Galactica 1980

There are television landmarks, and then there are the strange little disasters that follow in their wake. Battlestar Galactica was an ambitious, expensive space opera that managed only one season before its production costs finally killed it, despite respectable ratings. Its bastard stepchild, Galactica 1980, is what happened when the producers tried to keep the franchise flying on a fraction of the budget.

The result is hilariously bad, but in the most entertaining way possible. With Glen Larson’s original series gone and most of its money apparently buried alongside it, Galactica 1980 feels like someone took the surviving pieces of Battlestar Galactica, dumped them into an 80s television blender and hoped nobody would notice. The show follows the Galactica and its crew as they finally reach Earth, only to discover that humanity is still completely unprepared for a Cylon invasion. So naturally, the solution is to send Captain Troy (Kent McCord) and Lieutenant Dillon (Barry Van Dyke) down to Earth to secretly protect the planet, where they spend an astonishing amount of time riding around on flying motorcycles and trying not to reveal that they’re aliens. Because apparently interstellar espionage works best when you’re cruising through the sky on what looks like a child’s toy with a jet engine attached.

The budget cuts are painfully obvious everywhere you look. The impressive space battles and elaborate sets of the original series have been replaced with bargain-basement effects, recycled footage and a handful of sets that look like they were assembled during the commercial break. The flying motorcycles are particularly magnificent, not because they look convincing, but because the show seems determined to use the exact same footage of them taking off over the city every chance it gets. By the end, you could probably identify that shot from a single frame. The Cylons are still around, but even they seem embarrassed to be participating in this.

The acting is about what you’d expect from an early-80s television adventure series, although the guest appearances provide some of the genuine highlights. Lorne Greene returns as Commander Adama, and the series brings in a parade of familiar faces who seem to have wandered onto the set wondering where the actual Battlestar Galactica production went. The stories themselves range from mildly entertaining to downright ridiculous, with the infamous two-part episode involving super-powered children being particularly difficult to take seriously. Yet that absurdity is exactly what makes the show so much fun. I’ve watched every episode of Manimal and Automan, so my tolerance for gloriously stupid television is considerably higher than that of most humans.

Below you will find links to my reviews of the short-lived adventures of Commander Adama, Captain Troy, Lieutenant Dillon, and Doctor Zee as they finally reach that shining star called…Earth.

Galactica Discovers Earth

In the series pilot “Galactica Discovers Earth,” we find our heroes having finally reached Earth, only to find it technologically useless in a fight with oncoming Cylons. It’s now up to a group of Colonial fighters to do their best to help advance Earth enough to help fight.

The Super Scouts

In “The Super Scouts,” Cylons attack the fleet’s school ship, so a bunch of kids must flee to Earth and hopefully not die from the pollution caused by a corrupt small town.

Spaceball

In “Spaceball,” Troy and Dillon are marooned in space while Jamie brings the Super Scouts to a baseball camp. Evil Xaviar tries to take the kids hostage before Colonel Briggs can get in the way. Hijinks ensue.

The Night the Cylons Landed

In “The Night the Cylons Landed,” an advanced Cylon ship crash-lands on Earth during Halloween. Troy and Dillon must track them down before they can radio the Cylon Empire that they have found Earth.

Space Croppers

In “Space Croppers,” we see two agro ships destroyed by the Cylons, so Troy and Dillon must immediately begin to colonize Earth. Only a racist farmer stands between them and famine.

The Return of Starbuck

In “The Return of Starbuck,” the final and best episode of the series, we find Starbuck marooned on a barren planet where he befriends a fellow crashed Cylon.

In conclusion, Galactica 1980 is terrible television, but it’s terrible television with an undeniable entertainment value. The acting is standard 1980s genre fare, the special effects are low-grade and frequently laughable, and the production looks like Battlestar Galactica after its budget was put through a wood chipper. Yet there’s something wonderfully innocent about watching a failed attempt to resurrect a cancelled hit, especially when the result is this gloriously goofy. It may not live up to its predecessor, but as a bizarre little time capsule of early-80s television, it’s hard not to have fun with it. All said and done, Galactica 1980 is a wonderfully silly way to kill ten hours.

You can check out all my reviews for the original series here: Battlestar Galactica

5.5/10

Series Rank - 5.5/10

5.5/10

Summary

Galactica 1980 may be a hilariously cheap and misguided follow-up to Battlestar Galactica, but its goofy stories, laughable effects and sheer 1980s television weirdness make it surprisingly entertaining.