Galactica 1980

[Marc]

Who would have thought location filming would be cheaper than filming on a studio set.

yeah.

According to the info found at http://www.kobol.com/archives/BG-FAQ.html

The bridge set cost $US850,000 (today that equates to $US3.1 and used $US3mil worth of donated Tektronix equipment.

The pilot chewed $7mil and production costs were about $750,000 per ep.

So location shooting for 1980 was probably cheaper.

Every time I see the BSG TOS bridge I can't help but think "it's only been 9 years since Star Trek- wow!"

Sure some of it was frim advances in technology (the Tektronix computer equipment) but for the most part it was budget. I very much doubt Desilu spent the 1966 equivalent of $850,000 on the Enterprise bridge set.

 

[Ithekro]

Galactica 1980, as a concept, just never made sense to me. It has been a large number of years since the last episode, since "Boxey" has grown up to be Troy. Yet in the last episode, they intercept a television signal of the Apollo 11 landing. That was 1969. That means that longest it could have been between episodes is 11 years, and that would mean they were in the Sol system in the last episode, and somehow missed Earth because they were fighting the Cyclons. The concept just makes no sense betweeen point A (last episode of the first series) and point B (first episode of Galactica 1980).

 

[Cutter John]

I was about 18 when the show came out and even then I thought it sucked.

I always ascribed to the theory that the show was a reply from the network after they were flooded with mail over BSG's cancellation. An effort to "shut those damn fans up".

Apart from "Return", the show also gave us an interesting Cylon attack on LA simulation. And the advanced Cylon fighter shown briefly in one episode was interesting. And of course it also introduced humanoid Cylons.

 

[Guy Gardener]

What about Zee's "advanced Viper" (It wasn't called that) that looked like a glowing Cheese cake?

Seriously.

Faster, better armour, possibly shields, more advanced weapons.

Make ten more, turn around and destroy the Cylons.

They didn't need Earth, and they didn't need to endanger Earth.

Unless Zee didn't bother to build that thing till he felt guilty about bringing the Cylons to Earth?

I was 4 when Galactica 1980 came out and I thought that it was ####ing Awesome.

(I know different now.)

 

[RandyS]

Galactica 1980, as a concept, just never made sense to me. It has been a large number of years since the last episode, since "Boxey" has grown up to be Troy. Yet in the last episode, they intercept a television signal of the Apollo 11 landing. That was 1969. That means that longest it could have been between episodes is 11 years, and that would mean they were in the Sol system in the last episode, and somehow missed Earth because they were fighting the Cyclons. The concept just makes no sense betweeen point A (last episode of the first series) and point B (first episode of Galactica 1980).

Continuity was not a concern.

 

[Christopher]

What if you're a centurion and want to go out and do some flying yourself? You'll need a plane, a jet pack or the ability to upload yourself into a body that flies. It's not always desirable to "send out the dogs".

Well, that's easy -- just build more than one type of ship. There's no reason to have a pilot in a fighter craft when you can just build an autonomous fighter, like an intelligent UAV/drone. But you can still have transport ships and shuttles and the like in addition to the fighters.

And on a side note, what if a raider doesn't want to be nothing but a raider?

What if a human wants to be a horse? These aren't jobs, they're intrinsic identities, and there's not much you can do about how you were born.

Hmm, that rings a bell. Did the whole command "pedestal" thing rotate?

Yes, it did.

Galactica 1980, as a concept, just never made sense to me. It has been a large number of years since the last episode, since "Boxey" has grown up to be Troy. Yet in the last episode, they intercept a television signal of the Apollo 11 landing. That was 1969. That means that longest it could have been between episodes is 11 years, and that would mean they were in the Sol system in the last episode, and somehow missed Earth because they were fighting the Cyclons. The concept just makes no sense betweeen point A (last episode of the first series) and point B (first episode of Galactica 1980).

Absolutely. They threw continuity out the window because the overriding concern was budget. They wanted a present-day Earthbound show because it was cheaper to use ordinary props and costumes and settings than to build a bunch of space stuff all the time.

I always ascribed to the theory that the show was a reply from the network after they were flooded with mail over BSG's cancellation. An effort to "shut those damn fans up".

My understanding has always been that it was strictly about amortizing the expense of the original series by recycling its props, costumes, etc. and by adding more episodes to the syndication package so they could recoup a bit more on the back end. Its only reason for existing at all was financial, which is why it was so creatively bankrupt.

 

[Agent Richard07]

There's no reason to have a pilot in a fighter craft when you can just build an autonomous fighter, like an intelligent UAV/drone.

If the raiders are intelligent, you're still sending "someone" into battle. As for control, a good pilot can make the plane an extension of themselves so I don't see how having an integrated mind/vehicle is a significant advantage. Plus pilots have the added advantage of personal input and evaluation if those are needed. The point I'm making is that although the cylon that's also a raider is pretty cool and may very well solve some issues, having a pilot has it's advantages too.

What if a human wants to be a horse? These aren't jobs, they're intrinsic identities, and there's not much you can do about how you were born.

If the centurions and the raiders were peers, then one wanting to be the other could be a problem but like I said, at least Moore solved that by making the raiders more like animals.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I loved that episode of Bones where there was a murder at a human Pony farm.

Angel was so disapproving.



The raiders were not like animals to begin with in nu BSG. Their civil war started because one lot of skin jobs wanted to lobotomise the raiders & centurions but the other lot didn't.

 

[Galileo7]

What if you're a centurion and want to go out and do some flying yourself? You'll need a plane, a jet pack or the ability to upload yourself into a body that flies. It's not always desirable to "send out the dogs".

Well, that's easy -- just build more than one type of ship. There's no reason to have a pilot in a fighter craft when you can just build an autonomous fighter, like an intelligent UAV/drone. But you can still have transport ships and shuttles and the like in addition to the fighters.

And on a side note, what if a raider doesn't want to be nothing but a raider?

What if a human wants to be a horse? These aren't jobs, they're intrinsic identities, and there's not much you can do about how you were born.





Yes, it did.

Galactica 1980, as a concept, just never made sense to me. It has been a large number of years since the last episode, since "Boxey" has grown up to be Troy. Yet in the last episode, they intercept a television signal of the Apollo 11 landing. That was 1969. That means that longest it could have been between episodes is 11 years, and that would mean they were in the Sol system in the last episode, and somehow missed Earth because they were fighting the Cyclons. The concept just makes no sense betweeen point A (last episode of the first series) and point B (first episode of Galactica 1980).

Absolutely. They threw continuity out the window because the overriding concern was budget. They wanted a present-day Earthbound show because it was cheaper to use ordinary props and costumes and settings than to build a bunch of space stuff all the time.

I always ascribed to the theory that the show was a reply from the network after they were flooded with mail over BSG's cancellation. An effort to "shut those damn fans up".

My understanding has always been that it was strictly about amortizing the expense of the original series by recycling its props, costumes, etc. and by adding more episodes to the syndication package so they could recoup a bit more on the back end. Its only reason for existing at all was financial, which is why it was so creatively bankrupt.

Agree. Universal did this with this "second" season of the original BSG and the fourth season of the Airwolf series. Actor Barry Van Dyke was in both.

 

[Christopher]

There's no reason to have a pilot in a fighter craft when you can just build an autonomous fighter, like an intelligent UAV/drone.

If the raiders are intelligent, you're still sending "someone" into battle.

I didn't say you weren't. Just that it's more efficient to build a single self-piloting machine than two separate machines to do a single job.

As for control, a good pilot can make the plane an extension of themselves so I don't see how having an integrated mind/vehicle is a significant advantage.

Again, it's a matter of the efficiency of construction. It takes fewer parts, the mechanisms are simpler, the fighter's design becomes less restricted when it doesn't have accommodate a pilot, etc.

Plus pilots have the added advantage of personal input and evaluation if those are needed.

And so does an intelligent robot capable of flying under its own power.

If the centurions and the raiders were peers, then one wanting to be the other could be a problem but like I said, at least Moore solved that by making the raiders more like animals.

I don't see how it would be any more of a problem if they were peers. A lot of people want to be George Clooney or Scarlett Johanssen, but we manage to live our lives with the understanding that it's not gonna happen.

 

[J.T.B.]

If the raiders are intelligent, you're still sending "someone" into battle. As for control, a good pilot can make the plane an extension of themselves so I don't see how having an integrated mind/vehicle is a significant advantage. Plus pilots have the added advantage of personal input and evaluation if those are needed. The point I'm making is that although the cylon that's also a raider is pretty cool and may very well solve some issues, having a pilot has it's advantages too.

That's comparing an artificial mind to a human mind, which has to have its biological support system. If you can manufacture the artificial brain of sufficient sophistication, what is the advantage of putting that brain in a robot "body" and then having that body manually control the craft?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Have you ever considered sexuality?

The Galacticans are super strong because they are used to a higher gravity, but they also get winded very easily because they are used to a more oxygen rich environment.

To begin with they would be afraid of crushing/pulping an earthling mate, but they would also give up almost immediately no where near climax because they are out of breath.

Interbreeding the two tribes seems difficult.

1. In an Oxygen saturated room that will allow a Galactican to breathe normally would make an Earthling first appear drunk, and the long term effects would start with Hypoxia and end with death.

2. A sex-suit that incorporates a scuba tank. Actually, a larger, very heavy tank would help over come the Galactican "strength" issues since climax, physically at least, is about charging towards your limits.

3. Not just doing it in the lab, artificial insemination/egg donation, but flooding the market, So to speak, human husbandry... Although a baby 5 times stronger than it should be, is going to be able to make an exit whenever it feels like it or even kick their mother's kidneys to death. Meanwhile, is a baby 5 times weaker than it should be, going to be able to get out of it's mother without a lot of help? Unless stronger babies might just mean shorter gestation periods. Galactican females are going to be super pissed that carrying babies now takes 9 months instead of four like the gods intended.

 

[Agent Richard07]

If the centurions and the raiders were peers, then one wanting to be the other could be a problem but like I said, at least Moore solved that by making the raiders more like animals.

I don't see how it would be any more of a problem if they were peers. A lot of people want to be George Clooney or Scarlett Johanssen, but we manage to live our lives with the understanding that it's not gonna happen.

But at least with raiders as inanimate objects, you eliminate that completely.

Again, it's a matter of the efficiency of construction. It takes fewer parts, the mechanisms are simpler, the fighter's design becomes less restricted when it doesn't have accommodate a pilot, etc.

If the raiders are intelligent, you're still sending "someone" into battle. As for control, a good pilot can make the plane an extension of themselves so I don't see how having an integrated mind/vehicle is a significant advantage. Plus pilots have the added advantage of personal input and evaluation if those are needed. The point I'm making is that although the cylon that's also a raider is pretty cool and may very well solve some issues, having a pilot has it's advantages too.

That's comparing an artificial mind to a human mind, which has to have its biological support system. If you can manufacture the artificial brain of sufficient sophistication, what is the advantage of putting that brain in a robot "body" and then having that body manually control the craft?

I've gone off suggesting disadvantages for intelligent raiders but I'm not actually trying to argue against those and for piloted craft, I'm just saying that piloted craft, even for cylons, makes sense to me. It's not about putting the robot brain into a centurion and then putting it into a plane, it's about the centurion being able to actually go out there if need be.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If Centurion conciousnesses are sacred and unique... Can't they just be broadcast to empty vessels? Starbuck may not have found centurions on the Raider she gutted, but what if the raider has the capacity (like a factory) to make Centurion bodies if the need arises? Of course it would still need unique and sacred conciousnesses to put into those new bodies.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Yeah, uploading their consciousness to another body/vehicle is an alternative.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Makes you wonder about compatibility?

Would a Centurion speak if put inside a Skinjob?

I loved the speaking voices of the centurions when I was little.

It'd be funny if the Centurians in NUBSG could have spoken the whole time, it's just that they had nothing to say.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Who would have thought location filming would be cheaper than filming on a studio set.

yeah.

According to the info found at http://www.kobol.com/archives/BG-FAQ.html

The bridge set cost $US850,000 (today that equates to $US3.1 and used $US3mil worth of donated Tektronix equipment.

The pilot chewed $7mil and production costs were about $750,000 per ep.

So location shooting for 1980 was probably cheaper.

Every time I see the BSG TOS bridge I can't help but think "it's only been 9 years since Star Trek- wow!"

Well, at the time, it wasn't that long after the original "Star Wars"....and we had our Luke Skywalker/Han Solo clones in Apollo and Starbuck, Adama's power that resembled the force....the dogfights that resembled "Star Wars" dogfights....the Cylons that resembled the stormtroopers....and that Princess Leia clone on the BSG OS bridge.

I remember reading in one of George Lucas biographies that he was blamed for creating BSG since it beared a lot of similarities to "Star Wars"...lol

 

[Marc]

yeah.

According to the info found at http://www.kobol.com/archives/BG-FAQ.html

The bridge set cost $US850,000 (today that equates to $US3.1 and used $US3mil worth of donated Tektronix equipment.

The pilot chewed $7mil and production costs were about $750,000 per ep.

So location shooting for 1980 was probably cheaper.

Every time I see the BSG TOS bridge I can't help but think "it's only been 9 years since Star Trek- wow!"

Well, at the time, it wasn't that long after the original "Star Wars"....and we had our Luke Skywalker/Han Solo clones in Apollo and Starbuck, Adama's power that resembled the force....the dogfights that resembled "Star Wars" dogfights....the Cylons that resembled the stormtroopers....and that Princess Leia clone on the BSG OS bridge.

I remember reading in one of George Lucas biographies that he was blamed for creating BSG since it beared a lot of similarities to "Star Wars"...lol

Boy some people really are thick. But for anyone that wants to claim the BSG ripped off Star Wars (which is a load of bollocks) they need to take a closer look as Lucas's derivations.

 

[BillJ]

Well, at the time, it wasn't that long after the original "Star Wars"....and we had our Luke Skywalker/Han Solo clones in Apollo and Starbuck, Adama's power that resembled the force....the dogfights that resembled "Star Wars" dogfights....the Cylons that resembled the stormtroopers....and that Princess Leia clone on the BSG OS bridge.

I remember reading in one of George Lucas biographies that he was blamed for creating BSG since it beared a lot of similarities to "Star Wars"...lol

I remember reading somewhere that Glen Larson spent five years trying to sell the concept and that no one was interested until Star Wars came out.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, uploading their consciousness to another body/vehicle is an alternative.

Or give them a modular design. Detach the arms and legs, which are just dead weight in a space fighter, and plug their heads and torsos (assuming there are necessary power components or whatever in the torsos) into a fighter frame.

But for anyone that wants to claim the BSG ripped off Star Wars (which is a load of bollocks) they need to take a closer look as Lucas's derivations.

Right. Lucas ripped off everything.