“There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. That they may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens...”

When Star Wars was released in 1977, its impact on the entertainment industry was widely felt, thanks to the enormous popularity of the film. If companies weren’t frantically trying to latch on to the marketing machine created by the George Lucas film, they were desperately trying to create their own science fiction offering that might compete with this popularity. ABC looked inward, finding a previously discarded project whose time appeared to have finally come, and it was called Battlestar Galactica.

Originally called Adam’s Ark, a series set in outer space, the idea was the brainchild of creator/producer Glen A. Larson (Knight Rider, The Six Million Dollar Man) who had been toying with the idea, sort of an interstellar version of Wagon Train, since 1968. The idea was originally turned down, but promptly resurrected when studio execs saw its potential as a Star Wars rival. They immediately hired special effects guru, John Dykstra, who had worked on the original Star Wars, and green-lighted a substantial multi-million dollar budget for the series.

The story of Battlestar Galactica is set in the future, in a time of war between the cybernetic race, the Cylons, and the 12 Colonies of Man. The Cylons, led by The Imperious Leader and a traitorous human named Baltar, had recently launched a devastating surprise attack that left the 12 Colonies of Man in shambles. A small group of survivors, led under Commander Adama, formed their own fleet and set out aboard a vast battleship named Galactica. Their journey led them towards the planet Earth, considered to be a mythical place but their best hope of finding salvation. Their main form of defense was the Galactica Fighting Squadron, which was commanded by Adama’s son, Apollo and led into battle by the head pilot, Starbuck.

A colorful assortment of characters resided aboard the Galactica. Starbuck had romantic feelings for Ensign Athena, the daughter of Commander Adama. Meanwhile, the handsome pilot was being pursued by an alien medical technician named Cassopeia. A woman named Serena inhabited the space vessel with her young son, Boxey, and would eventually marry Apollo. There was also the resident pet, Muffit, which was actually a robotic dog. Besides the Cylons, there were also some alien creatures to contend with on a regular basis, notably the Ovions, an insect race that liked to dine on humans, and the dual-mouthed humanoids called the Lucans.

ABC kicked off the series with a 3-hour premiere in 1978, that cost a sizable $3 million. From there, the show’s producer, Larson, and the network had their own battle over how long each future episode would run. Larson preferred a 2-hour format, which the networks didn’t want each episode to exceed an hour. The subsequent series focused on the Galactica’s struggle to return to Earth each week and continuously pursued by the Cylons, which led to numerous special-effects heavy battles each week. Eventually, these battles proved very costly to the budget, however, and ABC decided to scale them back. These budget cuts led to the departure of Dykstra, and also forced the series to recycle footage of the battles.

When all was said and done, it was a very ambitious but difficult series to try and pull off on a weekly basis and the strain eventually began to show. Although Battlestar Galactica was well-received by the viewing public, the pressure and financial demands of keeping the show fresh eventually led to its demise. The show was cancelled in 1979 after 24 episodes had been produced. Shortly after its cancellation, the three-hour pilot was released in movie theaters.

ABC, perhaps realizing that it had made a mistake, tried to relaunch the series the following year, with Galactica 1980, but the show was cancelled after only 10 episodes. A few more attempts were made to rescue the concept over the years but none came to fruition until 2003, when the Sci-Fi Network broadcast a three-hour miniseries based on the original series. Edward James Olmos was cast in the role of Commander Adama and, in the following year, the network launched a successful series based on the miniseries that has so far run 4 seasons and produced 63 episodes. The execs over at ABC aren’t likely to be enamored with the show’s resurgence in popularity but the loyal fans of the Battlestar Galactica franchise seem quite pleased.