Galactica 1980: Difference between revisions

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==Production==
==Production==


In the fall of 1979, ABC Television and Universal Television approached [[Glen A. Larson]] to bring back the Galactica series, and all the parties agreed that the discovery of Earth would be a suitable vehicle for drawing back viewers.  However, many of the actors had moved on to other roles, most of the sets had been struck, and the time available for completing the production before the proposed January 1980 airdate was short. Actors and production personnel who worked on ''Galactica 1980'' describe a crazy shooting schedule that involved working on multiple episodes at the same time, last minute re-writes, and working days that extended well into the night.
In the fall of 1979, ABC Television approached [[Glen A. Larson]] and Universal to bring back the ''Galactica'' series. According to ''1980'' story editor [[Chris Bunch]], neither Larson nor Universal wanted to do the series at all. Bunch claims that both parties were threatened to do the series for reasons which were not known to him, and attributes the reason that Larson agreed to do the series to "[whore] for the money with a bad attitude".<ref name="bunch">{{cite_web|url=http://geocities.com/sjpaxton/bunch.html|title=Battlestar Zone Interview: Chris Bunch|date=|accessdate=11 August 2007|last=Paxton|first=Susan J.|format=|language=}}</ref> This is also corroborated by Bunch's then-writing partner, [[Allan Cole]].<ref name="cole">{{cite_web|url=http://www.battlestargalactica.com/outside_docs/bg_outdoc0030.htm|title=Interview with Galactica 1980 story editor Allan Cole|date=28 Feburary 2005|accessdate=11 August 2007|last=Larocque|first=John|format=|language=}}</ref>


As a result of having crews work overtime, the budget for the series continued to creep up in cost.  That, in conjunction with ratings that went from historic highs with the first episode down to a dismal showing by April, spelled the early end of the program. [http://www.battlestargalactica.com/outside_docs/bg_outdoc0030.htm]
All the parties agreed that the discovery of Earth would be a suitable vehicle for drawing back viewers.  However, many of the actors had moved on to other roles, most of the sets had been struck, and the time available for completing the production before the proposed January 1980 airdate was short.  Actors and production personnel who worked on ''Galactica 1980'' describe a crazy shooting schedule that involved working on multiple episodes at the same time, last minute re-writes, and working days that extended well into the night.
 
For instance, Bunch notes that both he and Cole were "literally blackmailed into the gig because of ostensible expertise in SF".<ref name="bunch"/> They (including [[Robert L. McCullough]]) were story editors for the series, and would chant "Come on, 13" every morning. ("13" is the ratings number that, should ''1980'' ever hit or go below it, would result in the series' cancellation.)<ref name="cole"/>
 
Like episodes of the Original Series, Larson wrote or rewrote the entire series' worth of episodes from either [[w:Hawaii|Hawaii]] or [[w:Malibu|Malibu]].<ref name="bunch"/> Further episode rewrites happened on the sets just prior to shooting.<ref name="cole"/> Additionally, there was no clearly defined purpose to the show prior to development, as the purpose of the show changed on a daily basis. Additionally, new characters were created for the series, and then subsequently dropped as though they never existed.<ref name="cole"/>
 
As a result of having crews work overtime, the budget for the series continued to creep up in cost.  That, in conjunction with ratings that went from historic highs with the first episode down to a dismal showing by April, spelled the early end of the program.<ref name="cole"/>
 
== Budget hell ==
 
Despite what Cole calls "revisionism" from people, such as lead actor [[Kent McCord]] -- who claimed that they needed a way to "economize" ''Battlestar Galactica'', ergo ''1980'' -- ABC "knew very well that Glen [Larson] never met a budget that he didn't hate".<ref name="cole"/>
 
The series itself cost between $1.2 and 1.5 million to produce per episode; the $1.5 million number is the budget that "[[The Super Scouts, Part I]]" used. As ABC only paid $600,000 to $700,000 per episode, Universal was left to pay the remainder for each hour of programming.<ref name="cole"/>
 
Additionally, Cole notes that "there were almost as many producers listed on the show as secretaries. I mean, every day we'd be introduced to another guy who had just joined the staff as a new producer. I don't know what any of them did -- we rarely saw them again -- but they sure were collecting the bucks." He adds that this was Universal's decision as they "figured [that] if they were going to eat the big green slime anyway, they might as well take care of some obligations and dump all their losses into one (overflowing) bucket."<ref name="cole"/> This constant overflow of personnel to the series did nothing to alleviate the budget issues.
 
Ironically, the only episode that did not go over-budget was "[[The Return of Starbuck]]", and so Universal did not have to pay the remainder as, by that time, they were overspent.<ref name="cole"/>


==Syndication and beyond==
==Syndication and beyond==

Revision as of 00:17, 12 August 2007

For information on the parent series, see Battlestar Galactica (TOS). For information on the 2004 "Re-imagined Series," see Battlestar Galactica (RDM).
Shortcut:
1980


Galactica 1980 is a science-fiction television series, a spin-off of the Original Series.

Galactica 1980 was first broadcast on the ABC Television Network in the United States from January 27, 1980, with its final episode first airing on May 4, 1980.

Airing at 7:00 PM, during what was known as the "family hour", the series' target audience was primarily children.

Opening shot from Galactica 1980

Synopsis

Set a generation after the Original Series, the battlestar Galactica and its Fleet of 220 civilian ships finally discover Earth, only to find that the planet is technologically backward in relation to Colonial technology. As a result, Earth couldn't defend itself against the Cylons as originally expected. Therefore, teams of Colonial Warriors are covertly sent to the planet to work incognito with various members of the scientific community, hoping to quickly advance Earth's technology.

The promotional material for Galactica 1980 sets the series at thirty years after the events of the Original Series.

Commander Adama and Colonel Boomer—now second-in-command in place of Colonel Tigh—send Captain "Boxey" Troy, the adopted son of Adama's own son Apollo, and Lt. Dillon to North America. The two become entangled with TV journalist Jamie Hamilton who aids them in devising ways to help Earth's scientists and outwit the Cylons.

Captain Troy and Jamie Hamilton

Cast

Greene (Adama) and Jefferson (Boomer) were the only major cast members of the Original Series to reprise their roles in first nine episodes, with Dirk Benedict reprising his role as Starbuck in the last episode.

Short life

Galactica 1980 had a promising start with a three-hour adventure that saw Troy, Dillon and Hamilton sent back in time to Nazi Germany to save the future, but the series could not sustain this momentum. The series was unceremoniously canceled after only ten episodes, many of which were multi-part stories, or what would be referred to now as story arcs.

The final episode, "The Return of Starbuck," was aired on May 4th, 1980. The final episode featured the return of Dirk Benedict as Lt. Starbuck from the Original Series in a flashback episode, but it wasn't enough to save the series. Repeats were aired through August 17th; the series was replaced by repeats of Fantasy Island the following week.

Production

In the fall of 1979, ABC Television approached Glen A. Larson and Universal to bring back the Galactica series. According to 1980 story editor Chris Bunch, neither Larson nor Universal wanted to do the series at all. Bunch claims that both parties were threatened to do the series for reasons which were not known to him, and attributes the reason that Larson agreed to do the series to "[whore] for the money with a bad attitude".[1] This is also corroborated by Bunch's then-writing partner, Allan Cole.[2]

All the parties agreed that the discovery of Earth would be a suitable vehicle for drawing back viewers. However, many of the actors had moved on to other roles, most of the sets had been struck, and the time available for completing the production before the proposed January 1980 airdate was short. Actors and production personnel who worked on Galactica 1980 describe a crazy shooting schedule that involved working on multiple episodes at the same time, last minute re-writes, and working days that extended well into the night.

For instance, Bunch notes that both he and Cole were "literally blackmailed into the gig because of ostensible expertise in SF".[1] They (including Robert L. McCullough) were story editors for the series, and would chant "Come on, 13" every morning. ("13" is the ratings number that, should 1980 ever hit or go below it, would result in the series' cancellation.)[2]

Like episodes of the Original Series, Larson wrote or rewrote the entire series' worth of episodes from either Hawaii or Malibu.[1] Further episode rewrites happened on the sets just prior to shooting.[2] Additionally, there was no clearly defined purpose to the show prior to development, as the purpose of the show changed on a daily basis. Additionally, new characters were created for the series, and then subsequently dropped as though they never existed.[2]

As a result of having crews work overtime, the budget for the series continued to creep up in cost. That, in conjunction with ratings that went from historic highs with the first episode down to a dismal showing by April, spelled the early end of the program.[2]

Budget hell

Despite what Cole calls "revisionism" from people, such as lead actor Kent McCord -- who claimed that they needed a way to "economize" Battlestar Galactica, ergo 1980 -- ABC "knew very well that Glen [Larson] never met a budget that he didn't hate".[2]

The series itself cost between $1.2 and 1.5 million to produce per episode; the $1.5 million number is the budget that "The Super Scouts, Part I" used. As ABC only paid $600,000 to $700,000 per episode, Universal was left to pay the remainder for each hour of programming.[2]

Additionally, Cole notes that "there were almost as many producers listed on the show as secretaries. I mean, every day we'd be introduced to another guy who had just joined the staff as a new producer. I don't know what any of them did -- we rarely saw them again -- but they sure were collecting the bucks." He adds that this was Universal's decision as they "figured [that] if they were going to eat the big green slime anyway, they might as well take care of some obligations and dump all their losses into one (overflowing) bucket."[2] This constant overflow of personnel to the series did nothing to alleviate the budget issues.

Ironically, the only episode that did not go over-budget was "The Return of Starbuck", and so Universal did not have to pay the remainder as, by that time, they were overspent.[2]

Syndication and beyond

The ten series episodes were rolled into the television syndication package for Battlestar Galactica and were given the same title as its parent program. Some of the episodes were edited together to produce a VHS home video under the title Conquest of the Earth.

As of August 2006, the Sci Fi Channel in America and the SPACE Channel in Canada periodically air the series. The three parts of the pilot were featured as part of SPACE's 2006 New Years Day marathon of the Original Series. Very few out-of-print copies of Conquest of the Earth remain publicly on sale. Unlike its Original Series parent, "Galactica 1980" is not yet available in DVD format and is not included in any Original Series DVD collection.

Episode list

  1. Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I – January 27, 1980
  2. Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II – February 3, 1980
  3. Galactica Discovers Earth, Part III – February 10, 1980
  4. The Super Scouts, Part I – March 16, 1980
  5. The Super Scouts, Part II – March 23, 1980
  6. Spaceball – March 30, 1980
  7. The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I – April 13, 1980 (guest-starring Wolfman Jack)
  8. The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II – April 20, 1980 (guest-starring Wolfman Jack)
  9. Space Croppers – April 27, 1980
  10. The Return of Starbuck – May 4, 1980

Notes

  • The series suffered from what are now considered science fiction clichés. For some fans, the addition of the mysterious Doctor Zee, a prodigy child that serves as counsel to Adama, pushed their suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.
  • Troy, Hamilton and Dillon
    Many fans see Galactica 1980 as an apocryphal non-canonical spin-off of the Original Series. Most fans appreciated the last episode, "The Return of Starbuck," whose story of the fate of a popular character of the Original Series was well written and full of the same energy found in many of of the Original Series episodes. (Battlestar Wiki treats this aired series as canonical for the purposes of this encyclopedia.)

Narration

This is the opening narration to Galactica 1980, spoken by Commander Adama.

"The great ship Galactica, our home for these many years. We've endured the wilderness of space, and now we near the end of our journey: we have at last found Earth."

See also

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Paxton, Susan J.. Battlestar Zone Interview: Chris Bunch (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). Retrieved on 11 August 2007.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Larocque, John (28 Feburary 2005). Interview with Galactica 1980 story editor Allan Cole (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). Retrieved on 11 August 2007.