Galactica: the last battlestar of the Colonial Service
In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar that served over five hundred yahrens in the Thousand-Yahren War. After the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Man at Cimtar, it survived to lead a rag-tag fugitive fleet on the search for Earth.
In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar that belonged to the Colonial Service and whose personnel came to represent the remains of that service. Following the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Man, it led a rag-tag fugitive fleet on an intergalactic search for Earth under the command of Commander Adama. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "Saga of a Star World")
Service in the Thousand-Yahren War#
The Galactica entered service to the Colonial Service near the midway point of the Thousand-Yahren War and served through the rest of the war, defending the Twelve Colonies of Man from the Cylon Empire. Little is recorded of the ship in the yahrens leading up to the Battle of Cimtar. Its celestial dome, once used by astronomers to check the ship's position, had long since been sealed off, made unnecessary by improvements in navigation computing. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "Saga of a Star World"; Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Hand of God")
The Battle of Cimtar#
In the final yahrens of the war the Twelve Colonies suffered a number of defeats that reduced their military capabilities. When the Cylons unexpectedly sued for an armistice, the Galactica was one of no more than five battlestars remaining, under the command of Commander Adama, himself a member of the Council of the Twelve. On orders from President Adar, given on the advice of the human-Cylon liaison Count Baltar, the Galactica and four other battlestars rallied to Cimtar to await the Cylon delegation. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "Saga of a Star World")
The conference was discovered too late to be a trap, intended both to catch the fleet off guard and to attack the Colonies while they were left unprotected. Warned by his son Apollo, Adama launched his Vipers under the cover of a drill, then realised the Colonies themselves were the real target and raced back to Caprica, arriving too late. The rest of the battlestars, Adar's flagship Atlantia among them, were destroyed, leaving Galactica the only one believed to have survived. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "Saga of a Star World")
The flight from the Colonies#
After the attack on Caprica, Adama called on every survivor to take any ship that could fly, and the Galactica led a fleet of civilian refugees out from their star system and into deep space. Its commanding officer, Commander Adama, became the leader of the surviving remnant of the Colonial Service and of the refugees. Its bridge crew, or Core Command, included the executive officer Colonel Tigh, Lieutenant Athena and Omega, while its Viper pilots numbered Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, Sheba, and others who flew in defense of the fugitive fleet. The Battlestar Galactica timeline gives this older continuity a short section of its own, apart from the reimagined story. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "Saga of a Star World"; Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend")
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Galactica in the Original Series?
- In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar of the Colonial Service. It entered service near the midway point of the Thousand-Yahren War and served through the rest of that long war defending the Twelve Colonies of Man against the Cylon Empire.
- How did the Galactica survive the Battle of Cimtar?
- When the Cylons sued for an armistice and lured the battlestars to Cimtar, the gathering proved a trap. Commander Adama launched his Vipers against orders and raced back to Caprica, and the Galactica was the only battlestar to survive.
- What happened to the Galactica after the Colonies fell?
- After the attack, the Galactica led a fleet of civilian refugees out of their star system and into deep space on the search for Earth, becoming the protector of the surviving remnant of the Colonial Service.
Sources
- EpisodeSaga of a Star World, Battlestar Galactica (1978 series), pilot (1978)
- EpisodeThe Living Legend, Battlestar Galactica (1978 series), two-part episode (1978)
- EpisodeThe Hand of God (1978 series), Battlestar Galactica (1978 series), Season 1 finale (1979)
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Followed from this entry
Battlestar Galactica (1978) Explained: the Original Series and Galactica 1980
The original Battlestar Galactica ran on ABC from 1978 to 1979, followed by the short-lived Galactica 1980. Here's the premise, the main characters, how the 24 episodes play out, what happened in Galactica 1980 and how all of it differs from the 2004 series.
Galactica
Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
Battlestar Galactica Timeline: every major event from Kobol to the arrival on Earth
The Reimagined Series chronology in order, from the exodus from Kobol and the death of the first Earth to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and the fleet's arrival 150,000 years ago. A shorter section at the end covers the separate 1978 series and Galactica 1980.
Caprica: the Colonial capital
Caprica was the richest of the Twelve Colonies, seat of the Colonial government, and the world where the Cylons were built. The Cylon attack destroyed it.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Mentioned in10 entries
Atlantia: flagship at Cimtar
In the Original Series continuity, the Atlantia was a Colonial battlestar of the Thousand-Yahren War that carried President Adar and the Council of the Twelve to the peace conference at Cimtar. Caught off guard when the conference proved a Cylon trap, it was overwhelmed and destroyed.
Battlestar Galactica (1978) Explained: the Original Series and Galactica 1980
The original Battlestar Galactica ran on ABC from 1978 to 1979, followed by the short-lived Galactica 1980. Here's the premise, the main characters, how the 24 episodes play out, what happened in Galactica 1980 and how all of it differs from the 2004 series.
Battlestar Galactica Timeline: every major event from Kobol to the arrival on Earth
The Reimagined Series chronology in order, from the exodus from Kobol and the death of the first Earth to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and the fleet's arrival 150,000 years ago. A shorter section at the end covers the separate 1978 series and Galactica 1980.
Columbia
In the Original Series continuity, the Columbia was a Colonial battlestar of the Thousand Yahren War, destroyed, according to the Cylon Vulpa, at the peace conference that became the Cylon ambush at Cimtar.
Delphi: the Colonial school ship
Delphi was a freighter that escaped the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies of Man and joined the civilian fleet led by Galactica. Used chiefly to school and shelter the fleet's children, it was destroyed by a Cylon patrol after its children were evacuated.
Mineral Ship
The Mineral Ship was a Colonial mining cruiser used to extract raw metals from planets without establishing a permanent operation. Vessels of the type served the refugee fleet of the 1978 series on its long search for Earth.
Pacifica: battlestar lost at Cimtar
In the Original Series continuity, the Pacifica was a Colonial battlestar that fought through the Thousand-Yahren War against the Cylon Alliance. It was among the few battlestars sent to the armistice talks over Cimtar, where it was destroyed in the Cylon ambush that ended the war.
Pegasus: the lost battlestar
Pegasus was a battlestar of the Fifth Fleet, long believed destroyed but kept alive by the brilliance of its commander, Cain. After the Fall of the Twelve Colonies it met the refugee fleet led by Galactica before vanishing in an attack on two Cylon basestars.
Triton: battlestar lost at Cimtar
In the Original Series continuity, the Triton was a Colonial battlestar that fought through the Thousand-Yahren War against the Cylon Alliance. It was among the few battlestars left to venture out to the peace conference over Cimtar, where it was destroyed when the talks proved a Cylon trap.
Xaviar: the renegade Colonial commander
Xaviar was a commander and council member of the refugee fleet that fled the Twelve Colonies of Man for Earth. Disgusted by Commander Adama's policy of non-interference, he used a time machine to travel to the 1940s and aid Nazi Germany, hoping to force Earth into a technological renaissance.
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