
Battlestar Galactica was a TV series that ran on the SyFy channel from 2004-2009. The show’s creator, Ronald D. Moore, reimagined the original campy, space-adventure series from 1978 into a gripping allegory for the war on terror. By the end of it's run, the show had won three Emmys, a Hugo and a Peabody. Edwin Zane speaks about his time at Universal TV developing Battlestar Galactica.
Edwin Zane on the Battlestar Galactica set in Toronto, in 2005 ****This was my first project when I was hired as a Director of Development at Universal TV and I was elated. As a sci-fi fan and a kid that owned many Battlestar Galactica lunch boxes and action figures, this was like getting keys to a Porsche.
We wanted this show to be something not just Sci-Fi fans will love, but mainstream audiences as well.
We were developing this project just a few months after 9/11 and we were all-in on show creator Ronald D. Moore’s using Galactica as a metaphor for our current struggle. Cylons would represent the hidden enemy living amongst us.
Development is a team sport. Between networks and studios, there were four or five executives giving all sorts of feedback. I made it my focus to always challenge the writers to find the heart of the series and to make this world reflective of the times we lived in.
From having the Latino Edward James Olmos as the face of the franchise, to the hotshot pilot Starbuck a woman, and Boomer an Asian woman, I applaud all the execs and producers who cast from a diverse group of actors. In 2021 this would be a requirement, but back in 2002, we did it just because it felt right.
We knew we had something special on our hands when the show won the Peabody Award. Normally they give this award for shows on HBO like The Sopranos, but for a sci-fi show to win was really groundbreaking. It made me realize how much this was part of America’s TV diet.
