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Stardate 07.07.2023.B: Happy Anniversary - 1978's 'Battlestar Galactica' Turns 45 Years Young Today!
Frankly, I would never begrudge any of my faithful readers from saying that they prefer the modern incarnation of Battlestar Galactica over the original, but if I'm being perfectly honest with you -- and I do try very hard to do that each and every time I blog -- I'm an old dog. I still have nothing but love and respect for the first incarnation. While a good deal of the update felt a bit cold and impersonal to me, I do so very much love the landscape of a galactic adventure tied to the 1978 incarnation ... and I'm sticking with that.
Yes, yes, and yes: I was a young'un back when it first aired on television. It had been so heavily advertised as a regular broadcast show meant to tap into that vein Star Wars so wonderfully fueled with blood that no kid my age would turn away from watching this. It had just the right amount of swagger and wholesomeness that we were easily swept away to the worlds out there, and -- sure -- it probably promised far more than it ever delivered. And yet ... we still couldn't turn away.
Apollo. Adama. Athena. Starbuck. Boomer. Boxey. Casseopeia.
These were names were got to know very quickly, and we turned in during regular broadcast hours just to see what they were up to this week. As the episodes wore on, it was pretty clear that no TV show could quite match the feverish pitch that Star Wars set (1970's budgets and effects work being what they were), and I think a good number of us were still ok with that. Many who had seen Star Trek before knew that we'd likely be treated to a great deal of reused footage (as opposed to producing new starfight sequences each and every week); but I'd also agree with those who suggested that maybe the writers could've worked a bit harder at concocting stories that relied a bit less on space dogfights. Or -- at the very least -- use them a bit more sparingly ...
Still, what we got was reasonably glorious at times. The acting stayed very good, thanks in large part of the skills of Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict as leading men, along with Laurette Spang and Anne Lockhart (once she joined the program midway) as the leading ladies.
Yes, yes, and yes: I was a young'un back when it first aired on television. It had been so heavily advertised as a regular broadcast show meant to tap into that vein Star Wars so wonderfully fueled with blood that no kid my age would turn away from watching this. It had just the right amount of swagger and wholesomeness that we were easily swept away to the worlds out there, and -- sure -- it probably promised far more than it ever delivered. And yet ... we still couldn't turn away.
Apollo. Adama. Athena. Starbuck. Boomer. Boxey. Casseopeia.
These were names were got to know very quickly, and we turned in during regular broadcast hours just to see what they were up to this week. As the episodes wore on, it was pretty clear that no TV show could quite match the feverish pitch that Star Wars set (1970's budgets and effects work being what they were), and I think a good number of us were still ok with that. Many who had seen Star Trek before knew that we'd likely be treated to a great deal of reused footage (as opposed to producing new starfight sequences each and every week); but I'd also agree with those who suggested that maybe the writers could've worked a bit harder at concocting stories that relied a bit less on space dogfights. Or -- at the very least -- use them a bit more sparingly ...
Still, what we got was reasonably glorious at times. The acting stayed very good, thanks in large part of the skills of Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict as leading men, along with Laurette Spang and Anne Lockhart (once she joined the program midway) as the leading ladies.
Interestingly enough, I have a vague recollection of arguing with someone online not all that long ago about which of the big SciFi franchises that hasn't aged all that well; and -- if I remember correctly -- the original Galactica was this guy's choice. I don't recall the specifics, but I believe this guy was really nitpicking apart some of the effects sequences. Meh. I get that BSG might not have been to everyone's liking directly -- such is the nature of storytelling -- but for what it's worth I think the effects are still some of the best of their day. Alright, the producers may've relied a bit too heavily of re-using key fight footage, but that's the only way they could've brought the show to life at that scale of production back in the late 1970's without bankrupting the studio. Such is life.
Hate it if you must, but I'll still go to my grave thanking the Lords of Kobol for this wondrous little gem bringing me nothing but smiles when they mattered most.
Hate it if you must, but I'll still go to my grave thanking the Lords of Kobol for this wondrous little gem bringing me nothing but smiles when they mattered most.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
-- EZ
1 Comments
And so say we all!