Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series + Galactica 1980 - May 12, 2015

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by ApolloOne

Is it completely Region A friendly? I ask because the extras on the German set are 25 fps, which would be completely fine in a UK release. So I'm wondering if the UK release extras will be 25 or 30 fps.

The German set was designed solely for that market by Koch Media, the UK release is being put out by Universal who normally design their releases so the discs can be used in multiple countries and with the announcement of a US release not far off I am certain the UK and US sets will use the exact same discs with any SD content being 480p.

[HarcourtMudd]

Originally Posted by OneBuckFilms

If it matches the German set, if memory serves, it was included there.

I'd like to have it, simply for completeness and "The Return of Starbuck".

Originally Posted by petrified-eye

Yes, Galactica 1980 is included in the German set. I remember being quite moved as a kid because of that last episode.

Ironically, "The Return of Starbuck" was one of the best episodes of the entire run...

[Rich65]

Originally Posted by HarcourtMudd

Ironically, "The Return of Starbuck" was one of the best episodes of the entire run...

If only the rest of Galactica 1980 was as good as that episode.

[Talyn]

Originally Posted by Rich65

If only the rest of Galactica 1980 was as good as that episode.

The long running joke is that Return of Starbuck was a direct to video sequel, the rest of the G80 series doesn't exist. There was a whole lot more suck in G80 than in the original.

[GrouchoFan]

Not everyone can appreciate recycled shots of Cylon Raiders superimposed over stock footage from Earthquake.

[Rich65]

That was well done I will say that, but the show itself was still a disaster.

[oldwwf]

Available - 27/11/14 in Australia

[Matt C.]

Great news indeed! One more long-standing item to check off of my Wish List. Hopefully Buck Rogers will follow suit soon...

[cash_black]

Originally Posted by Matt C.

Great news indeed! One more long-standing item to check off of my Wish List. Hopefully Buck Rogers will follow suit soon...

Well BSg all started with a german release and now buck rogers is getting a german blu ray release... unfortinately its standard definition on a blu ray disc

[BossTweed]

I read from Peter Noble at Colonial Fleets Forum that Glen A Larson, the creator of Battlestar Galactica has died.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Glad to hear the original BG is finally coming to Blu; definitely getting this set.

Note that I just watched this entire series (for the most part, it was the first time I had seen any of the episodes), and have to respectfully disagree that this is a Star Wars rip-off; sure, some of the space battle effects reminded me heavily of the Death Star dogfight battle in A New Hope (1977), but that's probably because the guy who did the effects for SW also did them for BG.

The show actually reminded me a lot more of Classic Star Trek than Star Wars - i.e., the Colonial Warriors would frequently go down to planets & have adventures involving the natives of the planets whose technology was typically a lot more primitive than their own. There were several episodes of BG that pitted the Warriors against a totalitarian government; these episodes reminded me a lot of the Classic ST episode Patterns of Force...

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I think fans of the original BG may be interested in this article and interesting clip - the effects for some of the space battles in "The Living Legend" episode (Part 1, I think) are significantly improved; I believe this is just a fan edit, but it would be cool if the entire show were re-done in this way - I know it's probably not going to happen, however:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/69533

[Maggot]

Going to be a wonderful day when this comes to the States, either by UK import, given it turns out to be region free, or the eventual US release. I tried watching the new Galactica series years ago on TV and found all the characters and acting in it to be robotic and lacking any passion. Given they were supposed to be human beings fighting machines, I found it ironic and moronic. I'll take the original series any day for at least it felt human. It may have been campy, but at least had feeling.

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

I think fans of the original BG may be interested in this article and interesting clip - the effects for some of the space battles in "The Living Legend" episode (Part 1, I think) are significantly improved; I believe this is just a fan edit, but it would be cool if the entire show were re-done in this way - I know it's probably not going to happen, however:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/69533

Oh god no. Stop retooling historic effects. Just reboot the whole show (again) if you want to see updated effects with old spaceships. The Star Trek "updates" are an abomination, as were the Star Wars special editions. Each TV show and movie is a work of art that should reflect the time in which it was made.

[AmishParadise]

Originally Posted by steel_breeze

Oh god no. Stop retooling historic effects. Just reboot the whole show (again) if you want to see updated effects with old spaceships. The Star Trek "updates" are an abomination, as were the Star Wars special editions. Each TV show and movie is a work of art that should reflect the time in which it was made.

Well "Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)" was released on Blu-ray with the option of watching the show unaltered or with the updated effects and "Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (1978)" is already available on DVD and Blu-ray unaltered, the US release of the German Blu-ray set said to be coming in early 2015, so your comparison to the special edition versions of Star Wars IV-VI just doesn't hold water as those films never made it to Blu-ray unaltered. Considering that ST:TOS and BSG:TOS are available on Blu-ray unaltered why should I give a rats ass one way or the other if those shows are "also" released on Blu-ray with updated effects? Seriously. I don't get it.

Personally I thought the test reel (...which was done a number of years ago as a sales pitch to Universal on the idea and not indicative of what the finished product would look like) was extremely fun to watch. I can watch BSG:TOS unaltered on DVD and Blu-ray any time that I like. Would love to own a copy of the show on Blu-ray with updated effects as well. Why the heck not? I think it would be awesome. Even better would be it were released in the same fashion as ST:TOS where a "proper" restoration is done of the series unaltered (...as the German Blu-ray release in my opinion can clearly be improved upon), the updated effects offered as an option during playback via seamless branching.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by AmishParadise

Personally I thought the test reel (...which was done a number of years ago as a sales pitch to Universal on the idea and not indicative of what the finished product would look like) was extremely fun to watch. I can watch BSG:TOS unaltered on DVD and Blu-ray any time that I like. Would love to own a copy of the show on Blu-ray with updated effects as well. Why the heck not? I think it would be awesome. Even better would be it were released in the same fashion as ST:TOS where a "proper" restoration is done of the series unaltered (...as the German Blu-ray release in my opinion can clearly be improved upon), the updated effects offered as an option during playback, i.e. seamless branching.

Agreed. I'm one of those who doesn't mind when something is released with updated effects, as long as they look better than what they're replacing.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and when the Star Wars: Special Edition of ANH came out in early 1997, I was extremely impressed by the updated effects in most (but not all) of the film. The best improvement was the X-wing fighter attack on the Death star at the end of the film - it was a huge improvement over the original 1977 version, to the point where you felt you were watching a completely different film - very impressive.

Would like to see Classic BG get the same treatment....

[cash_black]

Originally Posted by AmishParadise

Well "Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)" was released on Blu-ray with the option of watching the show unaltered or with the updated effects and "Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (1978)" is already available on DVD and Blu-ray unaltered, the US release of the German Blu-ray set said to be coming in early 2015, so your comparison to the special edition versions of Star Wars IV-VI just doesn't hold water as those films never made it to Blu-ray unaltered. Considering that ST:TOS and BSG:TOS are available on Blu-ray unaltered why should I give a rats ass one way or the other if those shows are "also" released on Blu-ray with updated effects? Seriously. I don't get it.

Personally I thought the test reel (...which was done a number of years ago as a sales pitch to Universal on the idea and not indicative of what the finished product would look like) was extremely fun to watch. I can watch BSG:TOS unaltered on DVD and Blu-ray any time that I like. Would love to own a copy of the show on Blu-ray with updated effects as well. Why the heck not? I think it would be awesome. Even better would be it were released in the same fashion as ST:TOS where a "proper" restoration is done of the series unaltered (...as the German Blu-ray release in my opinion can clearly be improved upon), the updated effects offered as an option during playback, i.e. seamless branching.

Does not need updated effects, looks great as is

[AmishParadise]

Originally Posted by cash_black

Does not need updated effects, looks great as is

Again, the original series is already available unaltered on DVD and Blu-ray. You can watch the same half dozen stock shots where a Viper or the Galactica take out a Cylon Raider over and over and over again to ad nauseam throughout the entire series any time that you like. No one would be holding a gun to your head forcing you to purchase a version offered up with updated effects but please, pooh–pooh the idea.

[Akijama]

Release date: May 12

The Original Series will be available as a part of the Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection along with Galactica 1980: The Complete Series.

Also, it will be available as a part of the The Definitive Collection along with Battlestar Galactica (35th Anniversary) and Galactica 1980: The Complete Series.

Amazon pre-orders:

Battlestar Galactica: The Definitive Collection Blu-ray

Battlestar Galactica: The Definitive Collection includes over 4 hours of bonus features, including over 3 hours of deleted scenes from Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series. The collection also includes featurettes such as "Glen Larson on the Creation of Battlestar Galactica" and "Stu Phillips: Composing the Score" with an inside look at the creation of this remarkable production, and "Remembering Battlestar Galactica," a 45-minute documentary illuminating the journey and impact of this ground-breaking series.

Battlestar Galactica Blu-ray

Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection includes over 4 hours of bonus features, including over 3 hours of deleted scenes from Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series. The collection also includes featurettes such as "Glen Larson on the Creation of Battlestar Galactica" and "Stu Phillips: Composing the Score" with an inside look at the creation of this remarkable production, and "Remembering Battlestar Galactica," a 45-minute documentary illuminating the journey and impact of this ground-breaking series.

[Indiana Jones]

So basically the Definitive Set also comes with a copy of the movie version?

For those that just want the original series and G:1980 then the UK set might be worth a look, seems to match the Remastered Set but is available now and Amazon reports that its Region Free.