Saga of a Star World, 1978. My Journey into Science Fiction Part 32.

Hello, and welcome back to my Journey into Science Fiction Part 32. I would like to call myself a Battlestar Galactica fan, but most of my memories came from watching the television show in the eighties. Back then, I had to take what episodes I could get, which has always left the story feeling untold, until now. I have watched the remake by Ronald D. Moore, but that series stood on its own and never captured my imagination in the same ways as its predecessor. I enjoyed it a lot, but the show felt less playful, far darker, and more realistic in its tone. I have recently started to understand the value and importance of physical media, and it still surprises me that I can own this entire series on disc within a couple of days. Okay, it’s not as fast as streaming, but it’s a luxury I have failed to appreciate in this modern world. I was never aware that the opening pilot for Battlestar Galactica had a theatrical release. Saga of Star World opened in Canada in 1978 and later in the United States in 1979. Universal Studios wanted to try and make back some of the production costs of the show. Battlestar Galactica was written and produced by Glen A. Larson. The show was once described as a poor man’s Star Wars by The Hollywood Reporter with the lawsuits to try and prove it. However, I never did see it that way. The show felt unique, exciting and enjoyable in its very own way. I only wonder what I will make of it today . . .

It has been a couple of weeks since I watched Saga of a Star World, but it did not take me long to realise I had watched this film before, maybe in episode form on television. The story came flooding back into my memory like a day had barely passed. However, when I started to think about how I wanted to discuss the film, I was more intrigued by why I would go and decide to watch the entire series in the first place. Firstly, for someone who has difficulty stringing a sentence together correctly, I fully understand that the writing must be entertaining and truly unique to capture the viewer’s attention. I suppose that the uniqueness of a show meant to be a second-grade Star Wars could seem a bit overstated, but the world-building within this film runs far deeper into the world of science-fiction than George Lucas’s space fantasy film could ever achieve. Don’t get me wrong, as a child, it was the Cylons, space battles and Vipers that kept me entertained. However, it’s the reflections on our society that have caught my attention right now. The lust for power, the distribution of wealth and the fight for the common good is a story we hear daily, both as fiction and in our everyday lives. Glen A. Larson put a lot of thought and intelligence into this story. Battlestar Galactica is a story set in a distant future where twelve colonies of humans living on different worlds have fought a thousand-year war against a super race that finally gets out of control. Looking into Greek mythology, the Egyptians and the idea of a mother civilisation, Battlestar Galactica not only looks back into history but also gives a nod to earlier works of science fiction that have come before it. Sounds familiar, right? 

The Council of Twelve members that represent each colony are offered the chance of peace through one of the council members, Lord Baltar. In a tale older than time, Baltar betrays the colonies to save his people from extermination. However, there is no trust in such a deal, leaving his planet crushed like the rest. As the invasion begins, the colonies are open to defeat and left in ruins. Commander Adama Lorne Green and his crew aboard the Battlestar Galactica shepherd together as many survivors as possible. Finally, with all the remaining civilian ships, the convoy leaves for the legendary thirteenth human colony, Earth. There is a long way to their destination, which will bring discovery and wonder along the way. Equally, the Cylons follow closely, leaving conflict and sacrifices in their new journey. Love, betrayal, pain and suffering all served on a fine layer of space Odyssey charm. I believe in the characters and it’s easy to get lost in the story and forget about the background scenery. However, the background scenery is my second reason to revisit this series.

You can give me beautiful landscapes, realistic special effects and jaw-dropping alien designs, but I would rather have a chimpanzee in a robotic dog suit any day. I can only imagine the chaos that ensued on the set of Battlestar Galactica. Don’t get me wrong, this treatment of an animal would not be allowed on set these days, and rightly so. However, there was a time when anything was possible, with little concern for safety and procedures. A perfect example is watching Blue Peter’s Peter Duncan clean Big Ben with nothing but a piece of rope and a bucket. Battlestar Galactica seems to me like a turning point in Hollywood’s history. The paranoia of the Manson family disappearing into a world of Disco and Columbia’s finest. None of that is probably true, but it fills me with a nostalgic view of Tinsel Town. Given the eight-million-dollar budget, the show seemed to struggle with cost issues that only add to its appeal. The spaceship models used by John Dykstra don’t look as clean and crisp as the ones he used on Star Wars, which gives me a feeling that time was at a premium and just getting the job done was enough. The Cylons still look fantastic on screen, but the constraints and clunkiness of the suits made filming a nightmare, and the six-foot actors often toppled over like dominoes. Equally, there are a lot of things right with the show, and the costume designs in this series are beautiful. The Viper jacket is something I yearned for as a child, and I would even wear it today to nip to the bank or maybe a spot of lunch. The good, the bad and the ugly, I’m here for it all. I am fine with bubble-wrap curtains if the story is believable. I am also fine with extras looking like people from everyday life, it gives the show a feeling of authenticity. Give me a woman with four eyes, two mouths, and as silly as it looks, I’m invested in the story and ready to believe in this world.

So , where next in My Journey into Science Fiction Part 33? George Lucas threatened legal action against Apogee, Inc. The visual effects studio was formed by John Dykstra, and he worked on another movie called Spaceballs, 1987. I hope I don’t live to regret this choice as I watched the film a very long time ago and didn’t enjoy it. However, given the public perception of modern science fiction films, this could give the film a unique perspective and appreciation for the movie, hopefully.

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