So Say We All: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Battlestar Galactica

by Mark A. Altman

From the bestselling authors of the critically acclaimed two-volume series The Fifty-Year Mission, comes the unauthorized, complete history of Battlestar Gallactica

Four decades after its groundbreaking debut, almost every generation have gotten to experience the Battlestar Galactica Franchise. What first began as three-hour made for TV movie that launched a 24 episode season became a whole new experience for fandom in the reimagining of the show in 2003. Gathered here in this volume are the untold stories of the people who kept this show alive and entertained generations of science fiction fans.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Nonfiction, Oral History, Film, Tv, Space Opera, History

703 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2018

Reviews

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book read on my fiction break.

I'm a BSG fan that makes no apologies so that pretty much sums up my interest in this one. I found the info about the original Battlestar Galactica interesting (that one I enjoyed as reruns but basically primed me for the 2004 but my real draw was the reimagined 2004 series. On that score alone, this was great. I enjoyed all the perspectives of the people involved in the production and learned some neat new things. And let it be known that this girl never forgets that David Eick was the other half of the duo that made reimagined BSG a very amazing thing. I was shocked to read that he's been so often overlooked in press.

I'd recommend this to fans of the fandom. I am now pretty sure I need a BSG through Caprica rewatch, need to resume my Star Trek: DS9 rewatch (because so many mentions of it due to Ron Moore & others who worked on both shows). LOST was mentioned too and love it as I do, I just can't, it's still too soon. And I also now crave a book like this for The Expanse.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, first of all, don't pick this up if you don't have time in your life for a Battlestar Galactica rewatch, because it's going to make you want to do one. (And if you haven't watched Battlestar Galactica yet, may I ask you, what are you doing with your life?)



This is now the third oral history I've read from Altman and Gross, and I have basically the same feelings about it that I had for the two Star Trek ones: the oral history format is fun (hearing it in their own words), and the dates of the interviews are still not documented, leaving you a bit unsure of timing. (Though it seems extensive current interviews were conducted in this case, because most of the interviewees referenced events that have happened in the last few years.) But at least for the last 2/3 of the book, I was a lot more emotionally invested in what I was reading, because BSG is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Star Trek had lots of juicy behind the scenes drama, but this one mainly focused on a creative history of the series. Everyone on both versions of the show seems to take great pride in their work on the show, and developed lifelong bonds with fellow cast and crew members.



I have never actually seen the original Battlestar, though I own the pilot TV movie on iTunes. That section was less interesting to me because I didn't have a connection to it, and in most cases, no frame of reference, aside from what was relayed to me in the book. It's certainly readable and understandable, but I cared much less about it because of that. I was relieved that the original show only took up about a third of the book. I would imagine that fans of the original show will enjoy all of the interviews, but I'm not really the best judge on it.



I was almost universally pleased by the sections covering the reimagining, with one major exception. The focus is definitely on Ron Moore and David Eick, the co-creators. They must have given hours of interviews to Altman and Gross, and it's all great material. They talk about the process of originating the show, the creative process, battling the network about a surprising amount of things, casting, and fan reactions. They both come across as very thoughtful, which is not surprising given the show they created. As a pretty big fan back in the day, I did already know some of the behind the scenes stuff, but it was fun hearing it from different perspectives, and the book was still chock full of neat little stories I hadn't heard before (like Ron Moore talking about how when they were filming the reveal of the Blackbird to a critically ill Roslin in season two, he was so overcome with emotion that he had to wave off Mary McDonnell and Aaron Douglas, who were coming over to chat with him afterwards).

The one complaint I have is a major one. I do not understand how they could compile almost 500 pages of interviews, and Bear McCreary's name only appears once, in a brief mention. His score for that show is one of the best TV scores of all time. The motifs and themes he wrote for each character, each arc, were instrumental (heh, pun) in achieving maximum awesome in many a moment. I cannot picture the season one finale sequence in the opera house without "The Shape of Things to Come." What good is an Adama father/son moment without the "A Good Lighter" theme? That one year time jump without the clocklike, melancholy "One Year Later"? Roslin and Adama's love story without "Roslin and Adama?" Don't even get me started on how many times the music was literally a part of the plot, my favorite of course being Starbuck and her father in "Someone to Watch Over Me". There is absolutely no excuse for McCreary not to be discussed at length, even if they couldn't nail him down for an interview. I mean, his blog alone, where he gave fans in-depth posts about every episode, was sort of groundbreaking.

Anyway, if you are a fan of the show, this is well worth checking out.

[Erin Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sheer amount of information about the Battlestar Galactica series contained in this one volume is unreal. There are soooooo many interview snippets, covering everything from the show's TV movie beginnings, to the behind-the-scenes budget problems, to the way the ships were built and filmed, to the chimps in the daggit suit. And *then* it covered everything about the reboot, which I loved just as much.

(I can't say I loved it more. How do you compare the simple, unadulterated love of childhood to the nuanced love we're capable of once we're grown? It's an amazing thing, really, to love a family-oriented show as a kid and see it resurrected as a profoundly layered show in my adulthood.)

I requested the book from Net Galley partly because I loved both versions of the show, and partly because I knew Richard Hatch personally. Quite frankly, I miss him, which is an especially poignant thought as I sit here at Dragoncon, where I used to catch up with him every year. I was looking forward to reading the clips of his interviews, and I certainly enjoyed that part of it. But I ended up enjoying the rest of the book, too.

Readers should be aware going into it that it doesn't have a single cohesive voice. It's a story told in interview snippets, jumping from one perspective to another, pulled from what must have been countless hours of interview time spent with tons of different people involved in the show. That ends up being a large part of its charm, presenting what Richard and the others had to say in their own words, without a middleman changing the text.

There were moments when the interviews veered off into related areas, like other movies or shows coming out at the time. I found those to be sometimes extraneous and sometimes intriguing, like the fact that they almost made a Dragonriders of Pern show. (OMG how amazing would that have been!!! How amazing would that still be???)

But the information about BSG itself was unparalleled, and I'm intensely grateful to the publisher for providing me with a copy from Net Galley. Richard Hatch might not be with us at Dragoncon, but at least his words are on my tablet. And his memory is etched on my heart forever.

So say we all.

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original Battlestar Galactica brought groundbreaking effects to the small screen, while Ronald D. Moore's reboot remains the gold standard for serious science fiction on television. Yet, while BSG has easily earned its place in the science fiction hall of fame, few books have documented the story behind the camera. In So Say We All, Mark Altman and Edward Gross attempt to do what they did with the Star Trek franchise and provide a complete oral history of the Battlestar Galactica franchise.

As an oral history, this book relies almost exclusively on interviews with the cast, writers, and crew members to tell the story. Altman and Gross step back entirely, to the point where they do not even reprint the questions that they asked the interviewees. They occasionally include a brief paragraph providing a biographical information about an interviewee or summarizing a particular episode, but for the most part this book is just a transcription of firsthand accounts and interviews.

This approach works surprisingly well. Altman and Gross conducted more than enough interviews to paint a complete picture of both shows using just the words of the people who experienced them firsthand. The book is organized roughly chronologically, so interviews covering with earlier parts of BSG's history are placed earlier in the book, even if that particular interview was conducted later. There aren't any major gaps or issues left undiscussed. The book includes interviews with nearly every major actor and writer involved in the franchise (with the puzzling exception of Mark Sheppard, who played Romo Lampkin). While far from being the definitive history of BSG, it is an extremely detailed and comprehensive one. 

I was also impressed with just how honest most of the interviewees were. With a few exceptions (more on that below), I never felt like the interviews were glorified propaganda puff pieces for the franchise. In fact, one of the benefits of the oral history approach is that it lets the people who worked on BSG speak without passing judgment. Altman and Gross interviewed the lead writers for the BSG reboot, as well as the Sci-Fi Channel executives who oversaw the show. Sci-Fi is often vilified in the fandom, but I appreciated hearing the point of view of the executives, even if ultimately disagreed.

That said, one drawback to the oral history approach is that the interviews come without context. Altman and Gross do not indicate when and where the interviews were conducted. My impression is that Gross and Altman conducted most of the interviews themselves, but it is never explicitly made clear which interviews were conducted by them and which rely on archival sources. For example, the book includes interviews with Lorne Greene, the actor who played Adama in the original show, but he passed away in 1987. Some context - preferably in footnotes - would have helped. Context is especially important because cast and crew are likely going to talk about a show very differently while they're working on it as opposed to years after the fact, when they can perhaps reflect on their experiences more honestly.

Along these lines, at times I couldn't help but feel it was perhaps a bit too early to tell the definitive history of the BSG reboot. The interviews with the cast and writers are informative, but there still seems to be a bit of reluctance to talk candidly about some of the more controversial story decisions. David Eick comes close to talking about his alternate vision for the ending, but then defers to Ron Moore's version. It's mentioned that Moore and Eick butted heads during the latter two years, but So Say We All doesn't really explore that part of their relationship.

Also,while I'm grateful the book doesn't ignore Galactica 1980, Caprica, and Blood & Chrome, the coverage of those shows was cursory at best. I for one would love to learn more about the behind-the-scenes drama on Caprica, which I actually enjoyed for the most part.

Because of these issues, So Say We All isn't the definitive, final history of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. It does however contain a cornucopia of information that should keep BSG fans busy for quite some time. Highly recommended to anyone interested in either version of Battlestar Galactica or the history of television.

So Say We All goes on sale on August 21, 2018.

[Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review]

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1978, ABC aired a TV show designed to cash in on the success of Star Wars. Produced by reliable industry stalwart Glen A. Larson, Battlestar Galactica launched to huge ratings, but risible reviews and declining popularity saw it cancelled after twenty-four episodes. An attempted sequel series, Galactica 1980, was cancelled after ten episodes two years later, and far worse reviews. Finally, in 2003, Star Trek producer Ron Moore launched a reboot of the show that became one of the most acclaimed TV shows of the decade, winning Hugo and Peabody Awards and culminating in the show having the first TV cast to host a panel at the United Nations.

It's an interesting story with more than a few surprise twists, and Mark Altman and Edward Gross set out to tell that story through extensive interviews with the producers, writers and cast of all the different iterations of the franchise, from the pilot of the original Battlestar in 1978 through the release of the "experimental" TV movie Blood & Chrome in 2013. Altman and Gross had written several previous books in a similar vein, namely two for Star Trek and one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and since this one have gone to write similar tomes for James Bond, Star Wars and John Wick.

The format simply has the interviewees talking about their experiences without any questions being interposed, with brief linking passages as the only editorial intrusion into the text. The interviews are a mixture of those carried out specially for this book and excerpts from magazines at the time, useful to get the input of creatives who are sadly no longer with us, such as Lorne Greene (who played Adama in the original show). Glen Laron's input is sadly mostly missing, as he passed away in 2014, over three years before this book was written, and his contributions are largely lifted from interviews from the time. His son David, who as a child was an extra on the original show, provides some much-needed context on his father's approach to making the series.

The book spends 230 pages analysing the original show and Galactica 1980, and these contain some of the most deranged and entertaining parts of the book. ABC wasting vast sums of money because it couldn't decide on whether it was making a TV movie, a mini-series or an ongoing TV series is fairly ridiculous, but the circumstances and limitations of making Galactica 1980 are even more insane. Memorable stories abound, like Lorne Greene, fed up with yet another awful script, taking a large quantity of alcohol into the writers' room to get everyone "relaxed" so he can find out what's really going on. It's also interesting to see the frustrations of Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original show and Tom Zarek in the reboot. Hatch felt the original show had a lot of potential but wasted it through bad writing and terrible budget limitations, leading to his own aborted attempts to relaunch the show in the 1990s.

The bulk of the rest of the book is spent on the reboot show, understandable as it was much more successful and lasted far longer. With the entire cast still with us, and with Ron Moore providing a large amount of new interviews for the project, there's also a lot more resources available to cover the show. If you're a hardcore fan of BSG 2.0, you'll probably be familiar with most of the stories here (Eddie Olmos threatening to walk off the show if an alien appears, the producers' attempts to make everything think they'd really killed off Starbuck blowing up in their faces). A more interesting strand is the perspective of Mark Stern, a senior executive at SyFy, who argues for the reasons behind some of the "network interference" the network undertook during the show's lifespan. The book also fully confirms that they could have gone for a fifth season, but Moore and fellow showrunner David Eick were frustrated by SyFy's late renewals so decided to end the show in its fourth season. The show also expands a little more on the semi-contentious finale, and how Eick and Stern argued for an explanation to be provided over Starbuck's death and enigmatic return, whilst Moore did not consider it necessary.

A further, brief section skims over the making of both Caprica and Blood & Chrome before signing off with an evaluation of the entire franchise.

The book is overall a fascinating read, and the account of making the original show is of great value as there's a few stories there that I hadn't heard before. The stuff on the newer BSG didn't have as many surprises, but there is some useful information in there and some of the stories by the actors (especially Olmos, Katee Sackhoff and James Callis) are hilarious. The relative paucity of material on Caprica is a shame, as the show's 19-episode run was riven by network interference and disagreements, leading to a change of showrunner. We get some information on that, but it is very brief and none of the cast of Caprica are interviewed themselves, which feels like a missed opportunity. I'm assuming this is down to the book's length, as at 720 pages they were probably pushing the limits of what the publisher could accommodate anyway.

The best bit of the book is the account of the making of Galactica 1980, where some solid writers (including "proper SF" authors Chris Bunch and Allan Cole, of Sten fame) are given insurmountable requirements by the studio, such as having almost no budget for the visual effects the show was famous for, and the need to include a bunch of kids in the plot, as well as limited or no violence due to the earlier timeslot, and not being able to afford a large cast or most of the cast of the original show. For the most reviled part of the franchise, the story of its making is surprisingly compelling.

So Say We All: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Battlestar Galactica (****) is a well-written, well-edited account of the making of three TV shows in the same franchise, with some great interviews and analysis by the creators on what they were trying to accomplish. There are some gaps that could have perhaps been a little bit better filled in, but this is chunky tone that retains interest over its whole length, and may well inspire a fresh rewatch of the show.

[Susan Paxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I'm a paleo-BG fan, of the original series, and published a fanzine at the time. As such, I interviewed a number of the people involved with the original series (Alan Levi, Jim Carlson, Terrence McDonnell, Stu Phillips). Just to get that out of the way.

Second disclaimer: I read half the book. I don't care for Ron Moore's "reimagining" and frankly wish Altman and Gross had left that for a second volume.

All in all this is good reading; a large number of people involved with the original were interviewed; since he doesn't source his interviews, I suspect some of the quotes come from earlier sources. The authors could have done a lot more in looking at the numerous efforts to revive the show before Moore stomped in, but there is a chapter that at least glances over them.

My gripes here are similar to my comments about their similar books about Star Trek: the interviews need to be firmly sourced and dated.

Fans will find this worthwhile, but again, it should have been two books.

[Brad B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of both BSG series and I appreciate the oral history format, making So Say We All the perfect read for me. I would have liked more print dedicated to the actors, and, as another reviewer mentioned, poor Bear McCreary is barely mentioned. About the last 20 pages are repetitive hyperbole about how cosmically miraculous the show was. Still, a fascinating book and a must-read for BSG fans or even s-f fans in general.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a ton of really wonderful information in this book, but it's shoved together in huge, disorganized, poorly-delineated chapters with terribly vague titles, making it a frustrating resource that I know I'll struggle with in the future.

Possibly my favourite aspect of this book was the way everyone's stories are presented without comment or correction--leaving the reader to make sense of garbled run-on sentences, or to decide whose memory is accurate and who might be embellishing (Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park, for instance, tell contradictory stories about what happened when they met in the audition process. And Ron Moore's version of events in the writers' room sometimes contradicts accounts told by other members of his team. Everyone's an unreliable narrator!). I wish we'd been given a list or index of when each of the interviews occurred--seems like a lot of them were recent, but some couldn't have been (such as the many quotes from Richard Hatch), and I think it would have been appropriate for the authors to provide citations of who was interviewed when, and by who.

There are some weird gaps--people who aren't mentioned but should have been (Bear McCreary, for one!) and people who are mentioned but not interviewed, even though there are pages of other people's comments on their characters (where's Kate Vernon?).

The author/compilers also fail, in my opinion, to bookend the reams of quotes with anything to say--despite thousands of their own words in commentary, Altman and Gross add nothing of value to the primary sources--but they sure do make the book even longer. Worst of all, their context summaries and background notes are riddled with inaccuracies about episodes and plot details. (How hard would it have been to run those recaps by a fan for accuracy?)

A great book in concept and in content, but a fail in execution as far as I'm concerned.

[Reviewer's note: This review reflects only the book's introduction and the chapters on the 2003 reboot series (~515 pages) since I skipped the ~200 pages about the original series.]

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having slogged through the second of Altman and Gross' massive Star Trek oral history tomes, I expected this would be more of the same. Instead, I think it's better.

The difference is a more equal split between input from production staff and input from the actors. In the second TNG book, almost all the quotes were from the writers, producers, and crew, with hardly anything from cast members--and what there was, had pretty clearly been cribbed from past interviews in other publications. It was obvious the authors just didn't have access to most of the actors to ask them about their work.

"So Say We All" offers the expected long interviews with Ron Moore, David Eick, and the rest of the BSG writers and producers. But it's really boosted by long, original interviews with the cast, which makes for a much more interesting read. The production struggles and writing choices are worth covering, but it's important to know how the cast interpreted that work, and bought it to life.

The first half of the book, about the original BSG, does drag somewhat--probably because the authors are trying to give equal time to a show that lasted 1/4 as long as the re-imagined one and had a fraction of the depth. (And thankfully, the one season of "Caprica" is little more than a footnote.)

It's not a breezy read, but it's a great deep dive for fans.

[Wood Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looked forward to the premier of the original Battlestar, and was quickly disappointed. Interesting concept immediately ruined by Hollywood machinery.

After all, after fleeing the slaughter of billions of human beings, who’s NOT going to want to go to Las Vegas? And don’t get me started on the stupid robot dog and Uber-cute kid.

So, when I learned that a new “reimagined” Battlestar was coming out, I was open to it. After all, it couldn’t be worse than the original.

I fell in love with it and the successor series. I even enjoyed the concepts behind the somewhat confusing “Caprica” series. So, when I stumbled across this book, I had to read it.

It’s a home run! Interviews of just about all the principals, actors, producers, directors and executives, lots from the time frame of the reimagined series, some afterward. It could use some tighter editing (at over 700 pages, I’d guess a 500 page Reader’s Digest version would be about right), but very readable and very enjoyable.

So, if you’re a BG fanboy like me, you really need to add this to your collection.

[Jb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some oral histories are really designed "for fans only", whereas others hold a more general appeal. This book falls more towards the former category- it's heavy on backstory and series-related lore, and provides a lot of really fascinating information on how both the 1970s and 2000s Galactica series were put together. There's some interesting insider detail on how the sausage of a TV series gets made, but very little juicy gossip that would bring in a broader audience- it seems the cast and crew really enjoyed working with each other, and what little friction there was involved trying to push more interesting and forward-thinking concepts past the network, a story that has been told many times. Some have complained that this book is poorly sourced and doesn't have proper annotations and dates for the interviews; that may be true, but as one reading it purely for enjoyment, I wasn't bothered. Altogether, this is a great read for major fans of either the "new" or "old" BSG, but probably of less interest to others.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stand by the fact that World War Z is not only a good novel but also a good example of oral history. This was not. None of the quotes are referenced. And worse the book is just a total mess.
The part where they talk about s3 episode unfinished business is hidden away in the, how did they organise the pre-production on the miniseries. They really needed to pay someone to index this frakker or at very least introduced some basic structure in the terms of headings, sub-headings etc.
The whole thing is just a total mess. There are some gems hidden away in here, so it was worth reading. Most interesting to me was the revelation that the start of the Oath Adama and Roslin were supposed to be IN BED having coffee. (We were robbed!)
So much was left out and it really did show how little clue the writers had, and how much they owed to their actors.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Battlestar Galactica' was developed in response to the smash success of 'Star Wars' and showcased the plight of a race of humanity in the wake of their almost total annihilation by the rampaging Cylons.

Although the series and its immediate spinoff 'Galactica: 1980', were failures, the premise captured the imaginations of viewers who followed the crew of the 'Galactica' in their search for the missing thirteenth colony: Earth.

Enough interest to keep 'Battlestar Galactica' in development for almost twenty five years, when Ronald D. Moore created a dark and bold new vision for the post 9/11 audience.

This book collects reminiscences and interview soundbites to create a comprehensive overview of two intriguing series.

[Phil Favre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while watching the entire series for the second time during the pandemic with my family. It was very entertaining and satisfying to read about what was happening behind the scenes and in the minds of the creators and actors while watching the show. I loved the original show as a 14 year old and loved the new show at 39 and again at 55. This lengthy book did a fantastic job of showing all aspects of the creation and production of possibly one of the best science fiction television sagas of all time. I’m glad I made the time to spend a few months on the rag-tag fugitive fleet.

[Jorge Luiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this book as it brings me so many memories of one of my favorite series, so I don't know if I am rating the book or the series.
It brings a lot of points of views and interesting stories of the backstage, and it was even nice to know about the original series (I only watched the new one).
The book is big (and it even leave some stuff out, like the Resistance web series) and as some other reviewers noted, has lot of repetition, maybe if it was condensed it would be a more enjoyable read.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for fans of Battlestar Galactica. I work at a book store & one of the perks is checking out books so I slowly read this book a little at a time during my break. I only read the last half since I'm not a fan of the original Battlestar but instead the re-imagining.
There are a lot of interesting stories and insights from the creators, producers & cast. I'm a serious fan so I found it interesting but I don't know if a casual fan would think the same.

[Michael Migliaccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a geek for the 2004 reboot version of the show, so this was a perfect and fun read. The first 280 pages cover the original show and the disastrous Galactica 1980. The remainder is about the new iteration.

The format is in the style of interviews with producers, writers, directors, and cast members. This is not for anyone who is looking to learn about this franchise for the first time, but for the die-hard fan.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars: I would love to know how you do a 700+ pages long book about BSG without getting into the reimagining's music at all. Bear McCreary's name only being mentioned once is a crime and I demand justice.

I also wanted way more about 'The Plan', 'Caprica' and 'Blood and Chrome'. Also, I was expecting some discussion of 'Black Market' since Ron Moore was fairly vocal at the time about how that episode turned out.

What is here is fantastic though.

[Neil McGarry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read for "Battlestar Galactica" fans, and as such a fan, I enjoyed this. I think I would have preferred more of a narrative over a series of personal reflections of cast and crew; sometimes industry terms are referenced and not explained, which leaves the reader in the dark. Still, it's worth your time.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great journey through Battlestar Galactica from the 70s original to the 2004 series, and beyond. Throughout the book, producers, writers, directors, and the actors all share their thoughts memories, and behind the scenes info on how each show started, played out, and ended.

A fabulous read, that has me wanting to watch through both series all over again.

[Corey McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really fun and interesting. I learned a lot about how the series came about and what the creators had in mind while they were making it. Very good if you enjoy either version of the show.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

277 pages more than I thought to get to the remake, thought there would be more interesting stuff than the fact that the producers kept arguing with the SyFy channel and that EJO knew the show was going to be awesome

[Thomas Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

It certainly has a lovely set of BTS information and commentaries. But it is super dense (seriously, could you have included some concept art or something), and it is hard to call it "complete" when it glosses over the worst episode of the series.

[Brock Heasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of the show I can't recommend this book enough. Wonderful insight and highly instructive for those like myself who aspire to create something as meaningful and entertaining as BSG.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting to see what all the creative and behind the scenes players had to say about the making of the show. Reading this definitely made me want to watch the series again.

[Brad Skeel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book about the history or BSG from the original series to the reboot. Really showed how much the reboot mattered and how good it was (and still is).

[James Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic read for anyone who enjoys Battlestar Galactica.

[Chris Chinchilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long, but inspiring

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is absurdly long given it's subject. It's could have been edited down by half and not lost anything important. That said, the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica is a great show and this book is a nice behind the scenes look at it.

[M. Peter Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine enough, I suppose. If you're a fan of BSG you will probably enjoy this book. It's a brisk enough read.

But still, it's a little unsatisfying. It's great to hear what a lot of the actors felt about the process of making the show, but a lot of interesting topics are raised but not actually explored. For example, we learn that Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh) was hopping mad about one of the decisions the writers made in the last season, but seemingly no one asks the actor himself about it directly. And how does Bear McCreary, the composer who added so much to the new series, get not even a single reference in the entire tome?