Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV Series) - Narrations and Theme Music

Narrations and Theme Music

The show begins with a narration, spoken by Patrick Macnee:

There are those who believe...that life here began out there, far across the Universe...with tribes of humans...who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians...or the Toltecs...or the Mayans...that they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids...or the lost civilizations of Lemuria...or Atlantis.
Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man...who even now fight to survive--somewhere beyond the heavens! (The theatrical version of the pilot ends with "far, far away amongst the stars.")

The short version of the narration, also spoken by Macnee:

There are those who believe...that life here began out there, far across the Universe...with tribes of humans...who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians...or the Toltecs...or the Mayans.
Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man...who even now fight to survive--somewhere beyond the heavens!

During the narration, the viewer sees scenes of nebulae and other celestial phenomena. Macnee provided the character voice of the Cylons's Imperious Leader throughout the series, and even appeared on-screen as Count Iblis in "War Of The Gods", a two-part episode which originally aired in January 1979.

This is followed by images of the Galactica, the colonial fleet, and other scenes. The Battlestar Galactica theme plays prominently, an orchestral piece with an emphasis on brass instruments. It was composed by Stu Phillips and Glen A. Larson.

The show closes with narration by Lorne Greene:

Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...a shining planet known as Earth.