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.

President Adar with his counsel Count Baltar (John Colicos) are with the fleet preparing to sign a peace treaty with the Cylon Alliance. Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch) is out on patrol with his green younger brother Zac in place of Lieutenant Starbuck (Dirk Benedict). They are ambushed by Cylon fighters. With signals jammed and treacherous advise from the traitor Baltar, the President orders the fleet to stand down. Commander Adama (Lorne Greene) nevertheless orders a battle drill. When the fleet is attacked, his Battlestar Galactica is the sole survivor. Meanwhile, the twelve colonies are devastated by a Cylon sneak attack. Adama gathers a fleet of survivors to journey to the legendary thirteenth colony Earth of unknown location.

Coming one year after Star Wars, there were some complaints of copying and even a lawsuit or two. This is certainly inferior to Star Wars and there are elements copied from the movie. However, it's also undeniable this is one of the best TV sci-fi series of that era. It's also not a complete copy. There are plenty of compelling original ideas such as the twelve colonies, the designs from the spacecrafts to the Egyptian-like helmets, and also the music. Some of it seems cheesy compared to modern TV. The writing can be melodramatic but it must be compared to writing during that time. The Battlestar Galactica series is an important sign post for the sci-fi genre on TV despite its later deterioration. This pilot movie is a great setup for that series.

Having just seen a "restored" theatrical print a couple of months ago and now having seen the new DVD, I can say that it is virtually flawless. The subtlety of color makes many sequences appear almost three dimensional (especially on the Galactica). They appear to have removed most of the annoying matte lines from some scenes, although a few garbage mattes are visible. Some scenes that were almost unviewable blurs on the VHS have been restored to almost crystal clarity. Also visible are occasional film scratches, but it is far superior to anything I have seen since the 70's theatrical release in "Sensurround" or however they spelled it.

If you are a Galactica nut or even a fan, you will cherish this in your collection.

P.S. I don't work for Universal!