While BG 1978 original series lacked the budget, realistic effects and polished look available in BG 2004, it is a far superior series because it was a story of triumph, hope and the human spirit unlike BG 2004. It had a positive conclusion that would lead to the re-establishment and survival of the human race. The downside; The scripts were uneven and the teleplay dialogue could be lacking and like every other TV show of its era, the pace is much slower than TV and movies had become by 1990. There were many missed opportunities but Battlestar Galactica was just lucky to even be greenlit at all. BG 1978 was uplifting unlike BG 2004 which was just depressing. BG 1978 was a very interesting story with an interesting cast of characters. The Cylons in original Battlestar Galactica was a warning about creating technology that could become self-aware and turn on and destroy humanity. In BG 1978, humans did not create the Cylons (it was a lizard like race). I actually liked the Cylon origin story change that humans created the Cylons in BG 2004 because it was a more plausible reason they turned on humans and furthered the cautionary tale of creating AI that could supplant humans. However, that was the only change I liked about BG 2004. Galactica 1978 was positive and had some redeeming characters while BG 2004 was the most convoluted stprytelling that made absolutely no sense. Yes, the writing was uneven like all low budget sci-fi TV series, it was treated as a "red-headed step-child" and was expected to fail before it began.
BG 1978 was all also hamstrung and blackballed because George Lucas filed a lawsuit claiming BG was a ripoff of Star Wars which is was not and Lucas eventually lost. However, the damage was done and arrogant George Lucas badically caused the cancellation of BG 1978 because of all the legal cost and Lucas himself turning the fanatics of Star Wars against BG. All the while Geprhe Lucas himself got most holis ideas for Star Wars from other sources including books; Perleandra by C. S. Lewis, Dune,The Foundation Books by Isaac Asimov,, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others along with a borrowing a few elements from Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry. So thanks to Lucas, BG was boycotted by Star Wars fans and got bad publicity.
BG 1978 was ultimately uplifting despite the human race almost being wiped out. The Cylons in original Battlestar Galactica was a warning about creating AI technology that could become self-aware and turn on and destroy humanity. In BG 1978, humans did not create the Cylons (it was a lizard like race). I actually liked the Cylon origin story change that humans created the Cylons in BG 2004 because it was a more plausible reason they turned on humans and furthered the cautionary tale of creating AI that could supplant humans. However, that is the only change I liked about BG 1978 was a great story with a great ending. Yes, the writing was uneven like all sci-fi TV series, it was treated as a "red-headed step-child" and was expected to fail before it began. It has only been the last few years that sci-fi has been given the same respect of other genres on TV. Sci-fi cost much more to produce if done well due to costuming, sets, special effects and makeup. That is why we get sub-par sets and effects and creation of episodes that take place almost all in one area with dialogue to explain what is going in.
BG 1978 was all also hamstrung and blackballed because George Lucas filed a lawsuit claiming BG was a ripoff of Star Wars which is was not and Lucas eventually lost. However, the damage was done and arrogant George Lucas badically caused the cancellation of BG 1978 because of all the legal cost and Lucas himself turning the fanatics of Star Wars against BG. All the while Geprhe Lucas himself got most holis ideas for Star Wars from other sources including books; Perleandra by C. S. Lewis, Dune,The Foundation Books by Isaac Asimov,, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others along with a borrowing a few elements from Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry. So thanks to Lucas, BG was boycotted by Star Wars fans and got bad publicity.
BG 1978 was ultimately uplifting despite the human race almost being wiped out. The Cylons in original Battlestar Galactica was a warning about creating AI technology that could become self-aware and turn on and destroy humanity. In BG 1978, humans did not create the Cylons (it was a lizard like race). I actually liked the Cylon origin story change that humans created the Cylons in BG 2004 because it was a more plausible reason they turned on humans and furthered the cautionary tale of creating AI that could supplant humans. However, that is the only change I liked about BG 1978 was a great story with a great ending. Yes, the writing was uneven like all sci-fi TV series, it was treated as a "red-headed step-child" and was expected to fail before it began. It has only been the last few years that sci-fi has been given the same respect of other genres on TV. Sci-fi cost much more to produce if done well due to costuming, sets, special effects and makeup. That is why we get sub-par sets and effects and creation of episodes that take place almost all in one area with dialogue to explain what is going in.