No Matter Which Direction You Turn, The Lost Footage of "Saga of a Star World" Pops Up In The Darndest of Places

"The original rough cut for the pilot, the Battlestar Galactica you didn't see, was as much of a production saga as the footage that eventually aired. Wheter it was producerial trimmings or network involvement, the six hour version of "Saga of a Star World", the pilot episode that launched the series, painted a more complete picture of television's most elaborate experiment. The final running time for the film's network premiere was three hours. Prior to that however, Universal released a two hour theatrical version for test market purposes in Canada. It was later, after audience reaction to the television show was so high, that the same version played in movie houses here in the U.S.

The original incarnation of the devastating Cylon attack on Caprica was hardly devastating after Standards and Practices torpedoed  much of the pilot's most complex effects sequence. Deemed too violent, the complete sequence featured a longer more intense depiction of the massacre and the civilians being killed in the fiery chaos.

On the human interest side, a major plot line involving Apollo and Serina's growing relationship was also cut from the pilot. Originally, Serina had been suffering from an illness which Apollo helps her come to terms with. The absence of this subplot unfortunately, makes their undying devotion and marriage in the subsequent episode seem shotgun by comparison.

The opening Viper patrol in which Apollo and Zac discover the hidden Cylon tash force was initially intercut with an extended version of Starbuck's card game back in the ready room aboard the Galactica.

Some were suprised in fact, that for such a playboy, Starbuck never steamed up any love scenes. In fact, a very sensual romantic interlude was filmed for the pilot between Starbuck and Cassiopia while in the (where else?) launch tube.

Many close to the production suggested that ABC was responsible for all that could be criticized of Galactica. While it seems too convenient to suggest that the network axed all of the footage that would have made the series a ratings hit, it does seem unfortunate that audiences weren't allowed to decide for themselves."

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 Read the books Universal Studios has tried and failed to censor on Amazon.com...

http://languatron.freeforums.org/viewforum.php?f=60

And read these books at another location where Universal Studios executives and its stealth marketers won't be able to post negative, misleading (stealth marketed) reviews of the books via them purchasing candy and Rogaine Foam on Amazon.com (allowing them access to the Amazon book review section) and not actually buying and reading the books. I'll leave the other 150 global locations under wraps for now.


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