The visual effects by Universal Hartland for the pilot movie and some of the episodes were excellent, however this show recycled so many shots by the end of the first season that I truly knew them by heart as a kid. When Universal Hartland closed its doors in early 1981, the quality of the visual effects went down the drain, in a very noticeable way. This show benefited by Battlestar Galactica's cancellation, as many props, sets, costumes and even some visual effects were taken directly from that show. The Terran ships were designed by Ralph McQuarrie (of Star Wars fame), so even now they look sharp and timeless. It's great to see the grounds of Montreal's Expo 67 standing in for New Chicago, just as well as the Bonaventure Hotel. As for the writing... well, it's a Glen A. Larson show, so it varies from campy to awful. Gil Gerard wanted more serious storytelling instead of an "alien of the week" fare, but Universal and NBC deemed the American public of the 80's not ready for something like that. The second season was (at Universal request, actually) a direct copy of Star Trek: The Original Series, and that abrupt change made the ratings drop so fast the season was cut short after the eleventh episode. The fan base decided to ignore the second season, and actually Season One is the only one available on DVD right now (Season Two is out of print since 2004). My favorite episode is the one featuring Buster Crabbe (as Brigadier Gordon), the original Flash Gordon AND Buck Rogers.

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