It lacked all the whimsy of the original series. A space opera with a mixture of New Age and misunderstood pantheons and Christian theology was silly, and compelling at the same time. The show embraced a baroque faux Egyptian art style against navy gray painted industrial sets covered with greebles. The only thing it didn’t do was add the word, “space” in front of any tool they used. It had an aesthetic that was campy.
The second series was not as camp. BattleStar Galactica 1980 was objectively bad at times, even compared to the original series. It added a kid as all knowing leaderish super genius, Dr. Zee who was played by two different actors. It was as though Cousin Oliver was leading everybody to their doom. The green/blue screening that was place over a “space” background fell apart when used against bright clouds, cities, and the real world. So many of the effects shots were reused, and that was part of the original, but for some reason in Galactica 1980 it sticks out. The aesthetic that unified the show in the first series looked as real as the cardboard it was made from against the “real” Earth. Gone were the deep space battles and sense of limited resources, isolation and impending doom. There were two cool motorcycles, that and suad. They kept the brown suede jackets.
Source from Galactica 1980, S1 E1
