The Best Battlestar Galactica Viewing Order (No spoilers!)

Battlestar Galactica Viewing Order (No spoilers!)

The ultimate viewing order for Battlestar Galactica!

With so many off-shoots, extended episodes, webisodes, one-off movies and weird bits and pieces it's very hard for a new Battlestar Galactica fan to know exactly what order to watch everything in.

That's why, with the help of the kind folks at the Home Theater Forum, I decided to piece together a recommended viewing order for the entire series. But not just that, I've put together information on which versions of episodes you should watch and where you can find them, too. This really is the ultimate guide! (At least, it should be.)

I hope you find it useful, and if you do think I've missed something, please leave a comment and let me know!

Note: I heartily recommend watching the deleted scenes featured on your DVDs/Blurays after watching each episode. Some scenes (especially in Season 4, in my opinion) add a lot to the story and character's motivations. If you're ever confused as to why a character should suddenly do something, you may find your answer on the cutting room floor.

Miniseries

• Night 1
• Night 2

Season 1

• 1.01 33
• 1.02 Water
• 1.03 Bastille Day
• 1.04 Act of Contrition
• 1.05 You Can't Go Home Again
• 1.06 Litmus
• 1.07 Six Degrees of Separation
• 1.08 Flesh and Bone
• 1.09 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
• 1.10 The Hand of God
• 1.11 Colonial Day
• 1.12 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I
• 1.13 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II

Season 2

• 2.01 Scattered
• 2.02 Valley of Darkness
• 2.03 Fragged
• 2.04 Resistance
• 2.05 The Farm
• 2.06 Home, Part I
• 2.07 Home, Part II
• 2.08 Final Cut
• 2.09 Flight of the Phoenix
• 2.10 Pegasus (56 minute extended version)
• 2.11 Resurrection Ship, Part I
• 2.12 Resurrection Ship, Part II
• 2.13 Epiphanies
• 2.14 Black Market
• 2.15 Scar
• 2.16 Sacrifice
• 2.17 The Captain's Hand

Razor (99 minute extended version)
TV movie. (Note: This was originally broadcast just before Season 4, but chronologically it fits here, telling more of the Pegasus's story. Some people argue it's better to watch after Season 3, as originally broadcast.)

• Optional: Razor Flashbacks (This was billed as a "7 episode web series", but really they are just deleted scenes from the broadcast version of Razor. In fact, most of these scenes are now reintegrated into the extended version of Razor, making what's left even more unessential. They are mentioned here only for the sake of completeness, and to reduce confusion; they are far from necessary. The only "episodes" not reintegrated are 1, 2 and some parts of 7. Note: These "episodes" were originally released online before Razor was broadcast, but the extended version means it makes a more sense to view them afterwards.)


• 2.18 Downloaded
• 2.19 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I
• 2.20 Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

The Resistance

A 10 episode web-based series bridging seasons 2 and 3. (25 mins.)

Season 3

• 3.01 Occupation
• 3.02 Precipice
• 3.03 Exodus, Part I
• 3.04 Exodus, Part II
• 3.05 Collaborators
• 3.06 Torn
• 3.07 A Measure of Salvation
• 3.08 Hero
• 3.09 Unfinished Business (70 minute extended version - Note: Not included on Region 2 DVDs, but is included on ALL Bluray releases.)
• 3.10 The Passage
• 3.11 The Eye of Jupiter
• 3.12 Rapture
• 3.13 Taking a Break From All Your Worries
• 3.14 The Woman King
• 3.15 A Day in the Life
• 3.16 Dirty Hands
• 3.17 Maelstrom
• 3.18 The Son Also Rises
• 3.19 Crossroads, Part I
• 3.20 Crossroads, Part II

A lot of fans would argue that it's worth watching the end of Razor again at this point (specifically the scenes featuring the Hybrid), as this was where Razor was originally broadcast, and its ending sets the tone for Season 4.

Season 4

• 4.01 He That Believeth In Me
• 4.02 Six of One
• 4.03 The Ties That Bind
• 4.04 Escape Velocity
• 4.05 The Road Less Traveled
• 4.06 Faith
• 4.07 Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
• 4.08 Sine Qua Non
• 4.09 The Hub
• 4.10 Revelations

Season 4 Continued (aka "Season 4.5" or "The Final Season")

• 4.11 Sometimes a Great Notion
  

The Face of the Enemy

A 10 episode web-based series (although it's really just a single mini-episode). (36 mins.) These episodes have not been included on any DVD or Bluray releases, but if you live in the US you can view from for free at Hulu.com. They are not presently available anywhere else in the world. (I highly recommended you do your best to find them.)

• 4.12 A Disquiet Follows My Soul (53 minute extended version - only on Bluray releases)
• 4.13 The Oath
• 4.14 Blood on the Scales
• 4.15 No Exit

The Plan (DVD/Bluray movie)
A stand-alone movie that shows (approximately) the first two seasons from the Cylons' perspective. (You finally get to see 'The Plan', mentioned in the opening sequence.) Although The Plan was originally released after the show had finished, it has been proposed that you watch it here so that everything is all tied up when you do reach the end.

• 4.16 Deadlock
• 4.17 Someone to Watch Over Me
• 4.18 Islanded In a Stream of Stars (62 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases)
• 4.19 Daybreak (150 minute extended version - only on BluRay releases)

The Plan
This is where this DVD/Bluray movie was originally released (after the show had finished). It's probably preferable to watch this after No Exit, instead of after you've finished the entire series, but there's no harm in waiting until now.

Caprica
An entire TV series set 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, and revealing the events surrounding the creation of the Cylons. (Although it's worth noting that you don't have to have seen BSG to watch Caprica... and some people have decided to watch this series first.)

• 1.01 Pilot
• 1.02 Rebirth
• 1.03 Reins of a Waterfall
• 1.04 Gravedancing
• 1.05 There Is Another Sky
• 1.06 Know Thy Enemy
• 1.07 The Imperfections of Memory
• 1.08 Ghosts in the Machine
• 1.09 End of the Line
• 1.10 Unvanquished
• 1.11 Retribution
• 1.12 Things We Lock Away
• 1.13 False Labor
• 1.14 Blowback
• 1.15 The Dirteaters
• 1.16 The Heavens Will Rise
• 1.17 Here Be Dragons
• 1.18 Apotheosis

Blood and Chrome
This is potentially a whole new show that is presently at pilot stage. If the pilot is successful, a TV series will be produced. It is set to follow the exploits of a young William Adama during the First Cylon War, and is considered a sequel to Caprica and a prequel to Battlestar Galactica.
Madge strikes again!