It’s January, 2009. I’ve spent the last 5 days frantically looking for a place to live while I study abroad in Barcelona for a semester. No one speaks English in this place and my “una cerveza, por favor”-level Spanish isn’t much help.

I’ve got one more place to check out before I head back to my youth hostel.

I meet Uri, a Barcelona native renting out a room in his apartment.

Lo and behold it’s perfect, small, but the location is great and the price is right.

Uri seems like he’ll give me the room, but before we shake hands he has one condition.

“Do you like Battlestar Galactica?” he asks.

I’ve never heard of it.

“I have all the seasons on DVD, you have two weeks to catch up. If you don’t like it you can’t live here.”

I was desperate, and watching three and a half seasons of a sci-fi show couldn’t be that bad, right?

For the next two weeks I crammed two things:

• Intro level Spanish
• Battlestar Galactica seasons 1-4 (pt. 1)

I became obsessed.

Uri’s favorite show was becoming my favorite show. We’d have no problems being roommates.

That’s why, when I came across the series bible for the show a few weeks ago I had to dive back into the show.

Today I want to take you on the inside of building the story, world, look and feel of a TV show by breaking down the series bible for Battlestar Galactica.

If you want to follow along, check out the document here.

How to redefine a genre

Battlestar Galactica was different. It didn’t look or feel anything like the sci-fi shows that came before it.

When we look at the series bible it’s obvious that’s by design, and a core characteristic of the series.

We take as a given the idea that traditional space opera, with its stocky characters, techno-double-talk, bumpy-headed aliens, thespian histrionics, and empty heroics has run its course and a new approach is required. That approach is to introduce realism into what has heretofore been an aggressively unrealistic genre.
‍- Ronald D. Moore, Creator of Battlestar Galactica

Two things struck me about how they went about changing the perception of the sci-fi genre on TV.

The first lesson is how the creators of the show define what the show will be as much by what it’s not, as what it is.

• “Taking the Opera out of Space Opera.”
• “no 3-D "hero" shots panning and zooming wildly with the touch of a mousepad”
• “We do not have "the cocky guy" "the fast-talker" "the brain" "the wacky alien sidekick" or any of the other usual characters who populate a space series.”

The show is working hard to set itself apart. If you’re coming in as a director early on thinking “I’m making a sci-fi show”, you might have been in for an awakening. You'd be better served watching The Sopranos over Star Trek or The West Wing over Babylon 5 to prep for Galactica.

The second lesson I noted was how they’re combining two established genres with opposite conventions and blending them into something new. They take the grandeur, adventure and epic scale of a space opera and blend it with political realism and documentary style shooting.

As a TV director you need to be able to adapt to the show’s visual approach and this bible makes it clear how they want the series to be shot, and not shot.

A story that never stops

The key to the success of this series is to never, ever let the air out of the balloon - the Battlestar Galactica lives in a perpetual state of crisis.
- Ronald D. Moore, Creator of Battlestar Galactica

I binged this show before binging was a thing. And the structure of the story arcs made my task incredibly easy.

This show is intense. There’s always forward motion. You’re always driven by questions that need answers.

In the bible Ron Moore writes about their three tiered story structure, inspired by “The Hill Street Blues."

The top level is the series arc. The stories that drive the show as a whole. I remember being obsessed with finding out who the undiscovered Cylon’s were. That question alone would have kept me hooked on the show.

The mid-level is the multi-episode arcs. Stories that would stretch over 2-4 episodes, dealing with a specific crisis. These arcs ensures the audience has a strong reason to return every week.

The bottom level is the episode arc. Each episode contains a story arc with a beginning, middle and end within the episode. The show was released on a week-by-week basis. Being able to attract new viewers who could watch an episode as a standalone story was important to please the networks and increase the possibility of growing the viewership.

By employing this structure, we gain the benefits of long-term story-telling, embroidering on the existing tensions and situations in the premise which have already hooked our audience and thereby delivering a richer and more compelling experience to the dedicated viewer, while at the same time making allowance for hooking the more casual viewer who may not be familiar with the long-term tales but is drawn Into this week's episodic storyline.
- Ronald D. Moore, Creator of Battlestar Galactica

As a viewer I loved the intensity of the show, and how it uses this story structure to keep you at the edge of your seat. As a director I’m fascinated by the layering of different levels of storytelling.

It’s about us

The standout element of Battlestar Galactica isn’t the world building, or the innovative visual style or the confident editing style.

It’s the characters.

This is a show about people, and if you read the entire bible that becomes increasingly clear.

Every character is written with humanity and complexity. We get to see them deal with out-of-this-world challenges in very human ways.

When working with actors I always try to find the “why” of a character. Why are they acting this way? Why are they like this?

When you read the character bios in the series bible take note of how story specific they are. Everything in these bios is potential fuel for conflict, character growth or obstacles. These are important building blocks for the writers, directors and actors who bring the show to life.

I love this as a director. You get a vivid grasp of who these people are, without a bunch of fluff. I don’t need to know who they had a crush on in high school. But I do need to know that Commander Adama was estranged from his sons, has lost one and is now trying to repair his relationship to the second, while trying to save humanity from extinction.

Conclusion

I could go on for days about this stuff, but we’ll end it here for today. If you found my musings interesting I highly recommend you check out the full series bible. If you’re a writer or a director it’s an incredible insight into how tv shows are created.

If you’re a fan it’s pure enjoyment.

Next week we’ll talk about how to plan your first day of shooting to set yourself up for success.

See you then,

Morten