Battlestar Galactica

Taking up the mantle of the short-lived (and somewhat cheesy) late-1970s TV series of the same name, 2004’s Battlestar Galactica recast the sci-fi show in a radically different light. Not only did this “re-imagining” ditch the blatant Star Wars-isms of the original, it took a far darker, grittier, and more realistic look at the core story, which involves a band of humans struggling for survival as they are hunted by cold, calculating Cylon robots. For those whose eyes are already starting to glaze over—yes, this really is the sci-fi series for people that don’t like sci-fi. No aliens abound on BSG, just ridiculously engaging characters that are fallible, fascinating, and find themselves in perpetually intense situations steeped in issues of war, genocide, terrorism, human rights, and religion. Among its many achievements, including garnering a prestigious Peabody Award, the series established one of the strongest ensemble casts ever in the history of television, and introduced the term “frak” into pop culture. If you’ve dismissed the surprisingly high praise that has been showered upon BSG…well, frakking believe the hype—Battlestar Galactica is seriously compelling television.