Battlestar Galactica Discussion III

[RedWolf]

I finished "Galactica Discovers Earth Part III" (Galactica 1980 episode 3) this evening.

I'm not really sure why I'm putting myself through such punishment.

So you'll be thankful for nBSG season 4 despite the mindfraks. That it is better than camp BSG 80.

[big F]

I finished "Galactica Discovers Earth Part III" (Galactica 1980 episode 3) this evening.

I'm not really sure why I'm putting myself through such punishment.

One word Completisum, not actually sure if it is an actual word but you all know what I mean

The only good thing in Galactica 80 was the bikes, we all want one of those.

[Wanzerfan]

Oh...and I forgot to mention...Dick van Dyke's kid doesn't play Boxey (Troy), he plays the other guy (Dillon).

I knew he played one of the two losers, I just couldn't remember which one, since it's been at least a few years since Sci-Fi aired it.

All I'll say is that I bailed on the series when I saw

the freaking fleet children fly.

On the other hand, I did see the finale.

My thoughts on the series finale is that the producers said "We need an episode featuring Starbuck; let's see if we can get Dirk Benedict to save the series." Sad to say not even "The Face" could save it from becoming a train wreck, even though it was the best episode, in my opinion.

Thank god the the network pulled the plug before developing a case of "Galactica 1980 rot".

Edited December 17, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[Gubaba]

I knew he played one of the two losers, I just couldn't remember which one, since it's been at least a few years since Sci-Fi aired it.

And, Sir, Thank you for giving me YET ANOTHER chance to correct your mistakes! Do you have any other menial, dull chores you'd like me to do for you?

[Wanzerfan]

And, Sir, Thank you for giving me YET ANOTHER chance to correct your mistakes! Do you have any other menial, dull chores you'd like me to do for you?

Oh, Hell, I think someone called a tactical nuke...

Right on my head!!!

[Gubaba]

Oh, Hell, I think someone called a tactical nuke...

Right on my head!!!

Don't tempt me, don't tempt me...

Back on topic, I should've already sat down and watched "The Super Scouts, Part 1"...but some some reason, I keep putting it off. I have no idea why...

[-Snowblind-]

Re: The Super Scouts

Don't say you weren't warned...

[Gubaba]

Re: The Super Scouts

Don't say you weren't warned...

I'm dutifully putting in the DVD right now...

[Gubaba]

*sigh*

This show is making me hate life.

[Wanzerfan]

I have a suggestion for you...

Take those disks, load them into a clay pidgeon launcher, take your trusty shotgun, and have fun!!!

[Gubaba]

I have a suggestion for you...

Take those disks, load them into a clay pidgeon launcher, take your trusty shotgun, and have fun!!!

I can't. It was a rental.

No way in hell I would buy this damn series...

Y'know, I wonder...I sometimes come across people who (for whatever reason) prefer the old Galactica to the new Galactica...but I wonder if there's anyone who really, REALLY likes Galactica 1980, and thinks that it's the high point of the saga.

I hope there is. I'd like to shake his hand.

[-Snowblind-]

Be careful, the Crazy may rub off.

[Wanzerfan]

I can't. It was a rental.

No way in hell I would buy this damn series...

Y'know, I wonder...I sometimes come across people who (for whatever reason) prefer the old Galactica to the new Galactica...but I wonder if there's anyone who really, REALLY likes Galactica 1980, and thinks that it's the high point of the saga.

I hope there is. I'd like to shake his hand.

I somewhat prefer the classic series, mainly because it is so close to Larson's original story (he wrote a series of BSG novels around the time the TV series came out). If I can remember correctly, the Cylons were originally not robots, but a bunch of megalomanic reptilians who used the Centurions to try to subjigate the galaxy. Also in the novels,

Baltar was orded to be executed by the Cylon commander as a reward for betraying the colonies. I don't know if it was carried out, since I only read the first few chapters of the first book.

Little known fact: the actor who voiced Lucifer in the original BSG played Dr. Smith in the classic "Lost in Space" television series.

[Gubaba]

Little known fact: the actor who voiced Lucifer in the original BSG played Dr. Smith in the classic "Lost in Space" television series.

Y'know, I think you're right, but I'm unwilling to go look it up.

I somewhat prefer the classic series, mainly because it is so close to Larson's original story (he wrote a series of BSG novels around the time the TV series came out). If I can remember correctly, the Cylons were originally not robots, but a bunch of megalomanic reptilians who used the Centurions to try to subjigate the galaxy. Also in the novels, Baltar was orded to be executed by the Cylon commander as a reward for betraying the colonies. I don't know if it was carried out, since I only read the first few chapters of the first book.

Now, THIS on the other hand, is wrong, and I know because one of my freidns made the same mistake a few months ago, and though the that the show was based on the books. The first book says it's "based on the teleplay," so the show DEFINITELY came first.

It's possible that Baltar was executed in the book...he was certainly executed in the movie version of the pilot.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Gubaba

[Gubaba]

Having finished Super Scouts Part 2, I think it's only fair to list the things I like about Galactica 1980.

1. The rearranged version of the main theme isn't bad.

2. I like how the opening credits recycle all the best special effects shots from the original show, and have no connection to Galactica 1980 itself.

3. The occasional songs that pop up in the background: Billy Joel's "My Life," Fleetwood Mac, Anne Murray singing "Daydream Believer." It's oddball and unexpected.

4. Seeing the Universal Studios backlot. Considering that for a while there as a kid, I went to Universal Studios for my birthday every year, a lot of it looks quite familiar (and once, I even got picked to ride the stationary motorcycle on the sound stage with the blue screen behind it. Unfortunately, it didn't fly, but I was probably on exactly the same stage the Galactica actors were when they filmed the motorcycle close-up shots).

5. The way the three-part debut set up the series to be about Troy and Dillon chasing Xavier (whose name some characters pronounce "Zavier" and others "Havier"), but that gets entirely ignored in "The Super Scouts."

And, um...that's about it really.

[Keith]

I'll bet RDM & the others of BSG are Big Anime Fans, secretly Macross fans as well!!

Since a few have not seen the Finale yet, My 1st thought when the Galactica rammed the Colony, The Daedalus Attack!!!

I'd actually wager anime fans in general, since what I've read from all of you guys chatting about it, sounds a hell of a lot like the plotline to the Gall Force OVA's.

[Gubaba]

Gah. Just watched "Spaceball." Lord, does this show suck.

And, um...what's the deal with disclaimer at the end of the episodes:

"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."

Seems like kind of a strange thing to put...

[Dobber]

Gubba, when are you going to get back to the good show? I keep checking back but every new post is about the god aweful 1980 or the original. I want you to experience the new so I can re-live it again!!

Chris

[Gubaba]

Gubba, when are you going to get back to the good show? I keep checking back but every new post is about the god aweful 1980 or the original. I want you to experience the new so I can re-live it again!!

Chris

Sorry about that.

I probably won't get to Season 4 until my birthday, on Tuesday.

But the Galactica 1980 box set is due back tomorrow, and I won't be renting it again.

[Gubaba]

FINALLY!! An episode of Galactica 1980 I liked!

No, not the Return of Starbuck (I'm not there yet), but "The Night the Cylons Landed." Man, I hope the re-imagined series has an analogue to this episode...Cylons come to earth (and hey! There's a new kind of Cylon that looks human!) and attempt to take it over BY KIDNAPPING WOLFMAN JACK!!

The other episodes have been dull overall, but this one got SO ridiculous and insane that it achieves a certain kind of greatness. Colonial warriors attacked by street thugs! Car chases! Cuban hijackers! Costume parties! Musical numbers! Super Scouts at Griffith Park Observatory! LINDA RONSTADT! And holding the whole thing together, the aforementioned Wolfman.

BRILLIANT!!

[eugimon]

Well, be prepared to be disappointed then. Ron's BSG or, as as it's affectionately known as, GINO (Galactica in name only) never reaches such dazzling heights as what you described. Sadly, the like grey color palette the show is shot in, the plots remain dismal, focusing rather on mundane human foibles rather than gloriously basking in stunt casting and racial stereotypes.

Prepare to take your fun hat off when you pick up season 4 and reach over for that bottle of scotch... you're gonna need it.

[big F]

ROTFL they showed The night the Cylons came to earth as a movie in some cinemas in the U.K my bro and I saw it twice, well it was current then and I was 11.

The reeboot is some much better, something not to be embaressed about telling your mates about.

[Gubaba]

ROTFL they showed The night the Cylons came to earth as a movie in some cinemas in the U.K my bro and I saw it twice, well it was current then and I was 11.

You should sue Universal Studios for exploitation...it's amazing how much crap made for TV here in the States got exported for "European Theatrical Release."

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, The Night the Cylons Landed, hell, probably even the Greatest American Hero.

[Skullsixx]

WOW!!! Talking about the POSITIVES in Galactica 1980 is like saying ya like peanuts in sh!t!!!

[Gubaba]

WOW!!! Talking about the POSITIVES in Galactica 1980 is like saying ya like peanuts in sh!t!!!

It gets boring just saying, "Oh, this episode sucked. And this episode sucked, too." So I decided to actively search for things to enjoy. And really, the Wolfman Jack episodes were SO DAMN WEIRD that there was something kind of wonderful about them, in the same way that an Ed Wood or Coleman Francis movie can be wonderful.

And I watched "Space Croppers" earlier this afternoon. Um...the girl was pretty. That's about all I can say.

[Keith]

Speaking of Galactica 1980, for those who have seen all of the new series

On that dead Earth they found, were there rusted out carcuses of flying viper motorcycles?

[RedWolf]

Speaking of Galactica 1980, for those who have seen all of the new series

On that dead Earth they found, were there rusted out carcuses of flying viper motorcycles?

What?

All I saw is the nuked Brooklyn bridge, a samurai Centurion, and Kara's wrecked Viper with her corpse.

[Gubaba]

I've finished Galactica 1980, and the infernal discs have been removed from my home, never again to cross my threshold.

I get the feeling that the sole reason the "The Return of Starbuck" is widely considered the only good episode in the series is because it has Starbuck in it. Other than that, it was just as lame as the other episodes...what with Starbuck's cheesier-than-Blade-Runner narration, a moody, PMS-ing Cylon, and Creepy-Glazed-Eyes Chick (who I'm assuming was one of the "angels" from the first series, but that was all left totally unclear).

And...um...the Cylon's voice sounded A) different from every other Cylon ever seen, and B) really familiar. Was it Gary Owen? It sounded like him, but his name was nowhere in the credits...

[-Snowblind-]

Yes, it was Gary Owens (according to Wikipedia).

[Gubaba]

Yes, it was Gary Owens (according to Wikipedia).

Hmmm...guess I should've just checked it out myself, huh?

Anyway, throughout most of the episode, I was hitting myself over the head trying to place that voice...and them suddenly, I remembered the San Diego Zoo commercial (narrated by Gary Owens) that aired when I was a kid...

Anyway, I'm done with Galactica 1980 now. Next: I begin Season 4. So, Dobber, you can come back now.

[505thAirborne]

Well Tuesday is almost here Gubaba, you can finally start watching the Good BSG again & start season 4. If you thought the series was a bit dark.... it gets darker!

Doing my best not to give anything away.

[blacklotus]

I'm a person who loves Battlestar Galactica 1980.

Why? Simple. Without BSG 1980, there won't be a BSG2K for us to use it to claim that BSG1980 taste like poo.

So it that sense, I love all the great (but now looks cheesy in year 2009) sci-fi TV shows of the 80s and yesteryears. (Buck Rogers, BSG1980, V, etc)

After all, when compared to BSG1980, Buck Rogers and V, Star Trek looks like poo too. But I love them all.

p.s. I just finished watching BSG1980 yesterday on Sunday morning, just to get a short break from playing Master of Orion 2 for 16 hours straight.

[Gubaba]

I'm a person who loves Battlestar Galactica 1980.

Why? Simple. Without BSG 1980, there won't be a BSG2K for us to use it to claim that BSG1980 taste like poo.

So it that sense, I love all the great (but now looks cheesy in year 2009) sci-fi TV shows of the 80s and yesteryears. (Buck Rogers, BSG1980, V, etc)

After all, when compared to BSG1980, Buck Rogers and V, Star Trek looks like poo too. But I love them all.

p.s. I just finished watching BSG1980 yesterday on Sunday morning, just to get a short break from playing Master of Orion 2 for 16 hours straight.

I think you may be confusing the 1978-79 Battlestar Galactica with Galactica 1980, which is for all intents and purposes, a wholly separate show...

[Mog]

It's actually good that you took a minor break between Seasons 3 and 4, Gubaba.

It took me awhile to let the big Cylon reveals from Season 3 really sink in.

[Gubaba]

It's actually good that you took a minor break between Seasons 3 and 4, Gubaba.

It took me awhile to let the big Cylon reveals from Season 3 really sink in.

It took a while to sink in for me, as well. At first, I was shocked, then it it became kind of a "Nah, it can't be" kind of thing, and then I thought, "Well, none of them want to be Cylons, so it'll all be okay," and then I realized that not wanting to be a Cylon...well, it might not be enough.

And then there's Starbuck to consider. What happened to her? How is she okay? Or IS she okay? And then Razor complicated that bit of the story even further, with the Hybrid saying she would lead humanity to destruction, but...can humans really trust the Hybrid...?

Believe me, while I've been watching the adventures of cut-rate Apollo and Starbuck riding around on their flying motorcycles, while super scouts rescue baseball camps and farms (and, I hasten to add, WOLFMAN JACK GETTING KIDNAPPED BY CYLONS!!!!), the end of Season 3 is still worming around in my brain.

Y'know, I don't know if anyone's read the Jerry Cornelius novels of Michael Moorcock, but the edition from the '70s that I have has an introduction by the noted British science-fiction critic John Clute, which has a section which I believe is pertinent here. Unfortunately, the introduction doesn't seem to be available online, and my copy of the book is packed away, so I have to paraphrase from memory.

Clute started out with a story about a somewhat mediocre composer and music publisher (Anton Diabelli) who wrote a little waltz and tried to get a lot of famous composers to write variations on it, which he would then publish all together. One of the composers he approached was an aged (and deaf) Beethoven, who slammed the door in his face.

But later, Beethoven found himself interested in the tune, and wrote not one, but 33 variations on the the waltz. Clute concluded that the 33 variations were "the real tune," presumably because of the depth and complexity of them in comparison to Diabelli's original.

Likewise (Clute said), Michael Moorcock created Jerry Cornelius as a hip, '60s, English super-spy, and encouraged others writers to write stories about him, which they did. Then Moorcock wrote the Cornelius novels, which are deeper, more complex, and more personal than any of the Cornelius short stories that he or others wrote about the character. The novels are "the real tune."

And so, after watching all 24 episodes of the original Galactica, and all ten episode of Galactica 1980, and seeing the greater depth, complexity, and drama of the newer series...I'm inclined to think of the newer series NOT as a "re-imagined" variation on the original, but "the real tune."

That may be unfair of me, but from my perspective, the new series has wholly usurped any authority the first series had, so that the old series seems more like a weak imitation of the new one, rather than the new one being a variation on the old.

Perhaps that's going too far, but it's the way it appears to me right now.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying that during my viewing of Galactica 1980, all the while, there was a part of my mind thinking, "This is fun and all, but what's going to happen next in the REAL story?"

EDIT: Oh, and if you haven't read the Jerry Cornelius books...you should.

Edited December 21, 2009 by Gubaba