Galactica 1980 

When the Battlestar Galactica finally arrives at Earth, they find they must subtly raise its tech level while protecting it from the Cylons.

Creator:

Glen A. Larson

Stars:

Kent McCord, Barry Van Dyke, Robyn Douglass

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Kent McCord	...	Captain Troy 10 episodes, 1980
Barry Van Dyke	...	Lieutenant Dillon 10 episodes, 1980
Robyn Douglass	...	Jamie Hamilton 10 episodes, 1980
Lorne Greene	...	Commander Adama 10 episodes, 1980
James Patrick Stuart	...	Dr. Zee 7 episodes, 1980
Fred Holliday	...	Mr. Brooks / ... 5 episodes, 1980
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Colonel Boomer 5 episodes, 1980
Mike Brick	...	Super Scout 5 episodes, 1980
Ronnie Densford	...	Super Scout 5 episodes, 1980
Mark Everett	...	Super Scout / ... 5 episodes, 1980
Georgi Irene	...	Sunshine / ... 5 episodes, 1980
Tracy Justrich	...	Starla 5 episodes, 1980
Lindsay Kennedy	...	Super Scout 5 episodes, 1980
D.G. Larson	...	Super Scout 5 episodes, 1980
Eric Larson	...	Moonstone 5 episodes, 1980
Michelle Larson	...	Super Scout / ... 5 episodes, 1980

Storyline

Thirty years after the events of the series "Battlestar Galactica", the fugitive starfleet finally reaches its legendary destination. But Commander Adama discovers that the planet Earth in 1980 is not technologically advanced enough to help them battle the Cylons. Indeed, by coming to Earth, the Galactica has inadvertently exposed the helpless planet to attack by the android race bent on exterminating all humanity. Therefore, teams of Colonial warriors are covertly sent to the planet to work incognito with various members of the scientific community, hoping to advance Earth's technology.

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Plot Keywords:

cult tv | outer space | battlestar galactica | extraterrestrial human | starship | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Sci-Fi.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Battlestar Galactica

Filming Locations:

Stage 12, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (10 episodes) 60 min (7 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lorne Greene (Adama) and Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Boomer) were the only regular cast members from Battlestar Galactica (1978) who appeared on this show. As a last ditch effort to raise ratings, the producers brought back Dirk Benedict as Starbuck for the last episode.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the series, the Galactica arrives at Earth in the year 1980. It is said by Adama that their voyage has taken 30 years which means that the events of Battlestar Galactica took place around 1950 in Earth time. However, at the very end of the original series (in the episode "The Hand of God"), the Galactica receives a television transmission that shows the 1969 Apollo moon landing. Since the fleet's journey to Earth had only started a few months prior, it means that the events of Battlestar Galactica must have taken place at least in the late 1960s Earth time. In fact it would be at least in the 1970s since television signals travel at the speed of light and the Galactica was obviously far more than a light year away from Earth at the time they received the transmission.

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Quotes

Captain Troy: [after taking off in a Viper from the Galactica] Well, how did you like that?
Jamie Hamilton: Don't bother me, I'm praying.

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Crazy Credits

Several episodes end with the disclaimer: "The United States Air Force stopped investigating UFOs in 1969. After 22 years, they found no evidence of extra-terrestrial visits and no threat to national security." This is due to the series featuring an Air Force division dedicated to looking for UFOs.

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Alternate Versions

An edited version of the final episode, "The Return of Starbuck", was included as part of the syndication package for "Battlestar Glactica". This version eliminates the wrap-around story about Dr. Zee relating his dream to Commander Adama and re-cuts the end so that Starbuck appears to escape.

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Connections

Edited from Earthquake (1974)

User Reviews

A truly awful series and not at all like the original.

The worst series in the world....ever!

After the events of the REAL Battlestar Galactica and series, this troll of a series came along. Gone are Starbuck and Apollo and replacing them are Troy and Dillon. Wannabee heroes who can't act. They might as well have cast Troi (StarTrek TNG) and Dillan (Magic Roundabout) for all the effectiveness they have.

Lorne Greene must have had a mortgage to pay off or something, because I can't see any other reason he'd want to be on board this turkey.

There's a new character, in the form of the obnoxious Dr Zee. A child genius who basically tells Adama what to do. I couldn't help thinking that maybe Adama had gone senile and Zee was his nurse - he always dressed in white, anyhow. It certainly seemed like Adama was senile, he didn't seem to be able to make a decision without consulting the boy-wonder. A far cry from the confident, decisive war veteran of the original Galactica series.

Anyway Troy and Dillon get to inact it up a little and go to Earth on repetitive boring missions. There's none of the interesting space-going malarkey from the original series (even though a lot of it was stock footage) and I don't think I ever saw a starfighter. No budget for anything remotely interesting.

The only gadgets on display were the flying motorcycles (I kid you not) that the heroes use now and again. The special effects of them flying through the air are particularly guffawful, reminding me of those old rear-window shots of roads in black and white films, where the road movements in the background bore no correlation to what the driver did with the wheel.

A truly awful series and not at all like the original. Only one episode is remotely worth watching. Entitled "The Return of Starbuck" it focuses on what happened to Starbuck and has a kind of "Enemy Mine" plot involving a Cylon. Mercifully, it features only very few scenes of Dr Zee and Adama talking and none at all of Troy and Dufus. Nearly all Starbuck.

But, apart from this one episode, the rest of the series is just awful.