Galactica 1980

Opening shot from Galactica 1980

Galactica 1980 is a science-fiction television series, and a spin-off from Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC Television Network in the United States from January 27, 1980 to May 4, 1980.

Synopsis

Set a generation after the original series, the Galactica and its Fleet of 220 civilian ships have finally discovered Earth, only to find that the planet cannot defend itself against the Cylons as originally planned. 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.

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, where they become entangled with TV journalist Jamie Hamilton. The three of them devise ways to help Earth's scientists and outwit the Cylons.

Captain Troy and Jamie Hamilton

Cast

• Lorne Greene - Commander Adama
• Robyn Douglas - Jamie Hamilton
• Herb Jefferson Jr. - Colonel Boomer
• Richard Lynch - Xavier
• Kent McCord - Captain Troy
• Allan Miller - Colonel Sydell
• Patrick Stuart - Doctor Zee
• Robbie Rist - Doctor Zee
• Barry Van Dyke - Lieutenant Dillon

Greene (Adama) and Jefferson (Boomer) were the only major cast members of the Original Series to reprise their roles in this spin-off.

Short life

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

The series also suffered from what are now considered science fiction cliches. 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, Jamie and Dillon

Many fans see Galactica 1980 as a poor, non-canonical spin-off of the Original Series, perhaps one of the worst shows in television science fiction history. However, most fans exclude their contempt of this show when considering its 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.

One curious Cylon character in the two-part episode, "The Night the Cylons Landed" may be the one significant contribution to the "Galactica" saga. In the episode, Cylons disguised in human form arrive on Earth to cause mayhem. This character may have inspired the sinister and mysterious humanoid Cylons that wreak terror and havoc amongst the Colonies in the re-invented "Galactica" series that debuts 23 years later.

Syndication and beyond

The ten Galactica 1980 episodes were rolled into the television syndication package for Battlestar Galactica and were given the same title as its parent program. Several episodes were also released on home video under the title Conquest of the Earth.

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

Other Resources

See also

• Battlestar Galactica, the 1978 movie and series
• Battlestar Galactica (2003), the 2003 miniseries and following regular series
• Battlestar Galactica, the video game

External links

• UGO Galactica 1980 site
• IMDb Entry for Galactica 1980
• Galactica 1980 @ Wikipedia