How to Rewrite Moore's Script

[DaveC001]

The idea of turning Moore's script into a prequel seems to be gathering steam, but from what I can tell about the script, it's not really prequel material. Moore's focus is on the destruction of the colonies, and that catacylysmic event is at the heart of both the original series and the remake. A prequel, for obvious reasons, would not be able to draw on that premise for source material.

So howsabout this?

The mini begins with the final clip from War of the Gods, where Apollo and Starbuck recite the coordinates to Earth that they received from the Beings of Light. The camera pans out into space, and the Galactica theme music begins. When the camera comes back on to the Galactica, it is now 50 years/yahrens later. The Galactica is in orbit around a habitable planet, christened New Kobol, which just happens to be at the coordinates designated by the Beings of Light. The fleet has found a new home.

We see Starbuck on the bridge. He's male; he's Dirk Benedict, and he's lighting his cigar, a la DeSanto. He is oblivious to the flurry of activity around him. The Galactica is being decommissioned, possibly destroyed, and the crew is abandoning ship to begin their new life on their new home planet. No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in decades, and, in Luddite fashion, they want to abandon the technology of war that they think attracted the Cylons in the first place. Starbuck has grave reservations, but the Council has voted him down. He's got no choice but to leave the ship.

As he walks the corridors of the Galactica to take his shuttle down to the new homeworld, he gets word that Commander Apollo is refusing to leave the Galactica. Starbuck tells his party to go on without him, and he rushes to Apollo's quarters to drag him away, kicking and screaming. At this point, Apollo and Starbuck are the last two people left on the ship.

When we first see him, Richard Hatch as Apollo is staring out the window in Lorne Greene fashion. He's clearly aged since we last saw him, but he carries a measure of wisdom and gravity that he didn't have back in the '78 series. Starbuck lays into him, telling him that he's gotta get with the program, and that the time of warriors has passed.

You don't understand, Apollo answers. His problem isn't with disarming; his problem is that "this isn't Earth!" He can't understand why the Beings of Light would lie to them, or lead them to a planet that wasn't the lost colony he'd believed in all these years. He has to believe the Beings of Light didn't intend for this to be their final destination.

As if on cue, enter the Deus ex Machina Beings of Light, who, ST:Generations nexus-like, envelop the entire ship in a bath of light. From the surface of the planet, the light is visible, and it looks as if the Galactica has exploded - Starbuck and Apollo along with it.

Fade out, and fade in. We're back on New Kobol, only later.

MUCH later.

Maybe 3 or 4 THOUSAND YEARS later.

A new civilization has evolved, one that began with a distinct aversion to technology. The memories of the original Galactica are a faint memory, or perhaps just a myth. This is a civilization much like our own.

In fact, it's the civilization that Moore has created in his screenplay.

The basic events, perhaps minus the sex and other nonsense, of Moore's screenplay can stay the same at this point. The wild card here is the Cylons - are they created by man, or are they remnants of the mythical Cylons who attacked the legendary colonists years ago? That can be explored as the series goes on. Suffice it to say that Moore's basic plot holds, although the characters have different names - and they are not a "spacefaring" people. The Cylon war has been fought like our Earth wars have been fought - fighter jets, etc.

Right before the destruction, the Galactica appears. The Beings of Light have saved these two warriors for the time when they will most be needed - the time when mankind is about to be destroyed all over again. It is, in Biblical terms, a real Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming.

In the revamped script, the Laura Roslin character is discarded. Apollo is now the one who tells the military commander of New Kobol to cut his losses and search for Earth. Earth is even more of a myth now than it was in Apollo's day, but Apollo, given his "Beings of Light" experience, is convinced now more than ever that Earth is mankind's destiny. The conflict now becomes one between old and new, between the hard reality of life on New Kobol and the mystical promise of the second coming of these great warriors.

Starbuck is the new "Paul Tigh." And he's also the source for plenty of "fish-out-of-water" commentary. The rest of Moore's characters - even the new Baltar, who actually sounds really interesting - can fulfill the functions they have in Moore's script. Starbuck - the Moore version - can even stick around, albeit with a new, more appropriate name.

This version is a continuation, a remake, and even a prequel all at once. It reinvents the series while maintaing a continuity with what went before and staying true to the central themes of Battlestar Galactica.

So whaddya think? How 'bout letting me write this thing?

[Micheleh]

*I* like it!!

[cobrastrikelead]

Not bad. Not bad at all. I like the reference to Apollo and Starbuck being saved for a future purpose. Sort of like Vahalia in Nordic Mythology.

[repcisg]

Could work, but it may be a bit too advanced for Universal.

[KJ]

Well does anyone know how long they have the Battlestar Galactica copyright for? I suppose we will all be old and gray by the time they have expired and auctioned off, sold, brought or given to another company.

KJ

I also posted this at the sci-fi forum.


1.Change each and every human character that are in the script into reptilian or some other kind of non-human alien and create a society based on it!

2. Replace the names of these non-human alien characters of Adama, Baltar, Apollo, Starbuck and Tigh that are in the script with some different names!

4. Make few mentions that "they are at war with a neighboring system of human colonies"!

3. Add a few Count Iblis elements in the mix. Perhaps your Number Six character could be changed to Count Iblis in a seductress female form!

4. Instead of having a handful of survivors and fleeing from the holocaust, change the ending and have your cybernetic Cylons enslave the surviving society. Also remove all reference of your version of the ship Galactica!

5. Since most of the reviews have the same thing to say about your characters being so unlikable, revamp them to be even more unlikable, so this way the viewers would feel that this society had what was coming to them!

6. Read all the posts from Neuromanzre’s containing excerpts into the Cylon history and add some of those elements in there as well. However, do Not include elements from his posts that have the word “bizaro” written on the title!

7. Now put the script away or save it somewhere for future use!

8 Now watch the original Battlestar Galactica series 2 part episode entitled “War of the Gods”!

9. While viewing the second part episode, pay close attention to the conversation between Baltar and Count Iblis while they are conversing in Baltar’s cell.

Walla! My suggestions on the changes for your script fits in nice and neatly with the conversation between Baltar and Iblis about the evolution of the Cylons.

If Universal compromises with the fans and gives us a prequel series, Then you already have a 4-part episode story arc that tells the tale of the origins of the Cylon Empire. Most of all, it will not contradict anything from the original series and the fans might actually like the revised script/story. Whether you choose to take on the task of doing a prequel mini series and/or on going series or not, you could always sell that revised script for the ongoing series.