Opening credits

Both the Original Series and Re-imagined Series use a detailed opening credits sequence that also serves to give the viewer a sense of what Battlestar Galactica is about.

The title sequence of the Original Series did not change in its 24-episode run. Each episode began with:

• A brief start of the episode that often ended with a pending crisis, commonly known as a "teaser."
• The gathering of battlestars near Cimtar for the expected Cylon peace conference.
• The Cylon attack on Caprica, battlestars, and their Vipers,
• A series of main and supporting character close-ups with the actor's names, such as Lorne Greene and Richard Hatch.
• The gathering of the civilian ships to form Galactica's new charges.

After the commercial break, the Original Series would show additional credits of secondary and supporting characters such as Noah Hathaway and Tony Swartz before the episode began.

The Re-imagined Series opening credits were similar in form to its predecessor:

• The series title appears, often with a voiceover by one of the series actors: "Previously on Battlestar Galactica..."
• A brief series of past episode scenes appaar, usually from previous episodes, but occasionally a deleted scene (such as Kara Thrace's initially-failing argument to William Adama and Laura Roslin to rescue Samuel Anders and the Caprica Resistance in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I") will be added for additional context.
• The episode begins with a teaser prologue and a pending crisis.
• The credits quickly show Caprica City, battlestar Galactica and the start of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies with the nuclear bombing of Caprica. During this scene, the main actors's names are shown.
• The civilian Fleet is shown with Galactica within it.
• The survivor count is typically shown.
• After the commercial, the episode begins, with the names of guest stars appears as the scene continues.

The first four season 3 episodes were markedly different. Changed were the additional different sequence of scenes involving the captives on New Caprica, the remains of the spaceborne Fleet that escapes with Galactica, and a missing survivor count. The opening credits return to their previous conventions (albeit with changed scenes) by the episode, "Collaborators".