1995: MAXIMUM PRESS REVIVE BATTLESTAR GALACTICA COMICS IN STARLOG MAGAZINE

From 1995: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA returns to comics (for the first time since the Marvel years over a decade earlier) as reported in STARLOG MAGAZINE.

Mximum Press (a bolt hole for publisher/ industry villain Rob Liefield when things got too hot at Image Comics) enjoyed some success with their take on the long-slumbering franchise, eventually publishing a bunch of mini-series (and booking a slot in the company's anthology), before stuttering to a hallt.

Most of it is hard to find unless you stumble across a dealer who has some in stock.  They don't tend to sell for much... there just wasn't much demand for them so copies are few and far between.  Only the first four-part series, set twenty yahrns after the TV show... and ignoring GALACTICA 1980... was ever collected into a trade paperback.  Which is - of course - decades out-of-print as well.

The complete run was:

• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (4 issues + the trade paperback reprint)
• THE ENEMY WITHIN (3 issues)
• STARBUCK (3 issues)
• APOLLO'S JOURNEY (3 issues.  Written by Richard Hatch)
• JOURNEY'S END (4 issues)
• ASYLUM (a BG strip appeared in 1-5, 7-8, 10. A single-page pin-up appears in 6)
• THE COMPENDIUM (collects the BG strips from ASYLUM 1-4, 10)
• SPECIAL EDITION (collects the BG strips from ASYLUM 4-5, 7)

ASYLUM 6 also included a SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN/ BIONIC WOMAN story, the first outing of what was intended to be an ongoing revival of the Universal franchise.  

1978: STARLOG PREVIEWS BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

From 1978: Another STARLOG MAGAZINE preview for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

Which somehow manages to make the opening night look a lot less exciting than it actually was.  What's with all the old folk when you have handsome heroes and hefty hardware?

It feels like a piece put together for a magazine with a much older readership.  Who might just be tempted to tune in to seee the stars they remembered from their youth in this new-fangled space romp...

1979: STARLOG LOOKS BACK AT BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

From 1979: STARLOG magazine's review of the year includes a specific BATTLESTAR GALACTICA retrospective.  The show would have been winding-up reruns on ABC whilst this issue was on sale.

1988: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DIRECTOR RICHARD A. COLLA TALKS TO STARLOG MAGAZINE... BUT DOESN'T MENTION GETTING SACKED!

From 1988: TV veteran Richard A. Colla discusses his life in SF TV with STARLOG MAGAZINE... including his stint directing (most of) the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA pilot episode (and faux feature film) SAGA OF A STAR WORLD.

A quick re-read of the interview is interesting.... He doesn't seem to mention that he had an almighty bust-up with Glen Larson during the shooting of Saga and was fired from the project before principal photography was completed.  According to other accounts, there was only four days left on the schedule when he was replaced.

His uncredited successor was another small-screen trooper Alan J. Levi.  Larson had already booked him to deliver the next story to shoot, the two-part Hoth alike (but shot more than six months before filming started on EMPIRE) GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO.  Levi was dragged in early to pick up where Colla was forced to leave off.

The reason for the sacking? Colla claims Larson was interferring too much with the filming and a succession of minor disagreements eventually escalated into his dismissal.  I'm sure Iove seen Larson claim he has let go because the shoot was too far behind schedule and costing too much.  I suspect both are probably close to the truth.  The sheer amount of shot-but-never-used footage for the opener (see the DVD and BR releases) is a sure sign that, behnd-the-scenes, the decision-making process was a little murkey.

Trivia of the day: Directing TV pilots can be a lucrative business.  If the show sells and goes to series, the original director continues to recieve a per-episode payment for establishing the initial look-and-feel of the show (including key elements like casting, costume etc).  So, even if the director is never invited back (or doesn't want to go back), they'll continue to profit from the success.

1979: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S NOAH HATHAWAY INTERVIEWED BY STARLOG MAGAZINE

From 1979: STARLOG MAGAZINE maganges to stretch out (mostly by interviewing his parents) a very brief interview with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Noah Hathaway into a full-page companion to the Lorne Greene piece.

It's a shame they never managed to interview the chimp...

1979: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S LORNE GREENE IN STARLOG MAGAZINE

From May 1979: Lorne Greene discusses BATTLESTAR GALACTICA with STARLOG MAGAZINE.

1978: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S MAREN JENSEN TALKS TO STARLOG MAGAZINE

From 1978: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA beauty Maren Jensen talks to STARLOG MAGAZINE.

Mareen's character, despite winning the show its second TV GUIDE cover, was slowly phased out over the single season, vanishing completely from the final few episodes... even when it would have made story sense for her to appear.  Some sources have attributed this to her general lack of acting experience (although I've always found her performance on the show fine) whilst others have chalked it up to the overall trend of simplifying the show from mid-season onwards.  Either way, it's a shame that she didn't stick with the show... and that the show didn't run longer in its original form.

1993: RICHARD HATCH INTERVIEWED IN STARLOG MAGAZINE

From November 1993: Richard Hatch discusses BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in the pages of STARLOG MAGAZINE issue 196.

1977: THE UNIVERSAL BACKLOT FROM THE AIR

From 1977: three overhead shots of the Universal Studios backlot.

These were three brief shots used as transitions in the HARDY BOYS/ NANCY DREW Hollywood set two-parter (which I blogged about recently) that was shot almost entirely on the backlot.  They were never shameless enough to namecheck that it was the Universal Tour but anyone familiar with the set-up (trams trundle 'round exterior sets) and specific attractions (the Jaws shark, the trippy ice tunnel that also shows up in THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) would know it in a second.

It wasn't uncommon for Universal shows to use the studio as a studio (rather than use the specific sets as somewhere else), THE A-TEAM and KNIGHT RIDER both instantly spring to mind, but these shots are unusual.  They represent the Universal TV machine at its zenith: churning out multiple shows and teleflicks for the three US broadcasters on an industrial scale.  It's interesting to think that somewhere on the lot, pre-production was underway on both BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY.

The tower, bottom right in the top pic, is the infamous 'Black Tower', home of the studio's leadership and administration.  The centre of power.

Apologies that the shots ain't great: they are snapped off-screen using my phone because by MAC laptop doesn't allow screengrabs from DVDs.  Humpf.  

From May 1982: a STARLOG MAGAZINE photo-retrospective (including a rogues gallery snap from the Universal Tour attraction) remembering BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

1998: STARLOG CELEBRATES BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY

From October 1998: STARLOG MAGAZINE issue 255 celebrates BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S 20th anniversary.

Sadly, it wasn't a whopper of a retrospective along the same lines as the Log's legendary look back at 10 years of the STAR WARS saga almost a decade earlier.  But still...

Don't you feel old?  Well... If I didn't then I do now as we approach the 40th anniversary.

It's a tribute to the staying power of the original series that Starlog felt confident enough to put a twenty year old show on the cover of a magazine still riding high on the Nineties SF TV boom.

1988: TITAN BOOKS ADVERT FOR STAR TREK AND BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

From September 1988: Titan Books promote their growing STAR TREK line of paperbacks and large format titles (published under license from Pocket Books here in the UK) and their brief daliance with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

The latter was timed to make the most of the BBC TWO repeat run, the first time that the show had been networked (after ITV scheduled it on a station-by-station basis) in the UK.  The BBC skipped, the rights reasons, the three-hour opener and the two-part The Living Legend.  The following episode, Fire In Space (which also formed the second theatrical movie MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK) was scheduled but had to be pulled at the last minute because it coincided with the aftermath of the King's Cross fire disaster.

Titan's publishing schedule consisted of new editions of the first three paperbacks originally published in the late Seventies (adapting Saga of a Star World, The Gun On Ice Planet Zero and Lost Planet of the Gods).  All of which were frequent secondhand bookshop fodder at the time and quite easy to track down, albeit sometimes in a well read condition.  Sales obviously weren't great because Titan didn't crack on with new editions of the rest of the US titles, which was a shame as the rest of the run were a darn sight harder to find on this side of the Atlantic.

1980: STARLOG REPORTS THE OUTCOME OF THE STAR WARS/ BATTLESTAR GALACTICA LAWSUIT

From 1980: The December issue of STARLOG magazine confirms that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA had emerged triumphant from the protracted legal spat with 20th Century Fox over the two deep space franchises.

The press fixated on the lawsuit at the time of Battlestar's launch but I suspect there was a lot less interest once the show had left the air.  Twice.

Universal didn't use the judgement as a green light to revive the concept... but it did leave them free to keep the Universal Studio ride in business long after most of the tourists had forgotten what had inspired it.

1979: THE STORY OF DIRK BENEDICT AND RICHARD HATCH

From September 1979: another bit of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA obscura courtesy of the US supermarket tabloids.

It's THE STORY OF DIRK ("sexy Battlestar blond") BENEDICT AND RICHARD ("shy and loyal") HATCH. All completely unauthorised you understand.

Surely this must be one of the rarer bits of Battlestar print tat (unless you know better) by virtue of it being a mail order exclusive, which (like all the best things in life) wasn't available in any store.

Have you ever seen a copy? Did you mail away for the chance to see the Colonial Warriors "out of uniform"? What type of girls did they like?

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S RICHARD HATCH, 1945 - 2017

From 1977:

I was saddened - and not a little shocked - by the news of the passing of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Richard Hatch last month. This is the first opportunity Starlogged has had to mark his passing.

I've unearthed this pre-BATTLESTAR 1977 article from a copy of a celeb-packed American supermarket tabloid.

Hatch was subbing for Michael Douglas on the final year of THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO at the time of publication, although Larson may already have been courting him for his new space epic as Battlestar was already deep in pre-production - as a series of occasional teleflicks - at the time.

I've always thought that Hatch was pretty underserved by the script writers on the first / only season. Despite having star billing, Dirk Benedict's Starbuck quickly emerged as being the more interesting character and grabbed the lion's share of the numerous iterations of the 'lost warrior' plot that cluttered the run. It didn't help that one of his few solo episodes was a blatant reworking of SHANE (which was subsequently blatantly reworked again as an episode of TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY a few years later).

Days before he died, I happened to see Hatch in a rare movie starring role in CHARLIE CHAN AND THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON QUEEN, the 1981 misfire which I doubt did Hatch's acting resume many favours. The film itself is OK, thanks mostly to a strong cast (Angie Dickinson, Roddy McDowall and a young Michelle Pfeiffer) but suffers from too much enforced quirkiness and pratfalls. It also veers into un-PC territory by casting Peter Ustinov as Chan and Hatch as his mixed race 'number one grandson'.

Hatch was never keen to sign aboard the Battlestar (at least until he realised that filming was about to begin and he could name his price) but did manage to make it into a lifetime's career despite only shooting one season. In addition to the usual conventions and personal appearances, Hatch filled the (rather large) gaps between acting gigs by penning a series of original novels and some stories for the various comic book versions. He famously also went out and shot a trailer for a mooted revival despite not having any rights or ownership claims. His reasoning: the studio bosses couldn't envisage what an updated show might look like... so he set out (with the help of fellow cast members and assorted fans) to put together a presentation reel.

He had been slated to make an appearance in the aborted early Noughties revival and - of course - returned to the franchise for the remake. A role which finally stretched him as an actor.

1988: MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK UK VHS SLEEVE (CIC VIDEO)

From circa 1988: the first UK sell-through VHS release of the second BATTLESTAR GALACTICA faux feature film MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK.

Once again presented in the familiar CIC livery of the day, this was first released in UK cinemas in 1980 as a quickie cash-in to lure people away from the delights of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (other science fiction blockbusters are available). It started doing the international circuit in 1979.

The film itself is a competent chop-together of three episodes from the 1978-79 weekly series. The two stories (the double-length The Living Legend and Fire in Space) were both blessed with higher-than-average production values, presumably because the studio already had plans to reuse the material overseas (MG, unlike its predecessor, never had a theatrical release in US movie houses but did surface on home video and cable TV).

Even with the extra investment, the sequel still struggles to match the production standards of he first movie. Many of the effects shots are (like most of the series) stock from the opening night and their reuse stands out here. The problem is magnified by some unfortunate continuity errors created by mis-matched shots. The live action material is entirely competent and has the right levels of excitement when required. Much of the staging of the Fire In Space segment stands head and shoulders above similar starship in peril outings on other shows. The movie cut wisely dispenses with some of the more obvious disaster movie cliches which clutter the TV outing.

The big let down is the final spectacular space walk. It's incredibly poorly staged with obvious wire work, a poor photographic backdrop of a section of the miniature and - worst of all - costumes that aren't air tight.

The two plots mesh together pretty well and I think casual viewers would struggle to spot they are watching a cut-and-shunt production crafted in a Universal edit suite. Only one shot looks obviously out-of-place (watch for it). Other delights include the return of the Imperious Leader (on an excursion), Lloyd Bridges as swaggering Commander Cain, the arrival of Sheba as a series regular (although no one knew officially), gossiping Cylons, an unconvincing air drop and lots of explosions.

It's no ESB but it's a great slice of Galactca.

Once again, tangled rights problems prevented BBC TWO from repeating The Living Legend. Fire in Space had booked a place in the schedules but the fire at London's Kings Cross underground station a day earlier meant it was bumped from the running order and not reinstated later in the run.

The conclusion of the Galactica trilogy, CONQUEST OF THE EARTH, was never given a sell-through release. Nor, indeed, a DVD one.

1988: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA UK VHS RELEASE (CIC VIDEO)

From circa 1988: the first UK sell-through VHS release of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

This is, of course, the shorter theatrical cut of the show's epic (but suspiciously episodic in structure) blockbuster pilot Saga of a Star World, as seen in British cinemas in 1979.

This was released around the same time as the show was getting a welcome rerun (in Its first networked slot after ITV left It to float around the regions from 1980 onwards) on BBC TWO. This release partially plugged an importantlyt gap as the BBC were forced to skip the opener altogether because ITV still held the rights as part of a separate package of Universal films and tele-flicks.They dived straight in with part one of Lost Planet of the Gods.

CIC Video was the long-standing partnership between Universal and Paramount in the UK.

1997: BATTLESTAR GALACTCA ON THE COVER OF SCI-FI & FANTASY MODELS ISSUE 20

From June 1997: Cylon Raiders, from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, menace the cover of SCI-FI & FANTASY MODELS issue 20. 

1979: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA IN FILM REVIEW MAGAZINE

From May 1979: FILM REVIEW cover features BATTLESTAR GALACTICA to tie-in with the UK theatrical release of the edited-for-time pilot episode (aka Saga of a Star World).