The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
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 works 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 are tasked with leading a ragtag fugitive fleet containing the remaining human survivors to the mythical thirteenth colony known as Earth.
Aired: 1978-79, ABC, 1 Season Totaling 24 Episodes
Starring: Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, John Colicos, Maren Jensen, Laurette Spang, Terry Carter, Anne Lockhart
Created By: Glen A. Larson
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
The original Battlestar: Galactica rode the Star Wars wave of popularity to television and delivered an epic space opera with state-of-the-art special effects and an expansive cast of characters. It was designed at first as a mini-series with a three-part episode and two two-part episodes, and the plan was to continue with mini-series and/or movies after that. But ABC decided to take it straight to series, which impacted the quality of the writing after the initial installments were completed. Still, the show eventually found its stride and delivered some good stories along with some notable universe-building.
But most important to BSG was its cast. Led by TV veteran Lorne Greene, he brought a sense of familiarity with him while successfully transitioning from his Western days on Bonanza to prove he could be a strong lead character in a sci-fi series. Then there was Richard Hatch as the more serious and dedicated Apollo, along with Dirk Benedict as the laid-back, devil-may-care Starbuck, and the two had a great friendship despite their polarizing traits. Most of the main characters managed to shine as well—including the women, who were given more than just subservient roles. In addition, John Colicos chewed up the scenery as the villainous Baltar, and Lost in Space veteran Jonathan Harris voiced the Cylon Lucifer during the early part of the series.
Battlestar: Galactica had its ups and downs, but it was a grand space opera for television that people didn’t know they wanted until Star Wars hit the big screen, and it delivered an epic unlike anything we had previously seen on TV. Sure, they reused SFX scenes ad infinitum, and several episodes were derivative or downright bad (I’m looking at you, “Fire in Space”), but the show more often than not delivered solid entertainment for the whole family, and it was setting up a universe with the potential to carry the series for many seasons. Sadly, it was cut short by ABC, and the ersatz Galactica: 1980 (which disappeared quickly) did nothing to satisfy fans of the original show nor resolve any storylines. While BSG only got one season, it was a heck of a season and stood out for its accomplishments—certainly earning a place among the great sci-fi TV shows of all time. (You can read more about the original Battlestar Galactica at this link.)
Argument Against:
In the lead-up to Battlestar: Galactica’s arrival on television, it sure looked like a big deal to sci-fi fans—promising to deliver a Star Wars-style epic on the small screen. But then it premiered, and expectations were shattered for many viewers. The basic premise—humans on the run from the robotic Cylons who deceived them—was solid, but the three-part opener stretched out too long and turned into a rather muddled affair. Some decent episodes followed, but the show was mostly hit-or-miss throughout its run, with derivative, hackneyed scripts that failed to live up to the grand epic BSG promised. That was in part because ABC pushed for the show to go weekly far too soon, leaving the creative team scrambling for scripts. If BSG had continued into a second season, perhaps it could have corrected that and hit its stride. But we only got the one year(in its original format), and it was just not that good. It had plenty of copy-and-paste dialogue, loads of melodrama, a fair amount of camp, and it veered into science fantasy more often than science fiction. And there were far too many cute kids running around.
The cast was good, but Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict got most of the screen exposure, as the producers failed to make this into the ensemble show it could have been. By the end of the first season, BSG was starting to show some promise of unlocking its potential, but it was cut short by ABC after CBS counter-programmed All in the Family in the same slot (more on that at this link). So perhaps this one could have turned into an all-time great (and we never would have had to experience the godawful Galactica: 1980), but as it stands, BSG falls short when compared to the upper echelon of sci-fi TV—particularly its 21st-century reboot (more on that here).
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I remember being so excited about the arrival of Battlestar: Galactica on ABC (yes, I’m old enough that I watched it live as the episodes came out). I had read about it in Starlog (more about that magazine over at Cult-SciFi.com), and the fanzine circuit (the early print version of sci-fi social media) was all abuzz about the show. And when the first episode aired in a three-hour block, I certainly enjoyed it—but I wasn’t blown away like I was with Star Wars. That may have been a bit much to expect, but the TV series didn’t quite get to where I hoped it would. Still, I continued to watch it and mostly enjoyed it, though it did have some really bad episodes like “Fire in Space,” where Boxy’s robot dog saved the day.
I kept watching because there wasn’t much sci-fi on television at the time, and the show did start delivering some decent episodes again. But it never quite got to the point where I thought it was a great series. (I actually remember enjoying the quirky mid-season replacement Salvage I much more—you can read about that one at this link.) The original BSG could be fun at times, and it was a notable genre entry for its day. But ultimately, it finds itself pretty far down the list when ranking the best of sci-fi and fantasy television.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series (including the Galactica: 1980 episodes) has been released on DVD and on Blu-ray. It is also available to purchase VOD, but it is not on any of the major streaming services at the moment.
Do you consider the original Battlestar: Galactica to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy shows of all time or is it more of a camp classic from a past era? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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