Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 - Episode 7: The Long Patrol (1978) - TV Episode Review

Official Score = 3 Devils

You know I have to admit that I got in to Battlestar Galactica rather late in  the run of the most recent remake of the classic Glen A. Larson (Knight Rider) vehicle!

Don't get me wrong, the remake was a great I mean besides the fact that it had all of the more generic elements that make a Science Fiction show great... Including the more likely modern elements, this remake was extremely exciting, and even the more tedious and redundant episodes (which there unfortunately was some of those), still kept you on the edge of your seat, wondering what direction it was going to go!

But there was something lacking from the remake that just didn't translate quite right from the original to the most recent remake... That is the camp factor!

You see, (and Star Trek pulled this off real well), but Battlestar Galactica (at least the original one did anyway), pulled off a surprising lot of elements pretty amazingly from humanities past, and some stuff from the future... And melded it in to campy joy!

A great show... True campy awesomeness!

I mean they added the Greek god element real nicely, as well as I suspect elements from medieval history (I,e... The, 'Warriors' of the, 'Galactica' being not much different then the, 'Knights' of old... I also thought that it was cool that they added an element of the 19th century in to it as well... All of this wrapped around a fun little space opera!)

And you know what? All of this... the straightforward stuff, as well as the camp stuff is really one of the major contributors to making Episode 7: 'The Long Patrol' So great!

Starring: Richard Hatch (The Streets Of San Francisco),  Dirk Benedict (The A-Team), Lorne Greene (Earthquake), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Apollo 13), John Colicos (The Changling), Maren Jensen (Deadly Blessing), Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story), Laurette Spang (Plot 7) & Terry Carter (Foxy Brown).

Starbuck preparing for his long mission!

In this episode, The Galactica is about to make it out of their home galaxy... For the first time in human history... Or so they thought...

You see, Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) has been assigned to a special recon viper with long range capabilities in order to be able to ferret out threats before any threats become visible... And of course not long after he leaves the Galatica on his mission he ends up finding it!

Ultimately what he finds is an Ancient colony of humans that used to be a Colonial, 'Penal Colony' whose current inhabitants appear to be the descendants of the original prison population (Guards included.)

Starbuck on his way to destiny!

And when one of these inhabitants ends up stealing the long range Viper and sending a signal back to, 'Aries' (of course not knowing that they were alerting the Cylons.) It will be up to Starbuck, Apollo & his crew as well as the other prison inhabitants to stop the Cylons before they find the, 'Galactica'!

Besides what I mentioned above, I have to say that the stuff that I didn't like about the previous episodes (a good example being that the writers seemed to write Adama so that he sounded a little like a, 'blowhard'...) Mostly that was all gone, and made this episode that much more enjoyable! Give it a try, it is an episode worthy of the trip through the original BSG series!

Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 - Episode 5. 'Lost Planet Of The Gods Part 2' (1978) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_390" align="alignright" width="178"] Official Score = 1 Devil[/caption]

So far I will say this about this so far about the original, 'Battlestar Galactica'... I can definitely see how this show was inspired by the original, 'Star Wars' movies, but short of a few basic looks in both ships and clothing and a few of the special effects, I would say that this show stands on it's own merits as a show...

And where as I am going to have to say that the most recent remake of the series was probably better then this series (Only I believe though by the fact that this show never really got it's opportunity to stand on it's own two feet...) Nevertheless, so far I have to say that this show is not bad, it is quite good!

You can definitely see the tie in to this show and ancient Earth... (I have to admit that not only am I pleased by this, but the recent remake never satisfactorily explained that for me!)

It also truly had some great talent attached to it, including: Lorne Greene (Earthquake), Dirk Benedict (The A-Team), Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story) & Jane Seymour (Wedding Crashers) and that is just to name a few!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Just some of the cast of the original, 'Battlestar Galactica'![/caption]

I will be honest and say that one of the only things that this show really suffered from was bad writing... As a matter of fact, I would say that the only thing that I don't like in Lorne Greene's, 'Adama', is that Adama seemed like a little bit of a blowhard...

The sad fact is that bad lines are not the only thing that, Season 1 - Episode 5: 'Lost Planet Of The Gods Part 2' (1978) suffers from!

Written by: Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I.), Donald P. Bellisario (NCIS) & Directed by: Christian I. Nyby II (Diagnosis Murder). Starring: Richard Hatch (All My Children), Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Apollo 13), John Colicos (The Changling), Maren Jensen (Deadly Blessing), Terry Carter (The Phil Silvers Show), George Murdock (The X-Files: Fight The Future), Ed Begley Jr. (Pineapple Express) & Jane Seymour!

This episode being the final episode of the 2 parter, tells the story of how after the Galactica makes it in to the void that they eventually find their way out and to the ancient planet that is supposed to be the, 'birthplace of humanity'... On their heels though is Baltar (John Colicos) in his Basestar...

[caption id="attachment_2530" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Apollo (Richard Hatch), Serena (Jane Seymour) and Adama (Lorne Greene) as they are walking in the ruins of, 'Koval'![/caption]

At one point it is really starting to look like things might be changing for the Galactica and there refugee fleet... You see, Adama (Lorne Greene) is on the trail of finding out which direction the, '13th tribe' went to, and Apollo (Richard Hatch) and Serena (Jane Seymour) will end up getting married... And to make matters even more interesting, Baltar seems to have practically thrown himself at the Galactica crew!

But starting with the kidnapping of Starbuck (Dirk Benedict), and leading up to an ending that will shock and surprise you, things quickly go from good to bad, and as time goes on, it is looking more and more like the Galactica may have fallen pray to yet another, 'Cylon' trap, and will have to escape by the skin of their seat!

In the end, this episode was well acted, and the special effects for the most part have continued to prove to be a lot of fun... The two problems honestly are:

1. The writing in this episode sucked... I mean it was so bad it was actually distracting!
2. The editing in this episode was horrible, but in all truth, if the writing wasn't so bad, then this would not have been as noticeable... But since the writing is as bad as it was in this episode, it has just expanded on the problem at hand!

As far as this episode goes... It may not be great, but it does tie in to the series, and if you like a series bad enough, you will usually have to deal with at least one bum episode!

http://youtu.be/ArCXu8wPb-o

Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 - Episode 3: 'Saga Of A Star World Part 3' - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

In the 50s (really up to the late 70s) there was something about Science Fiction movies and TV shows that I believe may now work in their favor better now then it did when these programs were released and that is the fact that these shows were so awesomely campy! I mean don't get me wrong when I say that when Star Trek shed the last vestiges of it's campy past that the shows did get better, but there is something to be said about the campy appeal of the older shows!

The reason that I mention this is that as I go through the original, 'Battlestar Galactica' , I find that this is working more and more in their favor, and you know what? The latest episode that I am reviewing here, 'Lost Planet Of the Gods Part 2' from the original, 'Battlestar Galactica', really is a great example of this!

Written by: Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I.), Donald P. Bellisario (Quantium Leap) & Directed by: Christian I Nyby II (Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack). Starring: Richard Hatch (Dead By Friday), Dirk Benedict (The A. Team), Lorne Greene (Noah's Ark), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Outbreak), John Colicos (The Changling), Maren Jensen (The Love Boat), Noah Hathaway (Troll), Laurette Spang (Airport 1975), Jane Seymour (Live And Let Die) & Larry Manetti (Magnum P.I.).

It is really cheesy to say, 'the thrilling conclusion of an episode', but the truth is, is this is just that! You see as the Battlestar Galactica is investigating the weird circumstances surrounding the planet, 'Corolon', they learn the truth surrounding the odd truth about the Aliens that control the planet, and just why there is not much more about Corolon beyond the initial reports... As well as the Cylon trap that they are laying with the help of the Aliens on the planet!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] The Battlestar Galactica crew as they blast they're way out of a trap that had been set by the Cylons![/caption]

And you know what? It will be up to Adama, and Colonel Tigh (Terry Carter) to stop the Cylons, and the Aliens down on the planet, as well as a foolish old Councilman who wants to destroy the military in an effort to get peace with the Cylons, before the Cylons, Aliens, or their own people destroy them!

You know, the truth is, is the best thing for me I found about this episode is the fact that this episode has a killer space battle between the Interceptors and the Cylons that looks like it was taken straight out of the remake's handbook!

In the end, if you are just joining us, then I would recommend checking out the first episode first, but if you have been following these reviews, enjoy!

http://youtu.be/YliHrc12SvE

Battlestar Galactica Season: 1 - Episode 2: 'Saga Of A Star World Part 2' - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

In the Stargate world, the ancient gods turned out to be Alien parasites that inhabited human hosts and then became the gods of old... And you know what? I found that concept to be rather quite fascinating in that it brought the concept of the Ancient, 'Gods' down to the level of humanity... And frankly the battle between Earth and these Ancient gods during the run of the various Stargate series I found to be extremely enjoyable!

Now Battlestar Galactica (in all of the incarnations that I have seen took it to a whole different level...)

What I mean by that is the fact that it in Battlestar Galactica, even though the concept behind the story in the series is that it is supposed to take place centuries before what is considered to be the modern real world, it still kind of has to do with an almost futuristic version of a Greek Republic, but during the time period in which mankind was soaring through space, I have to say that I found this concept to be quite amusing because included with this model of a space age Greek republic, they also followed the Greek gods, and with all the prejudice that comes with it... Which is an interesting topic that is explored a bit in episode 2, (Lost Planet Of the Gods Part 1)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="545"] One of Galactica's fighters as it is being pursued by the Cylons![/caption]

Written by: Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I.), Donald P. Bellisario (Quantum Leap) & Directed By: Christian I. Nybu II (Emergency!), Starring: Richard Hatch (After Hell), Dirk Benedict (The A-Team), Lorne Greene (The Alamo: Thirteen Days To Glory), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Handball), John Colicos (Star Trek), Maren Jensen (Deadly Blessing), Noah Hathaway (The Wanderer King), Laurette Spang (Airport 1975), Terry Carter (Galactication) & Jane Seymour (Unknown Heart).

This episode takes place after the attack that destroyed the 12 colonies, and everything that mankind at that time knew and loved! During this time, with the Fleet low on supplies, and with at least a portion of their food supplies contaminated, the Fleet looks for the closest most safest source for supplies... That planet is the planet, 'Corolon'... There is only one problem though... people oblivious to the recent destruction of the original 12 colonies are there and happy to be there...

After looking in to it, they discover that the planet is controlled by a group of Aliens that is all to willing to give them what they need (the only problem is that they tend to do so in very small doses...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] One of the Alien singers in this clueless bastion![/caption]

So now the weary crews of the Fleet have to be cautious about the planet full of people that don't seem to know that they are the last apparently established out post within the boundaries of the former 12 Colonies, and their hosts!

During this time the leader of the, 'Cylons' being unhappy that his army was unable to destroy all of humanity, decides to send out a fleet to destroy the rest of the human race forever!

One of the things I liked about this episode is that it dealt with the stigma of bigotry to some extent and the damage it can cause a person...

The next thing that I like about this series so far is that you can tell that the cast is kind of starting to come together, which makes it unfortunate that this series is only 1 season long!

The only problems I have are this, I don't know why it was played like this, but for whatever reason it was, but I found that Commander Adama was a real windbag in this episode... As a matter of fact, so much so that his parts were kinds of distracting!

In the end this was not a bad episode... Commander Adama aside, it is fun, and as the episodes go on I find that this show is getting better and better, and if you stick with it, you might find the same thing as well!

http://youtu.be/YliHrc12SvE