|
|
BattleStar Galactica
(The Complete 1978 Series)
Click
Picture to order this DVD
(review posted October 28th,
2002)
As Always, a review of
both The Show, and The DVD (extras)!
The Show:
If any sci-fi series was to be considered an "enigma," it would
be Battlestar Galactica. This was a series that to this day has a very
strong fanbase, yet it lasted merely one full season. It was a series firmly
rooted in science fiction, yet its characters and cultures were based on
ancient history, like the Egyptians and the Mayans. It was a very unique sci-fi series; that's
for sure.
The premise is best
summarized by the perfectly chosen prologue, voiced each week by veteran
British actor Patrick Macnee:
"There are
those who believe that life here, began out there; far across the
universe...with tribes of humans...who may have been the forefathers
of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans...that they may have
been the architects of The Great Pyramids, or the lost civilizations
of Lemuria...or Atlantis...Some believe that there may yet be brothers
of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens..."
As the story goes, the
twelve known colonies of man are defended by a dozen gigantic spaceships
known as Battlestars (if you've never seen the series, think of them as
streamlined Star Destroyers made to defend the "good guys").
These battlestars defend the outer rim of the colonies of man, the planets
of which are all named after ancient zodiological signs (a nice added
touch). Humankind's mortal enemy, the emotionless Cylons, have made a
false claim of peace talks, in an effort to eliminate humankind once and
for all. In a surprise attack involving every Cylon ship they've got, they
manage to destroy every Battlestar, save one: the Battlestar Galactica.
Obviously, humankind
cannot survive in an area of space now overrun with Cylons, with only one
battleship to protect it. The decision is made to create a rag-tag fleet
of every remaining spacecraft, from all 12 colonies, and seek out a
"sister world" of humans, known only in ancient lore...a planet
known as Earth.
So began a series that,
believe it or not, was originally intended as a seven hour mini-series.
This is evident in the two hour premiere and the two hour episode that
succeeds it, which was originally intended as the bulk of this
mini-series. Word is that at the eleventh hour of filming, ABC TV was so
pleased with what they saw they gave the go ahead for a full series.
That's good news, right? Well, not when you have to extend what was once
intended as four to six hours, into 22 episodes.
Unfortunately, the series
had many hurdles; problems which would end the series' run in a mere
single season. For one, there was a budget made specifically for a
mini-series; maintaining such a high budget for 22 episodes was next to
impossible. Second, a then unknown actress named Jane Seymour opted out of
a full-length series as of the fourth episode; a shame, given her clout as
an actress, even in 1978. Third, a decidedly religious story arc in the
later episodes --implying, among other things, that angels and demons were
advanced alien beings, fighting in crystalline spaceships in space-- was
too grandiose a concept for many science-fiction fans to accept. In time,
what some cynics soon referred to as a "biblical space opera"
was cancelled, as early as April, 1979.
However, these gripes are
a pittance, compared to the incredible staying power of the series
elsewhere, even to this very day. Cylons are perhaps the best robotic
arch-enemies ever imagined, with their Chrome armor and deep robotic
voices. Additional enemy types in the first episodes were equally
impressive, including a race of insects that see humankind as their next
best food source. The resulting ship and land battles were enhanced by the
series' impressive special FX for a TV series, even by 2003 standards. Of
course, this series would've been nothing if not for a strong cast, led by
veteran actors Lorne Greene and Terry Carter, and enhanced by
then-newcomer actors like Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Herb Jefferson Jr.,
Maren Jensen, Laurette Spang, and a very young Noah Hathaway.
Guest appearances were
equally rampant, enhancing the staying power of numerous episodes. Halfway
into the season, a new character was introduced, played by Anne Lockhart
(a well known character actress, which the IMDb lists as having over
56 TV guest appearances to her credit). In the pilot episode, Apollo's
little brother is played by Rick Springfield. Look also for a memorable
Vegas-Showgirl style cameo by Randi Oakes (who later became a regular on
"C.Hi.P.s"). Lloyd Bridges would appear for a two-episode
stint as the long-lost Commander Cain ("The Living Legend").
Fred Astaire would play the role of a con man who nearly cons Starbuck
himself ("The Man With Nine Lives"). Fans of the 1980's
Flash Gordon film will love seeing Melody Anderson in a key role, in the
episode "Experiment in Terra." Several dozens of
additional guest stars were used throughout 22 episodes; it would be
difficult (if not impossible) to list them all in this review.
Originality was key here,
though, and that's what makes this a staple of sci-fi lore. How
about those "colonial vipers," for one? Ships that blasted into
space via launch bays with a roar; that was classic 1978 sci-fi TV!
Meanwhile, the frequent homage to ancient lore was also available, from
the King Tut style helmets worn by viper pilots, to the names of the cast
(Apollo, Athena, Cassiopeia). It seemed like this series had the best of
both worlds for a science fanatic: science fiction in outer space, with an
underlying theme involving ancient civilizations and cultures. Cool...!
The end result is a DVD
set that is indeed an enigma. Regardless of this being a single-season
deal, this is irrefutably the best choice for any sci-fi DVD shelf, even
when compared to all the sci-fi shows that get the every-season-ever-made
DVD treatment, like Deep Space Nine. Second only to Star Trek, Battlestar
Galactica is one of the most memorable science fiction/outer space
shows in all of television lore. I'm just glad it's now finally preserved
on DVD!
---Techtite
The
DVD: This is how it's done,
boys: give a DVD season set the full four-star treatment. Transfer of the
episodes is surprisingly good for film stock that's a quarter of a century
old, with the majority of footage digitally cleaned of any anomalies. Such
cleaning was apparently done for cable TV, however, not this DVD. There is
the occasional scene not cleaned up at all, which I sense were the scenes
cable television networks deleted, to make way for added commercial
space. This leads to some good news however; these are all the full
episodes, each as they originally aired, totally uncut.
How "uncut"...?
Yes, even the now infamous scene between Athena and and Starbuck is
present (and a very risqué scene at that, by 1978 television standards!),
where Starbuck wants to apologize to Athena just when she was changing her
uniform. Yes, this is indicative of the sort of sexism in 1970's TV (women
in this series were often shown scantily clad, with men always in
uniform), yet the point is: even the rarest of original scenes is
preserved here. Such preservation even surprises the audio commentators,
who could not hold back their surprise when seeing this scene for the
first time in 25 years. Even Dirk Benedict (Starbuck) didn't remember it.
This audio commentary is
regrettably only offered for the two-hour pilot, although it does include
Richard Hatch (Apollo), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck), and Herb Jefferson Jr.
(Boomer). This is a three musketeer's worth of commentators, and as you'd
expect, these three good ol' boys have a grand old time reminiscing about
the days when they filmed this series. They often are too busy laughing it
up to offer as many anecdotes as you'd hope, though their guards are down
enough to let the listener have as much fun they obviously had, taping
this commentary track. Parents should be forewarned, however, that three
men alone in an audio booth can lead to very PG-13 comments at times.
Listen for the introduction of Muffit the Daggit, when they muse how the
robotic daggit was actually a monkey. Something about disciplining the
monkey by spanking it backstage...? Never mind.
The best of all the
extras, however, would have to be the deleted scenes. Mind you, the
original pilot clocked in at 3 hours, which without commercials amounts to
roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes. This is important to note because as a
rule this pilot is aired as a two hour movie, at the most. This means that
most of the scenes preserved here have not been seen since the original
airing of the episodes, from 1978 through 1979! Yet still, additional
deleted scenes are offered, in a deleted scene reel that on disc one alone
clocks in at well over 34 minutes (!!!), and that's just for the pilot!
See scenes which include Athena's romance with Starbuck, alternate
versions of key scenes, and even a moment when Commander Adama himself
sings the "National Anthem" of his home world.
This is just a small
taste of the deleted scenes offered throughout this DVD set; a collection
that includes 15 episodes. Most of this is very "raw cut" stuff,
though that's what makes it so cool. Many scenes have been re-edited to
show parts of the scene as they appeared in the film, and their deletions,
as shown in raw form, often with the backdrop missing or with a crewman
offering lines off-camera. I was already inclined to give this DVD set the
highest rating possible, due to the classic sci-fi series alone, but
several hours worth of deleted scenes, spanning 6 double sided discs...? I've
never seen anything like this in a multi-disc set like this before. This
is quite simply amazing.
Even with all this, we're
not done. There's series creator Glen A. Larson on the creation of the
series, Stu Phillips on composing the musical score, Special featurettes
about both the cylons and Muffit the Daggit, a photo gallery, a sneak peek
at the new Sci-Fi mini-series (which, as cool as it looks here, I've heard
is nothing like the original), and a behind-the-scenes look at the video
game (with comments from the game's main actress voice, Kristanna Loken,
best known as the "Terminatrix" from Terminator
3). This isn't even getting into the cool magazine-like insert
in the box, with full color pictures and elaborate descriptions of all
episodes. This roughly 20 page booklet is a real keepsake, and a fine
"cover" over the actual disc case itself, held in place by soft
foam beneath the booklet. Someone obviously put a lot of care in making
this "Cylon head" case, and it shows. Even the red eyepiece is
lenticular, with a sort of "eye" moving back and forth if you
hold it near a light source.
The last, best extra ends
the disc series, making it an excellent finale to this review as well;
"Remembering Galactica" includes several cast members as they
appear in 2003, offering comments about their roles back then. I was
rather disappointed that Maren Jensen wasn't present, and if course it's a
tragedy that Lorne Greene could not be present, having passed away in
1987. However, all the other cast is accounted for, including Noah
Hathaway (who is now married with children!). This is a nice way to end
the Battlestar Galactica DVD experience. They obviously had a lot
of fun with this series. That's only fair; I had a lot of fun watching
them!
Click Picture to order this
DVD
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed products, are created by Techtite,
copyright 1999-2002; all rights reserved. Title picture of Birds
of Prey promotional poster taken from the official web site.
Both this photo, and screen captures of the program itself, are used only for the purpose of
review, and by no means represent any affiliation with Techtite
and the distributors of this entertainment product. For further "legalese"
& disclaimers, click here... |
|
Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
Deep
Impact
