You will want to remember the name of American television producer/writer Ronald D. Moore (born in California in 1964), whose vision and persistence made Battlestar Galactica as we now know it possible. He began his journey on the way to developing Battlestar Galactica by working on Star Trek. Because of how he has “paid his dues” in the jungle that is science fiction television, and because he delivers the highest quality of writing, I believe that Ron Moore deserves to be honored with the designation as the next Roddenberry.

Moore started as a writer on the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the late 1980s, and worked his way up to script editor, then co-producer, and ultimately, producer. Moore has written or co-written a total of 27 episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation before moving on to be supervising producer for Star Trek: Deep Space 9 in 1993 and then co-executive producer in 1995 for the beginnings of Star Trek: Voyager. Moore also co-wrote Star Trek: Generations, released in 1994 as the seventh major motion picture in this Paramount Pictures franchise, and Star Trek: First Contact, released in 1996 as the eighth. As the 1990s ended, creative differences motivated Moore to separate from Star Trek.

Moore was hired by producer David Eick to reinvent Battlestar Galactica as a television series for Sci-Fi, but Moore’s specific goal was the reinvention of the science fiction television series. 

“Our goal is nothing less than the reinvention of the science fiction television series.  We take as a given the idea that the traditional space opera–with its stock characters, techno double-talk, bumpy-headed aliens, thespian histrionics and empty heroics–has run its course and a new approach is required.  That approach is to introduce realism into what has heretofore been an aggressively unrealistic genre…”  [David Bassom, The Official Battlestar Galactica Companion, (London: Titan Books, 2005), p. 8.]

Moore developed the 21st centure edition of Battlestar Galactica as a late 2003 miniseries, running 3 hours (minus commercials) that was shown on Sci-Fi Channel on cable in the U.S. and internationally on various channels. High ratings directly led to the production of 13 original episodes that began airing in early 2005. A second season in 2006 featured 20 more episodes. A third season in 2007 presented 20 additional episodes.  A fourth season of this American series was produced in British Columbia, Canada and will air at least ten episodes in 2008.  Viewers may need to wait until 2009 to see all the fourth seasons episodes. 

The roots of Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica can be traced back to Gene Roddenberry’s 1966 Star Trek Guide–a document used to safeguard that production against straying from the format, contains one essential directive:

“Science fiction is no different from the tales of the present or past—our starship central characters and crew must at least be as believably motivated and as identifiable as character we’ve all written into police stations, general hospitals, and Western towns.”

Clearly, Battlestar Galactica under Ron Moore embraces these “tricks of the trade” pioneered 40 years ago for Star Trek while injecting or embedding discernible themes and messages about politics and religion for the audience to ponder. In Rolling Stone, he said so directly: “The networks are terrified of controversy. But in sci-fi, they don’t notice or care so much — you get a free pass.”

Edward James Olmos, who portrays Admiral William Adama on Battlestar Galactica says in a June/July 2006 cover story in AARP Segunda Juventud magazine that he agreed to star in this Ron Moore series but “it had to be about something” and Olmos admits that Battlestar Galactica’s “contemporary political parallels” drew him to the role. 

The 9/11/01 attacks and the subsequent 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq provide the political and cultural context for the series’ producers and writers to inject urgent and controversial questions of military and political significance for viewers to ponder.  Since the word battle in its title, viewers should not be surprised that this series explicitly deals with warfare and conflict between political and cultural opponents using the science fiction format to compel viewers to evaluate difficult and challenging questions about their core beliefs and values.

Moore has given Battlestar Galactica a sharply realistic military edge that demands attention:

Yaw, Pitch, and Roll Models: How Battlestar Galactica pitches military role models.