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Richard Hatch had been working on a proposal for a "next generation" of BSG, taking place about 20 years after the original and ignoring the 1980 series. Part of the problem was that the rights and ownership and legal stuff needed to be ironed out before anyone could greenlight anything.

They were going to keep the cool things about the series (the mythology and stuff) and get rid of the bad things (the special effects and 1980). I saw him speak at I-Con at Stony Brook, Long Island several years back. (I got to speak to him in the dealers room. There were few people there that wanted to talk to him -- they were all across campus in the hall trying to get good seats!)

Anyway, they had filmed a proposal for a series, a bunch of scenes strung together, done with lots of fan support and with effects that were already better than the original series (ok, not saying much). They had new uniforms, props and whathaveyou. They were still being pursued by Cylons, still looking for Earth. Starbuck was missing, but the door was open for him to return. The guy who play Bojay was there and involved (not that I really remembered him). I beleive Patrick McNee was involved, but I really don't remember if he had a voiceover, but he had told them that he loved BSG and would be happy to be part of this.

Jon Colicos had about 4 minutes of film against a blue screen. That would be the last thing that he filmed before he died. He appears briefly in the trailer. ("Starbuck? Oh, yes, he was still alive last I saw him. Of course, he's probably dead now.")

Hatch wanted to use "The X-Files" as a model where you do a couple of seasons on TV and then do a big budget film to move the series to the next level.

The thing was well-produced and highly polished and when it was over and when the final shot of the ship flying through space came on screen, you were just waiting for the words "COMING THIS JULY!" to appear on the screen. But, of course, they didn't.

I'd say that the most amazing part of this was the admiration for Hatch was so high that just before he was about to roll the film, he stopped and asked everyone to please turn off their videocameras, and everyone did. I haven't seen it pirated on youtube yet. (Then again, I haven't checked recently, either.)

It was a fun little hour of my time. Worth the trip to Stony Brook.