With the new "Battlestar Galactica" series about to set sail in the United States, former 1970s television star Richard Hatch has been talking quite a bit lately.

But even as the controversy that plagued the months before Sci-Fi Channel aired the "Galactica" miniseries last year has died down, Hatch said some of the issues over whether to reimagine or to continue the original series have continued to pop up. But if anyone is going to be blamed for taking a different route other than a continuation fans need to look elsewhere than executive producer Ronald D. Moore's doorstep.

"My issues have never been with Ron Moore or the cast of the show itself," Hatch -- the original Apollo in "Galactica" said in the February 2005 issue of Sci-Fi Magazine. "My issues were with the network and the studio over doing a reimagining versus a continuation, which is what the majority of fans wnated to see. It was never over the quality of the writing or the actors or what was good about this new series."

Hatch was one of the most vocal critics of the reimagining before the miniseries aired in December 2003. However, since then, he agreed to make a guest appearance as the political terrorist Tom Zerak in the first season's third episode, which could end up being a recurring character. Despite some flack from fans pushing solely for a continuation, Hatch said it was the best move he could make.

"Once the decision was made to reimagine, I had to move beyond my bias and prejudice and frustrations and basically be able to look at the new show for what it is and not for what it isn't," he said. "I think when you look at the show for what it is, and you separate the shows and don't compare them, I think this show is so different in tone, quality and style that it's really its own show. And it does an injustice to both shows to compare them. It's impossible to compare them. You can actually love the original show and enjoy this show for what it is, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think fans were thinking that you had to choose sides, and I think we're beyond choosing sides."

"Battlestar Galactica" is currently airing on the United Kingdom's Sky One satellite network. It will premiere next month on Space in Canada and Sci-Fi Channel in the United States.