The first season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, commissioned by the Sci-Fi Channel in February 2004, began airing eight months later in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It premiered on Sci-Fi in the United States with a two-hour debut on January 14, 2005. The first episode of the series received a Hugo Award and the season's 13 episodes were recognized with a Peabody Award "for pushing the limits of science fiction and making it accessible to all." The first season is a follow-up to the miniseries that first aired in December 2003.
In the following list, "Survivor count" refers to the number of surviving Colonial citizens and military, provided at some point during the episode.
Production
Battlestar Galacticas first season of thirteen one-hour episodes was ordered by the Sci-Fi Channel on February 10, 2004, with production taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Produced in 2004 by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore, and starring the original cast from the 2003 miniseries, it began airing in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 18, 2004. The series proved successful, attracting favorable comments from reviewers, and generating considerable anticipation in the U.S. It began airing in North America three months later, on January 14, 2005 in the United States, and January 15 in Canada. The first episode aired in the U.S. became one of the highest-rated programs ever on Sci-Fi, with 3.1 million viewers. The series' first season became the network's highest-rated original series to date. Battlestar Galacticas first episode was later made available for viewing in its entirety, and without charge from the Sci-Fi website. Moore also sought to address the "Internet Generation" by posting podcast commentaries on individual episodes on the official Sci-Fi website.
In its statement accompanying the announcement of the show's Peabody Award, the Peabody Board noted "Battlestar Galactica is not just another apocalyptic vision of the future but an intense drama that poses provocative questions regarding religion, politics, sex and what it truly means to be 'human'.... Writers Ronald D. Moore, Toni Graphia, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson, Carla Robinson, Jeff Vlaming, Michael Angeli, and David Eick take full advantage to give us plotlines that are deeply personal and relatable, while never compromising their affinity and passion for science fiction". ;Nominations
2004 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Act on Broadcast Program
Home video releases
The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 20, 2005, in region 2 on March 28, 2005 and in region 4 on August 15, 2006. It was also released in region 1 in HD DVD on December 4, 2007 and on Blu-ray Disc on January 5, 2010. The sets include all 13 episodes of the first season and the miniseries. Special features include commentary on the miniseries and "33" by executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and director Michael Rymer. Moore and Eick provide commentaries for "Bastille Day", "Act of Contrition" and "You Can't Go Home Again". Beginning with episode 9, Moore began recording podcast commentaries for the episodes on the official Battlestar Galactica website; Moore provides commentaries for "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", "The Hand of God", "Colonial Day", "Kobol's Last Gleaming " and "Kobol's Last Gleaming ". Behind-the-scenes featurettes include a collection of individual featurettes—"From Miniseries to Series", "Change is Good, Now They're Babes", "The Cylon Centurion", "Future/Past Technology", "The Doctor is out ", "Production", "Visual Effects" and "Epilogue". Also included is a featurette titled "Battlestar Galactica: The Series Lowdown", deleted scenes for various episodes, and a montage of sketches and art for the series.
