Even though the series has been off the air for over a decade, many science fiction and television fans still consider the Sci-Fi (now known as SyFy) channel's series Battlestar Galactica to be the greatest science fiction television show ever made. And it's not hard to see why.
BSG still has it's own small legion of super-fans, and as a result of great word of mouth and the advent of streaming services, it's fanbase only continues to grow. But here are a few behind the scenes tidbits about the series that even it's biggest fans might not be aware of.
Improvisation Skills
Anyone familiar with Battlestar Galactica will be familiar with the saying "so say we all," as it's a phrase that the characters repeat often. However this wasn't actually a part of Kobol culture in the original script.
Lead actor Edward James Olmos improvised the line in one of the speeches he was giving in the initial miniseries, and the writers liked it so much that they incorporated it into the fictional world.
It's All Relative
Although they don't share many scenes throughout the series together, Bodie Olmos, son of actor Edward James Olmos, eventually played a relatively significant character in the show.
He initially filled in for a bit part as one of the squad of pilots in training, but his nameless character went on to become Hot Dog, a recurring character through the majority of the series.
Paperwork Problems
One recurring detail throughout the course of the show is that all of the paper products used by the remaining humans have the corners cut off of them. This was initially done as a bit of an in-joke for production, in reference to the fact that they had to "cut corners".
They came to regret that decision though, as this minor detail wound up being incredibly time consuming in the long run.
Where Credit Is Due
Glen A. Larson was the creator of the original Battlestar Galactica series, and although the remake deviated heavily from the original show, clearly the inspirational material had a huge influence too.
As a result of Larson's work, he is credited as a producer on every episode of the remake series, despite the fact that he never actually worked on it or contributed to it in any way beyond providing the original source material.
Deadly Weapons
Although Battlestar Galactica takes place in an alternate universe where humans did not evolve on earth and instead developed in a star system very far away, the weapons that they typically use are extremely real.
The firearms that the characters use throughout the show are real guns, with some outfitted with modifcations and others being used as is.
Boxed In
The producers of Battlestar Galactica really wanted to add Lucy Lawless into their cast, but they had concerns about her scheduling availability, and they came up with a unique solution to solve that problem.
The whole concept of cylon "boxing" was introduced as a means of writing Lawless' character out of the show while still leaving the door open for her to return at a later date, and the concept was later used in other story lines as well.
An On-Theme Theme Song
The distinctive theme song of Battlestar Galactica is actually a famous Hindi hymn, that unsurprisingly connects deeply to the overall themes of the show.
It is a hymn from the Rigveda, and the lyrics translate to "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God: So may he stimulate our prayers."
The Long Term Plans
As any fan of Battlestar Galactica already knows that the critically acclaimed series began as nothing more than a miniseries. And although most people consider a miniseries to be a stand-alone event, it would seem that the producers already had much bigger plans for BSG.
When everyone in the main cast signed on to the miniseries, they actually signed contracts that bound them to the series for seven years (presuming the show even lasted that long).
Figuring Out As They Go
While Battlestar Galactica now has it's place among the upper echelons of epic genre storytelling alongside shows like Westworld or Game of Thrones, the creators of the series didn't actually go into the show with some grand plan for the story.
The show's creators preferred to come up with the story more organically by focusing on where all of the characters were and where the overall plot was at the given time, and then thinking through where the saga should logically go based on that.
An Ending Up In The Air
Although it feels like ancient history now, a protracted writers strike in 2007 and 2008 left a lot of in-production TV shows completely hanging, including Battlestar Galactica.
The show completed the first half of it's last season before the strike hit, and the producers as well as the network chose to air those episodes, because the last episode filmed happened to work as a series finale as well. But when the strike concluded, Battlestar Galactica got an order for it's final batch of episodes.