BG-01: Saga Of A Star World

[skippercollecto]

Wilfrid Hyde-White played Sire Anton, a member of the council, in "Saga." His real-life son, Alex Hyde-White, played Bow in "Gun on Ice Planet Zero." Bow gets killed; however, Alex shows up as another Warrior in "Man with Nine Lives."
So this is my assumption:
Sire Anton had identical twin sons who were Warriors. What's the other Warrior's name? Did this family have a similar relationship to that of Adama and his children?
To further complicate matters, in the children's novelization of the episode, entitled "The Battlestar Galactica Storybook," Sire Anton is referred to as SIRESS ANTONIE!

Mary

[skippercollecto]

Bruce Wright plays more roles than any other actor in the series. In "Saga" he was a deck hand; in "Lost Planet" he was a blackshirt guard; in "9 Lives" he played Corporal Lomas; and in "Baltar's Escape" he reprised his role as a blackshirt.
So this is my suggestion: There are three brothers, identical triplets. One is Corporal Lomas, the second is his brother the civilian peace officer and the third is the Galactica crew member. I'll let one of the rest of you decide the other two men's names.

Mary

[bsg1fan1975]

This episode is a prime example of how when a group or groups are down they come back up stronger and more resilient. The colonials weren't willing to just stay in the colonies to be wiped out. They got away and regrouped to take on the Cylons!

Originally Posted by Thomasbombadil

One thing I did like, though, was the clear preaching of military preparedness. It wasn't very subtle at all--it was obvious to any observant child that the "peaceniks" were stupid, while the truly wise men like Adama did not love violence but knew that sometimes it had to be used. And in case anybody missed that lesson with the destruction of the Colonial home worlds, they reviewed the lesson when the new Council, ignoring the lesson they should have just learned, chose to lay down their arms to show their peaceful intent at Carillon. Again, only Adama's stubborn insistence on military preparedness saved the day. Since I happen to agree with Adama's philosophy, I liked the direction the show was headed.

The theme of the failure of democracy and the stupidity or manipulability of politicians is a major overall theme of both Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars. It is my understanding that both Lucas and Larson are skeptics on the long term viabilty of our form of democracy. Both shows were to some extent a warning to the public on where the writers thought the U.S. was/is going.

I just got the DVD's and watched the pilot over the last couple days and man I gotta say this show is bad and I like it as much as when I was 6 years old.I can't wait to watch it over and over again!

[jewels]

Originally Posted by CmdrCain

I'm confused on the issue of Jane Seymour. Why did she drop out? Was she trying to stay in film so she had no interest in doing a TV show, or what was the case?

Anyone know?

I believe she was in high demand at the time and she didn't want to get locked into what looked like a multiple year series because of her film careeer.
Jewels

[JustinB]

I was bored today so I got my BSG DVD's and put on the special feature disk. Heading straight to the deleted scenes and sat down with a coldie.
I watched the Scene with Adama and Athena and how he opened up to her, but gave us an insight that he was still human. I liked it very much because you don't see much dialogue between the two.
Then you add in the next scene with Apollo speaking his mind to both Athena and Adama and you wonder why they cut it out. I beleive it is a relevant scene, because it gave the three characters some dimension. They acted like a family going through a hard time. Firstly, you have Adama who has borne the stress and trials of command in a crucial time in humanities history. Secondly, you have Athena who wants to do everything to help her father through this time. Lastly you have Apollo saying what he feels to Adama and the confrontation between the 3 is awsome.
I am glad to have watched these scenes even if they were Deleted.

Originally Posted by Bombadil

One thing I did like, though, was the clear preaching of military preparedness. It wasn't very subtle at all--it was obvious to any observant child that the "peaceniks" were stupid, while the truly wise men like Adama did not love violence but knew that sometimes it had to be used.

The new show seems a little different. Not so much military readiness, but kind of anti-modern. Adama doesn't like modern computers, and he turns out to be right. I'm not sure where the writers are heading with this message.

I watched the pilot with the commentary on ,and it makes me wish they all have it.








BSG is becoming one of my favorite things I'm so glad these DVDs came my way

[Eric Paddon]

After forcing myself to sit through a second viewing of the miniseries today (just to reconfirm my impressions) I promptly popped Saga back in to the DVD player and found myself seeing no comparison between the two in terms of which is the better.

Would it have been nice if the whole three hours could have dealt solely with the Destruction and built its way to that? Certainly, but I think the negativity toward the Carillon subplot I've seen from some people is a bit overblown. One thing that helps is that the way the Casino sequence was edited down, you have to practically blink to see non-humans there and that helps make it seem less a copy of Star Wars and the Cantina sequence as some claim.

The real pity is that Ray Milland and Wilfrid Hyde-White didn't appear again in the series because they were by far the best actors to portray Council members, with none of the emptyheadedness that typifies the Council in episodes like "Greetings From Earth" and "Baltar's Escape."

[Senmut]

I will agree. I wish Milland had been used again, although I suppose the idea was that after Carillon, he was disgraced. I will however say that I didn't think all Council members after that were emptiheaded. I thought John Williams' portrayal of Sire Montrose in WOTG was excellent. Sad that he had neither more material to work with, nor a return engagement.

[bsg1fan1975]

This episode gave people the impression of in the face of adversity one can rise up and carry on or make a fresh start.

[kingfish]

Missing Saga Scenes.

https://s4.invisionfree.com/Battlesta...?showtopic=160

[BRG]

BRG awards this 3 part episode 4 stars out of 5.

As a boy I loved the 2hr movie version of this pilot, and with fond memories of my wee brother & I watching the film then running about as Starbuck & Apollo, I was a wee bit worried that it would be a dissapointment when I watched it as a man fast aproaching 30. I'm glad to say that I still love it!

The SFX are still good, although they have clearly been overtaken by the stunning visuals in TNG, Babylon 5, and other shows over the years, they still have the magic 'Star Wars' look of the late 70's. The characters are great, Apollo, Adama, Boomer, Tigh, and Baltar are brilliantlly cast & performed, Athena is stunning! And has there ever been a cooler, more likable character than Starbuck? The story is always interesting, from the opening attack though the mine field until the showdown at Carillon, it mixed great action with nice character stuff, some real emotion and a few laughs.

A few wee niggles I have with it wave probably already bean covered. First, I agree with the point that Cylon Raiders using dogfighting lasers would not be enough to take out a fleet of capital ships or wipe out a planetary population, although I assume the Raiders used kamakasi ships to take out the Battlestars, and there was unseen planatery bombardment. And there surely would have been routine patroles, and any ship entering the airspace would be intersepted, after all the RAF intersept & turn away French jets, and we have been allies for 100 years!
I still find Boxey & Muffit annoying, and Zac is a crap name for a guy in this show! Next to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer, the name Zac seems out of place.

But apart from those wee points, it was a brilliant show, and a great start to the series!
BRG

PS- as a lad, I seem to recall Baltar was killed in this film. Strange....

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by BRG

BRG awards this 3 part episode 4 stars out of 5.

As a boy I loved the 2hr movie version of this pilot, and with fond memories of my wee brother & I watching the film then running about as Starbuck & Apollo, I was a wee bit worried that it would be a dissapointment when I watched it as a man fast aproaching 30. I'm glad to say that I still love it!

The SFX are still good, although they have clearly been overtaken by the stunning visuals in TNG, Babylon 5, and other shows over the years, they still have the magic 'Star Wars' look of the late 70's. The characters are great, Apollo, Adama, Boomer, Tigh, and Baltar are brilliantlly cast & performed, Athena is stunning! And has there ever been a cooler, more likable character than Starbuck? The story is always interesting, from the opening attack though the mine field until the showdown at Carillon, it mixed great action with nice character stuff, some real emotion and a few laughs.

A few wee niggles I have with it wave probably already bean covered. First, I agree with the point that Cylon Raiders using dogfighting lasers would not be enough to take out a fleet of capital ships or wipe out a planetary population, although I assume the Raiders used kamakasi ships to take out the Battlestars, and there was unseen planatery bombardment. And there surely would have been routine patroles, and any ship entering the airspace would be intersepted, after all the RAF intersept & turn away French jets, and we have been allies for 100 years!
I still find Boxey & Muffit annoying, and Zac is a crap name for a guy in this show! Next to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer, the name Zac seems out of place.

But apart from those wee points, it was a brilliant show, and a great start to the series!
BRG

PS- as a lad, I seem to recall Baltar was killed in this film. Strange....

You bought up some good points Brg although Baltar was NOT
killed in this film. They held the cylons sword to his neck but then took
him away for the time being which baffled me to no end But
considering what a actor Colicos was .......I'm glad Baltar kept
returning!

[Senmut]

In the pilot, Apollo says "Just fighters. Maybe a thousand." Thus the number. A thousand fighters would be sufficient to do the job, given the fact that almost no one was ready to launch interceptors. At 200 fighters to each Battlestar, that should do it. And, even if more Battlestars had survived Cimtar, the Cylons had done their job. Kept them tied up, and unable to defend the Colonies. Aftgerwards, shot-up nearly wrecked ships will present no serious threat.
(As an aside, imagine this. It is 1945, and a group of 5 American carriers are moving through the Pacific. The enemy has sued for peace, and no one is expecting treachery. Suddenly, radar picks up over 1,000 enemy planes. 50 miles and closing. Your pilots are either asleep or off-duty. Your planes are mostly unfueled, and on the hangar decks. You have to turn the ships into the wind to launch, and to top it off, no one is manning the anti-aircraft batteries. By the time you can get planes and pilots together, gassed up, armed and on the elevators....)
Now, after they flee the Colonies, Apollo saya to Jolly "chances are some of it was shielded enough from the bombs to be saved." Jolly tells him that they checked "for radiation. Yes." So we can assume that some form of nuclear weapons were used on the Colonies. Remember the picture of one of the planets as the ships leave? We see masses of fire where cities used to be. Why the straffing? It would make sense that the Cylon would not nuke every Human settlement. One, they may not have that many bombs. Two, their BaseShips can bombard from orbit. Three, the Cylons want the Human cities, as they did those of the Delphians. And four, too much radiation can be as harmful to electronics as to living tissue.

[BRG]

Senmut , once again you make excellent points. Thanks for clearing up some points I was not sure about!

About the fighters not launching, yes I competely agree. The other Battlestar's would probably only have a handfull of fighters & pilots ready to launch( I assume there is always a patrol fueled & armed with pilots on standby) while the Galactica was running a full scale battle 'drill' with all crews & fighters ready for launch. Also it is safe to assume that the first target of the Cylon raiders would have been the launch bays on all Battlestars, there for apart from the few on stand by, no other vipers would get int the air.( I also assume the Vipers from Galactica's first priority was to protect there own baseship)
It's funny how obvious it all seems after someone has pointed the obvious out too you! And as I said, I always assumed the Cylons used bombs, but I guess the budget for the show could not streach to a planatery bombardment, so had to make do with straifing runs.


Shiningstar Thanks for your comment! I have since watched the bonus disc, and have seen the alternate take on that scene.(Maybe I should have watched this before writing my original comment! )
It has been many years since I last saw the TV movie vesion of Battlestar Galactica(it was a popular Sunday afternoon film for TV stations when I was a lad!) And I had never seen the full 3 part TV series version. I just assumed they were both the same with some scenes trimmed to get the movie version down to two hours. So the fact that they had comletely different takes on that cene caused my confusion!
And I couldn't agree more with you on Colicos, a brilliant actor! His performance as Kor, the original Klingon in Star Trek is a delight to behold! He single handedly turned the Klingons from a villian of the week race into the greatest of Star Trek aliens for the last 40 years! And I would still rate Kor as one of the top 5 villians from any Star Trek episode.
I even caught a Colicos guest apperance in 'Charlies Angels' on daytime TV a few weeks ago! Although it's not my favourite show, I still watched it because he was the bad guy!
BRG

[skippercollecto]

I just received a WAY COOL item I bought off of ebay, the laserdisc of the theatrical version of the pilot. It's dated 1982 MCA Videodisc. I have no way of playing it, but what scenes are/aren't on this disc, its condition, when this was sold and how many--well, those aren't my questions. Those questions pale in comparison to something else that's on the jacket cover.
There is a cast list on the back of the jacket that includes a lot more people than the closing credits in the Sept. 17 premiere, the theatrical VHS or DVD, the new extended DVD, or any version of Saga that ever aired on TV. I am in shock, and am absolutely delighted, because it answers some questions I've had for 25 years.
First off, there are six people mentioned whose names have appeared in other sources over the years, and you may recognize these names: the three Tucana singers (Myrna Matthews, Stephanie Spruill and Pattie Brooks), the two Ovions Lotay (Dianne L. Burgdorff) and Seetol (Sandy Gimpel), and Imperious Leader (Dick Durock).
But these other names are also mentioned:
1. Gemon...Rene Assa (this must be one of the people with Cassiopeia but I don't know which one)
2. Commentator...Jim Peck
3. Wounded man...Don Maxwell (I wonder if this is the guy that rescues Serina and Boxey, or perhaps it is the man for whom Cassiopeia translates)
4. Man #1...David Byrd
5. Man #2...Richard Bronda (I am wondering if these are the guys coming down the hill on Caprica)
6. Woman #1...Lois Adams
7. Woman #2...June Whitley Taylor (There is also a Woman #3 mentioned. It's Carol Baxter, and she's the woman in the elevator complaining about how much weight she's gained.)
8. Sandell...David Tress
9. Lobe...Lee McLaughlin (he's in the novelization; he's one of the Council members)
10. Old woman...Louise Lorimer
11. Crewman...Stoney Bower (I wonder if this is the guy who isn't Bruce Wright who is working on Starbuck's Viper)
12. Pit boss...Ben Frommer
13. Guard...Michael J. London
14. Centurion #1...Ted White
15. Dealer...John Zenda

[Eric Paddon]

Originally Posted by skippercollecto

2. Commentator...Jim Peck

Jim Peck I remember as TV game show host in the 70s, and I'm curious as to where this "commentator" part is in the episode to see if that's indeed him, or if it's just a voiceover thing.

Originally Posted by skippercollecto

12. Pit boss...Ben Frommer

And he played Nogow in "The Magnificent Warriors" if I'm not mistaken.

[kingfish]

Saga Novel Review and Number of battlestars:


https://s4.invisionfree.com/Battlesta...topic=121&st=0

[skippercollecto]

Well, I just HAD to go watch my DVD of the pilot to see if I could identify some of the folks mentioned on the jacket of the laser disc. I also watched the movie with subtitles, and that helped somewhat. This is what I discovered.
1. Commentator...You hear a male reporter's voice talking about the attack on Caprica. I believe this is Jim Peck.
2. Woman #1...You hear only this voice during the attack. She says "there's a second wave coming in."
2. Woman #2...You hear only the voice "is this channel operative?"
3. Man #1...You hear only his voice on the hill on Caprica, saying "this way."
4. Man #2...You hear only his voice on the hill on Caprica, saying "there must be food somewhere."
5. Guard...I believe this must be the man outside Uri's quarters.

[Senmut]

During the attack, in the longer uncut version, we hear Starbuck say "The main attack is on the President's ship." This in part is what helps the Galactica get away.

[martok2112]

Well, I finally got the BSG Box set, and I love it thus far.

I had not seen MANY of these episodes (most especially the three hour version of SASW) in years. I had forgotten just how good SASW as a TV cut was.

The cinematography is excellent. Big screen quality for 1978. Ambitious.

The acting is great. Very emotional...and Maren Jensen shines, especially in the more familial scenes (scenes I think she just excels at.)

The special effects for 1978 television were cutting edge.

Good fun in a simpler time.

Respectfully,
Martok2112

[_No_Name_]

Originally Posted by Senmut

<snip>
And four, too much radiation can be as harmful to electronics as to living tissue.

You know, I never even thought of that angle--the use of nukes to take out cities would produce a pretty hefty source-region EMP. Hardenening Centurions to this effect would not be trivial. A 1 MT near-surface burst would produce an EMP effect out to about 8 miles.

The rad effects from fallout would not be that significant since the Cylons would only have to worry about a gamma dose and the activity from fission products would be down by about three orders of magnitude within 24 hours.

Since we presume that the Cylons want to preserve cities (as evidenced by the Delfian experience) and want to kill humans efficiently we can conclude:

-- The indiscrimnate use of nuclear weapons would destroy too many cities and infrastructure.
-- Large collections of humans are good targets for nukes

So, the best way to maximize human casualties while minimizing the destruction of cities is to cause the humans to flee the cities. So sending in the Raiders to "shoot up the place" would induce the humans to flee from the cities. Once they are out of the city, then you nuke the humans. Chilling.

[Senmut]

But oh so effective!

[skippercollecto]

In 1978, when the show premiered, Mardi Gras was not the big party day in most of American that it is now. In fact, I had barely heard of it, and, being Catholic, Ash Wednesday was a much bigger deal. So I would have never paid attention to this idea when I first watched the pilot.
Today I got some Mardi Gras masks, and for a moment, wondered what they reminded me of. It dawned on me that the mask and feathers and headdresses and flowing but skimpy costumes that Mardi Gras revelers wear are similar to what the Tauran woman (Randi Oakes) and the other female tourists on Carillon were wearing.
Which leads me to three questions:
1. Did the initial attack on the Colonies take place just before the Colonial equivalent of Carnivale?
2. This is a topic for fan fiction, but is Carnivale yet another of those traditions that has its roots in the Colonies?
3. I know all of the Galactica costumes "walked off" the set at one point or another, and wonder if any of those costumes are showing up in Mardi Gras krewe parades.
Mary

[KJ]

Watching DK edit of Saga fleshes out the epic series of BSG by 10x fold!

Think watching DK's edit of the pilot is now needed to get the full on effect of the beginning of the series, and how it was all set up!

KJ

[skippercollecto]

Has there ever been discussion as to how long the attacks on the Colonies lasted, and how long the evacuation of the planets took?
I'm asking about comparing it to real Earth time? A week? A month? Two months? The episode always made it look like it just took a few hours, but it had to be longer than that.

Mary

[Athene]

Originally Posted by skippercollecto

Has there ever been discussion as to how long the attacks on the Colonies lasted, and how long the evacuation of the planets took?
I'm asking about comparing it to real Earth time? A week? A month? Two months? The episode always made it look like it just took a few hours, but it had to be longer than that.

Mary

I too was wondering about that.
I've got two versions of Saga of a Starworld. The movie version and the one in the boxed set.
I'm going to watch them and see if I can find out more.
I also thought it only took a few hours...since it was a surprise attack.

[Athene]

Originally Posted by Lord Kingjason

Watching DK edit of Saga fleshes out the epic series of BSG by 10x fold!

Think watching DK's edit of the pilot is now needed to get the full on effect of the beginning of the series, and how it was all set up!

KJ

Could you kindly refresh my memory?
How did you get the DK edit?
Thanks!