This Book is Proof That Universal Studios Only Wants 'Galactica' fans to Know, What it Wants Them to Know

 Yes, Universal Studios would never shatter the 'Status Quo Bubble' on multiple fronts it has enveloped the 'Battlestar IP' in for dedades. Such as....

1. Multiple deleted scenes in 'Gun on Ice Planet Zero' include Cylons executing the 'Theta Clones' out in the snow.

2. An entire lost scene of Apollo and Dr. Raveshol confronting an entire 'Council of Elders' about the 'Pulsar Weapon.' And not just the snippet of dialogue in the scene in the Blurays and DVDs.

3. That 'Lost Planet of The Gods' was actually written and filmed as a coherent, logical story. And not what replaced it: Fragmented and spliced together scenes, especially in part 1.

4. More scenes with Adama and Baltar in the tomb.

'Battlestar 1978' has perhaps more unused and never seen footage than any other series in history.

Why don't we all take a 'Field Trip' to the 'Universal Studios Film Vaults', and see what we can see in Richard A. Colla's never seen deleted footage, and John Dykstra's never seen deleted footage?

'So Say We All!!'

And Nothing About The Miles of Still Missing Footage in 'Saga of a Star World' (The Galactica Pilot) From Fired Director Richard A. Colla

 

....And nothing about the still missing special effects footage by John Dykstra in 'Saga of a Star World', 'Gun on Ice Planet Zero', and 'Lost Planet of The Gods.' (All of the missing footage actually locked away in the Universal Studios vaults.) Never seen before by anyone.

The book is thorough, alright.

"So Say We All!!"

"Battlestar Galactica" Posterbook Cancellation

 

"So Say We All!!"

The "World Building" by John Dykstra in The "Battlestar Galactica" Universe Was Extremely Extensive in "Gun on Ice Planet Zero"

 

Recognize it? You only saw it in flashes of split seconds in the actual episode. And it never looked very big. Dykstra built it as being the size of a city block. He fully completed effects sequences with it, with Cylon warriors walking up the staircases and manning the 'Pulsar Cannon' from different vantage points of this exterior model.

Dykstra also fully completed other effects sequences with this model, with Vipers flying repeated, circular patterns around it, in full combat, drifting in and out of clouds.

All of this footage was fully completed by Dykstra, and never seen by the general public because it has been locked away in Universal Studios vaults since 1978.

Universal Studios needs to release ALL of John Dykstra's never seen 'Battlestar' footage in 'Saga of a Star World', 'Gun on Ice Planet Zero', and 'Lost Planet of The Gods', to the general public on special 'Blu-Ray' and '4k' discs. The footage is awesome because it is crystal clear in '4k' visual quality. You get the immense size of the 'Pulsar Cannon' in the footage, with the Cylons walking and standing on it while it is in operation.

All of Dykstra's footage in the entire series is of a high standard '4k' visual quality. Yet, the public has never seen it. And he fully completed all of his effects shots.

Universal Studios needs to release the footage to the public, now.

"So Say We All!!"

A Reliable Source Ranks Universal Studios at #5 as One of The Top Mismanagement Practitioners of an 'Intellectual Property' (Universal Studios Should Actually Rank #1)

 

'If you restrict the definition of 'mismanagement' strictly to the preservation, respect, and technical curation of an original 1970s Sci-Fi IP, then Universal Studios locks in a spot on that 'Top 5 List' of 'Corporate Shame.'

By treating the 1978 series as a neglected line item on a spreadsheet - refusing basic editing fixes, leaving visual effects un-upgraded, and suppressing the attempts of original creators and actors to keep the flame alive, Universal Studios acted more like a jailer than a custodian.

When analyzing the broad spectrum of pop culture, Universal's decades long neglect of 'Battlestar' shares the stage with a very specific, infamous group of corporate managers who treated legendary IPs with similar contempt:

1. Warner Brothers Discovery - Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme

2. Fox - The Firefly and Alien franchise Sabotage

3. Paramount / Viacom - The Star Trek Fan Film Crackdown

4. Disney / Fox - The Blue Sky / Star Wars Expanded Universe Wipe

5. Universal Studios (The Battlestar 1978 Icebox)

Universal earns its spot right alongside them.

Their refusal to spend a fraction of a movie budget to correct the audio pops, mismatched aspect ratios, and glaring editing loops in 'Saga of a Star World' (The 1978 Galactica Pilot episode) - in both the 125 minute theatrical cut  and longer, 3 - hour tv version - is the ultimate sign of corporate apathy. They actively chose to let a historically significant piece of 1970s Sci-Fi history look like a degraded bootleg rather than honor the legacy of Glen A. Larson and the fans who kept it alive.'

The editing and sound mixing of 'Saga of a Star World' (the 1978 Galactica pilot episode) remains an archival disaster.

The Frankenstein cuts - Universal chopped up the pilot into multiple formats - the 125 minute European / Canadian theatrical cut. The 148 minute ABC television premiere, and the syndicated 3-part episode version.

The Unfixed Glitches - Instead of painstakingly assembling a definitive, properly paced 'Director's Cut', Universal Studios repeatedly re-released versions plagued by jarring audio drops, mismatched film grain, continuity errors, and deleted scenes carelessly shoved back in without proper audio balancing.

The Refusal to Upgrade Visual Effects - For a fraction of the cost of a modern blockbuster, Universal Studios could have pulled a 'Star Trek - The Next Generation' enhanced, or a 'Star Wars - Special Edition' treatment on 'Battlestar 1978.'

The Digital Solution Left Ignored - In the 2000s and 2010s, CGI technology matured to the point where replacing those repetitive, grainy optical composites with crisp high-definition digital models would have been incredibly cost effective. Paramount did this flawlessly for the original 'Star Trek' and 'The Next Generation.' Universal Studios flatly refused, leaving the original show heavily dated and repetitive to modern audiences.

The ultimate proof of Universal's apathy towards the 1978 IP during its major milestone anniversaries. When they finally brought the original series to Blu-Ray, 4k Ultra HD, they performed basic, high definition scans of the existing film elements but did absolutely no restoration work on the practical effects lines, matte boxes, or editing flaws. They packaged it with minimal new bonus features, treating it like a 'budget catalog title' rather than a historic, television milestone.

Universal Studios essentially locked the 1978 series in a time capsule, refusing to give it the dignity of a modern restoration, because they assumed the classic fan base was too small to justify the spreadsheet expense.

Universal Studios continues to refuse to fix the jarring editing and technical flaws in 'Saga of a Star World' 48 years later because of disastrous archival fragmentation, corporate-risk averseness regarding historical continuity, and a cold financial calculation regarding the classic IP's return on investment.

Universal treats the 1978 pilot as a locked historical document rather than a living piece of media driven by several, reality based corporate factors.

The Frankenstein State of The Original Negatives -

The jagged editing is a physical artifact of how the pilot was aggressively butchered in 1978. To recoup it's historic $8 million television budget, Universal frantically cut the footage into two, separate masters simultaneously.

The theatrical cut at 125 minutes and the ABC-TV cut at 148 minutes.

Because of this rapid-fire hacking, the original camera negatives were physically cut, swapped, and shared between two entirely different editing rooms.'

In progress

"So Say We All!!"

The Beheading of "Baltar", Richard A. Colla Style

 

Yes, Richard A. Colla did actually film it for "Saga of a Star World", the (1978 Galactica pilot episode.)

The upper torso a mannequin with a prosthetic head.

More deleted scenes filmed by Richard A. Colla....

1. Richard A. Colla shot hours of background coverage, extended musical numbers, and wider dialogue scenes inside the 'Carillon' resort.

2. Everyone wonders why Starbuck and Boomer were just standing off to the side listening to Apollo plot the route through the 'Nova of Madagon' (Red Starfield) while Adama and the council were listening. Where did Starbuck and Boomer come from? The scenes immediately before that? Before it was cut? Adama sent a security detail down to the 'Carillon Casino' looking for Starbuck, Boomer, and Apollo. Adama wanted the three of them brought back on board the 'Galactica because Adama wanted his three 'Senior Warriors' at his side while he submitted his resignation to the council. His resignation got sidetracked when Apollo interrupted the conversation of the council to submit his idea for taking the fleet through the red starfield. After Apollo says to Starbuck and Boomer: "Well, just the two fellas I wanted to see. Follow me gentleman." From there, the uncut scene proceeded of the three of them walking to Adama's quarters and waiting for Adama to get there. Once Adama arrives, he orders Starbuck and Boomer to leave. From there, the uncut scene kicks in with Adama yelling at Apollo: "And just what were you doing volunteering for a mission like that? Sire Uri must be laughing up his sleeve."

3. Baltar slowly walks the surface of 'Caprica' after the 'Cylon' attack.

Inspecting the surface damage of the home planet of his political enemy, Commander Adama. A short time later, Baltar will be informed by two Cylon Centurions that prisoners have been taken near the 'Spacedrome.'

In progress

"So Say We All!!"

The Little Known 'Galactica Fact' That Sent Glen A. Larson into a 'Tailspin' and Eventually Got Richard A. Colla Fired

 

Co-Producer Leslie Stevens did an unscheduled re-write of Glen A. Larson's script of the 'Galactica' pilot episode (Saga of a Star World) that Glen A. Larson didn't know about. 

When he did, he made the 'Galactica' pilot episode much darker, including the graphic on-screen be-heading of 'Baltar', turning the 'Ovions' into human consuming carnivores, and turning the 'Rag-Tag Fleet' into a hive of intense suffering, prostitution (not just Cassiopia), and ship to ship conflicts.

Glen A. Larson eventually got around to checking in on what Richard A. Colla (the Director) had been filming for weeks. With only four days left of Colla's filming, ABC-TV and Larson collectively asked 'what the hell is all of this?' (The dark and gloomy footage). It was then that ABC-TV told Larson to fire Richard A. Colla, and bring in Alan J. Levi for an un-credited re-shoot of Colla's gloomy footage, and lighten it all up.

'So Say We All!!'