The New Battlestars
| (The New) Battlestars | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Merrill Heatter |
| Written by |
Bob Logan Gary Johnson |
| Directed by | Jerome Shaw |
| Presented by | Alex Trebek |
| Narrated by |
Rod Roddy (1981–1982) Charlie Tuna (1983) |
| Theme music composer | Mort Garson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | approx. 130 (original series) 65 (revived series) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Merrill Heatter |
| Producer(s) | Robert Noah |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios Burbank, California |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Heatter-Quigley Productions |
| Distributor |
Orion Television (original) MGM Television (current) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 26, 1981 - April 23, 1982 (original series) April 4, 1983 - July 1, 1983 (revived series) |
Battlestars is an American game show that aired on NBC during the 1980s. The program's concept was developed and produced by Merrill Heatter.
Battlestars premiered on October 26, 1981 with Alex Trebek hosting and Rod Roddy serving as the announcer. This marked Heatter's first solo production since his former production partner, Bob Quigley, retired and their company was dissolved. The program ran until April 23, 1982.
Less than a year later after its cancellation, NBC commissioned another edition of Battlestars as a replacement for the cancelled Just Men!. The New Battlestars premiered on April 4, 1983, but ultimately met the same fate as its predecessor and was cancelled after thirteen weeks with the final episode airing on July 1, 1983.
Two contestants competed on each episode of Battlestars, with one usually a returning champion. The players were also designated by color, with the champion's podium being blue and the challenger's red.
The object of Battlestars was to "capture" members of a six-celebrity panel. To do this players had to light up numbers positioned around triangle shapes, inside of which sat the panelists. The numbers 1–10 were positioned around the triangles so that each edge was attached to a number (1-4-5, 2-5-6, 3-6-7, 4-5-8, 5-6-9, and 6-7-10). The numbers were referred to as "Points of Light" throughout the game.
The champion began the game and pushed a plunger on his or her podium to stop a flashing randomizer, and the number it stopped on determined which celebrity would be asked a question. If a number was attached to two or more triangles, the contestant chose which celebrity to play. If the number was attached to a celebrity who would be captured if it was lit, the contestant was forced to choose that celebrity unless there were more than one celebrity that could be captured by lighting the number. The questions were asked in the style of The Hollywood Squares, except that a celebrity was given two possible answers and had to choose between one or the other (although the celebrity might still give a joke as a response at first). The two answer choices provided to the celebrity were also displayed for the home audience; however, the contestants were unable to see them. Once the celebrity chose an answer, the contestant was asked whether he or she agreed or disagreed with the celebrity. A correct response allowed that player to keep control. If the contestant was wrong, control passed to the opponent.
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