Here's a Space Babes "Extra" - a gallery of
Battlestar Galactica publicity stills I've been collecting, featuring the gorgeous and exotic
Maren Jensen as Athena - possibly my favorite 70s Space Babe of them all (or at least tied with
Erin Gray).
Maren was the
Space: 1970 Space Babe on
December 12, 2009. Enjoy!
THANK YOU for posting these shots! I've always thought Maren was beautiful. Athena should have had a more prominent role in Galactica.
ReplyDeleteAt a SF con, I once asked Herbert Jefferson Jr. if he knew what she was doing now, and he said, "I don't know, she probably opened a bar someplace in Hawaii." lol!
Funny, I was just watching the New BSG, good as it is there's still elements of the original show that's better, The uniforms are better, The Galactica's bridge is just stunning, hotter women of course, I won't list all it's superior aspects but needless to say it's still great.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I thought her acting in Battlestar left much to be desired. However as a kid I watched her in awe.
ReplyDeleteI've read from several sources that that was exactly the problem. Maren wasn't a professional actress, but rather a fashion model. That explains her poses in the shots above. So the producers were reducing her role because she just wasn't working out.
DeleteShe's actually pretty good in the one mainstream film she made - Wes Craven's 'Deadly Blessing'
DeleteNope. That's not true. She was written out because she had a little known disease that was preventing her from carrying a full workload on the series. She was also having onset altercations with series creator Glenn Larson. Due to the effects of her disease she was having problems remembering the script. This caused conflict between her and Larson and he eventually began to have her screen time cut bit by bit until she had been pretty much relegated to nothing more than posing for the camera.
DeleteThanks for the pics. Always had a crush on her, still do. It would have been interesting to see her character develop had the show lasted. I can remember seeing her from time to time on other tv episodes(one shots usually). Actually if memory serves, she did an episode of the Hardy Boys before Galactica. She definitely deserves to be on your Space Babe list.
ReplyDeleteCheers Chris. I think Maren might be my fave space babe too, with Erin Gray a close second. Shame there aren't more pics of her out there. Has anyone got any of her modelling shots from her pre-acting days?
ReplyDeleteJust do a Google image search on her name. Among the numerous Galactica publicity shots and Photoshopped fakes are a handful of other pictures of her, including one swimsuit shot (not the bodybuilder one). Plus a grave marker for a woman with the given name Maren who had married a Mr. Jensen! But born 103 years too early.
DeleteMaren Jensen was a cool Space Babe. I thought her more attractive than Laurette Spang but not as pretty- if that makes any sense. As the series progressed Athena as Cassiopeia's rival vis a vis Starbuck just fizzled out as a plot line. A talented bridge officer just doesn't have the skill set a "Socialator" possesses in attracting horndogs like Starbuck.
ReplyDeleteI thought Maren had a very good scene in the two-parter where the fleet had to train women as fighter pilots. Athena is counting Cylon fighters in the cockpit- obviously she was a key part of the ship's CIC. I wish the show had developed this as much as they did Cassiopeia's development as a Medical Officer.
btw- interesting set of names from Greek mythology. Athena fit Maren Jensen's character but Andromeda would have been more appropriate for Laurette Spang's.
Totally agreed on the 'model-over-actress' qualifications, but MERCY could she fill a flight suit. Always LOVED those promo glossies of her.
ReplyDelete'Nuff said.
Oddly, I mentioned Maren Jensen in passing on my blog in an entry on a Myron Fass-published sci-fi mag, and included a smaller version of one of those same shots. "Maren Jensen" is now one of the Top 10 search terms on my blog. She definitely is underrated.
ReplyDeleteMaren Jensen is the most beautiful woman ever....MJ was a straight 'A' student in high school and went to UCLA on a scholarship, MJ is a model, tv actress and movie actress. MJ is involved with numerous, very successful business ventures and is set for life. MJ is a fitness enthusiast and posed for playboy in 2003, at the age of 46!!...MJ holds U.S. patents on items that are going into commercial/mass production, she is married and has a family. MJ's busy life her traveling between L.A. and NYC on and off (the list could go on) what an amazing, fascinating and accomplished woman!!!
ReplyDelete