all of the "battlestar galactica" series have the same basic setting. in a far away part of the universe, a civilization of humans live on planets known as the "twelve colonies". in the past, the colonies were at war with a cybernetic race known as the cylons. with the help of a human named gaius baltar, the cylons attacked on the colonies. this surprise attack caused much damage to the planets where the humans lived and killed most of their populations. a few thousand of humans did not die in the attacks. they fled into space aboard any spacecraft they could. of all the colonial fleet, the battlestar "galactica" appears to be the only military ship that was not destroyed in the attack. under the leadership of military leader commander adama, the battlestar "galactica" and its crew lead and protect the fleet of survivors into space in search of a fabled thirteenth colony and its home planet, earth.