17 September: Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica, TV Sci-fi Adventure, made its début on US TV on this date in 1978. 10 things you might not know about the series:

1. The original series was created by Glen A. Larson and starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict.
2. The plot premise is essentially that the human race is embroiled in a thousand-year-long war with the robotic Cylons, who launch a massive surprise attack against the Twelve Colonies, almost wiping them out. Only the Battlestar Galactica, led by Commander Adama, and a ragtag fleet of 220 civilian ships are left. They set out on a journey across the galaxy in search of Earth, with the Cylons in pursuit, trying to wipe out humanity.
3. Creator Glen A. Larson was brought up in the Mormon church, and there’s a lot of Mormon theology in the show, including the twelve colonies, based on the 12 tribes of Israel; the idea that there is a lost 13^th tribe; a planet called Kobol (an anagram of Kolob, the star nearest to the throne of God in Mormon theology); a "council of twelve"; and marriage for "time and eternity".
4. When Larson first pitched the show, it was called Adam’s Ark. He didn’t have much success getting anyone to fund it, but then Star Wars came along. The name was changed to Star Worlds and then again to Galactica and finally Battlestar Galactica. Inevitably, the show was constantly compared to Star Wars and eventually the producers of Star Wars sued Universal Studios for “unfair competition, plagiarism, copyright infringement." Universal Studios argued that Star Wars had in turn stolen many of its ideas from their 1930s show Buck Rogers and their film Silent Running. Eventually they settled out of court.
5. While on the subject of Star Wars, Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo, was considered at one point for the role of Adama in the 21^st century re-make, along with Ed Harris and Sam Shepard. The role eventually went to Edward James Olmos. Jon Cryer (Duckie in Pretty in Pink) was considered for the role of Gaius Baltar, and Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) for Admiral Helena Cain.
6. Dirk Benedict, who played Starbuck in the original series, was originally royally ticked off that they decided to turn his character into a woman in the re-make, and objected strongly, but eventually he was able to come to terms with it and work with his counterpart, Katee Sackoff. Starbuck, by the way, got his name from a character in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
7. The show spawned a language all of its own. The word “frack” was used as a swear word in the original series, although in the 21^st century version the characters used the word rather more. While it does conveniently bypass censorship unlike the similar word people use in real life, it was largely invented, along with the games of “Triad” and “Pyramid”, the currency of “cubits”, as part of a language to distinguish the characters from people from Earth.
8. The words "so say we all" never appeared in the script, but came about as a result of Edward James Olmos ad-libbing. The writers liked, it though, and kept it.
9. Although the F-16 aircraft is officially called the “Fighting Falcon” by the US Air Force, there must have been some Galactica fans among the pilots, as they started referring to the planes as “Vipers” after the craft in the show. A prestigious award for excellent F-16 pilots ended up being called the Joe Bill Dreyden "Semper Viper” award.
10. Easter eggs in the most recent version include: the Serenity ship from Firefly flying overhead during Laura Roslin’s doctor’s appointment; the term “skin-jobs” for Cylons is borrowed from Blade Runner; the number 1701, as seen on the weapons locker where the Cylons meet and the name of a Gemanon Liner are references to the Starship Enterprise, which, apparently, can be spotted in the fleet during the Legend of the 13th Tribe episode if you look carefully.

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