Tom gives props to Star Wars' red-headed step-child: Battlestar Galactica!. Bif Bam Pow Wow Episode “Battlestar Galactica” Tom: Considered by some to be the redheaded stepchild of Star Wars, the original Battlestar Galactica is finally getting the props that it deserves and I am here to tell you that life here began out there. Welcome members of the 13 tribe to another exciting installment of Bif Bam Pow Wow I am Tom your host. Perhaps better known as the author of the book of Kobol, no OK I guess they should not have even made that joke right? Anyway today I’m going to just barely scratch the surface of the Battlestar Galactica universe, and take a look and how the new Galactica as breathed some life into the brand. Then we will sit down and have a drink with our old friend Richard Hatch. Battlestar Galactica premiered in 1978 and it follows the plight of a bunch of ragtag space refugees in search of the mythical planet earth after the rest of the Colonies were destroyed by the evil Cylons. It featured great music, great characters, and recycled special effects and just a huge budget which no doubt contributed to its demise. It would never have even seen the light of day if it were not for the success of Star Wars but you may be surprised to learn that the story concept actually predates Star Wars, well allegedly. There was a big lawsuit, which was actually settled in Battlestar Galactica is favor in 1980, but at that point Galactica was already off the air. It lived on through toys, comics, movies, video games, and even a reimagined TV series. Well let’s take a look at some of my favorites. The first thing that I want to recommend is the Battlestar Galactica epic series DVD; oh this thing is so cool. It is every single episode of the original series put all together in a nice collection. Who does not want that, the coolest part is that it comes inside of a Cylon head. Oh this thing looks so good on the shelf you really should check it out and the episodes are awesome to. I also want to mention the old Marvel comics, which lasted about 23 issues and ran from 1979 to 1981. They were sort of a disappointment at the time because Universal would not let them use anything from the series that preceded the episode, Lost Planet of the Gods, a totally missed opportunity to explore some really interesting story lines, so sort of disappointing. Ooh, but I will say that tighten books has reproduced these issues and one hardcover volume, they look really, really good. They have totally cleaned up the artwork and I would say that that is totally worth having. Now my personal favorite, the Mattel action figures, the Cylon ship and the Colonial Viper, the things were so awesome as a kid because they actually shot missiles and anything that shot missiles when I was a kid was a total must have. Now the problem was that they actually shot missiles so it was a choking hazard and they were all recalled, total bummer. Of course Mattel Did like Star Wars they did 3 ¾ inch toys and 12 inch dolls only two of them though, the Cylon and the colonial pilot. So it just two of those and as with most action figure is the weapons are a little more rare than the figure’s themselves. Mattel also did various spaceships and other pieces that are highly collectible and worth seeking out I would say. OK folks if you have the original colonial viper, oh it is so cool I wish I had one. Well it only goes for about $50.00. That is pretty reasonable right? I would try to get one if I could. Now hang loose everybody because my friend Mary is going to catch up with none other than the original captain Apollo himself, Richard Hatch. Richard Hatch: The original Battlestar touched people in a very profound way, even though it was only on one year and the interesting thing was that we did not go off because of ratings. We went off because you could not produce a theatrical size series on a weekly basis back in that day and age because of the technology. I mean today cable that operated shows reach 18,000,000, 20,000,000 we reached 65,000,000 on opening night, and then we reached an average of 24 to 34,000,000 on a weekly basis. Battlestar has such a powerful story, and I have to admit 30 years ago I loved the back story and I love the mythology, I love the actors in the characters, but I was frustrated with the writing and frustrated more that we were not going into the core Battlestar story which we could not do because the networks were terrified of SCI Fi, terrified of being too provocative, and so really in that age and time we could not do it. Mary: Any particular character arcs that you would have liked too seen have the series gone on a couple more seasons? Richard Hatch: Well I honestly I just wanted to get into deeper, more provocative subject manner, when I say that it is easy to say that but the story was about surviving in space against a enemy that sought to destroy you. So how do you survive in space when you’re cut off from home, how do you find solutions to all those incredible, insurmountable challenges? We did not get a chance to get into all that; we barely touched the surface of that which the new show goes into, whether it is getting water, fuel, energy, this or that. We touched upon it but again in that era they were looking more for fun and for something that was entertaining as opposed to something that would be more provocative and edgy. And yet the premise really addressed going in that direction, but I do think that if we would’ve stayed on another year or two we would have gone in that direction. But obviously we brought a great sense of humor, a great bravado. You know I love the new story, but I know the original story backwards and forwards which is why I have written 7 to 8 books and graphic novels, and I feel like a really understand the mythology, the back story, the history, who these characters are, I can feel them. The new story I just am getting to know it and being introduced to a piece by piece, there was something wonderful about the original Battlestar but you know people love to compare and they love to judge, and I will only say this to everybody. You can actually love both shows for different reasons, and that we all need to look beyond the surface and look of the deeper elements of something, and any show is about people. Tom: Richard Hatch, a hell of a guy, anyway I have to book baby but this is not really the end, keep your eyes peeled for part two of our Battlestar Galactica series, where I talk about the awesome, new Galactica, Holler. In the meantime I’m going to leave you with this thought, in my best narrator voice, some believe there may yet been brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens.
