Though he's not involved in it, ‘'Battlestar Galactica'' vet Richard Hatch says he's watching the development of Universal's recently announced  feature film adaptation pretty darn closely, secretly hoping those involved look to J.J Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot for inspiration. CLINT MORRIS caught up with the Sci-Fi vet on the eve of his appearance at Sydney's Supanova convention.

So you're coming to Sydney this time?

Yeah. I love Sydney. It's a beautiful city.

It's probably fortunate it's not Melbourne - what with the Swine Flu problem we have here.

What's going on there?

They say we're the epicentre for the disease!

Are you kidding? I wonder why it's so bad there?

I dunno, some say it's because Victoria is testing more, and is a little more vigilant. But it's a little suss...

Oh my god.

The best part of the thing is, it's just a mild flu - no different to other strains.

True. We can worry about flu's but the big thing is you've got to build your immune system, stay healthy, and the rest is up to god.

That's what I say - keep poppin' your vitamins, get some sleep, a bit of exercise - even if it's just chasing a toddler around a park - and you'll be healthier than Matthew McConaughey sans Bong!

Problem is, we live in a society where people don't sleep enough, and don't eat right, and self-medicate way too much, so I think our immune systems are quite compromised. Again, I think people have made this into something bigger than it is. We tend to panic sometimes. We're a very connected world now - it takes very little for anything anybody says to get turned into a monster.

Indeed. Now when you were here in Melbourne a couple of months ago, did you get to check anything out, or was it a quick trip?

No. I came in early. I stayed with a good friend at her house. She took me around. She drove me everywhere. I've been to Melbourne many, many times - I've actually spent a lot of time there.

Do you like doing these conventions? Is it good to touch base with the fans?

Conventions, for me, is like family week... it's like coming home to all your friends. I have friends all over the world now. I also get to meet other artists and writers, as well as producers - so there's a lot of brainstorming that goes on, and some time to talk about potential projects. But with the fans you get a chance to talk about movies, and characters, and performances and just get to hang out and have a good time. I love conventions because it's the one place that the family can go. They have a dance floor - they play the best music - and you're sitting there with someone that's 90 years-old and someone that's 6-year-old. It's not a pick-up bar, everybody's there to have a great time. I tell everyone ‘whoever you are, you're going to find something you love there'.

"Battlestar" ended on such a high. Four solid seasons.

The sad part for me is that I feel like the show always ends too soon. There were so many more stories to tell. Networks don't really, I think, understand Sci-Fi. They support the genre to a certain extent, but I don't think they understand the market place. I think the way they critique the audience and how large it is in no longer viable because people don't watch TV the same way they used to - for instance, with Battlestar, a lot of people TIVOed it and watched it later, because they don't want to sit through all those ads. And then there's people who download shows on itunes. We watch it different ways where it's not going to register on Nielsen's. Their criteria for keeping a show on isn't quite accurate - there is far more fans of this show than they know, and each year, the fanbase gets larger and larger. At conventions, for instance, the lines are getting bigger, the panels are getting bigger... bottom line, I think the show should've gotten a two-year pick-up. Nevertheless, it was a great idea, the writers did a wonderful job, and I will be proud to have been part of it for the rest of my life.

And Universal is developing a new "Battlestar" movie?

I think they saw the success Paramount had with their "Star Trek" reboot. But unlike Paramount, who seems to know the Star trek audience, I don't think Universal ever quite got Battlestar. I just hope they hire the right people, and make a good movie.

What do you think they should do?

I think they should go further back like Star Trek. It was still the characters we love, but they went back twenty...thirty... years to when they were just kids. But with Battletar, they're just going to go back to the same timeframe we saw in the series' and recast those roles. I don't think Star Trek would've been successful if they had recast the Star Trek characters at the same age as they were in the previous films. By going back, it gave the film a window so fans could expect a change of cast. I don't know what they're going to do, but I love Battlestar, and I think there are so many more wonderful stories to tell. And as much as I think the original series deserves the big treatment I think the new series deserves a series of movies as well.

So do I, so do I. I mean, it's great that Eddie [James Olmos] has got The Plan, er, in the can, but from what I've heard, that's the end. That's all there is.

No, it's never the end if fans want more. It's a money game. If they realize people want more, believe me, they'll make more of them - they did it with Babylon 5, and a number of other sci-fi shows. Battlestar is not done yet, it's just a question of how and when it'll come back.  I recently saw the original Battlestar movie on the IMAX screen, as part of the 25^th anniversary convention, and let me tell you, it was born for the IMAX! Even with the bad matte paintings on the original, it still looked amazing on the big screen! If they did it today, a full-blown movie of Battlestar, I think it would be amazing... so long as whoever does it understands the characters, the heart & soul, and mythology of it. I just hope they really get it. It has to have been frustrating for Glen Larson, who has wanted to do his version, but it's equally as frustrating for Tom DeSanto, the X-Men producer, who wanted to do a Battlestar movie more than anything. DeSanto loves the series, and he almost had it in the works a couple of years back. It's going to be painful for him to see the movie come to fruition, just as it's going to be painful for Ron Moore, who I'm sure would love to do a film version of the new series. It's in the hands of the studio, but also, and maybe even more so, in the hands of the fans.

You pitched your own "Battlestar" movie at one stage didn't you? Before the new series?

Yeah, a few years ago we put together a Battlestar : Second Coming trailer and we played it all over the country. At one stage Miramax even came to us and wanted to make a deal. We did something different - we made the trailer first, before we made the movie. It would've been based on my seven Battlestar Galactica books, and set half-way between the original show and the new show. It would've been much darker and disturbing, and the characters would've gotten into some more edgier and provocative situations. That's where I was going with it - not unlike where Ron Moore went, by making it more character-driven. But I also didn't want to lose the energy that the original show had - that Space Opera feeling. Again, I always wanted to go deeper, because the story is deeper... it's a deep, provocative edgy story, and I think Ron Moore really went into the core heart of it. There's many different ways of doing Battlestar, it's just a question of having the right person at the helm.

So what are you up to yourself? Trying to get your own stuff going?

I'm doing a number of things - just finished a movie called Dark Season, doing another project in July, and I'm doing a reality series called Who the Frak is the Real Richard Hatch? Which deals with the underbelly of showbiz - the showbiz most people have never really seen. It's the true journey of the artist. It follows me and my friends - actors, writers, directors - some who have already made it, others who are trying to make it.

You're a huge fan of science-fiction by the sounds of it, even outside of Galactica.

I'm a huge fan of great drama, very intelligent drama - whether it be sci-fi, fantasy, or the more traditional storytelling. I've always loved sci-fi fantasy, they can move us in ways people didn't think possible. I love great powerful character-driven dramas, but I love great powerful character-driven action movies. Movies have to be about something, not just a bunch of people running around blowing things up.

Speaking of, have you seen Terminator Salvation?

I was so disappointed with Terminator..

So was I. just heartbroken. The first two films were about something, but more so, they had heart. This was just a mess!

Based on the cast they have in there, I thought it was going to be really good but... they just lost...the whole thing. If I was an actor of Christian Bale's calibre, would you not look at that script and say ‘there's something wrong here?'

Originally, did you hear this, Connor was only a minor part in the film. Bale was actually offered the role of Marcus. Thing is, he wanted to play Connor so... up went the character's screen time. And then, of course, the ending changed when a website leaked it - originally Connor dies, and Marcus replaces him; they graft the former's skin onto the latter's body.

Ya see, that's a more interesting deal... and I have to tell you something, I think Sam Worthington's Marcus character is a lot more interesting than the John Connor character. I don't understand why Bale wanted to play Connor. What they should've done is make the focus the John Connor character Or make the focus the John Connor character and the Marcus character. I thought to myself, why did Christian Bale do this movie!?

That's it. And just like you I said to myself, this has to be OK, because Bale's not known for picking turds these days. I can't figure it out... if I scratch my head anymore it'll bleed.

I was also disappointed with Wolverine. The trailer looked great, but the movie just didn't work. When you get someone that gets the story, and the characters, of something it's rare. What's happening with these big franchises is that some very talented actors and writers are being hired but they mightn't be right for this particular story. Films are made for all the wrong reasons sometimes.

I was in a meeting with a studio recently and they told me - in regards to a project we hoped to do - that if "it ain't got special effects or Seth Rogen then it won't happen".

Which is why I'm bypassing the usual routes. I'm going to make stuff for my online online sci-fi network. Lets let audiences determine the success of your project, not some executive who doesn't have a clue. I think actors and filmmakers have to become the complete package so that they don't end up at the bottom end of the feeding line, that way they don't have to make horrible deals in trying to get your project out there. We now have ways of getting things out there - if the audience finds out, you'll have leverage. If you have millions of people watching your thing online, let me tell you, the studio will want to make a deal with you.

- CLINT MORRIS