BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, STAR WARS and STAR TREK Comics Cover Credits - Intrigued by the small details...

I'm often intrigued by the small details - things that someone might look at every day but not really take much notice of.  In recent days, I've become intrigued by the Marvel Comics of Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, and Star Trek - in the 1970s, Marvel Comics published adaptations of the initial movie(s), followed by ongoing stories.

Of all three series - only Battlestar Galactica creator Glen A. Larson received "Cover Credit" on each and every issue of Marvel's Battlestar Galactica comic book.  Conversely, neither George Lucas or Gene Roddenberry have "Cover Credit".

I wonder why this happened?  Did (the late) Glen Larson have the foresight to simply ASK for Cover Creator Credit...and George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry didn't?  Glen Larson had a reputation as a very savvy businessman - is his Cover Creator Credit on Marvel's Battlestar Galactica comics an example of his business acumen?  More to the point, did Larson have **any** involvement with Marvel's Battlestar Galactica comics - or was the deal done entirely by the licensing department at Universal Studios?

I've read many of the various Battlestar Galactica comics that have been published by various publishers over the past few decades (Maximum Press, Realm Press, Dynamite Entertainment).  Interestingly enough, only the Marvel issues gave Glen Larson Cover Credit - none of the other publishers did.

Below are the Covers of Battlestar Galactica #2, Star Wars #2 and Star Trek #2 - all published by Marvel Comics back in the day.  Notice the "Created By" Banner on Battlestar Galactica and the complete lack of Creator Cover Credits on both Star Wars and Star Trek.

Note: The Top Banner that reads:
("Based on the first episode of the TV series Battlestar Galactica;
written and created by Glen Larson.")

Note: George Lucas receives credit on the inside
Title Page - but not on the Cover.

Note: Gene Roddenberry receives credit
on the inside Title Page - but not on the Cover.

FASHION DEJA VU: Dr. Zee vs. Commander Straker

Was Dr. Zee's wardrobe (and haircut!) inspired by Commander Straker from Gerry Anderson's UFO?  UFO (1970) was set in the year 1980...and when the real year 1980 rolled around, Galactica: 1980 premiered featuring Dr. Zee, a character dressed nearly identical to Commander Straker.

Dr. Zee (Galactica: 1980)

Commander Straker (UFO)

Battlestar Galactica / Galactica: 1980 is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.
UFO is copyright (c) Carlton and Gerry Anderson Productions; created by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill.

Nick Benedict(!) vs. Richard Hatch

I wonder which actor won this 1974 All My Children fan poll / contest ('Pick your favorite Phil Brent')?

Battlestar Galactica is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.
All My Children is copyright (c) ABC / Capital Cities; created by Agnes Nixon.

The Imperious Leader vs. The Supreme Leader

...just a quick mention...!

Is it just me, or is The Supreme Leader from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) **very similar** to The Imperious Leader from Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79)?  Both of these evil characters (with **remarkably** similar names!) are mostly obscured by shadows and reside in a darkened chamber.  Both characters are depicted atop gigantic thrones / pedestals and "lord it over" their visitors.  Below are photos of both characters:

The Imperious Leader and a Cylon - Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79)

The Supreme Leader and Kylo Ren - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Battlestar Galactica is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is copyright (c) Lucasfilm / Disney.
Star Wars - created by George Lucas.

Out of Uniform - Jeffrey Jones

Re: VOYAGERS! opening credits.  I wonder why the producers chose to use a screen shot of Meeno Peluce not wearing his familiar red & white shirt - his Voyager "uniform"?  The clip they used is from episode #7 ("The Day the Rebs Took Lincoln").  Meeno looks pretty snappy in his houseboy - tuxedo though, doesn't he?

Meeno Peluce as Jeffrey Jones - Voyagers!

Voyagers! is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by James D. Parriott.

Captain Apollo meets Captain Crane!

 Richard Hatch (Captain Apollo on Battlestar Galactica) and David Hedison (Captain Crane on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) both guest-star on the 2-hour CANNON episode ("The Star") - aired on December 10, 1975.

Richard Hatch and David Hedison

Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo -
 Battlestar Galactica

David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane -
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
 

Out of Uniform - Commander Adama

I've never been quite sure what to make of Lorne Greene's opening credits clip for Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79).  The clip showing Greene (Commander Adama) is appropriately somber and dramatic - but - take a close look - he is wearing PAJAMAS - not his military uniform!  The Adama-in-his-Pajamas scene is from the pilot movie ("Saga of a Star World").

Lorne Greene as Commander Adama -
Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica - is copyright (c) and trademark NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.

Does Cy need a "Time-Out"?

Does this line of dialogue (spoken by Cy; voiced by Gary Owens) from the famous GALACTICA: 1980 episode ("The Return of Starbuck") make any grammatical sense?  This (otherwise magnificent) episode was written by Glen A. Larson and story edited (apparently not too closely) by Chris Bunch and Allan Cole.

Battlestar Galactica / Galactica: 1980 is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.

The Ovion speaks with a Cylon ("Saga of a Star World" / "Battlestar Galactica: The Movie")

How's this for nit-picking?

Battlestar Galactica: The Movie vs. Battlestar Galactica ("Saga of a Star World") TV Pilot.  Has anyone taken a close look at the scene between the Ovion and the Cylon?  In the Movie Version, the Ovion language has onscreen captions while in the TV version, their language is NOT captioned.  I wonder why this change was made?  Is the lack of onscreen captions on the TV version intentional or was it an editing error?  Photos of both versions of this scene below:

Battlestar Galactica: The Movie features
onscreen captions when the Ovion speaks with the Cylon.

Battlestar Galactica ("Saga of a Star World") - in the TV
version of this scene, the Ovion language is NOT captioned!

Battlestar Galactica is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.

Reggie Nalder on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ("Saga of a Star World")

The great Reggie Nalder (1907 - 1991) has one line of dialogue in the Battlestar Galactica pilot movie ("Saga of a Star World").  In the movie version that was shown theatrically and released on both VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray, his line "Are you going to play, sir?" has been Looped (dubbed) by an unknown American actor.  In the TV version of the film - available on DVD and Blu-Ray - his line has (thankfully!) NOT been dubbed and you can hear his glorious Austrian accent unaltered.  Nalder is famous for being the first actor to play an Andorian on Star Trek ("Journey to Babel") and he also played one of the most famous vampires of all time - Kurt Barlow in the mini-series 'Salem's Lot (1979).

Reggie Nalder guest-stars as an Andorian
on Star Trek ("Journey to Babel")

Reggie Nalder co-stars as the Barlow the vampire
 in 'Salem's Lot (1979)

All photos are used for illustrative purposes only and are copyright (c) the respective copyright holders.

Horsing Around :-)

Two ways to say the same thing...!  Galacti-speak and English!  :-)

Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch) in Battlestar Galactica
 ("The Man with Nine Lives")

Inspector Dan Robbins (Richard Hatch) in
  The Streets of San Francisco
("Once a Con")

Battlestar Galactica - copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.
The Streets of San Francisco - copyright (c) CBS / Paramount.

Photos used for illustrative purposes only.

Captain Apollo meets Luke Skywalker! :-)

Probably the closest fans ever got to a crossover between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica was The Streets of San Francisco episode "Innocent No More" (02/24/1977).  In this episode (filmed after Star Wars: A New Hope - but aired 3 months before the film was released), Mark Hamill guest-stars as a 16 year-old juvenile delinquent.  Unfortunately, Richard Hatch (Inspector Dan Robbins) and Mark Hamill don't interact at all in this episode - they're together only in the final scene where Robbins saves Hamill's character from being shot but they never speak to each other. Here's a photo from the episode:

Richard Hatch and Mark Hamill on The Streets of San Francisco
("Innocent No More")

The Streets of San Francisco is copyright (c) CBS / Paramount; photo used for illustrative purposes only.

Galacti-COPS!

Before Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79), Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Terry Carter all starred as police officers on various TV series.  Some photos below:

Lorne Greene co-stars with Ben Murphy in
Griff (1973 - 74)

Terry Carter co-stars with Dennis Weaver in
McCloud (1970 - 77)

Dirk Benedict co-stars with Jim McMullen in
Chopper One (1974)

Richard Hatch co-stars with Karl Malden in
Season 5 of The Streets of San Francisco (1976 - 77)

All photos are used for illustrative purposes only and are copyright (c) the respective copyright holders.

Liam Sullivan on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero")

Liam Sullivan plays the leader of the Clone Council
in a Deleted Scene from Battlestar Galactica
("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero")

The late Liam Sullivan (1923 - 1998) **almost** guest-starred in Battlestar Galactica ("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero").  Bits and pieces of his (unnamed) character can be seen in the Deleted Scenes for this episode on both the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.  Sullivan plays an elderly clone, roughly the same age as Dr. Ravashol and is the leader of a Clone Council.  Apollo meets with the Clone Council and asks for their help to destroy the pulsar.  In a later scene, Sullivan's character is shown conspiring with the Cylons.  All of Sullivan's scenes from this episode were Deleted - he can be seen in a crowd scene at the end of Part 2 as the warriors say their goodbyes but he doesn't have any dialogue.

The Clone Council - Deleted Scene from
Battlestar Galactica ("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero")

Liam Sullivan's character conspires with the Cylons -
Deleted Scene from Battlestar Galactica
("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero")

Liam Sullivan's only aired scene in Battlestar Galactica
("The Gun on Ice Planet Zero") - he has no dialogue.

Liam Sullivan guest-starred on some of the most famous sci-fi shows of all time, including Star Trek ("Plato's Stepchildren"), Lost in Space ("His Majesty Smith"), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ("Leviathan"), Logan's Run ("Crypt") and The Twilight Zone ("The Silence", "The Changing of the Guard").  Some photos below:

Liam Sullivan guest-stars on Star Trek
("Plato's Stepchildren")

Liam Sullivan guest-stars on Lost in Space
("His Majesty Smith")

Liam Sullivan guest-stars on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
("Leviathan")

Liam Sullivan guest-stars on Logan's Run
("Crypt")

Liam Sullivan guest-stars on The Twilight Zone
("The Silence")

Battlestar Galactica is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.

Star Trek - copyright (c) CBS / Paramount
Lost in Space - copyright (c) 20th Century Fox and Irwin Allen Productions
The Twilight Zone - copyright (c) CBS / Paramount

All photos are used for illustrative purposes only and are copyright the respective copyright holders.

"The VIPER is the most advanced flying machine ever devised by man." - Captain Apollo

A Viper squadron - Battlestar Galactica

Aside from the Galactica, the most well-known ship in the Battlestar Galactica universe is the Viper.  This sleek one-man attack craft was seen in every episode of the short-lived series.  However, it's interesting to note that in the series blockbuster pilot movie "Saga of a Star World" - which took 50 days to film and many months of pre-production planning - nowhere in the movie is the name "Viper" mentioned!  Several times throughout the movie, the ships are referred to as either "fighters" or "fighter planes" - NOT Vipers!  The ships are not called Vipers until the second episode, "Lost Planet of the Gods".  The first four (captioned) photos below are from "Saga of a Star World" and the last photo is from "Lost Planet of the Gods", Part 1.

What is a "spacedrome"?

What is a "spacedrome"?

What is this Cylon talking about?  What is a "spacedrome"?  Whatever a "spacedrome" is, this scene featuring Baltar (John Colicos) and two Cylons is from the Battlestar Galactica pilot movie ("Saga of a Star World") which aired on Sept. 17, 1978.

Battlestar Galactica is copyright (c) NBC / Universal; created by Glen A. Larson.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Battlestar Galactica, Voyagers!, The Greatest American Hero, Beauty and the Beast and Forever Knight - these wonderful, short-lived TV series always bring a smile to my face.  They are classics for the Ages...!  :-)

Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79) - 24 episodes

Voyagers! (1982 - 83) - 20 episodes

The Greatest American Hero (1981 - 83) - 45 episodes

Beauty and the Beast (1987 - 90) - 56 episodes

Forever Knight (1992 - 96) - 70 episodes