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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2017 0:44:27 GMT -5
When I watched the original Battlestar Galactica pilot a couple of years ago, I was struck by the stew that Larson concocted: 1) Star Wars was obviously a big component; the population was hungry for more space opera while awaiting The Empire Strikes Back. Also, the lived-in aesthetic rather than gleaming white Buck Rogers corridors. 2) Ancient Astronauts (e.g. "Chariots of the Gods") were big in the 70s, and the opening credit monologue plays up that angle strongly. Some elements come from Greek mythology, and some from Mormonism. 3) It's been noted in this thread that many episodes played out like Westerns, which had been the go-to action setting for TV shows in the 50s. The casting of Lorne Green played into this as well. Star Trek, on the other hand, had been more likely to employ sci-fi writers (instead of writers from the westerns) and thus to explore sci-fi scenarios. 4) The plot of the pilot was, "After centuries of conflict, the two sides are about to sign a peace treaty. But is it just a ruse preceding a sneak attack?" (Spoilers: Yes, it was.) This element seems ripped from the headlines. Lowering of Israel-Arabic tensions were a major focus of United States diplomatic effort in the mid 1970s in the wake of the military actions of the Six Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973). It's quite easy to read the pilot episode as a commentary on the Middle Eastern conflict of the day, with the Twelve Colonies of Mankind standing in for Israel. This thread wasn't really followed in the series as a whole. But the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series made religious conflict a key feature of its story line. The irony of point 4 is that the broadcast of the pilot movie was interrupted by the signing of the Camp David Accords! and the irony of point 3 was that Rodennberry reportedly sold the networks on series with the pitch "it's wagon train in space" so they could grasp what a sci-fi series on tv would be like. -M |
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Post by The Captain on Nov 30, 2017 10:09:26 GMT -5
The irony of point 4 is that the broadcast of the pilot movie was interrupted by the signing of the Camp David Accords! and the irony of point 3 was that Rodennberry reportedly sold the networks on series with the pitch "it's wagon train in space" so they culd grasp what a sci-fi series on tv would be like. -M Which is funny, because that is almost literally what Firefly wound up being, but the asshats at Fox were too stupid to even grasp that concept. They thought it should be more flashy and fighty, rather than something with layers, and that is why they killed it so quickly (well, that, and they never really gave it a chance from the start). |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 1, 2017 11:50:51 GMT -5
and the irony of point 3 was that Rodennberry reportedly sold the networks on series with the pitch "it's wagon train in space" so they culd grasp what a sci-fi series on tv would be like. -M Which is funny, because that is almost literally what Firefly wound up being, but the asshats at Fox were too stupid to even grasp that concept. They thought it should be more flashy and fighty, rather than something with layers, and that is why they killed it so quickly (well, that, and they never really gave it a chance from the start). Firefly is like the American Blake's 7. The impetus is not on flashy effects but on great stories and brilliant character interactions. I am utterly dismayed that the show was cancelled, and even more that the feature film didn't even make its money back. Not that the film was as good as the series, but it was at least as good as twenty other sci-fi movies that I could name catering to the same audience, all of which made a ton of money. |
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Post by String on Dec 2, 2017 14:23:19 GMT -5
1) Star Wars was obviously a big component; the population was hungry for more space opera while awaiting The Empire Strikes Back. Also, the lived-in aesthetic rather than gleaming white Buck Rogers corridors. Didn't Lucas file an actual lawsuit based on some similar properties between the two? I seem to remember some focus on the blasters used in BSG and Lucas felt they were too similar to SW. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a 'blaster bolt' fired from their guns, just when Apollo and Starbuck were shooting, there would be a 'muzzle' flash and then their target Cylon would just explode. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 2, 2017 22:00:56 GMT -5
1) Star Wars was obviously a big component; the population was hungry for more space opera while awaiting The Empire Strikes Back. Also, the lived-in aesthetic rather than gleaming white Buck Rogers corridors. Didn't Lucas file an actual lawsuit based on some similar properties between the two? I seem to remember some focus on the blasters used in BSG and Lucas felt they were too similar to SW. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a 'blaster bolt' fired from their guns, just when Apollo and Starbuck were shooting, there would be a 'muzzle' flash and then their target Cylon would just explode. Lucasfilm filed suit and Universal counter-sued, alleging the robots in Star Wars infringed upon Huey, Dewey and Louie, the robots in Silent Running. Universal got a summary judgement, then Lucas appealed the case and it was allowed to move forward. They ended up settling about the time the tv series was cancelled. You can read a summary here. |
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Post by rberman on Dec 7, 2017 15:00:17 GMT -5
Didn't Lucas file an actual lawsuit based on some similar properties between the two? I seem to remember some focus on the blasters used in BSG and Lucas felt they were too similar to SW. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a 'blaster bolt' fired from their guns, just when Apollo and Starbuck were shooting, there would be a 'muzzle' flash and then their target Cylon would just explode. Lucasfilm filed suit and Universal counter-sued, alleging the robots in Star Wars infringed upon Huey, Dewey and Louie, the robots in Silent Running. Universal got a summary judgement, then Lucas appealed the case and it was allowed to move forward. They ended up settling about the time the tv series was cancelled. You can read a summary here. IIRC Lucas also sued for the special effects being derivative of ILM work, which of course they were, since John Dykstra was responsible for both, but I don't think he prevailed in court. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 7, 2017 16:11:07 GMT -5
 James Patrick Stuart as Dr Zee Just noticed this thread now, and this caught my eye: that's not Jame Patrick Stuart, but rather Robbie Rist (perhaps best known as Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch), who initially played Dr. Zee - only in the pilot episode I think. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 7, 2017 18:41:24 GMT -5
James Patrick Stuart as Dr Zee Just noticed this thread now, and this caught my eye: that's not Jame Patrick Stuart, but rather Robbie Rist (perhaps best known as Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch), who initially played Dr. Zee - only in the pilot episode I think. Robbie Rist did play Zee in the pilot, while James Patrick Stuart (billed as Patrick Stuart) played the role for the rest of the series. This is Stuart (with Lorne Greene)...    |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 7, 2017 18:46:45 GMT -5
ps Rist would go on to do voicework, including Michelangelo, in the TMNT movies of the 90s (yes, including with Vanilla Ice), as well as things like Naruto and an episode of Batman TAS.
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Post by String on Dec 8, 2017 13:06:19 GMT -5
Didn't Lucas file an actual lawsuit based on some similar properties between the two? I seem to remember some focus on the blasters used in BSG and Lucas felt they were too similar to SW. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a 'blaster bolt' fired from their guns, just when Apollo and Starbuck were shooting, there would be a 'muzzle' flash and then their target Cylon would just explode. Lucasfilm filed suit and Universal counter-sued, alleging the robots in Star Wars infringed upon Huey, Dewey and Louie, the robots in Silent Running. Universal got a summary judgement, then Lucas appealed the case and it was allowed to move forward. They ended up settling about the time the tv series was cancelled. You can read a summary here. Hm, interesting. I didn't know about the possible robot infringements though I've never liked Silent Running all that much. Nothing to do with Trumball but my mom never liked Bruce Dern and that kinda rubbed off onto me as I was growing up. I still cringe whenever he appears in any episode of a TV Western. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 8, 2017 21:30:48 GMT -5
Lucasfilm filed suit and Universal counter-sued, alleging the robots in Star Wars infringed upon Huey, Dewey and Louie, the robots in Silent Running. Universal got a summary judgement, then Lucas appealed the case and it was allowed to move forward. They ended up settling about the time the tv series was cancelled. You can read a summary here. Hm, interesting. I didn't know about the possible robot infringements though I've never liked Silent Running all that much. Nothing to do with Trumball but my mom never liked Bruce Dern and that kinda rubbed off onto me as I was growing up. I still cringe whenever he appears in any episode of a TV Western. He's a good actor; but he played slimy wonderfully. In Silent running, he's more obsessive, bordering on mental (and crosing over). Universal's counter-suit didn't go anywhere; but, was mainly a tactic to get Lucas to back off. |
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Post by Jesse on Dec 9, 2017 1:57:36 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2018 13:38:34 GMT -5
BSG debuted on tv 40 years ago today. CB.com BSG-M |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 18, 2018 0:03:44 GMT -5
BSG debuted on tv 40 years ago today. CB.com BSG-M I remember watching, as the pilot broadcast was interrupted y the Camp David Accords signing. They actually completed the broadcast, in its entirety (probably because of the amount of money they had sunk into the pilot). I still think the original idea of a series of movies was a better way to go. That was also supposed to be the gameplan for a series of fantasy specials, on NBC, which debuted with Archer: Fugitive From the Empire. The story was supposed to continue; but, the ratings weren't good enough for the cost and they axed it. I mostly enjoyed it, though it was kind of uneven. Later, in syndication, they grouped BSG episodes into movies (the two-parters already fit into the structure), for broadcast (similar thing had been doon with POTA tv series episodes), which was a cool way to watch them. |
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Post by coinilius on Sept 21, 2018 18:44:54 GMT -5
Did anyone else read the BSG vs BSG mini series that came out recently?
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