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 | psychotronic series | battlestar galactica | extraterrestrial human | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This show was originally to be more straightforward and dramatic, similar to Battlestar Galactica (1978). However, a limited budget, along with the network scheduling the show to air in a timeslot reserved for family friendly, educational, and information themed shows, resulted in a drastic overhaul of the show's format.

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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 into Conquest of the Earth (1980)

User Reviews

That bad, HOWEVER. . .

At least this attempt at trying to revive BG still retained the FUN of the original series. I saw this series when it first came out, boy was I excited! My disappointment at the time was the lack of ninety some percent of the original cast. Other than that, as an eight year old kid, I didn't care.

Then through the years I read about the crap that it contained. I read that BG fans the world over don't consider it canon and that it's a conspiracy. I can agree with them on that, too!

(I've said this before, I'll say it again, poor Barry Van Dyke has the dismal honor of being cast in two failed revival shows, the other being Airwolf. Both shoes were on the premise of some revival, though the 1987 Airwolf was done mostly to get the show on the syndication market, and both had writing problems, continuity errors, and very limited budgets.)

Fast forward to 2008 when IMDb started having viewable episodes on site. Despite the cheesiness, corniness and continuity errors, the show is STILL FUN TO WATCH! While I still agree the G1980 was utter crap, at least it's still watchable in my humble opinion. Other than comedy, so called "serious" shows today (whether they be SciFi or Drama) lack the fun of both BG and G1980.

This was a poor execution of the right idea: meaning that we BG fans wanted it back on the air, but got less than stellar results. Too bad bickering over the years and other factors got in the way of making it "right." It's a shame the new incarnation wasn't a continuation (I enjoy it by the way. They really put their effort into the stories and characters, even if the fun is gone and it is a dark series.) While it is a superb series in its own right, the fans were just completely ignored IMHO. It didn't really have to retain the fun, but continuation would have been nice, even if it's darker. But that's another story.

Galactica 1980, crap fest? Sure. But I give it credit for retaining the fun of the original. Makes it watchable if you don't pay too much attention to all the things against it.

Details

Official Sites:

Sci-Fi.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Galactica 1980

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