My Thoughts on the Battlestar Galactica TV Movie!

So, yesterday, I hit my local favorite used book store, and decided to scan through their used DVD selection to see if I could find something to watch. The wife was out with her girls and it was just going to be me, some cheeseburgers and fries and my faithful pooch, Chewie. I was sort of in the mood for a classic comedy like Smokey & the Bandit or maybe Stripes. I didn't find either. But I did find this...

Since I picked up those vintage Battlestar Galactica comics last week, I've been interested in seeing the show again. I remember not being that into it when I was a kid, but that was mostly due to my parents being in control of the TV and me only getting to see it rarely. So I decided to give it a shot. Besides, this is what I believe to be the original made for TV movie, which I know I saw when I was a kid, so the nostalgia factor had the potential to be very high.

Holy crap, am I glad I watched this. It was like disco Star Wars! That was the funnest 2 hours I've spent watching a movie in a long time!

Yes, the sheer shameless ripping off of Star Wars was painfully obvious, but that acts as a testament to the climate of the American culture of the time. We were space-battle crazy and hungry for more, no matter how we got it. And out of all of the Star Wars rip-off movies/tv shows, I think Battlestar Galactica came the closest to creating something solidly entertaining.

Here are some of my knee-jerk thoughts...

The special effects of the ships flying through space were right up there with Star Wars. The star fields in the background occasionally looked a little too "star-filled" for my taste, but the ships were spectacular. I think this had a lot to do with them using Jon Dytkstra, who did a lot of the work for ILM on the Star Wars movies.

Even the battle scenes were pretty awesome. Lots of laser blasts and dogfights. I'd also like to take this time to note that both the Cylon ships and the X-Wing knock-offs that Starbuck and Apollo piloted were pretty awesome looking ships. I remember at least loving these as a kid and they still hold up.

Also, their weapons were badass. I really want a prop replica of their blaster pistols.

And while I'm at it, I might as well have a replica of their helmets. This helmet was a major point of nostalgia when I watched this. I totally remembered them and they really took me back.

Appollo and Starbuck were totally fun characters. I remember thinking as a kid that they were just Han and Luke wannabes, but I see that I was completely wrong; they were both Han.

The real unsung actor in this was Herbert Jefferson Jr. who played Boomer. This guy was the best actor in the movie!

I also learned that the kid who played the insufferable little whine-bag, Boxy, was also the same kid who played Atreyu in insufferable movie The Neverending Story. Huh... fitting.

Another thing that I noticed (well, something that I was always aware of but was reminded of) is that chicks in the 70s were hot.

I can't lie. Actress Maren Jensen, who played Apollo's sister, Athena, totally stole my heart. I looked her up on IMDB. Doesn't look like she's done much since which is too bad. She was crazy gorgeous!

This chick? Not crazy gorgeous.

Now, I've always loved Cylons. They were the one thing from the TV show that really made an impression on me. Yes, yes, they're pretty much a bunch of silver Darth Vaders acting like Stormtroopers, but whatever. They were hella shiny and carried swords.

Heck... let's just look at another picture of a Cylon. they just don't get old.

And in closing, I'll just say that something that stuck with me as a kid from Battlestar Gallactica that is clearly still in effect to this day, thanks to my "re-viewing' of the TV movie, is this; I totally want my own Daggit.

Tales from the 25¢ Bin! Battlestar Galactica Edition!

I have been having so much unbelievable luck at the 25¢ bin lately, that I'm going to have a hard time catching up blogging about them all. But that won't stop me from trying. 

Today, we're talking about a score that's practically bubbling over with late-'70s awesomeness, issues #2-#5 of the Marvel Comics adaptation/continuation of Battlestar Galactica!

As a kid, Battlestar Galactica was always sort of a dopey cousin of Star Wars, but back then, when we were starving for more intergalactic battles and freaky aliens, Battlestar Galactica would do in a pinch. I had a few of the toys (I've often described the integration of my Cylon figure into my Star Wars action figure adventures, playing the role of Darth Vader's long lost son), and would watch the TV show when I could, but I was never a mad fanatic of the Star Wars knock-off.

I don't recall reading any of the comic s as a kid, but now, thanks to the cheap-o bin at my favorite local used book store, I can give these babies a whirl and see how they hold up. Actually, I think I need to find issue #1 first, but I think I may have it in my long boxes somewhere.

I better get to digging. I've got some retro reading to do.

Bonus Post: The ECCC Dollar Bin Toy Haul!

I just got to do an extra post to show off some of the killer figures that I got for a buck each this past weekend at ECCC. You saw a couple of them yesterday in the Random Toy Pic, but I thought that their fellow cheapies needed a little spotlight, too.

So without further ado, let me introduce you all to the ECCC Dollar Bin Crew!

Like I said before, each one of these classic figures were a big whoppin' buck! Let's take a look at them individually...

First up is a classic Ugnaught, who we saw yesterday making friends with Dagget. He didn't come with any of his gear, like his purple smock, but then again, he was a dollar. In fact, none of these figures came with jack squat, but that's what eBay is for.

Here's whats-his-face from Return of the Jedi. He was one of Jabba's skiff guards, I think. I don't know, I never had him. Somebody help me out with his name. Kevin? Was that it? No... Paul?

Third in line is one of the heoes of the Battle of Endor, Nien Nunb! This dude co-piloted the Millennium Falcon with Lando against the second Death Star! They blew that business up but good, and do you know what ol' Nien did? He laughed. That's one bad dude...

And finishing up the Star Wars members of the Dollar Bin crew is the one and only Luke Skywalker in his Hoth Gear. Like I mentioned a while back, I never had this figure and just pretended that my Hoth Rebel Soldier was Luke, and now that I finally have one I feel like my entire childhood was a sham! Just kidding. But this is an awesome figure and simply exudes "Luke-ness".

And here we have adorable little Dagget from the classic Battlestar Galactica line. I did have this guy when I was a kid and ofthen pretended that he and R2D2 were best friends. When I was a kid, i thought he was just about the cutest thing ever. Looking at him again is making me rethink that original assessment. He's one freaky looking critter.

And since I was buying Dagget, I couldn't pass up this Cylon figure. I already have one Cylon figure, but you can never really have too many. Why did these figures have zero leg articulation? What a gyp!

And finishing it off, it wouldn't be my blog without at least one mention of LJN's Dungeons & Dragons line, and Bowmarc here made it home with me to join my slowly growing ranks. Granted he's completely weaponless and wearing the world's gayest armor, but he's sort of a hard one to find, so I'm considering this dude a score.

Well, that's it for the Dollar Bin Crew! I've got another article coming up tomorrow showcasing a true classic, that I have been looking for for years. See you then!

Random Toy Pic #19