Wing Commander Movie Night: Battlestar Galactica

The Wing Commander movie club has taken the Starcar home from Rylos. But we're already planning to head back to space: this week we're going to be watching Battlestar Galactica (1978)! You likely know Battlestar Galactica either as a television show made immediately in the wake of Star Wars' successs or as the edgier, longer-running 2000s TV series. But it was also a movie! The original 1978 pilot film was so expensive that Universal cut a theatrical version which was a notable success in a variety of markets--even in the US after the show had aired on TV! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

It might be easier to list everything Wing Commander didn't borrow from Battlestar Galactica. Chris Roberts and the original development team were big fans of the show and knowing both IPs it quickly becomes aparent that there was a LOT of inspiration particularly for the first two Wing Commanders. From ships to uniforms to the famous Tiger's Claw bunks Battlestar Galactica's lush production values rubbed off every heavily on Wing Commander. Chris Roberts has frequently credit Galactica. In the 1991 Wing Commander I & II Ultimate Strategy Guide:

Roberts had always been fascinated by science fiction movies and television shows, especially those like Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Return of the Jedi. He liked the action elements of space combat, the dazzling special effects, and the variety of characters the creators had imagined in future worlds. He wanted to bring those elements to the computer.

... and then in 1999 when he was promoting the movie to Sci-Fi Teen magazine:

"I grew up like every other kid," he recalls, "loving movies like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica on TV and science fiction in general. I originally created Wing Commander to give me the same experience and feeling I got when watching those films and TV shows, but while playing a game instead."

Wing Commander I artist Denis Loubet has noted the inspiration for the original Wing Commander's launch tube:

Loubet: I did the Battlestar Galactica launch tube effect with a series of multiplane background images, and I did the carrier-launch deckhand silhouette after watching a lot of old WWII footage of carrier launches.

And Wing Commander II director Siobhan Beemam has noted the series' extensive inspiration on Wing Commander in general:

Dammit! And also of course the original Battlestar Galactica. Wow, I'm bad at Twitter. BSG was a HUGE influence on everything in WC, right down to the bunkroom, but you can see the direct inspiration in Viper --> Ferret and Cylon Raider --> Dralthi.

The Confed starbases in WC2 were inspired by two things: the Cylon basestars from the original BSG, and Starfleet Headquarters from the old "Starfleet Technical Manual" from Franz Joseph Designs.

There's even a Battlestar Galactica game from Wing Commander veterans! The team at Warthog that crafted Privateer 2 went on to create an original Battlestar Galactica space sim for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2003!

We expect to notice a lot more this time around, though! Plenty of later Wing Commander productions have nods to BSG... the Japanese Sega CD port even names the player Starbuck!

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Battlestar Galactica is a case where there are multiple versions of the film and it can be a little confusing to get the right one. We are watching the theatrical version which has a run time of 2h5m. If your copy is 2h19m then that's the television cut. The theatrical cut of Battlestar Galactica is currently available for purchase digitally on YouTube; it does not seem to be listed on other services in the US at the moment. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on UHD in 2023 and remains in print in a variety of formats around the world. It is included in the "Definitive" release of the complete 1978 series but not the "Remastered" collection. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

Wing Commander Cartoon Party: The Warrior King

November 16, 1996: eager young wingnuts turned on the USA Network to watch the latest episode of Wing Commander Academy, typically the third of four action shows aired in a block. But on this particular Saturday what we found was... Mortal Kombat? Had Wing Commander Academy been cancelled, pulled early? No, it turned out the episode was airing a half hour later. But it was a pretty crazy one, with Michael Dorn playing a... space viking?

Thus we were introduced to the Warrior King saga, an entirely insane (and unpromoted) cartoon crossover between four licensed IPs: Street Fighter, Savage Dragon, Mortal Kombat and Wing Commander Academy. The four shows went together to tell the story of the Warrior King, the aforementioned space viking, as he sought a magic orb that would restore his destroyed homeworld. Each show followed the rules of its universe, and the familiar characters and settings never actually explained... that it was all about the Warrior King!

Well, this coming weekend we're going to recreate that confused excitement with plenty of commentary from our crew of Wing Commander historians. So JOIN US on Saturday, April 5th at noon Eastern for a cartoon party as we group watch the entire Warrior King saga! So stock in some sugary cereal, wash your most comfortable pajamas and plan to spend 90 minutes enjoying one of the craziest things that has ever happened.

Where can I find copies of the shows for the watch party?

You will need to download the four episodes from the CIC before we start! We're also going to kick everything off with the classic Looney Tunes short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century which was referenced several times in the original Wing Commander. Here are the links:

• Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
• Episode 1 - Street Fighter - The Warrior King
• Episode 2 - Savage Dragon - Endgame
• Episode 3 - Mortal Kombat - Resurrection
• Episode 4 - Wing Commander Academy - Recreation

We've also uploaded a zip of all five shows together for ease of downloading. You can get that here.

How do we watch the shows together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them one at a time together starting with the short at noon EST on Saturday. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!