Battlestar Galactica Pitch Reel Brings Modern Effects To The ‘70s Cult Classic
Star Trek: The Original Series got a whole new lease on life back in 2006 when CBS kicked off a new syndicated run of the show featuring gorgeous high-definition remasters of the episodes and upgraded special effects. The results were, well, stellar, and gave fans the perfect excuse to rewatch the series, which would have looked like a million bucks if only they used money in the future. The trend has continued with the Blu-ray releases of The Next Generation, but there are still tons of older science fiction shows that could benefit from a high-def facelift. For instance, what would Glen A. Larson’s original cult classic Battlestar Galactica look like with effects work that looked more like it belonged in Ron Moore’s reboot? Well, probably a bit like this, actually:
That little slice of amazing is a pitch reel put together by Adam “Mojo” Leibowitz, a CGI artist and effects supervisor whose impressive resume includes work on Babylon 5, Serenity, Star Trek: Voyager, the 2001 restoration of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and — appropriately enough — Moore’s Sci-Fi Channel incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. The video was recently shared on Ain’t It Cool News, and Bill Hunt from Digital Bits provided a bit of background. Apparently Lebowitz created the reel around the time the Original Series restorations were happening, and he used it to pitch the idea of a similar BSG upgrade to Syfy and Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The footage is taken from the 1978 two-parter “The Living Legend.”
If the video leaves you craving more, well, it might be time to start pestering Universal. Digital Bits reports that Lebowitz spent several years banging the drum trying to get a remastered BSG project up and running, but to no avail. The show is scheduled to get a Blu-ray release next year, but it’s just a repackage of the German Blu-rays, and it won’t feature any snazzy redone effects like in the clip above. Of course, if you think such a project is worthwhile, and something you’d vote for with your wallet, you can barrage Universal’s Facebook page and Twitter with your support. It may be a longshot, but you never know these days. Especially since Universal is trying to get a big-screen version of BSG up and running, the extra publicity of a remaster for the original series certainly couldn’t hurt.
In the meantime, you can watch the original Battlestar Galactica on Netflix Instant.
