Richard Hatch. No, not the gay guy from the first "Survivor" series on CBS. But the 58-year-old actor who hasn't been too busy in his days since being one of the stars of the original "Battlestar Galactica" in the 1970s.

Over the last 25 years or so, Hatch has developed a fondness for a series that lasted no more than a season and a failed relauch a couple years later. Now that science-fiction is slowly making its way back again, Hatch has been trying to cash in, acting as if "Battlestar Galactica" is his, and be damned anyone who dare mess with the "successful" formula.

Tell us, Richard, what successful formula are you talking about? The formula that gave the series about 25 episodes?

I was very, very young when BSG made its two unsuccessful trips to the small screen, and I've tried to watch it in reruns. But while I like the premise, the stories that were written at the time really never held my interest. The characters were more two-dimensional than my notepad paper, and it seemed like the hour would never end.

I had a chance to read Ronald D. Moore's treatment of "Battlestar Galactica," which will make its triumphant return in December. It stayed true to the premise of the original show, I felt, and outside of some unnecessary split-screen techniques, I really enjoyed reading the script, and imagining the visuals that Moore himself was imagining.

I'm tired of hearing people bitch and moan about the reimagining. I'm tired of people listening to what current BSG star Edward James Olmos is saying, and then taking his words out of context. I hate to break it to you, but Olmos is not telling people to run from the reimagining ... he's simply reminding everyone that it's only a television show, and that if you're going to end up in the hospital because of the fact that Lorne Greene is not reprising his role as Cmdr. Adama, then save your health, or you might be running into the late actor sooner than you think..

Here's something new ... why not simply wait for the miniseries to air, and give it a friggin chance? I know that's a new concept, but hell, it's one that might work.

Hatch was bold enough to compare what Moore is doing to BSG as to what Rick Berman is doing to Star Trek. If Hatch meant that Berman has created series and movies that, while may be struggling in the ratings, have made boatloads of money for Paramount, then Bonnie Hammer and Vivendi should be excited about Ronald D. Moore, and ready to praise him big time for the nice checks they'll be taking to the bank.

This is a business, and it always has been. Unfortunately, diehard fans are only a minority of the overall audience, not the majority. If that weren't true, then how do you explain that 4 million people watch "Enterprise" on a given week on UPN, but only maybe 1 million total tops attend conventions each year. Where are the other 3 million diehard fans? Oh, I see ... diehards aren't the majority.

It would be nice if the fans got everything they wanted, but guess what, it can't happen. If I were to go by what the fans wanted in Star Trek, we would've seen the Enterprise-D enter a black hole and be stuck there for 50 years; we would've watched as Wesley found himself in a time loop where he was killed horribly and painfully over and over again; and we would've watched as Data had sex with every one and every thing. That's what fans would want ... are you saying that if Berman & Co. would've done that, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" would've been the best series of all time?

Hatch said that the current state of Star Trek would have Gene Roddenberry spinning in his grave. I don't know what would get him spinning, but if I were to guess, I think it would be more about another show that he has creator credit on.

When Tribune Entertainment picked up "Earth: Final Conflict," it had a great premise and a great story arc. However, the people in charge of the show decided to listen to the fans at every turn, instead of knowing what makes good television. So instead of a series living up to its potential, you ended up with a mess of disjointed plots, unstable working environments, and scripts that were so dumbed down, even Pamela Anderson Lee could enjoy them.

People said that "Star Trek: The Next Generation" would be a failure, because in essence, it was a reimagining of the original series, but these new people could never pull it off. They did. And where are those Trek purists now? Probably standing behind Hatch, demanding that BSG be left alone and never make it to television again.

Mr. Hatch, I know you'll read this, and just ignore it. If you want, you can have just as much space to respond. But if you really cared about all of this, you would take a breath or two, sit down, read a good book, and wait to see what the final product looks like.

Who knows. You might be surprised. Hell, you might even like it.

Michael Hinman is founder and news editor of Airlock Alpha. He is based in Tampa, Fla., and can be reached at michael@airlockalpha.com.

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