SCI FI PI

DVD
Created by Glen A Larsen
Starring Lorne Greene, Herb Jefferson Jr, James Patrick Stuart, Kent McCord, Barry Van Dyke
Released March 3

For those revelling in the joy of the modern Battlestar Galactica, it's often easy to forget the less than stellar origins of its original incarnation. Glen A Larsen's 1978 show, whilst popular with younger viewers in its initial episodes, suffered from ever decreasing budgets and ratings until it was finally cancelled after 21 episodes. The journey from the twelve colonies to the mythical 'Earth' was tragically struck short, and fans clamoured at network heartlessness to no avail. But somehow, the show was reborn...

Showing an indomitable spirit, Larsen managed to get the show resurrected in 1980, in a modified and even cheaper form, setting the action on Earth, with the next generation of Galactica pilots taking up the torch passed on to them by Starbuck and Apollo (who were no longer in the show). The plot saw the Battlestar Galactica finally arriving at present day Earth. But the Cylons will attack if they land, so the Galactica must veer away and send secret teams to Earth to try to bring humans up to speed to defend against the Cylons.

But Earth doesn't have a central government, and are warlike, barbaric, divided and foolish. So bringing these crazy earthlings up to speed isn't as easy as popping down and handing out new technology. There's a core of humanity and a true higher purpose for the show, but unfortunately the production values and quality of the writing didn't match the ideals.



Buff and polish, buff and polish - that's all we ever do!


The revival met with little success, finally only reaching 10 episodes, which are now collected in this DVD. Only Lorne Greene and Herb Jefferson Jr (Boomer) returned, as the rest of the cast refused to join up for a de-budgeted attempt to rebuild the franchise. Dirk Benedict (Starbuck) popped in for one ep.

That said, the show does have a certain charm. Monitoring broadcasts is the best way to learn about a planet (as always) and from this we learn that the humans are so barbaric as to defy description. At the height of the Cold War, there wasn't even a central government to deal with! On board the hidden Galactica, Dr Zee is the freaky child genius who plots the cunning plans to defeat the Cylons. A primitive precursor to Wesley Crusher, his blonde locks and big glasses are the prototypical space nerd to a T.

It's yet one more charming nail in the coffin that turns the show away from vintage Sci Fi to cheesy camp fun. With invisibility cloaks, time travel, and a production design that's a delight, with slightly wonky duded up motorbikes (that also fly) a treat, there is much to enjoy. Add over the top musical cues, tremendous suede jackets and the occasional trip to Nazi Germany (using footage from the Battle of Britain) and you have quite a lot of eye-blinkingly average entertainment.

There's really only one way to enjoy this, and that's to take the camp route. Set computrons to illogical!