"Battlestar Galactica" (1978) TV series 1978-1979

Creator:

Glen A. Larson
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

17 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Action | Adventure

Plot:

The last major Colonial fighter carrier leads a makeshift fleet of human refugees on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Commander | Fugitive | Space | Refugee | Corporal

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Richard Hatch	...	Capt. Apollo (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Dirk Benedict	...	Lt. Starbuck (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Lorne Greene	...	Commander Adama / ... (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Lt. Boomer (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
John Colicos	...	Baltar (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Maren Jensen	...	Athena (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Noah Hathaway	...	Boxey (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Laurette Spang	...	Cassiopeia (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Tony Swartz	...	Flight Sgt. Jolly / ... (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Terry Carter	...	Colonel Tigh (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
David Greenan	...	Omega / ... (19 episodes, 1978-1979)
Patrick Macnee	...	Opening Credit Announcer / ... (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Anne Lockhart	...	Sheba (12 episodes, 1978-1979)
Sarah Rush	...	Flight Cpl. Rigel / ... (11 episodes, 1978-1979)
Felix Silla	...	Lucifer (10 episodes, 1978-1979)
Jonathan Harris	...	Lucifer (9 episodes, 1978-1979)

Series Directed by
Rod Holcomb		(5 episodes, 1978-1979)
Christian I. Nyby II		(5 episodes, 1978)
Alan J. Levi		(4 episodes, 1978)
Daniel Haller		(3 episodes, 1979)
Donald P. Bellisario		(2 episodes, 1978-1979)
Richard A. Colla		(2 episodes, 1978)
Vince Edwards		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Writing credits
Glen A. Larson		(22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Donald P. Bellisario		(11 episodes, 1978-1979)
Michael Sloan		(4 episodes, 1978-1979)
Jim Carlson		(3 episodes, 1978-1979)
Terrence McDonnell		(3 episodes, 1978-1979)
John Ireland		(2 episodes, 1978)
Ken Pettus		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Produced by
Glen A. Larson	....	executive producer (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Donald P. Bellisario	....	supervising producer / producer (20 episodes, 1978-1979)
David J. O'Connell	....	producer / co-producer (18 episodes, 1978-1979)
David G. Phinney	....	associate producer (18 episodes, 1978-1979)
Gary Winter	....	associate producer (16 episodes, 1978-1979)
John Dykstra	....	producer (4 episodes, 1978)
Winrich Kolbe	....	associate producer (2 episodes, 1978)
Leslie Stevens	....	supervising producer (2 episodes, 1978)
Michael Sloan	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Stu Phillips		(22 episodes, 1978-1979)

Series Cinematography by
Ben Colman		(11 episodes, 1978-1979)
H. John Penner		(7 episodes, 1978)
Enzo A. Martinelli		(2 episodes, 1978)
Frank Thackery		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Film Editing by
Leon Ortiz-Gil		(11 episodes, 1978-1979)
Michael Berman		(7 episodes, 1978-1979)
George Potter		(7 episodes, 1978-1979)
David Howe		(6 episodes, 1978-1979)
John J. Dumas		(2 episodes, 1978)
Robert L. Kimble		(2 episodes, 1978)
John F. Schreyer		(2 episodes, 1978)
Larry Strong		(2 episodes, 1978)
John Elias		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Patti Hayes		(15 episodes, 1978-1979)
Mark Malis		(7 episodes, 1978)

Series Art Direction by
Paul Peters		(8 episodes, 1979)
Richard D. James		(7 episodes, 1978)
Bill Camden		(6 episodes, 1979)
Mary Dodson		(4 episodes, 1978)
James J. Murakami		(4 episodes, 1979)
John E. Chilberg II		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Set Decoration by
Lowell Chambers		(13 episodes, 1978)
Sam Gross		(9 episodes, 1979)
Mickey S. Michaels		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Costume Design by
Jean-Pierre Dorléac		(22 episodes, 1978-1979)

Series Makeup Department
Scott H. Eddo	....	makeup artist (1 episode, 1978)
Paul Griffin	....	hair stylist (1 episode, 1978)
Marvin C. Thompson	....	makeup artist (1 episode, 1978)
Joy Zapata	....	hair stylist (1 episode, 1978)

Series Production Management
Harker Wade	....	unit production manager (19 episodes, 1978-1979)
Rowe Wallerstein	....	unit production manager (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Watson Sanford	....	second assistant director (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
William Holbrook	....	first assistant director (10 episodes, 1978-1979)
Phil Cook	....	first assistant director (9 episodes, 1978-1979)
Katy Emde	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)
Britt Lomond	....	first assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)
Chuck Lowry	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)
Nick Marck	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)
Herb Adelman	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1979)

Series Art Department
Margaret Mazzola	....	set dressing (4 episodes, 1978-1979)
Yarek Alfer	....	property maker (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Earl Crain Jr.	....	sound / sound mixer (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
Dick Wahrman	....	sound effects editor (13 episodes, 1978-1979)
Peter Berkos	....	sound effects editor (9 episodes, 1978)
James R. Alexander	....	sound (4 episodes, 1978)
Cliff Bell Jr.	....	dialogue editor (2 episodes, 1978)
Charlie King	....	sound (2 episodes, 1979)

Series Special Effects by
Joe Goss	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1978)
Karl G. Miller	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1978)
John Peyser	....	special electronics effects (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Visual Effects by
Peter Anderson	....	visual effects supervisor (19 episodes, 1978-1979)
David M. Garber	....	production and special effects consultant (17 episodes, 1978-1979)
Wayne Smith	....	production and special effects consultant (17 episodes, 1978-1979)
David Stipes	....	visual effects (3 episodes, 1979)

Series Stunts
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts (12 episodes, 1978-1979)
John Ashby	....	utility stunts (6 episodes, 1978-1979)
Marneen Fields	....	stunt double: Jane Seymour / stunt performer: camel rider / ... (4 episodes, 1978)
Bob Bralver	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Paula Crist	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Michael M. Vendrell	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Michael J. Schwartz	....	electrician (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Mario DiLeo	....	camera operator: second unit / director of photography: second unit (2 episodes, 1978)
Stephen Vaughan	....	still photographer (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mark Peterson	....	costume supervisor (16 episodes, 1978-1979)
Haleen K. Holt	....	costume illustrator (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Virgil E. Hammond III	....	post-production: Universal Studios, Los Angeles (3 episodes, 1978)

Series Music Department
Stu Phillips	....	composer: theme / composer: theme music / ... (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Glen A. Larson	....	composer: theme music (21 episodes, 1978-1979)
Herbert D. Woods	....	music editor (18 episodes, 1978-1979)
James D. Young	....	music editor (6 episodes, 1978)

Series Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Other crew
Jim Carlson	....	story editor (10 episodes, 1978-1979)
Terrence McDonnell	....	story editor (10 episodes, 1978-1979)

Production Companies

• Glen A. Larson Productions
• Universal TV

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1978-1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AXN (2009) (Hungary) (TV) (as AXN Sci-Fi)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1986) (Greece) (VHS)
• Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO) (1981-1982) (Netherlands) (TV) (17 episodes)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Studios USA Television
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (complete series)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Apogee Productions
• Universal Hartland

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min (24 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) (VHS/DVD rating) | Canada:PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company:

Glen A. Larson Productions

Trivia:

Props from this series were later recycled for "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979).

Goofs:

Continuity: Also, the Rising Star brought Uri from his home, which had to be on one of the other eleven planets (the novelization says that he was Leon.) This makes sense, as we can see when Apollo leaves Jolly below decks, we see the writing L.S.S. Rising Star on the bulkhead. Yet, in "The Long Patrol," Athena's computer lists it as T.S.S. Rising Star, making it Tauron.

Quotes:

Commander Adama:Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestar, Galactica leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest... a shining planet known as Earth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: The Garage Door (#1.12)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

It's Love, Love, Love

Engaging Sci-Fi Epic

Battlestar Galactica had so much going for it, and so much working against it from outside influences. That is has held up as an engaging sci-fi epic despite its myriad off-screen problems and short network run is a tribute to its many strengths in concept, overall production values, cast, and presentation.

Galactica was conceived as a series of TV movies, similar in format to the Columbo-McCloud-McMillan movie series format from earlier in the 1970s. However, late in the going ABC asked for a weekly series, a contingency for which Glen Larson, Universal, and company were not prepared. As a result, the series had a very uneven quality to the scripts, most notoriously shown in the standard-western scripts of the episodes "The Lost Warrior" and "The Magnificent Warriors." The passage of time, though, has been kind even to such clichés; the standard-western format of these early episodes can be traced to the western gunslinger themes of Star Wars and other 1970s sci-fi, and the performances of the casts, primary and guest, shine through and make these scripts work.

And as the show progressed mistakes were learned from and the writing became better. "Saga Of A Star World," "Lost Planet Of The Gods Part II," "The Long Patrol," and "The Living Legend" were more-sharply written stories combining the excellence of the cast with very good twists. It was with "Living Legend" (highlighted by Lloyd Bridges' show-stealing performance as Commander Cain, for which he will always be remembered) that really got the show's writing on a truly solid base, and excellent scripts followed in "War Of The Gods" (another story highlighted by the performance of the guest star, in this case Patrick Macnee, who immortalizes himself as Count Iblis), the excellent character-driven "The Man With Nine Lives," the surprisingly sharp murder mystery "Murder On The Rising Star," "Greetings From Earth," and the show's strongest and smoothest action drama "The Hand Of God."

The cast shines through good and bad in the show, from Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, and John Colicos (my personal favorite of the show) down through Herbert Jefferson Jr., Laurette Spang, Terry Carter, Jane Seymour in her all-too-brief involvement, and mid-season addition Anne Lockhart. The underused George Murdock, Jack Stauffer, John Dullaghan as Doctor Wilker, Ed Begley Jr., Sheila DeWindt, Janet Louise Johnson, Tony Swartz, and Larry Manetti also sparkle in their appearances, as does veteran character actor Olan Soule as agro ship caretaker Carmichel.

Guest stars were used to superb effect in many episodes. In addition to Lloyd Bridges and Patrick Macnee (both as Count Iblis and the Cylon Imperious Leader - the show smartly gave Iblis an angle on the fact that his voice is the same as that of the supreme Cylon), other show-making guest performers included Lance leGault (of later "A-Team" fame), Lloyd Bochner, James Whitmore Jr., John Hoyt, Murray Matheson (in two roles, Sire Gella and the Cylon IL Specter), and Ina Balin. The interplay between the characters in the main and guest casts was always superb, and the off-screen camaraderie among the cast (most hilariously shown in Galactica's in-house gag reel film displaying series outtakes, where Macnee lampoons his opening narration and Colicos concludes by offering to sell some swampland in Florida in full Baltaresque charm, and in the closing top-hat number "We Gotta Find Earth" sung hilariously by Hatch, Benedict, and Greene) made the performances all the better.

Much has been made of how the show reused SFX shots every episode; the criticism usually ignores the reality that no sci-fi series of the time could afford not to reuse stock SFX footage - Galactica's practice was hardly unprecedented to fans of the earlier Land Of The Lost series. Made today of course the show could feature new SFX each episode given the advances in SFX technology.

The combination of concept, cast, overall production values, and presentation made for an immensely enjoyable sci-fi series. Comparisons with the new Ronald Moore Galactica series are inevitable, but both add something to a superb concept.