Battlestars (game show)

Battlestars
Also known as(The New) Battlestars
Created byMerrill Heatter
Written byBob Logan
Gary Johnson
Directed byJerome Shaw
Presented byAlex Trebek
Narrated byRod Roddy
Charlie Tuna
Theme music composerMort Garson[1]
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes193 (128, 1981–1982; 65, 1983)
Production
Executive producerMerrill Heatter
ProducerRobert Noah
Production locationsNBC Studios
Burbank, California
Running time22 minutes
Production companyMerrill Heatter Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 26, 1981 (1981-10-26) –
April 23, 1982 (1982-04-23)
ReleaseApril 4 (1983-04-04) –
July 1, 1983 (1983-07-01)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Battlestars is an American game show that aired on NBC during the 1980s. The program's concept was developed and produced by Merrill Heatter, featuring a six-celebrity panel. The object of the game is to "capture" the celebrities by lighting up numbers positioned around triangle shapes, inside of which sat each panelist. Similar to Hollywood Squares, which Heatter also co-created and produced, the celebrities are asked questions by the host, and the contestants judge the truth of their answers in order to light up the numbers.

The show premiered on October 26, 1981, with Alex Trebek hosting and Rod Roddy serving as the announcer. This marked Heatter's first solo production since his former production partner, Bob Quigley, retired and their company was dissolved. The program ran until April 23, 1982.

Less than a year after its cancellation, NBC commissioned another edition of Battlestars as a replacement for the cancelled Just Men!. The New Battlestars premiered on April 4, 1983, but ultimately met the same fate as its predecessor and was cancelled after thirteen weeks with the final episode airing on July 1, 1983.

  1. ^ "Remembering Mort Garson, the Plant-Loving, Moon-Landing, and Sadly Forgotten Electronic Music Pioneer". 8 February 2017.