Battlestar Galactica (TOS)
- For information on the 2004 "Re-imagined" miniseries and regular series of the same name, see Battlestar Galactica (RDM). For information on the short-lived Original Series spin-off, see "Galactica 1980."
The original 1978 premiere of "Battlestar Galactica" was the show that started it all.
Introduction and Concept
The original "Battlestar Galactica" television series premiered on the ABC television network in September 1978. One of the most spectacular television programs ever produced, "Battlestar Galactica" ran only a single season but retained an active fan following to this day.
"Battlestar Galactica" (also known as the Original Series on this wiki to differentiate it from its "Re-imagined" Series counterpart) was created by Glen A. Larson. The show concept gradually evolved from an earlier project titled Adam's Ark. Although Larson had first proposed Ark in the late 1960's, it wasn't until 1978, after the success of Star Wars, that interest in the show developed.
Production History
Initially envisioned as a series of TV movies for ABC, which would consist of a three hour premiere and two additional movies of two hours in length, "Battlestar Galactica" was ultimately developed into a regular television series.
To defray costs, the three hour premiere was re-cut as a theatrical release. Several weeks before the TV series premiered in America, the series pilot appeared as a two hour film in Canada, Europe and Japan. Opening on July 7, 1978, the theatrical release did quite well, given modest expectations.
The three hour "Galactica" pilot first broadcast on ABC on September 17, 1978. For the next eight months, 17 original episodes of the series were aired, totaling 24 hours of broadcasting. Citing declining ratings and cost overruns, ABC cancelled "Battlestar Galactica" in April 1979. Its last episode, "The Hand of God," was broadcast on April 29.
After the series' cancellation, the pilot was edited together into a new theatrical release, with certain scenes trimmed or edited out completely. This release is notable for the incorporation of the "Sensurround" enhancement system first introduced in the film Earthquake in 1974, and is considered by most critics as perhaps the only film where the technology was used properly. It was, in fact, the last of only four films ever released in the US to feature Sensurround.
Episodes of Battlestar Galactica
During its single season, the series went through a few phases, as the Fleet got farther away from the Colonies, and closer to Earth. After the initial series pilot, where the Fleet visited Carillon, the next stop was the mythic planet Kobol where the ancient birthplace of humanity was found. Together, these two stories established the mythos of the series.
Next, there were a series of episodes where the Colonials visited lost colonies such as Equellus, Proteus and Antilla.
In the middle of the season were some two part episodes that established foils for Commander Adama with the introduction of Commander Cain and Count Iblis.
Then, there were some episodes that focused on the life of the Fleet, focusing on characters such as Chameleon. This was followed by a series of episodes based around the Terra arc.
Lastly, the Cylons, who had been absent for awhile, were reintroduced in the final episode of the series.
Narration
The opening narration to the Original Series:
"There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. They may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive far, far away, amongst the stars."
Closing narration to the Orignal Series:
"Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestar, Galactica, leads a ragtag, fugitive fleet, on a lonely quest—for a shining planet known as Earth."