Galactica 1980

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ABC (ended 1980)
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Show Summary

  • Ended
Only the first three episodes of the series, comprising the pilot movie, feature a title sequence beginning with "Galactica 1980." The remaining episodes begin by calling the show "Battlestar Galactica," as if this were the second season of the original show.''''All the roles were written for the original cast, as if this were the second season. When most proved unavailable, the parts were rewritten and a largely new cast was hired.''''Set 30 years after the first season, the Galactica, guided by the mysterious teenage genius prodigy Dr. Zee. Adama, sporting a hideously fake beard, remains in command of the fleet, with Col. Boomer his second in command. Upon realizing Earth of 1980 cannot face the Cylons, and hearing Zee's warning that the Cylons followed them, Adama turns the fleet away, sending his grandson Troy (the grown up Boxey) and his wingman Dillon to explore Earth and aid in speeding up its technological development. They are helped by a reporter named Jamie Hamilton, and new technology such as personal cloaking shields and flying motorcycles.''''The original premise set up in the pilot features a traitor named Xavier stealing a ship and traveling into the past in an effort to speed up Earth's development by introducing technology into the past. His first target is to help the Nazi rocket program, but he is stopped by Troy, Dillon and Jamie. He escapes their custody and heads to pre-Revolutionary America, and the pilot ends with Jamie vowing to join Troy and Dillon in the chase for Xavier through time the implication being each episode would feature Xavier in a different era, with our trio of heroes trying to stop him from changing history.''''However, when the series was picked up, this premise was abandoned, and a plot thread featuring Troy and Dillon protecting a group of Galactican children on Earth was woven through many of the episodes, with Xavier abandoning his time travel efforts.''''The story of the children was an element no doubt introduced to appease broadcast standards requiring shows airing at 7 p.m. to appeal to younger audiences. ''''While the show was considered a critical flop, it did feature a number of recurring storylines. Among them, in addition to the children, was the military's attempt to track down any evidence of the Galactica, and Jamie's boss looking to cover the story. Recurring themes included Troy and Dillon in fish-out-of-water scenarios as they attempted to adapt to Earth, which added a level of silliness, and the idea that Galactica was the guardian of the last human stronghold in the face of the Cylon threat, which added a layer of seriousness.''''Several episodes featured the following text at the end of the program: "The United States Air Force stopped investigating UFOs in 1969. After 22 years, they found no evidence of extra-terrestrial visits and no threat to national security." This may have been in response not only to the Air Force story arc, but also to the stringent educational standards of a 7 p.m. time slot.''''These standards may have at first given series creator Glen Larson the idea to feature history-themed episodes as a way to provide some educational context. Instead, ABC interference probably led to the prominence of the use of the children, and several episodes were little more than trite morality plays about such things as pollution and racism. As a result, the finished product ended up being insulting to most audience members' intelligence, while alienating core fans of the series who found the new premise absurd.''''The poor quality of early episodes and declining ratings were probably the impetus for Larson to reintroduce the Cylon menace so soon. The ninth episode, "Space Croppers," features a Cylon attack that hearkens back to fond memories of the first season before denigrating into the usual Earthbound dreck this season was known for. ''''Larson has subsequently stated his regret for this second season, and other than the finale "The Return of Starbuck," considered the episodes a waste of time. Given another chance at continuing the storyline, he said he would chalk up "1980" to a bad dream or a computer simulation, then continue the first season as if "1980" had never happened.''''The existence of "1980" was cited as one reason Ronald Moore chose a new version of BSG rather than a continuation. Even so, "1980" beat him to the punch with humanoid Cylons, featured in the two-parter "The Night the Cylons Landed." Like the new BSG, "1980" dealt with the evolution of the Cylon race.moreless
6.4
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Episode Guide

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S 1 :  Ep 10 Aired 5/4/80
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S 1 :  Ep 9 Aired 4/27/80
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S 1 :  Ep 8 Aired 4/20/80
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S 1 :  Ep 7 Aired 4/13/80
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S 1 :  Ep 6 Aired 3/30/80
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  • December 26, 2007 DVD Releases 13

    December 26, 2007 DVD Releases

    By Melissa Toutjian, Dec 12, 2007

    dvdreleases/dvdroundup_toshiba_758.jpg Galactica 1980 The Complete Series Buy the DVD! More Galactica 1980 Show Summary | Episode Guide | Forum Kong: The Animated Series Volume Three Buy the DVD! More Kong: The Animated Series Show Summary | Episode Guide | Forum more

  • Battlestar gets blown out of space on NBC 21

    Battlestar gets blown out of space on NBC

    By Colin Mahan, Jul 13, 2005

    The Sci-Fi Channel's reimagining of the '70s intergalactic wagon-train show Battlestar Galactica is one of that cable net's top-rated shows, and it has inspired critical acclaim as well as a growing legion of hardcore fans. NBC's re-airing of episodes previously… more

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Fan Reviews (8)

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  • Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson!

    2.0
    "Terrible"
    By my1sunshine, Apr 19, 2008 Report Abuse
    Never has there been such a disappointment in the history of televison, than this show. I was so excited upon learning that Galactica was coming back, and even when 1980 got to the screen, I remember sitting there laughing and enjoying it.. for about an hour. Then I realized how bad the acting was. How silly the plot was. And what a vast insult to the fans this show was. But I wanted sooo badly to enjoy it..I kept watching. The jokes about Earth references? Ugh! Talk about forced humor! The Super-Scouts? Don't even get me started. A glimmer of hope when the Cylons landed. Nope! More stupidity. The only episode worth watching was when they announced they were bringing back a major character from the original. Yes! Our beloved Starbuck was back. Guess what? It was too late. "The Return of Starbuck" was the final episode. This was a show made for children. Re-watching the shows makes me believe it was made by children too. No wonder the fans refuse to accept this show as cannon. It is an insult to the memory of a great show, and a colossal waste of any viewers time.moreless

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  • The Galactica finds Earth, but unintentionally brings the Cylons with them. The people of the Galactica must protect Earth until the planet is ready to defend itself from the coming attackmoreless

    8.7
    "Great"
    By GameraTrekkie, Jan 21, 2008 Report Abuse
    This show is not as bad as everyone made it out to be, there are worse TV series that Galactica 1980. If you are a fan of futuristic people arriving in then modern day Earth, then this series is for you because that is basically the plot of the series. The people of the Galactica try to understand Earth customs and expressions as they try to blend in with the 13th colony. Needless to say, their activities alert the US government. I really enjoy this series. What I liked most about it was that it focused on the older Boxey, now going by his real name Troy, who was the little boy on the original series. Galactica 1980 is different from the original series, but it feels like they were finding their way by the time it was cancelled.moreless

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  • Thirty years has passed since we left Starbuck and the crew of Battlestar Galactica. After all the pain and lose, they finally reach Earth. Led by the boy genuis Dr. Z and Admiral Adama the flight tries to make Earth home.moreless

    5.6
    "Mediocre"
    By mbcben, Sep 25, 2007 Report Abuse
    After cancelling Battlestar Galactica, ABC got the rating numbers and scrambled to bring it back. But they didn't want to pay for it, since Battlestar was one of the most expensive shows on TV. So with most of the sets already destroyed, the show moved alot of it's stories to Earth. With the cancellation they also lost all their contracts and could only afford a few of the original cast members, introducing viewers to a slew of all new charecters. If everything I've typed sounds like non-sense, you'll get how I feel about this show. It sucks. The only good episode in the bunch is The Return of Starbuck and that's because it's a leftover from the original series.moreless

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  • Great idea that went bad after the first 10 minutes.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By SoylentYellow, Aug 16, 2007 Report Abuse
    How did I stumble on this curiousity of SCI-FI history? One that BSG purists wish was never ever made (except maybe Starbucks Return).... It was one of those moments that makes you wonder... well all of a sudden Ben Vereen popped into my head - dont know why exactly, it just did - I didnt even remember a single thing he was in. So the ever helpful TV.COM displayed shows he was associated with. A short lived bomb "Tenspeed & Brownshoe" popped up. The pilot of that show had Robyn Douglass in it - I dont think I even watched a single episode of it, its just that it had a weird name, starred a young Jeff Goldblum and there was a TV Guide article with Douglass in it because she was on 2 shows at the same time. The only reason I remembered her was that she was also in.... GALACTICA 1980... at the same time. I guess its all part of the "Lattice of Coincidence" that Miller talked about with Otto (Emilio Estevez) in the classic REPOMAN. Strange I remember things like this but sometimes cant remember where I left my keys. LOL!

    Hmmm where was I? Galactica 1980 went down hill faster than a fully loaded semi down a 45 degree grade with no brakes then crashed in spectacular fireball. First wrong move - no Starbuck and no Apollo. I only vaguely remember something involving "Wolfman Jack", a cylon and a radio station. Not much else..... Except for the final episode featuring Dirk Benedicts final appearance as Starbuck it was a totally forgettable mistake; though it did explain why he wasnt around for Galactica 1980 (even then this episode was supposed to be aired as part of Battlestar Galactica not Galactica 1980). Hopefully the new BSG does the finding the Earth thing in a better way than this show did. 10 for Effort, 0 - for Execution - final score 5.0. I really really wanted to like this show back then, but even as a kid I knew it was a disaster of historic proportions.moreless

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  • Oh dear!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By absulit, Feb 11, 2007 Report Abuse
    U dont have to forget that this show was a great try for sci fi. And this is the evolution of imagination that come from te past for a great Galactica future...

    I know that they just to have very ugly hair cuts but, what im talking about is of imagination, they create a world from nothing, and create a factastic one...

    Battlesar Galactica y one of my favorite shows because the effects are not digital, they are fisical, and that gives to Galactica a falvor becomming from Star Wars' original saga, with no much effects but with great human content like the new galacticamoreless

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  • I have never seen this show
    I have never seen this show but i love battlerstar galactica 2003 and im watching the 78 series and thats pretty cool but is this ...
    By westcoastwillam, Dec 23, 2007
    05/14/08
    3
    Reply
  • 37th!!!!!!
    how in gods name did this make it to 37ths on tv.com's best ranked sci-fi shows, my gods people what were you thinking?
    By koopy, Mar 08, 2007
    05/14/08
    3
    Reply
  • dvd
    the galactica 1980 dvd will be released in decenber
    By scifinut99, Sep 30, 2007
    09/30/07
    1
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Cheap Special Effects, Epic Journey, Futuristic Technology, Galactic Drama, Lost World

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