Post by Niemz on Jun 19, 2007 22:03:16 GMT -6
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Glen A. Larson, the Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica, has stated in interviews that he originally conceived of the Galactica premise in the late 1960s, which he originally called Adam's Ark. However, he was unable to get the project greenlit for many years.
Battlestar Galactica was finally produced in the wake of the success of the 1977 film Star Wars. In fact, 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios (the studio behind Battlestar Galactica) for copyright infringement, claiming that it had stolen 34 distinct ideas from Star Wars. Universal promptly counter sued, claiming Star Wars had stolen ideas from the 1972 film Silent Running (notably the robot "drones") and the Buck Rogers serials of the 1940s. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in 1980.
Initially, Larson envisioned Battlestar Galactica as a series of made-for-TV movies (a three-hour pilot and two two-hour episodes) for the ABC television network. A shortened version of the three-hour pilot was released in Canadian theaters (before the series aired) and American theaters (after the series aired), and instead of two additional movies, a weekly television series followed.
As this press photo shows, Tektronix, Inc., manufacturer of test and measurement equipment (especially known for their oscilloscope product line) and computer equipment, supplied their 7000-series of oscilloscopes, TM500-series of test and measurement equipment and their 4000-series of computer graphic equipment and associated software for the shows Galactica props. The "radar" style images of Cylons attacking the battle group were Tektronix graphics displays. In the photo, a Tektronix 4051 graphics computer system is shown.
In 1979 at the 6th Annual People's Choice Awards, the series won for Best New TV Drama Series.
Original theatrical release
The two-hour-long film starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. To defray costs, the film was recut from the pilot episode. It played in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Airing on July 7, 1978, the episode brought in many viewers considering the modest expectations.
The original series
During the eight months after the movie was released, 17 original episodes of the series were aired (five of them two-parters), totaling 24 hours of broadcasting. Citing declining ratings and cost overruns, ABC canceled Battlestar Galactica in April, its last episode "The Hand of God" premiering on April 29, 1979.
The second film
The Battlestar Pegasus episodes were edited together as a 1978 TV Movie entitled Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack[2], released in cinemas in Europe and Japan.
During the autumn of 1979, ABC executives met with Galactica's creator Glen A. Larson to consider a relaunch of the series. A suitable concept would be needed to draw viewers, and it was decided that the arrival of the Colonial Fleet at contemporary Earth would be the storyline. A new television movie entitled Galactica 1980 was rushed into production. Again, it was decided this new version of Galactica would be made into a weekly series. Despite the early success of the premiere, this new weekly series was cancelled after only ten episodes.
In this 1980 sequel series, the fleet finds Earth and covertly protects it from the Cylons. This series was a quick failure due to its low budget (e.g., recycling footage from the 1974 Universal Studios film Earthquake, during a Cylon attack sequence), widely-panned writing, and ill-placed time slot (Sundays at 7:00 PM, a time slot generally reserved for family-oriented programming and, more specifically, 60 Minutes).[citation needed] The show was also obligated to adhere to strict content restrictions such as limiting acts of violence and being required to shoe horn educational content into the script and dialogue. To cut costs, the show was set mostly on contemporary Earth, to the great dismay of fans. Some syndication packages for Battlestar Galactica incorporate the episodes of this series.
The third film
Several episodes of Galactica 1980 were edited together and released as a movie titled Conquest of the Earth[3] in cinemas in Europe and Australia.
Glen A. Larson, the Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica, has stated in interviews that he originally conceived of the Galactica premise in the late 1960s, which he originally called Adam's Ark. However, he was unable to get the project greenlit for many years.
Battlestar Galactica was finally produced in the wake of the success of the 1977 film Star Wars. In fact, 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios (the studio behind Battlestar Galactica) for copyright infringement, claiming that it had stolen 34 distinct ideas from Star Wars. Universal promptly counter sued, claiming Star Wars had stolen ideas from the 1972 film Silent Running (notably the robot "drones") and the Buck Rogers serials of the 1940s. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in 1980.
Initially, Larson envisioned Battlestar Galactica as a series of made-for-TV movies (a three-hour pilot and two two-hour episodes) for the ABC television network. A shortened version of the three-hour pilot was released in Canadian theaters (before the series aired) and American theaters (after the series aired), and instead of two additional movies, a weekly television series followed.
As this press photo shows, Tektronix, Inc., manufacturer of test and measurement equipment (especially known for their oscilloscope product line) and computer equipment, supplied their 7000-series of oscilloscopes, TM500-series of test and measurement equipment and their 4000-series of computer graphic equipment and associated software for the shows Galactica props. The "radar" style images of Cylons attacking the battle group were Tektronix graphics displays. In the photo, a Tektronix 4051 graphics computer system is shown.
In 1979 at the 6th Annual People's Choice Awards, the series won for Best New TV Drama Series.
Original theatrical release
The two-hour-long film starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. To defray costs, the film was recut from the pilot episode. It played in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Airing on July 7, 1978, the episode brought in many viewers considering the modest expectations.
The original series
During the eight months after the movie was released, 17 original episodes of the series were aired (five of them two-parters), totaling 24 hours of broadcasting. Citing declining ratings and cost overruns, ABC canceled Battlestar Galactica in April, its last episode "The Hand of God" premiering on April 29, 1979.
The second film
The Battlestar Pegasus episodes were edited together as a 1978 TV Movie entitled Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack[2], released in cinemas in Europe and Japan.
During the autumn of 1979, ABC executives met with Galactica's creator Glen A. Larson to consider a relaunch of the series. A suitable concept would be needed to draw viewers, and it was decided that the arrival of the Colonial Fleet at contemporary Earth would be the storyline. A new television movie entitled Galactica 1980 was rushed into production. Again, it was decided this new version of Galactica would be made into a weekly series. Despite the early success of the premiere, this new weekly series was cancelled after only ten episodes.
In this 1980 sequel series, the fleet finds Earth and covertly protects it from the Cylons. This series was a quick failure due to its low budget (e.g., recycling footage from the 1974 Universal Studios film Earthquake, during a Cylon attack sequence), widely-panned writing, and ill-placed time slot (Sundays at 7:00 PM, a time slot generally reserved for family-oriented programming and, more specifically, 60 Minutes).[citation needed] The show was also obligated to adhere to strict content restrictions such as limiting acts of violence and being required to shoe horn educational content into the script and dialogue. To cut costs, the show was set mostly on contemporary Earth, to the great dismay of fans. Some syndication packages for Battlestar Galactica incorporate the episodes of this series.
The third film
Several episodes of Galactica 1980 were edited together and released as a movie titled Conquest of the Earth[3] in cinemas in Europe and Australia.
