Battlestar Galactica Trading Cards

The popularity of Star Wars inspired many creators of movies, TV shows, toys, collectibles, and other media to create grand science-fiction sagas where spaceships blasted each other with colorful raybeams.

One such effort for the television screen was Battlestar Galactica, a regular show that began airing in 1978 and debuted with a 2-hour TV movie. While not as successful as Star Wars, the show lasted for a time and enthralled kids with its spectacular visual effects, which were outstanding for television at the time.

Topps, probably predicting a big hit, produced a double-sized card set for the show, which clocked in at a whopping 132 cards and 22 stickers (most card sets of the time had 66 cards).

The card fronts showed a character or dramatic scene from the series pilot. The card backs held one of a number of different features: a puzzle piece; an 11-part story summary; a Character Profile; or a TV Fact, about the behind-the-scenes making of the program.

The sticker photos are surrounded by a purple outline against a 'starry' background. Unlike many Topps sticker issues, the stickers for Battlestar Galactica are numbered and captioned.

The total set price usually includes the stickers as well as the cards.