Rating: 
Summary: Battlestar Galactica's Best Episode
Review: Lost Planet Of The Gods is the "sequel" to Saga Of A Star World and picks up where SOASW unwisely left off on exploring the mankind's genesis theme touched on in the series. Without question Lost Planet explores this theme with great effect.The episode's superior quality is something of a surprise, for it gets off to an incredibly slow start and does not truly come into its own until Part Two. Part One does have strong qualities, notably the reintroduction of Baltar (John Colicos) and his placement into the role of commander of Cylon forces, complete with an aide-de-camp in the form of sentient cogitator Lucifer (voiced with infectious glee by Jonathan Harris). On the human side, there is the engagement of Apollo (Richard Hatch) and Serina (Jane Seymour). But the Fleet encounters a spatial void, a magnetic "sea" that nearly "swallows" Apollo and Starbuck alive. Elsewhere, exploring a planetoid that houses a Cylon outpost, warriors Boomer (Herb Jefferson Jr.) and Jolly (Tony Swartz) contract an alien virus that spreads to warriors assembled at Apollo's bachelor celebration, and soon has stricken the bulk of the Galactica's warriors. This disease-of-the-week angle is the episode's biggest weakness; I suspect producer-writers Glen A. Larson and Donald Bellisario wanted these pilots incapacitated in combat (a theme used in some fan fiction), but could not get away with it because of Standards & Practices at the ABC network, which regualrly campaigned to tone down the show's violence. The stricken warriors are replaced by raw recruits, entirely female, and one of whom is Serina (Apollo and Serina argue over this, to good but insufficient effect). Predating G.I. Jane, they are seen whipping Cylon raiders over the planetoid as Apollo destroys the enemy outpost; the chessiness of this battle, though, is countered much later. As for the void, Adama (Lorne Greene) recognizes it to contain the world from which humanity first gestated; Kobol. Upon finding the titular lost planet of the Gods, Adama, Apollo, and Serina (now husband and wife) explore two enormous pyramids, and eventually find ancient hieroglyphs recording the flight of humanity to other worlds, including the Twelve Colonies, and Earth. However, Baltar has tailed the Fleet, and has landed on Kobol in a vainglorious attempt to convince Adama and his people to help him overthrow the Cylon empire. Suspecting that the human traitor indeed intends to so use the human fleet, Lucifer launches Cylon raiders to attack Kobol. The attack is harrowingly presented, with excellently booming sound mixing amid superb SFX of Cylon raiders strafing the planet; eventually Cylon raiders blast the tombs of Kobol to complete destruction, one of the absolute best SFX shots ever put to film. The performances are superb, notably the verbal cat-and-mouse between Adama and Baltar within the largest tomb; Baltar's roar vowing revenge when he is left pinned under debris is chilling. Also gripping is the doom of Serina; shot in the back by Cylon centurions landed to rescue Baltar, she dies in the arms of Apollo back on the Galactica. Her son Boxey (Noah Hathaway) and Apollo are thus "left to face the universe alone," displayed as they sadly walk away at the episode's conclusion. The episode's bitterly sad ending is bold; how often does any film end on anything but a happy note? It is one of the most poignant moments of the entire series.
Rating:
Summary: Admittedly Uneven, But Solid Start To Galactica Series
Review: The Battlestar Galactica movie - episode title Saga Of A Star World - kicks off the Galactica series, and as such it naturally has an incomplete quality. Not that the film doesn't stand well on its own - it does so quite well - but that it is not meant to be seen without also viewing the subsequent series. Galactica: SOASW is a scifi allegory of the struggle of the state of Israel, and also an allegory on mankind's genesis. Both themes are intriguing and well presented. There is a hawkish view of war and peace issues - crystalized here with the Treaty of Cimtar that is but a cover for the Cylon Empire to launch the largest assault in the history of gaalctic warfare - that is by far BG's most provocative and refreshing quality; most other scifi suffers from a dreadfully pacifistic outlook that has never held up in the real world. Many viewers at the time of the film's premeire in 1978 were asked to compare Galactica with Star Wars, and noted that Galactica benefits from a much stronger plot and premise than the original SW. The show's stronger plot remains impressive today, as do the performances of the huge cast assembled. Richard Hatch gets the strongest airtime here (subsequent episodes would explore the character of Dirk Benedict's Starbuck) and rounds out Captain Apollo very nicely. Three mixes of SOASW have been aired; the original movie available on tape and DVD, the original with changes made regarding John Colicos (excellent as the villainous Baltar), and a two-and-one-half hour "director's cut," split into three one-hour episodes to actually launch the series. The long version includes the aforementioned changes for Baltar; in the original, Baltar is beheaded by the Cylons, but it was found that this was unsatisfactory a plot twist, and with strong audience reaction to Baltar, it was decided to change Baltar's fate and make him a continuing character. The director's cut is the best of the three mixes. The pilot's lesser qualities center primarily on the lengthy Carillon celebration, clearly inspired by the Mos Eisley bar scene in Star Wars. The Carillon angle is not poorly done, but it detracts from the show's theme about man's genesis. It is, though, good in setting up the show's hawkish outlook on war and peace; the Fleet's ruling Quorom decides to abandon the Fleet's voyage to find the planet Earth, and instead try to open a dialogue with the Cylons - unaware that those same Cylons have made the entire Carillon setup a trap in which to finish off the human race once and for all. The SFX remain stellar twenty years later, although the sound mixing of the later shows is markedly better, especially in the episodes Lost Planet Of The Gods and The Hand Of God. In all, though, the Galactica pilot is a good start to a very enjoyable scifi series.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Sci-Fi Films Ever...
Review: It may have been made in an attempt to cash in on the success of "STAR WARS", but "BATTLESTAR GALACTICA" has withstood the test of time to become one of the best sci-fi films ever made. The story is gripping and, at times, funny. The cast, especially the leads (Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, and Lorne Greene) are all perfect in their roles. The effects, while somewhat dated, are still great to look at. Who can forget the awesome destruction of Caprica? The awesome ships and costumes? The Cylons? All of these elements, and many more, make this one awesome film to behold. A must see for any serious fan of science fiction. Don't listen to those who say that this is nothing but a "STAR WARS" ripoff. They don't know what they are missing! Do yourself a favor-BUY THIS DVD TODAY! Also, there is currently underway an effort to get "BATTLETAR GALACTICA" brought back as a new series or movie. With your help, we can see that this great show finally gets to realize its full potential.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT SCI-FI FILM
Review: Battlestar was made to cash in on the hype made of the star wars film, and while it isn't as good as lucas's effort, the story and the effects (for it's time) are still enjoyable. A great movie to sit down and watch on a friday night with a bag of popcorn...relax and enjoy!!
Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Ever!
Review: I really enjoyed this movie! Even though the first times I was able to see it I was only able to see parts of it I took every chance I could get to try and see the entire thing. I found it action packed and exciting!
Rating:
Summary: Boy, this takes me back....
Review: I remember watching Battlestar Galactica as a sci-fi addicted 5-year-old (after Star Wars) with my Galactica action figures in one hand (I had cool ones like Adama, Starbuck, and the Cylon) and my Colonial Viper (with that poke-your-eye-out torpedo thing) in the other. Today, I can look back on the series as a great combination of the classic adversity-and-hardship plotline coupled with some groundbreaking special effects (Dykstra was "the man" back then). I love Star Wars, but Galactica is a whole different thing - the plot is inherently different, and the characters are more diverse (the humans, anyways). This movie is well worth the time spent watching it.
Rating:
Summary: Unrealized potential,but original!
Review: It is so irritating to hear people compare GALACTICA with STAR WARS! This film has nothing to do with SW. I agree with a previous writer about the ships' designs and special effects. Outstanding! And the costumes were good enough to win an EMMY AWARD for that year. The family ties really showed and was the heart of the series. A must see!
Rating:
Summary: Not a Star Wars Rip-Off
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Battlestar Galactica is arguably the most elaborate TV movie ever made. It was undoubtedly inspired by Star Wars, yet it had a completely different story and plot. The special effects were done by Glen Dykstra, the same person who worked on Star Wars. In fact, the special effects in Battlestar Galactica are sometimes better than Star Wars because Dykstra was able to improve upon his craft. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. The music score is incredible and the characters and special effects are second-to-none. A truly classic sci-fi spectacular.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for it's time, highly underrated by critics
Review: One key part is missing. The scene on Caprica where Serina is broadcasting the Peace celebration and her coverage of the attack by the Cylons, also missing is the scene before this where officer Omega tells Adama about the broadcast from Caprica. This video is a shortened version of the actual summer 1978 theatrical release and not a three hour pilot. The pilot came after the theatrical run.
Rating:
Summary: Is it really dated?
Review: I don't think so. Amazon says there's a lot of polyester....what's that mean? Who knows. The special effects are superb, though they're repeated too often. Otherwise, good fun. I have yet to see better space ship designs or costumes or sets, including Star Wars. One last thing, Amazon says this movie is taken from the 1st and 4th episodes of BG. Another source claims its the 1st and 5th episodes. Both are wrong. It's the first 3-hour pilot for the series. That's all. Just the first. Jeesh.
| 
