Battlestar Galactica (1978)

After the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet in a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.

Directors:

Richard A. Colla, Alan J. Levi (uncredited)

Writer:

Glen A. Larson

Stars:

Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Hatch	...	Captain Apollo
Dirk Benedict	...	Lieutenant Starbuck
Lorne Greene	...	Commander Adama
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Lieutenant Boomer
Maren Jensen	...	Lieutenant Athena
Tony Swartz	...	Flight Sergeant Jolly
Noah Hathaway	...	Boxey
Terry Carter	...	Colonel Tigh
Lew Ayres	...	President Adar
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Sire Anton
John Colicos	...	Count Baltar
Laurette Spang	...	Cassiopeia
John Fink	...	Dr. Paye
Jane Seymour	...	Serina
Ray Milland	...	Sire Uri

Storyline

After 1,000 years of war, the humans from the Twelve Colonies are near to celebrate an armistice with the evil Cylon Empire. Out of the blue, the Cylons betray the pact and destroy the Colonies and their entire fleet, except the Battlestar Galactica. Commander Adama summons the few survivors from all the Colonies to follow him on a journey to find the mythical planet Earth. However, they are short of water, supplies and fuel and they head to the planet Carillon to replenish the fleet and get the supplies. Adama's son, the warrior Captain Apollo, and his partners Lieutenants Starbuck and Boomer destroy the mines left by the Cylons and they reach the planet. They are welcomed by the inhabitants and find the paradise. Meanwhile, the self-serving human leader Sire Uri wants to destroy their arms and live in the Cylon Empire despite the contempt of Adama. Sire Uri decides to give medals to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer for their bravery on Carillon and invites the warriors to come to the ...

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Plot Keywords:

orchestral music score | outer space | fictional war | chase | ambush | 

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Taglines:

The last Battlestar Galactica leads a ragtag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...for a shining planet known as Earth.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening narration in the theatrical version concluded with the line, "who even now fight to survive far, far away amongst the stars." In the series, the narration concluded with the line, "who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens."

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Goofs

When Apollo and Zac go on patrol together, when Apollo fires his turbo, the pilot's hand is shown on the joystick, but the hand shown is a black man's hand when both pilots are white.

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Quotes

Lieutenant Boomer: Just keep it up, old buddy, you're going to get us into real trouble.
Lieutenant Starbuck: Ten thousand light years from nowhere, our planets shot to pieces, people starving, and *I'm* gonna get us in trouble? What the matter with you? I tell you... yeah, well, we may as well live for today! We might not have many left!

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Alternate Versions

In 1979, this film was reissued theatrically in the United States in "Sensurround", the same short-lived gimmick used for Earthquake, Midway and Rollercoaster.

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Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: Voyager: Workforce: Part I (2001)

User Reviews

The highest potential of any sci-fi series ever...

As remembering 'Battlestar' from the viewpoint of a youngster in the late 70s - early 80s, I would give it a 9/10.

Viewing 'Battlestar' from the viewpoint of a near 30 male in the year 2000, I give it 7/10. (I have all 24 episodes on tape)

The special effects were near the late 70's level of "Star Wars", and that is truly saying something considering this was a made for TV movie / weekly series. Sure, the stories were uneven. However, to put that in perspective, they rode the gambit from the morality plays of Star Trek (TOS) to the character stories of Star Trek (TNG).

The backstory involved the last known group of 'humans'. After they were given a 'Pearl Harbor' job by the alien bad guys and nearly wiped out, they went in search of a long lost colony. This colony was located on a planet called 'Earth'.

This was really a revolutionary show. It took the best 'good vs evil' elements of Star Wars and combined them with the 'every show is a lesson' elements of Star Trek (TOS). If you weren't contemplating the human nature element of the story, you were involved in the characters.

Unfortunately, you were rarely concerned about both of those within the same episode. In my opinion, this is the only major flaw of the series, it was somewhat unbalanced from show to show. This is somewhat understandable from a series that was wrought with network politics and never made it past 25 episodes. Nevertheless, this is a series that would be very much enjoyed by any true sci-fi fan.

If you don't know the history of the show by now... ABC canned it, despite well above average ratings. The brass felt the show was too expensive. What could have been one of the great sci-fi TV series of all time was done after 24 episodes.

I place 'Battlestar' behind only Star Trek (TOS) as the best sci-fi TV series of all time.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Battlestar Galactica

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

148 min 122 min (Ontario) 125 min (Québec) 125 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono Sensurround (theatrical print)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1