The second season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica premiered on Sci Fi in the United States on July 15, 2005, and concluded on March 10, 2006. The season was split into two parts, each containing 10 episodes. "Season 2.0" aired from July to September 2005, and "Season 2.5" aired from January to March 2006.
Cast and characters
Main cast
These actors were credited during the opening sequence:
With Adama in sickbay, Tigh is forced to take command of Galactica, but is quickly plunged into a crisis when the fleet and Galactica jump to separate locations.
With the arrival of the Battlestar Pegasus, the fleet is exuberant. However, Adama soon worries about Admiral Cain, Pegasus's commanding officer and Adama's superior, in command of the fleet.
Roslin lies on her deathbed, recalling her last day on Caprica with startling revelations. Meanwhile a group of sympathizers want to make peace with the Cylons.
Apollo and Starbuck struggle with Commander Barry Garner, the overbearing chief engineer turned-CO of Pegasus, as Roslin makes a decision on a very hot political issue following the arrival of a stowaway on Galactica.
Roslin and Adama struggle to decide what to do with the Cylon/Human hybrid as Sharon goes into labor. Meanwhile, Caprica-Six and Boomer are downloaded and reborn on Caprica.
With the presidential elections weeks away, a new discovery could turn the entire election around. Meanwhile, Starbuck leads a team back to Caprica to rescue the resistance fighters.
With the elections underway, Starbuck returns from her mission along with a Cylon who delivers an unexpected message to Adama and Roslin.
Production and reception
Following the success of the 13-episode first season, the Sci-Fi Channel ordered a 20-episode second season on February 23, 2005.[1] The season premiered in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 15, 2005, with the UK, Ireland, and Canadian premiere in January 2006. In fall 2005, airing of the second season halted, as it was part of Sci-Fi Channel's standard airing schedule normally used for its Stargate series, which was to split a 20-episode season into two parts (a "winter season" and a "summer season") to avoid heavy competition with major networks that follow a spring/fall schedule. Universal Home Video took this break as an opportunity to package the episodes aired thus far into a DVD set, calling it "Season 2.0".[2] The final episode of the first half, "Pegasus", was originally 15 minutes too long for broadcast, but according to creator Ronald Moore, the production team decided to cut the episode to time rather than pad it out to fill 90 minutes, as this was deemed impractical.[3] The longer version of "Pegasus" appears on the Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 DVD set, which was released in the U.S. on September 19, 2006.[4]Sky did not contribute financially to the second season, though UK broadcasts credit the company at the end of every episode.
The second half of season two ("Season 2.5") began airing on January 6, 2006, after a three-month hiatus, during which the Sci-Fi Channel mounted a huge publicity effort. Battlestar Galactica picked up considerable critical acclaim from the mainstream press, including being named the #1 show of 2005 by Time magazine,[5] and being listed on numerous top ten lists of both 2005 and 2006 by publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, Newsday and TV Guide.[6][7] The American Film Institute also named it one of the ten best television shows of 2005.[8] There was some criticism that a few episodes following "Resurrection Ship, Part 2" were not up to par with previous episodes, such as the episode "Black Market", for which even Ron Moore expressed some disdain.[9] Moore stated in his blog that he felt this was a result of the larger workload the series faced with twenty episodes, instead of thirteen in season one. However, episode 15, "Scar", was thought to bring the series back up to its high level of quality, and subsequent episodes "The Captain's Hand", "Downloaded", and the two part finale "Lay Down Your Burdens", were hailed by fans and critics alike. Moore expressed that the longer break between seasons two and three (seven months instead of two) would help to ensure that all episodes were up to the high level of quality that the production team strove to maintain.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 100% with an average score of 9.5 out of 10 based on 12 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "In its second season, Battlestar Galatica doubles down on the series' high-minded themes and satisfyingly complex storylines."[10]
2005 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video (Cylon Centurion in "Fragged")
2005 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television – Jamie Bamber
2005 Saturn Award for Best Television Release on DVD (Season 2.0)
2005 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video (Cylon in "Valley of Darkness")
Home video releases
Season 2.0 and 2.5 were released on DVD in region 1 on December 20, 2005,[2] and September 19, 2006,[4] respectively. The complete second season was released on Blu-ray Disc in region 1 on April 6, 2010.[11] The complete second season was released on DVD in region 2 on August 28, 2006[12] and in region 4 on April 4, 2007.[13]
The Season 2.0 DVD set includes the first 10 episodes of season two. Special features on the set include creator Ronald D. Moore's podcast commentaries for 7 of the 10 episodes; a podcast for "Fragged" was not recorded, while the podcasts for "Flight of the Phoenix" and "Pegasus" were not recorded in time for the DVDs, but are available on the official website. Also included are deleted scenes for 9 episodes and a sneak peek promo for the second half of the season.[14] The Season 2.5 DVD set includes the last 10 episodes of season two, plus the extended hour-long version of "Pegasus". Special features include Moore's podcast commentaries for all 10 episodes; he is joined by writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson on "Scar", his wife Terry Dresbach on "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1" and executive producer David Eick on "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2". Moore and Eick provide audio commentary for the extended version of "Pegasus", a commentary specifically produced for the DVD. Also included are deleted scenes for 8 episodes, 7 of David Eick's videoblogs, and a collection of the R&D logos that appear at the end of each episode.[15]
