Will We Never See a Blu-Ray Release of "The 1978 Battlestar Galactica" Series Because Universal Studios Allowed The Negatives to Deteriorate Even Further?

 

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/9073/battlestar-galactica-the-complete-epic-series/


This DVD set was one of the biggest screw ups (intentional sabotage of the "Battlestar Galactica" property) by Universal Studios in the decade of the 2000s. Characterized by manufacturing defects (on purpose) of epic proportions (cracked discs sitting in the trays the consumer discovered the moment the factory sealed cellophane was removed, too much content crammed onto double sided discs causing disc freezing), and most tragically, you could tell that Universal Studios wasn't taking care of the negative of the pilot episode of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series....."Saga of a Star World." Heavy grain, pops, specks, and audio problems plagued "Saga of a Star World" as it appeared on this DVD set.

Now, this was 10 years ago...when this DVD set was released in October 2003. "Saga of a Star World" was in extremely bad shape back then. What shape is it in now....10 years later? It's a very, very, very safe bet that Universal Studios has spent the past 10 years allowing the negative of "Saga of a Start World" to deteriorate even further...to the point that it is now even worse in appearance than it was 10 years ago on this DVD set. As of October 2003, it was very apparent that the negative wasn't being stored properly....at temperatures inappropriate....in a manner (unacceptable storage conditions) that would fully encourage its deterioration. Excessive moisture, not clean and dry storage canisters.

Flash forward a decade. What condition would the original negative of "Saga of a Star World" be in right now (this very moment) if these reckless storage conditions of Universal Studios continued for another 10 years? I can only imagine with horror what the status is right now of "Saga of a Star World's negative. A negative stored by a corporation that has repeatedly demonstrated its uninhibited corporate hatred for the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series since 1979.

I believe we will never see a Blu-Ray release of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series primarily due to the fact that Universal Studios has allowed the negative of "Saga of a Star World" to deteriorate even further beyond its October 2003 status due to unacceptable storage conditions and no salvage efforts. Perhaps the negatives of the other episodes are in the same (poor) shape as well after another decade. The series can't be put on Blu-Ray now due to Universal Studios neglect of the negatives I suspect.

Other defect issues plaguing the above DVD set as well....

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/304766-battlestar-galactica-the-complete-epic-series/

quote - "James, you're talking about Universal Studios.  They seem to have zero love for *any* older series.  I'm beginning to think they are waiting on the world of "software as a service" where they'll only offer a monthly subscription to titles available only to stream.


To the OP:

Universal released *many* series/movies on poorly manufactured DVD-18s (2 sides, 2 layers).  The gold color is indicative they are DVD-18 disks, although many are silver.  I do not know if those which are gold are more problematic.   In spite of complaints about and *many* issues with those pressings Universal continued to release flawed product.  Most titles released in that format have never been given a updated release to fix those issues.  I've read comments that they may have a shorter life span due to instability with the glue holding the layers together.  I have *many* Universal titles in this flawed format but so far I've had no problems outside initial ones where I've been able to get a replacement disk during the "warranty" period.  However, every time I play one of these disks my enjoyment is lessened as I expect issues.  This is based on comments from others, like yours.  While other manufacturers released titles in that format they didn't seem to have as many issues as those from Universal.  However, I stopped purchasing "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (Fox) because I *never* got good copies of S1V1 or S1V2 (after several exchanges on both).  I do not own the original "Battlestar" so can't help you on that one, but "reviews" at amazon indicate others had pixilation/skipping/freezing issues when this set was released.  Even so, I'd suggest contacting Universal about your issue.  Worst case is they ignore you, but they might actually replace your disk(s), although you would have to pay postage for the return." - unquote

All of the discs in "Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Epic Series" were the cheapo DVD-18s discs (2 sides, 2 layers.)


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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.


http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/fullen1264