The Greatest Battlestar Galactica Moment Can’t Be Topped, Does Right What Star Wars Did Wrong
When Battlestar Galactica debuted in 2003, it re-defined what it meant to be a sci-fi series, thanks to its dark story and well-written characters, but why it became one of the most beloved shows of all time can be summed up in three words: The Adama Maneuver. While most sci-fi franchises lean into spectacle over substance, Battlestar Galactica presented one of the most amazing spaceship sequences ever made as a moment of glorious triumph for our heroes in their darkest hour. It turns out that the light at the end of the tunnel was a massive military ship free-falling out of orbit.
The Calvary Arrives
The two-part episode “Exodus” comes after the increasingly depressing episodes that launched Season 3, “Precipice” and “Occupation,” which went into the Cylon’s occupation of the human settlement of New Caprica. By the time “Exodus, Part II” hit the airwaves, it was unclear just how bad things would get for the humans facing down a firing squad, while the Resistance, which included Tigh (Michael Hogan), Anders (Michael Trucco), Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Sharon (Grace Park), was scattered and facing insurmountable odds. Battlestar Galactica had been stacking the deck against the colonists for two seasons by now, but finally, when the Resistance fighters needed a miracle, Adama arrived.
The Galactica, infiltrating the upper atmosphere of New Caprica, manages to disappear, delightfully prompting Number 4 (Rick Worthy) to ask Baltar (James Callis), “Where’s Galactica?” Even we, the viewers, don’t know where the Galactica went until the Resistance is pinned down, members getting gunned down left and right by Centurions, and then, there’s the ship, jumping into the lower atmosphere of New Caprica in a free-fall towards the heart of the fighting while the Vipers take flight and turn the tide. The sight of Battlestar Galactica, the old and outdated warship that was never meant to be the last hope for humanity, appearing in the sky is an amazing spectacle, but it’s also a cathartic experience for fans used to the heroes being kicked around by the Cylons.
The Good Guys Get A Win…Sort Of
The Adama Maneuver remains the most brilliant tactical move in sci-fi media, as it not only makes sense within the rules established by Battlestar Galactica to that point (which is why when The Last Jedi revealed “jump to hyperspace” was a potent weapon in Star Wars, it broke the fandom), it fits the portrayal of Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) as a brilliant military mind, and it exemplified the desperation of the colonists by risking their greatest weapon to free the humans left on New Caprica. If it wasn’t for the narrative weight behind the image of a free-falling spaceship, it wouldn’t be remembered so fondly decades later.
But this is still Battlestar Galactica, so when the Cylon Basestars converge on the Galactica, and all hope seems lost again, there’s a volley of missiles as Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) arrives with the Pegasus to save his father. It’s another heroic moment in an episode filled with them that, unfortunately, results in the Pegasus being blown to smithereens as the younger Adama buys time for Galactica to escape. Wim some, lose some; that’s life among the Colonial fleet.
Battlestar Galactica, which is available to stream now on Amazon Prime, has its share of bad plotlines and bizarre twists, but the first four episodes of Season 3 put together reached a height that no sci-fi series has touched ever since. And no singular moment, not from Star Wars, Star Trek, or even Stargate, can match the climatic moment of the Adama Maneuver: the perfect coalescent of story, character, and emotion.
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