Fast forward to March of 1999. I had been following the reports of Richard Hatch's efforts to bring the show back. When I heard about his trailer, I made plans to attend DragonCon in hopes that he would show it there. Then, out of nowhere, came the announcement that Galactica's creator, Glen A. Larson was teaming-up with Todd Moyer to make a new BSG film. At first, I was overjoyed. This was what I had been waiting for. Then, I started to hear reports of what the story would be about. It would follow the crew of the Pegasus (from "The Living Legend"). The Pegasus? It's called Battlestar Galactica-how can it be about Cain and his ship?

To make matters worse, it would take place shortly after the final episode of the original series. I couldn't help but think to myself, "If it takes place right after the end of the original series, how can the original cast be involved?" Well, they couldn't. That was two strikes against Mr. Larson's project. Finally, I heard Larson say that he wanted to "reinvent" the series. Why? The original ideas were fine. They just hadn't been given a chance to be properly explored. Wouldn't the show's creator want to go back and correct that? I just couldn't believe what I was reading. Then, I remembered that Mr. Larson had partnered with Todd Moyer for this project. Mr. Moyer had just released Wing Commander, so I decided to check out the film that had convinced Glen Larson that this was the man to team-up with.

I entered the theatre at 7:30pm, and I was gone by 8pm. It was that bad. The experience of Wing Commander gave me a sinking feeling that any BSG film by the team of Larson and Moyer would not succeed. But, I couldn't help but think that as the series' creator, Mr. Larson would somehow keep the film on the right track. As the months went by, I read many articles about the competing projects. Larson's with the Pegasus, and Richard Hatch's with the original cast and themes. I had to admit that Mr. Hatch's sounded like the real deal, but Larson owned the rights. Or did he? As more time went by, it became clear that Glen Larson did not own the rights to his own creation. He reportedly was paid for BSG by Universal back in 1978.

The show was a "work for hire." Larson's comments were merely meant to derail the efforts of Mr. Hatch. Then came the personal attacks from both Todd Moyer and Mr. Larson. The most vicious was reported in Cinescape. Glen Larson was quoted as saying that Mr. Hatch should "go bathe his face in cold cream every night" if he had any hopes of appearing in his film. Comments like that didn't exactly endear me to Mr. Larson or his project. Then came the final straw. Mr. Moyer, in an interview with IGN, outlined his plans for Battlestar Galactica. As I read the article, I was overcome with a feeling of dread. I continued to read, and that's when it happened: "walking Vipers." It was now clear to me that Glen Larson had no idea what made BSG special.

I had come to the conclusion that I could no longer support Glen Larson's efforts to revive my favorite show. I guess I had been in denial about the whole thing in the first place. After all, I have always felt like the creator should know what's best for the show. Gene Roddenberry had always tried to look after the best interests of Star Trek. JMS had always taken good care of Babylon 5, and George Lucas had always watched out for Star Wars. I guess I had always believed the same of Glen Larson and BSG. But, that just isn't the truth. The truth is that Glen Larson has always fed off of the successes of others. One can look at everything he's done throughout his career and find some link to another successful film.

Alias Smith and Jones was taken from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. McCloud was taken from Coogan's Bluff. BJ and the Bear was taken from Every Which Way But Loose. Finally, Battlestar Galactica was taken from Star Wars. It's sad, but true. No man that rips off the work of others can truly feel protective over what he creates. Oh, I know what Larson says about Adam's Ark being written in the 1960's. (The original treatment for Battlestar Galactica.) If that really is true, he was probably trying to ripoff Star Trek. However, the way it turned out, he was trying to cash in on the creation of Mr. Lucas. Mr. Larson took the "quick money" that Universal gave him for it and he turned his back on the show. He didn't exercise any kind of quality control where the scripts were concerned. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many subpar episodes during the first half of it's season.

When ABC finally cancelled the show, Glen Larson did nothing to fight for it. And when ABC wanted a lighter version for the Sunday family hour, he created Galactica: 1980, instead of refusing to damage the memory of the original series. Again, he took the money and ran away from Galactica. Once again, he had shown the fans of BSG that he had no idea what made the show special to begin with. I stated before that I loved the show when I finally saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel. That's the truth. Then how, you may ask, can I claim that it was a copy of Star Wars. Well, that is simply the truth. It was another example of Glen Larson cashing in on someone elses success. However, Battlestar Galactica became so much more than a mere copy of George Lucas's creation. The scripts may not have always been outstanding, but the cast made each and every episode special. Then, at about the halfway point in the season, the scripts got better and the cast was really given a chance to give performances that are special even to this day. There are so many episodes that one could list that demonstrate how great the show had become.

The heart of BSG was never in it's special effects, although they were fabulous. Rather, it was in the characters and the actors hired to bring them to life. The cast was perfect. It was through their performances that we fans have embraced this show and kept it alive for over 20 years (in my case, 14 years). We fans want to see those characters live and breathe again. The only way to get that is to see Mr. Hatch's project succeed. He knows what made the show special. He has shown that he understands what we all want to see from a new BSG production (read his books "Armageddon" and "Warhawk"). Anybody can hire a great effects company to come in and create some awe-inspiring SFX, but without the characters we want to see again, no BSG film can be successful. That is what Glen Larson doesn't understand. He just wants to put the name Battlestar Galactica out there again to cash in on the current success of "Episode 1." Fortunately, this will not be happening. His project was supposed to begin filming back in September. It didn't. He gave no reason for the delay, but did say that it was to begin shortly after the new year. Now, that will not even be happening. Again, no reasons have been given.

Finally, he has now started talking about making it as an IMAX film. He also claims that Universal had approached him about doing it that way. Common sense says that this is just another one of Larson's many efforts to sabotage the efforts of Richard Hatch to bring BSG back the way we fans wish to see it. The truth is that if Glen Larson really did own the rights to Galactica, he would have already made his film and would be shopping it around to various studios, hoping to find a distributor. Instead, he can only continue his verbal assault on Richard Hatch.

To close, I would like to say a few words about Richard Hatch. This man is a true marvel. He has been building interest in a new BSG project for several years now. He has also completed an audition trailer, despite overwhelming odds against him. I have seen this trailer. It is simply the finest piece of filmed entertainment I have seen all year. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to do so. In the meantime, please look at the photos from the trailer that have been posted here. Mr. Hatch has proven that he knows what made Galactica special to all of us, and he is determined to give it back to us in that way. His efforts should serve as inspiration to us all. If we continue to voice our wishes to Universal and StudiosUSA, we will be successful in getting Battlestar Galactica back the way we deserve it. We have loved this show too long to allow opportunists like Glen A. Larson and Todd Moyer to come in and destroy it. Support the real revival. Support Richard Hatch!

Thank you.