Universal has built Battlestar Galactica-themed attractions twice before, with an animatronic laser battle show on the tram tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, and, more recently, dueling Vekoma roller coasters at Universal Studios Singapore.
The Hollywood show ran during the 1980s and closed in 1992 to make room for the Back to the Future/Simpsons Ride building. The Singapore coasters closed last year, reportedly due to ongoing mechanical issues. But both attractions enjoyed substantial popularity during their runs.
Battlestar Galactica has proven itself an enduring franchise, spawning an acclaimed four-season reboot on the Sci Fi Channel. Could a successful Battlestar Galactica feature film help create demand for a new BSG attraction at a Universal Studios theme park? What would you like to see, and where?
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I should be considered a likely fan of the previous reboot, but I hated it. I felt it wasn't very good in the sense that I resembled the original series. It didn't feature Richard Hatch, which I thought was a slap in the face. Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original series, kept the dream alive and he was overlooked in the reboot.
The reboot was done in a very long and drawn out method. It was high on strategy and short on action. Perhaps Battlestar Galactica is a one trick pony. There isn't much more to do with the premise. They had to invent a sexy human-like Cylone, who naturally found humans to be perplexing, yet they should survive. Thanks a lot.
The bottom line is that we're looking at a miniscule fanbase that does lure fans from other sci-fi properties like "Star Wars" and "Star Trek". Any attempt Universal would make to adapt BSG to an American theme park would be crushed by Disney's upcoming Star Wars expansion.
Also, call me skeptical, but while Glen Larson is involved in this BSG reboot movie, I'm not holding my breath for it (he had been pitching a movie ever since the original series was cancelled in the early 80's), and the fact that Ron Moore or Jane Espenson (co-producer and showrunner for Caprica) are not connected with this project, I'm not terribly excited.
At any rate, I think BSG is a great property in the right hands - and would love to see more. But I don't want Ronald "I Killed BSG" Moore anywhere near the project. The best thing Universal could do is let the folks at Disney who make the Marvel movies resurrect this franchise, as their track record is quite astonishing.
Is Joss Whedon available for the reboot?
I was with you on Helix until about halfway through the season. The series really picked up about episode 8, and pushed hard to the season finale. I'm not sure where they're going to go next season, but it's holding promise, unlike Defiance, which I'm giving 4 episodes this season before jumping ship.
It's clear we have very different tastes since I absolutely loved what Moore did with DS9 in contrast with the late great Ira Steven Behr. The Dominion storyline and actors he brought into the fold were far beyond what Star Trek fans had ever seen before on TV.
As for DS9, I liked it to a point, and I did love the Dominion, but when they did that awful "reset" in season three using the virtual reality simulation to determine how much the Federation would sacrifice to avoid war with the Dominion, I gave up (incidentally, Ronald Moore wrote part one of the storyline to which I am referring, and Ira Steven Behr wrote part two - part one was terrific, part two, ugh). Besides, Babylon 5 was running at the same time and, imho, totally outclassed anything DS9 had to offer.
Neither here nor there, but again, I still think the BSG mini series Moore did (and the first couple season of the show) were brilliant. And in the right hands, BSG could be brilliant again.
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*sigh*
As for here in the US, the fan base may be devoted, but I am fairly certain it is small, almost to the point where we'll never see an attraction. Heck, even the last Star Trek movie had an underwhelming performance and that has a way higher following.