languatron
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Life could be this beautiful without NBC-TV in it.
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God, how I long for the days of a freshly written Glen Larson script. After watching the CRAP that Ronald D. Moore pumps out of his bowels on a weekly basis, I have developed a NEW APPRECIATION for Glen A. Larson's scriptwriting. It used to be, that "Galactica: 1980" was regarded as the most poorly written Science Fiction tv series of all time. NOT ANY LONGER!! Ronald D. Moore's "Star Trek-esque" CRAP with the "Galactica" brand name slapped on it NOW HAS THAT HONOR. In comparison to Ronald D. Moore's CRAP, "Galactica: 1980" ranks way up there as one of the most IMAGINATIVE Science Fiction tv series of all time.
I have all of "Galactica: 1980" on recorded VHS tapes. Revisiting the series 25 years later, I FIND NO FAULT WITH THIS SERIES. Lorne Greene is still in the series, Herb Jefferson Jr. is still in the series, and Dirk Benedict even appears in the last episode. The ORIGINAL PRODUCTION DESIGN, COSTUMES, SPACESHIPS, SOUND EFFECTS, etc. are still there. Even in the episodes that concentrate on the "Galactican" children, I find no fault in this either. If a hunted people were journeying to a new home, what would their primary concerns be? The welfare of the children. So, it makes sense that "Galactica: 1980" would have episodes devoted to the kids. If I were to voice any criticisms against "Galactica: 1980", it's that some episodes occasionally got cheesy.
Yes, being subjected to Ronald D. Moore's LACK OF TALENT as a producer and writer has caused me change my opinions about "Galactica: 1980." Mainly, in that if comparisons were made between Ronald D. Moore's production and "Galactica: 1980", "Galactica: 1980" comes off as being DAMN GOOD. I guess the point of this thread, is that when Glen A. Larson is not at his peak creatively as a scriptwriter, he is still INFINITELY MORE TALENTED than Ronald D. Moore. There is more IMAGINATION in the pilot episode of "Galactica: 1980", than there is in Ronald D. Moore's ENTIRE WRITING CAREER. Yes, I am indeed PRAISING Glen A. Larson. I think the main reason why "Galactica: 1980" was and has been slammed, is that it just wasn't "Battlestar Galactica" as it aired two years earlier. On its own merits however, the worst that "Galactica: 1980" can be accused of is just being cheesy.
Since Ronald D. Moore's LACK OF TALENT as a producer/writer has FORCED ME to revisit "Galactica: 1980" and note its TRUE STRENGTHS as a Science Fiction television show, I'll do that now. There is a charm in "Galactica: 1980" that Ronald D. Moore could NEVER reproduce on screen no matter how hard he tried. In that, Kent McCord and Barry Van Dyke did a DAMN GOOD JOB conveying the following as actors:
1) Genuine concern towards the children they were in charge of.
2) Playing the "fish out of water" bit with humorous and charming results.
Out of the six episodes produced for "Galactica: 1980", I have THREE FAVORITES. The pilot episode of course. This pilot even bridged the original series, as Troy shows Dillon a picture of him with Apollo when he was a kid and still referred to as "Boxey." The time travel in this episode was DAMN GOOD, with the time travel effects MATCHING ANYTHING that Rick Berman could come up with, and also matching the time travel effects in Tim Burton's "Planet Of The Apes" remake. Yet, these effects were done a quarter century EARLIER!! The plot was good, with Xavier trying to update Nazi Germany with new technology. How often has Rick Berman and all of the former STAR TREK STAFF WRITERS RIPPED THIS OFF from Glen A. Larson?
"The Night The Cylons Landed" is something I watch EVERY HALLOWEEN. Yes, I ADMIT IT. Are you happy now, Glen? Seeing a Cylon and his humanoid counterpart hitchhiking on Halloween Eve is priceless. The episode even starts off with a cool dogfight between a Viper and a new experimental Cylon craft. There is genuine tension in this episode as well as Troy and Dillon have to board a plane and fly to where they think the Cylon craft will crash. Of course, the military is en route as well. I LOVE IT!!
"Return Of Starbuck" is of course, the MUCH NEEDED RETURN of Dirk Benedict as Starbuck. There is one little moment in this episode that I DEARLY LOVE the most. It's the point where the Cylon and Starbuck are working together building a makeshift spacecraft from Starbuck's crashed Viper and the Cylon's crashed Raider. In a scene that lasts maybe three seconds, we see Starbuck standing on the wing of a full scale mock-up of the Cylon Raider. In this one brief scene, we learn the TRUE SCALE of a Cylon Raider in relation to a man standing near it. AND THIS SUCKER IS BIG!! I love how the "Galactica: 1980" production crew WENT TO THE TROUBLE of building a FULL SCALE MOCK-UP of a "Cylon Raider" for just this one episode.
"Galactica: 1980" has MORE TALENT, IMAGINATION, DECENT SCRIPTS, and CHARM in its BRIEF SIX EPISODES than Ronald D. Moore HAS EVER COME UP WITH in his ENTIRE 15 YEARS working in television. And we're talking ALOT OF SCRIPTS that Ronald D. Moore wrote in those 15 years, AREN'T WE?
Yes, I'll take my POPCORN to the next aisle, Ronald D. Moore. Where "Galactica: 1980" reruns are showing!! I"ll choose "Galactica: 1980" over your STAR TREK CRAP any day of the week, Ronald D. Moore!! 
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