One of television’s most prolific producers, Glen Larson, has passed away from cancer at the age of 77. He was the creator and producer of Knight Rider, Magnum, PI, Quincy, ME, and perhaps most influentially, Battlestar Galactica.
While BSG only ran for one season, its influence can still be felt– especially because of its more recent reboot. Cylons were, and are, some of the scariest sci-fi antagonists of all time. Of course, daggits (robot dogs), remain one of the stupidest and least scary creations of all time, but it all balances out.
Perhaps most interesting was how Larson injected elements of his Mormon faith into BSG, including a ruling “Council of the Twelve” and references of “Kobol,” an anagram of “Kolob.”
Larsen was a serial producer-for-hire, often launching projects and then jumping to another as soon as they were launched. Star Trek writer Harlan Ellison once referred to him as “Glen Larceny” for his penchant for developing television programs similar to other popular films or programs. However, this can more be attributed to a Hollywood system that has always been interested in repackaging and marketing things that are already popular rather than trying anything new and original.
But in many cases Larson’s shows were groundbreaking. Quincy, ME was, from our perspective, a by the numbers police procedural. And yet this was the first time a major show had used a medical examiner to solve crimes using forensic evidence. This paved the way for everything from “CSI” to this year’s “Forever.”
And then, of course, there’s Knight Rider. As a child, there was simply no show that was cooler. (Ok, maybe Airwolf. MAYBE.) But, come on– a TALKING CAR! And the car. . .DRIVES UP INTO A SEMI!!! And the car has all sorts of awesome tech, and there’s an evil version of the car. . . and Michael Frickin Hasselhoff.
To the Larson family and his friends, we send our greatest condolences. I can think of no better way to celebrate this man and his legacy than watching a few classic episodes of Battlestar Galactica this weekend.