Flashback Galactica: 1980
As the reimaged series of Battlestar Galactica reaches its big finale we take a look back at the 1980 sequel to the original series of Battlestar Galactica. Designed to tell the story of the “rag tag fleet” once it reaches Earth the series just didn’t command the same audiences its parent show once had and the axe quickly fell on Galactica: 1980.
The great ship Galactica, our home for these many years. We have endured the wilderness of space. And now we are nearing the end of our journey. We have at last found Earth. – Opening narration read by Lorene Green
The original series of Battlestar Galactica ran on ABC between 1978 and 1979 but at the conclusion of its first season, consisting of 24 episodes, ABC announced that the series would not be returning. 
High production costs for the series were partly to blame for the axe with a budget of roughly one million dollars per episode for the weekly series – the most expensive television series of its time. With such high production costs ABC needed Galactica to pull in big ratings and although it was popular with audiences the Network felt its ratings didn’t justify such a huge budget and so the show was cancelled. The cancellation came as a shock to fans of the series but also the cast and crew who were expecting to be renewed as the series was winning its time-slot.
Almost immediately fans banded together to form a campaign to get ABC to change their mind. Eventually ABC did change their mind regarding Galactica after the series they replaced the Sci Fi with flopped and ABC needed something to fill their schedules with. The Network decided to commission a new Galactica movie which would act as a pilot episode for a possible new series. However, ABC wanted changes made to the format of the show in order to keep costs down and it would air in a new time-slot, putting more pressures on the show. In its new time-slot the show would have to be educational as well as entertainment, putting quite a burden on the writers. Other changes included making the series more planet-bound and so it was decided the sequel movie would see the “rag-tag fleet” finally find Earth.
Glen A. Larson, who created the original series and writer/producer Donald P. Bellisario set about writing the new television movie. Their original idea was to set the movie five years after the close of the original series and only have the major characters from Battlestar Galactica back; Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer and Baltar. Supporting characters such as Athena, Colonel Tigh and Cassiopeia wouldn’t feature in the movie due to cost issues. The original outline for the movie featured Galactica and the “rag-tag” fleet finding Earth but realising it wasn’t technology advanced enough to withstand an attack from the Cylons. Baltar suggests using Time Travel technology to go back into Earth’s past and change it to make the planet more advanced but when this idea is turned down he steals a ship and is chased back in time by Apollo and Starbuck. The idea was that should the movie turn into a new weekly series it would feature a new mission for Apollo and Starbuck each week at some point in time as Baltar evades capture.
ABC approved the idea for the series but problems came about when trying to get the original stars of the series back on board. Dirk Benedict was unavailable for filming and Richard Hatch reportedly declined to return – he was unsure the series would work in its altered format. Lorene Green and Herb Jefferson Jr. did agree to return for the movie and reprised their roles of Commander Adama and Boomer respectively. Because Hatch and Benedict were not returning for the movie changes were made and the movie was now set thirty years after the original series and Baltar was replaced by Xavier, a Quorum member. It was decided that Apollo and Starbuck would be renamed Troy and Dillion, virtually the same characters, and Troy would be Apollo’s son from the original series – Boxey. Cast in the role of Troy was Kend McCord while Barry Van Dyke was cast as Dilloin. Another addition to the script was journalist Jamie Hamilton, played by Robyn Douglass, who teamed up with Troy and Dilloin when they travel back in time to stop Xavier. A final addition was child-genius Doctor Zee, played by Robbie Rist.
Galactica Discovers Earth premiered in January 1980 and was a three-part television movie which saw the Galactica and the fleet find Earth but they discover it isn’t advanced enough to defend themselves from the Cylons. The Cylons however have not been heard from in some time, possibly since the conclusion of the original series. Child genius Doctor Zee shows a computer simulation of an attack of Earth by the Cylons should the robots ever discover the planet’s location. The footage of the attack was actually footage from the film Earthquake! Quorum member Xavier decides to go back in time to change Earth’s history and is chased by Captain Troy and Dilloin, who team up with journalist Jamie Hamilton, to track Xavier back in time. Xavier goes back to 1940’s Germany, during the Second World War, and is offering advanced technology to the Nazi’s but is stopped by the trio but Xavier escapes.
The movie rated well enough for ABC to commission a weekly series but the Network once again wanted changes to the format. They weren’t happy with the time travel aspect of the series and so Larson and Bellisario agree, all be it reluctantly, to retool the series into a new format. Instead of chasing Xavier through time and preventing him from altering Earth’s history the main focus of Galactica: 1980 was now on the fleet’s children who are forced to hide on Earth when the Cylons reappear and destroy their ship.
Unfortunately the new format was not a hit with viewers and the restrictions placed on the writers didn’t help matters either. Because of the show’s new-time slot it had to be educational in some way and so the first two episodes of the weekly series dealt with the fleet’s children falling sick due to pollution in a local river, caused by a nearby factory. However, the children’s survival on Earth is also endangered because they have “super” powers on the planet, as Earth’s gravity is different to what they are used to. Xavier returned, recast, for an episode and the Cylons were also a constant threat. However, the ratings for the series continued to decline and audiences switched off from the spin-off. The focus on the children and their Earth bound adventures were deeply unpopular with audiences.
The final episode was “The Return of Starbuck” which revealed the fate of the famous warrior. During a battle with the Cylons Starbuck was forced to crash land on a planet while Boomer returned to the fleet to warn them of the Cylons following them. On the planet Starbuck discovers a damaged Cylon and desiring company repairs it. Although at first the Cylon tries to kill him eventually the pair work together to build a shelter. After a while they are joined by a mysterious woman who is pregnant. When another party of Cylons arrives on the planet Starbuck sends the child off, in a small ship he was building, in the direction of the fleet. The mysterious woman is revealed to be a being from the “Ship of Lights”, from the original series, and the child grows up to be Doctor Zee.
The episode was very popular with fans because it saw the return of Starbuck and was more akin to the style of the original series. Because of its popularity Larson set about writing a sequel, “The Wheel of Fire” but ABC axed the show. Production had already started on another episode, “The Day They Kidnapped Cleopatra” when the axe fell. The episode would likely have seen the return of the time travel aspect to the show and possibly the return of Xavier once more to the series. The Wheel of Fire would also have featured time travel aspects.
The series isn’t held in high regards by fans and is mostly dismissed by them. Actor Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original series, has written several books continuing the story of Battlestar Galactica which largely ignores the events of Galactica 1980. The series has been repeated since its original broadcast and was released last year on DVD as “the original Battlestar Galactica’s final season”. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a remake or reimaging of Galactica 1980.
