Friday, September 20, 2019

Battlestar Galactica E4: Lost Planet Of The Gods Part 1

"If fans watch the Galactica collection to see a carefully constructed view of morality, disappointment may ensue. On the morality issue, Battlestar Galactica simply has very little to say. Instead, Battlestar Galactica episodes are straightforward, banal action tales designed totally to entertain. It is science fiction fast food. … Battlestar Galactica was shallow from a philosophical standpoint."
 
-John Kenneth Muir, An Analytical Guide To Television's Battlestar Galactica (p.50)-
 

The classic Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)was never particularly deep with subtext, but it was focused in its vision regarding humanity on the run from the Cylon tyranny. It has a remarkably clear view of good and evil. It was profoundly sincere in its efforts to portray heroes of men. It was also particularly strong on the importance of hawkish strength against an enemy if humanity is to survive. All of that and an endlessly colorful cast of character performances that remain as alluring today as they did nearly forty-one years ago to the day.



Moving on from Glen A. Larson's launch of Battlestar Galactica with that devastatingly, too-good-for-television, ambitious, three-part epic Saga Of A Star World, his next delivery was the two-part Lost Planet Of The Gods.

Battlestar Galactica, Episode 4, Lost Planet Of The Gods Part 1 serves up a tried and true convention popular in science fiction. The story focuses on the classic deadly virus picked up off ship on a strange world. Brought aboard the Galactica many of the crew are contaminated and infected. A quarantine of Colonial Viper pilots is implemented to contain the spread. This is an old reliable staple of science fiction dusted off for one of Battlestar Galactica's many unoriginal tales.



What makes Lost Planet Of The Gods special or at least attempt to offer its own colorful spin on the idea within this gritty new reality of a fleet on the run from the Cylon tyranny is the employment of an all female fighter squadron amidst terribly desperate times.

Untrained and untested, Starbuck and Apollo must quickly train this group of sexy cadets in the event of a Cylon attack. To complicate matters Apollo's betrothed is joining the squadron and placing herself in great danger essentially on the eve of Apollo's desire to make her his lawfully wedded wife.



There is nothing particularly substantial to the entry. Most memorable is the female fighter squadron in training. They are hot and take me back to the kind of eye candy that populated the wonderful but much more substantial Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969). Many, not all, of the women looked amazing, but didn't necessarily present as strong females in the leadership roles. The same can be said here, but once again Battlestar Galactica, despite its flaws, is a light and entertaining science fiction comfort within a fairly original mythology, thanks in large part to a terrific cast.



The final segment of Lost Planet Of The Gods promises to be the best component of the two-parter. In the meantime, the series continues to look splendid in its Blu-Ray format.

Writer: Glen A. Larson/ Donald Bellisario (creator of Magnum PI w/ Larson, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, Tales Of The Gold Monkey).
Director: Christian I. Nyby II

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