For entertainment value, this one's hard to beat. Did it stand the test of time? It could never. Something like this is instantly outdated by any progress in filming technology. By now it's an oddity, with its flaws that are numerous and patently obvious. Yet it has very likable characters you can root for. Also several you can disdain. The best heavies in the annals of TV, the oafish burly silver steel-plated ping- pong red-eyed Ceylons. Marvel at the patriotic sight of a Colonial Viper in full flight. Scowl at those manta ray winged Ceylon Raiders swooping down like hungry sharks. And hear the lasers going zap-zap-zap as all hell breaks loose.
Just try not to notice that the proper perspective of the angles invariably gets lost, the shortcomings imposed by the relatively primitive techniques used. Something like superimposed images, of which the two do not always work together. A loss of real depth. It's not as in tune as it should be.
But it has HEART! And a whole lot of it!
It also has:
Jane Seymour, former Bond girl Solitaire of LIVE AND LET DIE, she with the long, long hair, in an earnest performance as Selina, the TV hostess for the grand spectacle of the great peace ceremony, which goes horribly wrong when the Ceylons bomb everything to smithereens. Unfortunately, the character is a bit wasted by her being the mother of Boxey, we learn that there is some past history there regarding the missing father figure, what it is, we have yet to find out.
Maren Jensen, the lovely model who took the part of warrior Athena. She is a glorious dream-girl even if the fast-paced script allowed not a moment of grief over the loss of her mother and only a fraction for the loss of her brother. Leggy barefoot lingerie scene comes quite unexpected, it is really, really delicious, oh to be Starbuck just being there with that delicate frame.
Starbuck and Apollo, matinée idol heroes. Extremely likable. I've already mentioned that. But coming from The Raven who only once in a blue moon even comments on male performances, that is some compliment. They are the kind of idols a young boy's hero worship is made of, enough of the old-fashioned hero in them so that nobody of modern times can hold a candle to them, no way!
And Colonel Adama, a powerful performance by Lorne Greene. Obviously wise with a lifetime of experience, he commands respect at first sight.
Not forgetting the awesome majesty of the Battlestar Galactica, etched like a glistening white whale against the infinite deep black velvet of space, hovering on, rumbling like the colossal juggernaut it is.
Okay, people, you have to suspend disbelief. Watching this if you are only intent on ridiculing it, oh what fun you are missing out on. I saw it back in the day, and now, about forty years later, I can just marvel at the glory of it, the joy of the glory of it, my mind latches on to every mistake, but the heart, the heart loves it. My mind screams out for a remake, the kind of remake that would simply restore the bits that needed to be redone to their intended glory.. No way would I want other people to be those characters, I want Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Maren Jensen, Jane Seymour, and yes, bad guy John Colicos... Well, Laurette Spang's a disappointment, and that Muffet is just bothersome...
Visually, a treat. Shortcomings or not, it's still freaking majestic.
Of course it's gonna be a nightmare to watch for the majority of people who'd not be into this kind of thing. They'd GO CRAZY!! (to quote a line from the script)
Good advice to would-be viewers on DVD: watch it as three different episodes, it is clear to see where ep. 2 and ep. 3 starts. As a movie, it changes flavor from the first to the second, but especially from the second to the third. It's, personally, about too much to take in one sitting, as that third part is built on a very shaky premise out of touch with the basic theme that they are the last of this civilization trying to find Earth, so where did all those people come from? and the Ray Milland character echoes the reprehensible pacifistic approach of the first part. The quality is patently inconsistent, rather it is the first part that should have been drawn out into a full-length movie, with more character development there.
The heart loves this, and want it to succeed on the screen. It, at times, does, and it's a sight to behold.
Just try not to notice that the proper perspective of the angles invariably gets lost, the shortcomings imposed by the relatively primitive techniques used. Something like superimposed images, of which the two do not always work together. A loss of real depth. It's not as in tune as it should be.
But it has HEART! And a whole lot of it!
It also has:
Jane Seymour, former Bond girl Solitaire of LIVE AND LET DIE, she with the long, long hair, in an earnest performance as Selina, the TV hostess for the grand spectacle of the great peace ceremony, which goes horribly wrong when the Ceylons bomb everything to smithereens. Unfortunately, the character is a bit wasted by her being the mother of Boxey, we learn that there is some past history there regarding the missing father figure, what it is, we have yet to find out.
Maren Jensen, the lovely model who took the part of warrior Athena. She is a glorious dream-girl even if the fast-paced script allowed not a moment of grief over the loss of her mother and only a fraction for the loss of her brother. Leggy barefoot lingerie scene comes quite unexpected, it is really, really delicious, oh to be Starbuck just being there with that delicate frame.
Starbuck and Apollo, matinée idol heroes. Extremely likable. I've already mentioned that. But coming from The Raven who only once in a blue moon even comments on male performances, that is some compliment. They are the kind of idols a young boy's hero worship is made of, enough of the old-fashioned hero in them so that nobody of modern times can hold a candle to them, no way!
And Colonel Adama, a powerful performance by Lorne Greene. Obviously wise with a lifetime of experience, he commands respect at first sight.
Not forgetting the awesome majesty of the Battlestar Galactica, etched like a glistening white whale against the infinite deep black velvet of space, hovering on, rumbling like the colossal juggernaut it is.
Okay, people, you have to suspend disbelief. Watching this if you are only intent on ridiculing it, oh what fun you are missing out on. I saw it back in the day, and now, about forty years later, I can just marvel at the glory of it, the joy of the glory of it, my mind latches on to every mistake, but the heart, the heart loves it. My mind screams out for a remake, the kind of remake that would simply restore the bits that needed to be redone to their intended glory.. No way would I want other people to be those characters, I want Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Maren Jensen, Jane Seymour, and yes, bad guy John Colicos... Well, Laurette Spang's a disappointment, and that Muffet is just bothersome...
Visually, a treat. Shortcomings or not, it's still freaking majestic.
Of course it's gonna be a nightmare to watch for the majority of people who'd not be into this kind of thing. They'd GO CRAZY!! (to quote a line from the script)
Good advice to would-be viewers on DVD: watch it as three different episodes, it is clear to see where ep. 2 and ep. 3 starts. As a movie, it changes flavor from the first to the second, but especially from the second to the third. It's, personally, about too much to take in one sitting, as that third part is built on a very shaky premise out of touch with the basic theme that they are the last of this civilization trying to find Earth, so where did all those people come from? and the Ray Milland character echoes the reprehensible pacifistic approach of the first part. The quality is patently inconsistent, rather it is the first part that should have been drawn out into a full-length movie, with more character development there.
The heart loves this, and want it to succeed on the screen. It, at times, does, and it's a sight to behold.