Sci Fi Icons #13--Original Cylons

The original cylons continue with the theme established by HAL 9000 of artificial intelligence created by biological life forms getting out of hand. Unfortunately, the reptilian race, also called Cylons, that built these monstrosities were not as fortunate as Dave Bowman in stopping their creation. The reptilian cylons died out centuries ago, leaving behind only these Cylons to pursue an agenda of conquest.

When the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series began, Cylons had been at war with the human Twelve Colonies for a thousand years. They were singularly dedicated to wiping out humanity after they intervened on behalf of the Hasaries, a race subsequently wiped out by the Cylons before turning their attention to their new human enemies.

Battlestar Galactica was too short lived to develop the Cylon Empire too develop Indeed, they rarely make an appearance after the first half of the season. How their xenophobic philosophy allows for an alliance with the carnivorous Ovions is a never clear. Cylon society beyond the military is largely unknown. Their history with count Iblis can only be guessed. Whether there was any sort of plan to explore these matters is not very clear, either.

But the unanswered question matter little in the grand scheme of things. Cylons are a vital part of ’70’s science fiction based largely on their metallic look, distinctive voices, and that sliding red eye. One of the best moments in the re-imagined series from the ’00’s was seeing the class version back in action. I am mercifully excluding all Original Cylon appearances in Galactica: 1980 and Caprica for the sake of fan sanity.