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The original Battlestar Galactica ran for two years in the late 1970s and holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of people who grew up in the late 70s, early 80s. Although by no means perfect, the characters and overall concept kept fans entertained despite the occasional goofy episode and poor special effects. Galactica 1980, though, has none of the appeal that has kept the original alive in syndication and eventually led to the new series starring Edward James Almos. Instead of hardened, scrappy freedom fighters clawing to survive in the dark vastness of space, the new show completely changes the tone and focus, becoming goofy stranger-in-a-strange-land type of story that wears out its charm within the first two episodes.
Set thirty years after the original the refugees from the twelve colonies destroyed by the Cylons have finally found the fabled thirteenth tribe–Earth. Expecting to find a civilization as advanced as their own, the colonists are severely disappointed to find that Earth is primitive in just about every way imaginable from technology to ideas of nationalism and racism. Instead of leaving their brothers, or simply taking over, Commander Adama, with the guidance of preteen genius, Dr. Z, decide to quietly and gradually introduce new technologies and sciences to the backwards people of Earth in the hopes that one day they will be advanced enough to help the Galacticans repel the still-present Cylon threat.
Lorne Green is the only cast member to return to the show, but his character isn’t as important as it once was. Instead of Apollo and Starbuck fueling most of the action, we now have Troy, Apollo’s son, and his friend Dillon. The two were sent to Earth in the first episode to make contact with a nuclear physicist named Dr. Mortinson–played by Robert Reed. On their way they meet a plucky, up and coming reporter named Jamie Hamilton, who ends up following Troy and Dillon on their adventures and generally acting as a walking encyclopedia of all things Earth. This is where the whole stranger-in-a-strange-land humor comes into play and where the show begins falling apart.
The actors who play Troy and Dillon (Kent McCord and Barry Van Dyke) do a good job in their roles, but there are only so many times before their ignorance of Earth culture ceases to be funny and just becomes tedious. Also, it makes these two men–who are members of an exceedingly advanced society–look stupid.
Compounding that is the fact that Troy and Dillon, who are ordered to remain inconspicuous, are anything but. They fly their futuristic motorcycles in broad daylight at the first hint of trouble or turn invisible or shoot their lasers in public. They are about as inconspicuous as Godzilla tiptoeing through Tokyo.
And unfortunately the stories are just as stupid. For example, one member of the ruling council, Dr. Xavier, doesn’t like their approach of gradual advancement and decides to go back in time to equip the Nazis with superior rocket technology, thereby accelerating Earth’s development. Troy, Dillon, and Jamie chase him, and nobody–including Dr. Z who invented the time travel devices–seems to realize that maybe they could use those time machines to go back and stop the destruction of Caprica and the other eleven colonies by the Cylons.
And when the show isn’t being stupid, it’s just goofy. For example take the two-part episode, “The Super Scouts,” where Troy and Dillon are placed in charge of a group of Galactica’s children who were shipped to Earth after a Cylon attack. The two decide to dress the children like Boy Scouts (even the girls)and keep them in the woods. However, three of the kids become deathly ill from drinking contaminated water and the two episodes turn into a heavy-handed diatribe for environmentalism. At the end Troy and Dillon take the head of the chemical plant aboard one of the Galactica’s ships and Dr. Z shows him a computer projection of what the Earth would be like twenty years into the future if the chemical plant doesn’t stop its wicked ways, much like the third spirit in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Another episode that focused on the children had them win a softball game due to their superhuman alien physiques so a softball camp could stay in business. Stories like that feel more like they should be on an episode of The A-Team or Scooby Doo than Battlestar Galactica.
But the most bizarre aspect of the show is the disclaimer at the end of almost every episode cautioning people that the United States Air Force has stopped investigating UFO sightings since 1969, and that it concluded there was no such thing. The only reason I can think of for this disclaimer is that a character from the Air Force is featured in several episodes chasing Dillon and Troy. I suppose either the Air Force wanted the viewing public to know that it didn’t actually do that sort of thing, or that the producers didn’t want the Air Force getting upset over this portrayal of one of its members. Whatever the reason, the inclusion of this warning right before the credits is–much like the rest of the show–unintentionally hilarious.
In an odd way the poor characterization, awkward stories, and little additions like the disclaimer make this a fun show to watch from a sheer sense of nostalgia. It’s nowhere near as good as the original show, but it does have a retro charm that could appeal to people who grew up in the eighties. I wouldn’t recommend buying this unless you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan who has to finish your collection or if you see it in the dollar bin at Wal-Mart.
