Conquest of the Earth (1980) (TV)

Directors:

Barry Crane
Sidney Hayers

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (creator)
Glen A. Larson (written by)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Battlestar Galactica and its rag-tag fleet of ships finally arrive at the Earth, only to discover that the planet is not prepared for the inevitable Cylon invasion. |

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Aircraft Carrier | Edited From TV Series

Cast

Kent McCord	...	Troy (archive footage)
Barry Van Dyke	...	Dillon (archive footage)
Robyn Douglass	...	Jamie Hamilton (archive footage)
Lorne Greene	...	Adama (archive footage)
James Patrick Stuart	...	Dr. Zen (archive footage) (as Patrick Stuart)
Richard Lynch	...	Wolfe (archive footage)
Robbie Rist	...	Dr. Zee (archive footage)
John Colicos	...	Baltar (archive footage)
Robert Reed	...	Dr. Donald Mortinson (archive footage)
William Daniels	...	Norman (archive footage)
Lara Parker	...	Shirley (archive footage)
Pamela Susan Shoop	...	Dorothy Carlyle (archive footage)
Sharon Acker	...	(archive footage)
Fred Holliday
Peter Mark Richman	...	Colonel Briggs (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Galactica III: Conquest of the Earth (video title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Norway:12

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The footage of Earth destroyed by Cylons is actually from the film Earthquake (1974) with some Cylon fighters superimposed.

Movie Connections:

Edited from "Galactica 1980" (1980)

All round, a bit of a shame.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch this film again on video. I hadn't seen it since it popped up on TV many years ago, but I was always a fan of the Battlestar Galactica concept.

Sadly, this is not really worth watching. Essentially, it is cobbled together from a few episodes of the Battlestar Galactica II (or even III) TV series. It represents a complete departure though. Virtually all cast members from the original are gone, with the exception of Lorne Greene, reprising his role as Adama. The leads are played by Kent McCord (Adam-12) and Barry Van-Dyke (later from Diagnosis Murder). Watching these three actors, and the infrequent appearance of Robert Reed (from the Brady bunch, in one of his last roles)provides most of the interest in this film. The story is shot full of wholes, but only some of that is due to squashing of the episodes together. But really, compared to the unique and incredible concepts from which it was born, this installment is best forgotten (which appears to have been the attitude taken by Richard Hatch and the producers of the upcoming Battlestar Galactica 2000). Conquest of the Earth looked bad in 1980 - its a lot worse in 2000. Roll on the new movie.