Battlestar Galactica: Season 1
1978 · 21 episodes · ★ 6.9
What Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica
Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica Has 21 episodes and premiered on September 17, 1978. Here's the complete episode guide with air dates, runtimes and ratings.
Season 1 Episodes
1x01 Saga of a Star World
The Cylon Empire tricks the Twelve Colonies into believing they are striving for peace. Then they ambush the unprepared colonies and destroy the military's Battlestar fleet. One surviving Battlestar, the Galactica, under the command of Commander Adama, gathers the remaining humans and leads them in the search for the legendary 13th colony called Earth.
Directing: Richard A. Colla · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Lew Ayres, Wilfrid Hyde-White, John Fink, Rick Springfield
1x02 Lost Planet of the Gods (1)
Apollo and Starbuck discover a void in space. Commander Adama is convinced that this void will lead them to the planet Kobol, and orders they go through.
Directing: Christian I. Nyby II, Donald P. Bellisario · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Bruce Wright, Paul Coufos, Gay Thomas Wilson, Jane Seymour
1x03 Lost Planet of the Gods (2)
While Commander Adama leads the rag-tag fleet of ships to the planet Kobol, where he hopes to find clues of Earth's location, the Viper pilots contract a disease, making it necessary for the women to take on fighter patrol duties. But the traitor Baltar leads the Cylons in an attack on the Galactica.
Directing: Christian I. Nyby II · Writing: Glen A. Larson, Donald P. Bellisario · Starring: Jane Seymour, Sheila Wills, Jennifer Joseph, Janet Prescott
1x04 The Lost Warrior
Apollo is marooned on a Western Frontier-like planet, where he meets a woman and her son ... and a damaged Cylon, known as Red Eye, who has become a notorious gunslinger.
Directing: Rod Holcomb · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario, Donald P. Bellisario, Herman Groves · Starring: Katherine Cannon, Johnny Timko, Claude Earl Jones, Red West
1x05 The Long Patrol
Starbuck is assigned to test a new ultra-fast, but unarmed, Viper with a talking computer named CORA; but when he meets a bootlegger, who steals the Viper, Starbuck finds himself arrested by the Galactic Police of a prison planet.
Directing: Christian I. Nyby II · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario · Starring: James Whitmore Jr., Ted Gehring, Sean McClory, Arlene Martel
1x06 The Gun on Ice Planet Zero (1)
Baltar attempts to lure Galactica into range of a gigantic pulsar cannon. Adama becomes aware of the trap and sends in a team of commandos to destroy it.
Directing: Alan J. Levi · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario, Donald P. Bellisario, Glen A. Larson · Starring: Jeff MacKay, Larry Cedar, Alex Hyde-White, Richard Milholland
1x07 The Gun on Ice Planet Zero (2)
Apollo and Starbuck lead a group of convicts on a possible suicide mission to destroy the cannon, which is located on an icy planet.
Directing: Alan J. Levi · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario, Donald P. Bellisario, Glen A. Larson · Starring: Dan O'Herlihy, Larry Manetti, Christine Belford, Denny Miller
1x08 The Magnificent Warriors
When a Cylon attack destroys most of the fleet's food supply, the Galactica must trade equipment for grain on a rural planet plagued by the Borays, a group of pig-like marauders.
Directing: Christian I. Nyby II · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Barry Nelson, Brett Somers, Dennis Fimple, Eric Server
1x09 The Young Lords
Starbuck crashes on the planet Trillion, where the Cylons have destroyed all the humans except for a band of children, who have become warriors to save their enslaved father.
Directing: Donald P. Bellisario · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario, Paul Playdon, Frank Lupo · Starring: Jonathan B. Woodward, Charles Bloom, Bruce Glover, Audrey Landers
1x10 The Living Legend (1)
While on patrol, Apollo and Starbuck encounter the supposedly lost Battlestar Pegasus, commanded by the living legend, Commander Cain.
Directing: Vince Edwards · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Junero Jennings, Lloyd Bridges, Rod Haase, Jack Stauffer
1x11 The Living Legend (2)
The brash Commander Cain insists that the Galactica join in on a frontal attack on the Cylons -- an attack that Adama believes would be a suicide mission.
Directing: Vince Edwards · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Lloyd Bridges, Rod Haase, Jack Stauffer, Ted Hamaguchi
1x12 Fire in Space
A Cylon kamikaze attack leaves the Galactica burning in space, with no way to extinguish the blaze that has trapped Boomer, Athena, and Boxey except a dangerous spacewalk by Apollo and Starbuck.
Directing: Christian I. Nyby II · Writing: Terrence McDonnell, Jim Carlson, Jim Carlson · Starring: William Bryant, Jeff MacKay, George Murdock, David Greenan
1x13 War of the Gods (1)
While the fleet is plagued by glowing lights that constantly fly past them too fast to be followed, Apollo, Starbuck, and Sheba find the remains of a shipwreck, with a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful being named Count Iblis, who helps them capture Baltar.
Directing: Daniel Haller · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Jack Stauffer, Ed Begley Jr., Janet Julian, Olan Soule
1x14 War of the Gods (2)
While the fleet is plagued by glowing lights that constantly fly past them too fast to be followed, Apollo, Starbuck, and Sheba find the remains of a shipwreck, with a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful being named Count Iblis, who helps them capture Baltar.
Directing: Daniel Haller · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: John Williams, Norman Stuart, Patrick Macnee, Sarah Rush
1x15 The Man with Nine Lives
An old con man known as Chameleon meets Starbuck and convinces him that he may be Starbuck's father, to gain Starbuck's help in evading a trio of bloodthirsty Borellians who are after him in revenge for another con.
Directing: Rod Holcomb · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario · Starring: Fred Astaire, Anne Jeffreys, Bruce Wright, Dan Barton
1x16 Murder on the Rising Star
When Starbuck's rival in the popular sporting event is found murders, all the evidence points to Starbuck; and Apollo is about the only person who believes in Starbuck's innocence.
Directing: Rod Holcomb · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario, Donald P. Bellisario, Terrence McDonnell · Starring: Lyman Ward, Frank Ashmore, Ben Frank, W.K. Stratton
1x17 Greetings from Earth
When Apollo and Starbuck find a primitive sleeper ship carrying a man, a woman, and four children, speculation spreads in the fleet that the people are from Earth.
Directing: Rod Holcomb · Writing: Glen A. Larson · Starring: Don Mantooth, George Murdock, John Dullaghan, Randolph Mantooth
1x18 Baltar's Escape
When Baltar plans his escape with the help of the three Borellians and the Eastern Alliance Enforcers, members of the Council of Twelve are taken hostage, and Adama must give in to the escapees' demands.
Directing: Winrich Kolbe · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario · Starring: Sarah Rush, John Dullaghan, Ron Kelly, Ina Balin
1x19 Experiment in Terra
Apollo and Starbuck follow the escaped Eastern Alliance ship back to Terra, where they help the Terrans overcome a nuclear holocaust, with the help of the race of white lights that had earlier helped them defeat Count Iblis.
Directing: Rod Holcomb · Writing: Glen A. Larson, Mark A. Payne · Starring: Melody Anderson, Peter MacLean, Edward Mulhare, Nehemiah Persoff
1x20 Take the Celestra
Starbuck runs in to his long-lost love, Aurora, who is involved with a group trying to free the passenger ship Celestra from its supposedly dictatorial captain.
Directing: Daniel Haller · Writing: Terrence McDonnell, Jim Carlson · Starring: Ana Alicia, Paul Fix, Nick Holt, Randy Stumpf
1x21 The Hand of God Season Finale
Rather than continue fleeing from their enemies, the crew of the Galactica commences an all-out attack on a Cylon base.
Directing: Donald P. Bellisario · Writing: Donald P. Bellisario · Starring: David Greenan, Anne Lockhart
Season 1 Cast
Lorne GreeneCommander Adama21 episodes
Richard HatchCapt. Apollo21 episodes
Maren JensenLt. Athena21 episodes
Herbert Jefferson Jr.Lt. Boomer21 episodes
Terry CarterColonel Tigh21 episodes
Noah HathawayBoxey21 episodes
Tony SwartzFlight Sargeant Jolly21 episodes
John ColicosCount Baltar21 episodes
Laurette SpangCassiopeia21 episodes
Felix SillaLucifer (uncredited)9 episodes
Ed Begley Jr.Ensign Greenbean5 episodes
Patrick MacneeCount Iblis5 episodes
John DullaghanDr. Wilker5 episodes
Bruce WrightGuard4 episodes
Jeff MacKayCrewman3 episodes
Jack StaufferLieutenant Bojay3 episodesWhere to Watch Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica
It is currently not available on the major streaming platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes are in season 1 of Battlestar Galactica?
Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica has 21 episodes.
When Did Battlestar Galactica Season 1 Premiere?
Premiered on September 17, 1978.
Where to Watch Battlestar Galactica Season 1?
Currently not available on the major subscription platforms (availability may vary by country).
What is the best episode of Season 1?
According to the TMDB audience score, episode 1x10, "The Living Legend (1)", with a 7.9.