Movies - TV
A Brilliant Piece Of Improv Produced Battlestar Galactica's Signature Line
By JENNA BUSCH
Commanding officer William Adama’s line, "So say we all,” is a timeless part of the reimagined “Battlestar Galactica.” While the line has become iconic, Edward James Olmos actually did some improvising the first time that the line was used.
It was the very first day of filming, and while the characters were mourning the loss of loved ones and their homes, the actors were feeling the very real tragedy of 9/11. Olmos could tell that everyone was depressed, and even though the group hadn’t rehearsed yet, he decided to change his blocking and go off-script to deliver the line that would come to define the series.
Olmos explained how he "walked around the dead bodies, and I came up to the front [...] and just said, you know, 'We will find Earth, I promise you we will find Earth. So say we all.'" Creator Ronald D. Moore further explained that when the actors didn’t seem to respond to Olmos at first, "he said it again [...and] they all kind of glance at each other and go, 'So say we all.' And then he insists. He says it louder and he just pushed them and pushed."
While Moore had written “So say we all” as one line in the script, he gave kudos to Olmos for coming up with what would become the “signature line in the series after that.” Olmos described the scene as something that “would become a very, very strong single moment of hope,” and said that the cast and crew all knew from that point on that the show would be something special.