RICK SPRINGFIELD, CYLON RAIDERS & THE LATE GLEN A. LARSON

Created by Glen A. Larson

Before Rick Springfield coveted Jessie’s Girl, his character Zac, along with Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo, ran into some really bad interstellar luck… 

Rick and Dick

Apollo and his little brother were on a routine patrol when a fleet of Cylon Raiders, breaking a peace treaty that would end a thousand yearlong war, attacked from behind a docking station…

Zac's tragic death began a series both groundbreaking and unoriginal...

The latter because the dogfights in space resembled the previous year’s blockbuster STAR WARS, and the broken ground was all its own – halfway through the first and only season, the formidable Cylons were too expensive to film: as stories became less centered on glorious battles, the initially popular show was falling through the cracks… Even some faithful hardcore fans were losing interest. 

Followup story: Tombs of Kobel book artwork

But the three-part pilot episode is something to marvel. Actually, it’s a two-hour plus movie later broken into a pilot. The main difference being the human traitor Baltar gets beheaded in one, and is spared for the watered-down TV epic titled SAGA OF A STAR WORLD.

For a generation of young outer space junkies needing a fix between STAR WARS and what would soon be THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Glen A. Larson (who recently passed away) created a series centering on the titular Battlestar Galactica, a sole vessel after a Pearl Harbor style surprise attack destroys every other Battlestar in the vast fleet. Commander Adama, played by BONANZA patriarch Lorne Green, was the only veteran warrior who didn’t trust the Cylons. After which his mission is to seek out a distant planet known as Earth (let's forget GALACTICA 1980, a different show entirely)! 

Lt. Starbuck

STAR WARS similarities didn’t end with special effects. In the Han Solo role is Dirk Benedict as Lt. Starbuck, a cocky, gambling womanizer who's also a hotshot pilot. Flaky and unreliable on “the ground”, he’s ultra dependable during any Viper Vs Raider dogfight. His partner-in-crime, Boomer, provides a bridge between Starbuck and the polar opposite Apollo, our very own Luke Skywalker but with more experience and responsibility up front.

Captain Appolo and Friend

“Why do the girls always go for the bad guy or the naughty guy?” Richard Hatch griped in a Cult Film Freak Interview.

“I think writers love to write for deliciously bad characters or flawed characters, and when a character is kind of the, you know, good guy, they’re not as interested." But every main player was flanked by a sidekick: Adama had an ultra-serious Commander Tigh while Starbuck's two lovely ladies had each other to compete with. 

The BATTLESTAR GALACTICA movie, unlike some of the less daring latter episodes, catapulted a firestorm of laserblasting battles, suspenseful intrigue, a dash of romance, pulpy banter and best of all, geek-lusted hotties like Jane Seymour and Maren Jensen, and is highly recommended for even those who prefer the progressed 2004 reboot series, which, during its popular four-season run, served up a hotbed of political intrigue and steamy serialized melodrama, way more modern and realistic than the 70's science-fantasy that yours truly appreciates, and prefers. So let’s ALL say thanks to Glen A. Larson: for fans of either the old or new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, if it weren’t for him, there’d be nothing but empty space!