Retro Sci Fi TV: A look at shows from the past that may not have stood the test of time and/or that are relegated to their era, but many of us still have fond memories of them.
What Is It? In a distant part of the galaxy, the Twelve Colonies of Mankind have been in a thousand-year war with the robotic Cylons, though an armistice is in the work to end the hostilities. However, the Cylons launch a sneak attack, wiping out most of the humans in the colonies. The lone warship Battlestar: Galactica survives and its commander and crew is tasked with leading a rag-tag fugitive fleet containing the remaining human survivors to the mythical thirteenth colony known as Earth.
Aired: 1978-80, ABC, 2 Seasons (Including Galactica: 1980) Totaling 34 Episodes
Starring: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, John Colicos, Maren Jensen
Created By: Glen A. Larson
Is It Must Watch Sci Fi? Maybe. It was an important sci fi series for its time and led to the 2003 reboot which counts as a classic. At least the first dozen episodes or so are worth a look.
The Skinny: This series rode the wave of Star Wars popularity to television, arriving the year after the George Lucas film bowed in the theaters. Glen A. Larson had apparently been working on the concept for a while, and the sudden rejuvinated interest in science fiction led to ABC giving BSG the greenlight. When the show debuted, it definitely delivered a sci fi epic unlike anything seen on television before that time. Like Star Wars, the show had an expansive mythology and a cast of likeable characters, and it also appealed to a wider audience than that represented by the usual science fiction niche. And early in its run it proved a hit and certainly seemed poised for a long run on television. But that didn’t quite work out as the show’s audience started to fade and it disappeared from the airwaves within a year and a half.
Battlestar: Galactica had pleny of promise, but ultimately fell short of delivering the sci fi classic it could have been. While it had a rich universe that it built on during its short run, Larson lacked the vision to fully tap into its potential. As the king of schlock TV, he was more interested in delivering family friendly Prime Time fast food with cute kids and cudly robots, and the scripts started to suffer because of that. Not that it was a bad show (though it did have some terrible episodes, i.e. “Fire in Space”), it just never managed to elevate itself to the status of a great show. Perhaps if it had another season (not named Galactica: 1980, more on that below), it could have found its footing. But as it is, the show counts more as a campy and sometimes fun 70’s sci fi entry and less as the classic it possibly could have been.
Cancelled Too Soon? Yes. The ratings for the show started out strong, but began to fade by mid-season. Then CBS made a counter-programming move and switched its hit sitcoms All in the Family and Alice to the same timeslot as BSG. The ratings plummeted with the show landing in the bottom ten some weeks by season end. ABC never tried any re-scheduling moves of its own (perhaps pairing it up with hit new series Mork & Mindy), instead deciding to cancel the show after one season. Fans showed their support with a massive write-in campaign, and ABC execs decided to give BSG a second chance. But the new version, titled Galactica: 1980, gutted the original cast, had a smaller budget, and went heavy on the kid-friendly stories. It proved a flop and was yanked after ten episodes aired.
Should It Be Rebooted? No. At least not again. The 2003 dark re-imagining of the series provided the only revival of the property needs. Richard Hatch had previously pitched a revival of the series in the 90’s titled Battlestar: Galactica: The Second Coming (which wisely ignored the fact that Galactica: 1980 ever happened), but nothing ever came of that. The story from the original BSG has been continued in comics, but nothing more is really needed from this one. Note that NBC’s upcoming Peacock streaming service has a BSG show in the works, but that is a continuation of sorts of the 2003 reboot set in the same universe.
Interesting Facts: Glen A. Larson began working on a script titled “Adam’s Ark” with the assist of Star Trek veteran Gene L. Coon prior to Star Wars hitting the theaters. When it morphed into Battlestar: Galactica, it was originally intended as a mini-series that would have run across three television movies. ABC decided to pick it up as an ongoing series which led to some budget crunches that became apparent with the frequent reuse of sfx shots.
Where Can You Watch It? The entire series (including the Galactica: 1980 episodes) has been released on DVD, but it has not received the Blu-ray treatment yet. It is available for streaming for free (with ads) on NBC’s website and app, and I would expect it to join the upcoming Peack streaming service as well.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
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One small correction – the Galactica:Second Coming proposal was in fact spearheaded by Richard Hatch who also played a role in the 2003 reboot – not Dirk Benedict.
Oops, got the actors mixed up. Corrected now and thanks for the heads up.