The episode that introduced the world to the Battlestar Pegasus & Commander Cain...

The Living Legend (Part 1) Analysis
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Apollo and Starbuck are flying on a routine viper patrol when they are intercepted by two vipers from the lost Battlestar Pegasus. Apollo remarks in awe, not only that another Colonial warship has been found, but that it appears to be the one skippered by the legendary military genius Cain (portrayed by the late Lloyd Bridges), Apollo's wartime idol.

Apollo and Starbuck get to meet Cain, and both use the debriefing to update each other on recent events. The Pegasus, presumed lost with the Fifth Fleet in the Battle of Molecay, fled the massacre and sought refuge in the isolation of the Delphian Empire's galaxy near their capitol of Gamoray. Gamoray, like so much of this galaxy, has fallen into Cylon hands. On the Galactica, Tigh informs Adama that the refugee fleet's fuel shortage seems to be the least of their problems; civilian transmission leakage from a hitherto unknown Cylon city has been picked up by the Galactica's sensors. Cain contacts an astonished Adama and shuttles over from the Pegasus with Starbuck and Apollo. Cain tells of how the Pegasus survived, raiding the never-quite-completed Gamoray. He proposes capturing the Cylon's new outer capitol for much-needed fuel and as a base from which to strike back. Adama brushes off the notion of conquest, instead favoring the capture of Cylon tanker starships to replenish the fleet's fuel reserves enough to escape.

In private, Starbuck, who learned aboard the Pegasus of Cain's past affections for Casseopia, tells his lover of her old flame's return. She finds Cain, alone, and the reunion is bittersweet. She recalls how Cain's daughter --Lieutenant Sheba, now strike commander of the Pegasus (Anne Lockhart)-- resented Casseopia's appearance in Cain's life after Sheba's mother died. Apollo happens upon Sheba and fellow Pegasus pilot Bojay (Jack Stauffer) bragging up their harassment of the Cylons on Gamoray in the Galactica's officer's club. Apollo draws out their incredulity when he tells of how life as a warrior aboard the Galactica means escaping the Cylons, and that the Pegasus' crew and commander will have to adapt to this new, defensive posture. Sheba starts to bristle at this, when in walks Cain and Casseopia. Sheba leaves, but not before Apollo tries unsuccessfully to privately confront her.

Adama and Apollo enthusiastically agree that Blue Squadron from the Galactica should accompany Silver Spar Squadron from the Pegasus in catching up with a routine Cylon fuel run before the tanker starships get out of range. On the mission, Cain pulls some surprise maneuvers, shocking even his daughter. The two squadrons split up. While Blue Squadron is taking flack from the tankers' fighter escort, Cain slips around and destroys both of the tankers. The mission is over. When Adama debriefs Cain, Apollo objects to the notion that Blue Squadron had anything to do with Cain's notion that the two squadrons didn't work well together. Sheba sits quietly through the debriefing. Adama insists on waiting until the following morning before deciding on whether or not to adopt Cain's strategy for an all-out frontal assault on Gamoray for the sake of capturing the Cylon fuel depot. After the debriefing, Apollo confronts Sheba about Cain's story. Cain, meanwhile, is rallying support with another round of drinks in the officer's club.

The next morning, Adama conducts a strategy session. The Commander-in-Chief proposes taking the fuel reserves from the Battlestar Pegasus (which are currently full) and portioning them out to the Galactica and the refugee starships. Cain refuses to cooperate. Adama tolerates only so much of Cain's insubordination before relieving Cain of his command. Tigh will assume the Pegasus' bridge and conduct the fuel distribution. Back in the officer's club, Cain is sulking in his drink when Sheba and Bojay sit next to him and offer to support him in stopping Adama. Cain says he is a good warrior who showed poor judgment, and what they propose is mutiny. He refuses to be a party to a military maneuver that would leave a fleet of refugee ships exposed to Cylon attack.

Baltar has gathered three Cylon basestars, and is preparing to launch a full-scale attack on the Galactica, apparently unaware of the presence of the Pegasus. He sees glorious victory parades awaiting him on Gamoray, which he looks to as his future seat of power. When Lucifer suggests waiting until after the attack to celebrate, Baltar suddenly decides to join the fighter squadrons in the assault. He will co-pilot one of the fighters. As Tigh takes command of the Pegasus, the senior bridge aide Tolan (Rod Haase) advises delaying the fuel transfer until after sentiment among the loyal Pegasus crew has time to settle. Tigh insists the transfer begin immediately. As Apollo and Boomer step out of one of a fuel transfer shuttle, they are greeted by a group of angry Pegasus warriors, led by Sheba and Bojay. When Apollo orders them to stand aside, Sheba and Bojay draw their weapons. Just then, the battlestar's alert claxon sounds. The Cylon fighters are closing on the Galactica.

Cain reports to Adama on the Galactica's bridge. It looks like three Cylon basestars worth of fighters, forty-five microns and closing. Cain admits he was wrong, that if an attack on Gamoray had been launched, the fleet would've been left wide open by now. He suggests that since the Pegasus is still on the far side of the fleet, the Cylons likely have not spotted it yet. He requests permission to resume command of his battlestar, swing it around and crush the Cylon attack in a surprise pincer move. Adama agrees to the plan.

As vipers launch from the Galactica, Baltar, wearing Cylon armor, commands his centurions to attack. Squadron after squadron of Cylon fighters pours into the fleet formation, attacking until the Galactica's landing bays are damaged. Baltar wants to keep the vipers at full throttle until they are exhausted. The Cylon ships have a place to land. The vipers won't. Fires break out aboard the Galactica, and the situation looks hopeless. But the Pegasus crew cheers when they learn that Cain is returning to take command. Tolan apologizes to Tigh for the display, but Tigh quips "I quite understand. Who can fight a living legend?"

As Baltar cheers on his centurions, one of his co-pilots notices the Pegasus approaching. Baltar refuses to listen at first, but then realizes they are on a collision course...

A Second Look

This episode, the first half of a two-part story, actually stands well on its own. Unlike "Lost Planet of the Gods, Pt. 1", or "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Pt. 1", the first hour of this two-parter is a story unto itself, even if it ends with a cliffhanger. Cain, who clearly has designs on the Galactica as a means to the conquest of Gamoray, ultimately admits that his pushy insubordination was wrong. Baltar finally leaves his precious throne to champion his cause first-hand, in a fighter cockpit. And Adama responds to a challenge in the chain of command. Apollo's admiration of his hero is crushed by a harsh reality. And Casseopia slowly learns you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Another good thing about this episode is that the warriors get to go on a flight-mission for an important cause, without having to play HOGAN'S HEROES or loose a pilot on a backwater planet. Cain and Apollo lead their vipers on an offensive space mission that at least begins to stimulate the viewer's imagination. This was a very good start.

This is the first BATTLESTAR GALACTICA episode in which the prologue "There are those who believe..." spoken by British actor Patrick Macnee is no longer used between the show's teaser and theme music. Despite this episode exhibiting some of the most interesting drama in the series, there seemed to be a trend in recent episodes toward concept erosion. Instead of the theme being about "life here began out there", it seems that the show became caught up in the ongoing plot threads, not the fundamental premise laid down in "Saga of a Star World" and "Lost Planet of the Gods". Adama never even mentions the quest to find Earth in this episode. One result of this, which can be described as a mixed blessing, is when Lorne Greene's closing oration "Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny..." is absent.

One scene is shuffled around in the Sci Fi channel's showing of this episode, causing unbelievable discontinuity. First, Apollo and Starbuck meet Cain in his ready room aboard the Pegasus. Then Cain is shown aboard the Galactica, talking with Adama. Then, we're suddenly back aboard the Pegasus again, and Cain is showing Apollo and Starbuck holograms of Casseopia and Sheba. This scene obviously belongs with the scene where Apollo and Starbuck first meet Cain, since we can see the hologram projector off to the side. Subsequent scenes show Cain, Apollo and Starbuck aboard the Galactica, as if they had been there all along. There is no logical explanation for this blunder. At least in the MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK movie, the scenes are in their proper sequence.

The appearance of Sheba, who is apparently the strike commander of the Pegasus, brings a sudden and welcome end to GALACTICA's girls-can't-fight-a-war pretense. Anne Lockhart makes her debut as a warrior who can be a strong command presence without the another-model-turned-actress sexism to subvert the character. On the other hand...

There is another, disturbing mini-scene shown in the Sci Fi channel's airing of this episode: When Tigh assumes command of the Battlestar Pegasus, Apollo and Boomer are shown arriving on a shuttle to begin the fuel transfer. When Apollo confronts the insubordinate Pegasus warriors and demands they step aside, rebel leaders Sheba and Bojay draw their weapons, obviously pointing them directly at Apollo and Boomer. The battle alarm breaks up this confrontation. This scene did originally air on ABC in 1978, but the actual drawing of the weapons was omitted from MISSION GALACTICA. Maybe that omission was not a bad thing. Drawing weapons on fellow officers in an insubordinate confrontation is a criminal act, no two ways about it. There's only one way to respond to that: court-martial, followed by dishonorable discharge and imprisonment. It doesn't matter what caliber of pilots those warriors might be; they cannot be trusted. Witness "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Pt. 2". A preferable solution would be to follow the MISSION GALACTICA omission.

Wouldn't the flight data recorders of the vipers involved in the tanker mission be enough to show (1: that Blue Squadron was not the cause of the tankers being destroyed, and (2: that Cain fired those shots at the tankers unnecessarily?

Baltar manages to make his madman's quest for revenge into a hilarious farce, even when it shouldn't be. How ironic that Lucifer has to bring him back from his imaginary victory parade. All this can be forgotten when we get to see Baltar in a Cylon fighter cockpit, wearing centurion's armor. That's entertainment, GALACTICA-style. Even the centurions must warn him of the dangers of spent fuel, and "the other battlestar".

Cain sure does spend an awful lot of time in the officer's club, doesn't he?

Spectacle Value

This episode recycles old space action footage from before, but gives it new life with the appearance of Cain and Baltar in their respective cockpits. Cain's firing on the Cylon tankers, followed by Apollo's questioning of what he was aiming at, was very effective. Baltar's combat outfit, combined with his ravings, has to be seen (and heard) to be believed!

The scene in Baltar's fighter when the Pegasus approaches from the side, while a simple effect, is very effective. It makes for a beautiful cliffhanger.

The computer graphic representation of the Pegasus' "visual echo" was also a nice, if simple, way of reuniting the two battlestars.

Alas, we're back to showing individual vipers launching again. And again. The plus here is that we get to see Lloyd Bridges in the cockpit.

Cain's holographic display was also a nice effect. After the viper simulations in "Lost Planet of the Gods, Pt. 1", this new effect reaffirms that holography was indeed part of Colonial starship technology long before the holodecks of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY:

This episode, sans the drawing of the sidearms, would be quite viable. The Baltar "we are the champions" performance would have to be replaced with something more serious, although the scenes with the late John Colicos in Cylon armor were priceless.

The business about the fuel exhaustion would have to be scrapped. It was a transparent plot device that had already been done too many times in the series. A more clever need for attacking a Cylon city would have to be relied upon. Perhaps the arrival of the Imperious Leader in "Part 2" could supply some possibilities.

It would be nice to see at least one of the basestars involved in Baltar's attack.

TIDBITS & NITPICKS

Unlike the viper pilots' helmets for squadrons from the Galactica, Cain, Sheba and Bojay are shown wearing a crest insignia of a winged horse: a Pegasus. Their collar pins and breast/shoulder insignia are different as well.

In a different fashion cue from anyone else in GALACTICA, Cain, referred to as a commander, is shown in a pilot's uniform with a brown jacket; just like Apollo, Starbuck, and company. Unlike other pilot/warriors, Cain's uniform is laced with golden oak leaf-like ornamentation on the shoulders, and golden bands on the sleeves and the outsides of the pants as well. Vaguely naval, this is a very nice touch. It would look nice on other warriors' uniforms as well...

Strange how these parent-child arrangements seem to fall into place in the Colonial military. Adama originally had two sons and one daughter stationed aboard the Galactica, while Cain's daughter was a pilot aboard his ship, the Pegasus. And it's neat how the offspring seem on the fast track for advancement. Apollo and Sheba appeared to be the senior pilots aboard their respective parents' ships.

One odd note, though. Apollo has occasionally referred to himself as "flight captain" and "strike captain", while Sheba is only a lieutenant. I don't know if the term "glass ceiling" was coined in the 1970's, or later...

Athena is present in this episode, doing her best Lieutenant Uhura impression. (At least Maren Jensen gets to do more than say "Hailing frequencies open, sir.")

Tigh is insufferable in this episode, pushing the Pegasus crew until the Sheba/Bojay mutiny is inevitable. Tigh should've heeded the advice he was given.

People complain about the lackluster, patchwork quality of the MISSION GALACTICA movie, which sloppily splices together footage from predominantly two BATTLESTAR outings, namely "The Living Legend" and "Fire in Space". There are also scenes lifted from "Saga of a Star World" and "The Hand of God". At least "The Living Legend" portion of the movie was, in some respects, better than the chopped-up TV series episode airing on the Sci Fi channel.

The notion of a battlestar somehow escaping a massacre during the war and seeking refuge in deep space is a confusing one. It logically kept the Pegasus and her crew intact, but it also kept them from their home, without relief. If the Battle of Molecay happened "two yahrens ago," and this battle occurred before the attack on the home worlds, then it is safe to assume that the refugee fleet has been seeking Earth for less than two Colonial yahrens. Just how they've been in flight, and how long the Battle of Molecay took place before that is unclear. The only logical explanation falls back on the notion that Gamoray is located in a different galaxy than the one in which the Cylon-Colonial war occurred, and that the Battle of Molecay led to the Pegasus' escape sometime prior to the ambush at Cimtar.

Baltar refers to "the people of Gamoray", yet Cain appears to indicate the Delphian inhabitants of Gamoray are dead, "It's now a model of machine efficiency." Is Baltar referring to the Cylons on Gamoray, or are there still Delphians alive there, under Cylon rule?

What is/was the "Fifth Fleet" that was supposedly lost in the Battle of Molecay? Was it a task force of ships, derived from the Battlestar fleet seen in "Saga of a Star World"? It is assumed that there were twelve Colonial battlestars officially operating in the vicinity of the home worlds at the time of the ambush at Cimtar. Does the notion of multiple fleets mean that those battlestars were the centerpieces of several subsidiary groups of ships, possibly including smaller craft like the Celestra? Or could it be that there were other fleets of battlestars, unaccounted for at Cimtar?

One tired plot device shows anyone who discovers the Galactica, or some lost member of its compliment, scheming with designs on how to take advantage of them in their vulnerable state. Cain wants the Galactica to further his goal of conquering Gamoray; Sheba and Bojay don't seem to care about the effect their threatened mutiny would have on the safety of the civilians in the fleet. In the previous episode, "The Young Lords", Kyle seems to rescue Starbuck from the Cylons only to use the warrior in exchange for Kyle's father, Megan. The humans in this series are so corrupt and divided that it's no wonder the Cylons are able to keep moving in for the kill. The bad guys in this show are deadly, but the good guys are far too often their own worst enemy. It makes you stop and wonder who there is to root for, other than just Adama and Blue Squadron.