After a thousand years of war against the twelve tribes of humans, the Cylons, a machine race, propose peace. However, they use the event of the signing of the peace treaty as an opportunity to attack the humans' twelve battlestars and twelve home planets, almost totally destroying the human race. One battlestar, Galactica, survives, however, and leads a rag-tag fleet of ships carrying the survivors of the Cylon attacks. Commander Adama, Galactica's captain, leads the humans in search of a legendary 13th lost colony of humans living on a planet called Earth. As they flee the Cylons, the human fleet are defended by Colonel Tigh, Captain Apollo, Lt. Starbuck, Sargeant Boomer, and Lt. Athena. Also aboard the battlestar are Apollo's adopted son "Boxey" and Cassiopea, a former sociolator who becomes a trained medical technician. Among the Cylon's leaders is Baltar, a human who betrayed the humans to the Cylons for his own personal gain.

This is the BSG version of the international icon for Radition. It follows the "clipped corner" style seen throughout the new series, being different yet easily recognizable for what it is intended to represent.