Battlestar Galactica / Planet of the Apes Crossover - Discussion Thread

[Eric Paddon]

Many thanks!

To those who in the past asked about a sequel to this. Believe me, I've never totally abandoned the idea but if you can think of it as a long-term idea, maybe someday there can be some momentum at last on that front. Will post updates on that whenever I get on-track with that again.

[Senmut]

Yes! Sequel! Hint, hint!

[Eric Paddon]

Alas, what I wrote on March 13, 2005 in this thread is still true today.

[Senmut]

A feeble excuse for failure!

[Eric Paddon]

Seriously though, I think it's become a case where there isn't a story to tell that could do justice to the concept plus there's the lack of a "What do I want to make happen?" incentive motive for a sequel that I had with the original. In the original there was this burning desire to "reimagine" the world of POTA as it could have been done after the first movie, and to use the world of Galactica as the vehicle for my coming up with a more upbeat future for the POTA universe than the original film series gave us. Now that I accomplished this goal after taking about two to three years to write the story, I'd have to not only come up with not just a new exciting motivation, but also a story that would have to be equally epic in scope, and that's at this stage of life too tall an order.

There's also one other plot development that took place in the original that also I think dampens the ability to do an effective sequel but I shan't reveal that for the benefit of those who still need to give the story a look.

[Jayworld]

Eric:
I am totally engrossed. Up to chapter 7 so far, and your understanding of both the Battlestar and the Planet of the Apes universes and characters is incredible! I am taking my time with this; savoring every page. Amazing!

[Eric Paddon]

Thanks, Jayworld! Glad you're enjoying it.

[Jayworld]

Eric:
Just finished your work; incredible fiction. You captured the characterization of the many players so accurately, both the Apes cast and the Battlestar cast. I especially liked your handling of the Apes cast, and felt that your ending was so appropriate with George Taylor as the major focus. I always felt that we were "cheated" as Apes fans from the second movie, especially when Charlton Heston refused to do a sequel unless he was killed off at the beginning of the movie (this was later compromised with his agent to have him appear at the beginning and then die at the end). Unlike the Apes films, which Heston so wisely foretold as being "Stories about the Apes" with more sequels, your work focused on Ape Society, Colonial Society, and the struggle of the 20th century astronauts to acclimate in a foreign, future world.
Your handling of Baltar's character was also perfect, and I liked the handling of the "new" astronaut characters, as well as the focus on Boxey, Hera, Cree, etc. in the Colonial "next gen".
Fantastic work that SHOULD be made into a movie (albeit impossible now), but worthy nonetheless.

[Eric Paddon]

Thanks again, Jayworld! I agree, I always felt gypped by what happened in "Beneath" too because Taylor and Nova were the focal points for me coming off the first movie. It was there story that deserved to be continued and Beneath alas failed on that level and once the other sequels shifted the focal point to the apes they were less interesting for me. So this was a chance to do a better follow-up to the first film than what we got (and also come up with a nice answer of explaining my least favorite Galactica episodes!).

[Senmut]

One wonders how the apes will react to all the advanced thech from the Colonials.

[Jayworld]

Lots of interesting ways for Eric to go with a "sequel", including what happened to Ursus and will he pose a threat to Ape City? How does Urko (very minor character in Eric's novel) fit into future events? Will the Apes be able to work with the humans to increase technology? How will the primitives continually adapt? What happens to the Galactica as she and the accompanying ships journey to Terra?

[Senmut]

Exactly.
Oh, EP??????????????????????????????

[Jayworld]

Eric:
Have you thought about forwarding this to Fraser Heston? I'm sure he would like to read it, especially since Taylor's character was crafted by his dad. You can contact him through Agamemnon Films at:
https://www.agamemnon.com/index.html

Fraser can be contacted through the address on the website, and he does respond (got an autograph from him several years ago). Try to write him in care of:

Agamemnon Films
650 N. Bronson Ave. B225
Los Angeles, CA 90004
323.960.4066
exec@agamemnon.com

Just a thought...

[Eric Paddon]

Appreciate again the kind feedback, Jayworld.

No sequel will be forthcoming because long ago I realized that to do one justice without ultimately diminishing the magnitude of the original, it would have be a sweeping tale just as long as the original and there just isn't any concept I can think of that could interest me there. There was an excitement to writing this story since I had the luxury of rebuilding the flawed POTA universe from the ground up which was the really fun part of the whole thing which was why I let myself take so much time and caused the whole thing to expand like crazy. I have never written a single story even one half the length this one turned out to be. Probably if I'd been doing a series of short stories at the time, it would have been easier to carry the momentum.

I do recognize that there are interesting possibilities one can envision, but sometimes the beauty of a story can be letting the mind just envision those things (provided you haven't cheated the reader with a cliffhanger before and your main story has a "clean" ending).

Plus, I'll admit there's the time element. This story took up three years of my life when I was a third younger than I am now and I couldn't begin to imagine how much time trying something similar when the incentive factor isn't there to the same degree.