The second season of the reimagined science fiction television series
Battlestar Galactica premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States on
July 25, 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=
Edward James Olmos as William Adama Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace Jamie Bamber as Lee "Apollo" Adama
James Callis as Gaius Baltar Tricia Helfer as Number Six
Grace Park as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol Tahmoh Penikett as Karl "Helo" Agathon
Nicki Clyne as Cally Henderson Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
Paul Campbell as Billy Keikeya Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
= Recurring cast= Samuel Witwer as Alex "Crashdown"
Quartararo Donnelly Rhodes as Sherman Cottle
Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
Lucy Lawless as D'Anna Biers Matthew Bennett as Aaron Doral
Dean Stockwell as John Cavil Rick Worthy as Simon
Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
Lorena Gale as Elosha Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
Michelle Forbes as Helena Cain Graham Beckel as Jack Fisk
Leah Cairns as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
Bodie Olmos as Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza
Luciana Carro as Louanne "Kat" Katraine Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus
Jennifer Halley as Diana "Hardball" Seelix
Episodes 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. 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 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". 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.
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. 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 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, 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. The American Film
Institute also named it one of the ten best television shows of 2005. 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. 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 would help
to ensure that all episodes were up to the high level of quality that the
production team strove to maintain. Awards
Wins 2005 Saturn Award for Best
Syndicated/Cable Television Series 2005 Saturn Award for Best Supporting
Actor on Television – James Callis 2005 Saturn Award for Best Supporting
Actress on Television – Katee Sackhoff 2006 Scream Award for Best Television
Show 2006 Spacey Awards for Best Television
Show 2005 Visual Effects Society Award for
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or
Music Video Nominations
2006 ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series – Edward James Olmos
2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Series
2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series
2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
2005 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television – Jamie Bamber
2005 Saturn Award for Best Television Release on DVD
2005 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live
Action Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video
Home video releases Season 2.0 and 2.5 were released on DVD
in region 1 on December 20, 2005, and September 19, 2006, respectively. The
complete second season was released on Blu-ray Disc in region 1 on April 6,
2010. The complete second season was released on DVD in region 2 on August
28, 2006 and in region 4 on April 4, 2007.
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. 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.
Soundtrack References
External links Official website
List of Battlestar Galactica episodes at the Internet Movie Database
List of Battlestar Galactica season 2 episodes at TV.com