How BattleStar
Galactica saved Science Fiction
By Groshan Fabiola
In 1977, Star Wars reintroduced the world to the serialized space
opera with groundbreaking results both creatively and financially.
In the wake of this paradigm shift came a gaggle of embarrassing
me-too projects both for film and television. Then there was
Battlestar Galactica.Battlestar
Galactica was the brain-child of producer/writer/director Glen
Larson. It was both a pastiche of the Star Wars formula, and a
bizarre melding of wagon train and Egyptian mythology. The series
chronicled the adventures of a “Rag Tag Fleet” running from the
Cylons, a mechanized horde of robots lead by a human traitor; their
destination is a mythical world called “Earth”. Battlestar Galactica
was a success both theatrically and on the television. Despite it’s
campy acting and plot lines there was an endearing element in the
quest of these characters. Battlestar Galactica never made any
apologies for borrowing the character archetypes made so popular in
Star Wars. Apollo is a dark haired Luke Skywalker, Sheba the strong
female cut from the Princess Leia strand, and Starbuck as the
charismatic scoundrel that Han Solo would surely approve of. Despite
these obvious pastiches, Battlestar Galactica got away with it.
The death of Battlestar Galactica, however,
was written in the stars. ABC has long argued it was declining
ratings and cost overruns that killed the series. In reality, many
argue, it was the budget which was in turn a function of the time.
Motion control cameras and blue screen techniques were still a trial
and error process at the time and despite the experienced staff in
the Battlestar Galactica effects unit these sequences often ran over
schedule and many times had to be reshot entirely. Clearly,
producing big screen effects in the span and budget of a television
production was not something the industry was ready for at the time.
After Battlestar Galactica was cancelled, the
studio tried to resurrect the series with Glen Larsen, this time
they sat certain parameters that doomed the show from the beginning:
No new space battles would be filmed, only recycled footage could be
used, and the original cast would be replaced by younger crew who
had already made it to earth. A land locked Battlestar Galactica
proved to have little appeal to fans of the original audience and it
quickly died on the vine. Battlestar Galactica continued to hold a
very active cult following and after several failed big screen
attempts, Producer Bryan Singer decided to take a hand at
resurrecting the series with Sci-Fi channel and an international
consortium of financiers. Contract obligations caused Singer to back
out, but his momentum was enough for the project to continue under
the guidance of Star Trek alum Ron Moore.
When the new Battlestar Galactica miniseres
premiered many fans were outraged. It was billed as a “reimagining”
taking only the best parts of the original series and turning some
characters inside out. Several male characters, including the cliché
chauvinist Starbuck, were now female. Cyclons would look like
regular people, and the series would take a more political stance.
Despite the nay-saying of Battlestar Galactica purists, the new
min-series was a critical success and a long running series was
locked in.
Since debuting in 2004, Battlestar Galactica
has continued to gain accolades from the industry, the press, and
fans, yet award recognition has been denied.
Much like its predecessor, Battlestar
Galactica has managed to avoid the fact that it is merely a blending
of several recent, well duplicated motifs in television history and
stand alone in a way that brings legitimacy to the sci-fi genre by
producing stories that are morally, politically, and creatively
challenging.
- BuddyTV
