Battlestar Galactica (TV Series) Lost Planet of the Gods: Part 2 (1978) User Reviews

Space soap opera

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 7 June 2016]

Plot; Adama orders the Galactica through a starless void, convinced he's found the path to the planet Kobol and the origins of humanity.

No one will ever confuse the original 'Battlestar Galactica' with deep, thought provoking science fiction, but I have to say its basic mythology (based in no small part on creator Glen Larson's own Mormon faith) is pretty well thought out. We get a good taste of that here in part 2 of "Lost Planet of the Gods", and it's effectively employed, giving the still in progress universe a little depth and grounding.

The planet Kobol is very Egyptian in nature, and some very nice real life location shots of the great Pyramids (with some unfortunate and rather obvious stand ins for our actors) are mixed with some excellent set work. Whatever else one may say about 'BSG', the production values here are first rate. Well ahead of other genre shows of the era. Compare them to Larson's sci-fi follow-up 'Buck Rogers' and its sometimes public access quality sets and costumes to see what I mean.

We also get a really nice performance from Richard Hatch (Apollo). The swaggering Starbuck often steals the show right out from under its supposed lead, but Hatch is very good here. Whether unleashing his anger against the traitorous Baltar or weeping for the death of his new wife (played by the impossibly beautiful Jane Seymour), he shows flashes of a far more interesting character than the stiff and sensible one I remember. Hopefully there's more of that to come.

A solid story wrapped around a tender romance, loss and some exciting dogfights equals a very solid start to the series proper.

Pyramids-- In Space! (and this time we really mean it)

[profh-1 · 7/10 · 14 December 2010]

So often with old-fashioned 2-parters, the story's title is an enigma, until you get to Part 2. So it is here.

So much is going on here. Most of the pilots are on the verge of death from an unknown illness, their replacements, all women, are still barely learning the ropes, the fleet is faced with a magnetic void which makes radar & visual near-impossible, and to spare his best friend, Starbuck went on a re-con flight solo and disappeared, now presumed dead! In the midst of this, Apollo & Serina decide to get married, while Adama believes the void may contain the planet Kobol, original home-world of the Colonies. This proves correct, and soon they've landed an expedition to explore the largest ruins of a dead city.

I've always had a thing for ancient Egypt, and this was the 3rd film in 2 years that featured The Great Pyramids and the Temple Of Luxor (the other 2 being THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and DEATH ON THE NILE). As with the designs of the pilots' helmets, the implication is clear that the people who built the pyramids on Earth originated on Kobol.

Meanwhile, Starbuck has actually been captured and taken back to a Cylon Base Ship. In a completely hopeless situation, he never lets down his bravado, as when he light-heartedly comments, "I like the way you haven't gone overboard on furniture", and then lights his match by striking it on a Centurion's armor. (James Garner would have been proud of this guy!) It's at this point he discovers Baltar-- the man who betrayed the Colonies to the Cylons-- is still alive, and in charge of the Base Ship! Baltar claims to come as a friend, then has Starbuck hauled away for safe-keeping. Baltar was probably never more devious than he is in this episode. He tells his Cylon assistant, Lucifer, that he has a scheme whereby he can "lure" Adama into Cylon hands without firing a single shot-- and that it requires him to go and face Adama ALONE. This, he does, and confronting his "old friend" in the ancient underground crypt, he tells him the Cylon Empire is in chaos, spread out across space searching for them. He further states that ONE Battlestar could take control of the Cylon home planet and win the war.

Having seen 12 planets of people destroyed (including his wife and younger son), Adama is having NONE of it. Baltar warns if he's not heard from soon his Cylon "friends" might gets antsy, and this is exactly what happens. Lucifer, sitting in the Command seat ("just getting the feel!") says "It appears Baltar's plan has failed-- whatever that plan may have been!" It's clear Lucifer doesn't trust Baltar, EITHER!

I've seen this at least 4 times, and it's taken me this long to figure out what was probably going on (though there's still no way to be really sure, the way it was written). It's obvious Baltar meant to double-cross SOMEBODY. The question has always been-- WHO? My feeling after seeing it again is that he was GENUINE in his plea to Adama. The Cylons double-crossed Baltar in the 1st episode, now he wants revenge. But Adama has other plans. It's interesting that in the remake decades later, Adama initially wanted to strike back at the Cylons, and had to be talked out of it. But in the original version here, someone tried to talk him INTO striking back, and he refused.

So, thanks to Lucifer, the Cylons attack, the inscription that MIGHT have led Adama to Earth is destroyed, Baltar is trapped under some rubble, and unable to free him, Adama & co. leave him behind, as Baltar swears revenge on his sidekick. The near-death pilots, recovering slowly thanks to Dr. Salik, return to duty just in time to save the raw recruits from disaster. But before they can flee the planet, Serina gets shot, and winds up dying in a slow, painful farewell scene after-wards.

Jane Seymour's character was originally supposed to be dying of radiation poisoning when they shot the pilot, but someone changed their minds and decided to make Serina a regular. She wasn't interested in a long-term series at that point, and requested to have Serina bumped off. And so, she becomes the latest in a long line of women who married "Cartright" men (or the nearest equivalent) who came to sad ends.

My one real problem with this story is mainly in retrospect, and that's that I can't get a grip on the "geography" of the overall big story. It seems they spend the first half of the season just running in circles around their own huge star system (which has more than just the dozen "Colony" planets). Considering the number of planets with humans on them they kept running into, it sure seems THIS story should have taken place a bit later in the run (as, indeed, it did in the remake). Nevertheless, it still stands as the BEST of the early stories, and a sign of how much potential this show had-- but only rarely ever lived up to.

Better then part 1

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 15 May 2023]

Better then part 1, but part 1 was build up for part 2! Part 2 has it all. Romance, marriage, mystery of what is the blinking star at the end of the void, and special effect attacks. The female pilots stand alone and fight and attack until the regulars recover from sick bay. Relationships hit stress after the attacks. Surprise twists for the ending, Baltar appears, a sad ending. Effects and huge budget with pyramids is memorable. I like the mystery of trying to find the lost planet. The stew of stories, characters, effects, sets creates great dynamics for a new series. The 4 episode were like two full length movies. Lunched a great t v series! 8 stars.

Good second part

[keyope · 9/10 · 25 May 2018]

The second part of Lost Planet of the Gods does a good job in adding to the mythology of the Galactica series. Adama and co visit an Egyptian site on the planet and find clues to the whereabouts of earth. There are some genuine shocks and excitement in this episode. Starbuck provides some great humour (lighting a match on a cylon's chest is a highlight) and Adama adds weight to proceedings as usual. Apollo has some challenging stuff to deal with and this episode features some serious acting that's very well done. One of the better episodes.

Jane Seymour

[RavenGlamDVDCollector · 8/10 · 18 April 2017]

In the midst of the space saga and the galactic battles, I will point out the human element: Captain Apollo and his beautiful bride Serina make for one of the most memorable couples on film EVER! Epitome of evil John Colicos as Baltar continues to be a superb villain. And Starbuck in that wonderful scene where he uses the steel frame of the hulking Cylon as tinder to light the match for his cigar! Love the reaction of the beastly dumb thing!

It's a crying shame that, I suppose, Jane had other engagements, and had to be written out of the story. This is the part she was meant to play. Above everything else.

A lot to like, but of course, you have to look past the bits where you can almost literally see how they "connected the dots"... Notice how the Colonial Vipers seem to be images on sheets of plastic, and these sheets are moved AND OUTLINED against the star- spangled black velvet? But a fan tries just so hard NOT to notice.

Episode is a bit ruined by the Egyptology bit. Producers took the reasonably easy way out to let the ancient Pharaoh's capricious desires to have all those monuments built, do the work for them instead of designing a set-up of their own. Oh, how the detractors would scoff at the old TV classic for this!

Wholly unsatisfactory death scene, drawn out, loses impact, unconvincing, could have been done much better. Noticeably, Noah Hathaway could have played the part of Bambi without any makeup.