Post by B5Erik on Jul 27, 2015 16:26:06 GMT
Most people under 40 have no idea just how much of a phenomenon the original Battlestar Galactica was back in the 1970's and 1980's. The cancellation of the show after just one season, and the return of the show two years later under the Galactica 1980 title (an unworthy show if there ever was one) tends to obscure just how big the original show was.
The original series was a huge ratings hit for the first half of the season. Massive. But the flaws in the show caught up with them at that point. The show was originally intented as one TV movie. Then, when ABC saw how the movie was going, a series of TV movies was ordered. Not long before the first season was set to air ABC ordered a full series. The normal lead time to develop scripts just wasn't there. Mutliple epsiodes were thrown together very quickly - too quickly - and the difference in quality from the previous scripts was often noticeable. Ratings dropped, and with the high cost for the show ABC cancelled it even though ratings were still in the Top 20 by the last few episodes.
A worthy return to the series was planned and attempted to get put into production for years. Series star Richard Hatch even financed a trailer for a return to Battlestar Galactica a generation later. It was a darker vision, but retained most of what series creator Glen A. Larson put in place back in 1978.
But Larson and Universal had a different idea. Reimagine, reboot, and start over again fresh. They took the tone of Hatch's trailer and expanded on it. The show was no longer going to be family friendly. This was going to be an adult take on the rag tag fugitive fleet. Some old Galactica fans loved that idea, others hated it.
The mythology connecting Galactica to ancient Earth cultures was dropped. Characters had their genders controversially changed. The unique use of single names like Apollo, Boomer, and Starbuck was changed. Those were their call signs/names. The names were Westernized into Lee Adama and Kara Thrace. The mythological links to ancient Earth were dropped.
But a larger, grander scheme was put into place, and the Cylons, the enemies of the original series, were changed. They were no longer the creations of an ancient alien race that had long since disposed of their creators. They were now created by man and had rebelled at the idea of being slaves, even if they were machines. They had become self-aware.
There were many other changes. Some were improvements, some not. But the series was ambitious, well written, and well acted. It wasn't your parents' Battlestar Galactica, but it was a great new vision, overall.
Ultimately, both versions of the show are great in their own ways. Yes, the 1970's version does have it's share of cheese, and it is a more simplistic version that is family friendly overall. But it was still a new concept and there were some great characters and some great (for the time) special effects. The Reimagined version of the show elevated the storytelling and screenwriting to a higher level, which made for a great series all on it's own.
The original series was a huge ratings hit for the first half of the season. Massive. But the flaws in the show caught up with them at that point. The show was originally intented as one TV movie. Then, when ABC saw how the movie was going, a series of TV movies was ordered. Not long before the first season was set to air ABC ordered a full series. The normal lead time to develop scripts just wasn't there. Mutliple epsiodes were thrown together very quickly - too quickly - and the difference in quality from the previous scripts was often noticeable. Ratings dropped, and with the high cost for the show ABC cancelled it even though ratings were still in the Top 20 by the last few episodes.
A worthy return to the series was planned and attempted to get put into production for years. Series star Richard Hatch even financed a trailer for a return to Battlestar Galactica a generation later. It was a darker vision, but retained most of what series creator Glen A. Larson put in place back in 1978.
But Larson and Universal had a different idea. Reimagine, reboot, and start over again fresh. They took the tone of Hatch's trailer and expanded on it. The show was no longer going to be family friendly. This was going to be an adult take on the rag tag fugitive fleet. Some old Galactica fans loved that idea, others hated it.
The mythology connecting Galactica to ancient Earth cultures was dropped. Characters had their genders controversially changed. The unique use of single names like Apollo, Boomer, and Starbuck was changed. Those were their call signs/names. The names were Westernized into Lee Adama and Kara Thrace. The mythological links to ancient Earth were dropped.
But a larger, grander scheme was put into place, and the Cylons, the enemies of the original series, were changed. They were no longer the creations of an ancient alien race that had long since disposed of their creators. They were now created by man and had rebelled at the idea of being slaves, even if they were machines. They had become self-aware.
There were many other changes. Some were improvements, some not. But the series was ambitious, well written, and well acted. It wasn't your parents' Battlestar Galactica, but it was a great new vision, overall.
Ultimately, both versions of the show are great in their own ways. Yes, the 1970's version does have it's share of cheese, and it is a more simplistic version that is family friendly overall. But it was still a new concept and there were some great characters and some great (for the time) special effects. The Reimagined version of the show elevated the storytelling and screenwriting to a higher level, which made for a great series all on it's own.