With its shared DNA from Ronald D. Moore, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can be seen as the predecessor of Battlestar Galactica's 2004 reboot. Both sci-fi series are acclaimed, with DS9 holding a 91% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and BSG even higher with a 95% Fresh rating. Premiering in 1993, Deep Space Nine is a spinoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation that ran 7 seasons in syndication. Battlestar Galactica launched a decade later, first as a 2003 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries that spawned a 2004 ongoing series running for 4 seasons, as well as a prequel, Caprica, and spinoffs Battlestar Galactica: Razor, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, and Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome.
Ronald D. Moore joined the writer's room of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine after achieving great success on Star Trek: The Next Generation, including co-writing with Brannon Braga TNG's acclaimed series finale, "All Good Things..." and the feature films Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact. DS9 broke Star Trek's mold by being set on a space station and exploring darker, more complex themes than the cheerier TNG, with a broader canvas and a cavalcade of eclectic characters. Moore learned lessons from Star Trek but also found Gene Roddenberry's vision limiting. In rebooting Battlestar Galactica, Moore got to make a distinct sci-fi epic that did what Star Trek, not even Deep Space Nine, could not.
Deep Space Nine's Concept Was The Spiritual Predecessor To Battlestar Galactica 2004
Ronald D. Moore got to explore darker themes on DS9
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine evolved throughout its seven seasons. The original premise of DS9 involved the space station led by Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) guarding the Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Gradually, DS9 introduced its uber-threat, the Dominion, and marched toward an epic war that engulfed and existentially endangered the United Federation of Planets. All the while, DS9 was about the journey within for its vast cast of characters, with a deeper exploration of their motivations and inner lives than Star Trek had seen before. Crucially, Deep Space Nine also pioneered serialized storytelling, foreshadowing the dominant form of TV in the streaming era.
With the serialized Battlestar Galactica, Ronald D. Moore flipped the script on intergalactic war: the humans suffered a devastating nuclear attack at the hands of the robotic Cylons and were on the run. From Battlestar's inception, the human race was on the back foot, desperately trying to evade their Cylon attackers, facing constant infiltration, and searching for the fabled 13th colony, Earth. Like Deep Space Nine, Battlestar integrated military and civilian characters in intriguing ways. Battlestar Galactica was Moore free of the constraints of Star Trek, but still mindful of the need for complex, flawed, heroes and villains that felt like a natural progression from his work on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
War, politics, religion, and more
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went places Star Trek: The Next Generation did or could not. Captain Sisko was the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor, split between his duties as a spiritual leader and a Starfleet officer. DS9 delved into Bajor's religion, with elements of the supernatural that TNG only touched upon or generally avoided. As DS9 progressed, it turned into a series about the costs and complications of war, with Sisko and his crew pushed to make moral compromises that seemed unthinkable aboard the USS Enterprise-D. DS9 was also steeped in politics and intrigue that could not be solved in a mere hour, while main characters like Sisko, Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), and Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) fell in love, married, and even tragically died.
As grim as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine could be, Ronald D. Moore took Battlestar Galactica into an even greater star trek into darkness. As a sci-fi allegory of 9/11 and the War on Terror, Battlestar was steeped in fear and paranoia, Commander (later Admiral) William Adama (Edward James Olmos) and his survivors aboard Galactica realized any of them could be Cylon sleeper agents. The flaws of the human race were laid bare in the wake of possible extinction at the hands of the Cylons, while religion, politics, sex, and the ramifications of war were even more prevalent on Battlestar Galactica.
DS9 still holds to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision of optimism
Deep Space Nine took Star Trek in fascinating new directions but, at its core, it was still Star Trek and maintained Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of the future. Even at the most harrowing moments of the Dominion War, there was always light and the fulfilled belief that Captain Sisko and Starfleet would win a way to triumph. DS9 also featured many lighthearted episodes, like the James Bond-themed "Our Man Bashir," the baseball romp "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," which was written by Ronald D. Moore, and the Ocean's Eleven spoof, "Bada Bing, Badda Bang". Deep Space Nine ran the gamut of storytelling and could deftly switch genres in the finest Star Trek tradition.
BSG had no guiding principle of Gene Roddenberry's utopia.
In contrast, levity was in short supply on Battlestar Galactica. The plight of the Galactica and its military and civilian populations grew increasingly dire as the seasons progressed. When Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) replaced Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) as President, the plight of Galactica's population became even worse. BSG's characters were plunged into alcohol and drug abuse, and some were even tortured. It's hard to imagine a comedy episode about playing baseball against the Cylons on Battlestar Galactica. BSG had no guiding principle of Gene Roddenberry's utopia, but this is what allowed Ronald D. Moore to forge an even more realistic allegory for post-9/11 America.
DS9 & Battlestar Galactica Are Proving Difficult To Remake & Reboot
For different reasons
Another thing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Battlestar Galactica have in common is both are challenging to revive and reboot. Although Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager found new life on Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Prodigy, DS9 isn't having the same good fortune. Beyond a handful of DS9 favorite characters making comebacks, the tragic deaths of actors like Rene Auberjonois and Aron Eisenberg, and especially Avery Brooks' retirement, prevent a complete Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reunion from happening. The reduction of Star Trek on Paramount+ projects also creates fewer opportunities for DS9 actors to revive their characters.
As far back as 2019, Battlestar Galactica eyed a series reboot on Peacock under the leadership of Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. However, after a years-long development process, a Battlestar Galactica reimagining has been scrapped at Peacock. Given the singular impact of Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica, and how fresh and relevant it remains 20 years later, there seems to be no great enthusiasm for a revamped take on humans vs. Cylons. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the 2004 Battlestar Galactica are products of their respective eras sharing Ron Moore's vision, which is difficult to replicate.
