Battlestar Galactica

When humanity battles the Cylons, it makes for must-see sci-fi viewing.

When a show is named after a space battleship, it's instantly worth paying attention to. And when it tracks a war between humanity and an android race known as the Cylons, it isn't going to be short on intrigue. That's especially true when the flesh-and-blood side of the equation hail from a distant star system, and originally live across a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies — and their very survival is at stake.

That's the tale that Battlestar Galactica tells, and has in multiple shapes and forms since 1978. With no disrespect meant to the original series and its 1980 sequel, the reimagining that first hit screens in 2003 has become the version of record. The latter started as a miniseries, then served up four seasons of sci-fi drama, political battles, space-set adventures and all-round entertaining television until 2009, making stars out Katee Sackhoff and Jamie Bamber in the process.