Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming

So far, BSG: The Second Coming exists only as a trailer that Richard Hatch and Fred Stauffer take to conventions with them--as they did for VisionCon this weekend. Although it was produced on a shoestring budget, with volunteer labor, and financed by Richard Hatch's credit cards, the trailer is a sleek, professional-looking presentation with incredible CGI and good acting by old and new cast alike. Thrill to the new Scarlet-class Vipers! Shiver when the new Cylon baseships "unscrew" into their dual-disc shape! Stand and applaud madly when it ends!

Richard Hatch took everything good about the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series and produced The Second Coming. From using the original characters, the story line, terrific special effects, and a powerful musical score, Hatch managed to draw a mega audience of young and old to take a close look at one of Science Fictions almost forgotten landmarks, Battlestar Galactica. The overall message: Love conquers all. The entire production was put together with the dreams and hopes of Hatch, who, spent his own money, motivated the masses, and set out to promote the idea of what a film makers vision can do to the world. Several actors from the original series came together on a tiny budget to make a dream of so many into a reality. One of these actors was the late John Colicos who past away only months after he filmed his scenes. Everyone, for the actors young and old, to the crew of producers, cameramen, and assistants came together and made a labor of love that will withstand the test of time with movie audiences. Hatch's accomplishment is fact that nothing is impossible for the dream makers!

I loved the original Battlestar Galactica. I was seven when it came out and was one of thousands of fans saddened by its cancellation. The sequel series Galactica 1980 didn't offer much in the way of continuation.

Then there was this vision called Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming.

Original BG series star Richard Hatch knew what BG should have been and tried valiantly to revive it. In his short four minute trailer, the rag-tag fugitive fleet on its continued quest for Earth faces an evolved Cylon empire.

Along with past regular BG stars like John Colicos, Terry Carter and Richard Lynch are a group of new faces to include a grown Boxey.

The short trailer showed more conflicts that the space refugees might have faced had this vision had become a reality. It appeared to have a darker tone than the fun original. That darker tone seemed to have been incorporated into the 2003 remake plus some space ship designs.

While the 2003 remake made some pretty impressive waves for five years, this 1999 vision of a BG revival would have made bigger waves because it would have been a sequel. A sequel is what fans wanted for years.

It's a shame that Glen Larson didn't want to work with Richard Hatch on a revival sequel. While I totally understand that the rights and creative licenses belonged to Larson, at least Hatch showed his ideas of what could have been. Larson only hinted that he had a script he was working on and couldn't even give little hints of what his view on what a revival should be.

After Hatch presented this remarkable trailer, interested studios approached him and asked how they can move forward with this. Unfortunately Hatch could not and told them that the rights to do so were not with him.

I can only surmise that bickering of how Battlestar Galactica should have been revived is what failed to make it come into fruition. While there has been talk of a sequel to the original series (since the end of the remake), there really is no point anymore as Hatch and many other major players have passed away. All the surviving actors have pretty much retired from acting. While it is not unheard of for an actor to come out of retirement for another gig, it would be hard for a continuation to get off the ground when you only have a fraction of the original characters.

Good initiative Richard Hatch! While this awesome vision of how the show should have been revived never became reality, you showed fans that BG still had a place among sci-fi greats. More so than Glen Larson in my opinion.

Hatch and the gang that assisted with the new CGI stuff and editing in the finer points from series footage have made a trailer that says- YEAH!!! I saw this at a private home showing almost 2 years ago and was simply delighted. Talking with Mr Hatch there, his enthusiasm was very apparent but so was a glimmer of doubt as he talked of being thwarted here and there on the way to presenting the trailer to Universal. And we hear a new series and or film from elsewhere may come to pass (Please leave Glen Larson out of it! I thank him for spawning the series and damn him for letting it become what all his series do- crap). BG's potential was in performances compelling, stories occasionally great but often good and an overall backdrop that could replace the excitement of a movie serial as we once thought would be (George). I want to see this project become a full big screen treatment. We'll see....

...about the possibility of making his trailer available on his website.

Though he said nothing explicit, Mr. Hatch hinted that he's working toward getting permission to post it for download.

He also responded to my email in only a few minutes--a record for a response from any "celebrity" type I've ever contacted. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy.

I still feel that Universal should have given him a credit as a "consulting producer"; at least some acknowledgement of his 20 year effort to revive BSG. At the very least, they could have paid his credit card debt he piled up making his trailer. Because without his two-decade quest, we fans wouldn't be enjoying the amazing "reimagined" version. At least he got two guest starring roles out of it. Perhaps it can kick start his career again.

But as is obviously even to those of us outside "the Biz", the only thing rarer in Hollywood than gratitude is loyalty.

While BSG II is becoming a masterpiece, I still hope one day a "continuation" can become reality. Perhaps as a fully cg-animated feature. That way there could be no confusion with Ronald Moore's series.