Battlestar Galactica was created by Glen A Larson (Knight Rider / Buck Rogers in the 25th Century / Street Hawk) and told the tale of the last remnants of humanity, who were searching for the lost planet of Earth after their own worlds were destroyed by the robotic Cylons.

The main stars were Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict (best known as Face in The A-Team), who played hot-shot pilots Apollo and Starbuck, the former being the son of Commander Adama, played by Lorne Greene.

The series was cancelled after just one season, although, in a bizarre twist, it was resurrected the following year in the form of Galactica 1980, which was set some years after the events of Battlestar Galactica, as evidenced by the fact that Lorne Greene now sported a beard and all but Boomer (Herb Jefferson, Jr), now promoted to Colonel, were missing in action.

This even briefer revival saw the Galactica finally tracking down the "lost colony" of Earth — in reality a desperate attempt to keep costs down — but, sadly, its ten hours of screen time were about nine too many for most people, as the only one of any note was the final one, The Return of Starbuck. No prizes for guessing what that one's about.

More recently the series has been revived in a more hard-edged version for the US Sci-Fi Channel to great critical acclaim, with Richard Hatch guest-starring in a number of episodes as Tom Zarek. See Battlestar Galactica (2000s) for further details.