The new 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries and subsequent television series were a significant reimagining and departure from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica, and in many ways, is a completely brand new series with only some borrowed ideas and characters from the original.

Overview

The most notable changes from the original series include:

some Cylon models that closely resemble human form are used for infiltration

Starbuck is a female character

Boomer, formerly an African-American man (and genuinely human), is now portrayed by a Korean woman and is a Cylon

Col. Tigh, formerly also portrayed by an African-American actor, is now portrayed by a Caucasian actor.

Adama, originally played by a Jewish actor, is now portrayed by a Hispanic actor.

Characters have been given Anglo-American style names with a given name and a family name (in the original series they were only known by one name). For example, Adama is now William Adama, and Starbuck and Apollo are the callsigns (pilot nicknames) of Kara Thrace and Lee Adama, respectively.

There are fewer ships in this series than the original, only 70 ships are in the fleet (while the original series had 220), but more human survivors -- fifty thousand people are alive as opposed to the original series figure of only 6,000 (episode Greetings from Earth).

Space battles take place using Newtonian physics, first seen in a TV series in the landmark sci-fi series Babylon 5.

Overall, the new series pays a lot more attention to the logistics of survival than the original series. It aims for a darker and more serious tone than the original. There is heavily suggested sexual content and the violence is more realistic. There is also a more socially conscious approach to character development and plot lines, addressing addiction, divided loyalties, and coping with personal and community grief. Much of the early criticism from original series fans cooled down once the mini-series proved to be generally better than most people expected. The new series has earned all-time record high ratings on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Differences from the 1978 series

The following is an exhaustive list of differences of the 2003 series from the 1978 series:

The Cylons are now a creation of the humans. They rebelled against their creators during a war which ended forty years ago, formed their own civilization, broke off all contact with the humans and are now resuming the same genocidal conflict after an extended truce.

There are no other alien species shown in the series, just Humans and Cylons.

Cylon soldiers are significantly different from the "classic" Centurion design. These new units are faster, streamlined, more agile, and have built-in weaponry. They are also mute (wireless communication), their usual response of "By your command" completely absent. (The older models do appear as "museum pieces", obviously indicating the Cylons have "evolved".)

Cylon Raiders (small fighter/attack craft) are no longer manned by a crew of three Cylon Centurions. Instead the craft themselves are cybernetic organisms.

Some Cylons are designed to be almost biologically and phenotypically identical to humans, in order to serve the purpose of infiltration. Some units are unaware of their Cylon origin, believing themselves to be human. So convincing are the stealth units that they can associate with humans, even at an intimate emotional and sexual level. There were no humanoid Cylons in the original series, but an android did appear in the Galactica 1980 episode The Night the Cylons Landed. However, this android was only a cyber-mechanical entity with a human appearance.

Dr. Gaius Baltar was seduced and tricked into betraying humanity, as opposed to making a conscious choice to do so.

In both series, Adar is President of the Colonies and is killed in the Cylon attack. In the original, he organises the peace conference that leads to the destruction of the Colonies and is portrayed as a misguided idealist and tool of Baltar. He dies telling himself (literally) that he is responsible for the destruction of the human race. In the new series, President Adar is never seen nor heard; the audience knows of him chiefly through the recollections of others. These range from Laura Roslin, who seems to have idolised him, to Adama, who tells Billy "Adar was a moron". There is no suggestion that Adar was at fault for the Cylon attack in the re-imagined series.

Adama (Olmos) initially doesn't believe that Earth exists and that they can find it. Instead, he uses the Colonials' beliefs and claims that the route to Earth is a closely-guarded military secret (mini-series) to give the survivors a purpose. As of the second season, he is reconsidering his beliefs.

Instead of being the flagship, albeit generations old, of the colonial forces, the Galactica is one of the last of its kind still in operation. Slated for decommissioning and conversion to a museum when the story begins, it survives the Cylon onslaught due to its reliance on older technology. This is largely due to Commander Adama's insistence that there be no computer networks installed on the Galactica, and that all communications on board be conducted using old-fashioned wired telephones, so that the Cylons can not infiltrate the ship's computers.

Physically, the Galactica is far more clearly designed for combat. She has heavy armor plating covering structural ribs and water tanks under the plating to absorb kinetic damage from missiles or harmful radiation from nuclear-tipped Cylon missiles. The command centre is much better protected, being located deep inside the ship (much like the Combat Information Center in a modern naval warship), rather than exposed on the outside as in the case of Star Trek's USS Enterprise, or the Galactica in the 1978 series. The Galactica must now also retract its landing bays prior to executing an FTL jump, then extend them upon entering normal space in order to conduct flight operations.

Operations have become more militaristic on the reimagined Galactica. Unlike the original, many new details are taken directly from present-day aircraft carrier operations, such as standard operating procedures, combat air patrols, and the term "CAG" for the Galactica<nowiki>'</nowiki>s command Viper pilot.

The original Galactica utilized "scanners" to detect objects in space, while the reimagined battlestar is equipped with "DRADIS" &mdash; the Colonial equivalent of RADAR.

The original Colonial Fleet costumes appeared to be a blend of World War II uniforms, disco fashions, and futuristic attire. The original Colonial Warrior (Viper Pilot & Line Officer) emblem on the uniforms was the branch insignia used by U.S. Army military intelligence officers with the interior of the rose petals colored in blue. The current costuming strongly resembles contemporary fashions, as does some of the technology.

The new series has a deliberate "retro-tech" look, and there are no sophisticated computer systems or energy weapons &mdash; soldiers carry conventional firearms like rifles, handguns, sub-machine guns, machine guns, shotguns etc, the starfighters on both sides fire projectiles, and communications often take place on hard-wired telephones.

* The military small arms have been changed to conventional pistols and rifles, rather than lasers or blasters as in the original series. Some of the handguns are FN Five-seveNs, and some are modified automatic pistols and revolvers (possibly Smith & Wesson and Ruger) fitted with barrels under the main barrel (like the LeMat Revolver). These extra barrels are used to muzzle load and fire explosive rounds, one at a time. Other conventional handguns are also seen from time to time. The rifles are Beretta Cx4 Storm carbines. FN P90 sub-machine guns are also used on a regular basis in the series alongside the Cx4 Storm carbine and the Five-seveN pistols. The SA-80 bullpup rifle has also been seen on a number of occasions in both the first and second series.

Most of the strange dialect of the original series, including the decimal time-measurement system of "centons" and "yahrens", has been removed and replaced by conventional present-day language. One instance of the word "yahren" does escape this revision and appears on the Cylon Centurion Model 0005 specification sheet seen at the beginning of the miniseries &mdash; either a homage to the original series or an indication that the Colonials' language had changed since the first Cylon War.

There are no "daggits." The new series does not use a robotic daggitt like the original's Muffit &mdash; considering the origin of the Cylons in this series, the Colonial peoples are perhaps less than receptive to the idea of such advanced robotics.

Adama is now only a military commander, rather than being "dual-hatted" as a member of the Council of Twelve. Adama is also no longer an aristocrat as was Greene's character, but is instead a "graduate of the school of hard knocks", having once been mustered out of the service for several years and forced to take low status work on a commercial freighter. Since the colonial rank system is very different from that of the UK & U.S., he is senior to a Colonel, and since he is the commander of a large warship (equivalent to an aircraft carrier) and a fleet, his commensurate responsibilities in the UK & U.S. systems would be like that of a Commodore.

There is no mention in the miniseries of the council; however, it is shown in the series' first season as the "Quorum of Twelve." Instead, President Adar and most other government officials are killed in the initial Cylon bombardments; the highest ranking survivor of the Cabinet is the Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin, who is sworn in as new President, a scene highly reminiscent of the 1963 swearing-in of Lyndon B. Johnson after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Civilian and military duties are divided between Roslin and Adama, respectively. In this version, the "Quorum of Twelve" is more akin to the UN Security Council than a unifying government.

The Colonials themselves are clearly far more culturally and politically diverse, having previously experienced both political and even military conflicts between the different Colonies, and there are clear suggestions during the series that the Colonial society is riven by deep class divisions.

The personal details of various characters have been changed; for example, Starbuck and Boomer are women instead of men, Boomer is East Asian instead of black, and Colonel Tigh is white instead of black. On the other hand, the character of Rigel, originally a white woman, has been replaced by Petty Officer Dualla, a black woman.

The unusual names of some of the original series characters &mdash; e.g. "Starbuck", "Apollo", "Boomer" &mdash; have become pilot call signs, although characters more often talk to each other using their call signs rather than their given names. Characters are instead given names that, in many cases, are very similar to Earth names, such as William Adama, Laura Roslin, Shelley Godfrey, and so on.

The "rag-tag, fugitive fleet" is now made up only of ships with faster than light (FTL) capabilities. This helped to resolve a problem with the original show &ndash; the fleet could only move at the speed of the slowest ship in the convoy.

The humans are polytheistic and follow a religion similar to Greek mythology, worshipping such gods as "Athena" and "Apollo." The Cylons are monotheistic and believe in one God.

In the Original series, the Cylon sneak attack on the colonies marked the end of the war with the Cylons, which had lasted 1000 yahren (approx. 1000 years). In the new series, an armistice between the Colonials and the Cylons, had been in effect for approx. 40 years, prior to the attack.

The Colonial military pilots, and other troops, are no longer referred to as Warriors.

In the original series, Zak is killed when his Viper is destroyed in the initial Cylon attack. In the new series, Apollo's brother Zak was killed in a Viper accident two years prior to the miniseries.

In the original series, Adama and Apollo had a strong father/son relationship &mdash; Apollo saw his father as a hero. At the beginning of the current series, the relationship was clearly strained. While there is clearly strong affection between them, political ideas and circumstances sometimes place them at odds. In the beginning of the series Apollo blamed Adama for pushing Zak (his brother) into flight school, even though he wasn't cut out to be a pilot. Zak's subsequent death led to a rift between father and son. It is later revealed that Starbuck may have indirectly caused her fiancé's accidental death. The father/son relationship again saw strain when Apollo agreed to be President Roslin's military advisor, a move that disturbed Adama. At one point, Apollo also sided with the President when Adama terminated her Presidency and had her arrested.

In addition to having two sons in the military, Adama also had a daughter under his military command, Lieutenant Athena, in the original series but, written out in the new series. She was one of the many women Starbuck was romancing.

Colonel Tigh is now an alcoholic, who appears to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, he is married to a woman who often brings out the worst in him. In the old series, Tigh was not an alcoholic, and was also a bachelor.

In the old series, some humans had very limited psionic powers. In one episode, Adama demonstrated limited telekinetic abilities. In the new series, no human to date has been shown to have psionic powers.

Commander Cain was a patronizing, belligerent old warhorse in the original series, with a daughter, Sheba, who became a regular cast member; now Admiral Helena Cain is an attractive woman in the prime of life, albeit an authoritarian bloodthirsty sociopath, and apparently has no children.

Both Adama and Cain held the rank of Commander in the old series. However, Adama had seniority over Cain, and at one point relieved him from duty for insubordination. In the new series, Cain is now an Admiral and is Adama's superior officer. When Tyrol and Helo are tried, convicted and summarily condemned to death by Cain for murder and treason Adama defies her and incites mutiny by sending a Marine detachment and the alert fighters to the Battlestar Pegasus to retrieve Tyrol and Helo.

The character of Jolly, a regular in the original series, has all but disappeared. His name is mentioned once only, in the mini-series. He is a member of a Mark VII Viper squadron that is destroyed when the Cylons knock out their power. Jolly is presumably killed along with the rest of this group.

There are fewer ships in this series than the original, only 70 ships are in the fleet (while the original series had 220), but more human survivors -- fifty thousand people are alive as opposed to the original series figure of only 6,000 (episode Greetings from Earth).

Similarities and homages to the 1978 series

The "museum" section of the Galactica features both a suit of "classic" Cylon armor as well as the original model for the Cylon Base Ship and Raider. It would also seem that all original series designs are acknowledged as having existed, but in the new series, they are relics of the previous war with the Cylons.

The original Battlestar Galactica theme, by Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips, is heard in at least two points in the new show. It is played briefly during the Galactica's decommissioning ceremony in the opening episode of the mini-series. It is also the music played over a reporter's documentary about Galactica in the season 2 episode, Final Cut. In-story, it appears to be a sort of 'Colonial National Anthem.'

The "cubit" is still the unit of currency in the Colonies, even though it appears now as paper money rather than the gold ducats seen in 1978.

Despite the removal of most of the original Colonial dialect, the word "frak"&mdash;often described as a way to get "fuck" past network censors&mdash;has been retained as the all-purpose expletive of choice for most humans. As opposed to the original series, where it was used exclusively as an interjection, the new series uses it in any contextual variants "fuck" can be used in, employing variations such as "frak!" "frak you," "frak off," "what the frak?" "we're frakked," and even "motherfrakker," as well as referring literally to sexual intercourse. A "Frack" shaving mirror from IKEA appears in Adama's cabin as a bit of an in-joke. "Felgercarb," the original series' substitution for "bullshit," has yet to make an appearance.

The original series' Colonial Viper design&mdash;referred to as the "Mark II"&mdash;is retained, with a few tweaks, as the mainstay fighter of the Galactica, while a newer design introduced in the miniseries&mdash;the "Mark VII"&mdash;occasionally makes an appearance. One of the design changes is the use of Reaction Control Systems similar to those found on the Space Shuttle which can enable moves such as a 180 degree pivot to attack a pursuing enemy while the ship continues to move in its original direction, much like a Babylon 5 Starfury. The Galactica is similarly equipped with RCS units forward and aft on both port and starboard.

Richard Hatch, who played Captain Apollo in the original series, returned to play Sagittaron terrorist-turned-politician Tom Zarek. The character is very loosely based on Nelson Mandela.

After President Roslin continues to call Lee Adama "Captain Apollo," he tells her that his real name is Adama. Roslin tells him: "I know who you are, but Captain Apollo has a nice ring to it." She repeatedly calls him "Captain Apollo" afterwards.

The last line of the miniseries, spoken by a "Number Six"-model Cylon, is "By your command," a phrase often used by the Cylons of the original series.

A basketball-like game, called "Triad" in the original series, appeared in the new series -- however, it was called "Pyramid," which was the name of a different, poker-like card game in the original series. The producers have admitted they made a mistake, but noted that by the time they noticed it, it was too late to fix the dialogue.

Pyramid playing cards remain hexagonal.

Starbuck still smokes cigars, and in early episodes of the series, Katee Sackhoff often incorporated mannerisms and facial expressions reminiscent of Dirk Benedict's portrayal; this decreased as the first season progressed.

Upon being introduced to Admiral Cain, Baltar calls her "Commander," and she sternly corrects him. This may be an in-joke to fans familiar with the original Cain.

In his speech at the end of the mini-series, Adama says that the ancient scrolls of the Colonial religion begin with the words 'Life here began out there'. These are the beginning words of the voiceover introduction of the original series.

Other references

The series contains many references to other films and TV shows, as well as real historical events. Some of these may be just coincidence, but others were certainly intended.

Miniseries - After the death of President Adar, Laura Roslin is sworn in as President on her transport ship, which is then renamed Colonial One. Lyndon B Johnson was sworn in on Airforce One after John F Kennedy's assassination.

Miniseries - During Laura Roslin's visit to her doctor about her breast cancer, a firefly class transport flies past the window, from the TV show Firefly and movie Serenity. The special effects company ZOIC was responsible for the effects of both shows.

Miniseries - In one of the final shots of the miniseries, one can make out in the distance the Starship Enterprise, from Star Trek: The Original Series.

Episode #1.1 "33" - Apollo concludes his flight briefings with the warning "Let's be careful out there", until Starbuck insists that he change it to "Good hunting". "Let's be careful out there" is how Sgt Esterhaus would conclude his roll call briefings in Hill Street Blues. This was later changed to "Let's do it to them before they do it to us" by Sgt Jablonski, who had replaced Esterhaus (after the death of actor Michael Conrad).

Episode #1.6 "Litmus" - Six says to Baltar "Don't make me angry, Gaius. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." This phrase (without the "Gaius" reference) was used by Dr David Banner in the pilot episode for the The Incredible Hulk TV series. The line was then repeated over the opening credits of the series proper.

Episode #1.11 "Colonial Day" - Laura, having thwarted Zarek's attempt to become her Vice President, says to him "Don't worry; I won't be kissing you today". Zarek replies "That's a shame; I shaved very closely in anticipation of being smacked by you". The same dialog takes place in the movie Patton , in a scene between Patton and Montgomery - Patton having just beaten Montgomery to the liberation of Messina.

Episode #2.1 "Scattered". Chief Tyrol deliberately overdoses one of his men, thereby killing him, in order to spare the man further pain from his (already fatal) injuries. Similar "mercy killings" by morphine overdose, take place in Saving Private Ryan .

Episode #2.4 "Resistance" - Galactica-Boomer, who had attempted to assassinate Commander Adama, is herself assassinated while being transferred to her cell. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated John F Kennedy, was assassinated while being transferred to jail.

Episode #2.4 "Resistance" - On Kobol, the stranded crew employ "Flash" and "Thunder" as passwords to identify themselves. The same passwords were used during the Allied invasion of Normandy by paratroopers.