Battlestar Galactica (1979)

Little more than a rip off of STAR WARS, but this still has some reasons to watch. Firstly, take a look at the year it was made...yep, that's the cue for some '70s disco music to play in an alien casino scene (don't ask), plus the futuristic fashions (robes and helmets which look like something out of Egypt) date this film horribly.While the plot set up is initially interesting, unfortunately this television movie, which served as a pilot for the series, is far too long and a lot of scenes drag out endlessly. Added on to the main story are pointless sub plots about one of the hero's romances with a female survivor. I could have done without these scenes, more action would have been nicer. Only about two major events happen in the film so there's a lot of rubbish to sit through before you get to the good bits.The acting is okay. I'm being kind here. Nobody is exactly awful and thankfully everybody keeps a straight face (difficult in some places), but no single person sticks in the mind for putting in a good performance. In fact, although I saw the film only a few hours ago, I can hardly remember any of the faces or names. You'll also notice that there are hardly any females in the cast, those that are there have extremely small roles too.Down in the cast list there are a few familiar faces, such as the awful Jane Seymour, seasoned veteran Ray Milland as a baldy councillor, and Wilfred Hyde-White who plays his patented crusty superior yet again. That guy got everywhere.Anyway as I was saying the STAR WARS influence is huge on this film, without STAR WARS it never would have existed. There are a lot of space battles with ships firing lasers, taken directly from Lucas' classic, but these are overlong and the special effects are pretty poor. Also, why were there explosions when the lasers missed? What were they hitting? Space debris? I don't think so.The robot cyborgs are supposed to be scary but I found the sight of guys lumbering around covered in tin trays pretty funny. Firstly, their faces look like cheap copies of Darth Vader, and secondly, they speak exactly like the Transformers did back in the cartoon series of the '80s. There are a couple of fun aliens too, including some glamorous alien singers who have two heads merged into one with four eyes and some cheap aliens who look like rejects from CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, complete with tacky lightbulb eyes.Unfortunately, some guy also had the bright idea of adding a kid with a robot dog into the film, I wish I knew who he was so I could shoot him. Tacky, childish and stupid, yes, but definitely not good and not clever. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA isn't TOO bad and manages to stand on two feet, and as a pilot it sets up all the major plot/characters etc. well. I'm sure the budget was low too, which makes it look even more impressive, but in the end let's just face it, nowadays we watch this to have a laugh. I much preferred BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY.

After many years of war, the humans from the Twelve Colonies are near to celebrate an armistice with the evil Cylon. Out of the blue, the Cylons betray the pact and destroy the Colonies and the entire fleet except the Battlestar Galactica. Commander Adama (Lorne Greene) summons the survivors from the Colonies to follow him in a journey to the planet Earth. However they are short of water, supplies and fuel and they head to the planet Carillon to replenish the fleet and get the supplies. Adama's son, the warrior Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch), and his partners Lieutenants Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) and Boomer (Herbert Jefferson Jr.) destroy the mines left by the Cylons and they reach the planet. They are welcomed by the inhabitants and find the paradise. Meanwhile the human leader Sire Uri (Ray Milland) wants to destroy their arms and live in the Cylon Empire despite the contempt of Adama. Sire Uri decides to give medals to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer for their bravery on Carillon and invites the warriors to come to the party. However Adama believes that it is a trap for the Galactica. What can he do? "Battlestar Galactica" is a cult sci-fi for people of my generation. I was one of the big fans of the movie and the series in the 70's and 80's, and it was delightful to see this movie again, indeed a travel in time. It is impressive that almost forty years later, the special effects and sets of the Galactica are still great. Impressive how beautiful Jane Seymor is in this film. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Galactica: Astronave de Combate" ("Battlestar Galactica")

Awesome show for the time. As far as copying anything from Star Wars, I don't think so. The Vipers are NOTHING like the X-Wings. The model work is outstanding. Some of the dialog is sugar coated, but the premise is great. For once, it isn't earth getting annihilated by aliens and robots. I have shown this series to some of my sons friends who thought it was cool. It's worth watching. Lorene Greene is excellent as Commander Adama and his counter part, John Colicos, is very good as Count Baltar. I still love seeing the Vipers launch out of their tubes(I'd like to see an X-Wiin have a dramatic entrance like that)A lot of work went into the show only to have ABC cancel it out of stupidity. The show was very popular(which is why George Lucas and Co. went after it)It is NOTHING like the new show. But is very well done.

This is such a poor Star Wars Light ripoff developed by a couple of cult religion Mormon morons. The whole show smacks of Mormon propaganda and religious overtones. The Mormon beliefs are almost impossible to take and that takes a lot away from the show. Special effects oddly hold up because they are fairly inert, but the stories are either boring or indirectly have something to do with Mormonism. Bonanza actor is woefully out of his element as the captain/commander of galactica. This show demonstrates what a bad actor he is. BTW, they even ripped off the sound effects from Star Wars. How low can these cult Mormon dips sink?