Battlestar Galactica’s Best Creative Decision Thanks to Its Best Cast
By Chris Snellgrove | Published
There are many things that have attracted sci-fi fans about it Battlestar Galactica reboot, including the fact that (unlike the original series) it did not include any foreign races. This helped highlight the conflict between humanity and the Cylons as it made it clear that humanity and its rebellious creation are more alike than different. As it turns out, this wise creative decision is partly due to Edward James Olmos, who says it was in his contract that his character Commander Adama would have to be killed if he encountered aliens.
No Aliens for Adam
This story of Edward James Olmos not wanting his character to meet people from other countries in the game is another actor shared with AV Club. He was very excited to “be a part” of the show because it was “incredibly well written by Ron Moore,” but in his first meeting with Moore and the show’s producers, he warned them that “I don’t want to see four.” -people with eyes, or strange jellyfish people, or strange aliens.” The alien antipathy was so strong that he wrote in his contract that if Adam met any aliens, the writers would have to have his character die of a heart attack.
If you are a fan of sci-fi in general or old Battlestar Galactica In particular, you might think that Edward James Olmos hating the idea of his character meeting aliens is weird. However, this makes more sense when you consider the actor’s background in science fiction…this time, starring in Ridley Scott’s hit movie. Blade Runner. He was really relieved there Galactica the producers assured him that the new show would be like Scott’s film because, as Olmos put it, “There were no monsters in that, it was all people.”
If you read between the lines a bit, it seems clear that Edward James Olmos prefers the idea of his on-screen characters interacting with humans or human-like characters rather than other nations. The great revelation of Blade Runner was that the so-called evil replicants were not so different from their creators, and this idea is deeply embedded in themes and stories Battlestar Galactica. After memorably playing a man in a world where vengeful killers are revealed to be victims of fighting their oppressors, it was easy for Olmos to play Commander Adama, a man fighting aliens who kill people who blame humanity for their past oppression.
As an added side effect, Edward James Olmos getting his “no aliens” request met meant that Battlestar Galactica it can better distinguish itself from other sci-fi franchises like Star Trek. That was very important to the showrunner Ronald Moore and given that he started writing for television Star Trek: The Next Generation and went on to become one of the most talented writers in that franchise. Moore knew full well that his show would have to differentiate itself from what had come before, and making his sci-fi reality series loose was one of the best ways to do that.
In retrospect, Edward James Olmos’ story of Adam not wanting to meet aliens proves that Battlestar Galactica reboot was…just when the popular actor was ready to put his foot down about the big sci-fi trope, he found that he and the producers were on the same page. From top to bottom, that show was filled with actors and other creators who wanted to redefine what science fiction television could be. And they succeeded so well that, to this day, nothing has been able to overshadow the ambition and scope of the series that boldly went where Star Trek had never gone before.
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