Critics Reviews of Galactica 1980
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If Galactica fans were expecting the worst when the sequel arrived in 1980, they certainly weren't disappointed. Nearly every episode was written at a dramatic level best suited for children, with the stars spending most of their time explaining all sorts of inane subjects... Overall, Galactica 1980 is a fairly awful series geared only to the most fanatical of Galactica enthusiasts. - William E. Anchors, Jr., Epilog #33: "Galactica 1980," August 1993, page 8.
The stories were a complete waste of time. Battlestar Galactica at least had a few interesting attempts. But what I see in Galactica 1980 is a studio amortizing its set and its name. This is television as a merchandising ploy. - Michael Cassutt, The Best of Science Fiction Television, Harmony Books, 1987.
...an embarrassing, child-oriented mess in which Earth had been found and all semblance of logic and drama abandoned. - Lawrence McIlhoney, TV Zone Special #17: "The Lost Voyagers of Cult TV," June 1995, page 5.
The series was a mess thrown together so haphazardly that it couldn't even attract diehard Battlestar Galactica fans. - John Javna, The Best of Science Fiction Television, Harmony Books, 1987.
...the (original) show was probably better left dead and buried. It's reincarnation, Galactica 1980, promised much but delivered little. Universally hated by everyone, the show was geared toward kiddies, and rather stupid ones at that. Essentially it was impossible to write anything with any level of drama; all storylines had to be geared toward the mentality of little kids, turning the show into something better titled "Cub Scouts In Space." Epilog Journal
Galactica 1980 is a full-scale catastrophe. After so many of us lobbied so furiously to get the show back, how could Glen Larson do this to us! Like the first few episodes of the series, Galactica 1980 is a poorly produced rush job. The new characters are atrocious, and worst of all is the repugnant Dr. Zee. I have always been disturbed by the frequent reliance on "super-geniuses" in too much SF. The implication here is that humans are too stupid to govern themselves. How Glen Larson could create a show with as much promise and potential as Battlestar Galactica and then destroy it is far beyond me. - Susan Paxton, letter in May 1980 Starlog Magazine.
Make no mistake, Galactica 1980 is not a "guilty pleasure." There is nothing remotely pleasurable about the series at all. It is like watching a train wreck or a plane crash. With special effects stock footage spliced in seemingly at random, bland performers at center stage and poorly written stories, Galactica 1980 is an excellent candidate for the worst science fiction series of all time. That estimation has not changed since 1980, and the show is as universally despised today as it was two decades ago. - John Kenneth Muir, An Analytical Guide to Television's Battlestar Galactica, McFarland & Company, Inc., 1999.
