Customer Reviews

Galacticon: 25th Anniversary Celebration

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If one remembers the tv series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA it is hard to realise that it was on for only one season. Yet, its cult status has risen almost to the level of Star Trek/trekkies and has a devoted fan base. This DVD is a celebration of the 25th Anniv of the show at Universal Studios for a three day convention. It is an insightful look at a couple of the two main co-stars Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict who played Apollo and Starbuck respectively on the series. Anyone who has been to sci-fi and comicbook conventions all ready know that Richard Hatch (NO!..not the one from the reality series SURVIVOR...but this is the actor who replaced Michael Douglas on tv's SREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO and was brilliant in the tv-biopic of pop duo Jan & Dean playing Jan Berry in DEAD MAN'S CURVE) has a passion for sci-fi and his former series 'Galactica'. He has been for years writing novels based on the series and has unsuccessfully tried to relaunch the series for tv or for a feature film. He has even produced a lengthy trailer/promotional short with some of the original cast members (including himself) and excellent special effects that is so good that one would believe that a film or tv series is actually going to be made. This reviewer has seen him at the SD ComicCon International and for several years has attended Richard Hatch's panels. He is a very passionate, motivated, and positive speaker. So, seeing him in the segment on the DVD is not anything surprising or new. The real find on the DVD is actor Dirk Benedict. He bears some of his soul and reveals some personal insights about himself and behind the scenes stories of 'Galactica' and of course, his other series, THE A-TEAM (His character on the show 'The Faceman' was voted one of the worst characters in tv history..???). When he first arrives on stage at his panel, there is a certain uneasyness, then he gets comfortable and humorous and then it becomes an excellent hour of Mr. Benedict's acting and personal history etc. The rest of the DVD showcases some of the other characters of the show and other aspects of the convention. These are entertaining of course. However, the GALACTICON 2003 DVD highlights belong to actors Hatch and Benedict.

I've attended many conventions and bought these type of videos and DVDs of the events before. This is a great one and captures what went down at the 25th Anniversary con pretty well it seems. I couldn't make it to the convention and this DVD helped me to deal with that fact by bringing me the highlights. It's true that you have to turn up the volume to catch all the questions being asked and that sort of thing is often a common factor of these kind of DVDs. I love GALACTICA so I shouldn't be surprised that the people who made the show so much fun all come across as extremely entertaining folks on this DVD. This is a great purchase.

It was a thrill seeing the whole cast (Except Lorne Greene and John Colicos, since they both have passed away -- weep) minus the cast member who protrayed Athena, Including young (back then) Sarah Rush and to keep up with their careers.
The Audio quality has everything to be desired though since during the Question and answer period the only parts you could hear and understand were the cast members answers and NOT the Questions from the audience.

This DVD is good for what it is, a recording of the Battlestar Galactica 2003 convention. If you're into this sort of thing, it will be very enjoyable given Dirk Benedict's participation. He's very funny in person. The audience interview with Ron Moore (is that his name?) put to rest my complaints on why he did what he did in the re-imagination of the show (recently shown on the Sci-Fi channel). He really didn't have a choice but to re-imaginate the show, given that the studios had already shut down the idea that the new show could be a continuation of the old.

I totally enjoyed watching this DVD and catching up with most of the people who were involved in the original Battlestar Galactica series. It's a little spendy for a DVD, but if you are a true fan of BSG I am certain you will enjoy seeing all those stars talking and answering questions about BSG twenty five years later. And, they talk about the new series too.

I was disappointed in the quality of the production. It's amateur cam-corder level stuff (maybe a nice cam-corder) but it's really all about the content and not the production.

I unfortunately couldn't attend the 2003 Galacticon, but this DVD really made me feel like I was there. I ordered it from Amazon and couldn't wait to pop it into my DVD player. When I did it blew me away! I couldn't be happier with this! It's a convention disc so you need to accept it on it's own terms: these type of convention DVDs are home videos that capture the moment. Having said all that, this DVD is a great memento of the 25th anniversary of Galactica. There's approx three hours of footage on this disc! The convention vibe is captured perfectly and it's great to see the cast of this great show together again. The heart and soul of the guests really shine. I'm very pleased they made this DVD available to those of us who couldn't be there to experience it in person.

Basically show the old cast talking and telling things as the experienced and what they have done since.

not having purchased a dvd like this before was not sure what i had until i played it...as it was, if you like to watch actors talk about their lives since the original series of battlestar galactica, then its a fairly good dvd...

When viewing convention film or attending one, I am not sure what floors me more: that there are so many people selling Battlestar Galactica TV Series uniform insignia for so much money as 'classic items", or that there are so many people who spend big money on these items without realizing they are being taken.

Specifically:

- the Colonial Warrior insignia is in reality insignia for US Army Military Intelligence officers (in fact, a joke running around the Army in the late 70s / early 80s was that we were all 'Viper Pilots'). Rather than spend 20 dollars for a pair at a convention, one should order them directly from Vanguard for 5 bucks!

- the insignia that Commander Cain and his guys wore are the US Navy's Command Ashore insignia or an altered version of them. Again, go online and order for far less that the crooks at the conventions are selling them for.

- most of the various patches used throughout the series are US Army unit patches (with a few USAF ones thrown in if they look cool enough). For example, the 78th Infantry Division patch is the red, half circle with a lighting bolt used on the ice planet episode; the 18th Medical Command patch is used by the Pegasus crew; the lower part of the USASOC patch is used by someone at one point ..... and on and on.

Fans who think they are buying authentic versions from the show or authentic recreations are fooling themselves. You could never find affordably priced insignia and patches in the low numbers we see for the series or later sales. It would cost just too much for the molds and embroidery. They are all purchased direct from the uniform supply companies or from Surplus stores. Does anyone really think that a series known for it's cheapness like Battlestar Galactica would have laid out the bucks for special moldings and embroidery, or for the numbers of 'authentic' insignia we still see being shopped around?