Glen A. Larson: your opinion(s) of him & his work?

[Aquehonga]

Mr. Larson executive produced:

* Ole BSG - A Larson Original, with Lorne Greene.

* Buck Rogers - A Larson "Original", utterly unoriginal really, being a cover/reboot of the old theatrical Buck Rogers serials. Starred Tim O'Connor.

* Knight Rider - Another Larson Original, with William Daniels.

Which of these is YOUR favorite Glen Larson series?

What do you think of his body of work?

Are all Glen Larson`s shows in the same canonuity?

Then that'd mean Borellian Nomen, Twiki & KITT all exist in the same universe

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

BSG-TOS and Buck Rogers were my favorite shows when I was a kid. I don't bloody well care how cheesy or unrealistic they are. I *enjoyed* them. They were uplifting, escapist, non-ambiguous FUN.

Those are the only Larson shows I watched regularly. So based on that, I have a very high opinion of the man's work.

 

[V]

I'm indifferent AT BEST.

 

[Aquehonga]

BSG-TOS and Buck Rogers were my favorite shows when I was a kid.

Me too.

I watch them when they're on in reruns.

BSG's TOS & BR have a certain charm & character. If I had to pick my GL favorite, it'd be between those 2.

The Hasslehoff Knight Rider I never saw too much of. Doesn't really appeal to me.

Remember the BSG & BR action figures & ships?

I remember BSG & BR toys still being around when Return of the Jedi came out. I could be mistaken

Shame no one airs reruns of BSG's TOS & Buck Rogers anymore.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ one of our new digital subchannels shows old series and shows BSG and KR, which is cool once in a while

I'll throw in with BSG, I was 7-8 years old when it came out and I loved it. My 2nd Grade teacher would tell us he was rooting for the Cylons and we'd come in each Monday and tell him how they got it handed to them. He was also a Darth Vader fan, he knew how to push little kids buttons in the right way.

I loved all three of those series to one degree or another. Yeah they have flaws but they were all fun.

 

[Praetor]

I actually prefer his western 'Alias Smith and Jones.' Why isn't it on the list?

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Mr. Larson executive produced:

* Ole BSG - A Larson Original, with Lorne Greene.

* Buck Rogers - A Larson "Original", utterly unoriginal really, being a cover/reboot of the old theatrical Buck Rogers serials. Starred Tim O'Connor.

Starred Tim O"Connor, huh? It was him running around romancing women and saving the day with occassional scenes with stuffy co-stars Gil Gerard and Erin Gray.

Only guys who over 50 were stars or what?

I liked Buck best of them all. When was the last time major broadcast networks had a single hero space show? Everything is a team effort, and a team of emotional wankers at that. Bah...fuck that shit. Bring back the action HERO...or heroes (like the A-Team). Instead we get post-feminist heroine shit or emo heroes...fuck you, Joss Whedon. And fuck you, too, Chris Carter. How could you make a series that went 9 seasons and not put Scully in a catsuit? You failed as a man.

Larson knew what it was about. Robot are either cute of evil. Women can be competent but the HERO is the Man. Space vampires are a threat we will eventually face. Robot cars are better actors than Hasselhoff.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Remember the BSG & BR action figures & ships?

I remember BSG & BR toys still being around when Return of the Jedi came out. I could be mistaken

They probably were, but were old stock. Back then no respectable adult collected toys (much like now ). If a toy line bombed with kids and their parents, it sat on shelves/pegs and in back rooms until it was clearanced. This was true of specific characters, too. I remember moving to a small town and finding Ovions, Starbucks, Adamas and Imperious Leaders at the hardware store in 1983. No Cylons or daggets. Also, Toy R Us had gobs of Draco from Buck Rogers...a character who doesn't appear in the final cut of the pilot, IIRC.

Shame no one airs reruns of BSG's TOS & Buck Rogers anymore.

Ion was reairing 70's BSG months ago.

 

[Aquehonga]

I actually prefer his western 'Alias Smith and Jones.' Why isn't it on the list?

Didn't know Larson made westerns

Maybe its just as well, this being the SFF board & all

The board 1 floor down'd be place to talk'bout Larson's non-SFF shows yes

 

[Captaindemotion]

I voted BSG 1st. Don't get me wrong, I love the new BSG but the original was child's play by comparison. The original was a poor man's SW/ TOW, the new version is up there with the Sopranos and The Wire.

Buck Rogers was fun but was also a poor man's SW or Flash Gordon. The first series holds up well but the 2nd is dire.

The problem is most or all of GAL's shows are total rip-offs of other shows. BSG and Buck copied SW. Automan copied Tron. Smith & Jones xeroxed Butch & Sundance. Knight Rider was Blue Thunder with a car instead of a helicopter. If you enjoy the GAL shows with their limitations, don't expect them to be deep or meaningful, fair enough, but their lasting appeal and univeral themes were worthy of acknowledgement.

 

[Aquehonga]

Shame no one airs reruns of BSG's TOS & Buck Rogers anymore.

Ion was reairing 70's BSG months ago.

Damn shame!

I just started getting ION on my cable system within the last month or so

Sux ION`s not rerunning Ole BSG now.

They do show Quantum Leap, with Count Bakula,
Dean Stckwell & Debbie Pratt, weekdays at 5: pm, which is

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I voted BSG 1st. Don't get me wrong, I love the new BSG but the original was child's play by comparison. The original was a poor man's SW/ TOW, the new version is up there with the Sopranos and The Wire.

Buck Rogers was fun but was also a poor man's SW or Flash Gordon. The first series holds up well but the 2nd is dire.

The problem is most or all of GAL's shows are total rip-offs of other shows. BSG and Buck copied SW. Automan copied Tron. Smith & Jones xeroxed Butch & Sundance. Knight Rider was Blue Thunder with a car instead of a helicopter. If you enjoy the GAL shows with their limitations, don't expect them to be deep or meaningful, fair enough, but their lasting appeal and univeral themes were worthy of acknowledgement.

The pedant in me wants to point out that Knight Rider came out before Blue Thunder.

 

[WendellM]

My favorite of his is/was oldBSG, though I liked Buck Rogers as a kid and still enjoy it for retro value (at least the first season). I was only moderately interested in Knight Rider at the time and have no interest now. I'd say that his body of work, while not really great, is decent enough.

 

[WillsBabe]

He's made a load of enjoyable romp tv. None of it is my favourite but I've watched loads of it over the years and I give him his due for keep turning it out.

 

[captcalhoun]

S1 Buck was the best.

Bravo are rerunning it over here.

 

[hyzmarca]

I voted BSG 1st. Don't get me wrong, I love the new BSG but the original was child's play by comparison. The original was a poor man's SW/ TOW, the new version is up there with the Sopranos and The Wire.

Buck Rogers was fun but was also a poor man's SW or Flash Gordon. The first series holds up well but the 2nd is dire.

The problem is most or all of GAL's shows are total rip-offs of other shows. BSG and Buck copied SW. Automan copied Tron. Smith & Jones xeroxed Butch & Sundance. Knight Rider was Blue Thunder with a car instead of a helicopter. If you enjoy the GAL shows with their limitations, don't expect them to be deep or meaningful, fair enough, but their lasting appeal and univeral themes were worthy of acknowledgement.

The pedant in me wants to point out that Knight Rider came out before Blue Thunder.

Knight Rider was the Lone Ranger with a car, which is what made it good. The idea of the modern-day Western was innovative at the time, and inspired a great many action-oriented movies and television series. Few have done it as well, and even fewer have done it better.

I don't mind rip-offs too much, there is no such thing as an original story. The best a writer can do is to combine pre-existing story elements in new and interesting ways.

 

[MyCylon]

I loved Knight Rider as a kid. I still think the car is pretty cool and KITT usually has some great lines. Michael Knight, however, is not so cool. Still, Knight Rider is my pick.

I also like BSG quite a bit. Though I basically find it as hard to watch as Knight Rider today.

I'm not really impressed with Larson's work from today's perspective. Still, he did provide me with a lot of very fond childhood memories .

 

[God Magnus]

Knight Rider is my favorite out of the choices above, but I really enjoyed old BSG and Buck Rogers as well. I remember spending many hours as a kid watching those shows. They entertained me and now in my older years they do the same, but on a retro amusement level. It's a good reminder that not everything needs to be Shakespeare to be fun and entertaining.

 

[bionicbob]

If I remember correctly, I think Glen Larson only wrote/produced the Buck Rogers pilot movie but was not involved directly in the series proper, even though his name is in the credits.

Other Glen Larson shows of note:

QUINCEY ME
SHERIFF LOBO
BJ AND THE BEAR
MAGNUM PI (pilot only)
MCLOUD
HARDY BOYS/NANCY DREW MYSTERIES
FALL GUY
MANIMAL
AUTOMAN
NIGHTMAN
THE HIGHWAYMAN
SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN (2nd & 3rd TV movies only)
IT TAKES A THIEF
ALIAS SMITH AND JONES

There are many more, but these are the ones off the top of my head.
He was a TV God in the 70s and early 80s. Easily rivaling Aaron Spelling as one of the most successful American TV producers in history.

 

[Praetor]

Yeah, bionicbob, I think you got 'em all. Most of those shows air on the Retro Televison Network, which is offered on the .2 or .3 or many digital stations now in the US.