The 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica almost stuck with an original premise that would have made the show far harder to sustain, according to creator Ronald D. Moore. The science fiction series scrapped that idea before it aired and instead built its story around a different core concept, one that helped it become a major success.
The original premise for the reboot
Moore said the SyFy reboot, which premiered in 2004, was initially meant to focus on several ships within the Colonial Fleet. Under that plan, different vessels would have taken on greater prominence as the seasons progressed. The idea of jumping from ship to ship was ultimately dropped because of how much it would have driven up the production budget.
Moore said that turned out to be the right path, since the series needed a stable group of central characters for audiences to connect with. Although the show was a new version of the original series that premiered in 1978, its plot centered on the fallout from humanity's war against the Cylons.
A darker, more political take
One notable element of the reboot was the constant threat that any human character could secretly be an enemy hiding their true identity. That device was key to giving the series its atmosphere of paranoia and ambiguity, setting it apart from most space opera productions that came before it, as well as from more idealistic shows such as Star Trek.
The episode that proved the change worked
Evidence that abandoning the ship-hopping concept was the right call came from an episode that followed the original approach. Titled "Black Market," the episode focused on aspects tied to the fleet but fell far short of being a success. It was criticized for adding nothing significant to the overall story and was even seen as feeling like a standalone production.
