D2 in  "Star Wars". Universal Studios, the distributor of Silent Running,  noted the similarity between the robots (and the similarity of "Star  Wars" to the _Buck Rogers (1939)_ (qv) serials of the 30s), and  promptly sued 20th Century Fox for infringement. The lawsuit was  eventually settled when Fox countersued over  _Battlestar Galactica (1978) (TV)_ (qv), which bore a striking  resemblance to "Star Wars".