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Nobody Realized Why Battlestar Galactica Really Got Cancelled

The Movie Codex

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Battlestar Galactica arrived in 1978 as one of the most ambitious and expensive shows television had ever seen. The Cylons became unforgettable, millions tuned in, and the series created a fanbase that refused to let it die.

So why was it cancelled after just one season?

Behind the scenes were staggering production costs, rushed scripts, reused effects, network decisions, brutal Sunday-night competition, a lawsuit—and a ratings story very different from the one most people remember.

This is the strange rise, collapse, and lasting legacy of the original Battlestar Galactica—and the real reason it disappeared so quickly.

#BattlestarGalactica #BattlestarGalactica1978 #ClassicTV #SciFi #ClassicSciFi #TVHistory #Cylons #Starbuck #Apollo #LorneGreene #RetroTV #1970sTV

20 Comments

@ViewerEmpath 2 weeks ago

Loved that show as a kid

@jamesparker4471 2 weeks ago

When I saw the terminator I said that’s a cylon without his helmet . Drove my mother crazy every time she said something I said “By your command “

@Dominic-mm6yf 2 weeks ago

I prefer this version to the Millennium version.

@timpeterson2738 2 weeks ago

I liked this show more than star wars, because you could see yourself in the characters, your family and friends as characters, it fed my imagination as a 12 year old. I didnt pretend to fly x wings, i was flying vipers !!!

@shaneweatherall8666 2 weeks ago

I was 22 when Battle Star Galactica first hit the air waves, I watched every episode that was available. I didn't think much of the repetitive space battle scenes, but the story lines were great. The actors made it feel real. I guess that is the best compliment you can give actors.

@kingscorpion7346 2 weeks ago

I was 15 when the show aired and my family tuned in. We were already huge Star Trek and Star Wars fans, UFO and Space: 1999 fans.
Many, many years later, I got to meet Edward James Olmos and Mary MacDonal after a Comicon in my home town, and I got to tell them what the reimagined show meant to me and my coworkers.

@murraykelm5691 2 weeks ago

Starbuck, they named an entire franchise after him.!!

@jensbosen5241 2 weeks ago

I was frightened of the cylons when I was a kid.

@dookdomini6535 2 weeks ago

the wings weren't redundant.. as the fighters could go into atmosphere and land on planets.

@TJCampbell78 2 weeks ago

I loved watching this show in reruns in the early 80s

@fils_violet 2 weeks ago

They needed the fins when the vipers entered an atmosphere. Are comet tails not vapor trails? Why can we hear sound from the engines and lasers from empty space? Ridiculous but scary if you can immerse yourself. Well done Hatch, Colicos, Greene and all those who gave an extra effort.

@onehundredstocks 2 weeks ago

On September 17, 1978 Battlestar Galactica, A Saga Of A Star World Premiered On ABC, Now 48 Years Ago!

@leahmccreery4823 2 weeks ago

My friends and I saw the theatrical release in Sensurround. Sounded like the Vipers were launching from the projection booth and passing about four feet over our heads. Fun!

@hoppermantis7615 2 weeks ago (edited)

I knew from the beginning. It was based on ancient stories. Also. The fear of cylons were from its ice cold decision process

@AudioCreations-u9e 2 weeks ago

There's a huge discrepancy between the show I see and the show the critics see. When they say it's "cheesy," "campy," "just for kids," I wonder "What the hell are they talking about?" Every time I watch this show, I see an astonishing, thrilling, amazing, emotional space epic the likes of which was never seen on television before or since. Lots of scientific errors, yes, but an incredible show.

@barblevasseur9647 2 weeks ago

Special mention: Randolph Mantooth appeared on the original BSG as Michael.
R I P, Sir. You will always be remembered as Johnny Gage and Michael.

@michaelcowin6442 2 weeks ago

The Cylons were clumsy, but Red Eye scared the bejesus out of me.

@SonnybrownBoots 2 weeks ago (edited)

I loved this show. We all did. It was the topic at lunch and recess every Monday in grade school.

For the record, John Colicos loved the characters of Baltar and Kor, and Mecos Cassidine. He understood those were the roles he was famous for. He got plenty of other work, but nobody really remembers those. He was good with it.