BG-01: Saga Of A Star World

Flamingo Girl · May 10th, 2003, 08:36 AM

Distant colonies of man are in celebration, they are about to see the end of a 1,000-yahren old war with the race known as Cylons. Unfortunately, a trator has sold them to their enemies, who proceede to distroy the celegrating colonists. One military starship survives the destruction, the battlestar Galactica, which leads a handful of survivors in a civilian starship fleet to refuge amongst the stars. They stumble across a resort planet no one has ever heard of that suplies them with they need to flee the Cylon forces, but the paradise turns out to be anything but, and the colonists flee once more to the stars. The Galactica's commander, Adama, decides to search for a legendary lost Thirteenth Tribe of humans who inhabit a planet called Earth. And the Cylons hunt the surviving humans, led by Baltar, the Colonial traitor who helped orchestrate the holocaust.

Series stars; Richard Hatch as Apollo, Dirk Benedict as Starbuck, Herb Jefferson Jr. as Boomer, Lorne Greene as Adama, Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh, Maren Jensen as Athena, Tony Swartz as Jolly, Laurette Spang as Cassiopia, Noah Hathaway as Boxey, Sarah Rush as Rigel, David Greenan as Omega, and John Colicos as Baltar.

Guest stars include Jane Seymour as Serina, Rick Springfield as Zac, Lew Ayres as President Adar and Ray Milland as Sire Uri.

skippercollecto · July 4th, 2003, 08:15 PM

I never heard or read the name "Saga of a Star World" until the mid-80s when I started joining Galactica fan clubs and received some fanzines and newsletters. The name is not mentioned in the pilot's credits, nor is it ever mentioned in any of the novelizations or comic books or any of the late 70s licensed merchandise. So where did the name "Saga" come from? Was it the title of the script itself?
Mary

Gemini1999 · July 5th, 2003, 09:11 AM

Mary -

The title came from when ABC was showing promos for BSG when it was yet to be shown in 1978. Even on the night of the premiere broadcast, the voice-over referred to it as "Battlestar Galactica - The Saga of a Star World" It is now used to differentiate betweeen the ABC 3 hour broadcast and the theatrical release which was edited down a bit to keep it closer to 2 hours.

I hope this helps a bit -

Bryan
________
FETISH LEATHER

cdlegend · July 5th, 2003, 09:09 PM

Hello,
Saw this forum and thought that I'd give my opinion on the best of the Galactica episodes.
Many of the writers for Galactica were not science fiction writers, so they did their best to use their imaginations. I get a kick out of The Lost Warrior... love the shoot out scene... but episodes like that were not the best of the best. I'm certain that most fan will agree that the best of the episodes were the longer episodes like The Planet of the Gods, War of the Gods, Gun on Ice Planet Zero, and Hand of God. These were superior scripts and well put together. My personal favorite is War of the Gods. Mythos runs rampet in this episode as the good - Apollo - challenges the bad - Iblis. I found the philosophy facinating and the appearance of the Ship of Lights was grand! If anyone reads Richard Hatch's books, he also mentions the Ship of Lights and explores its origins.
The Hand of God was another one of my favorite episodes. This show is like a "missing link" as it links us with these humans from another galaxy who come in search of Earth. Seeing NASA's Apollo mission tape playing at the end sent chills through me the first time I saw that episode so long ago. It brings up the question: are we arrogant enough to believe that we are the only ones "out there" in the universe with a higher order of thinking?
Glen Larson did not make wise choices for his creation, but he did lend it a legacy, he gave it a place to belong. Though these people were from so far away, we could feel their pain and hunger to be save and away from harm long enough to find brothers... alies that would take them in and welcome them after their hardships. Who better than those who have known war, pain, hunger, and hollocaust.
Bravo to the writers of these episodes! Of course, there are a few more that deserve our attention.... like Murder on the Raising Star and a few more.
So, let's talk. Which episodes were your favorites or least favorites?
Galactican Pride!
Legend

kingfish · July 15th, 2003, 03:24 PM

I wrote a review myself.

This is the one that launched the series. there are two versions a long one and a short one. All of us own the short one if we bought the crapy DVD or VHS release. The pilot was originally released in Canada and latter in the USA in a surround theater presentation. The episode starts out with the peace conference to end the thousand yahren war. little do the colonials know it will be their end. baltar has set the perfect trap. President Adar who wants peace above all else fails to see the deception before his eyes. Adama isn't folled. Adama knows the enemy and the tactics he is capable of. Zac wants to go on his first patrol in order to prove to his big brother that he is a warrior. Starbuck feigns an illness to help out Zac. The patrol seems routine until Apollo stumbles upon the Cylon attack force, Zac's ship is disabled, and Apollo has to make a decision that probably haunted him. Adama returns to utter confusion and realizes something is afoot when the patrol is being deliberately jammed. A drill is ordered to Starbuck's surprise especially since he is holding the winning hand at Pyramid. Adama pleads with Adar only to be ignored. Zac's ship finally is destroyed with Zac at the controls.

Adar: What was that?

Adama: That was my son mr president.

Greene's delvery of that line was outstanding and worth an award.

Richard Colla directed the first half of Saga but was let go for failing to meet the shooting schedule. This was a mistake one of many that hurt the production in the long run.

The Cylons launch their attack and obliterate everyone. Now Moore has to redo it with Tactical Nuclear Weapons. The attack was effective enough. Watching the expresion on the Galactica bridge crew conveyed the message. A strong man like Tigh is even crying at witnessing the final annihilation. Adama heads foor the surface of Caprica after the attack to see if there are any survivors only to find his home gone and wife dead.

Apollo; Maybe Mother wasn't here.

Adama :She was here. I was never here when it counted.

After the betrayal Baltar is brought before the Imperious leader to explain why some of the humans escaped. Pompous and grandeous Baltar becomes a sniveling wreck when the leader tells him he also must die. Two scenes were shot. One where Baltar loses his head and the other where he is spared. Colicos' acting was what kept the character going. Glen was impressed.

The humans flea the destruction in any vehical that will carry them including the now famous Colonial Movers ship. However mankind hasn't learned much because the new Council of The Twelve want to head to Carillon which is probably a trap but Sire Uri could care less. Now we get to see some action between Starbuck and Cassiopeia. The launch tube scene. One scene called for a topless Cassi while another had a bareback Starbuck on the floor with Cassi. Neither was shown because the audience wouldn't be able to handle it. The scenes were done with class. In the new show sex will probably run rampant. Enough said.

Finally Carillon is reached only after a heroic mission is flown to sweap the area of space mines. The Ovions seem friendly enough and offer the colonials a place to live. However they are also in league with the Cylons by supply them fuel. Adama suspects something and must have a private chat with Tigh in the launch bay via the comlinks in two seperate Viper fighters. This is when they come up with a plan to send anyone that may be taken for a warrior to the party to honor Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer for their heroic flying.

Tigh: When the commander sees these he is going to go nuts.

Boomer: It must be the pressure.

Finally the Cylons launch their attack. The Raiders approach the seemingly helpless galactica. Apollo and Starbuck head to the lower levels only to find cassi at the hands of the Ovions who use humans a food. A firefight begins and the resulting richochets begin to start fires. Now the Cylons are coming out of the woodwork. centurions are all over the place shooting at anything human. Apollo, Starbuck, and the rest reach the party where Councilor Uri is eager to hand command over to Apollo as the Cylons begin pouring into the room. Jolly and the rest of Blue squadron show up via Landram's and begin attacking the Cylons. Jolly also explains that Adama sent anyone in a warriors uniform to the party.

Blue Squadron launches and begins to head for the Galactica which is now under heavy attack.

Starbuck: If we don't do something soon we may have to go back and live on that rock.

The Vipers make quick work of their adversaries. Apollo and Starbuck go after the rogue Basestar and manage to destroy it.

Athena: Father we don't have Purple and Orange squadrons.

Now in the novel the ending is quite different. There is no pursuit of the Basestar. Starbuck and Cassi manage to fly one of the shuttles which is loaded with fuel to the Galactica while the Cylons are attacking.

cdlegend · July 15th, 2003, 08:25 PM

King Fish,
That was a great rendition of the pilot - ie the movie as well. Many fans do not realize that Battlestar Galactica was a motion picture shot in Surround Sound at Universal Theater and released in Canada after Star Wars made such a huge impact. Then, it was released (BSG) in the US. I saw the movie and will never forget the almost deafening sound of the Battlestar as she floated across the big screen.
Later on, Universal wanted Larson to turn BSG into a series. IT was a rush, rush thing. With a little more time, the show could have been a lot better. Anyway, because mini series' were big things back then, the powers decided that BSG would be a great mini series. It began with the shortened movie and ended, of course with "Planet of the Gods"because actress Jane Seymore never bargined for a series. She needed an out for her character, so they killed her off. Richard Hatch says that he considered himself a lucky man to have played opposite Seymore.
This mess that Moore has cooked up is not - and I repeat NOT a remake of the original series premire. IT is a totally different script. Characters have been changed, the time has been changed, the complete attitude and mythos behind the original Film/series has been changed.
I read an article that featured New series star Edward James Olmos telling fans to pop in the DVD ( going to be released in October 2003 - totally remastered and restored Dolby Surround Sound and all) Watch it instead of the mini series because it is going to be crap! At least Olmos honest.
cdlegend

shiningstar · August 13th, 2003, 01:18 PM

Kingfish that was a perfect rendering of the pilot.
I remember almost crying at the words ........
"What was that?" "THat was my son...Mr. President."

What I really liked about BSG .......was it was easy and
even ENJOYABLE to follow the story line.

Gemini1999 · August 29th, 2003, 08:08 PM

I just recently purchased a copy of "Saga" from a seller on eBay. They claimed that it was the ENTIRE premiere episode that ABC had shown so 25 yahrens ago. I had a tape of "Saga" that was recorded on audio cassette that I picked up at a con a long time ago, so I was familiar with all of the bits that had been edited out over the years.

When I got the tape, the first thing I realized was that the material was in an "unrestored" condition by today's standards, but very watchable. It was indeed the entire telefilm sans commercial interruptions. It was the first time since the show premiered in '78 that I had seen every scene intact. I know that the DVD's will be out in a couple of months, but when Skiffy ran the entire series in May, there were one or two scenes (Serina's broadcast), that had been put back in and I really just wanted to watch the whole episode again as I remembered it.

I can't wait for the DVDs to come out!

Best to all,
Bryan
________
Washington dispensaries

shiningstar · August 31st, 2003, 09:36 PM

Neither can I Bryan!

Belloby · October 21st, 2003, 03:10 PM

I was a freshman in high school at the time. Everyone I knew at school..heck the whole school...watched it and it was the talk in the cafeteria for at least a week.

The following week the school paper ran a poll: Who was cuter? Starbuck, Apollo or Zac. And guess what? Zac won!

shiningstar · November 8th, 2003, 06:37 PM

In our school Belloby .......starbuck won hands down.

Doctor Salik · November 9th, 2003, 06:58 AM

Starbuck is such a fascinating character... Even the GIRLS wanted to be Starbuck where I am from. Now if that isn't food for thought...

November 28th, 2003, 04:54 PM

second favorite episode next to the pegasus. i started watchin BSG in the middle, so i had no idea there were other battlestars, so when i happened to watch the beginning, i was stunned to see the battlestar Atlantia. and me bein a kid thought, how dumb, they names the lead battlestar after atlanta georgia?!?. . . . .while later oooooohhhh!! Atlantis, i get it

worthy quotes:

adama: launch all remaining fighters, colonel have the rest of the fleet launched their's??
tigh: negative
adama: lord help us all

----------

boomer on the planet to starbuck: that's just it, have you EVER been to a casino where you win????

Domiano · December 4th, 2003, 05:39 AM

Well...I remember when I watched it for the first time being very excited and sitting in front of the televison with my entire family. That doesn't happen too often these days. My mother took me to the mall and I bought my first BSG toy, a Colonial Viper. From the opening scene till the end where Apollo and Starbuck make it back to the Galactica. Thanks to the recent release on DVD of the COMPLETE series I can now see Saga of a Star World the way it is meant to be seen.

December 14th, 2003, 12:47 AM

The start of a Classic, What ever Ron Mooore said is wrong, A hole lot of people watch it, and a whole lot more remenber it, Some may say, its cheesey or a Star Wars clone are all wrong! Star Wars brought scifi to movies, Bsg brought back scifi to TV,

shiningstar · January 5th, 2004, 07:45 AM

I think you have a great point there Original Sinner.

I personally think that it's a mistake to make
science fiction ONLY on EARTH as MOORE AND HAMMER
want to do.

January 6th, 2004, 12:42 AM

This is one I can watch over and over. The movie puts the viewer through many emotions-excitement, sadness, concern, and a sense of triumph.

Overall, it is one of the saddest, what with Zach's death, the destruction of Colonies'. But we get great dramatic acting from Maren Jensen in these scenes, such as her very
well-played devastation over the loss of Caprica, followed by a great scene with Starbuck where she breaks the news to him.

The whole last battle on and around Carillon is epic and anticipation for it is built up nicely. I still get goosebumps
when I watch the Vipers launch from Carillon's surface. It's a little less dramatic but still fun when Starbuck climbs out of the Landram and asks what's going on and he is told: "Courtesy of Commander Adama" and he lets out a
high-pitched Yee-Haw!

And the end music as Starbuck and Apollo approaching the landing bays is also very dramatic.

A great movie.

January 6th, 2004, 03:31 PM

I wish i got to see on the big screen, Hopefully BSGs return is a Motion Picture, I would see it 50 times! BSG "The saga of the star world", ranks up there with "Star Wars", "Back to the Future", "Ghostbusters", "Star Wars ESB" "ID4"!

cdlegend · January 6th, 2004, 05:10 PM

Hello All,

Well, another year has come and gone... but Galactica fans last forever! I am an Official Regional Chair for Battlestar Fan Club, and while checking my email today... I found a wonderful message from the Chair from England which says: " I feel that with this new year, we've got an entire Universe to jump start!" I agree.
When you sit back and look at the progress that the fans have made on behalf of Battlestar Galactica, you will see that we've climbed mountains. There is that wonderful DVD set, a mini series (yuck), several of the bigger BSG sites have gone down for lack of bandwith... which simply means that they couldn't keep up with the hords of fans who have felt the same kind of re-energized after the blitz of BSG news.
Now, it is out job to keep the fires burning. Battlestar FAn Club needs financial help, or we face having to close the site. Fans need to help out. We need to ask them just what they'd like in return for their help. Let's jump start the fans in a possitive way. Let's celebrate what we've accomplished and clean up after that mini series mess... well - we all do spill occationally. [lol]
I received my DVD box set as a shocking but welcome Christmas gift. The first thing I had to do was to watch the scenes that they cut from the opening/movie. I found it facinating as to what they decided could not or would not work, especialy Serina who went from dying of a starvation rather than a trane wreck! I really liked the scene where Adama is questioning himself and his ability to lead after they have realized the full magnitude of the destruction of the Colonies.
Happy New Year!
Legend

shiningstar · January 6th, 2004, 07:49 PM

That was an EXCELLENT Post CDLegend. welcome to the club.

January 13th, 2004, 04:30 AM

were there 5 battlestars at the peace talks?

what were their names??

Galactica, Atlantia, Columbia??

Sci-Fi · January 13th, 2004, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by droopy
were there 5 battlestars at the peace talks?

what were their names??

Galactica, Atlantia, Columbia??

Read this link: https://www.geocities.com/sjpaxton/battlestars2.html

shiningstar · January 13th, 2004, 07:40 PM

Thanks for posting the link Sci-fi.

cdlegend · January 16th, 2004, 07:55 PM

Hey Droopy,

There were quite a few Battlestars mentioned in Galactica, but only a few of them were ever visible to the "watchers" (us). Yes, the link is a good one. Full of information....
According to Larson, he says that besides the GAlactica and the Atlantia the Battlestars were Pacifica, Acropolis, and Solaria. Other Battlestars were Pegasus (of course), Poseidon, Triton, Argo, Olympia, and Cerberus. There were also supposed to be battle cruisers as well as vipers, but that never came to be.
Isn't it fun to test fans by asking trivia like this? I really enjoy seeing how much I can remember, or how much information I have compiled in the last twenty-five years!
Hope you enjoyed Susan Paxon's site as well.
Legend

January 16th, 2004, 08:34 PM

Im amazed and the web site was great. I bought the DVD's and Im now going to listen to the time codes from the ep to see if I can here the dialog.

Also, has anyone ever seen any schematics of the galactica?

January 16th, 2004, 09:30 PM

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?

cdlegend · January 17th, 2004, 07:48 PM

There are schematics out there of the Galactica. You just have to look. As a matter of fact, I happen to know someone who has a copy. Perhaps he can put it on the web, or send them to you.
The DVDs are wonderful. I have the boxed set. I haven't had much time to look, but the first thing I did was watch the scenes deleted. It was interesting to find out what could have been part of the classic.

Also about Jane Seymore, in reality, Jane's character was supposed to be stricken with an illness from the destruction of the planets. She was not meant to live at all past the pilot or film. For some reason, Larson decided that he wanted to keep her in the series long enough to go with his original plan to kill her off. I doubt that it had anything to do with the actress or her willingness to continue to play the role.

Legend

January 17th, 2004, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cdlegend

Also about Jane Seymore, in reality, Jane's character was supposed to be stricken with an illness from the destruction of the planets. She was not meant to live at all past the pilot or film. For some reason, Larson decided that he wanted to keep her in the series long enough to go with his original plan to kill her off. I doubt that it had anything to do with the actress or her willingness to continue to play the role.

Legend

[/B]

Do you know where you read/heard this? In the back of my mind, I seem to remember reading YEARS ago that Jane shot the pilot and another one (possibly Dr. Quinn - when did that start?), and of course couldn't do both (I don't remember the source, and if Jane was contractually tied to the second show or had to make a decision).

Gemini1999 · January 17th, 2004, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imagination
Do you know where you read/heard this? In the back of my mind, I seem to remember reading YEARS ago that Jane shot the pilot and another one (possibly Dr. Quinn - when did that start?), and of course couldn't do both (I don't remember the source, and if Jane was contractually tied to the second show or had to make a decision).

If you have access to the BSG DVD set, the discs have the cut scenes from "Saga of a Star World" which show all of Serina's "Space Cancer" part of the story. Her character would have died at the end of "Saga" if they had kept the storyline. The reason that they were dropped was that Jane's character was to stick around a while longer - at least long enough to die at the end of "Lost Planet of the Gods"

Best regards,
Bryan
________
Karin1

Starbuck · January 18th, 2004, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imagination
Do you know where you read/heard this? In the back of my mind, I seem to remember reading YEARS ago that Jane shot the pilot and another one (possibly Dr. Quinn - when did that start?), and of course couldn't do both (I don't remember the source, and if Jane was contractually tied to the second show or had to make a decision).

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman didn't happen until 1993. As Bryan said, Serina was suppose die at the end of the pilot. Those scenes are included in the deleted scene section in the DVD box set. Also, if you have the original soundtrack, there is track called "Boxey's Problem/Serina's Illness."