Collectible Corner: A wonderful mix of beautiful and generic

I recently acquired this great-looking Battlestar Galactica toy. The toy itself is simple but effective, but, oh, what a card! 

I'd show you the card back, but there is nothing on it! They spent the money on that glorious front. I love the stylized "BattlestaR."

It's funny because back in the day, I cared little about the packaging after I got the toy. I would have torn this up and ditched it, then ran around the house zooming this cruiser through the sky. Now, of course, the cruiser is cool enough, but I got it for the packaging.

I will admit that once again I am tempted to open a vintage toy, if only to try that "free rolling." Don't sell short that "non toxic paint," either. It's good to know I could take this off the card and put it in my mouth with no ill effects!

Collectibles Corner: Adama looking good in Funko form

My wonderful wife and Friend of the Show Laurie surprised me a few weeks ago with this awesome Funko Pop: A delightful rendition of Lorne Greene as Commander Adama from the original Battlestar Galactica.

Look at the world-weariness in Adama's eyes. It's obvious that this man has spent YAHRENS leading multitudes in a high-stakes, high-stress environment.

And, no, despite Mike asking, it does not come with detachable hair. It does have a cool cape!

Laurie told me that Adama and Apollo were the ones easier to find at decent prices, whereas Starbuck and Cylon were much pricier. That's the thing with these Funkos--if you don't get 'em while they are out initially, you might not get 'em at all unless you want to pay outrageous prices.

It just so happens that Adama is the single BSG Funko I would pick if I had to pick just one--and it seems like maybe I did! Thanks, Laurie!

On the Road: Pasadena Toy Expo Part 3: The BSG game

One of my finds at that toy show I attended recently is this vintage Battlestar Galactica board game, in great condition and complete:

We have not been able to play this game yet, but here are my first impressions: This looks so generic that I can't help but think there was an existing structure that Parker Brothers altered to "fit" BSG. I doubt this is much fun to play (though I want to play it)!

Yet the box is cool. It is an officially licensed product. It's unfortunate that no images of the show's characters appear anywhere in the packaging, components, or game board, but at least there are Vipers and Cylon Raiders.

Next up: The continuation of my quest for an elusive Galactica 1980 game.

Rick's exclusive Battlestar Galactica power rankings

 Everyone loves 'em, everyone does 'em, and now it's time for me to join in the fun with my exclusive top 10 of the original Battlestar Galactica! Keep in mind the way I do these is if two characters from BSG were to fight each other on a neutral planet right now, who would win?

1) Commander Adama: The majestic leader of the ragtag fleet (and sometimes a ragtag show), played with mastery and command by Lorne Greene, deserves the top spot even if he gets a little obsessed with that Kobol stuff early on and it clouds his judgment.

2) Captain Apollo: Well, where else can you rate the guy who is, according to the series, best at piloting, best at warrior-ing, best at surrogate fathering, best at actual fathering, best at diplomacy-ing, and even best at triad? I think the only thing he can't do is gamble, and that could be seen as a virtue.

3) Colonel Tigh: Maybe we are putting Tigh too High, but it's not his fault the series often reduced him to walking around the bridge looking constipated. Given the chance, Tigh could have stepped in and led the ragtag fleet all over the cosmos.

4) Colonel Starbuck: Forever second banana to Apollo, but he doesn't seem to mind. Within the show's universe, he is one pretty cool guy in addition to being the second-bestest pilot, triad player, etc. By the season's end, he is still impetuous but has some maturity to go along with his warrior spirit. Plus he says feldercarb a lot.

5) Boomer: No explanation should be needed here, really. As long as we're talking about triad, what's up with the thing where Starbuck and Apollo always team up against Boomer and some scrub who barely gets camera time, let alone dialogue, and then Boomer walks off after the game with the other team?

6) Commander Cain: Lloyd Bridges guests as Cain in two episodes (or one two-parter) and is the single best guest star the original series has to offer. The character is relatively complex and has some interesting personal dynamics with Adama. I wish there were more of Cain in the show's short run.

7) Sheba: I would love to put Athena in here, but the show treated her like an also-ran and then just stopped mentioning her. Sheba wasn't quite a top-echelon character as they tried to push her, but given time, she might have become that.

8) Count Iblis: Speaking of Sheba, she was drawn in by the enigmatic Iblis, played with full, uh, enigmacity by Patrick MacNee. This character is intriguing and ultimately a better foil for the main cast than the regular villains on the shows.

9) Chameleon: Hey, it's Fred Astaire! The details of the storyline are a little hazy, but it's a fun episode and cool to see a true legend on the series.

10) Jolly: I just don't have the heart to exclude him.

Not ranked: Cassiopeia, despite the efforts of the show to elevate her; Omega, who somehow became almost a main player on the ship by the end; Baltar, who certainly gave it his all; the Cylons, who just didn't stand out enough as individuals; Serina, who just didn't last long enough; Boxey because--well, let's just leave it at that; Muffit II.

Battlestar Galactica: The LP!

Check out this recent addition to the Battle of the Network Shows collection, a glorious original soundtrack album to the Battlestar Galactica series:

Owning this doesn't just make me want to fire up my Viper and go buy a hi-fi, it makes me want to BE Stu Phillips leading the L.A. Philharmonic in this glorious music. 

I mean, looking at this album, you have to think the show is awesome and "a big deal," right?

Does the ragtag fleet have an "arts ship"? They have a prison barge, I think a trash barge, and they have concerts, but do they have one dedicated ship for the fine arts? 

YouTube Spotlight: Richard Hatch walks the line

If any video in this week's Battlestar Galactica playlist deserves a closer look, it's this:

Richard Hatch is standing on his head on a tightrope! I mean, come on!

Here is a nice bit of trivia posted on his Facebook page before his passing.

Circus of the Stars is a series of 17 two-hour specials broadcast on CBS, with the first January 10, 1977, and the last (of the era) November 27, 1992. Various celebrities did circus-like acts, with others appearing as hosts and ringmasters. Someday, we'll get this on the podcast!

The Battlestar Galactica video playlist is now live!

After hearing our season finale, continue exploring the world of old-school Galactica with our video playlist! Just click below to see promos, commercials, and more! See deleted footage! A blooper! Colonel Tigh for Ultra Sheen! Richard Hatch in Circus of the Stars! And what in the world is Dirk Benedict Steel Stomachs? Find out below!

And remember you can visit our official YouTube channel anytime for all our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!

Show Notes: Episode 9-13: Batttlestar Galactica

*Battlestar Galactica aired just one season (1978) and 24 episodes (depending on how you count the pilot/various two-parters) on ABC on Sunday nights at 8:00 P.M. Galactica 1980 premiered in January of, you guessed it, 1980, but it lasted only till August.

*Season finale "Hand of God" premiered  Sunday,April 29, 1979, at 8:00 P.M. it followed John Denver's Rocky Mountain Reunion and preceded 1975's Master Gunfighter. NBC countered with Part 2 of The Tattooed Police Horse on Wonderful World of Disney, 1976's Swashbuckler, and an Edwin Newman NBC News special, College Sports, Inc: Big Money on Campus. CBS' lineup consisted of 60 Minutes, All in the Family, One Day at a Time, Alice, Stockard Channing in Just Friends, and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour.

*The original Marvel Comics Battlestar Galactica series ran 23 issues, 1979-1981. According to Wikipedia, the licensing contract with Universal stipulated that after the first handful of episodes, Marvel could not adapt the TV stories for the comics. The series had a resolution and "finale," and though it received contemporary reprint coverage, there doesn't appear to be a comprehensive modern collection of the material.

*Here is a look at the 1978 Fall Preview page on the series in TV Guide:

*The Paul Fix episode we mention is "Take the Celestra," the one that precedes the finale we talk about on on the pod.

*The book we mention is By Your Command by Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore.

*The original BSG is complete on home video and also available for free (supported by ads) streaming on NBC.com and Tubi.

*Don Bellisario graduated from Penn State in 1961, and the university recognized a huge donation of his by renaming its College of Communications after him in 2017.

*Thanks, everyone, for another great season, and stand by for the Battys coming soon!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...