For those of you raised on an island, the 1980 single-season series Galactica 1980 is, frankly, a show best forgotten. Yes, it pains me to say such a thing, being as hard school a fan of the original franchise as I am, but sometimes the truth is meant to hurt. As painful as it was seeing the Battlestar Galactica go down in flames, it was even more painful to suffer a redux that utterly obscured the greatness of the main series. And yet ... thank the Lords Of Kobol that it at least went out with a series' finale deserving of some reconsideration.
The tenth and final episode of Galactica 1980 was titled 'The Return Of Starbuck," and the installment saw actor Dirk Benedict back in top form as the veteran space jockey. In the script attributed to series' creator Glen A. Larson, our intrepid hero winds up crash-landing on a distant world wherein he learns that the Cylon ship that forced him down has also suffered the same fate. After the Colonel warrior spends some time amongst the wreckage and grows weary of remaining in isolation, he opts to re-assemble a companion of sorts from the remains. Naturally, his mortal enemy initially considers carrying out his programming and murdering the pilot; but after some convincing, the robot begrudgingly agrees to joining forces when a woman named Angela requiring assistance with her unborn baby appears on the planet. Temporary allies for the time being, Starbuck and 'Cy' construct an escape vehicle for Angela and her child -- whose identity ties directly to a character in Galactica 1980 -- only to come face-to-face once more with the crew of a newly-landed Cylon craft. Faced with watching his new friend perish, Cy raises his weapon against his metallic compatriots in Starbuck's defense. Cy dies in the pilot's arms ... only after dubbing the human his 'friend.'
While there are some who might dismiss Return as being relatively typical SciFi television fodder, I'd insist that it's still the kind of storytelling that the Boob Tube did immeasureably well. Benedict is, indeed, in top form; and I never got tired of seeing those Cylons as the proverbial baddies when Galactica wasn't so heavily invested with political and existential skullduggery as the reboot was. I believe I've read that the installment was only one of several scripts actually prepped to be part of the original series' first season (had it been renewed); and -- if that's the case -- then it's a shame the franchise never got the chance to continue the first journey toward Earth as this chapter would've worked very well with what the initial outings had established. Either way, it served as a respectable final adventure for Galactica 1980 ... though not everyone was thrilled with the manner in which that follow-up series bowed out.
Also culling from what I've read (and I believe it up on IMDB.com in the Trivia Section pertaining to Return), Galactica 1980's regulars were a bit disappointed that their roles were excluded from what was -- for all intents and purposes -- their swan song. Regulars Kent McCord, Barry Van Dyke, and Robyn Douglass were so disappointed that they allegedly had planned to fully sit out the production to any future episodes if the show somehow miraculously came back to life. (Again, I've never had this confirmed anywhere, but I've no reason to discount it, either.) Such a boycott arguably would've led to the series being halted anyway; so perhaps all involved should be thankful for small favors.
In any event, "The Return Of Starbuck" deserves to be considered amongst the better Science Fiction and Fantasy exploits for May 4th ... and I stand by that opinion.
-- EZ
The tenth and final episode of Galactica 1980 was titled 'The Return Of Starbuck," and the installment saw actor Dirk Benedict back in top form as the veteran space jockey. In the script attributed to series' creator Glen A. Larson, our intrepid hero winds up crash-landing on a distant world wherein he learns that the Cylon ship that forced him down has also suffered the same fate. After the Colonel warrior spends some time amongst the wreckage and grows weary of remaining in isolation, he opts to re-assemble a companion of sorts from the remains. Naturally, his mortal enemy initially considers carrying out his programming and murdering the pilot; but after some convincing, the robot begrudgingly agrees to joining forces when a woman named Angela requiring assistance with her unborn baby appears on the planet. Temporary allies for the time being, Starbuck and 'Cy' construct an escape vehicle for Angela and her child -- whose identity ties directly to a character in Galactica 1980 -- only to come face-to-face once more with the crew of a newly-landed Cylon craft. Faced with watching his new friend perish, Cy raises his weapon against his metallic compatriots in Starbuck's defense. Cy dies in the pilot's arms ... only after dubbing the human his 'friend.'
While there are some who might dismiss Return as being relatively typical SciFi television fodder, I'd insist that it's still the kind of storytelling that the Boob Tube did immeasureably well. Benedict is, indeed, in top form; and I never got tired of seeing those Cylons as the proverbial baddies when Galactica wasn't so heavily invested with political and existential skullduggery as the reboot was. I believe I've read that the installment was only one of several scripts actually prepped to be part of the original series' first season (had it been renewed); and -- if that's the case -- then it's a shame the franchise never got the chance to continue the first journey toward Earth as this chapter would've worked very well with what the initial outings had established. Either way, it served as a respectable final adventure for Galactica 1980 ... though not everyone was thrilled with the manner in which that follow-up series bowed out.
Also culling from what I've read (and I believe it up on IMDB.com in the Trivia Section pertaining to Return), Galactica 1980's regulars were a bit disappointed that their roles were excluded from what was -- for all intents and purposes -- their swan song. Regulars Kent McCord, Barry Van Dyke, and Robyn Douglass were so disappointed that they allegedly had planned to fully sit out the production to any future episodes if the show somehow miraculously came back to life. (Again, I've never had this confirmed anywhere, but I've no reason to discount it, either.) Such a boycott arguably would've led to the series being halted anyway; so perhaps all involved should be thankful for small favors.
In any event, "The Return Of Starbuck" deserves to be considered amongst the better Science Fiction and Fantasy exploits for May 4th ... and I stand by that opinion.
-- EZ
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