Post by Sci-Fi on Jan 24, 2005 8:32:04 GMT -5
From the San Jose Mercury News:
The rebirth of `Galactica' wins respect and ratings
By Charlie McCollum
Mercury News
UNIVERSAL CITY - Ever since Sci Fi announced it was doing a remake of ``Battlestar Galactica,'' the late-1970s TV series, there has been fierce battle between the fans of the original show and the producers of the new version.
Before the miniseries aired last season, the fans were peppering Sci Fi with complaints about changes that were being made to the story line and characters. They were also upset because none of the original cast members were being asked to reprise their roles. (That most were a bit too long in the tooth to play cocky young space pilots seemed immaterial.) There were even threats of a boycott.
It certainly didn't help when star Edward James Olmos -- who was taking over the Commander Adama part originated by the late Lorne Greene -- was widely quoted as telling the show's fans that they wouldn't like the revisionist version and they shouldn't bother watching.
``Galactica'' eventually aired last year to big viewership and considerable critical praise. Last Friday, it returned as a weekly series to equally stellar ratings and even better reviews.
But that hasn't stopped Olmos from jousting with fans of the original.
``There were tens of thousands of people who wanted to see the show back on the air, and they wanted to see it the way they remembered it,'' said Olmos, at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, with a smile. ``It was difficult for them, and it still is.''
And Olmos' advice to those fans on the new series? The same as it was for the miniseries: ``Get a DVD of the original and when we're on on Friday nights, put it in and don't watch our show because it could be detrimental to you mentally.''
Others involved in the show go out of their way to be a bit less combative.
Executive producer Ronald Moore -- who came to ``Galactica'' from a long stint on two ``Star Trek'' series, ``Next Generation'' and ``Deep Space Nine'' -- knows a thing or two about redoing beloved shows. He acknowledges that ``there's always going to be a certain element of the audience that likes the original better.''
But, he says, there seems to have been ``a sea change in reaction among the fan community'' since the miniseries with the fans starting to ``really embrace this vision of the show.''
Those fans have come to realize that the new series ``has its roots in the original. The premise of ours is the same as the premise they had in 1978: the apocalyptic destruction of an entire human civilization, leaving a handful of survivors who escape into the night to find a mythical place called Earth.''
The difference, Moore suggests, is that ``on ABC back in 1978, you couldn't really embrace the dark, complicated, ambiguous tone of that idea.''
Moore gets support from actor Richard Hatch, who originated the role of Apollo. Hatch -- who spent years trying to revive the original -- returns to the world of ``Galactica'' this Friday (10 p.m., Sci Fi) as Tom Zarek, a freedom fighter once convicted of terrorism.
``I worked very hard to bring back `Battlestar Galactica' but, in the end, it really all comes down to how it's brought back,'' says Hatch, who will repeat his role in later episodes.
``And once I got a chance to see the story, meet the producer and actors, and participate in the show, I came away very, very impressed with the quality of the talent'' and the new ``Galactica.''
The rebirth of `Galactica' wins respect and ratings
By Charlie McCollum
Mercury News
UNIVERSAL CITY - Ever since Sci Fi announced it was doing a remake of ``Battlestar Galactica,'' the late-1970s TV series, there has been fierce battle between the fans of the original show and the producers of the new version.
Before the miniseries aired last season, the fans were peppering Sci Fi with complaints about changes that were being made to the story line and characters. They were also upset because none of the original cast members were being asked to reprise their roles. (That most were a bit too long in the tooth to play cocky young space pilots seemed immaterial.) There were even threats of a boycott.
It certainly didn't help when star Edward James Olmos -- who was taking over the Commander Adama part originated by the late Lorne Greene -- was widely quoted as telling the show's fans that they wouldn't like the revisionist version and they shouldn't bother watching.
``Galactica'' eventually aired last year to big viewership and considerable critical praise. Last Friday, it returned as a weekly series to equally stellar ratings and even better reviews.
But that hasn't stopped Olmos from jousting with fans of the original.
``There were tens of thousands of people who wanted to see the show back on the air, and they wanted to see it the way they remembered it,'' said Olmos, at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, with a smile. ``It was difficult for them, and it still is.''
And Olmos' advice to those fans on the new series? The same as it was for the miniseries: ``Get a DVD of the original and when we're on on Friday nights, put it in and don't watch our show because it could be detrimental to you mentally.''
Others involved in the show go out of their way to be a bit less combative.
Executive producer Ronald Moore -- who came to ``Galactica'' from a long stint on two ``Star Trek'' series, ``Next Generation'' and ``Deep Space Nine'' -- knows a thing or two about redoing beloved shows. He acknowledges that ``there's always going to be a certain element of the audience that likes the original better.''
But, he says, there seems to have been ``a sea change in reaction among the fan community'' since the miniseries with the fans starting to ``really embrace this vision of the show.''
Those fans have come to realize that the new series ``has its roots in the original. The premise of ours is the same as the premise they had in 1978: the apocalyptic destruction of an entire human civilization, leaving a handful of survivors who escape into the night to find a mythical place called Earth.''
The difference, Moore suggests, is that ``on ABC back in 1978, you couldn't really embrace the dark, complicated, ambiguous tone of that idea.''
Moore gets support from actor Richard Hatch, who originated the role of Apollo. Hatch -- who spent years trying to revive the original -- returns to the world of ``Galactica'' this Friday (10 p.m., Sci Fi) as Tom Zarek, a freedom fighter once convicted of terrorism.
``I worked very hard to bring back `Battlestar Galactica' but, in the end, it really all comes down to how it's brought back,'' says Hatch, who will repeat his role in later episodes.
``And once I got a chance to see the story, meet the producer and actors, and participate in the show, I came away very, very impressed with the quality of the talent'' and the new ``Galactica.''
