I also watch Battlestar Galactica. I find I much prefer the new series to the old, although there is still too much religion in it for my taste. Chris loves the new series, but there will always be a special place in his heart for the old series since he watched it religiously as a kid. Luck for him he was not raised Mormon so all the covert and not so covert references didn’t hit him.

http://www.michaellorenzen.com/galactica.html

Here is a quote from the site that applies mainly to the current series.

There are many parallels between the story of Battlestar Galactica and Mormon teachings. The Book of Mormon tells the story of how the Prophet Lehi took the remnant of the Tribe of Joseph to ancient America around the year 600 BC. In Battlestar Galactica, mankind founded twelve different colonies. In addition, mankind also founded a thirteenth colony on Earth that was lost from the other twelve. In the same way that The Book of Mormon has a Tribe of Israel lost on another continent beyond the knowledge of the other tribes, Battlestar Galactica has a lost colony of man separate from the main body of humanity. The lost Tribe of Israel is central to The Book of Mormon in the same way that the lost colony of Earth is central to Battlestar Galactica.

In the Battlestar Galactica episode originally aired on the 24th of September and 1st of October 1978 titled “Lost Planet of the Gods”, the home world of all humanity is revealed to be the planet Kobol. This name is strikingly similar to the star Kolob which is discussed in Mormon theology. In The Pearl of Great Price, The Book of Abraham Chapter Three, Kolob is described as the star “nearest onto the Throne of God.” Interestingly, the ship on which armistice talks between the colonies and the Cylons took place was the “Star Kobol” as revealed in the premier episode which aired on 17th September 1978.

Another similarity between Mormonism and Battlestar Galactica is in the political structure of the ruling bodies of each. The Mormon Church is run by a Quorum of the Twelve which is headed by a president. In Battlestar Galactica, the colonies are ruled by a Council of Twelve which is also headed by a president (Ford 84).

You can go to the site and read the entire article if you’re really interested. The original series was LACED with Mormon doctrine. In fact, it’s like a sci-fi version of the entirety of it. There is much, much less in the current one.

As for the furry dog, from what I can tell, he got left behind when they remade the show!

There is a preacher (termed ‘Shepherd”) on the show - and the Captain nearly forbade his becoming a passenger on their ship because of it. About half of the characters ignore his role as a holy man. The others, at best, take a curious shine to what he’s all about.
When the Shepherd asked if he could say grace over dinner - the captain said “As long as you don’t say it out loud”.

I’m hoping that there isn’t the horrible cliché conversion of the captain in the movie that came out after the series cancellation (also hoping it didn’t happen on one of the 4 unaired episodes). All signs point to the Shepherd having been a high ranking military official in his mysterious past - - he’s a very likable and good character (I’m only commenting because of the subject of religious characters portrayed as superior to non religious ones on tv, and sci-fi in particular).
Firefly is a seriously great show - it was canceled because people didn’t give it a chance. Anyone who has seen 2 or 3 episodes is hooked. Allison and I are loving it (we are watching the dvd collection in pieces).

Star Trek is the oft-sited example of how a secular utopia the future could be. Even though they resort to the occasional supernatural story line.

Now you HAVE to inform us - what are the Mormon codes in Battlestar!? Was it that furry robot dog :)?