Trivia For Battlestar Galactica

• In the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978), Viper weapons fire was red lasers and the Cylon Raider fire was white lasers. In this version, both ships fire actual bullets.
• Richard Hatch, who plays Tom Zarek, played Apollo in the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978).
• Starbuck, who is played by Katee Sackhoff, was a man in the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978) show, played by Dirk Benedict. It's also the name of the first officer aboard the Pequod in the book Moby Dick.
• The Battlestar Galactica and the Viper fighters are similar in design to the old show, but were revamped for the new show. The Cylon Basetar, Cylon Raider, and Cylon Centurion each had a completely new design for the new show. Also, there are only four ships that appear in the remake but not in the original: "Colonial One" (the transport used by Laura Roslin), the Olympic Carrier, Cloud 9 and the ringed passenger liner.
• Only the Colonial Viper Mk II had kept its original look from the original Battlestar Galctica series. The Galactica and the Cylon Raiders are similar in design but were revamped for the show. The Cylon Base Star had a completely new design. In the original it looked like two flattened spinning tops pressed together, now it actually resembles a star shape. There are only four ships that appear in the remake but not in the original: "Colonial One" (the transport used by Laura Roslin), the Olympic Carrier, Cloud 9 and the ringed passenger liner.

• The executive officer was named Paul Tigh in original scripts, but this was changed to Saul Tigh in the final filming for legal reasons.
• Commander Adama has a shaving mirror in his cabin. This mirror is made by IKEA, and is a model called "Fräck" (spelling according to IKEA Web site). This word is similar to "frak" (spelling according to the subtitles with an "a" and without a "c"), which is the primary vulgarity in the Battlestar Galactica universe. "Fräck" is Swedish and can actually mean insolent or shameless but the meaning IKEA is most likely after is striking, which is another interpretation of the word.
• In the original scripts, Admiral Cain's first name was Nelena.
• "Kobol" in the ancient Persian language means "Heaven". It is also an anagram of "Kolob", the name of the planet/star nearest the "throne of God", according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) - Glen A. Larson, the executive producer of the original television series, was a church member and incorporated a number of themes from Mormon theology into the show.
• Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore maintains a weekly blog on the Sci-Fi Channel's official Web site, talking about different aspects of the show and answering fan questions.
• During the show's first season, it consistently remained Sci-Fi Channel's top-rated program, pulling in more than 3 million viewers. Its 10pm viewing even finished ahead of UPN's "Enterprise" (2001) which aired at 8pm on Fridays on a non-cable/satellite network.
• The rank structure for the officers serving in the Colonial Fleet are as follows: OFFICERS: Admiral, Commander, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Lieutenant (junior grade), Ensign. ENLISTED: Master Chief Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer (1st, 2nd Class), Specialist, Deck Hand, Recruit. there are also Marines aboard Galactica which conform more closely to the traditional enlisted Marine ranks, with Sergeants, Sergeant-Majors, etc. Unresolved is the question of whether the Marine officers would also adhere to the mixed rank structure.

• Sci-Fi Channel ordered six scripts for a second season of the show before the first episode even aired in the United States. It ordered a 20-episode second season a month after it began to air in the United States.
• The first season was aired in the United Kingdom on SkyOne months before it aired in North America. This resulted in an increase in North Americans downloading episodes on the Internet that were made freely available by British viewers of the show. Fearing that this widespread "previewing" of the series would diminish the show's ratings once it aired in North America, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick made a written plea to fans to stop downloading episodes and wait for them to air in the United States and Canada.
• Number Six (Tricia Helfer) was named after Patrick McGoohan's character in the television series "The Prisoner" (1967).
• The Season 2 opening theme song is a famous Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda. The words are "OM bhûr bhuvah svah tat savitur varçnyam bhargô dçvasya dhîmahi dhiyô yô nah pracôdayât", which may be translated in various ways but means approximately "may we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God / so May he stimulate our prayers".
• The opening theme song for seasons one, two, and three is a famous Hindu mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda. The words are "OM bhûr bhuvah svah tat savitur varçnyam bhargô dçvasya dhîmahi dhiyô yô nah pracôdayât", which may be translated in various ways but means approximately "may we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God / so May he stimulate our prayers".
• Katee Sackhoff was able to continue wearing her thumb ring while shooting by explaining it away as Zak Adama's ring.
• Paper in the series have corners cut off. It is said that director Michael Rymer did this during the miniseries as a reference to how he had to "cut corners" financially to make the miniseries work on a limited budget.

• The telephone handset used on the bridge of the Galactica is a US Army issues field telephone used since the Korean War, known as the TA-1.
• Jane Seymour was offered the role of Admiral Nelena Cain. When she turned down the offer, Ronald D. Moore offered the role to 'Michelle Forbes' and she accepted.
• Adama's lighter was actually purchased at a garage sale.
• The characters Tarn and Selix, who first appear in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2", were named at the behest of Aaron Douglas, who plays Chief Petty Officer Tyrol. Douglas noted that the two were originally listed in the script generically (Technician 1 and 2) and, recognizing the potential of the two characters, consulted with others in the cast to give them proper names. Douglas then inserted their new names into his lines on every take.
• The season 1 finale, "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Parts 1-2", went through a number of changes according to the Podcast commentary for both episodes. Some of these early differences include:
o 1. Part One was to conclude with the Raptor crashing and Part Two would end with Starbuck stealing the Raider to finish the finale with a season-ending cliffhanger. This was changed when the original pacing wasn't working.
o 2. Originally, the ruins on Kobol were supposed to be a huge temple that was mirrored on Caprica. This was abandoned due to cost constraints.
o 3. What Baltar and Number Six experienced inside the ruins on Kobol went through a number of changes. Originally, Ron D. Moore proposed to the other writers that there was supposed to be a bright corridor of light. In a later version, there was to be complete darkness punctuated with music from a song recognizable by both the audience and the two explorers. Then, Dirk Benedict (Starbuck from the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978)) was supposed appear and say something like, "Hi. I'm God." followed by TO BE CONTINUED... However, the other writers quickly disparaged the idea as implausible, and Ron D. Moore reluctantly agreed.
o 4. One concept that the writers liked, but were forced to abandon was the idea that the interior room of the ruins was to be located in "otherspace" or in a different spatial or dimensional location.

• When they created the sub plot with Helo and Boomer on Caprica the creators did not know why Boomer and the Cylons were interested in Helo. It was only about half way through the first season that they decided that the Cylons were interested in biological reproduction, an issue that has become very important to the series.
• The subplot set on Cylon Occupied Caprica with Helo and Boomer was not originally planned; after being left of Caprica in the mini series, Helo was supposed to never be seen again: the audience would be left to assume that he died. Only after seeing the audience's reaction to Helo did the show producers decide to bring him back, and introduce another Boomer, and the Cylons' experiments in creating a Cylon/Human Hybrid, which eventually became an integral part of the Cylon "plan".
• Doc Cottle is named after Michael Rymer's childhood pediatrician, who was actually a very nice person unlike his fictional counterpart.
• The phrase "so say we all", which is used as a ceremonial affirmation in the series, was ad-libbed by Edward James Olmos in a speech given by Commander Adama in the mini-series.
• The Battlestar Pegasus set is actually the recycled set of the Jupiter 2 from The Robinsons: Lost in Space (2004) (TV). The set was purchased when the latter's pilot failed to generate a series.
• Both Ronald D. Moore and James Callis have said that all the lead actors were required to sign seven-year contracts when they were hired for the pilot miniseries.
• Lucy Lawless was originally offered the role of Ellen Tigh, but rejected it feeling that she was wrong for the part. The producers so wanted her for a role on the series, however, that they later wrote the role of D'Anna Biers with Lawless in mind.

• The term "skinjob", used to describe any of the humanoid Cylon models, is a reference to the movie Blade Runner (1982), in which Edward James Olmos also starred (and suggested Tricia Helfer watch to help her prepare) and the Nexus 6 models are described by the same moniker.
• The combat helmets worn by the Marines are actually Giro "Bad Lieutenant" snowboarder helmets. They're made out of plastic, not Kevlar.
• Many of the weapons used in the series are actual modern firearms, and not custom props. The Marines often use Heckler & Koch G36 rifles and Beretta CX4 carbines, Anders frequently carries a Heckler & Koch UMP submachinegun and a Desert Eagle pistol, Helo sometimes carries a South African Protecta drum-fed shotgun, and Starbuck sometimes uses a pair of Skorpion vz 61 submachineguns.
• In the beginning of season 3, Jamie Bamber did not actually gain the weight for the role. Instead, a body double was used for some close-up shots of the rounded tummy, and Bamber wore a jowl-forming brace in his mouth. A few wide shots of his body were cheated out.
• Occasionally, the main musical theme from The Deer Hunter (1978) can be heard. For example, in the final scene of "Scar" (episode 2.15).
• Ranked #3 in "The Top 50 TV shows of all time" list by UnderGroundOnline.
• Ronald D. Moore and David Eick have said they adopted a largely improvisational style of developing stories for this series. Rather than plot out story arcs years in advance--a practice commonplace on sci-fi shows like "Lost" (2004) and "Babylon 5" (1994)--the writers develop ideas for stories based solely on the themes present in current episodes, and try to take them in a totally unexpected direction.

• In 2007, ranked #2 by Entertainment Weekly in their list of their list of best 25 Science Fiction of the past 25 years.
• To prepare for her role as Gina, the captive Cylon, Tricia Helfer viewed the film Ciociara, La (1960) to give her a better understanding of a rape victim.
• It was planned to start Season 2 with a flashback about the life of the characters before the Cylon attack, but finally they just continued where Season 1 ended.
• In Hebrew the name "Adama" (last name of William, Lee and Zak) actually means "ground" or "earth" and pronounced almost exactly: "ada-ma". Hardy a coincidence since finding Earth is the main theme of the series.
• Religion in the show started as a line said by Number 6 in the script of the miniseries, and the producers liked it so much that they decided to expand it, so Ronald D. Moore and David 'Eick' related the Cylon religion to their terrorist acts.