Ronald D. Moore didn't want Battlestar Galactica to follow Star Trek in any way

When we talk about legends of the Star Trek franchise, specifically about those behind the scenes, few names hold as much weight as Ronald D. Moore. Coming up on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he became integral to the show's later success. While not the main driving force behind the creative that so many fans came to love, he was a huge part of it.

So much so that he'd help do the same for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the first two Next Generation-era films (Generations and First Contact). He was as much about Star Trek as anyone was and could be. Eventually, however, the desire for a new challenge arose and he'd get that challenge.

Thanks to the then-named Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy), Moore would go on to create and develop a remake of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. A sleeper hit in the late 1970s, the show would be canceled but given a new series dubbed Battlestar Galactica 1980. The sequel series was a shell of the former series and would also be scratched.

24 years later, however, Moore would be entrusted to pick up the reigns of the franchise and finally finish the story. He would get to test his idea in a miniseries in 2003, which was such a hit the network picked it up for a full series run in 2004. Across his four seasons with the show, they told compelling stories and made names out of the cast. It was that good.

So good in fact, that many Star Trek fans flocked to the show to watch what Moore could do with the cult classic's IP. Turns out, quite a bit. Everyone was amazed that Moore could pull it off. He modernized a beloved classic and expanded the story. While the landing on the finale didn't stick for everyone, it was a wonderfully done show and is still fondly thought of to this day.

The reason for that, however, is pretty obvious; while Moore cut his teeth on Star Trek and it'd be easy to simulate the success of that show, Moore did everything he could to make Battlestar Galactica feel entirely different than Star Trek.

Speaking to Wired (via ScreenRant) in 2010, Moore told the outlet that he went in the exact opposite direction of Star Trek all the time when he was on Battlestar Galactica.

"I'd done so much Trek, and I really wanted to have a general rule that if Trek went right, we were going to go left."

His desire to constantly keep the show away from what Star Trek fans expected, and allow it to have its own identity is why the show still holds up 20 years later. Even though the ending was flat, the franchise's uniqueness carries on and it's why it's still so beloved all these years later. If only more people would realize you don't have to do the same thing on every project. Moore proved that you can have two distinct eras of your career and not have to lean on one to make the other shine.