10 What the Frak Moments in Battlestar Galactica History

Tragically, it’s the season finale of Battlestar Galactica tonight, unquestionably one of the best shows on television in years. There are only two hours left of the four season series, and I wanted to take a look back at some of the shows best moments before it ends. Enjoy the list (which is in chronological order), and be sure to share your favorite BSG memories as well.

1) Earth Exists

This may seem like old news this late in the series, but way back when in the miniseries, this is the revelation that made me say, “Wow, I have to watch this show.” Knowing that the entire show would be a journey to Earth and the question of what it would be like when they got there was a compelling reason to turn in after week. It really helped the show to have an end goal in sight, and the Earth twist was a stroke of genius.

2) Sharon is a Cylon

Also in the miniseries, this still remains as one of the best cylon reveals to date. While about half of the Cylons turned out to be relatively minor background characters, Sharon was the first reveal of a character we actually liked, even though we had only known her a few hours. Since then she’s become an incredibly powerful force on the show in her two forms as Boomer and Athena, and has led to some of the shows other WTF moments like…

3) Sharon Shoots Adama

Honestly, I’m hard pressed to think of many other times where I’ve been this shocked watching Television. When Adama went for that handshake and Sharon blasted his guts out all over CIC, I almost fell out of my chair. I mean, we knew Sharon was a Cylon all season, but the moment was completely jarring despite that fact.

4) Another Battlestar

Many parts of seasons 2 and 3 get kind of lost in the shuffle as the show was finding its voice and purpose, but the revelation of another Battlestar, the Pegasus, was one of season 2’s best moments. The appearance of the Pegasus led to an incredibly layered season as Adama and Cain struggled for power, it was discovered they had cannibalized their fleet and raped their Cylon prisoner, and finally the destruction of the ship during the escape of New Caprica.

5) Saul Kills Ellen

There were a lot of frakked up moments on New Caprica, but perhaps none of them were as bad as Saul Tigh poisoning his own wife. Ellen was feeding information to the Cylons (well, now we know why) so Saul’s hand was forced as he had to follow his own statements about doing what was necessary to help the anti-Cylon rebellion (ironic now, yes?). Sure we all hated Ellen (and wanted her to stay dead I’m guessing) but this was truly a tragic moment on the show, and one I haven’t forgotton.

6) The Death of Kara Thrace

Starbuck’s death remains a mystery of the show, even now with only the two hour finale ahead of us. After chasing a rogue raptor and experiening hallucinations, Starbucks Raptor exploded in front of Lee’s (and our) eyes. At the time, it really did look like she was dead (although I think most of us didn’t believe it) but the show certainly did act like it for some time.