Last Thoughts on Galactica 1980

Galactica 1980 is for the most part every bit as bad as you've heard. All the sillier elements of the first series were magnified here. With the budget slashed, they turned to other ways to find drama, but often this resulted in silliness. The show was more slightly goofy procedural than science fiction, and belongs more in the category of Highway to Heaven and The A-Team. 

Though some of the creative force behind it was the same, and some of the cast remained, much of the show was significantly retooled, owing little to its predecessor. While the presence of the Cylons and the date for the show do in some respect reflect continuity, the magnified alien nature of the Colonists is in flat contradiction with the established mythology. 

The only real saving grace is "The Return of Starbuck", though even that was substantially derivative. It's almost worth the price of the DVD, but not quite. Who knows what this series could have been if given the chance. I don't have any idea, and honestly I don't think Larson did either. I don't think he expected the show to go very far. So many elements are cast about like window dressing; children are present when needed for story, and otherwise pretty much disregarded. How long can twelve kids be left alone invisible in a park sitting in trees? I can respect some of the ideas, notably the humanoid Cylons, but much of the execution remains flawed. Great seeing Starbuck again. Otherwise...

Frack Galactica 1980.