Glad you liked the adaptation! Yes, I had to get rid of the Morelands (though I kept an oblique reference to other people in hiding on the planet at the end) because that was the ultimate case of convenient plot device from out of nowhere. First give us a red herring on who wrecked the vipers, then have them implausibly show up to save Starbuck. It never would have worked in a carefully plotted story at all.
And yes, I've heard the story about this being some kind of pilot, though I'm damned if I can figure out how you could have constructed a series out of the adventures of Michael and Sarah and Hector and Vector! That kind of premise would be even flimsier than the kind of series "Assignment Earth" would have been as a Trek spinoff.
Of course Michael could always become a Paradeen Paramedic and then we might have a new show idea that would work for him......
