By David Weiner
“By your command.” It’s a little bit hazy now, but I remember being captured by Cylons in 1980!
Growing up, I was a huge BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fan from day one, starting the night I watched the hotly anticipated, three-hour ABC TV-movie premiere pilot on September 17, 1978. I watched the TV show religiously each week. I had the GALACTICA books, comics, toys, trading cards, collectible glasses, and even the Mattel Electronics game!
It was a good time to be a Sci-Fi fan in a post-STAR WARS consumer world.
Still, I was missing some of the fun… As a kid raised in suburban Westchester, New York, I didn’t have the luxury of being a stone’s throw from Universal Studios Hollywood like I do now as a Los Angeles resident. But one day in 1980, my parents announced that we’d be flying to California for a family trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Yes!!!! I begged my folks to take me to Universal Studios in Hollywood. Perhaps my psychological campaign of constant suggestion/pestering had paid off? You see, I knew all about “The Battle of Galactica” ride that had just opened at Universal from Starlog magazine, and I was desperate to experience it in person.
A TV commercial in 1979 also hyped up the excitement of “The Battle of Galactica.” In it, Cylons and the Imperious Leader break down their dastardly plan to capture and torture us despicable humans. They spotlight the fun Universal rides leading up to the planned detour of a tram-load of tourists — from the Collapsing Bridge, to the “Doomed Glacier Expedition” (featured prominently in the SIX-MILLION DOLLAR MAN Bionic Bigfoot two-parter), to the famed JAWS attack in a mini Amity setting — and it’s pretty frakkin’ fun! Watch below:
It was finally trip time and we landed in Los Angeles. The excitement was palpable. I couldn’t wait until we could get through the gates of the theme park and board the tram so we could get going with the immersive “Battle of Galactica” experience. We went by the PSYCHO house and Bates Motel. We saw giant props from THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN. Still buzzing from a JAWS attack and the dizzying “Doomed Glacier Expedition” tunnel (not even Steve Austin could defeat that!), we were finally stopped by a Cylon tank, which shot a misty blast from its “laser cannon.” No real lasers?!?
“Halt, foolish humans,” said an intimidating Cyclon. “You have blundered into a Cylon battle zone. You are now our prisoners. Move forward immediately.” Yay!!! I mean, yikes!
We were funneled into a giant Cylon HQ-style spaceship that looked nothing like the show’s ship designs, and was nowhere near as giant as depicted in this promotional “artist rendering.”
But hey, COOL!
The show itself was rapid-fire, lasting a total of two minutes and forty-five seconds, I’m told. I remember being super excited by seeing the Cylons up close in their secret base, wondering what would happen to us next in the clutches of the evil Imperious Leader (voiced by Patrick McNee). Then, suddenly, we were being “rescued” by a Starbuck-styled Colonial Warrior, prompting a literal laser-frenzy with loud explosions, smoke, and chaos. Cylons smoked and split in half. Ovions wobbled and melted. It was BRILLIANT!
The moment-by-moment excitement was finely detailed in that Starlog November 1979 issue: “On the Universal lot (near Hollywood), a tram loaded with 120 tourists is hijacked by Cylons manning a laser cannon, taken aboard an immense spaceship which is only moments away from liftoff, and threatened by a reptilian Imperious Leader who intends to feed them to the insect-like Ovions. Just before a Sensurround rumble indicates departure, a rescuing Colonial Warrior, brandishing a laser pistol and a photon bazooka, blasts his way through a wall. A dizzying laser battle begins, leaving three Cylons split in half and spewing smoke, the Ovions going up in flames and a gaping hole in the side of the ship—through which the tour guide directs a hasty escape.”
In case you missed it, they mention a “Sensurround rumble,” as the “Battle of Galactica” attraction used the same type of Sensurround used for the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA big-screen movie (which was essentially the same as the TV pilot) shown in theaters — using a 16-track directional soundtrack recorded for the tour attraction to augment the explosions and rumbling sound of the launching ship. I definitely remember serious rumbling going on, that’s for sure, and not just in my stomach.
Here’s more fun, vintage footage of the attraction itself:
And some shaky-cam video footage of the experience from a tram-rider POV:
Of course, once the excitement had ended and we finally exited the tram, I was on a high. It was imperative to bug my parents to buy some souvenirs — something like a Universal Studios tin plate, for example — carted away in a colorful “Battle of Galactica” promotional plastic bag. The photo of the plate below is not mine, but I remember similar tchotchkes luring my attention.
Also, if you were lucky, you could get a photo op with a real-live Cylon! I didn’t, but my mom did…
As a 12-year-old kid with a vivid imagination, I had a blast getting a real taste of the show I loved. I wished I could’ve done it again right away. But alas, my parents didn’t want to wait in line for another whole tram ride, so it was a one-and-done experience for me. Still, I remain eternally grateful to my parents for taking me to visit the ultimate BATTLESTAR experience.
Those were magical times; the kind that were often cemented by a colorful postcard from the Universal gift shop. This one pictured below is especially drab, but it’s a valuable relic to me!
Do people send postcards to anyone anymore?
###
______________________________________________________________________________
Writing and maintaining IT CAME FROM… is a true labor of love.
Please consider showing your appreciation and helping to keep the site ad free and free for all (no paywalls) by donating a couple bucks with BUY ME A COFFEE. It’s quick and easy!
IT CAME FROM... 