An interview with Eric Larson

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By Michael A. Faries

BattlestarGalactica.com and BattlestarPegasus.com talked with ERIC LARSON, son of Battlestar Galactica and Galactica 1980 creator, Glen A. Larson. Eric had the rare fortune to appear in both series, as you'll read below. Eric currently maintains www.moralmedia.com. We genuinely appreciated the chance to talk with him about his experience growing up around the Battlestar Galactica universe. He is a very outgoing, humorous and interesting man.

We begin with a little known fact: "The original title for Battlestar Galactica was Star World. I don't know if too many people know that. I remember when John Dykstra and my father told me they thought the show should be called "Battlestar Galactica Saga of a Star World". I didn't like the title. Me and my brother were coming up with alternative names. After a while I think everybody agreed the best name for the show was Battlestar Galactica."

Eric held the part of "Todd" in Battlestar Galactica's "Greetings from Earth" episode. "My father thought I was too old for the role. I was supposed to be the younger brother and in actuality I was older but I don't think you would know it by looking at me. I got a powerful agent to represent me (which was my mom). She was tough but I got the role. When you see the show I look younger than Lorne Greene's daughter. In actuality, I was a year or so older."

"I always looked quite a bit younger than I really was. It got embarrassing when I went to high school in Provo, Utah and the cutest girls in the school came up to me and said, "The elementary school is that way." That was pretty devastating, but I still managed to become Freshman Class President. I was going up against the most popular girl in school; I was the new kid in town. No one would know me from Adam, so I went up to a few friends and promised them Fall Guy hats to promote me (this is when The Fall Guy was the hot show on television). What I did not know is that my campaign crew was promising everyone else Fall Guy hats, parties... you name it. I was even called into the Principal's office for trying to bribe the Student body. I claimed no knowledge of the events as all good politicians do which was actually true. The principal let me off the hook and I won the election. Unfortunately, everyone still wanted to collect all their gifts."

"In addition to being on the 'Greetings from Earth' episode, I was also a regular in the reprise Galactica 1980. I was the one that got sick and died. I remember reading the script and told my Dad I wasn't very happy about dying in the end. He said, 'I'll see what I can do.' Needless to say, I was revived in the end."

"When they were filming the Galactica 1980 scene they were pumping air into my system when I was on the hospital bed. I was supposed to be sick in the movie. In real life I got sick and when I told my social worker-teacher that was the end of it. She was pretty upset and told the crew they were not to pump anymore air into me on the hospital bed. Those teachers are there to enforce the rules to make sure that you don't work too long and make sure you study a certain amount of hours and so forth."

"One of the cool things about working on the show was that I could be in line to give an oral report and have to leave just in time to report to the set. It was just terrible because I really wanted to give that oral report."

An interesting fact: "At one point, my father considered me for the role of Boxey, but I think Noah Hathaway did a great job. I'm glad he did the role."

"I can also tell about the law suit filed by George Lucas against my father for copyright infringement. One of George Lucas's lawyer's kids attended the school that I went to. My father never told me a whole lot about the case. The only way I even found out about the lawsuit was because a kid came up to me and kept inquiring about my name. My real name is actually Glen Larson, although none of my close friends or relatives calls me that."

"I just go by my middle name. On exception was during a role call situation in school. One kid asked me if my father was Glen Larson. I said, 'Yes.'"

"He asked, 'Does he produce Battlestar Galactica?'"

"I said 'Yes.'"

"He said, 'My Dad is suing your dad.'"

"I asked 'What are you talking about?' He told me all about how they felt Battlestar Galactica was a rip-off of Star Wars. The funniest part is how I found out the lawsuit was over. Some kid was about to pound my face in during recess and the lawyer's kid stopped him. He said, 'Wait, you can't do that.' The bully asked, 'Why?' The lawyer's kid said, 'Our dads are friends now.' The suit was now over. I'm really glad the suit didn't keep on going. I could have really gotten pounded."

Continuing about Battlestar Galactica: "Unfortunately, the network decided to cut the series short, even though it was a top twenty show. In it's last episodes, they managed to do some cool things though. In one of the episodes ('Experiment in Terra') the show dealt with missiles shooting down lasers before Ronald Reagan even started talking about it as President."

Any favorite episodes? "Another episode that stands out as one of my favorite episodes was 'War of the Gods' where the Galacticans encounter the devil. I thought it was really starting to get interesting at the end."

Fans were all eager to see the return of the battlestar Pegasus and its General Patton-like Captain, Commander Cain, both featured in the two-part Battlestar Galactica episode, "The Living Legend." "The good news is it's still an element being considered for a planned feature film currently in development."

You asked me about my acting. I stopped acting when I moved from California to Utah when I was about 14 or so. I was in the The Fall Guy just before I moved. I was also in BJ and The Bear and Kids World. The only training that I received that prepared me for my acting on network television was all of the home movies I acted in for my Dad. We used to do a lot of home movies which included a detective story about a crooked cop; an airport disaster movie; a couple of war movies; and a Battlestar Galactica movie. He even made me a star of a 60 Minutes spoof. So, I guess my training was the Glen Larson University of Filmmaking."

"I missed being in the lime light a little when I moved to Utah but it was nice being in a place that was a little more down to earth. I never missed acting that much because I always wanted to be behind the scenes, like my father."

"I have since gone on to writing for the TV show Night Man and am currently working as a Producer for television and the movies. I have partnered up with a company called Platinum Productions that is currently producing the Helter Skelter movie with Propaganda. I also have a TV show in development that I have created with my father, along with other projects."

In talking with Eric, the question of his father's involvement with the new Battlestar Galactica series for the television surfaced. "I am not involved in the new Battlestar production and cannot really speak for my father's involvement. My opinion is that if it's not broke, don't fix it. Battlestar was never broke. It was taken off the air when it was a top twenty hit. If I was running the show, I would keep the show as a quest for Earth with the main characters being Apollo, Starbuck, Colonel Tigh, etc. As for the discovery of Earth, no problem. It never happened. This is science fiction. You can do anything in science fiction. Remember when Spock died? Fans are really let down when you're start messing with a franchise that is working. If it wasn't working, why are there so many web sites devoted to it? It doesn't make sense."

As for extra footage from the Battlestar Galactica for future commercial release, Eric comments, "I think that is all up to Studios USA. They would need to approach my father. I recommended that my father do a special edition with added special effects, but I don't think he has interest in doing that. There are so many scenes in the show that could be touched up to capture the original intent of the creators."

During the interview, Eric was asked to recall any rare facts about the shows: "You asked for behind the scenes stuff that fans may not be privy to. I don't know how much fans know about the show. One thing they may not know is that the Mormon Tabernacle choir was approached to sing for the Pilot along with Gordon Lightfoot. Time and costs didn't permit those negotiations to reach fruition."

In talking further about the sets, Eric added, "You mentioned that it could be very hot on the set. The last person you wanted to be on that set was a Cylon warrior. Those guys were hot. I remembered talking to some of those guys and they would be boiling in those chrome suits."

"One of my fond memories was going to the Apogee company located in a Van Nuys industrial park where they did all of the special effects for Battlestar Galactica. Originally the home of Industrial Light and Magic, it was still run by John Dykstra with some kind of holdover connection with 20th Century Fox. Ironically, in the beginning of Pre-Production for Battlestar, most of the special effects for Star Wars were still there. I saw R2-D2, along with the land speeder. I even got to see the Death Star and have John Dykstra explain how they created that amazing climatic battle scene. I was a great fan of that movie and still am."

"I still have fond memories of the Battlestar series when it went into pre-production. I got to see these amazing effects technicians take models of airplanes and just about everything else and turn them into space ships, including the massive and spectacular Battlestar Galactica, inncluding a trip through the Battlestar Galactica attraction at Universal in a station wagon. I think it's a crime that that attraction is no longer there with it's Cylons shooting laser blasts at the passing trams filled with visitors. I think it was one of Universal Studios's best attractions."

Eric's childhood contained some rather unique off-screen Battlestar moments: "My father actually produced and directed a home movie with me where he put me in a mock-up of one of the Vipers and had a professional film editor put in footage of a Viper firing out of the launch bay and shooting Cylon Raiders. I often complained that I didn't get to see my Dad too much, but I have to say I have some good memories. I had one of the best film producers in Hollywood make home movies with me. Sadly, many of these shows are gone, but they were great times."

Another fond memory that Eric shared: "My Dad stuck me and my brother in a Coke machine and had us pretend it was a tank. He then had an editor splice in footage from the movie Battle of the Bulge. He gave me all of Telly Savalas's lines. My brother played the Nazi commander which I thought was rather appropriate. Me and my brother get along great now though."

Other items of interest: "I may have evidence in the Larson Vault that shows Richard Hatch singing with Dirk Benedict and Lorne Greene. Richard has probably been trying to hide this, but there is a musical version of Battlestar Galactica that was performed for charity. It may be buried in one of our warehouses that resemble the ones in Raiders of the Lost Ark or in Citizen Kane."

"A couple more items of interest with 'Greetings': My little brother and sister were also in the episode with me along with Lorne Greene's daughter. The glass containers that all the kids were in on the space ship were a bit too scary for my little brother David. He refused to get in -- and on one occasion, he kicked the director, Vince Edwards! I personally enjoyed the time I had working on the show."

"I have great memories of the special effects used in Battlestar Galactica. One of the perks of being the son of the producer of Battlestar was that while other kids were playing with the Mattel toys, me and my brother were playing with the real models used for filming."

"Another great memory was of the sets. I was asked once to give a tour of all of the Battlestar Galactica sets for Gordon Lightfoot. My father wanted him to sing a song for an Episode. His concert schedule pulled him out of town before we could get to that episode, but he did enjoy the tour, plus talking to his fellow Canadian, John Colicos (Baltar)."

"I was always a little disappointed that due to budget constraints we were never able to recreate more of the original Ralph Mcquarrie paintings. Ralph was the same artist that worked on Star Wars and created that wonderful world. He also did a great job on Battlestar Galactica. I enjoyed walking on the bridge of the Galactica where people could play video games on the advanced electronic monitors provided by Tektronix.

"It would have been very impressive to show the planet Carillon as Ralph McQuarrie depicted it along with other paintings. I have copies of the original Ralph paintings which show the Ovion mines and many other scenes that would take a lot of CGI work to depict today. Unfortunately, there was no money back then to do it, but maybe it's not too late to do it now."

Eric went on to describe f/x from Galactica 1980: "Universal's Stage 12 (which is the famous sound stage where they filmed The Grinch Who Stole Christmas) was used to recreate a forest scene in the series of Galactica 1980 where a space ship lands. I remembered looking up above me and you could see giant props that were left over from the movie The Incredible Shrinking Woman. In one episode, the special effects crew filled the entire soundstage with mist from the dry ice machines. Lorne Greene carried me off to the giant ship and I was healed by the Galactica doctors. However there is a scene in the show which shows me lying inside the space ship. That is not me. I had a double in that scene."

"A real problem with Galactica 1980 is that because of pressing air dates we had to film several episodes at the same time. I was playing baseball for the next episode while my double was lying on the operating table. In the baseball episode, the Galactica kids posed as a little league baseball team. I tried out for the pitcher role. I nearly hit the director, so they did not pick me. I did throw a baseball pretty far in the show. But, trust me, it was all special effects. I threw the winning throw in the show. I think the crew was petrified every time they had me throw the ball because not even I knew where the ball was going to land! At one point I heard the gaffer yell 'Duck!'"

"In one scene, they decided to have me do my own stunt where I would fall to the ground and they would reverse it so I would look like I was jumping up. They had to pin my hair down so it wouldn't look really obvious what they were doing. They had me climb up a tower that they built and told me to jump. At the end of the day, I could say I was a stunt man."

"One thing I can say about the 'Greetings from Earth' episode. Working with Ray Bolger was amazing because I grew up watching The Wizard of Oz and loved him as the scarecrow. My regret is I didn't ask him to sing any of the songs from the The Wizard of Oz, but then again, he was pretty busy singing in Battlestar Galactica. He crashes the speeder in the episode that I am in. What people may not know is that it was not in the script. I also like working with Randolph Mantooth because I loved the TV show Emergency when I was much younger."

"As for that guy that played Apollo: What a jerk! Just kidding. Richard is great. He'll always be Apollo to me. He was great at capturing the nobility of Apollo. He was the Jimmy Stewart type: an idealistic character, willing to sacrifice all for others while Starbuck was more of a Humphrey Bogart. On the surface, Starbuck seems like he's an opportunist trying to get ahead, but underneath it all, he's got a heart of gold."

"My father tried to spin off the 'Greetings from Earth' episode into its own series. The spin-off would have been a series starring Randolph Mantooth, Ray Bolger and Bobby Van and, of course, me and the other kids. The series would have included the the famous Eastern Alliance as the major enemy to be battled. Unfortunately Galactica's future itself was unstable at the time, so the network was not going to create another Galactica show. In an alternative universe, I'm sure the spin-off was a big hit."

In closing, Eric shared, "Despite the great success of Knight Rider, Fall Guy, Magnum P.I., etc, Battlestar Galactica remains my favorite of all of my Dad's shows. When it was canceled because of costs while it was still a top twenty hit show, the fan mail went crazy. Tragically, one kid committed suicide. Ultimately, the network knew they had made a mistake, so they decided to create Galactica 1980. Unfortunately ABA slotted it at seven o'clock on Sunday night where the FCC imposed special rules requiring massive educational content at the expense of drama. These rules caused most of the cast to decline continuing on in what they perceived would be a watered down less adult series."

"Finally, my father said to 'hell with the FCC' and wrote a final episode just for the fans ('The Return of Starbuck') which was, in effect, a flashback to the original series. He brought back Starbuck to shoot it out with some Cylons, all of them crashing on a deserted asteroid. In an effort to keep from going nuts, Starbuck, the lone survivor, pieces together one working Cylon from the remains of three who didn't survive the crash. He and his once deadliest enemy become best friends, eventually standing side by side to fight off newly arrived Cylons. It not only became one of the most popular episodes ever filmed, there was for a while great interest from England in opening it as a theatrical play in London's West End. With Studio USA still talking about reviving the series, I feel certain we'll be seeing more of Battlestar Galactica and just possibly some of our old friends from the original series. That would sure be great."