Tag Archives: Battlestar Galactica

Glen Larson (1937-2014)

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Glen Larson. Photo by Judd Gunderson (LAT).

Glen Larson. Photo by Judd Gunderson (LAT).

Glen A. Larson, producer of Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, and Six Million Dollar Man, passed away November 14 of cancer.

He also had many non-genre hits: Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I. and The Fall Guy, plus a few that weren’t hits – Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Adventures of Sheriff Lobo and Manimal.

Although he was not well-regarded by sf fans during his heyday, who demanded better writing and effects for his shows, by now most fans have developed a nostalgic appreciation for all the sf icons he brought to TV.

He spent his early career at Universal Studios before moving to 20th Century Fox in 1980 with a multiseries, multimillion-dollar deal.

Six Million Dollar Man was based on Martin Caidin’s 1972 novel Cyborg.

Harlan Ellison, in a 1996 book about his Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever,” infamously called him “Glen Larceny” and accused him of using others’ movie concepts for his TV shows.

However, Fox in 1978 sued Battlestar studio Universal for infringing on Star Wars copyrights but eventually lost the suit, providing a degree of vindication.

[Via Andrew Porter and Paul Di Filippo.]

Actor Richard Lynch (1936-2012)

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Actor Richard Lynch was found dead at home on June 19 by actress Carol Vogel, who checked on him after he’d been out of touch for several days. He was 76.

He had many genre roles, usually as the villain: TV appearances include Battlestar Galactica (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Vampire (both 1979), Galactica 1980 (1980), Werewolf (1987), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993), Charmed (2003); movies include Deathsport (1978), The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Trancers II (1991), Merlin (1993), The Mummy’s Kiss (2003), Halloween (2007). Lynch won a Saturn Award in 1982 for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the evil King Cromwell in The Sword and the Sorcerer. In 1999, he played Count Iblis in Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming, an attempt to resurrect the franchise with several of the original stars. His latest horror film, The Lords of Salem, is currently in post-production.

[Thanks to Steve Green for the story.]

GQ on Caprica

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GQ covered last week’s presser at the Museum of Modern Art where reporters watched unaired episodes of Caprica in company with Ron Moore and members of the cast. The reporter’s breathless diary is pretty funny:

6:10 PM

Scribble panel questions on note pad like serious journalist. “Yes, hi. This question is for Miss Torresani. It appears you’re very pretty. Can you talk a little bit about that?” Must think smarter. …

6:21 PM

Porkpie Hat Culture Tweeter breaks the ice with a heady diatribe about technophobia as the franchise’s agenda. Ron Moore is basically like, “Yup.”

And lots more like that.

[Thanks to David Klaus for the link.]

Air Brush One Completes New York Fly-By

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By David Klaus: When the VC-25 “Air Force One” plane and two Air Force F-16s flew over New York, scaring the crap out of everyone, this is the picture they were trying to get, only with the Statue of Liberty rather than Mount Rushmore in the frame.

So Adam “Mojo” Lebowitz, Emmy Award-winning CGI wizard for Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, and Battlestar Galactica made the point that it could have been accomplished without scaring anyone, by creating a scene of the same buildings, but with a flyby instead by BSG’s Colonial One and two Vipers. (Ironically the pilot nickname for the F-16 is “Viper.”)

And now it turns out that the federal government won’t even use the New York photos or otherwise release them to the public.

Battlestar Galactica, Caprica at PaleyFest09

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PaleyFest09, the twenty-sixth festival of the best in television and new media, will start in Los Angeles on April 10 and run for two weeks. The features with the greatest sf fan appeal are four different Joss Whedon projects, including Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, a kind of Galactica origin story:

Now that Battlestar Galactica-itself a reimagined version of a 1970s TV space opera-has dry-docked, we turn our attention to Caprica, a BSG prequel scheduled to debut on DVD in April and on Sci Fi Channel in 2010. Set fifty years before the nuclear apocalypse that opened Galactica, Caprica follows two families-the Graystones and the Adamas (particularly Bill’s “old man” Joseph)-as they feud over the creation of cybernetic life forms, marrying artificial intelligence with mechanical bodies, aka, Cylons.

An April 20 event will bring together cast and creative team members from Galactica and Caprica and feature a premiere screening of Caprica. Appearing in person will be Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer; David Eick, Executive Producer; Jane Espenson, Executive Producer; Paula Malcomson (Amanda Greystone, Caprica); Polly Walker (Sister Clarice Willow, Caprica); Eric Stoltz (Daniel Greystone, Caprica); Esai Morales (Joseph Adama, Caprica)’ Alessandra Torressani (Zoe Greystone, Caprica); Magda Apanowicz (Lacy Rand, Caprica); Tricia Helfer (Number Six, Battlestar Galactica); Grace Park (Sharon/Athena/Boomer, Battlestar Galactica); Special Guest; Moderator: Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Buffy The Vampire Slayer).

Info: Monday, April 20, 2009, 7:00 p.m. , at the Cinerama Dome at ArcLight Hollywood. Tickets are available online, the first four rows priced to the general public for $60, the remainder of the house, $45.

Full information about PaleyFest09 can be read in the press release.

[Thanks to David Klaus for the link]

Battlestar Galactica Going, Going, Gone!

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What was my first clue that the show is really over? The Official Battlestar Galactica Props and Costume Auction is selling production props by the ton – literally.

David Klaus reports, “Yes, you can buy the Viper Mk. VII and the Raptor from Battlestar Galactica. You’ll need a 10’3” Air-Ride tractor trailer as the Viper weighs 2,500 pounds and the Raptor weighs 6,000 pounds! (But both are on casters for easy moving around, wings detachable for easy storage, assembly manual included.) A 110-volt outlet also is required to power interior computer graphic display screens (disk included, no extra cost).”

Snapshots 16

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Here are ten developments of interest to fans:

(1) The original graphic novel The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen will be published by Dark Horse in 2010. “The action-fantasy, with art by Rebecca Guay, will join other titles that the publisher says have successfully attracted a large young female audience.”

(2) Book-A-Minute offers the ultracondensed Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

(3) The April issue of Apex Magazine will be edited by Michael A. Burstein: “Ever since we published Michael’s collection I Remember the Future, we’ve been hoping that Michael could find the time to edit an issue,” said Jason Sizemore, publisher and editor-in-chief of Apex Magazine.

(4) Follow this link to “Wrath of Khan – The Opera as performed on the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim program Robot Chicken.

(5) Viz Media is launching Haikasoru, a new science fiction imprint that will bring the best in Japanese science fiction and fantasy to English-speaking audiences.

(6) For this SF Scope story about the return of Warren Lapine, Andrew Porter says he would have preferred the headline “Sauron Not Dead After All.”

(7) Sam J. Miller’s blog has lots of insightful analysis about sf on television, including Lost and Battlestar Galactica:

Watching Lost last night, after the initial euphoria died down, I realize – I don’t trust these people. I love the show a ton, I really do, but there’s something about Lost that makes me feel like the producers are used car salesmen trying to rush me through a shiny showroom so I won’t notice how flimsy and cheap all the merchandise is.

(8) There are big cuts at Publishers Weekly. Among those on the chopping block are Sara Nelson, editor-in chief since 2005, and Daisy Maryles, executive editor, who had been with the magazine for more than four decades. Andrew Porter says, “Daisy Maryles always helped me a lot when I was doing my SF/Fantasy at the ABA guides.”

(9) BookViewCafe.com has been invited to participate in New York Review of Science Fiction’s monthly reading series. On Tuesday, February 3, BVC members will be reading at the NYRSF’s new meeting place, 12 Fulton Street in the South Street Seaport in New York City. Scheduled to be on hand include Laura Anne Gilman, Susan Wright, and Sue Lange.

(10) New Zealand’s 2010 Natcon, Au Contraire, will be held in Wellington August 27-29, the weekend before Aussiecon 4, to accommodate fans travelling “down under.” Australian SF Bullsheet recommends visitors to Wellington at that time of year bring sturdy shoes and wet-weather gear.

[For their links included in this post, I thank John Mansfield, David Klaus, Sue Lange and Andrew Porter.]