Galactica 1980 - A Timewarp TV Retrospective

My two-part look at the original Battlestar Galactica concludes, as we discover what wacky shenanigans ensued when the ragtag fugitive fleet finally reached Earth!
/ chrisdalek
chrisdale.org
@chrisdalek

[@CarlosEmilioEsq]

1980 did nothing to kill off my love for the original series. As a kid, I simply ignored it.

[@BryonLape]

Yeah, pretty much the same here.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

@@BryonLape Classic compartmentalization..... Starbuck's return was the high point.

[@SaulOhio]

I can't see Lloyd Bridges without thinking, "I picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue."

[@kevinsmith9502]

lol i loved that seinfeld he was in"Its go time"

[@elfpimp1]

Haha, he was great at staight stick comedy.

[@thedonDunpeal]

So many great guest appearances on that show, Anyone else a fan of SciFi's Galactica?

[@MuvoTX]

Mandelbaum!! Mandelbaum!! Mandelbaum!!... one of my fave Seinfeld supporting characters.

[@RicardoPetrazzi]

lol, another great movie.....Airplane! full of gags...

[@SaturnCanuck]

For me the crush was the girl with the braids who was on the bridge and talked about launching the vipers. Super cute.

[@robertclark6349]

Rigel. She was a cutie.

[@SagaofaCrew]

f you're here than you are obviously a bit more than a just a "Major Big Box Office Franchise Only Fan of Science Fiction" in other words YOU know that the Genre was NOT invented in 1977, you have not pigeon holed your taste, and you may just be what I like to call a 'Comprehensive Science Fiction Fan' rather than a 'mainstream only' Fan! I'm glad you are! I therefore submit for your discovery an introduction to my 1984 production - correct 1984 (of this date fewer than 7000 persons have viewed it's 'Official Trailer') which like BSG, dared to have the audacity to even exist on the same planet as Big Box Office (as far as mainstream fans were concerned) Here's a recent Documentary about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWioi3Vme7Vgn8k

[@robertthomas5736]

Her Real name is Sarah Rush, "Core Systems Transfering Control, Launch All Vipers "

[@teedup8995]

She also had a nice voice too.

[@lurkerrekrul]

@Simon Leib Did they ever actually use the name RIgel on the show? I know that's how the character is listed, but I don't recall her ever being referenced by name. I had a crush on her too. :)

[@jyesucevitz]

Loved your opening line. Just because a show is dead doesn't mean the story is over. Never more true than with Firefly.

[@peterfmodel]

The return of starbuck is excellent - one of the best episodes i ever seen.

[@phillawrence5148]

The music still gives me goosebumps

[@bradthurkle7217]

Same 🙏🏻

[@geoffk777]

I was taking a college English class in "Science Fiction as Literature" when BG 1980 first aired. Of course, everyone in the class watched it, and the Professor was so incensed by it that we spent nearly a whole class discussing every cliche and thing that was wrong with it. We decided that it was an achievement in a way--none of us could have come up with anything that was so completely awful in so many different ways.

[@jmv1969]

Did you know Glen Larson actually wrote scripts for a season 2 of 1980 show? The best one was called "Wheel of Fire" where Starbuck is rescued from the planet by the ship of lights and helps Troy and Dilion on a mission.

[@JTruthseeker]

And also supposedly with a time travel of 30 years into the future to the year 1999.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

@@JTruthseeker God must really hate ABC.

[@dtz1000]

The Starbuck episode was the best episode of all of them, even if you include the first series. Some of the other episodes were dreadful. It suffered by making too many changes. The new actors were mostly bad and sidelining Adama in favour of a stupid kid was a terrible idea.

[@jnichols3]

If I remeber correctly, all the footage of with Dirk Benedict and all the scenes on planet "Starbuck" were from an unfinished BSG episode. This why it is told in flashback. This is the same thing that was done in the TOS Star Trek episode "The Menagerie" where footage from the then unaired pilot "The Cage" was recycled.

[@colinp2238]

TNG has a similar episode where Geordi is marooned with a Romulan.

[@show280]

The Starbuck episode was so good that it almost makes the whole ordeal of Galactica 1980 worthwhile.

[@RoverIAC]

I watched them when they originally aired but I missed that episode. : (

[@jupreindeer]

Last time I actively checked, this one episode was still available for viewing, here on KZbin. So, no excuses for missing out on it. Really is a good episode...even if finding a Wo-Man on this wreck of a planet sounds like a bit of a reach.

[@Bill23799]

The episode " The Return of Starbuck " on it's own nearly made Galactica 1980 worth watching.

[@martynstembridge7714]

Yup, I've always found it comforting to know that episode is at the end ... Was an amazing way to finish the whole original Galactica saga.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

@@martynstembridge7714 80's cheese - with some Cylon mold / mildew.

[@RedSiegfried]

Despite the fact that Starbuck didn't return to anything but the TV show.

[@carbondragon]

I watched the new show but never really felt it was a valid replacement. I finally realized that unlike the old Galactica's people, whom I'd welcome to Earth, I'd wish the new galactics's people would be destroyed by the cylons before they could get near Earth. I just felt they were NOT worth saving from the cylons, which unlike the old show, was actually their fault.

[@kirk1701]

The question about Adama and company eating so well while others were starving was taken care of in the movie pilot (which became the first three episodes). In said movie, Ray Milland's politician was found out to be hoarding the food and I took it as Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer and others redistributing the food to the survivors.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

That seemed so weird that the fugitives didn't stage a revolt against the upper class dipwads.

[@purefoldnz3070]

Meanwhile remember when DS9 had an episode where all the characters just played baseball for an hour?

[@user-pj9ie4bs1z]

Love ds9

[@michalwosko9571]

... and it sucked ;)

[@kirishima638]

And in the last season, at the climax of the war. It sucked hard.

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@kirishima638 Yeah exactly. Even worse than an episode when the Ferengis would dress up in drag for some reason.

[@jace3848]

Best episode of galactica 1980 was the Halloween episode with the first appearance of human looking cylons. Been 30 years and they have improved.

[@michalwosko9571]

even at 10 years old when watching, i knew the human-looking cylons were made up to cut down cost.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

@@michalwosko9571 It must've inspired the humanoid Cylons in RDM's version.

[@tete8206]

As a very young kid I liked Galactica 1980.

[@SupremeTransformer]

I was a kid at the time and loved G80. Was disappointed they didn't make more of them. Haven't seen it since it aired, but I can still can remember the microwave messed up that cyclone.

[@roberttbrockway]

A sequel to The Return of Starbuck called 'Wheel of Fire' was planned but alas Galactica 1980 was cancelled before it could be made. The script is available online. Well worth a read.

[@dalethelander3781]

The series was shut down during filming of "The Day They Kidnapped Cleopatra." The intended season finale was "The Wheel Of Fire," where we would see the return of The Ship Of Lights...and see that Starbuck wasn't stranded on that barren planet. Angela had judged him, and he had become a translated being on the lightship.

[@dernvader6876]

The *'Bad News Bears'* influence is strong with this one... (Walter Matthau)

[@steveburke8434]

The Return of Starbuck was a great episode. The decision to give the Cylon a partially human, but electronicized, voice, instead of the “classic” monotone, was an interesting one...and Gary Owen’s voice, right out of Laugh-In, at that...It was a little odd hearing a Centurion talk that way. However, in so doing, they were able to give the Cylon, “Cy,” MUCH more personality...and, BOY, did they put THAT to good use! They had a GREAT interaction going between him and Starbuck, PLUS a very well written story and dialogue that successfully and brilliantly fully developed their complete whole relationship arc over a single episode. 90% of the show is nothing but those two characters, alone on a desert planet, and it was so great, that’s ALL you needed!!

[@seonf4370]

I remember asking Richard Hatch about this in an online chat and he said "He wished this series hadn't been made"

[@Syklonus]

The Return of Starbuck was the best episode of both the 70s series and the 1980 series. It could very well have been a proper theatre stage play with it's minimalist cast and simple "odd couple" concept. Truly 1 10/10 piece of television. As for the 1980 series, well I like it. It has its goofy moments, but I like the nostalgic 80s Earth setting, and I always though the bikes were really cool.

[@kelliefay7625]

I liked it! Granted I was a teenager at the time but I liked it, and I loved the original.

[@ChrisLogan787]

I watched the entire original Battlestar Galactica on Netflix, and wondered why the “Return Of Starbuck” episode never showed up. Now I know, because it was a Galactica 1980 episode. “The Return Of Starbuck” is one of the best Battlestar Galactica episodes ever!

[@markeffend165]

I knew Richard hatch personally and when he came to comic con San Diego and we’d talk about a lot of ups not many downs I asked him about Maren Jensen he had limited info but he said she’s doing well now and dirk Benedict is kinda reclusive but he wants to see fans someday and I met herb Jefferson jr a lot also he’s so kool but Rest In Peace Richard hatch he was my friend

[@davemardon6756]

Jeremy Brett played one of the best Sherlock Holmes ever. Perfect match.

[@paxwebb]

Haha I was more a Cassiopeia fan, but my high school classmate was definitely into Sheba. I remember buying the record and could recite the whole thing pretty much word for word, listening to it over and over. Life was much simpler then…

[@easyalpha1]

Athena fan....big time. All the promos had her image all over the place. Would have been great if they stuck with their first good instincts on Maren Jensen.

[@ianhirst1148]

Both hot.

[@Aurora2097]

I was searching for Galactica 80 to watch it... Glad your review spared me the time!

[@Laceykat66]

6:00 - So, basically what J.J. Abrams did to Star Trek. Wow, you think someone would have learned by now. 17:45 - BINGO !! Totally agree and I TOLD them that in the beginning at the Fan Convention.

[@johnroutledge9220]

It occurs that a version of 1980 structured more like the tv series V could have been amazing. Cylons turn up and decide to exploit the primitive humans rather than wipe them out. (In exchange for a few glass beads. Fusion power. Organ cloning. Stuff like that.) Meanwhile they know that Galactica is low on fuel, has to come to them, and the longer they wait the more control the Cylons can establish over Earth. You'd need a few more robot costumes, and maybe one or two establishing shot of a 'friendly' basestar hovering over a city, but that would be it for expensive SFX. Everything else would be costume work in conventional sets. The Colonials have to sneak around, trying to fix, sabotage, and subvert Cylon planning.

[@scifigenerationTV]

Your analysis of Galactica is fantastic. What a great fan's perspective. Glad I watched both of these.

[@misterspock3561]

All your video's on Galactica are great!! You are so right on the last 1980, Starbucks return. The BEST!!!!

[@SciFiFan2012]

I still want a BSG Colonial Warrior uniform and helmet!

[@MrCpotts47]

I can make you a helmet

[@GeneralG1810]

And their blaster too, actually a LOT of the Colonial stuff was pretty damned awesome. The uniform, the weapon and OMFG those Vipers

[@elfpimp1]

@@MrCpotts47 hehe, I'm 3d printing one at home! Got a large volume (300mmx300mm x 500 mm) FLSun C-Plus. I thought it interesting that it looked like Egyptian headdress.

[@WalterDWormack214]

Actually I bought Galactica 1980 as a separate item on Amazon.com when I first learned it was available on DVD! I really hope that Galactica 1980 doesn't butchered like it's been by hateful fanboys.

[@Bill23799]

I remember they used to advertise those Colonial Viper Pilot Jackets in " Starlog " magazine. When I was a kid in 8th grade ( 1972 ) I had a suede winter coat that had those same magnetic buckles. I thought I was so cool haha.

[@shallendor]

Both Battlestar Galactica shows are great, but totally different shows. The original was an action adventure show, while the remake was a gritty drama with great action moments.

[@alaricgoldkuhl155]

As a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, sci-fi was so rare in mainstream media and the quality so low that as bad as Galactica 80 might have been, it was still one of my favorites at the time. Looking back, it amazes me that we all managed to huddle together in front of our screens at the same time each week, arranging our lives around tv schedules.

[@stevepalpatine2828]

SciFi quality in the 70's - 80's was so low? Battlestar Galactica ET Close Encounters of the Third Kind Star Trek: Wrath of Khan Star Trek: The Search for Spock Star Wars A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Thing The Last Star Fighter Flight of the Navigator Back to the Future 1 - 3 Alien Aliens Terminator Predator 2001 A Space Odyssey The Black Hole Dune Krull Battle Beyond the Stars I could go on, the 70's - 80's was the best time for SciFi.

[@alaricgoldkuhl155]

@@stevepalpatine2828 Television mate. We are talking BSG. Really bad acting, bad writing, dodgy AF effects. I am talking about quality of production, but thanks for your rant anyway. Krull? lol

[@stevepalpatine2828]

@@alaricgoldkuhl155 Thought I'd throw that in lol

[@JimTMcDaniels1]

I loved it as a high school student and it has some Great messages and they finally found earth! Take care

[@warrior64]

Larson was tired of this Felgarcarb that was Galactica 1980 so in the end, he did a proper BSG ending. “The Return of Starbuck “

[@scockery]

That sounds nice. Yet the show was cancelled in the middle of producing the 11th episode intended to air afterwards “The Return of Starbuck “.

[@jeffstone2136]

Not true in any sense. The Wheel Of Fire, written by Larson, was supposed to be the finale of the original BSG series arc. It was intended to be the twelfth episode of G80 in production order, but the plug was pulled before barely anything was done on #11, The Night They Kidnapped Cleopatra. And Larson would never have wanted his cash cow to stop.

[@Anacronian]

18:26 "Sadly we live in an increasingly darker world than that which produced the original battlestar Galactica back in 1978..." - as somebody who were young in 1978 I have to state you have no idea what you are talking about. In 1978, we had several wars, terrorist killings, a massacre of peaceful protesting workers and yes the ever looming threat of an all out nuclear war. My friend the world of today with its slew of problems is pure paradise i comparison, Take it from somebody who were there.

[@geographyinaction7814]

You are an idiot. The world we live in today, is a cesspool, in 2017, the US had over 800 mass shootings...EIGHT HUNDRED!!!!! By the way, your spelling and grammar sucks, and yes, in 1978, I was ten, so I was around.

[@douglasrowland9986]

@@geographyinaction7814 , seriously? Before calling somebody an idiot, you should know what the hell you are talking about! In 1978 there was total of 19,560 murders out of a population of 218 million or 0.009% versus 17,284 murders out of a population of 325 million or 0.005%, making 1978 almost twice as violent! Overall crime rate was far higher in 1978 with 11.2 million incidents vs only 9.0 million in 2017! Besides what does a 10 year old kid know of the world? Evidently not much by your example!

[@RictusHolloweye]

@@geographyinaction7814 - Statistically the world has never been more safe and peaceful than it is now. At least on a per capita basis. Also far less poverty, better education and as much as people complain about "political correctness" it has led to better social awareness toward people who would have been beaten up for simply existing back in the seventies. I, too, remember those times. Also, it's possible than English is not Anacronian's first language. If so... well, I make it a rule never to mock the language skills of people who can speak more languages than me.

[@geographyinaction7814]

@@RictusHolloweye Statistics didn't show planes flying into buildings in 2001, statistics don't protect people from mass shootings. Statistics are based on what has happened, and do not show what will happen, people's actions are not determined by mathematics. I don't remember an incident in the 70's that came close to 9/11. The Cold War offered the protection of MAD, today instead of there being two big bullies on the street, we have one. We also have huge numbers of weapons from the former Soviet Union in the hands of despot nations, terrorists and leaders in nations that want to try their hands at colonialism or at least enjoy the riches of the same. We have turned the corner on controlling (weaponizing)disease, engineered chemical and biological weapons, and the ability to unleash them in numbers and in concentrations that World War One engineers would be horrified by. We have the ability to destabilize a country and an economy with a few keystrokes, and we can do the same with infrastructure. There are large numbers of Westerners that fear Islam, not Islamic fanatics that are represented by a few, but people who fear all Muslims, a group that represent about 23% of the world's population and for the most part are peaceful. All the while that this happens, we have the United States acting as though it's version of democracy should be exercised by all or all should be made to exercise democracy. There is a reason that the United States, Great Britain and most other countries have refined, increased and improved the Special Forces communities in their forces, it is because enemies no longer fight under flags but under the guise of terrorism and unrecognized states where you cannot predict or fight the danger. I haven't even mentioned the changes in the economy whereby the middle class has disappeared, people working multiple jobs to remain at or just above the poverty line, the thousand of jobs lost to globalization...what about the fact that we have over 7 billion people and we cannot feed everyone. and there is climate change which will influence borders, water supply and hunger. There are plenty of reasons to be fearful and just because we've never seen these types of problems statistically, doesn't mean they wont rear their head.

[@gups4963]

Look at modern violent crime stats and most of your frustration with racial injustice is invalid. If you want to say being poor is what causes that problem in many cases I'd agree, but there is also a sideffect that has hit that community especially hard from welfare and how it is designed to keep people dependent upon it. You don't see this violent crime in that community before welfare and the breaking of the black family. I'm fairly certain the statistics you are using for mass shootings is the one that is anything over 2 people shot, which is kind of loading the dice as it involves more traditional criminal issues and weapons that were illegal to begin with. anti-Muslim crime lol, that is the one that is just silly. Going by proportion it's anyone who happens to be on the wrong side of that community that comes out losing. Perhaps if the government would stop adding elements to the U.S. that exacerbate problems that were on the mend things wouldn't continue to be a big problem. In the end though the net and the ease of access to information that has come out in the last 25 years is skewing your perspectives

[@Bandido894]

Underrated! There were still highlights in this series incl. Cylons (imaginery) attack to L.A. and to school ship. Also Cylons landed on Earth.

[@TheChipMcDonald]

The original Galactica had a great title roll.. the red nebula combined with the pacing the voiceover, then the theme playing with the Cylon raiders doing the rolls still gives me chills. I'm not sure why, and at my age I've finally learned to appreciate not over thinking it. It was great. Dykstra had such a flair with the movements, and the quirky pseudo Egyptian design aesthetic, excellent models and exterior shots. The new BSG is transcendent, though...

[@michaelwhitehead6594]

Brilliant presentation of this and previous Battlestar Galactica, Part of my childhood, as in my teens I saw it at the Cinema, as the first two episodes were bunched together and released as a movie, as well as a sequel movie Mission Galacta Cylon Attack. I was hooked on the series then on, even had the annual. Always wondered what happened to the series, and you now explained pretty well! Like you, I really liked the Starbuck Returns episode which reminds me of the movie Enemy Mine, a similar sci fi story line of a human forced to survive with his sworn opponent. Couldn't get into the reboot series, I tried but just didn't click with me.

[@TV21]

Another fun review - thanks Chris! I quite like Galactica 1980, I watched it when it first aired on tv. Then again, I was the right age for it I think. If I watched it now, I might feel different. That Starbuck episode was definitely the best one. I remember liking the flying bikes too haha.

[@ChrisDalek]

Thank you! I think I stuck with 1980 as a kid more because I liked the idea of it more than the execution.

[@KebabKenraali]

Galactica 1980 has huge impact on my childhood as I managed to get detention, when I was in elementary school because me and couple of my classmates draw clock/communicator inpired by this serie to our wrist with marker pens.

[@conroypawgmail]

Old Battlestar Galactica had Sheba... so old Battlestar Galactica wins! - I couldn't possibly agree anymore enthusiastically.

[@DrummerGrrrl]

I didn't like her fingernails! What fighter pilot wears fingernail polish? And, Sheba was tough when her father was alive but she got really wimpy as the series went along. Some advanced society! Very few women in strong leadership roles. On the other hand, the newer version of Battlestar Galactica just wasn't fun. The Cylons WERE interesting but Adama and Lee and Kara Thrace and Colonel Tight? Ugh! Boring.

[@handsolo1209]

@@DrummerGrrrl - God, some people see shit where there's nothing. Sheba was SUPPOSED to have been over confident like her father, and then when he was gone she lost all of her confidence, and was adapting to being on a new ship that was less militaristic and more like a family. It's called character progression, just like Starbuck became less of a selfish prick as the series went on. Had the series continued into a 2nd season, many of the characters would have progressed and changed slightly from how they were originally. SMH.

[@ANT96-x8d]

The original 1978 BSG will always have a special place in our hearts and minds.

[@RandallHallKaizenReiki]

I heard Glen Larson say he wanted to make the series generations later, but Lorne Green called him and asked why he wasn't in the new show. He felt so bad, that he added him back into the show.

[@JeffGannon]

Dear marooned Starbuck. YOU HAVE AN INTACT FUNCTIONAL CYLON SHIP & parts of 3 more Cylons with you. You can leave now.

[@PatriceV100]

That's what she did in the 2000 series...

[@Datan0de]

You nailed it. Across the board, your assessment of Galactica 1980 it's spot on. However... I was 10 when Galactica 1980 came out, and had managed to forget about it and even forgot that it was included in the original series box set sitting on my shelf. So why oh why must I now endure all these clear memories rushing back??

[@WilAdams]

Oh, and Lara Parker was in two episodes. That elevates it.

[@CrowdfundingHell]

One thing you failed to note: if you look at the credits, you'll note that many of the 'Super Scouts' have the same last name -- 3 Larsons, to be exact. Nepotism does not help, unless it saves money.

[@jameswilber518]

"Sheeba wins, every time". 'nuf said.

[@davidtriana]

We did get Tricia Helfer in the New BSG. I guess she was the new icandy!

[@easyalpha1]

Athena, love..both versions...Grace and Maren.

[@johnmcdougald1238]

Point on the idea of the Cylon taken out by a Microwave, you have to understand that back when these shows were made, It was kind of a known issue with people who had Pacemakers for their hearts at that time had to be cautious around them due to radio frequency interference. There used to be warning signs on convenience store doors warning people with pacemakers that they had one in the store. As a kid, when these shows first came on, I just assumed that's what happened to the cylon.

[@gastronomist]

When I saw that as a kid, I thought it was funny and clever. I remember that my Dad thought it was dumb. Now that I'm an adult, I have to agree with him.

[@michaelwittmann4898]

As a 7 year old in 1980 Battlestar Galactica 1980 was the bees knees!

[@terrencekelly1256]

Me too 😅

[@fernandoD420]

I was 9. I felt the same way.

[@anne-mareecoundon272]

Me too I was 7 and I loved Galactic 1980

[@steveburke8434]

The reimagined Galactica reboot was a great show...The original was my favorite TV show ever, so you’d think I might not like the new one..But I did. They also made some interesting choices...they gave the rather one dimensional characters a lot more depth, more drama, first and last names, made the tone more realistic and gritty and closer to modern day Earth and a little less less sci fi and futuristic...which made the show very interesting to watch. They thought that was brilliant, but it WAS a trade-off they might not have anticipated...they gained depth, realism, and drama, in exchange for losing a little of the FUN of the original. They end up with two very different shows, but both very good, each in their own way. The new music was...different...not fun and stirring and uplifting and brassy like the original brilliant score...but a GOOD interesting and different that fit the new direction of the show...and was brilliantly used as a key plot point later! Somehow they worked in “All Around the Watchtower” as some kind of universal tune that spontaneously shows up all over the universe...which was...interesting...but the remade version of the song, and the tie-in with Kara’s music as she figures out the coordinates to Earth, were sheer genius. And they did include a few subtle homages to the original music from time to time. The other interesting thing was how they tweaked the variables...LOTS of little variables....characters in some cases changed gender, race, SPECIES...some of the human characters, like Boomer, Athena, and Col. Tigh, became Cylons!...Starbuck was female! Admiral Cain was female. Baltar never DID join the Cylons. That was the first thing he did in the original show. Baltar had long hair, Apollo had short hair. He even ended up President of the Colonies for a while..! And Boomer and Athena kind of ended up almost the SAME character, they were both copies of the I believe it was the #8 model. (Grace Park.) But they got away with ALL those tweaks, just fine, because the casting and acting and writing were all brilliant. Neither race, through the entire reimagined series, ever seemed to clue in on the fact that the new “humanoid” Cylons were much less like “toasters” (robots), and much closer to...CLONES. Cylons had developed cloning technology, and neither they nor the humans ever seemed to realize this fact! They all just thought of them as an alternative kind of robot. The Cylon FIGHTERS and BASE SHIPS were also essentially living robots, sort of a cyborg, instead of just machines now, too. Starbuck called the new fighters “pets,” like the Cylon version of a dog, or a horse, or something. No Muffit chimpanzee robot dog, but Cylon Fighter Cyborg Horses instead. The old Cylon Base Ships were way cooler looking, although these new asterisk things were sleek and futuristic, I guess. Galactica 1980’s Cylon “toaster” in The Return of Starbuck was made a more interesting character by adding a synthesized humanistic voice (Gary Owens) with inflections. The Reimagned “toasters,” WHEN they were shown, which was much less often...NEVER spoke, except very briefly in Razor! Only the humanoid clone ones spoke. All the robot Centurions, now all CGI, ever did was shoot, and shoot some more. Walk around, aim, and shoot. That’s it. Yet they all had mouth grilles. They never had Count Iblis, either. Which was sad, that was a very interesting character. Or the Ship of Lights. But they did have angels, I guess...Head Baltar and Head Six. The new show was VERY, VERY good, but all these little changes and decisions they made along the way were quite fascinating to observe. But, that said...the original, including The Return of Starbuck, is still AWESOME!

[@argonwheatbelly637]

The new BSG is dark and deep. Caprica, moreso. The original was majestic and epic. That's why it feels good.

[@edumaker-alexgibson]

I was so sad when Caprica just stopped. It was a slow burn but it was brilliantly textured and I really wanted to see it join up to BSG timeframe.

[@mathewanderson3780]

Well I liked it. I’m not afraid to admit it.

[@susannecoolkidsgerman7989]

Great presentation, Chris. I watched Galactica in Germany at the time and, needless to say, I was a kid, and I loved my heros. Give me beautiful guys in a space hero setting - all set ;) The actors as beautiful as they come and there was no other actor - in my mind - remotely as attractive on German tv or as cool! But I admit I never saw all of the episodes, maybe the show got cancelled...I do not remember. I love the movie or movies and rally moved on to Star Wars, naturally. My brother and friends went on to replacing 'Battlestar Galactica' with 'Battlestar Beknacktica" which was hilarious - means crazy but rhymes! ;P I love your take on story, making and actor choosing by the producers ... I had quite a few loud laughs. While I cannot financially support at the time, I will keep watching! THANKS!

[@HopsHasFun]

"... there really is a good show buried in here somewhere." That's '80's TV in a nutshell.

[@drroussakis]

It was all right for a 10 year-old kid (me) thirsty for sci-fi during the 80s.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

It was a good show for kids, but it still offers up some great sci-fi when you watch the two-part episodes. They had some genuinely good writing and some clever ideas.

[@MG-bs5mr]

Yeah, it took me a few years to actually watch the reboot. I'm so glad I did.

[@terancepodolski4323]

As a child, at the time of this series, I enjoyed the episodes I saw. Thanks ChrisDalek for talking about this part of the Galactica Franchise. You made me laugh alot. The part about the survivors coming from a high gravity world made this series more understandable. On Earth they would be super powered beings.

[@HuntersMoon78]

Battlestar and Buck Rogers share the same sound effects library.

[@kevinlint2868]

Yes, I liked those two shows

[@sail2byzantium]

Yep, as both were Glen Larson productions--and, interestingly, the Buck Rogers starfighter was in fact the original design for the BSG colonial viper.

[@tyranakok]

And shuttle model.

[@sail2byzantium]

@@tyranakok Yes, that's right! Thanks for the reminder.

[@santafe37s]

Agreed. For years I have noticed that too.

[@tureytaino2785]

That is the mistake they make time after time: Darker is not always better.

[@theodorehaverson5079]

Agreed. Look at the later incarnations of the Star Trek television series. They kept getting darker and the fans were saying that this was not Roddenberry's vision, especially "Enterprise". OY!

[@henne2k]

Theodore Haverson Enterprise is a Diamond compared to discovery. 😉

[@charlesschultz3465]

Jeremy Brett?!? Fantastic, I've got to go watch this again.

[@Nollaig1234]

The most unbelievable thing about B.S.G. 1980 was Adama's (Lorne Greene) beard.

[@robertholmes7912]

Ron Moore’s BSG is one of the Best Sci Fi of all time and is timeless and yes I love the Original as well and hate 1980.

[@DiabolicShape]

"Nanu, nanu...Shazbot!" ...Hilarious :(

[@mose717]

Recently one of those flying bikes came up at auction. It was still in remarkably good shape, it had obviously been put into storage after the show and wouldn't have taken much work at all to get it running again.

[@MegaALF1986]

Pretty good series from back in the day

[@marea67]

Good review! Personally I never had any issues with either Galactica 80 or the remake, aside from the fact that they were NOT Battlestar Galactica. I liked Galactica 80 for a what it was, a cute show for children. I guess I would have preferred it if both shows would have been given different names, so they weren't associated with Battlestar in the first place and not create expectations that neither show could meet.

[@madcommodore]

Galactica 1980 was total suicide for the franchise, I was a kid when it came out and I did not like it, I wanted more of the original series action orientated flavour not this cheap rubbish. Time has shown I am in the majority. Buck Rogers did the same with season 2, ruined a great formula.

[@raymondkizer1216]

Buck Rogers was not cancelled between its first two seasons like BG was. NBC had a change in leadership and they wanted Buck to go in a different direction by taking to the stars on some sort of quest. But yes you are right, the formula was changed and it ruined the appeal of this show.

[@billconlin1315]

They had a chance to save both programs at the same time if they had done a two-part episode at the end of Buck Rogers' second season where the Searcher discovers the Battlestar Galactica. This would ignore Battlestar Galactica 1980, of course. Buck, Wilma, and Hawk helping to fight Cylons with Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer. That would have been the perfect ending for both shows!

[@badkittynomilktonight3334]

Agreed Buck Rogers 2 was tragically bad, I knew instantly it was trashed when they changed Twiki's voice to from sarcastic old man to random cartoon character.

[@lotsalube]

If you thought galactica 1980 tv series, look at dynamite's bsg1980 comic mini series. This was worse-supposidly how it should've been done. Pfft!

[@LandersWorkshop]

@@lotsalube Comic mini-series? I haven't heard of that one! Do tell, what was it like?

[@DogOfHades]

The Episode with Starbuck's return was my favorite of all of them. Even though I was extremely young when I watched it, I remember it in great detail.

[@-MrFozzy-]

‘I’m being paid by the sneer’......amazing......

[@thethoughtcriminal8786]

By the way, you should check out Space: Above and Beyond.

[@griff3683]

Funny, when Space Above and Beyond started I thought it would be the "New" Galactica. Sadly no. I still watched every episode even though it seemed to be more about "Let's talk about our feelings" rather than Sci-Fi...But I was starving.

[@thethoughtcriminal8786]

@@griff3683 Interesting....but then, you would probably say the same thing about Band of Brothers or the Pacific. See when I watch something, I don't expect it to be something else. And are you seriously going to tell me that Battlestar Glactica wasn't "Let's talk about our feeling?" Even Adama cried in that show. What I really liked about Space Above and Beyond is they actually reference a lot of military history. There is nothing wrong with human emotion, fact....even soldiers have them...I know, because I was one once.

[@griff3683]

@@thethoughtcriminal8786 I think you are taking me way too literally...I purposely put "New" I quotes. Galactica '78 was one of my childhood favorites. I grew up hearing about its possible return...I gave up....Then comes Space A&B. From the producers of The X-Files. I had expectations of there being more action...Don't get me wrong it is its own show and I accept that (not only do I accept it I'm a fan and own the DVD)...But it's natural to have expectations. That's not weird, it's natural. And don't think Adama from '78 did a lot of crying. Also, in no way belittling your service. My idea of the "New" Battlestar ( again '78) was not Afghanistan in space...This is not about what would make a good show, just childhood expectations.

[@thethoughtcriminal8786]

@@griff3683 I didn't server in the Afghan war, I was out of the military before 911. I was referencing the military experience. Most soldiers are not "jarhead," their normal people. But what you don't understand about the military is it isn't "action packed," it's mostly a slow grind of "hurry up and wait," and in the case of combat situations brief moments of insanity. Space Above and Beyond has a very realistic military feel to it....better then most Sci-Fi shows. I criticized your comments because they were weak at best. You have every right to your opinion...I for one absolutely despise the reboot of Battlestar Galactica for the very reason you didn't like Space AandB. Now, there is a soap opera marketed toward women, trying to be a military show, with a lazy Jar Jar Abrams "mystery box" spin in it....and the pay off for the show was never worth the hype. Also, When Adama cried it was appropriate.

[@griff3683]

@@thethoughtcriminal8786 I think you have taken this to place it was not to be taken...I wasn't looking for a Real War reinactment...I was looking for the Fantasy and Sci-Fi that was offered by Star Wars and the Original Battlestar...you know FOR KIDS!!!...I was 12 years old for the love of God. Real War is not what I needed to see...My comments being weak...I guess that's the way an adult who has seen combat might see it...BUT I WAS 12 YEARS OLD!!! ....I'm not why sure you're getting that part.

[@michaelcowin6442]

Another reason to hate SyFy. I wanted Richard Hatch's version to come out.

[@omnirhythm]

Now there's a silly reason to hate. BSG and The Expanse are two shows vastly beyond anything they otherwise produce. The BSG remake, wether you personally like it or hate it, together with Bear McCreary's masterpiece score is a very deep, hard-boiled piece of SF which will be hard to top unless the likes of HBO have a go at it. Preferably without needless violence and full frontals.

[@kichigaisensei]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. My brother and I loved Battlestar Galactica. When Galactica 1980 came on, we were excited. We watched it. Within the last year or so, I saw Galactica 1980 on Netflix and decided to take a work. Oh, Lord...it is truly unwatchable.

[@captainharris8980]

Original BSG was meant for a wide audience. All ages. High drama and space action adventure. Galactical 1980 was for kids who wanted more space fights, but instead got some social instruction. I tried watching it, but it was pretty clear that it was meant for kids.

[@Harldin]

Galactica's equiv of the Wookie Holiday special from Star Wars, should never have been made.

[@johniii8147]

Yeah it was pretty embarrassing

[@jasonw3414]

i watched this a few years ago on netflix. i actually felt myself getting stupider with each episode until i was a drooling vegetable in my chair

[@greatrafusio]

This video is hysterical. Subscribed.

[@safari2411]

Thanks for the wonderful analysis / review, Chris! Love your humor and irony, too...

[@StolenEyesX]

Fantastic retrospective. Yes, Galactica 1980 was crap, almost redeemed by that fantastic final episode. Embarrassingly I’ve not watched the new version yet, but will soon. And that sudden cut to Rick Moranis made me laugh out loud, well played sir!

[@gastronomist]

The new BSG had some good things about it, but the pay-out at the end was very very disappointing.

[@kenninast]

I love all renditions of Battlestar Galactica that were made so far... except for the NBSG prequel "Caprica". That was just "Falcon Crest in Space".

[@daveholstead5940]

'Falcon Crest in space' best line in this entire thread!!!!

[@kenninast]

Why thank you for the compliment! :)

[@gastronomist]

It's amazing to see the parallels between Galactica 1980 and the latest season of Dr. Who.

[@ZlothZloth]

Let's see... G-80 totally demolished the original premise. Who did not. G-80's production values took a huge dive. Who did not. G-80 went from an all ages show to a kids show with little kids often featured and one actually in command over Adama. Who did not. G-80 killed off all but two of the original characters with a simple announcement. Who did not.

[@JamesHurford]

Yep I enjoyed the last 1980 series eposode too. I think it's the best of the lot.

[@savecityofheroessavecityof5838]

I really wanted to watch BATTLESTAR GALATICA THE SECOND COMING . I do not know if it got on to the market,

[@ianfindly3257]

The NEW BSG - well, actually, IT isn't so NEW anymore it's self at this point in time, but MORE RECENT BSG, I 've always nicknamed Law And Order In Space - it had THAT kind of quality, like a sci-fi version Steve Bochco type series. Besides, it had only ONE hot chick on it - the one shown at 16:14 in THIS video, where's the older series had SEVERAL - three of which were regulars ( Athena, Cassiopea, and Sheba ) , so it won out THERE, .. . though I gotta admit, that lone one in the more recent series WAS SMOKIN!

[@capuchinseven]

...Katee Sackhoff, Grace Park and Kandyse McClure aren't hot...?

[@claytoncourtney1309]

i nicknamed it "Invasion of the Body Snatchers In Space"

[@jkcarroll]

Oh, c'mon! Katee Sackhoff was not only smokin', she was a little charred around the edges! :)

[@ganados0]

What's bizarre is the last episode of BSG had them receive a video the moon landing, Galactica 1980 is set thirty years later.

[@hydrolito]

Some episodes they had more food and in some agriculture ships were destroyed so had less food. So they salvaged what they could.

[@robdcollector2808]

...this 1980 BG really was bad. The return of starbuck was awesome and sad to see

[@johniii8147]

It was actually an episode that was taped during the original series but not aired they just threw that in

[@alanmonaghan3657]

do we live in a darker world, or is it that we can now see all the dark stuff happening live on tv, imagine how isolated and disconnected someone living through hell in the 70's would have felt watching nothing but clean happy wholesome stuff on every channel, btw great video

[@SimmeringPotpourri]

I'm in total agreement. The 70's was just as dark, if not darker. The US had ended the war with Vietnam just 3 years before the show aired. We had the Iran hostages in 1979. We had the two oil crisis. Race relations were better than the 60's but not perfect. There was the cold war and threat of nuclear annihilation. The 3 mile island disaster. The concern about the environment existed but we still many more offenders destroying it than we do today. But we had light hearted TV and news that didn't stoke the fires of fear. The data even shows there are getting better...except for people's perspective. There are still some hugh issues today but the fact that they somehow think it's worse, well, that's a manufactured allusion.

[@charlesgriffith6068]

I only now found your channel. I have to say you really did your research well, and your banter is rather whimsical and very entertaining. Having lived through everything BSG, I am in total agreement with everything you have covered. Including the only watchable episode of 1980. If I can leave you with a pleasant thought. Both Richard and Dirk were/are incredibly nice guys. Richard was the kind of guy that you could just sit and chat with over a drink. Really really down to earth fellow.

[@georgeecheveste6545]

I was a little boy when I first saw the original BSG. It was my favorite show. Then I saw BSG 1980. I saw one episode and never watched again. Now that I'm an adult, I thought "maybe its time to see it as an adult" Then I saw this and said "NO THANKS " Keep up the good work

[@echozgus]

I am rewatching this tv show but is so ugly I need to take an aspirin after each episode, I like the original Galactica with Starbuck and Apollo Im sure 1980 is just a bad dream of drunk Starbuck

[@owenrichards1418]

I can't rewatch it. I'm having flashbacks just seeing the clips. I still have the scars on my eyes from when it was first transmitted.

[@jimslav6973]

It appears we agree in every way, then diverged. Love original Battlestar. 1980 was a boring travesty that ditches its central premise completely in favor of a saggy-baggy, low energy drama (see tv Logan's Run). But finish the reboot. I cannot think of a better, more earnest, loyal, quality adaptation of any beloved series. Of course it's post-911. It was post-911.

[@s.o.4339]

This was like making the Masters of the Universe -Movie that plays in our world for some reason a whole series. I couldn't imagine anything more sinister.

[@Tuberuser187]

I remember as a kid watching these on UK re-runs and thinking even then "what happened? Why is it so different?" and hating it, even as a kid.

[@marklafrance8141]

I enjoyed your retrospective very much! I definitely agree that "The Return of Starbuck" is the best episode of the lot. However, the first 3 parter," Galactica Discovers Earth" re-edited into a 2-hour movie and the 2 part "The Night the Cylons Landed" re-edited as a 60 Minute movie, can easily slide into the end of the original series with ease. Larson should revisit those two, tweek or replace any reused BSG/FX and recut the story to keep it fun and exiting. I did watch your BSG review and it was great. I have read the Richard Hatch novels. They were outstanding! I was bummed out as a kid when the original replaced The Six Million Dollar Man, but I was rewarded with a fun Sci Fi show with cool characters and space battles! Great job! ✌❤😊

[@marklafrance8141]

Well that stinks! I hadn't heard.

[@marklafrance8141]

@Daniel Appleton :True, at least we got a couple more clever shows from him after BSG1980...Knight Rider and Quincy M.E.

[@marklafrance8141]

@Daniel Appleton ; Quantum Leap was a fun show! I definitely have that one in my collection!👍

[@karlsmith2570]

Mark LaFrance yeah, Glenn Larson died a few years ago I don't really recall how long ago it was when he died or what he died of, but yeah he died a few years ago

[@AvengerII]

They DID re-edit "Galactica Discovers Earth" into a movie with other episodes. They re-edited several episodes of Galactica (first season and 1980) into feature films that were exhibited overseas and reran as these feature edits on American TV in the 1980s. The special effects quality of the Galactica pilot itself was on par with Star Wars at the time since John Dykstra, head of ILM at the time of Star Wars, also produced the effects for the Galactica pilot. Later Galactica episodes didn't always maintain the visual quality of the pilot and Buck Rogers and Galactica 1980 were DEFINITELY inferior in VFX to the original Battlestar Galactica. I bought a few episodes of Galactica on VHS in the early 1990s and owned the original broadcast edits of half the original series plus the feature edits "The Living Legend" (which had footage from "Fire in Space" edited in) and "Galactica Discovers" Earth. "The Return of Starbuck" was the only episode of Galactica 1980 that I saw released unedited on VHS but it was also the WORST quality Galactica released because they did an LP or SLP/EP tape release... (I honestly don't remember the tape speed they used; I got rid of that tape and most of VHS tapes 10 years ago.) It used less tape but it was WORSE quality and those recordings wear out even quicker than SP VHS tape!

[@daleflannery7667]

After seeing a review it really makes me miss my friend UC I met Richard Hatch in person and we were friends not really close friends but I felt we were getting there I met him the first time I went on a Battlestar Galactica Cruise back in 2007 to 2008 somewhere in there and we kind of hit it off hit it off so well in his second coming he wanted me to play his son in this Battlestar Galactica because I was at the time young enough I replied that's great I'd love to play your son but sadly I don't look like you they looked at me messing with my hair and then replied you look like Starbucks son so I got Starbucks Sons part and his Battlestar Galactica Second Coming unfortunately when he filmed it I was there yet met then then he introduced me to Dirk Benedict and we really hit it off and Richard could see the chemistry between me and dirt as father and son so much that when I got an autograph from Dirk he signed it to Starbuck Junior My Autograph Sally unfortunately time passed and we still never got to bring back the original Battlestar Galactica which to me is a tragedy I was thinking that'll be something big like Star Trek the motion picture or Star Trek The Wrath of Khan unfortunately Universal Studios and Glenn L Larson did not see it this way years of past and Richard kept rest assuring me that as soon as he got the green light I'd be immediately thrown into a Viper the fight the dreaded cylons even instructed me on how to smoke cigars because Starbucks sun should be smoking cigars like Starbuck I guess he also indicated my mother in the show would be Cassiopeia home on fortunately I never got to meet yet Richard love my sense of humor and he was teaching me how to be an actor he said I was a natural at this acting stuff in fact he said I act so well he don't know when I'm not acting really being me he said he would have loved to have told the people that were making the Remake about me and got me on the Remake Battlestar Galactica but when we met it was a little too late but he did introduce me to most of the cast of the remake Battlestar Galactica I have met colonel tigh I have met gaita I have met cat among many others that were on the show of the remake unfortunately Richard Hatch passed away a few years ago saying you're my mother died and I still miss Richard Hatch very much he was a good friend and a kind person and his dream of the Battlestar Galactica original cast sadly died with him

[@cliffkyle945]

I wish you got your dream of being in a vipor and i was your wingmate.we would Warriors in love with the same bridge officer female¡

[@tiemmeberehev7182]

some good guest actors, the clown in the halloween is also the voice of KITT from knight rider

[@michaelsmyth6296]

The closure many of us needed was served in the final episode of ..... well anyway. Really enjoyable vid.