A Near‑Miss with the Stars: How Asimov Almost Joined a TV Space Saga

A Show Divided by Ambition and Disappointment

The 1978-79 original Battlestar Galactica arrived with high hopes and half-baked execution. Ostensibly riding the coattails of Star Wars, it delivered spectacle—over-the-top laser battles and dogfights that mimicked World War II aerial combat rather than the cold silence of space. Yet beneath the flashy visuals lurked a puzzling undercurrent: creator Glen A. Larson wove in Mormon theology, sprinkling mysticism that baffled viewers expecting pure space opera.

The show’s lack of scientific rigor drew the ire of science fiction titan Isaac Asimov, who saw it as little more than escapist adventure. His skepticism hardened after the series’ abrupt cancellation left the survivors still adrift, Earth nowhere in sight. When fans clamored for a revival, Larson saw an opportunity—not just to revive the franchise, but to retool it.

A Glimpse of a Brighter Future

With ABC open to a revival, Larson sought a collaborator who could lend credibility. His choice? Asimov himself, the architect of Foundation and one of sci-fi’s most rigorous minds. Though their partnership never fully materialized, Asimov drafted a blueprint for a new direction.

The proposed sequel, Galactica 1980, would leap decades ahead, with the fleet finally nearing Earth. But the story wouldn’t rely on simple arrival—it would introduce temporal intrigue and a prodigy named Dr. Zee, a boy whose psychic gifts could accelerate humanity’s readiness for the Cylon threat. The framework echoed Asimov’s own Foundation saga, promising a narrative rooted in hard science rather than spectacle.

The Script That Never Was

By October 1979, whispers spread that Asimov had completed a pilot treatment. Yet whether it was rejected or shelved remains a mystery. The network moved on, and Galactica 1980 vanished before it could air.

Decades later, fans still speculate. What might have been? A fusion of Asimov’s cerebral rigor and the original’s spacefaring drama—a Battlestar Galactica that dared to think, not just explode.