Although Star Wars has been criticised over the years for its shameless theft of plot and character types from other movies, you can’t mention Battlestar Galactica without also bringing up its main inspiration. A case to settle that dispute was dropped but the crux of the argument ignores the most important factor: über-producer Glen A. Larson’s genius lay not in appropriating George Lucas’ intellectual property, but in combining the influence of Star Wars with the second book of The Bible, and stirring in a huge dollop of the 1970s. Whatever its origins, Battlestar Galactica quickly became its own show, a tale of family and friends searching for some peaceful respite from the oppressors that have driven them out of their home, and over just twenty-four episodes it made a lasting impact which would eventually see its resurrection in 2003.
The original series begins a run on Horror Channel on March 24th, and here are five episodes you have to see:
Saga of a Star World (Episode 1)
In the Colonial Year 7348, the twelve human colonies in space have been fighting a war with the robotic soldiers of the Cylon Empire, but an uneasy truce brings a semblance of peace. That is shattered when a human traitor, Baltar (the delightfully evil John Colicos), enables a surprise attack, which wipes out most of humanity, leaving the sole warship Galactica to lead a rag-tag fleet in search of a new home for humanity, the destination of the lost thirteenth colony… Earth!
This is where it all starts, the first episode of a three-part introduction to the crew of the eponymous Battlestar, from Lorne Greene’s Commander Adama, to his son and daughter Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Athena, who pilot the Viper class of fighter ships, engaging in dogfights with the Cylon’s Raiders. Larson made sure to include a wide cast of characters, with Jane Seymour’s Serena and her son Boxey bringing the human side to the military saga, even throwing in a cute pet daggit, Muffit.
The Lost Warrior (Episode 6)
When Apollo crash lands on a frontier planet, he is taken in by a young widow and her son, taking up arms to defend their town against an evil gunslinger named Red Eye. Taking its cue from the classic western Shane, The Lost Warrior is in reality a damaged Cylon, who also crash-landed on the planet and is used as a killer by local crime boss La Certa. Although Herman Groves’ story stretches credibility a little, this is the first time Larson attempts to give some humanity to the Cylons, whose roots lie in slavery and revolt.
The Living Legend(Episode 12)
A two-part story which delves into the backstory of the Colonials’ war with the Cylons, The Living Legend sees the return of another Battlestar, the Pegasus, which was the only survivor of the Fifth Fleet when it was attacked by the Cylons two years before the events of the pilot episode. The Pegasus is led by Lloyd Bridges’ Commander Cain, who clashes with Adama over how to take the fight to the enemy, and the chemistry between the pair is only equalled by Baltar’s further descent into over-confidence and megalomania.
Greetings from Earth (Episode 19)
When Apollo and Starbuck encounter an automated spaceship and bring it aboard the Galactica, rumours abound that the occupants – two adults and four children (played by Larson’s own kids) in a state of suspended animation – might be from Earth! Another two-parter, Larson was always keen to drop in breadcrumbs that the Galactica might just find Earth one day, and the dangling thread that these spacefarers were on their way to a planet named Terra kept that up but also threw in the added wrinkle of The Eastern Alliance, an authoritarian axis determined to control all human life in their part of space. If you think the Cylons weren’t Nazi enough for your tastes, this is the episode for you.
The Hand of God (Episode 24)
When the Galactica receives a transmission which appears to show an ancient spaceship launch, the kind the Colonials used to first explore the galaxies aeons ago, they head towards the source of the signal, only to find a Cylon battleship in their way. Adama has to make a decision to continue on towards what might just be Earth and engage the Cylons in battle, or steer clear and miss their chance of finding the lost thirteenth colony.
A season finale intended to set up the return of the show in autumn 1979, The Hand of God instead aired two weeks after ABC announced they were not renewing the series, instead moving the much cheaper Mork and Mindy into its coveted Sunday time slot. Following a huge write-in campaign, Larson would get a chance to continue the story in Galactica 1980, but the impetus had been lost and the sudden discovery of Earth did not reflect the original show’s ongoing search for survival.
Even before its revival under Ronald D. Moore, Battlestar Galactica was one of those shows that was fondly remembered for its human take on space warfare, the fight against the Cylons paling in comparison to keeping the occupants of the two-hundred and twenty spaceships under the Galactica’s care safe. For all the accusations of plagiarism, Glen A. Larson brought something to the screen that Star Wars didn’t have, and we’re not talking about a chimpanzee in a robot dog suit.
Battlestar Galactica is on Horror Channel from March 24th. Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 68, Freesat 138.
