Glen A. Larson, Creator of TV’s 'Quincy M.E.,' 'Magnum, P.I.' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' Dies at 77

The Hollywood Reporter ^ | 11/15/2014 | Mike Barnes

[GOPsterinMA]

A very talented man. Some of his works brought joy to my young life. RIP.

In other news, a nice read:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/howie_carr/2014/11/carr_martha_coakley_in_long_line_of_losers

[Perdogg]

ping

[Impy]

RIP

I’d rather the original Battlestar Galactica than that new age version with the dumb ass heavy handed terror war parables.

[Impy]

Rather WATCH.

[Vaquero]

Frack no!!

RIP namesake

[Vaquero]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NMjtvSABQ3Q

[tbw2]

Battlestar Galactica’s discussion of religion, sometimes controversially (Mormonism in the first series) and monotheism versus polytheism in the second, plus ethics versus religion and both, predestination versus free will, are certainly superior to Star Trek’s “all religion is stupid”.
Though Babylon 5 was certainly better in both respects, with an observant Jewish woman as second in command and Catholic monks prominent in several episodes. And alien religions actually getting respect, not just “you have a religion, therefore you are inferior to the atheists”.

[DemforBush]

Roddenberry’s militant atheism was one of the most irritating things about the first few seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was part of a general smugness and condescension that permeated the show until Roddenberry’s death. Bugged the heck out of me. Riker being snotty about aliens who ate real meat, Troi being snotty about aliens who think the man who impregnated their daughter ought to marry her, etc.

I always thought it was interesting how the post-Roddenberry Trek show Deep Space Nine (which “borrowed” from B5 quite a bit, too) was so much more willing to present faith in a positive light.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

I liked the first season of Buck Rogers. It was a fun, James Bond meets Flash Gordon kind of adventure. (They even had Buster Crabbe guest star in one episode!) The second seemed like it tried to ape aspects of Battlestar Galactica by having another deep space search for humans. It didn’t work as well.

I’ve noticed that the original Battlestar Galactica has a lot of pro-military, anti-appeasement sentiments. At one point in the original movie, Sire Uri argues that the Colonials didn’t even come into conflict with the Cylons until they freed another race from Cylon rule and that they ought to just lay down their arms to prove the human race is no threat to the Cylons. Adama treats the whole notion with contempt. I wonder sometimes if Larson had at least some conservative leanings on war and peace.

[greene66]

I’ve been tempted to go back and revisit the “Buck Rogers” tv-series, as I recall it had a refreshingly breezy approach which I particularly appreciated when it was new. But I remember catching a glimpse of an episode about a decade ago on tv, and cringed more than a little at the disco-era ambiance in fashions and set-design. That’s one particular little ‘visual era’ that I tend to viscerally balk at, for some reason. The 1939 serial, even though a bit clunky, actually seems less uncomfortably dated to me!

[mowowie]

My childhood hero, along with Bellisario.
So many fun shows.....
RIP

[fieldmarshaldj]

I love the disco era, so no complaints from me. ;-D

[fieldmarshaldj]

Possibly Larson did have such leanings. I noted curiously he didn’t get along with Jack Klugman when developing “Quincy”, so it’s possible it might’ve been a political spat (not to say Klugman wasn’t a great actor, he was, but I hate when actors insist on injecting a heavy dose of discredited politics which diminish a show).

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

This article reviewing a book covering the original BG bolstered my thinking of Larson’s political leanings, as the author in question trashed BG for portraying the military in a favorable light and calling the show “fascistic,” and knocks Adama for being like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. If Larson’s work managed to draw ire like this, it’s a good sign.

http://www.oocities.org/sjpaxton/muir.html

[fieldmarshaldj]

I should go back and rewatch the series. I believe I haven’t seen an episode in its entirety in over 30 years when they ran it on Saturday afternoons on the local CBS affiliate (just before episodes of CHiPs).

I see the author of the piece wasn’t too wild about Maren Jensen, whom I’ll readily admit to still having a crush on. So what if she didn’t have the acting chops of Katherine Hepburn ? She was a pretty, mixed-race model in her early 20s.