"Battlestar Galactica" and "The Black Hole" - spoiler movie reviews (and review of New Beverly Cinema)

Early last week, a friend mentioned that a local theatre would be showing a double feature consisting of the original "Battlestar Galactica" movie and Disney's "The Black Hole". Being an original BSG fan, the chance to see the movie in a theatre again really intrigued me. And, I'd never seen "The Black Hole" before, so that was just an added bonus. The husband and I made plans to meet the friend for the double feature.

The films were being shown at the New Beverly Cinema. They apparently routinely show older movies, always as a double feature. We had arranged to meet our friend for lunch nearby before the first movie. The husband thought there was some kind of small parking lot behind the theatre, but if there was, it was full from the patrons at the nearby restaurant. We were luckily able to find parking on a nearby residential side street, and since this was on a Sunday, there was no parking restriction.

The New Beverly Cinema is conveniently located about two blocks east of MILK, so that's where we met for lunch. Yep, I can always use an excuse to go to MILK. The start of the first movie was approaching, so we headed to the theatre.

We go to the movies quite a bit, and we're pretty much used to all the new high-tech fancy theatre complexes. This was so not one of them, which was fine - I'm very familiar with quaint art-house type theatres too. When we got to the theatre, there was a piece of cardboard blocking the little opening in the box office that said the box office opened 15 minutes prior to the movie. I thought that was funny. Definitely not high-tech - more mom-and-pop. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Not so much 15 minutes. The first film was supposed to start at 3:05, and right before 3pm, the box office opened. We bought our tickets and headed inside. There's a tiny lobby with a small concession stand. We headed into the theatre to find seats. It wasn't very crowded at all, so we had no problem getting our pick of seats. The seats were padded but not nearly as much as I was used to at the new complexes. Sitting through one movie was a little uncomfortable, but sitting through two movies was actually painful. I'm one who tends to fidget or shift periodically while watching a movie. As I sat there, I noticed that I could feel if anyone else did the same, since the seats were so close together, so I was mindful not to shift too much so as not to disturb others. That probably made it even more uncomfortable to sit for that period of time. During the intermission between the two movies, we stood up and stretched to try to alleviate some of the stiffness. I didn't mind all the other low-tech aspects of the theatre, but the seats would be the only thing that would make me hesitate to return to the theatre unless it was something I really, really wanted to see. Or at least I'll be better prepared on future visits.

The first film shown that afternoon was "Battlestar Galactica". This was a movie version that was edited from the pilot episode of the late 1970s TV series. It's been years since I've seen the movie, and while there were bits I actually didn't remember very well, there were still a number of parts where I could recite the words right along with the actors. And I recognized one line and one quick shot that were cut in the transition from pilot to movie. It's now been 30 years since the show was on, and yes, some of it shows. Everyone is incredibly young and somewhat green. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, I did get teary when Zach got killed (Rick Springfield being much more petulant and whiny and "little kid" than Luke in the original "Star Wars"), and I got even more teary as I watched Caprica and the rest of the 11 worlds burn in flames from the Cylons' surprise attack. (I always liked that the planets were named after the zodiac signs.)

Richard Hatch was as good as I remembered him, and Dirk Benedict was as funny and roguish as ever. And really, casting Lorne Greene as the patriarch was a brilliant move. He was such an amazing actor, and he was riveting every time he was on screen, giving immediately credibility to anything he did. Terry Carter was great as Colonel Tigh, and I particularly loved the scene where he had to surreptiously steal as many uniforms as he could. Maren Jensen was as bad as I remembered her being. Her Galactica uniform was completely drab, but she looked quite beautiful when she had the dress on. Pretty to look at, couldn't act her way out of a bag. On the contrary, Laurette Spang (now McCook) was terrific, giving nuance to a fairly simple character. And she was gorgeous to boot, but then, she had all the flowy, showing-a-lot-of-skin dresses. I always have a soft spot for Herb Jefferson, Jr., partly because I always loved Boomer (he was my favorite non-main character - he always had this great calm, suave air about him - and he also had my favorite line in the entire series - it's the first entry in my list of "favorite television show lines" on the right column of this blog) and partly because he was so nice when I saw him at a con. John Colicos was as devilish as ever - they should have known not to trust him. After all, he's a Klingon! And Noah Hathaway was just the cutest thing. The one surprise was that Jane Seymour wasn't as good as I remembered her being. But then, in those first episodes, all she really did was moon at Apollo.

Other random thoughts about the film:

The special effects really did not survive the years, with the problem probably compounded by showing the film theatrically. You could very clearly see the background and then the ships, outlines and all, right on top of them.

When Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer were sweeping the mines, I did notice that the shot of the three mines was used twice. In the first shot, they take out two of the mines. In the later shot, they take out the two mines again, and this time, they also take out the third.

Speaking of the "sweeping the mines" segment, I laughed that Starbuck said that the heat outside was melting his canopy, but he was barely sweating - while sitting in the cockpit with his open helmet. And what's with the lights on the helmet anyway? OK, so we can see their faces better, but logistically speaking, wouldn't that make it harder for them to see, with this big light shining in their faces?

Dress uniforms apparently means use a cape rather than a jacket. I laughed that even Boxey had a cape for the ceremony. But someone needed to train Muffy better. Muffy was always running away, and then Boxey would run after him, and then they'd have to run after him, and then they'd run into bad things. And remembering a later episode, if Muffy is mechanical, how on Kobol do mushies end up being a favorite of his? (And yes, it's a chimp inside the Muffy outfit. I think there was a fully mechanical version for the scenes where Muffy is twitching different parts of himself.)

I've always loved Starbuck's lines when he gets back to the Galactica, when he is angry about seeing his own base ship leaving.

I've always loved the outside shot that tightens on the "Galactica" on the outside of the battlestar.

I also love the sound of the base star.

And yeah, I love that incarnation of the Cylons. Walk awkwardly and even slower than a stormtrooper and don't shoot very much better than them, and have that moving light that KITT steals later and talk all mechanical. They're awesome.

When Baltar is taken to the Imperious Leader, who tells Baltar that he has altered their bargain, my first thought was "pray I don't alter it further". But then I realized that this film pre-dated "The Empire Strikes Back"!

I love the sleekness of the viper, but I did note inconsistencies with the markings on the joystick. The left button is supposed to be "fire", the middle button is supposed to be "turbo", and the right button is supposed to be "im", whatever the hell that means, but I think at some point in the series, we find out that's the "reverse thrusters" button. But in many of the shots that show the joystick, it sometimes said something like "stores" on the left button. Very confusing. Were they shooting supplies at the Cylons? No matter, Cylons blow up cool.

Ovions are creepy and they eat you.

I forgot that Randi Oakes was the party girl who encounters Starbuck and Boomer.

It was funny to watch the Cylons track the motion as the vipers flew past/over them. But then, Vader did that too.

What does the Imperious Leader do all day sitting up there? It's not like he has a computer or has a console or anything.

A daggit is apparently off-world for "dog".

The new Council of 12 are stupid. The Cylons have just destroyed your home planets and killed millions and are still pursuing you. I know, let's lay down our arms, and I'm sure they'll leave us alone. Sire Uri is an idiot and an asshole - loved Apollo's speech to him.

Cassiopeia started off as a sociolator but then became a nurse later in the show.

They're purple and orange squadrons. Don't ever argue with me about those colors.

Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest. A shining planet known as Earth.


The second film was "The Black Hole". Generally, I liked the film, but I'm not sure I'd be interested in seeing it again. It too suffered from really old special effects and adversaries who couldn't hit the side of a barn. I thought it had a decent story, and I was even willing to accept the premise that the scientist had found a way to keep them stable that close to a black hole. Loved having the view of the black hole outside the window - kinda reminded me of Milliways. You knew that something was going to be up with his "missing crew" - and you knew that if Ernest Borgnine was in the movie, something awful was going to happen in general and specifically to him. Hey, he ended up saving their lives. If he had actually waited for them, they would all have been blown to smithereens. The husband thought Anthony Perkins was wooden, but I liked him - I think he's just wooden all the time. Joseph Bottoms was just a little kid almost! Maximilian Schell was great as the crazy scientist.

Random thoughts:

Why did Dr. McCrae only have ESP with VINCENT, the robot, and then didn't even have a clue that all the "robots" around her were actually human? I laughed when she was talking to Anthony Perkins' character, and she said to him, "You want to go with him, don't you?" Yes, you cow, how did you figure that out? Because he's practically drooling and chomping at the bit and is so totally mesmerized? Are you from the Deanna Troi school of empaths?

Max was whack. That was gross when he killed Anthony Perkins' character.

Why did that other robot have a Southern Texas drawl? But you knew he wasn't going to make it.

What the hell was up with the ending? And the scientist fuses with Max? And are they on the other end of the black hole? The husband thought the planet at the end was earth. I have no idea what it was. But, it was a shining planet.

"Battlestar Galactica" - Hasbro titanium collection

OK, let me first say that when I refer to "Battlestar Galactica", I mean the original one from the 70s. Yes, I loved that show. Yes, I've seen the miniseries of the current incarnation, and no, I didn't like it. I can't deal with Starbuck being a girl or Boomer being a Cylon. Yes, I know that many people like it, and it's so much more awesome than that stupid campy version in the 70s. Whatever. I don't feel that way. Besides, I couldn't watch the new version even if I wanted to since we're cably-challenged. And yes, I know they're out on DVD, and yes, can you tell that I'm tired of people wanting me to justify why I don't watch it and by the people who seem shocked and dismayed by my seeming betrayal to the genre of science fiction at refusing to watch it - though why people could possibly get that invested in what I do and don't watch, I'll never understand. So, ok, disclaimer done.

Back in the old days, it was easy for me to know that any Battlestar merchandise was going to be something I was interested in. Now, it's usually not stuff I want because it's all about the new show. I love having the boxed set of the original show in the Cylon head box. I don't actually have a lot of Battlestar merchandise, either because there wasn't much available or because at the time it was available, I didn't have any money for that kind of stuff.

A number of years ago, I heard about a Battlestar Galactica convention that was being held up at Universal City, which I ended up going to. It was fun for some reasons - I saw Richard Hatch up close and personal at one of his panels which was basically held in a sort of classroom. I got to see, take a picture of and wave at Herb Jefferson, Jr. (he waved back) when he was at a table for autographs. A number of the women from Battlestar had their own panel, so that was fun. (Whenever I read Soap Opera Digest, and there's something about John McCook, I always smile, knowing that's Laurette Spang's (now McCook's) husband.)





While I did have fun at the convention, there were also a lot of problems - it wasn't organized very well, and oftentimes, you didn't know the day before what was going to be happening the next day, and sometimes, you'd get there at the beginning of the day, and you still didn't know what was going to be happening. It was cool seeing various fans in the brown uniforms though - I've always loved the look of those. They had another convention a few years ago, and I was told by an insider that this one was going to be done right - I think this was still before the new show - and I considered going, but unfortunately, the timing didn't work out as the entire convention fell during a time when I was already doing something else.

One of the things I remember seeing a lot was a pewter/die-cast version of the Galactica that I really liked. I never picked it up, though, and I haven't seen it in a while, so if I happen to see it again and it's decently priced, I'll probably pick it up.

I figured I was out of luck for any good Battlestar merchandise, but on a recent late-night trip to Toys R Us, the husband happened to find something.




It's a classic Cylon raider from Hasbro's titanium collection. I was pretty excited to be able to get that, and I was hoping maybe they had a viper or even the Galactica itself to go along with it. But, in looking through Hasbro's site, there's only the classic version of the Cylon raider - all the other ones are from the new series. Oh, well, like I need more collectibles. I'm just happy to have this one.