Original Series References

See also: Re-imagined Series References __NOEDIT__

References to "Battlestar Galactica"

Airplane II: The Sequel

• The music at the beginning of the movie is the "Battlestar Galactica" theme music.
• The theme music is played again during the shuttle launch.
• The pilot of the shuttle is Kent McCord, who played Boxey in "Galactica 1980."
• Airplane II also starred Lloyd Bridges, who played Commander Cain.

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"The A-Team"

Dirk's A-Team 'Faceman' meets a Cylon.

• Dirk Benedict, who played Starbuck in "Battlestar Galactica," plays Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck in "The A-Team;" Face and Starbuck are very similar (handsome young officers, womanizers, humorous/roguish elements, etc).
• During the episode "Steel" of "The A-Team," the A-Team attends a television convention. While there, a man in a Cylon Centurion suit walks past Face, who turns with a look of surprise on his face.
• In the second-through-fourth seasons of "The A-Team," the clip of the Cylon walking past Faceman is played in the show's opening credits.
• "The A-Team" also starred Dwight Schultz (the voice of Lord Erebus) and Lance LeGault (Bootes/Maga).

IMDB Trivia page

Beverly Hills Cop III

• In the movie, Axel Foley is being chased through a series of rides, one of which is "Alien Invasion". The ride is similar to the Universal Studios' "Earthquake" ride, with the addition of Cylon Robots who shoot at the participants.

IMDB Trivia page

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"

• Also produced by Glen A. Larson
• Some props and footage (e.g. Viper cockpits) were taken directly from Battlestar Galactica
• The second season plot line had a crew seeking the lost tribes of Earth who had scattered

IMDB Trivia page

Escape Velocity Nova

• In this computer game, carrier ships can be equipped with squadrons of snub-nosed, delta-winged, laser-armed 'viper fighters.'

"Family Guy"

• At the end of the episode "Road to Europe", Peter and Lois are on the KISS show. At the end of the show, the host announces, "And now stay tuned for Battlestar Galactica Forum." He dons a Cylon Centurion helmet (complete with the red-eye) and continues, in a Cylon voice, "Welcome to Battlestar Galactica Forum."
• During the episode "Brian Goes Back to College" Peter, Quagmire, Joe and Cleveland all dress up as the A-Team. After Quagmire is introduced in the credits as "Faceman" Peck. he walks past a Cylon Centurion from the original show. A deliberate reference to A-Team reference listed above.

Cylon and Garfunkle (Futurama episode Bendin' In The Wind)

"Futurama"

• In the episode "Bendin' in the Wind", the band "Cylon and Garfunkle" (consisting of Art Garfunkle and an original series Cylon Centurion) play at a New York charity concert for broken robots.

Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport

• From the opening of the midfield terminal in 1980, until its refurbishment in 1996, the computerized announcement voices were referred to by fans as Cylon and Logan's Run voices.

Homeworld

• The computer game Homeworld revolves around a race of people who were exiled from their homeworld by a cruel empire to a distant desert planet many thousands of years ago. After their planet of exile is obliterated by their ancient enemy the survivors take to the stars on a long and perilous journey across the galaxy in search of their ancient homeworld, Hiigara.

"Knight Rider"

• Also produced by Glen A. Larson
• The red scanner on the front of KITT is a reference to the red "eye" of the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica.
• Edward Mulhare, who played John in "Experiment in Terra", was given a leading role in "Knight Rider."

IMDB Trivia page

Mozilla

The Mozilla "Cylon" progress bar

• All programs made by Mozilla feature an oscillating status bar which, in the code, is called a "cylon."

"Murder, She Wrote"

• During the episode "Incident in Lot #7" (Season 8, episode 13) a person dressed in a Cylon outfit walks past Jessica Fletcher.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000"

• Space Mutiny was shown on "MST3K," and the DVD of the episode made note of the movie's use of "Battlestar Galactica."

"Robot Chicken"

• The original series Cylons were the focus of a short skit on the [adult swim] series Robot Chicken in which the original Cylon actors had so many problems walking around in their suits that they were constantly falling down.

Space Mutiny

• The shots of the fleet in space are taken directly from "Battlestar Galactica."
• The ship's fighters are also called "Vipers."
• Space Mutiny's plot is also somewhat similar to that of "Battlestar Galactica:" a refugee fleet trying to find a new home, "mystical" elements, strange names for things, etc.

IMDB Trivia page

StarCraft

• In this computer game, units often answer with quotes from movies. Some of the Protoss respond to orders with the phrase, "By your command".
• The game's humans have been exiled from Earth, and live in a confederacy of colonies; these colonies are, throughout the game, decimated by the Zerg and Protoss - the latter of which are feudal, cybernetically-enhanced aliens, like the Cylons.

"Tripping the Rift"

• The episodes "Mutilation Ball" and "Love Conquers All...Almost," feature a character named 'Commander Adam.'
• The episode "Totally Recalled" featured a character named Baltar, who owned an android-manufacturing corporation called Baltar Industries. Despite his name, however, CEO Baltar looked like Lucifer.

References in "Battlestar Galactica"

Silent Running

• Shots of the Valley Forge, the domed greenhouse ship from this movie, were used to show 'agricultural ships' in "Battlestar Galactica."

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Star Wars

The hidden message in the lights of Caprica (Saga of a Star World).

• Many people noted the apparent similarities, aesthetic and plot-wise, between Star Wars and "Battlestar Galactica. George Lucas even (unsuccessfully) sued the makers of "Battlestar Galactica," citing forty-four specific counts of plagiarism.
  • In reply to these allegations, the Apogee special effects team "wrote" the words "Fuck Off" by using the lights of the Caprican city. This can be seen as the Cylon Raiders approach in the attack sequence on Caprica.

External Link

Earthquake

• Scenes of the city being devastated by the earthquake were used to show the Cylon attack on Earth in "Galactica 1980."

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

• For Richard Hatch's proposed movie sequel to "Battlestar Galactica" (Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming), many similarities were drawn between the new Cylons, and the Borg from "Star Trek: TNG."

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Industrial Light & Magic

• The "IL" in IL-series Cylon is actually a reference to Industrial Light, the previous employer of John Dykstra.
• The "IL" marking can be seen as a button marking on the Viper control stick. This is seen in closeup shots of the stick, starting with "Saga of a Star World".

Original Series definition: interchangeable term for a computer monitor and television set (see: scanner)