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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (eps. 1-3)

To Save The Human Race

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A gigantic space battleship, loaded to the gills with warriors, laser turrets, shuttle craft & fighter jets, must travel from one end of the galaxy to another, to save all of mankind from total annihilation. But wait, that's SPACE CRUISER YAMOTO (1974). Creator-Producer-Writer Glen Larson "borrowed" from a WHOLE lot of different sources when he came up with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, including WAGON TRAIN, THE STARLOST, the general look and vibe of STAR WARS, THE BIBLE, and, a complete surprise to me, The Book of Mormon.

The 70's was a very downbeat, gloomy time for science-fiction. In the wake of PLANET OF THE APES, the motto seemed to be, "the world is going to hell, and there's nothing we can do about it". This was even reflected in several sci-fi TV shows, including UFO, POTA, and most infamously, Gerry Anderson's abominably bad SPACE: 1999. When I first heard of the premise-- 12 colony planets totally wiped out, and the survivors ON THE RUN for their lives (oh great-- another FUGITIVE riff!), I though, Oh no, do we really need this? But I watched anyway. I guess curiosity (and limited choices) will do that to ya.

Unlike YAMOTO (STAR BLAZERS in the US), which got me totally involved on a deep, emotional level from the very first, the BG pilot left me flat. I felt no connection or interest in the planets that were wiped out, and only disdain for the wimpy, incompetent politicians who let it happen. DR. KILDARE himself (Lew Ayers!) over saw the proceedings, helplessly standing by and whining, "How could I have been so wrong?" John Colicos ("Kor" from STAR TREK) actually had an almost "Dr. Smith" vibe when he suggested it "might not be prudent" to sent out a patrol just as the enemy fleet was about to wipe EVERYBODY out.

Amidst all this, are countless scenes of likable character played by likable actors, just standing around saying very little, with dim, confused looks on their faces. WHO was responsible for this? Glen Larson wrote MUCH better on McCLOUD (indeed, his scripts tended to be among that show's finest). I checked out the director, Richard Colla. Whatta ya know! Of all the things in Colla's resume, the ONE that stood out besides this was the PILOT episode of McCLOUD, "Who Killed Miss USA?" That was the one really terrible, almost unwatchable story in what was otherwise my favorite TV series of the 70's. I guess Larson figured if the guy started out one show badly that became a hit, why not give him a chance to repeat his crimes against TV audiences?

TV veteran Lorne Greene doesn't even seem to wake up until the 3rd episode. Until then, the ONLY actors who come across "natural" despite the lame script and incompetent directing are Dirk Benedict (it's no surprise Starbuck was probably this show's most popular character) and Terry Carter as Col. Tigh. I always liked him as Joe Broadhurst on McCLOUD. Here, he keeps getting the BEST lines! Especially the bit where he's collecting uniforms, but over-acts to keep curious pilots from finding out what's going on. "When Commander Adama sees this-- he's GONNA GO CRAZY!" I also give special notice to Maren Jensen as Athena, who showed real promise despite having far too little to do. It was a great disappointment when she all but disappeared in the 2nd half of the run.

All in all, re-watching this was not as painful as I expected, but it still hurt to see something with so much potential not living up to it. I guess we can blame ABC's stupidity. BG was intended as a series of TV movies, like McCLOUD, or the much-later PERRY MASON revival, where each story could stand on its own as a "special event", while in this case also slowly moving the "big story" ahead. The network suit whose decision forced BG to become a weekly series should have been FIRED and never worked in Hollywood again.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "LOST PLANET OF THE GODS" Part I (ep. 4)

Pyramids-- In Space! (or, Starbuck's Angels)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

What a contrast between the 1st & 2nd stories. With the same premise, cast & people in charge, "LOST PLANET OF THE GODS" stands out as the BEST of the early BG stories. I credit a lot of that to Christian Nyby, who in the 80's & 90's did the BULK of the PERRY MASON TV-movies. This guy is GOOD! There's none of the painful scenes of characters standing around silently looking dim this time. And a shocking example of the difference between this and the pilot (presumably filmed at least 6 MONTHS earlier) is Boxey. He was so terribly annoying in the 1st story, concerned with nothing but his stupid DOG while people were getting killed all around him. Here, Noah Hathaway actually looks noticeably older, Boxey has developed a real personality, and he's likable! He's no Will Robinson, but it's a relief to see a young boy in any kind of story who I can actually stand to watch.

My best friend used to refer to "old-fashioned 2-parters" as those stories from the 60's where each half of a 2-hour story almost could stand on its own, as opposed to those where you feel like they just took a 1-hour story and stretched it to fit 2. "LOST PLANET" was no doubt intended as a 2-hour TV-movie, but it really works as 2 separate episodes.

The 1st focuses on the upcoming wedding of Apollo & Serena, his bachelor party, and the way Boomer (Herb Jefferson) & Jolly (Tony Schwartz) carelessly skipped decontamination, and so managed to get almost every pilot in the entire fleet infected with an unknown, potentially LETHAL disease. (How stupid can you get?) The schizo writing continues here as the plot is split between desperately trying to save lives and find a cure, and the training of replacement pilots-- ALL WOMEN.

The scenes with the women pilots is played far too cutesy and for laughs, in the middle of what should be a terrible, desperate situation. Oh well, at least it's watchable. Meanwhile, George Murdock, who's made a career out of playing sleaze-balls and the kind of cops you love to hate, has probably the best role of his career as Dr. Salik, BG's answer to DeForest Kelly. He is so INTENSE and SERIOUS, he seems to have walked in from some other TV series, and he gives the situation the respect it deserves, as when he tells Adama, "It's not a question of how soon they can return to duty, it's how soon THEY WILL DIE."

Meanwhile, we find that the NEW Imperious Leader (who has the same voice as the old one) has decided to spare Baltar's life, and puts him in charge of his own Base Ship in order to hunt down the Galactica. To make sure things stay on track, he's given a sidekick-- Lucifer, an advanced model of Cylon who actually has a personality. It's hilarious that Baltar (who is almost BG's version of "Dr. Smith") is saddled with a robot who is voiced by none other than Jonathan Harris-- "Dr. Smith" himself! To this day, I rank Lucifer as possibly Harris' BEST acting job, EVER. He's "so wonderfully devious", completely evil and enjoys learning more from Baltar. What a contrast between and Adama-Tigh and Baltar-Lucifer. The first pair are loyal friends; the 2nd pair are constantly trying to stab each other in the back.

I guess I've got too much to say about this, so I'll split it up over 2 episodes... just like ABC did.

i still have a very deep soft spot for the original show. never really warmed up to the newer one great writing, great acting. even with the addition of Richard Hatch, it just never game me the OMG chills of the original and i even admit the original borrowed alot of plots from Hollywood films. when the Galactica caught fire from a Cylon attack,.. Towering Inferno anyone? and Gun on Ice Planet Zero was a take off of the Guns of Navarone and the Dirty Dozen. and i forgot the episodes name but it was based off of the movie Shane.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: “LOST PLANET OF THE GODS” Part II (ep. 5)
Pyramids-- In Space! (and this time we really mean it) *******

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

So often with old-fashioned 2-parters, the story's title is an enigma, until you get to Part 2. So it is here.

So much is going on here. Most of the pilots are on the verge of death from an unknown illness, their replacements, all women, are still barely learning the ropes, the fleet is faced with a magnetic void which makes radar & visual near-impossible, and to spare his best friend, Starbuck went on a re-con flight solo and disappeared, now presumed dead! In the midst of this, Apollo & Serina decide to get married, while Adama believes the void may contain the planet Kobol, original home-world of the Colonies. This proves correct, and soon they've landed an expedition to explore the largest ruins of a dead city.

I've always had a thing for ancient Egypt, and this was the 3rd film in 2 years that featured The Great Pyramids and the Temple Of Luxor (the other 2 being THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and DEATH ON THE NILE). As with the designs of the pilots' helmets, the implication is clear that the people who built the pyramids on Earth originated on Kobol.

Meanwhile, Starbuck has actually been captured and taken back to a Cylon Base Ship. In a completely hopeless situation, he never lets down his bravado, as when he light-heartedly comments, "I like the way you haven't gone overboard on furniture", and then lights his match by striking it on a Centurion's armor. (James Garner would have been proud of this guy!) It's at this point he discovers Baltar-- the man who betrayed the Colonies to the Cylons-- is still alive, and in charge of the Base Ship! Baltar claims to come as a friend, then has Starbuck hauled away for safe-keeping. Baltar was probably never more devious than he is in this episode. He tells his Cylon assistant, Lucifer, that he has a scheme whereby he can "lure" Adama into Cylon hands without firing a single shot-- and that it requires him to go and face Adama ALONE. This, he does, and confronting his "old friend" in the ancient underground crypt, he tells him the Cylon Empire is in chaos, spread out across space searching for them. He further states that ONE Battlestar could take control of the Cylon home planet and win the war.

Having seen 12 planets of people destroyed (including his wife and younger son), Adama is having NONE of it. Baltar warns if he's not heard from soon his Cylon "friends" might gets antsy, and this is exactly what happens. Lucifer, sitting in the Command seat ("just getting the feel!") says "It appears Baltar's plan has failed-- whatever that plan may have been!" It's clear Lucifer doesn't trust Baltar, EITHER!

I've seen this at least 4 times, and it's taken me this long to figure out what was probably going on (though there's still no way to be really sure, the way it was written). It's obvious Baltar meant to double-cross SOMEBODY. The question has always been-- WHO? My feeling after seeing it again is that he was GENUINE in his plea to Adama. The Cylons double-crossed Baltar in the 1st episode, now he wants revenge. But Adama has other plans. It's interesting that in the remake decades later, Adama initially wanted to strike back at the Cylons, and had to be talked out of it. But in the original version here, someone tried to talk him INTO striking back, and he refused.

So, thanks to Lucifer, the Cylons attack, the inscription that MIGHT have led Adama to Earth is destroyed, Baltar is trapped under some rubble, and unable to free him, Adama & co. leave him behind, as Baltar swears revenge on his sidekick. The near-death pilots, recovering slowly thanks to Dr. Salik, return to duty just in time to save the raw recruits from disaster. But before they can flee the planet, Serina gets shot, and winds up dying in a slow, painful farewell scene after-wards.

Jane Seymour's character was originally supposed to be dying of radiation poisoning when they shot the pilot, but someone changed their minds and decided to make Serina a regular. She wasn't interested in a long-term series at that point, and requested to have Serina bumped off. And so, she becomes the latest in a long line of women who married "Cartright" men (or the nearest equivalent) who came to sad ends.

My one real problem with this story is mainly in retrospect, and that's that I can't get a grip on the "geography" of the overall big story. It seems they spend the first half of the season just running in circles around their own huge star system (which has more than just the dozen "Colony" planets). Considering the number of planets with humans on them they kept running into, it sure seems THIS story should have taken place a bit later in the run (as, indeed, it did in the remake). Nevertheless, it still stands as the BEST of the early stories, and a sign of how much potential this show had-- but only rarely ever lived up to.
(12-14-2010)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: “THE GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO” (eps. 6-7)
Alistair Maclean-- In Space!! ******

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


BG drastically shifted gears with its 3rd "movie" story. Instead of continuing various plot-threads with the show's larger-than-normal cast of regulars, the focus is a comparatively narrow one. But this proves necessary, as "ICE PLANET ZERO" attempts the daunting task of doing a sci-fi variation on no less than THREE war movies at the same time-- THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, THE DIRTY DOZEN, and the Cold War epic, ICE STATION ZEBRA (from which we get both the setting and part of the story's title).


The Cylons continue their pursuit of the refugee fleet from a distance, as it happens, "herding" them toward a small planet with a weapon that can destroy the Galactica with a single burst. To take it out, it's decided to send in a team of specialists-- most of whom are criminals! One has to wonder, given the nature of the fleet, how or WHY a entire prison barge of convicts would even be part of the escape effort?


What a cast! Leading the convicts is Roy Thinnes, former star of THE INVADERS, whose conflicted yet determined character was so well-played, it's frustrating that he never came back in subsequent episodes. Also on hand are James Olson, who made a career out of playing psychos and killers, except when he starred as the scientist-hero in THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN; Christine Belford, who was George Peppard's rival and one-time romantic entanglement on BANACEK; and Richard Lynch. Between his face and his name, Lynch seemed destined by fate to spend his career playing killers-- and worse. I found myself expecting, when they read his character's rap sheet, to add, "...and he also bazooka'd an innocent family's home on Christmas Eve. Nice guy!" (A reference to INVASION USA)


Complicating things are Starbuck's tampering with the computer so he can join the mission to rescue a cadet who was captured while under his command; and Boxey, who stows away with robot daggit, then says when discovered, "Muffit wanted to see snow!" (Oh, RIGHT. The ROBOT DOG wanted to see snow! Uh huh.) It blows my mind watching these right now, that I actually DON'T find this kid irritating. I should-- but I don't. The fact that Muffit winds up saving everyone's life a third of the way in may have helped.


Things get even more complicated, not only by the ongoing plans by some of the convicts to escape, and leave the entire fleet of refugees to their sorry fate, but by a village of clones "manufactured" by a narrow-minded scientist who can't bring himself to see that the "pulse generator" he's built for scientific purposes is being used as a weapon of genocide. Dan O'Herlihy as Dr. Ravishol eventually proves to be a lot more reasonable than the character he played in the infamous HALLOWEEN III.


The BEST scenes, however, are with Baltar and Lucifer, who don't even show up until the 2nd half. Baltar is shown rubbing his legs, and later walks around his chamber, clearly limping, recovering from being buried in that Egyptian temple (pardon me, KOBOL temple). When he asks Lucifer if an assignment has been carried out and his sly sidekick says, "Not-- exactly.", Baltar violently explodes, "WHAT-- EXACTLY???" This is probably the only time in the series he loses his temper this much. As he later mutters to himself, "Soon, Adama-- SOON!" it's clear he's given up hope of double-crossing his robot "friends", and focuses instead of getting back at the man who left him to die in the rubble.


Another cute bit of continuity turns up when Starbuck cons the computer room tech into leaving his post by telling him he's taking the pilot cadets for a tour. "WOMEN cadets?" "I-- believe some of them are women, yes." It's clear this story was meant to follow directly after LOST PLANET OF THE GODS-- and would have, if ABC hadn't screwed the show over by insisting it be turned into a weekly series. Instead, 2 drastically-inferior stories aired between the 2nd & 3rd "movies", and to say it hurt the ratings in the long run would be a major understatement.


There's so much going on here, there's little room for the Galactica bridge crew, but the story is so gripping, exciting, and sometimes even fun, you don't mind. I'd say this was one terrific, if "minor" story. There's only one real problem. That is, the point around which the ENTIRE story hinges-- makes NO SENSE. The fleet is being forced thru a "narrow channel" past a weapon on a fixed position-- a planet. But-- THEY'RE IN SPACE!!! (A lot of people have criticized this story for this point over the years.)


What gets me is, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE was already adapted into a sci-fi series set in space, with MUCH better, more gripping, more thrilling, and far more logical results. That was on STAR BLAZERS (1974). On there, they did a 2-part story about the "Pluto Reflex Gun". It had limited range, but almost unlimited power. And via a network of satellites, it could shoot around corners. The only problem the villains had was, HOW to "lure" their target within its range? This was taken care of, however, when the crew of the Argo realized that base on Pluto was where the bombs devastating Earth originated. So, they deliberately headed straight for it, not knowing about the "GUN" until they were already being hit by it. Oh yeah, and as if to point out the probability that whoever wrote the BG version saw the SB version first-- Pluto was an ICE PLANET.
(10-14-2010)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: “THE LOST WARRIOR” (ep. 8)
“Shane”-- In Space!! ****

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


When ABC decided, at a very late date, that BG should be a weekly, there was a mad scramble to produce "one-off" episodes that could fill those weeks, something that was never part of Glen Larson's intentions when he created the series. 4 such episodes were quickly knocked out, and frankly, only 1 of them is really watchable. The others contain some nice moments, in spite of their rushed origins, but tend to be somewhat painful to watch. "THE LOST WARRIOR" was the first of these, and put simply, this is probably the episode that KILLED the show, ratings-wise. Pushing it up in the schedule to air before "ICE PLANET ZERO" (it was made right after) probably just made things worse, as this was broadcast only the 4th week into the season.


To draw attention away from the fleet, Apollo flies a solo mission, knowing Cylons are pursuing him. The ruse works, but he finds himself stranded on an isolated planet, out of fuel. Was this really a well-thought-out plan, since everyone on the main ship acts as if they all expected it to be a one-way suicide mission? Considering Apollo is thought of as one of their best fighter-pilots, you have to think somebody wasn't thinking straight when HE of all people, was picked for the job. Especially as he has a young son to take care of.


Surprisingly, the part of the story I found the MOST fun to watch was where Starbuck decides to watch Boxey until his father returns... and the kid winds up sitting in on a poker game ("Pyramids"), surrounded by pilots who are smoking and drinking (FRUIT JUICE! HONEST!!). Boxey has developed such a way about him here, you can tell he's on his way to growing up to be another Starbuck (if his father doesn't watch out-- heh). After being chewed out by one of his girlfriends, Cassiopia (who has somehow also volunteered to watch Boxie), Starbuck & Boomer decide to go in search of the missing Apollo, whatever it takes.


The part of the story that quickly became notorious was when Apollo finds that planet he's stuck on has a human colony who seem to have lost all knowledge of the other Colonies, and know nothing of space flight, or the war, or Cylons. Well, except for ONE Cylon. It seems some years back, one lone pilot was having a dogfight with a Cylon, and both crashed and walked away from it. The human married a woman and had a son, while the Cylon was found by a lazy good-for-nothing who found it damaged, and all-too-willing to obey his every command. So this sleaze-ball essentially took over the town, and has spent years demanding "tribute" from his neighbors. A not-so-good old-fashioned "western showdown" seems what's called for, and we get one... eventually.


The woman's brother, who learned about the Colonial Warriors from her now-late husband (the Cylon killed him before the story began), is played by Lance LeGault, who years later became the 2nd (and more maniacal) of the army officers bent on capturing George Peppard & crew on THE A-TEAM. Angered by Apollo's hesitation to take action (he didn't want to set a bad example for the boy, who reminds him too much of his own), LeGault, in a drunken fit, winds up getting himself killed.


Apollo, trying to get a feel of the situation, cozies up to "Lacerta", who controls the damaged Cylon. Lacerta is played by Claude Earl Jones, and the best way to describe him is, he spends the entire story "channelling" Victor Buono. (NOT Sidney Greenstreet! Victor Buono!!) He looked awful familiar, but I had to look his name up to find he was a regular on Dabney Coleman's series BUFFALO BILL, where he played Stan Fluger, the stage-hand whose name Bill could NEVER remember.


We finally get the the showdown, as expected, the Cylon goes down, and Lacerta, after all the hell he's caused so many people, simply flees town. You'd have thought the entire community would have wanted to see him strung up!


Apollo explains to Puppis (what an ANNOYING name for a kid, even worse than "Boxey") that he was scared the whole time, and killing is only something you do when it's absolutely necessary. The mother, seeing how much Apolo misses his son, finally gets around to mentioning that the ship belonging to her late husband, while not in shape to fly, DOES have fuel... How long do you suppose she was planning to hold out on telling him this? Next thing, he's back in space, JUST in time to rendezvous with his 2 best friends, who were on their way to running out of fuel themselves.


Overall, this isn't completely unwatchable. It's just a shame it ever got filmed at all. After the huge expectations built up by the first 2 stories, audiences were surely turned off when they realized the show so quickly was degenerating into insignificant "westerns-in-space" stories that were already clichés on TV more than a decade earlier.
(12-21-2010)

Just currious here, not wanting to start anything.... You don't seem to be a fan of the series. It is long gone from television and even the remake is finished. I don't understand why you started this thread?

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: “THE LONG PATROL” (ep. 9)
Condemned Of Space *****

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


Of the 4 one-off episodes that were quickly thrown together, this has always been the most watchable. Donald Bellisario, who worked on such shows as BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON and MAGNUM P.I., contributes his 1st solo script for the series, and it's a whopper. A lot goes on here, so much that it almost seems this one could have been a 2-parter. But maybe having so much going on at a rapid-fire pace was a good way to cover up for the fact that, simply, a lot of it just DOESN'T make sense!


The story opens with the fleet leaving their own star system. Are we to really believe that everything we've seen up to now has all been in the same system-- even "LOST PLANET OF THE GODS"? Seemingly against character, Starbuck has volunteered for a long solo re-con mission, but mostly because whoever does so can enjoy themselves in luxury on the "newly-reopened" Rising Star cruise ship. Due to a mix-up, he winds up dining and romancing BOTH Athena and Cassieopia, each without the other knowing. (What a guy!) But when his re-con ship is ready, his dinner is interrupted by the call to duty (what kind of "special privilege" is that?). The reactions of the ladies when they see each other is priceless. Athena gets angry-- Cassieopea, merely amused.


The re-con ship has been outfitted with an advanced talking tactical computer nick-named "C.O.R.A.", who Starbuck slowly develops a grudging admiration for. This was an idea reused by Glen Larson 4 years later on the show KNIGHT RIDER. I wonder how many TV series wound up owing something to GALACTICA?


Things get very complicated when Starbuck discovers the existence of a penal colony whose prisoners used to supply arms and liquor to the Colonies. Used to-- because sometime during the 1,000-year-long war with the Cylons, communication was lost and the penal planet was somehow FORGOTTEN. But that didn't stop their production of booze or their patriotism-- especially when the guards in charge insisted on keeping things going as they were, without ever telling anyone that nobody has come to pick up their "products" in 500 years. Generations have gone by, with the children of the guards still guarding the children of the prisoners. Talk about an insane science-fiction concept! Rod Serling might have gotten something deep and thoughtful out of this... on GALACTICA, you feel like you've wandered into an episode of LOST IN SPACE.


Among the guest cast are Sean McClory (who played the ghostly Scotsman in the LIS episode "The Astral Traveller"); James Whitmore Jr. (who, before turning to directing, was a regular as the "comic relief" character on the first season of HUNTER); and Arlene Martel (who played Mr. Spock's Fiancée in the STAR TREK episode "Amok Time"!).


When a greatly relieved Apollo & Boomer finally find Starbuck, Boomer is exasperated at Starbuck's being all exited about being "rich" for finding a small mountain of aging booze. I can really picture James Garner in Starbuck's role sometimes.


In the end, it was not to be, for a few Cylon fighters, following a radio signal, wind up destroying all the booze before getting blown away themselves. As the fleet continues on its way, the indication is that unlike the previous episode, the humans from the prison joined the refugees, presumably because if they were left behind the Cylons would have come in force and wiped all of them out.


This is definitely a case where the characters totally outshine the plot, and you wind up enjoying the episode in SPITE of itself!
(12-28-2010)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "THE MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS" (ep.10)

Jimmy Bond meets Ben Cartright-- In Space!!!!! *****


By rights, this should be a lousy episode. But it's just too fun to watch...


A Cylon attack destroys the fleet's food supply (and 2 of the 3 "Agro Ships" used to grow more). So Adama hatches a plan to trade a used civilian energy converter for seed at a nearby farm planet, so no one will know it's the Colonial Fleet that's involved in the deal. Right off, this is bad-- the Cylons are out to exterminate every human in creation, but no thought is given to what might happen to the people they do this trade with.


But it gets worse! Because the only piece of equipment in the fleet that fits the bill belongs to Siress Belloby... who just happens to be an old flame of Adama's. And despite the lives of every single person in the fleet hanging perilously in the balance-- she insists that she'll only hand it over, if Adama comes a-courting. I could really see Ben Cartright on BONANZA caught in an uncomfortable, awkward situation like this... but NOT Adama!!!


What follows should simply be embarrassing to watch... but the truth is, the way it's played out (a tribute to the actors on this show), it comes across as FUNNY! The whole situation is just completely, flat-out WRONG-- but hilarious all the same. This show could really be schizo sometimes.


Planet-side, it gets WORSE! Seems the local town is having trouble with raiders who rob, steal and kill anyone who get in their way. Yep, it's a really bad tribute to "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN". Can the show stoop any lower? Just wait! It seems the guy running the town-- and the "chancery" (translation: GAMBLING CASINO) has been conning one naive stranger after another into becoming town marshal. The job has a high fatality rate, but nobody's allowed to resign. And WHO is slick enough to wind up WINNING the marshal BADGE in a poker game before he knows what hit him? Of course-- STARBUCK!


So of course, when Belloby (who, in the tradition of frontier women, turns out to be handy with a rifle) gets herself KIDNAPPED, it happens that negotiating winds up a better option than a shoot-out. Especially when Starbuck proves better at it than Adama.


Belloby is played by none other than Brett Somers, who was Jack Klugman's wife in real life, AND played his ex-wife Blanche on THE ODD COUPLE! (I knew I'd seen her before.) As ridiculous as her character seems to be on the surface, I can't help but like her attitude and the way she handles herself in here. At the end, Belloby tells Adama he's become "too refined" and at her age, what she really needs is "an ANIMAL." Then she stares at Stabuck and says, "Oh, if only I were twenty years younger..." before planting one on him.


Oh, did I mention? The guy running things in town is played by Barry Nelson. That's right. The first actor to ever play JAMES BOND, in the 1954 TV adaptation of "CASINO ROYALE". Who else should we find in a gambling house-- let alone, RUNNING the place?


I really didn't want to like this one... but I was LAUGHING TOO HARD not to. I think this episode would have gone over a LOT better if it had come along much later in the season... or sometime in Season 2. Maybe if they hadn't done stories like this so early, they might have actually reached Season 2.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "THE YOUNG LORDS" (ep.11)
The Cylons in the Castle in the Swamp (In Space!) ******

The 4th (and final) quickly-knocked-out BG story involves Starbuck getting shot down on a remote planet. (Apollo did it in "THE LOST WARRIOR", now it's Starbuck's turn.) Injured, he's rescued by a family of very young "warriors" who've seen the "tinheads" slaughter almost everyone on their planet, but are determined to hold out and fight to the last. And, to rescue their father, even if it means trading Starbuck for him.

This is another one of those that seems like it should be a lot worse than it is. But again, the characters, the writing, the acting, all serve to drag it up a few notches. A good example is this week's focus on Boxey, who sneaks past the on-guard Cassieopia to visit his sick "grandfather" Adama and tell HIM a bedtime story. You will NEVER find a kid this likable in a Spielberg movie, believe me.

The guest cast this time includes Charles Bloom as the oldest brother Kyle (moonlighting from his own series that year, THE WAVERLY WONDERS); Bruce Glover as the father (a big change from his part as one of the effeminate hit-men in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER); and Audrey Landers as the older sister Miri, who captures Starbuck's heart (at least for a while). I thought I recognized her from several episodes of NIGHT COURT, but that was actually her younger sister Judy! Audrey was a regular on DALLAS.

The real highlight of this entire story is the comical rivalry between the two upper-level Cylons, "Spector" and "Lucifer". In charge of taking over a "very wet" planet and fighting an ongoing, losing battle against a tiny group of human hold-outs, he repeatedly gives Baltar false information that inflates his position while simultaneously piling on the flattery to get into Baltar's good graces. The whole time, Lucifer just KNOWS it's a lot of "felgercarb". I knew I recognized that voice from somewhere, and sure enough, it was Murray Matheson, who played "Felix", the bookstore owner, on BANACEK. He returned to BG a few months later as one of the Colonial High Council members.

This episode also marks the debut of Baltar's new control room, looking very much like the "computer room" on the Galactica, only with Baltar's "throne" added. I guess that looks more impressive than just blank walls with a ring of lights.

The rescue, accompanied with the "singing plan", got a bit annoying in spots, but not enough to ruin the thing. The other hilarious moment was when Apollo & Boomer show up at the castle, wondering "What HIT this place?", and then Starbuck walks out all smiles, followed by his young "warriors". You just can't help but LIKE this show!

My ONE problem with the story is the ending. Unlike the previous week, early-on thought is given to getting the humans OFF the planet to the relative safety of the fleet. But, having fought so hard to free their home, the family decides to stay behind. The problem should have been obvious, when you consider they appear to be the ONLY humans left alive on the entire planet! Even if the Cylons never come back, HOW are they going to survive-- in the long run? (Or maybe it's best not thought about...)

These 4 "one-off" stories gave the producers time to "catch up", although at the cost of a lot of ratings. The NEXT episode, in my eyes, has always been when BG finally "GOT GOOD"!!

Never watched the new series but loved the old one.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "THE LIVING LEGEND, Part 1" (ep.12)

Warriors In Space *********


To the astonishment of everyone, The Galactica discovers the Battlestar Pegasus, believed destroyed 2 years earlier, has survived, and the charismatic Commander Cain, equally stunned to learn about The Galactica and its refugee fleet, sees their reunion as a turning point in the war.

After 4 so-so episodes in a row, THIS is the point where this series finally began to live up to its potential. I remember being enthralled the first time I watched it, and now, decades later, I can hardly express how excited I was to sit thru this again, having watched all the episodes leading up to it in sequence.

Glen Larson, always the best writer on McCLOUD, proved he still had it with this script, a complex story where almost everyone gets a moment to shine (except maybe Athena, who's only seen briefly on the bridge). Lloyd Bridges cuts an imposing figure as Cain, BG's answer to George Patton or Douglas McArthur-- a brilliant, skilled tactician who nevertheless winds up clashing with superior officers-- in this case, Adama, who has trouble convincing Cain that fighting and trying to conquer a planet to use as their base is just out of the question. When Cain pulls a stunt in an attempt to force his situation, he's relieved of command, causing his crew to stray close to mutiny!

Among the Pegasus crew is Cain's headstrong daughter Sheba (Anne Lockhart, daughter of June-- as if having Jonathan Harris as a regular wasn't already enough of a "LOST IN SPACE" connection). Cain proves what he's made of when he tells Sheba, "I may be the most hard-headed warrior in the Colonies, but I'm also the BEST warrior in the Colonies, and I'm NOT about to abandon our people when they need us most!" Later, when the attack Adama feared happens, Cain gladly admits he was wrong, at which point Adama simply tells him it's Cain's tactical skills they need right now.

Adding to the complications, it turns out Cain & Cassieopia were very close before he disappeared, and now Starbuck fears he may lose the woman he feels closest to (though he refuses to admit it). My favorite line in the entire story came from Boxey, when he said, "Poor Starbuck. Oh well. At least he's still got Athena. And Mirrian and Noday and..." I was laughing SO HARD when he said this! (I really like this kid.) Come to think of it, since the girl in the previous episode was named "Miri", maybe her family did change their mind and decide to come along after all?

I loved the bit where Adama and Tigh discuss the uncanny way that the entire fleet's fuel ran out just before they crossed into more Cylon territory, and Adama suggests it was "providential". Lorne Greene's character on the series was not only their military and political leader, but their spiritual one as well. Despite Cain's problems following anyone's orders but his own, Adama believes men like Cain are something people really need, to look up to, when things are as bad as they are.

Meanwhile, Baltar, aching to put the finish to Adama since he was left behind on Kobol, has reached a peak in his megalomania, planning a victory celebration before the fight has even started. When Lucifer suggests it might be a good idea to win FIRST, Baltar mentions "You're not the only I-L series who dreams of standing besides the greatest warrior the empire has ever seen!" This is clearly a reference to Spector in the previous episode. I love how with so much going on, Glen Larson manages to slip in continuity references like that, quite an unusual thing for any network show from the 70's.

When the fight finally breaks out, for the first time GALACTICA starts to really resemble an episode of STAR BLAZERS, as fires break out on both the bridge and one of the landing bays. But the other funniest line in the story comes from an unexpected source-- one of the usually-dim-witted Cylons. As Baltar is gleaming over the impending destruction, his pilot tells him, "Sir, I really think you should take a look at the OTHER Battlestar." What a moment for a cliffhanger!!!

I'm glad this was shown as a two-parter. I couldn't fit all my thoughts into just ONE review!

every tie I see the old series, it really holds up better than I remember. I guess I tend to assume anything I enjoyed from 70s scifi was more my own youthful enthusiasm than anything resembling quality, but original BSG was pretty good.

I still prefer the recent series, but it didn't have broadcast-network BS to weight it own, and came about in a time where a mature, quality scifi show *could* be aired (and was).

But original BSG was pretty damn cool.

BG aired during the worst era of anti-violence censorship, when "family viewing hour" became a reality, and yet for a show about WAR, the idiots somehow thought it should be aimed at "family audiences" (WITH LITTLE KIDS!!!) to get the highest ratings to justify the million bucks an hour it was costing. Then they put it up against ALL IN THE FAMILY, one of the highest-rated shows at the time on the other network. IDIOTS. Like they just wanted it to fail.


I loved the show DESPITE itself at the time, partly because I was already a fan of sci-fi, partly because I was a fan of Glen Larson's McCLOUD (BG was never quite as good as McCLOUD had been), and partly because I could see the growing potential in it as it kept going. But all the while, they kept doing things to shoot themselves in the foot. Some of the worst moments are still to come... wedged in between some of the BEST.

A few years back, I caught several episodes on the SciFi Channel, and it took quite a bit of mental adjustment to enjoy it. (The incessant commercial breaks didn't help.) I'm happily surprised I'm enjoying it MUCH more this time, despite the poor quality of some of my tapes.

The 2-parters were aired in syndication as both individual episodes, and as re-edited "movies". The "movie" versions tended to have LESS cut from them, as they didn't include 4 sets of coming attractions!! (One at the beginning and one at the end of EACH episode.) And somehow, my broadcast signal for "THE LIVING LEGEND" was much clearer than the others I've sat thru so far. That also helped.

I do feel that of the entire 24-ep. run, "THE LIVING LEGEND" may have been the high-point of the series. If the show had only made it to a 2nd season, I'd have loved to have seen a sequel where they revealed that what Apollo said about Cain turned out to be true --that after the massive explosion of 2 Cylon Base Ships, he just turned off into deep space and disappeared again. And this just occured to me after watching it again, I can even imagine that, once Gamoray was no longer a center of battle attention, he may have even sneaked back in there and STOLEN a whole fleet of fighter craft to replace the ones that were now on The Galactica.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "THE LIVING LEGEND, Part 2" (ep.13)

W A R In Space ********


*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The 2nd half of this story is almost exhausting to sit thru. There's so much going on, it barely leaves you time to catch your breath. It's like the BG equivalent of the movie "MIDWAY".

Baltar escapes near-destruction and begins to come to terms with suddenly having to fight TWO Battlestars instead of one. A small strike force consisting of Apollo, Starbuck, Sheba & Bojay are sent on an extremely dangerous mission into the heart of a Cylon CITY to knock out defense batteries, so as to allow the fleet access to fuel desperately needed by the entire fleet. As Baltar's 3 Cylon Base Ships approach, Cain is sent to "lead them off", while actually planning to use the opportunity to take out Baltar once and for all. And just to add to the confusion, The Cylon Imperious Leader arrives on Gamorray to re-dedicate the capitol city in the name of "Cylon Culture".

In all this, writer Glen Larson & director Vince Edwards (the star of BEN CASEY!) manage to cram in loads of "personal" stuff as well. Like Cassiopeia insisting on joining the assault team as their med-tech, and Sheba slowly coming to terms that the "lady" her father cares so much for isn't a bad person after all. Or Starbuck, worried about losing the woman he loves, telling her "Everyone's entitled to a little confusion in their lives. I practically thrive on it." It's amazing how in a story this "big", the characters are NOT lost among the action.

Especially amusing is the interplay between Baltar & Lucifer, as each new twist keeps him off-balance. Like suddenly having to send his fighters to defend the Imperious Leader, although it will leave him without any. Then, after feeling so clever that he's figured out the "diversionary" tactic of The Pegasus, suddenly realizing its commander appears bent on a suicidal attack against him personally-- forcing him to RECALL his fighters. The moment he realizes WHO he's up against, you can just feel the FEAR building up in him, because obviously, he KNOWS Cain, and he knows that Cain is NOT Adama.

I still recall the first time I watched this (first-run), wondering how this was all going to wind up. Although "problem-based" shows had been done to death by the late 70's, it was practically unheard of for any series with one "big" storyline to actually ADVANCE the story much over the course of its run. So when a character like Cain appeared, from the start, I naturally wondered, would he DIE by the end of the story, or just disappear? It would have been unthinkable for him to actually STICK AROUND after this story. After all, major changes of this sort just did not happen on network shows in the 70's.

So imagine my shock when 2 members of his crew-- Sheba and Bojay-- DID just that. Although Bojay was only ever seen in one more episode (there were already too many characters on this show as it was), Sheba (Anne Lockhart) became a regular and a big focus of several stories to come. Along the way, she became my favorite female character on the show, especially as her initial hard-and-harsh exterior was softened (beginning already in this episode). It also gave me hope that Adama was right about Cain, and that we WOULD eventually see him return in some future story.

That he DIDN'T is purely down to the show being canceled at the end of the season, not because of low ratings, as it happens, but simply because "the suits" at ABC felt it was "too expensive". How bigger might their profits have been had the show lived long enough to gain a bigger audience, both in first run and in eventual syndication? It's criminal this show ended when it did, and it was really the beginning of a long, unbroken trend at all 3 networks to sabotage potential greatness by jumping the gun and being in too much of a hurry for "the quick buck". (As one person I know put it the other day, "Capitalism gone mad.")

I've long felt this show would have been much better had it focused as much on soap-opera, to take advantage of its unusually large cast, as it did on action. HILL STREET BLUES proved this out only a few years later, as have many shows since, including the Sci-Fi Channel's BG redo. Looking back, it's amazing the series was as good as it was, considering everything it was up against (networks, censors, scheduling, often-dodgy writing). Something else else with THIS many great characters deserved better. Episodes like THIS one stand as a testament to that.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "FIRE IN SPACE" (ep.14)

Disaster-- In Space *******


*** This review may contain spoilers ***

After such a magnificent 2-parter as "THE LVIING LEGEND", we got another one-off story with "FIRE IN SPACE". This could have been just more "filler", in fact it seems like this episode could really have sucked... but it didn't. When even the one-hour stories started to be good, I knew the show was finally getting better.

No doubt infuriated over the loss of 2 Base Ships and an invasion of one of their cities, Baltar or The Imperious Leader (presumably) send a Kamikaze-style attack against The Galactica. 2 Cylon fighters manage to smash into the ship, one hitting the bridge (and severely wounding Adama), the other setting fire to the port landing bay as well as much of that side of the main ship as well. And so begins a race against time. If the fire continues to spread, the entire ship may be destroyed in a mammoth explosion. Meanwhile, some 20 people are cut off and trapped, their air slowly going, including Boomer, Athena, Boxey & Muffy. And while this is going on, Dr. Salik struggles to save Adama's life, even as the power keeps flickering off and on.

It's like an episode of Gerry Anderson's THUNDERBIRDS on steroids, except that show NEVER had such strong writing and characterization as this! One could also compare it to the then-popular Irwin Allen "disaster movies" (especially "THE TOWERING INFERNO"), except we really care what happens to these people, while IA's films were usually nothing more than an lurid exercise in "Who's gonna die NEXT?"

Col. Tigh (Terry Carter) finds himself in charge, and just like on McCLOUD, when that happens, all hell breaks loose. Dr. Salik (George Murdock in what I consider his best role) returns, once more as grim as ever. To my continuing surprise, Sheba (Anne Lockhart) is back, but with so much going on, is never seen outside of her cockpit! Much more surprising, after being shunted to the side for so many weeks, Athena (Maren Jensen) gets a real spotlight in this story, and probably has more time on-camera than any other episode. Of course, with all the smoke billowing everywhere, she doesn't get much chance to look pretty. Too bad-- I really had the hots for her when this show was on originally.

At one point, Adama suggests setting explosives to blow holes in the hull, in order to put the fire out. One wonders WHY, in a gigantic spaceship, they wouldn't have a way of automatically shutting off the oxygen supply? But then we wouldn't have a story... Anyway, as expected, both Apollo & Starbuck get the job, and we get to see them spacewalk outside the ship... something we never got to see on STAR TREK until the 1st and 8th movies.

Christian Nyby II, who did such a great job on "LOST PLANET OF THE GODS" (and so many later PERRY MASON movies) returns as director. Out of curiosity, I looked up writer Jim Carlson. To my surprise, he became the show's story editor with this episode. Somehow, they appear to have gotten this far WITHOUT one! In addition to this episode, he also wrote "MURDER ON THE RISING STAR" and "TAKE THE CELESTRA", making 3 "minor" episodes he wrote, which over the years have all come under fire from fans as examples of "bad" writing on the series. Myself, I enjoyed all 3 of them! Going back further, it seems his resume includes some 52 episodes of ROWAN AND MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN. Now there's a connection I never would have made!!

After a minor (if well-done) "blip", the real follow-up to "THE LIVING LEGEND" would be coming in the next episode!

I've gotten into the 70's show in the past week and I just can't get enough of Starbuck and Apollo. What a fun show that showed dark stories can still be fun and adventurous!