Galactica 1980: The Final Season

It's great to finally have this show released onto DVD.I was a little apprehensive that they might have chopped up the episodes(like they did with several earlier VHS releases back in the '90s).Thankfully,they were all the complete and unaltered original shows that I remembered.Many of the episodes of Galactica:1980 were actually better than several original Battlestar Galactica episodes,the most memorable of which for me was "The Return of Starbuck".It's too bad that the show wasn't able to provide quality episodes like the Starbuck story every time,but we all know how things like a limited budget can affect things like that.The original show cost $1 Million dollars per episode and often failed to deliver the goods,so what coud you really expect with Galactica:1980?.Both shows might have done well if they had delivered more interesting and better storylines.The best episodes of Galactica:1980(Listed in broadcast order)were:Galactica Discovers Earth,parts 1,2,&3.The Night The Cylons Landed,Parts 1&2.The Return of Starbuck.Unfortunately,as with the original Battlestar Galactica,they saved the best episode for last(I consider the BSG episode "The Hand of God" to be among the very best episodes of the original show.It was the last original broadcast episode until the debut of Galactica:1980).One thing I never uderstood is why they got rid of Apollo,Starbuck,Athena,Colonel Tigh,and all the others.Kent McCord(Troy) and Barry Van Dyke(Dillon) were Ok,but I liked Richard Hatch(Apollo) and Dirk Benedict(Starbuck) a whole lot better than those other two guys.Hollywood people make a lot of stupid decisions by changing casts on shows like this,especially when the original cast is what made the show work in the first place(just look at Airwolf-the same thing happened in season 4 with Barry Van Dyke once again replacing the main character,Stringfellowe Hawk, who was played by Jan Michael Vincent.Of course that show also suffered a major budget cut ,and was moved to the USA Network for its' final season ,and we all know how that worked out.)Overall,in spite of its' inherient flaws ,Galactica:1980 is a good old fashioned Sci-Fi romp and it's great to see it again and to finally own it on DVD.Buy it if only for The Return Of Starbuck.At a cost of less than $11.00(I paid $10.54 with shipping)it's well worth the price of admission.

came in before it said it would, take me back to when i was a child and watch this show every Saturday morning.

As a kid, I would plan my week based on what was on TV that day. On Sunday evenings, hungry for more Battlestar, and Sci-fi in general, "Galactica 1980" was on the short list of what to watch. If you had siblings with whom you had to share that groove tube, you're going to miss an episode of two. I'm glad that finally - I get to see all the episodes of "Galactic a 1980". I enjoyed the premise. At the time, I had an obsession with UFOs and the Ancient Astronaut theory, made popular by Erich von Däniken in his book, "Chariots of the Gods".This show proposed an answer - that they are us... from "...far across the universe, with tribes of Humans. Who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans..."I remember writing in to ABC to have them continue the original Battlestar Galactica series. Few seem to put the blame on both show's lowering ratings to the ABC executives. Galactica 1980 was dismissed to the 7 PM Sunday time slot, an "educational" space for kids. Regardless of the silliness and lower budget - this show was still very entertaining. I enjoyed watching every episode, some of which I had never seen before and seeing it clearer than when it first broadcast on the airwaves is a HUGH plus.

Rare and great stuff

Galactica 1980 attempts to revive the story line of the original series by finally making it to Earth. Though the cast is all but gone from the original series (only a year or so before), there are some familiar faces. Many have called Galactica 1980 some of the worst science fiction ever made, but I have a different opinion.Galactica 1980 did not do justice to the drama of the original series. It had many hokey special effects (some recycled from the original series, which actually helped tie the two together) and some pretty cheesy story lines, but what it did do was to give a little closure to what was a really great series. There are familiar contract actors that many of us grew up with from many other television series, along with familiar scenery from shows, such as CHiPs and The Dukes of Hazzard.Galactica 1980 ends abruptly and a bit strangely, but it does give us die hard "original" Galactica fans a little more (The Return of Starbuck). It is nice to watch those programs from the late 70's, early 80's that however imperfect they are, the bad guy always get it, the good guys are really good, and the show is over at the end of the hour. Whatever the show lacked and however badly it was exectued, Galactica 1980 was still fun to watch. Story lines were not complex, and the acting was not top notch, but it sure did give this fan a little more of what I miss most of growing up, a simpler time.

I love this series