Fresh from their success on creating the incredible effects work for the original Star Wars, it now seems hard to believe but the majority of the young and innovative ILM team led by John Dykstra were out of work by the early Summer of 1977, before the film's impactful release. Thankfully, a whole spate of sci-fi projects would follow in the wake of the George Lucas phenomenon, needing the top quality effects work that the film had unleashed. First out of the gate would be Star Worlds, later named Galactica, then finally Battlestar Galactica- the small screen space epic by Glen A. Larson crafted for ABC TV. As the likes of (an unhappy) Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie handled the visual design, so too did Dykstra (here with Doug Smith (wearing a classic in-house produced Star Wars T-shirt) and the model of the Galactica) importantly become one of the series early producers on the first five episodes (including the opening three hour (three-part) pilot which would also become an international theatrical release success).
Battlestar Galactica celebrates its 40th Anniversary today. Though the original series was ultimately despised by Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox for being too similar to their franchise, it's interesting to note that everyone would go on to adore the gritty and downright depressing modern remake of the noughties, developed by Ronald D. Moore, especially writer/director Rian Johnson, who'd cite it as a key influence on some of the tone of his eventual EPISODE VIII!
Anniversary feature:
https://kooltvblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-quest-for-survival-battlestar.html
https://galacticasagaofastarworld.blogspot.com/
HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA!
