1978’s Battlestar: Galactica tried to deliver a Star Wars-style epic on television, but its network proved unwilling to support the show.
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What Is It?
After the robotic Cylons launch a surprise attack against the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, most of humanity is wiped out with the few survivors forced to go on the run from their attackers. They assemble a ragtag fleet, and the Battlestar: Galactica–the last remaining warship–leads the last remaining humans away from its devastated homeworlds. Their one hope is to find the mythical lost thirteenth colony, a shining star known as Earth.
Aired: BSG – ABC, 1978-79, 1 Season Totaling 24 Episodes, Galactica: 1980 – ABC, 1980, 1 Season Totaling 10 Episodes
Created By: Glen A. Larson
Starring: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Maren Jensen, Laurette Spang, John Colicos
Why Was It Cancelled?
Battlestar: Galactica rode the wave of Star Wars popularity to television (allegedly based on a script creator Glen A Larson penned years back, though definitely heavily influenced by the George Lucas movie), but only lasted one season in its original form. Part of the problem was that ABC changed their minds on the direction of the show early on. It was originally intended as a seven-hour mini-series that would have aired in three parts and that could have continued into an ongoing series if the ratings were good. The network decided to immediately push forward with the series, though, whereas Larson had hoped to have a season to plan it out after the mini-series had aired. That led to scrambling on the production side and thus the reason for some of the ersatz episodes the show delivered through its first year.
And while Battlestar: Galactica debuted to strong viewership, CBS counter-programmed and moved ratings juggernaut All in the Family against it which caused viewership to drop. BSG still finished the season with decent ratings, but considering it was the most expensive show on television up to that time, ABC decided that decent was not good enough. There was also an ongoing lawsuit between FOX and Universal claiming BSG stole from Star Wars, so that likely didn’t help the show’s cause. Allegedly, before the cancellation came, there had been talks of a second season that would have delivered some changes to the show. In an attempt to appeal more heavily to the female audience, several of the women characters would have become more prominent on the show. Also, several other regular characters would have been dropped (the good exclusion being the annoying robot dog Muffit) and others were going to move in different directions, particularly leads Apollo and Starbuck.
But instead of going that route, ABC decided to just cancel the show outright. Of course, the network had a change of heart and talked with Larson about writing a two-hour movie in which the Galactica makes it to Earth. It’s not quite clear if that was to be a series finale or an attempt to keep the show going, but it eventually morphed into the much-maligned Galactica: 1980 spin-off series. That show had the colonists arriving at Earth several decades after the end of BSG‘s first season but deciding not to make immediate contact because the Terran technology was not sufficient to ward off an attack from the Cylons. Many of the characters from the original show had been dropped and the new series was designed to be more kid friendly. The revamped version was not well received and it disappeared from the air after ten episodes (though one of those did bring back Dirk Benedict to reveal the fate of Starbuck).
Was It Cancelled Too Soon?
Ultimately, whether you considered the original Battlestar: Galactica to have been cancelled too soon depends on how you feel about the 2003 reboot. If the 1978’s BSG had gone for multiple seasons, it is possible that The Sci Fi Channel never would have revived the property. If the original had produced three-to-four seasons (or more) and then had a successful syndication run, it may have worked its way into counting as a classic sci fi TV series (some argue it has already achieved that). For a revival, it might have gone The Next Generation route, but the darker reboot might never have happened if the original show had a longer run. And since the 2003 series is now considered a classic (many count it in the Top 10 greatest sci fi TV shows), that certainly seems like a major loss. So perhaps the short-sighted decision-making by ABC in the late ’70s was ultimately for the best.
Should It Be Rebooted? (Again)
The first attempt to bring back Battlestar: Galactica was championed by Richard Hatch in the late nineties, and he even funded a proof-of-concept trailer that he showed at several conventions. That never went forward, but it is interesting to consider the potential it represented (you can read more about it at this link). The 2003 reboot that aired on The Sci Fi Channel delivered a darker take on the concept, and has since been hailed as a classic. The prequel series Caprica and the Blood and Chrome pilot followed from that, but both were cut short.
Another reboot is currently in the works at Peacock, and it is unclear what direction that will take. Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail is guiding that and it will allegedly take place in the same universe as the 2003 series. If so, perhaps that could work, but another complete reboot of the property would not be welcome. There were also talks of a big screen version of the property that would follow a completely new direction, but it appears to be stalled and that may be for the best.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD, and you can also buy it VOD. It is not currently streaming on any of the major services, but you can track down episodes on YouTube from time to time. I also highly recommend that fans of the original series check out By Your Command Vol 1: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Battlestar Galactica Original Series (the source of much of the information above on the original series). It contains detailed synopses and analyses of all the episodes from BSG and Galactica: 1980 plus a look at unproduced scripts and behind-the-scenes information.
Read about more Sci Fi TV shows cancelled too soon at this link.
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