Battlestar Galacticahas some pretty impressive spaceships, with some of the coolest ships in the series blending high-minded sci-fi concepts with sleek designs and grounded elements. In the world ofBattlestar Galactica, a lot of focus is spent on the ships that carry the humans and the cylons alike through the depths of space. Across the course offour seasons ofBattlestar Galactica, these ships were the only thing keeping the last of humanity alive.
Notably, both sides of the conflict (as well as the human civilians who find themselves targeted by the Cylons) deploy some differing designs for different ships, keeping the show’s spacecraft from feeling too repetitive. Some of the ships help cement the grounded element of the show (and helpBattlestar Galactica’s provide one of TV’s best sci-fi scenes) while others play with scientific theory and bizarre concepts to strong effect. Here are all the coolest ships fromBattlestar Galactica.
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10Cloud 9
How A Luxury Ship Became One OfBattlestar Galactica’s More Memorable Designs
Cloud 9 was one of the uniquely designed ships inBattlestar Galactica, which was a series full of impressively designed space ships. One of the engaging elements ofBattlestar Galacticaplot was the inclusion of civilian ships in the Colonial Fleet, such as Cloud 9. A luxury ship before the Cylon attacks on humanity, Cloud 9’s hotel-like amenities made it a surprisingly flexible location for the show to utilize. Coupled with a unique design that highlighted a more comfortable form of living versus the more streamlined and combat-ready ships in the fleet, Cloud 9 was a clever addition to the show.
Cloud 9’s destruction at the climax of season 2 by the Number Six copy known as Gina pushed the series into even darker territory,proving even background elements like ships could move along the overarching plot. Cloud 9 had a cool design that underscored the flexible role as both a meeting place for government figures and as a source of black market deals, and it had a cool enough look that it could stand out in the larger shots of the Colonial Fleet. It was one of the ideal kinds of ships in the show, especially early on.
9Zephyr
The Zephyr’s Cool Design Has A Unique Sci-Fi Concept
The Zephyr was another civilian ship featured inBattlestar Galacticathat benefited from a unique design and quiet importance within the show’s narrative. Visually, the ship stood out from other vessels in the series thanks to a ring built into the ship that created centrifugal force enough to replicate gravity. Aboard the ship,the botany habitat full of trees and water made a warmly comforting settingin contrast to the more gritty elements ofBattlestar Galacticas’s other ships.
Serving as a surprising source of relaxation and comfort in the trying times of the human/Cyon war,the Zephyr’s relative unique designand quiet importance within the narrative made it a memorable looking aspect of the Colonial fleet. Notably, the Zephyr even became more important as the series wore on, serving as a meeting place for the Quorum of Twelve and even getting an extended focus in season 4 after it was damaged by the Cylons.
8Prometheus
The Black Market Of The Stars
The Prometheus is one of the civilian ships that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies beforebecoming a center-piece of the human fleet’s black market. Especially compared to the other ships in the fleet, Prometheus' design fits that role perfectly. Contrasted against the more illustrious civilian ships like Cloud 9 or the more streamlined vessels like the Battlestars, the Prometheus was a effectively a port amid the stars and a center of crime.
The Prometheus gave the series a dark underbelly to visit for certain plot lines.The Prometheus was a memorable ship that actually managed to survive almost all the events of the showuntil it was part of the final fleet to be brought into the sun by Anders inBattlestar Galactica’s ending. Given its quiet importance in the plot and unique role within the universe, the Prometheus became a memorable aspect of the show (even ifBattlestar Galacticaepisodes set in the Black Marketwas universally disliked by fans of the show).
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7The Cylon Heavy Raiders
The Bulky Heavy Cylon Ships
The Heavy Raiders are some of the more effective ships in the Cylon fleet, with enough unique visual elements to stand out from the other more streamlined Cylon designs. Working effectively as transport for the Cylon ground troops, the Heavy Raiders are bulky ships with a lot of dangerous ordinance. They’re capable of surviving battles across the course of the series, ensuring their repeated use.
While they’re less sleek and iconic as their faster counterparts in the raider class,the Heavy Raider has a foreboding and over-the-top ship designthat blends the legacy of the original with a dangerous element. The ships even have a Cylon head built into the design. This allows it to be a scanner for the ship, making it as deadly as any other Cylon entity. However, it’s also a plainly goofy piece of imagery. The head of the Heavy Raider is evocative of the show’s overall balance of big sci-fi ideas from a grounded perspective.
6The Cylon Raider
The Front Line Of The Cylon Army
One of the most iconic ships inBattlestar Galactica,the Cylon Raider is a sleek statement made in the early episodesto define the show’s visual style. The Cylon Raider are their primary form of aerial combat withinBattlestar Galacticafor the Cylons, and are among the most frequent threats encountered by the Colonial fleet. The ships are an early indicator of how the show approaches the originally bulky Cylon designs, reimagining them as efficient killing machines.
The ships are distinctly Cylon thanks to their red glowing eye, which in turn bridges the series to its roots. Similar to the Heavy Raiders, the eye can look ridiculous out of context, butgains more unsettling and interesting layers as the show develops. The Raider’s being their own effective race of Cylons is a compelling concept that plays heavily into the show’s Cylon Civil War. The Cylon Raiders are a cool element of the show that only becomes more interesting as the series goes on.
5The Viper
The Vipers Are Some OfBattlestar Galactica’s Most Distinct Ship
The Vipers are efficient ships inBattlestar Galacticaand among the show’s most prominent elements. The primary combat ship for the Colonials, the Vipers have to thread a quietly tricky challenge of being reliable in the show’s grounded sci-fi setting, while still being distinct enough to stand out in the potentially chaotic dogfights that fill the series. The design team behindBattlestar Galacticadoes an admirable job of this with the Vipers.
The Vipers feel like a happy medium between a modern jet and an X-Wing fromStar Wars. The effect is a ship that feels capable of amazing feats, but still feels believable within the setting of the show. The little personal touches of the respective call-signs help add to the personalization of the ships. The Vipers are some of the coolest elements of the entire show, and one of the best ships inBattlestar Galactica.
4Starbuck’s Raider
The Organs Of The Raider That Starbuck Hijacks GivesBattlestar GalacticaA Deep Sci-Fi Concept
Introduced early inBattlestar Galactica,the Raider taken by Starbuck is one of the most memorable ships in the seriesthanks to the unique swing it takes in introducing the actual biology of the Raiders. In season 1’s “You Can’t Go Home Again,” Starbuck is shot down during a dogfight but survives the crash. She only escapes certain death on a desolate world by climbing inside a downed Cylon raider. Subverting expectations of an entirely mechanical layout, the Raider proves to be a cybernetic and biological hybrid.
The ship is an early hint of a major aspect of the series,underscoring the importance of humanity and artifical intelligence finding unification. Starbuck’s Raider is one of the coolest ships inBattlestar Galacticabecause of what it brings to the series as a whole, introducing a queasy element to the sci-fi both literally and metaphorically. The inside of the Raider is freaky in an unsettling way, especially as Starbuck manipulates its corpse for her survival. It’s a big step forward for the series, and one of the show’s coolest ship reveals.
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3The Basestar
The Basestar Is A Truly Alien Ship
The central ships of the Cylon Fleet, the Basestars have some ofBattlestar Galactica’s most memorable and strange looking ship designs. The Basestars are distinctly unique looking compared to the rest of the ships inBattlestar Galactica. This adds to their alien nature, further separating them from the human ships of the Colonial Fleet. Their sheer size makes them naturally overwhelming, and their inhuman nature makes them quietly unsettling.
It’s a ship with no clear weakness,highlighting the overwhelming power of the Cylonsas they chase the remaining humans. They function as counters to the Galactica as a setting for plot development and ship deployment. As a direct counter to the Galactica though, their presence is a great way to elevate the tension of a battle or turn a difficult challenge into a desperate one. The fact that the Basestars become more developed as the series goes on and the Battlestars find themselves at war only makes them more interesting to encounter.
2The Pegasus
The Pegasus Amplifies Everything About Galactica
Introduced in season 2,the Pegasus is one of the most impressive ships to appear inBattlestar Galactica. Led by Admiral Cain and set up as a more ruthless approach to the war with the Cylons, the Pegasus represents a dark contrast to the approach the Galactica has been forced to utilize in their own fight. The massive scale and sleeker design of the ship in comparison to the Galactica gives it a more imposing vibe that accurately reflects the role the ship and the crew play in the series.
The Pegasus is also just a cool ship to see in action, an overwhelming beast in contrast to the more creative strategies of the Galactica. The fact that the Pegasus gets to go down in an epic battle is the icing on the cake for the ship. While the Pegasus needed to go away to keep the focus of the show on the challenging realities of fighting the Cylons with the Galactica, it was a memorable way to send the ship out.
1The Galactica
Battlestar GalacticaIs A Cool Enough Ship To Focus The Series Behind It
Sharing a name with the title of the show,Battlestar Galacticawas always going to have to be about a cool ship. As the primary setting of the show, the Galactica necessitated a variety of locations that naturally fit with the nearly decommissioned space ship.The fact that the ship is creaky around the edges adds to the tension of every confrontation, as any damage could end up breaking apart the ship at the very foundations.
The ship has a straightforward design that’s reflective of real-world vehicles, helping ground the series even when actively fighting robots. Its size makes it imposing in battle, but easily dwarfed by opposing forces. It’s also such a straight forward design, that it feels bluntly believed that it’s designed to deploy Vipers and do damage, nothing else. It’s reflective of the captain, perfectly embodying Adama’s state in the series and even coming apart towards the end of the show. The Galactica is the most memorable, effective, and cool ship inBattlestar Galactica.
Battlestar Galactica
Cast
Battlestar Galactica is a science fiction television series that premiered in 2004. The plot follows the crew of the aging Battlestar Galactica as they protect a small fleet of human survivors from the renewed threat of the Cylons, in a quest to find the mythical 13th colony, Earth.
