Battlestar Galactica and Mormon Prophesy

I've heard about this for ages on the web. Just how close are the allegories?

I'm from Europe, so really didn't meet anyone from the LDS until I moved to North America - and you couldn't wish to meet nicer people. Didn't really want to ask them about how their beliefs matched up with my TV viewing habits.

If anyone could enlighten me I'd be most grateful.

TD

you want to refer to - The Original - which had little relegious content or Ron D Moores new take on the story. The Idea of the Twelve certainly had a reigious context in the original - but given todays climate I think Dune could be a better starting point. Im kind of uncomfortable at times with the new version - anything moving in the way of Religios conflict for me has a raw edge and i think no place in mainstream Sci-Fi.

I've never watched Battlestar Galactica, but I am a Mormon. I did a quick look on Google, and found that the creator of BG, Glen Larson, is a Mormon, so it's likely he has been influenced by his religion, consciously or unconsciously, in making this TV show.

Since season 2 the new BG has been a really great show. Season 1 was good too but starting at season 2 it just gets incredible. I am not really a big fan of sci-fi and I thought the original BG was a cheesy rip off of Star Wars. I would recommend the new series to anyone who likes good drama. I can't really answer too much because I don't know enough about mormons or mormon prophesy.

The comparisons aren't accidental. The writer (and Executive Producer of the original Series) Glen A. Larson is LDS. The Planet Kobol plays a lot in Mormon docrine, as does the Council Of The Twelve. But above and beyond that, there's a lot more. Check out these websites:

www.michaellorenzen.com...

www.proaxis.com...

There are many similiarities that have already been pointed out such as the fact that Kobol is similiar to Kolob(Home of God believed by Mormons). There are other similiarities, though.

1. Quorum of the Twelve(This is the ruling body in the old BSG show, and also hapens to be the ruling body in the Mormon church under the prophet and his two counselors).

2. Sealed(In one episode apollo and Serena were "sealed", or married. They were married for all time in this sealing ceremony in the show. It just so happens that Mormons are sealed "for time and all eternity" to each other in the temple).

3. Lost tribe(We are considered the lost tribe of Israel).


Glen Larson is a member of the Mormon church. He has inserted many of his beliefs into the old show, but the new show is devoid of any of these ideas, except the Quorum of the Twelve.

Thanks very much for the links - very interesting!

I agree, the 'new' Galactica is brilliant - better than B5, in my opinion. It's one of the few TV shows I watch from North America.

So was this originally planned as a bit of 'subliminal proselytising' by Glen A Larson, or did he just something that made a 'good story'?

TD

The old BSG was VERY religious, so far as Adama being the religious leader of his people.

The new series hs more Hindu spirituality and new age spirituality than '___'. the whole "It has all happened before, and it will all happen again.." motif of the Cylon belief system.


In truth, the new series is waaay more political than religious.

I had no idea how much doctorine there was in the series (80's and '05) - a real eye opener for me. Thanks Taupe for the heads up on this. Having read a number of other series - PF Hamilton and Dune as well as Asimovs Foundation and of course B5 its amazing how much religious allegory cam be built into a Sci Fi premise (tears up his own screen play and starts again LOL)

Yes, Babylon 5 was very Catholic, I thought. Although maybe I was just unconciously assuming JMS' surname was Polish!

Babylon 5 is Catholic.

You must of missed the "all religions have a single trust." episode.

www.infinicorp.com...

Two things I remember from BattlestarGalactica. Ship of lights(angels), and the dumb Robot "bear". Well I thought the cylons were talking toasters. But What do you expect from a 5 year old.

Oddly enough, the original BG first aired in 1978, the same year God changed his mind and said African blacks could be priests in the Mormon church.

My favorite old BG was the ol' Red Eye episode where a cylon crashes and is renamed by its finder, Red Eye. It had kind of a western feel to it. Does anyone remember the one about the two opposing sides wanting to have an all out war against each other? Apollo comes as a visitor to these people and the Battleship ends up shielding the planet from the one sides (alliance) already cruising missiles. Politically, that episode is still scarily relevant today.

I didn't know about the mormon link, thanks.

Just like the wrath of kahn was a retelling of moby dick, the original battlestar was a star wars version of some mormon ideas.

not to say it was a religious program, it just borrowed many motifs of its creators religion. I think wikipedia has a Mormon to Bg comparison. But narnia had many new testament motifs, star wars had many eastern mystic motif's, samurai and western stories are often very similiar as well. good stories are good stories no matter where they come from.