In the first two hours of its third season Battlestar Galactica jumped unflinchingly into controversy. Pity those who have not watched every hour that came before these first two hours of the third season. NBC Universal might hope otherwise, but it is just not possible for anyone to tune in to Battlestar Galactica at the start of its third season and truly understand what this series is all about.

Evidence of such utter disorientation can be found easily by those who Google for blog posts about the start of season three in the United States on Sci-Fi on October 6, 2006.

One must watch every hour of Battlestar Galactica starting with the 2003 miniseries in order to perceive in any detail what Battlestar Galactica is doing. This site provides details of how Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica rivals Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek for attempting to persuade audience members with stories that have embedded messages and themes worth considering.

If the first two hours of Battlestar Galactica’s third season are any indication, there is no question that Ronald D. Moore has surpassed Gene Roddenberry in terms of gutsy attempts by television writers and producers to insert powerful political opinions into “mere” science fiction storytelling. The first two hours of season three depict real, flesh-and-blood details about insurgents in a warfare against occupiers, the true motivations of suicide bombers, and the use of organized religion by unscrupulous leaders to create fear in the hears of their followers as a means of controlling them.

Some viewers–most especially those who have not seen every hour the came before season three–will perceive of Battlestar Galactica in 2006 as being emotionally disturbing. This must be viewed as being quite deliberate. No television writer or producer could accomplish this kind of emotional impact accidentally.

Battlestar Galactica is asking viewers to consider what happens when one goes to war for religious purposes. The series asks important questions: Can any warfare be holy? Are people who fight an enemy based on their deeply-held religious beliefs to be held morally accountable for their violent acts? What makes some aspects of warfare holy and other aspects unholy? And, most importantly, who is capable of judging? Season three is beginning to answer these questions, but in doing so, Battlestar Galactica certainly will be seen as highly controversial. No television writer or producer could accomplish that accidentally either.