Most sincere Battlestar
Galactica fans are afflicted with what I call “collectomania.” Why else save
those rancid Marvel BG comic books or spend hours leafing through dusty old
magazines looking for articles? I have in my collection what has to be one of the most
esoteric items imaginable; a promotional film for the McDonnell-Douglas
F/A-18 Hornet fighter that compares it to the Colonial viper and employs a considerable
amount of BG sfx footage.According to its copyright this
8-minute film was made in 1985. I only found out about it because I had a friend who at
the time worked at MDD and knew of my addiction. The film opens with a starfield on which
is superimposed the title “McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet: Ahead of
its Time” in the same lettering used in BG on doors, etc., aboard the Galactica.
The next scene is a side view of the Galactica herself. The enthusiastic narration
begins with a viper launch: “Strike fighters—launching from the fleet! Their
mission—seek out and destroy the enemy’s forces!” This is followed by an
array of clips of vipers in formation, shooting down Cylons, etc. The sound effects from
the series are not used and the ones MDD dubbed in in their place are somewhat on the
wimpy-sounding side.Gradually we segue from BG sfx
clips to somewhat more pedestrian scenes of the F/A-18 Hornet itself, which, the narrator
proclaims, “possesses many of the attributes of these fictional space fighters!”
We see the F/A-18 performing aerobatics, firing missiles, dropping bombs, launching from
aircraft carriers and generally doing the sorts of things F/A-18s normally do. These
scenes are intercut with sfx shots from BG at appropriate moments, for example
comparing the Hornet’s stick and throttle mounted controls with the familiar viper
stick, and the viper instrument panel with that of the Hornet (interestingly, the
“viper control panel” they show isn’t the one from the series. It’s
based on the panel of the F/A-18, but with its center CRT replaced with the familiar
targeting screen from the viper).The film winds up with a Hornet landing
on a carrier cleverly intercut with a viper landing on the Galactica and finally,
to complete the comparison between the fictional space fighter and the real thing, we have
a line diagram of a viper that morphs into an F/A-18.It’s a pretty nice promotional
piece. McDonnell-Douglas obviously took time to do it right, as evinced by their
reproduction of the viper targeting screen on the instrument panel, the use of BG-style
lettering, and the nice morph of the viper into the Hornet. The sfx scenes are fun to
watch, the narration complimentary, and the scenes of the actual aircraft fun and
reminiscent of Top Gun. Apparently in the mid-80s there were some BG fans
hanging out at McDonnell-Douglas!
Originally published in somewhat different form in the Thirteenth Tribe
newsletter 24, March 1987
�1997, 1999 by Susan J. Paxton