At 31, special effects wizard John Dykstra is one of Hollywood's hottest "properties", a jargon word that movie moguls apply to those who line the studio's coffers with money. Having won an Oscar for Star Wars, Dykstra sifted through the offers that were flooding his work table and chose not to rest on his laurels and wait for the sequel to begin filming a year or so later.

Instead, Dykstra jumped ship and left 20th Century-Fox to join Universal, where Battlestar Galactica was getting ready to take off. Quick to spot a trend, Universal producer Glen Larsen whisked Dykstra away from under George Lucas' nose shortly after the completion of his smash-hit film. Dykstar made the move, he says, because of "more money that you can imagine." Dykstra, a good-natured, giant of a man admits that Galactica is cashing in on the success of Star Wars. "It's the nature of the business." he shrugs. "When a police show is a hit, there are more police shows. Science fiction is a very successful genre right now."

Some critics believe Dykstra's screen illusions of cosmic explosions, nuclear missile bombings, and laser-blast killings are just another way to exploit violence. Pressured by parents' groups and religious organizations, television execs have lately moved away from graphic depictions of people hurting each other. "It's true that our series has some," says Dykstra. "But the gore is not explicit. In action adventure you've got to kill bad guys and even some good ones. The Cylons, for instance, are totally evil. They are robots who hate kids and dogs, and who are in general not very nice." Dykstra's inner visions of space battles and creatures of imaginary planets is brought to celluloid life in his North Hollywood studio. Working in jeans and unpressed work shirts, Dykstra supervises a hand-picked staff that is notable for its extreme youth, as well as its creativity. "They have a technical ability that established special effects people don't have," Dykstra explains. "Anyone can come up with a far-out idea for an SF movie, but few are able to put them on the screen."

Putting effective illusions on film, Dykstra says, involves expert, up-to-the minute knowledge of electronics, cameras, optics, lenses, scenic design, and an eye for composition of a scene. Dykstra admits that his screen magic would not be possible without recent advances in aerospace, military armaments, plastics technology and medicine. For instance, working out of his Van Nuys home in his "spare time," Dykstra constructed a costume with an extra set of arms, using prosthetic devices built for amputees, "It's so realistic, you won't be able to tell which are the real arms," says Dykstra. One thing Dykstra has avoided so far is building an entire show around special effects. As producer of Galactica-part of his lucrative deal with Universal-Dykstra might easily have succumbed to the temptation of putting in more laser-blasting skyraiders and flashy cinematic zaps and astral effects at the expense of plot. "That just won't make a show," Dykstra says, "You have to concentrate on people. You even have to give a robot personality." Technical explanations are also a no-no, he adds. Audiences begin to yawn when an astronaut fiddles with controls of his ship, while talking about setting the beta maxeter to project the xenon craft into coordinates of hyperspace. "It's like sitting in your car and telling how you are putting the transmission in gear." Dykstra says, "which will then connect the drive train to make the vehicle go forward."

A calm center of the hurricane that accompanies filming of the expensive Galactica series, Dykstra insists on taking the time he needs to get effects he is striving for. In today's cost-conscious Hollywood where many studio executives are accountants, it's not always that easy. "There's no way you can hurry what I do," Dykstra insists. The original shooting schedule for the series was set at 27 days, but actual filming took 50. "Sure, there was political hassle over it," Dykstra says, "but no one ever said stop. They took us first class from start to finish."

Meanwhile, Dykstra is at work constructing new surprises for Galactica fans, and doing what he likes best-playing with the cameras and gadgets that bring his creative vision to life.