Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming
Encyclopedia
Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming is a 1999 science-fiction action film. It was a project to create a pilot film for a proposed new Battlestar Galactica
television series that would pick up where the original 1978 series
left off. All continuity related to Galactica 1980
would have been completely ignored.
who starred in the original series as Captain Apollo
, the pilot film was conceived to convince Universal Studios
, the owner of the Battlestar Galactica franchise rights, to greenlight a new project based on this concept. The pilot film was co-directed by Jay Woelfel
and produced by Johnnie J. Young
.
Richard Hatch was able to get many stars from the original series including Richard Lynch (in place of Patrick Macnee
as Count Iblis
), John Colicos
(Count Baltar
), and Terry Carter
(Colonel Tigh
, now President of the Quorum of Twelve
) to appear in the film. Hatch himself also reprised his own role of Apollo (now Commander of the Fleet).
Filming on the project began in the summer of 1998 and lasted through late 1999. Some of the filming was done in conjunction with the Battlestar Galactica 20th Yahren Reunion which was held at the Los Angeles Hilton in September 1998.
The finished edit of Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming had a running time of thirty minutes in length. A four minute trailer was later assembled from this thirty minute version and state of the art computer generated special effects were added. The rare thirty minute version of the pilot film has never been shown publicly.
The partially complete Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming trailer was first shown at DragonCon in Atlanta
on July 3, 1999 and received rave reviews from fans. Once it was complete, Hatch traveled to a series of science fiction
conventions to show the trailer and it proved to be very popular at these events.
However, Hatch never succeeded in getting Universal's
attention, and a different project, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica conceived by Ronald D. Moore
was ultimately pursued.
Later, Richard Hatch joined the new Battlestar Galactica series cast as the recurring character Tom Zarek
. However, Hatch continues to push for a revival/continuation of his own vision of the original series (he writes original novels based on it).
There are no plans to release Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming on DVD
.
's movie proposal. This would have revived BSG as a feature film, centering around the Battlestar Pegasus
, set after its appearance in the TV show
, and consistent with Galactica 1980
.
The project that got the go ahead was the re-imagining of the original series
by Ronald D. Moore
, which was greenlit as a miniseries
by the Sci Fi Channel
.
Now, a new movie is being prepared, based on the 1978 TV series, but it is not a sequel to that series, and is set to be released in 2013.
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
television series that would pick up where the original 1978 series
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
left off. All continuity related to Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
would have been completely ignored.
The Second Coming
Created, executive produced and co-directed by Richard HatchRichard Hatch (actor)
Richard Hatch is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, and also as Tom Zarek in the remake of Battlestar Galactica....
who starred in the original series as Captain Apollo
Captain Apollo
Captain Apollo is the name of a fictional character in the Battlestar Galactica franchise. He was first played by Richard Hatch, who would also later appear as the character of Tom Zarek in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series in 2005....
, the pilot film was conceived to convince Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, the owner of the Battlestar Galactica franchise rights, to greenlight a new project based on this concept. The pilot film was co-directed by Jay Woelfel
Jay Woelfel
Jay Woelfel is a writer/director of independent films, and with producer Johnnie J. Young, a partner in Young Wolf Productions.-Credits:* Closed for the Season...
and produced by Johnnie J. Young
Johnnie J. Young
Johnnie J. Young is a producer of independent films, and with writer/director Jay Woelfel, a partner in Young Wolf Productions.-Credits:* Ghost Lake * Trancers 6...
.
Richard Hatch was able to get many stars from the original series including Richard Lynch (in place of Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
as Count Iblis
Count Iblis
Count Iblis is an alien on the TV series Battlestar Galactica. He was part of the original 1978 series, and was central to the plot of the two-part episode War of the Gods. In that episode, he was played by Patrick Macnee. He did not appear in the re-imagined series.- 1978 continuity :When a...
), John Colicos
John Colicos
John Colicos was a Greek-Canadian actor. He was a distinguished stage actor in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.-Career:...
(Count Baltar
Count Baltar
In the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, Count Baltar was a leading antagonist character who betrayed the human race to its enemy, the robot race of Cylons...
), and Terry Carter
Terry Carter
Terry Carter is an American actor and filmmaker who is known for his roles as "Sgt. Joe Broadhurst", on the seven year hit TV series McCloud and as "Colonel Tigh" on the original Battlestar Galactica.-Early life:...
(Colonel Tigh
Colonel Tigh
Colonel Tigh is a fictional character in the original 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica, played by Terry Carter. He is the Executive Officer of the titutlar ship. In his early years, he flew a Viper in the same squadron as Commander Adama. Tigh at first appears to be strictly by-the-book and a...
, now President of the Quorum of Twelve
Quorum of Twelve
The Quorum of Twelve is a fictional governing body of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol on the two Battlestar Galactica television series. In both series, it was composed of one representative from each colony.Series creator Glen A...
) to appear in the film. Hatch himself also reprised his own role of Apollo (now Commander of the Fleet).
Filming on the project began in the summer of 1998 and lasted through late 1999. Some of the filming was done in conjunction with the Battlestar Galactica 20th Yahren Reunion which was held at the Los Angeles Hilton in September 1998.
The finished edit of Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming had a running time of thirty minutes in length. A four minute trailer was later assembled from this thirty minute version and state of the art computer generated special effects were added. The rare thirty minute version of the pilot film has never been shown publicly.
The partially complete Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming trailer was first shown at DragonCon in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
on July 3, 1999 and received rave reviews from fans. Once it was complete, Hatch traveled to a series of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
conventions to show the trailer and it proved to be very popular at these events.
However, Hatch never succeeded in getting Universal's
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
attention, and a different project, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica conceived by Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
was ultimately pursued.
Later, Richard Hatch joined the new Battlestar Galactica series cast as the recurring character Tom Zarek
Tom Zarek
Thomas "Tom" Zarek is the name of a fictional character on the Syfy series Battlestar Galactica. He is played by Richard Hatch, who had previously portrayed Captain Apollo, a character on the original Battlestar Galactica series of the late 1970s....
. However, Hatch continues to push for a revival/continuation of his own vision of the original series (he writes original novels based on it).
There are no plans to release Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Competing developments
Concurrent with The Second Coming was Glen A. LarsonGlen A. Larson
Glen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...
's movie proposal. This would have revived BSG as a feature film, centering around the Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
, set after its appearance in the TV show
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
, and consistent with Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
.
The project that got the go ahead was the re-imagining of the original series
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
by Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
, which was greenlit as a miniseries
Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
by the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
.
Now, a new movie is being prepared, based on the 1978 TV series, but it is not a sequel to that series, and is set to be released in 2013.
See also
- Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
- Galactica 1980Galactica 1980Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
- List of Battlestar Galactica (1978-1980) episodes
- Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
- Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
- List of Battlestar Galactica (2004 television series) episodes
Sources
- Richard Hatch's Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming project
- Young Wolf Productions Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming Official Page
- Richard Hatch on financing the Second Coming trailer
- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/magazine/17GALACTICA.html?pagewanted=6&ei=5088&en=4e684a9d2b977e73&ex=1279339200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rssNew York Times Magazine story by John HodgmanJohn HodgmanJohn Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
on Richard Hatch and the re-imagined version of Battlestar Galactica]
External links
- Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming at the Battlestar Wiki