Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far

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Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far is a one-hour recap special of the first 2 seasons of Battlestar Galactica that was aired repeatedly on the Sci-Fi Channel in August/September 2006, leading up to the Season 3 premiere. The special summarizes "the story so far" for prospective new viewers.[1]

On the evening of August 13, 2006, NBC affliliates on the U.S. West Coast broadcast the special following the Cincinnati-Washington NFL football game. As was to be expected with a program that tried to synopsize the two seasons of BSG, "The Story So Far" was a good primer for those who had never seen the show before but was glaring in terms of some of the events that were omitted.

Gone was any mention of the arrival of the battlestar Pegasus and Adama's conflict with Admiral Helena Cain, the relationship between Chief Tyrol and "Boomer" Valerii (though she was shown dying in his arms), and the conflict between civilian and military authority that led to the arrest of Roslin, the declaration of martial law and the temporary splitting of the Fleet. Billy Keikeya was never mentioned, despite his importance as a important supporting character in season 1.

But in fairness, balance is hard to achieve in a one-hour show. For instance, a recap of the miniseries took the first twenty minutes, the whole first season was over by the half-hour mark, and it seemed like most of jump-foward-one-year part of the Season Two finale was played intact. Also, scenes were generally shuffled around out of their normal timeline to explain important relationships.

The narration of the program by "Laura Roslin" (Mary McDonnell in character) was low-key and strangely effective, though it will probably leave some people wondering who she was supposed to be talking to.

One plot point that was not officially stated in the regular series, and is mentioned in this special, is that the group of refugees left behind on Caprica, save for Helo, all succumbed to radiation poisoning in the intervening period between the Miniseries and "33".

In the end, "Battlestar Galactica: The Story So Far" is clearly intended to draw new viewers to the series but offers little new content for current followers.

The program is now available in several online venues, including the iTunes Store (iTunes software required).

References[edit]

  1. The Futon Critic (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). Retrieved on 2006-08-11.