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Galactica 1980 - 'The Return of Starbuck': Rumors of Original Galactica Spin-Off to DVD

Adama and Boomer return for the original 're-imagining' of Battlestar Galactica
Posted by David Lambert
9/03/2007

"The great ship Galactica, our home for these many years. We have endured the wilderness of space. And now, we are nearing the end of our journey. We have at last found Earth."

ABC cancelled the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica series after 20 episodes: the original feature- length introductory story, and nineteen weekly episodes that included four two-parters and a double-length episode called "Greetings From Earth". However, they never *really* discovered Earth, "the 13th Colony", during the original series; the network put an end to the series before that, due to the huge cost of the special effects on the program.

However, after an extensive letter-writing campaign from fans, ABC tried to revive the show and bring it back in a way that was re-tooled to keep costs down. They never intended to change the cast as drastically as what ended up happening, but some characters were left off because they were deemed too "minor", and others were left off because the actors had already moved on, or were trying to. In the end, the new Galactica 1980 series only kept Lorne Greene as "Commander Adama", and Herb Jefferson Jr. now promoted to second-in-command "Colonel Boomer".

Boomer was so highly-ranked now, because the story took place 30 yahrens (years) after the events of the original show, and Apollo's adopted son "Boxey" - now insisting on being called by his proper name of Captain Troy - was now the lead Viper pilot. Kent McCord (Adam-12) played Troy, Barry Van Dyke (Diagnosis Murder) was ace pilot Lt. Dillon, and Robyn Douglass (Breaking Away) was a TV news reporter on Earth who was let in on the secret of the spacefarers and the threat from humankind's Cylon enemies. On Earth, Troy and Dillon were seen riding a vehicle that was a cross between a motorcycle and a Viper, in order to better blend in with the planet-bound inhabitants. The new show's changes didn't sit well with fans, and only lasted 10 episodes (included several multi-parters). The final episode, "The Return of Starbuck", was the best-loved story for fans, as it featured a story showing the fate of the original show's hero, played once again by Dirk Benedict.

1. "Galactica Discovers Earth", Part 1
2. "Galactica Discovers Earth", Part 2
3. "Galactica Discovers Earth", Part 3
4. "The Super Scouts", Part 1
5. "The Super Scouts", Part 2
6. "Spaceball"
7. "The Night the Cylons Landed", Part 1
8. "The Night the Cylons Landed", Part 2
9. "Space Croppers"
10. "The Return of Starbuck"

There's a reason we're bringing you this brief history of this, the original "re-imagining" of Battlestar Galactica. Very reliable rumors have reached our ears about Galactica 1980 for DVD! The whispers we've heard say that the entire run of episodes from this incarnation of the show will be out on home video from Universal Studios, right around the end of the year...give or take a few weeks.

Consider all of this "gossip" for now, and stay tuned for updates when Universal Home Video makes this official. But remember...you heard it here first!

frigidmagi wrote:You know... I never saw it.

Course the fact that it has been met with universal revulsion kinda hints at something for me.

So basically this was the Voyager of it's day?

frigidmagi wrote:You know... I never saw it.

Course the fact that it has been met with universal revulsion kinda hints at something for me.

So basically this was the Voyager of it's day?

Galactica 1980 - Universal Officially Announces Galactica 1980 - The Complete Series

The Rag-Tag, Fugitive Fleet Finds Earth the day after Christmas
Posted by David Lambert
9/14/2007

A week and a half ago we broke the news - well, rumors at the time - that Universal would be bringing out a DVD release of Galactica 1980, the original spin-off of the original show starring Lorne Greene. This morning the studio has formally announced that, for a Boxing Day treat on December 26th! Here is the studio description:

Galactica 1980 lands on DVD for the first time ever! With all ten thrilling episodes on two discs, see what happens when the original Battlestar Galactica crew finally makes the long-anticipated descent to Earth. With time running out and the Cylons closing in on their trail, Commander Adama and the Galactica must work harder than ever before to help Earth create the technology necessary for battle. Along for the action-packed fight are such stellar guest stars as Dirk Benedict, Brion James, Dennis Haysbert and more! It's an epic adventure unlike any other, and an absolute must-have for any Battlestar Galactica collection!

The 2-DVD set clocks in at around 8 hours, and rings up for an affordable $29.98 SRP. Video will be the original full-frame, and audio the original English Mono. There will be English subtitles as well. Stay tuned for box art; we'll bring you that just as soon as we can!

Batman wrote:That was in reference to which of my never to be sufficiently damned examples?