Galactica 1980
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"The great ship...Galactica. Our home for these many years we've endured the wilderness of space...and now we near the end of our journey. We have at last found...Earth."

Click here to play an MP3 of the Galactica 1980 Main Title

Vaguely in the memory of long time television viewers lies the thought that at some point the Galactica and the ragtag fleet actually DID make it to Earth.

Their memories are not playing tricks.    

On January 27, 1980 - the Rag Tag Fleet did make it to Earth, in the first part of a three hour special series called Galactica Discovers Earth.    This television event was perhaps the most viewed episode of Galactica ever.

These first three episodes were initially so popular, that ABC ordered additional episodes be made - and in extremely short order.  The subsequent episodes were expensive, rushed, and full of plot holes.  And, due to the time slot they were aired in, had to be aimed at children, complete with educational elements.  

After a dismal falling off in ratings the new series of Battlestar Galactica, known as Galactica 1980, was cancelled, with the last new episode airing May 4, 1980.

It was so disappointing, that most fans of the series sort of tried to pretend it never happened.

But it did!   

These pages are dedicated to the preservation of this overlooked and oft reviled page in Galactica history.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to email the webmaster at weller43@cox.net.

Galactica 1980 Episode Guide

    Episodes 1, 2 and 3     Galactica Discovers Earth  

    Episodes 4 and 5         The Super Scouts  

    Episode 6                      Spaceball  

    Episodes 7 and 8         The Night the Cylons Landed  

    Episode 9                      Space Croppers  

    Episode 10                   The Return of Starbuck  

SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GALACTICA 1980

What is the proper name for Galactica 1980?   Wasn't it just the second season of Battlestar Galactica?

True.  Only the first three episodes of the series, compromising the pilot movie, featured a title sequence beginning with "Galactica 1980." The remaining episodes begin by calling the show "Battlestar Galactica," as if this were the second season of the original show.

However, since the series was so different in tone, content, and had none of the original cast save for Lorne Greene and Herb Jefferson, Jr. the name Galactica 1980 has come to describe the entire series of episodes set after the rag tag fleet found Earth.  

Where can I get Galactica 1980 on video?

There is one Galactica 1980 VHS release, but it is out of print.  It is called Conquest of Earth and is an amalgamation of footage from Galactica Discovers Earth  and The Night the Cylons Landed.    Copies of it do show up on eBay frequently.

Is Galactica 1980 ever shown on television?

Yes, the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States and Space: The Imagination Station in Canada occasionally rerun Galactica 1980.  

Is Galactica 1980 going to be released on DVD?

Probably not!   The vast majority of classic fans despise the show, and it bears absolutely no relation to the new re-imagined Galactica series.   The market for such a product would seem to be quite small.  As far as I am aware, Universal has no intention to release Galactica 1980 on DVD.

Can I download Galactica 1980 on BitTorrent or other file sharing systems?

From time to time Galactica 1980 episodes do appear on the various file sharing systems.  Download at your own risk!  Galactica 1980, like all other digital media, is copy-written material and it is not legal for copies of it to be distributed without the permission of Universal.

RUMINATIONS

If and when the re-imagined Ronald Moore rag tag fleet finally gets to Earth.... what will it be like?

Maybe they could land on Earth in 1980?  (a darker, more brooding 1980 of course!)

I could see Kara Thrace in the role of Dillon - complete with puffy jacket.   And Gaius Baltar could break away from the Council and go back in time to disrupt Earth - not really a stretch.   Maybe even a Miami episode where Adama needs to go down to Florida and do a drug bust.

I'm sure Chief Tyrol would keep those turbocycles humming.  But how do you do a darker, brooding Dr. Zee? 

OTHER LINKS

Galactica 1980 reference in the Internet Movie Database

Sheba's Galaxy Galactica 1980 Page

Sci-Fi Channel's Galactica 1980 Episode Guide

Battlestar Galactica.com Series Summary

Review of Galactica and Gal:80 episodes by John Dorsey

John Laroque's Galactica 1980 Episode Guide

Galactica 1980 Listing on epguides.com

Galactica 1980 entry on TV Tome

go back to Mark's Battlestar Galactica Page

email the webmaster at weller43@cox.net

Last Updated on Friday, April 08, 2005