YMMV / Galactica 1980

• Alternative Character Interpretation: In the final episode, did Cy have a genuine Heel–Face Turn? Or was his change in behavior the result of Starbuck's inexperienced reconstruction of the Cylon Centurion.
• Creator's Pet: Dr. Zee, a Teen Genius as annoying a plot device as Wesley Crusher would later be. Made even worse by that he was (at first) played by the same actor as Cousin Oliver, Robbie Rist.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: A minor one, but Cy/Cyrus, the Cylon who befriends Starbuck and pulls a Heel–Face Turn, is somewhat well-liked. So much so that even one comic continuity that otherwise ignores 1980 includes him.
• Fanon Discontinuity: With the exception of the episode "The Return of Starbuck", this series is NOT what fans wanted.
• Harsher in Hindsight: After Troy looks up the definition of hijacking, Dillon says "I wonder what someone would do with an aircraft once they seized it."
• Older Than They Think:
  • More than a few elements of the 2000's-era reboot series were featured in this series first, including Cylon infiltrators disguised as humans and Starbuck being marooned on a barren planet.
  • The 2000’s reboot story of Starbuck being marooned on a barren planet and having to fix a Cylon to save herself was loosely based on the 1980 episode, similar to the believed destroyed Pegasus with the maverick CO showing up.
• Replacement Scrappy: Granted, Dr. Zee wasn't that popular to begin with, but fans generally tend to agree that Robbie Rist's emotionless Creepy Child incarnation of the character was much better (or at least more interesting) than James Patrick Stuart's version, who was a typically precocious boy genius.
• Sequelitis: A textbook case — with the exception of its final episode, "The Return of Starbuck".
• Retcon: The Galactica jargon was downplayed and phased out. For example, we are told that "years" instead of "yahrens" had passed. This was true even in scenes aboard the Galactica instead of just on Earth, where they would naturally use Earth dialect.
• Special Effect Failure: When our two lead characters ride on their flying motorcycles, they are very clearly just sitting on motorcycles in front of a green-screen. It also doesn't help that the camera filming the ground up in the sky on the green-screen constantly shakes, making it look even more unconvincing.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Cylons that look like humans arrive on Earth. Quick! Never show them again once the story is done, despite how really effective that might have been! And especially never use that Super-Raider that they were using!
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: Lorne Greene. As one of the few members of the main cast that came back at all, and the only one who agreed to still BE in the main cast, armed with a genial new Santa beard, he tries hard to convince the audience they're still watching the same show, but...
• Uncertain Audience: This show tried to appeal to a new younger audience by being more lighthearted and kid-friendly, while at the same time also trying to appeal to fans of the original series. Unfortunately, fans were extremely put-off and alienated by the show's overly saccharine nature, and the show wasn't even able to attract enough younger viewers, likely because even they found it's tone too childish, resulting in this show getting cancelled.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Considering the show's budget limitations, the producers pulled a spectacular and cheap sequence using scenes from Earthquake. Superimpose Cylon Raiders on that footage and you have a believably horrific prediction of what Earth could suffer if they learn about the planet.
• WTH, Costuming Department?: The Colonials' idea of kids' clothing? Medieval peasant-wear.

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