Most of the time, a sci-fi series doesn’t hit its stride until a few episodes in, with pilots bogged down in exposition and the ensemble working to find their groove. But occasionally, a show gets it right from the very beginning. A great pilot sets the tone, introduces the characters, and lays out the rules, all while establishing a high bar for quality and entertainment that future episodes will either rise to meet or strive to surpass. 21 years ago today, one such episode premiered overseas, and it remains one of the best of all time.
Battlestar Galactica’s “33” aired in the U.K. on October 18th, 2004, months before its U.S. debut. The pilot episode continued the story from the two-part miniseries, opening with the remnants of humanity on the run; a fleet of survivors fleeing a Cylon attack that recurs every thirty-three minutes, like clockwork. Sleep deprivation, paranoia, and despair hang thick in the air while the core question evolves from how long they can survive to how long they can stay human.
Battlestar Galactica’s “33” Set the Bar For Science Fiction TV
SYFY
Often ranked among television’s greatest episodes, “33” immediately established Battlestar Galactica as one of the most ambitious sci-fi series to date. Producer Ronald D. Moore and his team took what was once a campy ’70s romp and transformed it into a highly political and harrowing survival tale. The Galactica crew, led by Edward James Olmos’ Commander Adama and Mary McDonnell’s President Roslin, struggles to keep their fleet alive while deciding the fate of a civilian ship that may be betraying their location. When they destroy it, the victory tastes hollow. The line between right and wrong disintegrates almost immediately.
Olmos himself has called “33” the standout episode of the series in an appearance on co-star Katee Sackhoff’s podcast The Shackoff Show. He spoke about how deeply it defined his approach to Adama and shouldering the burden of leading humanity as a Latino man. According to SYFY, the cast also decided to physically sleep deprive themselves in order to capture the raw performances. The stark realism hit home for many viewers, including veterans, who praised the authenticity of the ready room scenes and pilot dynamics.
In all fairness, it’s hard to call “33” a true pilot, given that the miniseries did much of the heavy worldbuilding. Still, its one of the best episode 01’s ever made, and many fans have admitted to seeing “33” before they ever watched the miniseries. Not a single second is wasted in the episode’s 43-minute runtime thanks to the masterful storytelling efficiency. Along with the performances, the documentary-style cinematography creates an almost spooky realism and palpable paranoia. Perhaps most impressive, it was just three years after 9/11 that “33” took an unflinching approach to examining post-terror and post-war ethics. It didn’t take long for the first episode to cement BSG as one of the best sci-fi shows of the 21st century.
Two decades later, Moore continues to explore similar moral gray zones in his latest series, For All Mankind, an alternate history space saga streaming on Apple TV.
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