Hatch & Benedict Look Back At Galactica
Source TV Guide
24 October 2003
By Ian M. Cullen
In the new issue of TV Guide Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict talked briefly about their respective roles in the classic Battlestar Galactica series of 1978.
As many fans know both actors contributed there talents to the recent release of the series on DVD. Benedict related that it brought back memories for him, and he felt that the Pilot episode still stand up well today, and only some of the production values seemed dated in his opinion.
"Looking back, it's a pleasant view. I was young, I was pretty and I had nice, long hair. The show was good. I was so busy making it, at the time, and it's hard to appreciate something when you're in the middle of it. Watching the premiere, I found there was so much I didn't remember, because the DVD has material that was only shown on that one night. [The episode was recut in subsequent airings.] I was struck by the production values; some of them are dated, but the Galactica sets are still pretty elaborate."
During the late seventies a law suit was files against Universal studios and Glen Larson by George Lucas who felt that Galactica was to similar in nature to Star Wars. Hatch gave his view on this famous lawsuit.
"The success of Star Wars allowed the show to be pitched to the network, but the mythology and story of Galactica are totally different. And this is not a show that just has fans from 25 years ago. It has been passed down from generation to generation. You wouldn't realize how many fans got into sci fi, based on Galactica. I think the reason is because the characters are so endearing and loveable and the story is so epic. Nothing before or even since has ever been done on that scale for television in the sci-fi genre."
In the last 18 months there has been somewhat of a revival of Battlestar Galactica, and a renewed interest by Universal, who have gone as far as to remake the series, however many fans have been outraged by how the Sci Fi Channel has handled the franchise, and many of these views have been mirrored by Hatch both publicly and privately. One of the more controversial changes is the sex change that the Character of Starbuck seems to have undergone. Dirk Benedict who portrayed Starbuck to great effect in the classic series commented on this aspect of the new mini series.
"I can't avoid hearing about it because people keep coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, I hear they changed you into a woman!' And I say, 'Well, what are you going to do with an old swashbuckler in today's world?' What a sad fate to happen to Starbuck. I don't know why they've done this; it's kind of mystifying. But, as I told Richard, we're still going to be the only Battlestar Galactica! The show has still never been remade."
Hatch added, "The difficulty in bringing back a classic is, if you change it too much, you lose your core fan base. But if you don't change it enough, it loses its relevancy. We'll see what they do; I wish them all the best and hope that they find a way to reach out to fans. But I know there is a tremendous group of fans out there who are waiting with baited breath about what they're going to do with a show that they have loved and followed for 25 years."
Both actors were offered walk on roles for the series, Hatch stated that he turned his role on the series down, due to the fact that he felt he would have been betraying the many fans who had supported his revival attempt. Dirk Benedict also turned down a cameo and gave these comments.
"After they were filming, they called me and asked if I would be in it. But that wouldn't have been right, if I had just walked through a scene. It wouldn't be right to the fans or to the character; I owe a lot to Battlestar Galactica, and I have too much respect for the show that was created, and for the people that watched it. Besides, they don't really need me in the new series. I think they just felt that if Richard and I were in there, they could tell the fans: 'See that guy, standing third from the end in the shadows? Oh, he's walking out now, but that was Dirk Benedict!'"
http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/
Source TV Guide
24 October 2003
By Ian M. Cullen
In the new issue of TV Guide Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict talked briefly about their respective roles in the classic Battlestar Galactica series of 1978.
As many fans know both actors contributed there talents to the recent release of the series on DVD. Benedict related that it brought back memories for him, and he felt that the Pilot episode still stand up well today, and only some of the production values seemed dated in his opinion.
"Looking back, it's a pleasant view. I was young, I was pretty and I had nice, long hair. The show was good. I was so busy making it, at the time, and it's hard to appreciate something when you're in the middle of it. Watching the premiere, I found there was so much I didn't remember, because the DVD has material that was only shown on that one night. [The episode was recut in subsequent airings.] I was struck by the production values; some of them are dated, but the Galactica sets are still pretty elaborate."
During the late seventies a law suit was files against Universal studios and Glen Larson by George Lucas who felt that Galactica was to similar in nature to Star Wars. Hatch gave his view on this famous lawsuit.
"The success of Star Wars allowed the show to be pitched to the network, but the mythology and story of Galactica are totally different. And this is not a show that just has fans from 25 years ago. It has been passed down from generation to generation. You wouldn't realize how many fans got into sci fi, based on Galactica. I think the reason is because the characters are so endearing and loveable and the story is so epic. Nothing before or even since has ever been done on that scale for television in the sci-fi genre."
In the last 18 months there has been somewhat of a revival of Battlestar Galactica, and a renewed interest by Universal, who have gone as far as to remake the series, however many fans have been outraged by how the Sci Fi Channel has handled the franchise, and many of these views have been mirrored by Hatch both publicly and privately. One of the more controversial changes is the sex change that the Character of Starbuck seems to have undergone. Dirk Benedict who portrayed Starbuck to great effect in the classic series commented on this aspect of the new mini series.
"I can't avoid hearing about it because people keep coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, I hear they changed you into a woman!' And I say, 'Well, what are you going to do with an old swashbuckler in today's world?' What a sad fate to happen to Starbuck. I don't know why they've done this; it's kind of mystifying. But, as I told Richard, we're still going to be the only Battlestar Galactica! The show has still never been remade."
Hatch added, "The difficulty in bringing back a classic is, if you change it too much, you lose your core fan base. But if you don't change it enough, it loses its relevancy. We'll see what they do; I wish them all the best and hope that they find a way to reach out to fans. But I know there is a tremendous group of fans out there who are waiting with baited breath about what they're going to do with a show that they have loved and followed for 25 years."
Both actors were offered walk on roles for the series, Hatch stated that he turned his role on the series down, due to the fact that he felt he would have been betraying the many fans who had supported his revival attempt. Dirk Benedict also turned down a cameo and gave these comments.
"After they were filming, they called me and asked if I would be in it. But that wouldn't have been right, if I had just walked through a scene. It wouldn't be right to the fans or to the character; I owe a lot to Battlestar Galactica, and I have too much respect for the show that was created, and for the people that watched it. Besides, they don't really need me in the new series. I think they just felt that if Richard and I were in there, they could tell the fans: 'See that guy, standing third from the end in the shadows? Oh, he's walking out now, but that was Dirk Benedict!'"
http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/
