Battlestar Galactica

Parallels include:. Ranking members of the Catholic Church traditionally wear rings set with a large amethyst as part of their office. Original series producer Glen Larson is a member of this church. It is a symbol of heavenly understanding, and of the pioneer in thought and action on the philosophical, religious, spiritual and material planes. Less apparent are references to the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (more commonly known as the Mormon church). It is also associated with the constellations of Pisces, Aries (especially the violet and purple variety), Aquarius, and Sagittarius. If the universe began then, the 21st century would have marked the seventh millennium. Amethyst is the birthstone associated with February.

In the 1978 pilot episode, the president of the Colonies referenced that they were "approaching the seventh millennium of time." Some Bible scholars assert the seven days of creation described in the Book of Genesis occurred in the fourth millennium B.C. Even high-quality examples are often sold in large unfinished slabs, or as geodes, in everyday locations. He tries to convince members of the colonial fleet to follow him, as demons do in Christianity and Islam. Traditionally included in the cardinal, or most valuable, gemstones (along with diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald), amethyst has lost much of its substantial value due to the discovery of extensive deposits in locations such as Brazil. The character Count Iblis in the 1978 series was inspired by the demon Iblis in Islamic mythology. Amethyst is relatively common in northwestern Ontario, but uncommon elsewhere in Canada; it was selected as the provincial mineral of Ontario in 1975. The word "Adama" in Hebrew means "Earth.". It is found also in the Lake Superior district.

Several of the characters in the series have names corresponding to significant characters in Greek mythology, including Apollo and Cassiopeia. Among these may be mentioned Amethyst Mountain, Texas; Yellowstone National Park; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Haywood County, North Carolina; and Deer Hill, and Stow, Maine. The twelve colonies are named after the astrological signs of the Greek zodiac; for example, Scorpia (Scorpio), Caprica (Capricornus), and Aquaria (Aquarius). Amethyst occurs at many localities in the United States, but these specimens are rarely fine enough for use in jewelry. A Battlestar Galactica video game has been published on the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox platforms. It should be noted that most professional gemological associations such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the American Gemological Society (AGS) discourage the use of the term "Oriental amethyst" to describe any gem as it may be misleading. Marvel Comics published a short-lived comic book series based upon the show between 1978 and 1981. Purple corundum, or sapphire of amethystine tint, is called Oriental amethyst, but this expression is often applied by jewellers to fine examples of the ordinary amethystine quartz, even when not derived from eastern sources.

In the 1990s, original series star Richard Hatch co-wrote several new novels based upon the series as part of his efforts to spark a revival. In more recent times, certain gems (usually of Bolivian origin) that have shown alternate bands of amethyst purple with citrine orange have been given the name ametrine. A number of Battlestar novels based upon the series have been published over the years, including a mixture of novelizations based upon televised episodes (including the pilot episodes of both the original series and Galactica 1980) and original stories. The most prized color is an intense violet with red flashes and is called "Siberian", although gems of this color may occur from several locations other than Siberia, notably Uruguay and Zambia. As of January 2006, the second half of the second season began broadcasting in the United States, while the full season premiere ('Scattered') aired on Sky One in the UK on 10th January 2006. "Rose de France" is usually a pale pinkish lavender or lilac shade (usually the least sought color). The sampler strategy was similar to past efforts at NBC to assist other cable siblings' shows, such as a counter-programming block of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy opposite the Super Bowl airing on a competing broadcast network. Due to its popularity as a gemstone, several descriptive terms have been coined in the gem trade to describe the varying colors of amethyst.

NBC additionally aired three selected first season episodes as a sampler to entice new American viewers in advance of the second season premiere in July 2005. Many localities in India yield amethyst; and it is found also in Sri Lanka, chiefly as pebbles. Sci Fi Channel — on January 9, 2005, five days before the American debut of the series. Much fine amethyst comes from Russia, especially from near Mursinka in the Ekaterinburg district, where it occurs in drusy cavities in granitic rocks. A highly edited version of the miniseries aired on NBC — a corporate sibling of the U.S. Many of the hollow agates of Brazil and Uruguay contain a crop of amethyst crystals in the interior. Featuring critically acclaimed, veteran actors in Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, the new series began in earnest in October 2004 in the UK, and January 2005 in North America. A huge geode, or "amethyst-grotto", from near Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was exhibited at the Düsseldorf Exhibition of 1902.

This miniseries was so successful that Sci-Fi opted to develop this new, reimagined version of Galactica into a television series. Such crystals occur either in the cavities of mineral-veins and in granitic rocks, or as a lining in agate geodes. In December 2003, the American Sci Fi channel broadcast a four-hour miniseries that reimagined Battlestar Galactica. It is a widely distributed mineral, but fine, clear specimens that are suitable for cutting as ornamental stones are confined to comparatively few localities. A weekly new Galactica series on Sci-Fi followed in January 2005. Beads of amethyst are found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England. Edward James Olmos stepped into the role of Commander Adama. Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity for intaglios.

Moore as the creative force behind it. Some mineralogists, following Sir David Brewster, apply the name of amethyst to all quartz which exhibits this structure, regardless of color. Despite attempts to revive the series over the years, none came to fruition until it was reimagined in 2003 by the Sci-Fi Channel with Ronald D. As a consequence of this composite formation, amethyst is apt to break with a rippled fracture, or to show "thumb markings", and the intersection of two sets of curved ripples may produce on the fractured surface a pattern something like that of "engine turning". This video, titled "Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming," was displayed at science fiction conventions but did not lead to a new series. It has been shown that this structure may be due to mechanical stresses. Hatch even went so far as to produce a demonstration video in the mid-1990s which featured several actors from the original series combined with state-of-the-art special effects. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz.

The original series maintained a cult fandom, which has supported efforts by Glen Larson and Richard Hatch (independent of each other) to revive the premise. Veins of amethystine quartz are apt to lose their color on the exposed outcrop. Some syndication packages for Battlestar Galactica incorporate the episodes of this series. On exposure to heat, amethyst generally becomes yellow, and much of the citrine, cairngorm, or yellow quartz of jewelry is said to be merely "burnt amethyst". The show also included obviously recycled space battle sequences from the original program, to the great dismay of fans. As of 2005, impurity atoms are known to be responsible of the colour of the amethyst. This series was a quick failure due to its low budget, widely-panned writing, and ill-placed time slot (Sundays at 7:00 PM, a time slot generally reserved for family-oriented programming and, more specifically, 60 Minutes). Ferric thiocyanate was suggested, and sulfur was said to have been detected in the mineral.

In this 1980 sequel series, the fleet finds Earth and covertly protects it from the Cylons. However, since it is capable of being greatly altered and even discharged by heat, the color was believed by some authorities to be from an organic source. Despite the early success of the premiere, the weekly series failed to deliver and Galactica 1980 was unceremoniously cancelled after only ten episodes. In the 20th century, the color of amethyst was attributed to the presence of manganese. Again, it was decided this new version of Galactica would be made into a weekly series. However, the word may probably be a corruption of an Oriental name for the stone. A new television movie entitled Galactica 1980 was rushed into production. It was held that wine drunk out of a cup of amethyst would not intoxicate.

A suitable concept would be needed to draw viewers, and it was decided that the arrival of the Colonial Fleet at contemporary Earth would be the storyline. The name is generally said to be derived from the Greek a, "not," and methuskein, "to intoxicate," expressing the old belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. Larson to consider a relaunch of the series. Amethyst (SiO₂) is a violet or purple variety of quartz often used as an ornament. During the autumn of 1979, ABC executives met with Galactica's creator Glen A. Citing declining ratings and cost overruns, ABC cancelled Battlestar Galactica in April, its last episode "The Hand of God" premiering on April 29, 1979.

During the eight months after the three-hour pilot episode aired, 17 original episodes of the series were aired (five of them two-parters), totaling 25 hours of broadcasting. It was first broadcast on ABC on September 17, 1978. Opening on July 7, 1978, the theatrical release did quite well given modest expectations. To defray costs, the pilot was recut as a theatrical release which played in Canada, Europe and Japan.

The three-hour-long pilot episode starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. The three-hour pilot was released in theaters, and instead of two additional movies, a weekly television series followed. Initially, Battlestar Galactica was envisioned by Larson as a series of made-for-TV movies (a three-hour pilot and two two-hour episodes) for the ABC television network. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in 1980.

Universal promptly countersued, claiming Star Wars had stolen ideas from the 1972 film Silent Running (notably the robot "drones") and the Buck Rogers serials of the 1940s. In fact, 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios (the studio behind Battlestar Galactica) for plagiarism, claiming that it had stolen 34 distinct ideas from Star Wars. Battlestar Galactica was finally produced in the wake of the success of the 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Larson, the Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica, has stated in interviews that he originally conceived of the Galactica premise in the late 1960's, which he originally called Adam's Ark. However, he was unable to get the project greenlit for many years.

Glen A. . The title is sometimes formatted with a colon as Battlestar: Galactica, but it is more commonly seen without. Under the leadership of the famed military leader Commander Adama, the Battlestar Galactica and her crew take up the task of leading the "ragtag fleet" of survivors into space in search of a fabled refuge known as Earth.

Of all the Colonial Fleet, the Battlestar Galactica appears to be the only ship which survived the attack. The last few thousands of human survivors flee into space aboard any spacecraft they can reach. The Colonies have long been at peace with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons, but with the cooperation of a human collaborator named Baltar, the Cylons launch a sudden, coordinated, and unprovoked attack on the Colonies, laying waste to the planets and devastating their populations. In a distant part of the galaxy, there exists a civilization of humans who live on planets known as the Twelve Colonies.

All of the Battlestar Galactica productions share the same general premise. There are also a series of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, and video games that have been based on the concept. Battlestar Galactica is a franchise of American science fiction films and television series, the first of which was produced in 1978. In Mormon theology, the star closest to the Throne of God is called Kolob.

The system which is believed to be the original home of the human race is Kobol. The beings on the Ship of Light say, "as you are, we once were; as we are, you may one day be", a parallel to the Mormon belief that even God was once a human being. Marriages in the Battlestar Galactica mythos as well as in the Mormon religion are sealed for eternity. A president who is assisted by two counselors and a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles preside over the Mormon Church.

A Council of Twelve, headed by a president, governs the colonies. In The Book of Mormon is the teaching that during the reign of king Zedekiah (about 600 BC), two separate groups left Jerusalem and ended up in the Americas; a remnant (or 'thirteenth tribe') of the twelve tribes of Israel. Therefore, when Moses led them from Egypt back to their promised land, they are divided into thirteen tribes for purposes of inheritance. As Israel's favorite son, Joseph received a double inheritance.

In the Old Testament, Israel had twelve sons. But there are some parallels that may have inspired this 'Thirteenth Tribe' idea: