Summer 1978, and production of the original three-hour event movie Saga of a Star World is nearing conclusion at Universal Studios, Burbank, with Richard A. Colla still at the directing helm, working from series creator Glen A. Larson's ambitious script. This first three hours comprise a commitment from Universal Studios with Glen A. Larson Productions for an event seven-hour mini-series airing on the ABC TV channel in America from September of that year. As this is happening, the second two-hour story is being prepared but thing's have not been easy in finding a successful continuance story. After many story reshapes, and a revolving door of departing writers (allegedly including Star Trek's legendary and versatile D.C. Fontana), The Gun on Ice Planet Zero is selected as the epic feature-length follow-up to Saga of a Star World, its screenplay ultimately credited to Michael Sloan, Donald Bellisario and Glen A. Larson (with story by John Ireland, Jr), to be helmed directorially by regular Larson series stalwart Alan J. Levi, a much respected visualist at Universal Studios and no stranger to helming ambitions episodic /pilot TV productions.
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| A proud John Dykstra in his Apogee office. |
Still acting as producer, what with this second story's ambitious special effects requirements linked to the Galactica and the massive cannon residing on the ice planet Arcta being used against it, John Dykstra and his team of Apogee effects men and women located at the rented Van Nuys ILM facility (and its housing of the majority of in-use special equipment owned by George Lucas and originally created for the original Star Wars) begin concept work, model realisation and storyboarded model filming for Gun. The already established contract with Apogee is for them to work on the seven-hour mini-series - at that stage there are no plans for a weekly series, but by that time there would be a library of effects shots capable of being reused or changed with optical recompositing. Happy to leave the project as soon as possible, Dykstra and his company's relationship with the series creator is already strained due to ongoing problems, creative differencies, hassles and reshoots on material hastily required by Larson/ Universal for the three-hour pilot and for what would also be its story pared down theatrical release. After completing Gun, Dykstra will quietly relinquish his status as series producer by August 1978 to work on the science fiction movie Altered States, and depart the everyday aspects of producing the series in order to go on and find other properties for his established team to work on- in his place, respected veteran Richard Edlund handles the majority of effects supervisory work in his place, for parts of Gun, and sections of the successor story Lost Planet of the Gods, plus some exterior location sequences for the singular episode that will become The Long Patrol. After this work, the rest of Dykstra's team would join him on the film project as the Universal Heartland effects filming team are rushed in as replacements, originally to have worked in tandem with Dykstra.
Interestingly, the way that Gun has been shaped, at a time when Saga of a Star World is still evolving in its filming, the story includes virtually no continuity to the story that proceeded it, nor builds on it in the way that Lost Planet of the Gods ultimately will when that tale becomes the designated second story/series launch proper replacing Gun in its original planned transmission, which will be helmed by popular new producer Donald Bellisario. And as problems occur with Richard A. Colla's handling of pilot sequences and Larson needing to make important re-writes to key character scenes within it, Alan J. Levi, now heavily involved in production on Gun, is soon drafted in by Larson to handle the new scenes needing to be filmed with Colla's swift departure from Saga. Fortunately, Levi is more than capable for these additional sequences ultimately shot during and in between production of Gun, whilst an extra scene involving Athena and Starbuck for Saga is also filmed but later, and probably not handled by Levi, likely captured during production of Lost Planet. Sadly, when Larson refuses to co-credit Alan J. Levi alongside Richard A. Colla for Saga, the director decides not to work with Larson on Galactica ever again, which proves a great pity.
With Lost Planet of the Gods ultimately being the replacement two-part series opener after the three hour airing of Saga, helmed by the popular Bellisario, The Gun on Ice Planet Zero will ultimately be reshaped into a two-parter to be held over in first US transmission for the all-important Sweeps Ratings period, and will undergo some quite extensive revamping and extra reshoots that are necessary with the story telling events that Lost Planet adds to the series. Such new/replacement/extended sequences for Gun would be filmed after/between Lost Planet of the Gods/The Lost Warrior.
Notably, the originally filmed movie version of The Gun on Ice Planet Zero has the following key differences between it and the eventual two-hour version, and here are four of the big ones...
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| One of the gold Command Centurions seen in The Living Legend. |
Firstly, the Imperious Leader has died after the events of Saga and there were originally no plans to replace him- instead, the series Cylon villains would continue on to fight the humans, and be mostly led by gold Command Centurions, as seen in Gun with the Arcta base leader, Vulpa. At this point, the human villain Count Baltar (John Colicos) was not to have been in the series and had already been decapitated under orders of the Imperious Leader. Though not saved from execution in the theatrical version of the film, which debuted in Canadian cinemas before the pilot aired on US TV, when new producer Bellisario came aboard, Baltar was spared his demise on TV (in a reworked post production sequence) and would be brought into the regular series so as to be its main human antagonist, as it was felt more drama could be mined with a vengeful Baltar working alongside the emotionless Cylons. Baltar's incorporation into Gun would be handled after filming of scenes for Lost Planet of the Gods.
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| The tragedy of Serina (Jane Seymour) is ultimately re-shaped for the weekly series. |
Secondly, no reference is made to Jane Seymour's character of Serina, who originally ran off at the end of the Galactica pilot's Carillon escape ceremony to die of radiation poisoning somewhere in the fleet, in what would ultimately be a deleted 'downer' sequence, and instead replaced with a new and more positive ending involving Apollo and Starbuck in their Vipers discussing their search for Earth. By the time of Gun, and the likely passing of at least several months, Serina is surely already dead as Apollo now looks after her son Boxey, and the robot Muffey the Daggit in his quarters on Galactica. But as filming is underway on Gun, the producers realise that, with Lost Planet now directly succeeding Saga, they really do need to have Jane Seymour back as Serina for the story and urgently woo the previously disappointed actress back to the show in a two-parter that will give the character the emotional departure she really needs and deserves.
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| Dirk Benedict and Richard Hatch in a posed publicity image for Saga of a Star World. |
Thirdly, as with Saga, there is no developing friendship between Apollo and Starbuck that will later make the series so successful - this was to come in Lost Planet of the Gods, and a move that was taken by series producer Donald Bellisario, with Larson, to develop the characters further and create more of a sense of family between the Galacticans. Starbuck's relationship with his wingman Boomer (Herb Jefferson, Jr) continues and develops in Gun, thanks to additional reshoots added to the story linked primarily to the capture of the young pilot Cadet Cree by the Cylons on Arcta, to whom Starbuck feels responsible to. Additionally, several other Viper pilots from Saga have not yet transferred to the series beyond Saga: Lt. Jolly (Tony Swartz) and Lt. Greenbean (Ed Begley, Jr.). Their services would be re-activated for Lost Planet of the Gods, as Bellisario was keen to develop the unique and diverse fighter pilots of Blue Squadron further in what would be the first half of the series run.
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| Cassiopeia (Laurette Spang), about to become a victim in the Ovion mines, as originally conceived in Saga. |
Finally, there's no Cassiopeia. Originally, actress Laurette Spang's former 'socialator' character was captured by the Ovions and died on Carillon with Saga of a Star World. And by the time Gun entered production she was still a dead character. But with the reshoots for Saga in between/after Gun's filming, the character (played by the on-set popular Laurette Spang) was ultimately spared in re-shot sequences set in the Ovion mines and would go on to join the series starting with production of Lost Planet of the Gods, but with a revised and now more respectable and audience friendly profession as a med-tech serving on the Battlestar...
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