If Universal Studios Is Unwilling To Do "This", They Sure As Hell Will Never Do "That"

1. "CBS Digital" special effects personnel in the process of giving the "1966 Star Trek" series a much needed facelift in the special effects department.

2. The "1966 Star Trek" episode "A Taste of Armaggeddon" in the process of getting a special effects upgrade.

3. What you will never see from Universal Studios because "Black Tower" personnel will never be so forward thinking and logically minded. A state of the art, digital effects facility opened for the purpose of upgrading the special effects of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series.

CBS-Paramount saw the wisdom in upgrading the special effects seen in the "1966 Star Trek" series because the original effects were shot on lower resolution film stock and a product of the limited technology at the time. Thanks to the upgrade, "Star Trek" circa 1966 absolutely sparkles with state of the art special effects shots of spaceships, planet-scapes, and laser beams. This upgrade of course, has lent tremendous credibility to the drama in every episode.

The "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series is also in dire need of such a special effects upgrade. The series was already using stock footage special effects shots 20 minutes into the pilot episode!! Being a fan of the series, I'm not blind to the fact that "Battlestar Galactica 1978" needs a complete special effects upgrade. And it needs such an upgrade even more than the "1966 Star Trek" series ever did for the following reasons:

1. Such an upgrade would free the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series from the "stock footage curse" that has plagued it for 34 years.

2. Such an upgrade would enhance the drama even more and make even the lesser liked episodes ("The Lost Warrior", "Greetings From Earth") more palatable to the senses during viewing. Imagine aerial shots of the celestial cow town Apollo crash-landed in ("The Lost Warrior") with brightly colored lights and twin moons clearly visible.

3. All new Battlestar, Basestar, Viper, Cylon Raider, and Rag-Tag Fleet ship shots throughout the series, with no clearly visible cylinders holding up the models. No matte lines either. No longer limited by primitive blue screen motion control, imagine how all of these ships would soar, zoom, and lumber now.

4. Re-do the explosion of "Carillon." As it stands now, it looks like a cartoon explosion in a "Road Runner" cartoon after an "Acme" product misfires on poor "Wile E. Coyote."

5. The aerial vehicles spotted by Starbuck in "Experiment in Terra" are obviously helicopters with search lights mounted on the front, filmed at night. Imagine how 21st Century special effects technology could fix that.

6. Special effects shots especially in need of such an upgrade are:

a. POV shots of Viper pilots approaching the "Galactica's" landing bays in their Vipers. The "Galactica" wobbles slightly up and down during the approach POV.

b. The Viper crash landing in the snow in "Gun on Ice Planet Zero." Same with the shuttle crash.

c. Every special effects shot in "Lost Planet of the Gods."

d. Every special effects shot in "Hand of God." The final dogfight of the entire series should be especially spectacular.

e. Every special effects shot in "Gun on Ice Planet Zero."

f. Same with "The Long Patrol." Primarily at the beginning when the fleet comes out of the asteroid dust cloud.

g. Of course the pilot episode, "Saga of a Star World." Redo it all. New Battlestar shots, everything. Primarily re-storyboard the entire sequence where Zac is on final approach to the fleet just before being shot down.

Of course, Universal Studios would never ever greenlight such a project for the very series they have been trying to kill for the past 34 years.

And the reason why we have never seen a Bryan Singer "Battlestar Galactica" movie and never will is because...

If Universal Studios can't even upgrade the special effects in the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series as a precursor to such a movie...we will never see such a movie period.