1979 Universal Studios Hollywood Battle Of Galactica TV Ad

Friends, as someone who has always loved movies, when my Grandparents told me in the early ’80s about their trip to Universal Studios Hollywood while on vacation – making my own trip to the film studio and theme park became a priority. I first learned about it not because of the recollections of my Grandparents but from a Parade newspaper magazine supplement in our local Sunday newspaper – thanks to an ad that was promising that by visiting Universal Studios Hollywood I could be thrown into the Battle of Galactica. I am sad to say that dream of being attacked by villainous Cylons and rescued by a Colonial Warrior of the Twelve Colonies of Man was never fulfilled – at least we have this 1979 Universal Studios Hollywood television spot though, right?

It was thanks to Star Wars of course that I was so over the moon with science fiction at the time – throw in Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, plus reruns of Star Trek and television was giving movies a run for it’s money. It is crazy to me now as an ‘adult’ to realize that Battlestar Galactica only ran a single season on ABC – it was such a big part of my childhood – even if the likes of the esteemed Isaac Asmiov apparently didn’t see the virtues of the series:

“Star Wars was fun and I enjoyed it. But Battlestar Galactica was Star Wars all over again and I couldn’t enjoy it without amnesia.”

That quote is courtesy of a 1978 article entitled “Science-Fiction is more than a Space-Age Western” by Isaac Asimov for Knight Ridder newspapers – a review I suppose of the pilot film as it is dated September 17th, the day the Battlestar Galactica premiered on ABC. I will admit that perhaps being a fan of the series has blinded me to the supposed repeat of Star Wars that the celebrated Author of science fiction had an issue with.

Well, perhaps some of those keywords used in that vintage TV promo by the iconic Ernie Anderson did sound tailor-made to catch the attention of Star Wars fans. It’s crazy to think that for a television show that only lasted a single season – with a short-lived spin-off courtesy of Galactica 1980 – that not only did the Battle for Galactica ride debut at Universal Studios Hollywood after the show had been cancelled but remained in operation until 1992!