By Susan J. Paxton
It is my
belief that Leslie Stevens, not Glen Larson, is the actual creator of
Battlestar Galactica. Why is this important? After all, it's been over 22
years since Battlestar Galactica was canceled. Stevens is dead. The show
remains in limbo. I believe it's important for several reasons. One involves
simple justice. But another has more immediacy. Over the past several years,
there have been movements to revive the series in some form, as a film, TV film,
or even as a TV series, probably syndicated. One movement has been led by actor
Richard Hatch and has taken the form of novels, a web site, and a
professional-quality trailer proposal that has been widely hailed by BG
fans wherever it has been shown. Whatever ones' personal views on
Richard's novels, his revival plans feature the surviving original actors back
in their original roles in a production set after the time of the series and
ignoring the events of Galactica 1980 completely. He has backed this
effort with his own time and money, showing real courage.
Richard's revival effort has
attracted the support of a growing number, perhaps even a majority of BG
fans. Executive Producer Glen A. Larson has spearheaded the other,
predominantly reactive revival effort, originally in conjunction with Todd
Moyer, director of the horrible film based on the game Wing Commander.
Several years ago, BG composer Stu Phillips told me that Larson's reason
for not producing a BG revival hinged on Larson's lack of ideas on how to
handle the Galactica 1980 issue. It's obvious from Larson's proposals
that he still lacks ideas. He's suggested basing a new BG production
around the battlestar Pegasus and Commander Cain or, more recently,
around a battlestar Atlantis, set thousands of years after or before the
time of the original series, depending on which version you hear. Larson's claim
to primacy in the BG revival stakes revolves around his claim to be the
creator of the series. As creator, he believes it is his right to decide what
form a revival should take. As creator, many fans would agree with him. But
what if he isn't the creator?
When
Battlestar Galactica was launched, Larson was the subject of many
interviews. Over and over he told the same story of BG's origins. His
original idea, he said, was for a series called Adam's Ark. Adam's
Ark, Larson said, was "sort of about the origins of mankind in the universe,
taking some of the Biblical stories and moving them off into space as if by the
time we get to Earth they're really not about things that happened here but
things that might have happened somewhere else in space." Note this carefully:
"by the time we get to Earth." Larson told this story over and over, how he had
approached the networks with this idea and been rejected.
Then, in
the summer of 1977, when the success of Star Wars made the words "science
fiction" once again safe to utter within network sanctums, Larson claimed he
dusted this idea off, took it to Universal and ABC, and Adam's Ark then
formed the basis of Battlestar Galactica. After all, Battlestar
Galactica did touch on and suggest legends, Biblical and otherwise, and the
fleet was indeed heading to Earth. Adam's Ark became part of the legend
of BG's beginnings in spite of the fact that Larson never released a
script or proposal to public view. More recently, Larson's story has changed, in
interviews and most recently on the Sci-Fi Channel's Sciography special
on BG. Adam's Ark is now, according to Larson, about a "Howard
Hughes-like" character, a billionaire named Adam who believes Earth to be doomed
and tricks Earth's best and brightest onto a spaceship and launches them to
discover new worlds.
In other
words, leaving Earth, not coming to Earth, and suddenly no hint of Biblical
legends. Why the change? Did Larson just forget what his proposal was about? Is
there a loose copy floating around somewhere he's afraid will get into fandom?
Whatever the reason for Larson's sudden reversal on Adam's Ark, one thing
is brutally certain. This later concept has absolutely no resemblance whatsoever
to Battlestar Galactica. Probably it is Larson's original concept. It's
enough of a brainless cartoon to fit with his normal line of programming.
Frankly,
it's a really stupid idea. Enter director Alan J. Levi. Levi
is known to BG fans as the director of "Gun on Ice Planet Zero," but he
also directed half of the premiere after Richard Colla was let go by Larson.
Levi was a good friend of the late Leslie Stevens, the producer best known for
the famous science fiction series The Outer Limits. Recently I
interviewed Alan Levi. I had not planned to ask him any questions about the
origins of Battlestar Galactica because he had not been involved early
enough in the process to know about it. But, out of the blue, with no prompting
from me whatsoever, he said, "Well, Leslie Stevens wrote the original script.
Leslie was one of my best friends. I do know that Leslie had told me at one time
way before he ever got into the script that he had this great idea for a script
that he was going to take to Glen Larson and talk about."
In other
words, sometime in 1977, Stevens had told Levi about an idea for a series he was
going to discuss with Glen Larson, an idea that recognizably was Battlestar
Galactica. Now before people start running around screaming that Larson
"stole" BG from Stevens, it's clear that whatever happened, Stevens must
have agreed with it, though for what reason we cannot at this time know. Perhaps
Larson had more pull at Universal than Stevens did. If Stevens was for some
reason out of favor at the time, his idea might have been discarded by Universal
while the same idea with Glen Larson's name on it would have been viewed
favorably.
Stevens
also was working on what became the Buck Rogers TV series at this same
time and may not have had enough time to spearhead both efforts. Whatever kind
of agreement Larson and Stevens came to, it evidently was amicable. Stevens
never publicly said a thing about it. With Leslie Stevens dead, there are only a
few people who could confirm, amplify or deny Levi's version of events. The most
obvious is, of course, Glen Larson himself. And we can be assured, I believe,
that he will never do so. He has little else to his credit of the quality of
BG, and he will continue to claim it as his own for that and other
reasons. The first three people hired by Larson to work on BG might also
know: John Dykstra, Joe Johnston, and Ralph McQuarrie. Two others possibly able
to shed light on the situation are Don Bellisario and Michael Sloan. They must
be interviewed and asked what they know.
And, of
course, there is the matter of Leslie Stevens' papers. Whether these are still
held by his family or were donated to a library or university or other
institution after his death, they could very well contain the truth and, most
precious of all, Stevens' first draft of the BG premiere. More
investigation must follow to pin down the elusive truth of the origins of
Battlestar Galactica. But for Glen Larson and his claim to be the series'
creator, the shadows have begun to lengthen.
