Battlestar Galactica Stars Revisit the Show's Greatest Lessons

The continued social relevance of Battlestar Galacticahas not been lost on its castmates.

Speaking to TV Guide at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, actors Michael Trucco and Tahmoh Penikett revealed their ultimate takeaways from the sci-fi series, and while they diverged on their particular disciplines of discussion, they both agree that the deeper, and sometimes darker, themes of the series still resonate with themselves and fans alike.

"The human condition is fragile. That's probably the greatest theme -- is that survival instinct is in our DNA. And when push comes to shove, we do whatever it takes to survive," Trucco said. "I found that was a fascinating theme about the show, particularly as we got into Season 3 when you realized that the humans on the show were up against this powerful machine called the Cylon -- this monotheistic, this incredibly powerful militaristic nation, and they were resorting to guerrilla tactics for survival. It shed some light onto what was happening in the world at the time."

While Trucco was most impressed with the existential messages of the series, Penikett was more stricken by the bravery of the show to go there and get away with it by creatively inserting its looming political commentaries.

"Being part of a show that was so important at the very sort of heated political and socio-economic times that we were having when this show came out in 2004, it was a learning experience, man," Pinkett explained. "Because the show was taking risks, and part of the reason the show got away with that, it was creating that discourse that was happening is because we did it in the context of sci-fi. So, a lot of people were ignoring it. They weren't paying attention. But the smart ones were -- they were like, look, parallels are obvious. These are the subjects they're touching on. This is what the show is about. It set a new precedent. I think it set the bar and raised it high, and I think anybody can take a lot from that in life. As a person, as an individual, as a show ... [it] set the bar high. Aim for something."

Revisit some of Battlestar Galactica's best lessons by watching the entire series on Hulu now.