Battlestar Galactica 1978 vs BSG 2003

The theatre posteer for Battlestar Galactica; kind of unusual, in that we only see the back of the heroes' heads. That'd be a big no no if it was a CCP leader.

Which is better: BSG 1978 or BSG 2003? 

Most people would say this is no contest, like pitting Mark Zuckerberg against Muhammad Ali. 

Okay, Ali is dead, so The Zuck would win by default. 

But you know what I mean.

The first Battlestar is steeped in Mormon theology, as show creator Glen A. Larson grew up as a member of that faith. Larson is a bit of a controversial figure, and has been sued for ripping off The Rockford Files, and was once punched in the face by James Garner.

Garner’s an island of integrity in a sea of narcissistic Hollywood egomaniacs, so if he’s punching Larson I imagine he had his reasons. 

That said, Larson did come up with a remarkable show (among others, like Magnum: P.I.): Battlestar Galactica is totally bonkers 1978 TV: it starts out in a solar system of 12 human colonies (or twelve solar systems… the show constantly confuses solar systems with galaxies and is never clear about scale), they get wiped out when unctuous political aide Baltar betrays humanity to the Cylons at a peace treaty which turns out to be a trap. 

Munich, where the West sold out Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, looms over the narrative, and Larson jabs peaceniks repeatedly in the eye not with a finger but a rapier, depicting them as guileless fools who inevitably lead their people to total destruction. 

Gee, tell us what you really think, Larson. 

Larsy’s a Churchillian, and he rams this home with all the subtlety of a two-by-four to the face, over and over again.

The enemies of humanity, the Cylons, are the robot creations of a reptilian race, who were then destroyed by their own creation. Shades of the AI fears that are all the rage these days. Truly ahead of its time!

After the Twelve Colony Holocaust, the Galactica leads a rag tag fleet to… a gambling planet, a subterranean Los Vegas, populated by mysterious insectoids. The survivors party like it’s 1999, until it’s revealed they’re all being fattened up for the insect hosts to lay their eggs in. Shades of Alien. Again, ahead of it’s time. 

So humanity flees again, after a spectacular battle where two Viper pilots (naturally Starbuck and Apollo) fake out the Cylon command ship by pretending their multiple squadrons, getting the Cylons to then move closer to the planet, which then conveniently explodes.

The original cast was quite large (Colonel Tigh isn't even included here), and it was going to be cut back severely for Season 2, but the show got the axe anyway.

Originally, the show was meant to be a series of TV movies. The first was actually shown in Canada in the movie theatres. After that, network executives decided that rather than the planned TV movies, they’d turn it into a weekly program. 

Well, Larson hadn’t prepared for that at all. Everything then had to be rejigged, scripts hastily thrown together, and budget stretched over 24 episodes. 

This is one of the reasons why the original BSG descended into cheesy planet of the week ridiculousness (as if it wasn't already ridiculous enough) and ship bound episodes. 

There are a number that truly shine, even if they don’t always make much sense. There’s a rip off of The Guns of Navarone in spaaaaace (planets rotate, guys), the return of Admiral Cain, and the arrival of Count Iblis. 

Those are my favourites.

The dialogue across the series is often meh. That's understandable, as it was thrown together in a rush. But it means the episodes haven't aged well. There are other, even older sci-fi shows that still stand up in terms of the writing, even if the effects don’t, and are watchable to this day. 

Battlestar Galactica 1978… not so much.

Next: The 2003 reboot by Ronald D. Moore and David Eicke