Sneak Previews (Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert)

[Croft2014]

Recently someone has posted many of the original Sneak Previews (1975-96) episodes on IMDB; with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Here we have season 1, episode 18 and at 21:50 they review the theatrical feature version of Battlestar: Galactica (124 minute version). Sadly, they've given it a real pasting (Siskel: "this is a worthless film").

here

[Cylon-Knight]

Pfffft...
One of the few things I'm critical of in life - are Critics.

Seems Siskel was mistaken. Forty plus years later, spin-offs and a remake whos cast addressed the United Nations. Not too "worthless..."

[Croft2014]

I think he means as a feature film; he makes comment that he doesn't get why anyone would pay to see something they can see for free on TV. He also feels it looks cheap blown up onto a cinema screen. This is something that drove John Dykstra off the production. Apart from the meddling by the network and the studio he felt that his SPFX were not designed for big screen exhibition and indeed when you look at the series on DVD and BD all sorts of artefacts of production are visible like garbage mattes etc. There's an interview with him in the document archive on this site where he also ducusses how the models are designed for lower resolution, although I don't really see much difference beyond cockpit detail.

However, I think there's also a snob thing going on here as well; Siskel has been vocal about not liking scifi as a genre - as a whole - and he is also not a fan of TV in general, as in ongoing TV series.

[Cylon-Knight]

Following Siskel's own logic, why would anyone pay to go to the movies when they will all be broadcast or home released eventually for free or near it (vs family/group of 4+ at theater)?
D'OH! heehee

I can see how that would upset John Dykstra. Apparently Siskel didn't see the Galactica filming model in person, with its thousands of tiny, tiny details all lovingly prepared for late 70s low def broadcast television. #sarcasm
As we know, the ship is still standing proudly 40+ years later, recently auctioned off.

Artifacts, garbage mattes... they are there, truth. Perhaps Siskel should have pondered making a show/movie in a few weeks vs months, or years with a studio breathing down his neck. His thumb might have moved a different way if he didn't just sit in the theater.

Critics.


Constructive criticism.


...a snob... didn't know that.