Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979): Cockroach? (Updated)

Is Battlestar Galactica a cockroach? Think about it. It sort of looks like a cockroach. The sucker is almost impossible to destroy. Folks are always chasing it around and trying to kill it. It is always looking for food. It hides in the dark and is wicked fast when surprised. It survived a nuclear holocaust. Hmmm. I'll think I will take this moment to slap in some poetry.

Kneeling at the pipes: a poem by Marge Piercy

Princely cockroach, inheritor,
I used to stain the kitchen wall with your brothers,
flood you right down the basin.
I squashed you underfoot, making faces.
I repent.
I am relieved to hear somebody
will survive our noises.
Thoughtlessly I judged you dirty
while dropping poisons and freeways and bombs
on the melted landscape.
I want to bribe you
to memorize certain poems.
My generation too craves posterity.
Accept this dish of well aged meat.
In the warrens of our rotting citites
where those small eggs
round as earth wait,
spread the Word.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basilisk.JPG

Postscript: One reader suggested it may be based on the mythical six-legged basilisk. I believe I remember this creature from either the original Dungeons and Dragons (1974) or from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1977-1979). I will need to hit the books on that one! The timing for there to be a direct influence is just about right.



Post-postscript: Wikipedia has an entry on the D&D Basilisk HERE. Though it has eight legs, it was introduced very early in the game's history and could have served as the basis for the shape of Galactica. But the damned thing still looks like an Egyptian sarcophagus to me--especially considering the themes of the show, but the D&D link will be an interesting one to follow up on. I wonder if I can find any hard evidence that the designers of Galactica knew anything about D&D at the time?