Battlestar Galactica (Original show) Saga of a Star World Part I (TV version)
People tend to totally forget about the original series. And, in a lot of ways, I still think the old show is better than Moore’s newer BSG, even though NuBSG is a better written show. I still remember watching this first episode on a Saturday morning and being blown away at how serious this first episode really is.
On the eve of peace, the 12 colonies send out their Battlestar fleet to sign a peace treaty with the Cylons. The Cylons double cross the 12 colonies and destroy all the colonies.
As I said before, the actual tone of the first episode is very serious. Remember, this is 70s TV where TV wasn’t at the same level as feature films at the time. We witness entire cities being destroyed by the Cylons. This stuff is intense for an era of TV filled with formulaic cop shows and safe sitcoms.
Some of the acting from the secondary characters is a little off in this episode, but the actual main stars are good. Richard Hatch is fine as Capt. Apollo and a bit restrained in this pilot episode. Lorne Greene was a TV legend and he proves his worth here in some of the more emotional scenes. Here’s one example, He stands in his burnt out house looking at his wife’s photo, knowing that she died in their house. His son comes in to comfort him. It’s a touching moment.
The first few episodes were filmed together and then broken up into 50-minute episodes. (Then edited back together for a feature film release with one major continuity change; Baltar dies in the feature version, but lives in the TV version.) I am amazed how well produced these first episodes really were. From the movie quality FX to the amazing score by Stu Phillips, almost everything in this opening episode is grand.
Cool moments…
~Battlestar Atlantia being blown apart by Cylon ships: This was a chilling moment, yet nicely directed moment.
~The late John Colicos as Baltar is the best villain actor ever. What a great actor he was! He will be missed.
~The space battle between the Battlestars and the Cylons is still an amazing sight to see today. John Dykstra (Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture) did a wonderful job with the FX.
~The opening title sequences are completely different from the normal TV show opening titles. The music is also different too.
Grade: B+
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2 comments:
I personally like the new show better than the old one. It could be because it never really got anywhere, except for 1980, which no one liked at all. I'll eventually get the show on DVD, because it is good, and I'll never believe the original sucked. I just like how the new show is written and played out.
paul
yep, the new show is better written, but there is a charm about the old show I just dig. But it is interesting seeing the 70s-80s political views come through on the show. I love how certain Regan views come across in the third ep.
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