Another Gem from Walt. This story features the wonderful & legendary Fred Astaire...

The Man With Nine Lives
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Adama notes that is has been twelve sectons since Baltar's arrival aboard the Battlestar Galactica. He expresses puzzlement over the curious directions given to the Fleet by "the mysterious ones"; there are no time references to easily tell whether the Fleet with find Earth soon, or many yahrens from now. The Fleet's commander has granted "furlon" (liberty) to warriors as no sign of Cylon pursuit permits a relaxation of the Galactica's defensive posture.

On a Galactica shuttle bound for the Rising Star entertainment liner, Starbuck is filled with anticipation at the thought of trying out his new gambling "system". Apollo is filled with dread; he can see the loss of yet another secton's pay when he will ultimately loan cubits to cover his friend's wagers. On a civilian shuttle, also bound for the liner, an old man sits next to a siress as they watch a civilian interview show on Inter Fleet Broadcasting. The interview is of a colonial warrior, Lieutenant Starbuck. Starbuck explains he was a war orphan, found wondering in the Caprican Thorn Forests near the agro-community of Umbra after a Cylon raid in seventy-three twenty-two. He was approximately nine yahrens old at the time. When an attendant approaches for collecting travel tokens from the couple, the man cons his way out of paying by insisting he is the head of interviews for the I.F.B., and that the interview showed poor judgement.

The lady, Siress Blassie (portrayed by Anne Jeffries), is impressed with the old man, who introduces himself as Chameleon (Fred Astaire). She seems taken with him, but his mind is on something else. They board the Rising Star and enter a night club there. Starbuck drags Apollo out during the performance in the club so they can hit the gambling deck. But Boomer and Jolly are taken by the act that's performing in the club. The act finishes its performance, but the celebratory mood vanishes as three cloaked Borellian Nomen enter. Jolly immediately suspects the Nomen, who don't usually mix with the other Colonists, are on a "blood trail". (The Nomen immediately take a table from patrons, establishing themselves as the Colonial equivalent of a cross between the Mafia and a motorcycle gang.) On noticing the Nomen's appearance in the chamber, Chameleon begs off the festivities with Blassie and tries to quietly slip out. The youngest of the Nomen sees Chameleon leaving and hastily plucks and arms a pair of grenade-like "laser boles" (jewel-like bolas which glow when they are armed) that must be expended on a support column before they automatically explode. Boomer confronts the wreckless Nomen gang, who say they will report to the Docking Lounge so they can depart on the next shuttle.

On the Gambling Deck, Starbuck is about to wager away Apollo's money in a Pyramid (Colonial poker) game when Chameleon breaks the ice by offering the wagering warrior some advice on his "system". Apollo expresses gratitude to the old man, and the three find a table and sit to chat. It turns out that Chameleon used to be a professional wager, but now he's into genealogy. He spends his career on the Orphan Ship, trying to re-unite lost children with relatives. He claims he found his calling after he lost his wife and son in the first Cylon raid on Caprica; he used to live in a community on the edge of the Thorn Forests called Umbra. Starbuck is thrilled at the possibility that this man could be his father. But Chameleon cautions that there were 3,000 orphans found in the Thorn Forest after that raid. The genetic tests have a "yahren-long" waiting list on the orphan ship, but Chameleon supposes there could be similar equipment aboard the Galactica. Starbuck is anxious to return to the battlestar and run the tests.

In the Docking Lounge, a group of Colonists board a shuttle to disembark. Three men remain in the lounge after everyone else is gone: the Borellian Nomen. The leader of the Nomen, Maga (Lance LeGualt) berates the errant youth Taba (Anthony DeLongis) for violating "The Code" by drawing his weapon prematurely. Bora (Robert Feero), Taba's elder, takes responsibility for the youth's indiscretion, and vows they will "bring the prey down." Taba apologizes for acting hastily at the sight of "the jackal, Captain Demitri", but Maga insists they apologies should wait until "after you have been punished, if you survive." Maga vows that as Nomen, "the very name strikes like a scorpius at the heart of others" and that "we alone survived in the lands of the Magus sun and the endless sands, and we alone will survive this trek through the stars."

Apollo meets Boomer just outside the night club and tells of how he had to confront the Borellian Nomen. Jolly walks in and reports that the Nomen are still waiting in the lounge. Apollo and Boomer go to confront the Nomen for not leaving. Taba again reaches for his laser boles, but this time Maga steps forward and disarms Taba, also disowning him. Fleet Security arrests Taba and escorts him away. Starbuck passes through the lounge with a cringing Chameleon, as they board the shuttle. Apollo and Boomer follow onto the shuttle. Once Maga and Bora are alone again, Bora asks why Taba must be left to the hands of "these weak Colonial warriors". Maga insists "they are weak, but they are many", and "we are on the blood trail." But how will they get aboard the Galactica? Just then, a Fleet recruitment message appears on an I.F.B. monitor, in which Flight Officer Omega urges "we need you."

On board the Galactica shuttle, Boomer confides in Apollo that it looked like the Nomen were after Chameleon. Could the connection to Starbuck be a hoax? Once back aboard, Apollo and company debrief Adama. They conclude that there is no problem running a security check on Chameleon. In the Life Station, preliminary tests reveal that Starbuck and Chameleon could at least be distantly related. A complicated genetic test will have to be run to be more precise. While Casseopia prepares the new test, Chameleon reveals that she is much like his late wife. Starbuck confides that he would like to get sealed (married) to her.

On the flight deck, Tigh and Omega greet a new batch of recruits. Among them are a pair of Borellian Nomen: Maga and Bora. The recruits are escorted to quarters for sleep period. Once there, the Nomen ask the duty officer Corporal Lomas (Bruce Wright), where they can find a "friend who saved our lives... Lieutenant Starbuck." Lomas tells them they must stay in quarters before getting security clearance. Would they like to get a message to Starbuck? No, they would prefer to surprise him...

Apollo and Boomer meet Chameleon in the Officer's Club for an interview. Chameleon explains that he has endured friction with the Nomen in the past, but that he didn't feel any need to report it. In the recruit's quarters, Maga and Bora approach Lomas and ask for a private room to pray in. While Lomas resists at first, the Nomen insist they must pray. When Lomas turns his back to open a closet for them, Maga strikes the Colonial warrior from behind, leaving the unconscious body in the closet.

Starbuck later finds Apollo and Boomer in a nearby corridor. Tigh approaches Apollo to report on the security check. The running of a background check on Chameleon infuriates Starbuck, who announces "the end of a friendship". After Starbuck storms off, Tigh reports there is no record of a Chameleon in the Fleet. On the bridge, Adama can't understand why this old man named Chameleon would want to get on board the Galactica. What's going on? Boomer suggests he wanted to escape the Nomen. This alarms Tigh and Omega, who check to see what happened to the Borellian recruits. There is no comm-link answer from the duty desk in recruit quarters.

In the deserted launch tube, Starbuck has seated Chameleon in a viper to demonstrate the weapons controls when the warrior confides he wants to resign his commission and help the old man with his work, reuniting babies with their families. Before Chameleon can break the news to his could-be son, he notices two Borellians approaching in hangar crew uniforms. Starbuck is puzzled with the presence of hangar crew in an empty bay when the squadron is on furlon. "They don't look like the hangar crew to me," Chameleon warns. As Starbuck steps down to the flight deck to meet these strange figures, Chameleon crouches down inside the viper's cockpit. The Nomen demand to see "the jackal, Captain Demitri." They draw their weapons hurl a pair of them at Starbuck. Starbuck returns fire, but the Nomen do as well, striking a nearby support column and knocking the warrior to the deck. His blaster pistol slides out of reach. He runs for the darkened refuge of the launch tube. As the Nomen pursue, Chameleon, still unnoticed, figures out how to arm the viper's weapons. As Starbuck doubles back in the darkness, Chameleon fires the viper's lasers into the launch tube. Starbuck is blown clear while the Nomen are trapped in the explosion. As Chameleon steps out of the ship to tend to an injured Starbuck, the young warrior remarks that only his father would be crazy enough to fire a laser in a launch tube. When Apollo and Boomer lead security guards to the scene, Starbuck explains the Nomen claimed they were on a blood hunt for some Captain Demitri. He doesn't know any Captain Demitri. A blushing Chameleon confesses, "I'm Captain Demitri... sort of..."

With the Nomen taken into custody, miraculously still alive, Starbuck debriefs Adama and other officers. It seems the Borrelians were hoarding supplies and equipment when Chameleon/Demitri crossed their wake and tried to swindle them. They responded by trying to hunt him down. Starbuck's colleagues express regret that his reunion did not pan out.

Casseopia reports to Chameleon that the genetic test results are positive: he is Starbuck's father. But Chameleon insists that she not reveal this to Starbuck: he fears that his son will throw away his career and attachment for her if he learns of the results. He pledges to be a good friend to the young warrior, maybe even reveal the truth to his son on the day he gets sealed.

Later, Adama meets with Chameleon and the officers. He's grateful that the Borellian problem has been discovered and addressed. But what is the fleet to do with Chameleon? It seems they've been receiving inquiries from a Siress Blassie who wishes to know what happened to the old man. She's offered to support his rehabilitation. To Chameleon's chagrin, Adama says "it is so ordered."

A Second Look

This episode provides a rare look at life aboard the Colonial fleet. Despite past fumbles in fleshing out aspects of the BATTLESTAR Universe, this episode is true to the series premise while also introducing a variety of well considered conventions in establishing the nature of fleet life. Such conventions include:

The decidedly cheesey notion of TV-like I.F.B. (Inter-Fleet Broadcasting). This actually worked very well.

The Borellian Nomen. They brought a wild-living wolf-pack savage culture to prime-time TV long before STAR TREK gave us a Klingon named Worf. While these gang-like rebels don't get enough exposure to really flesh out their culture or technology, we see plenty to display their potential. You've gotta love their icy attitude and "close only counts in horseshoes" weapons. We would get to see Maga, Bora and Taba again during the Terran anthology, in "Baltar's Escape".

There is the ever-present hint of science fiction in this BATTLESTAR outing. Chameleon/Demitri knows how to talk himself up, first as an I.F.B. executive, then as a "genetic tracer". Casseopia's notion of "neuro-cell extraction" to confirm a bloodline is based in today's medical/forensic science.

This story gives Dirk Benedict the chance to make Starbuck shine. The notion of him giving up his career as a pilot seems pretty off-the-wall. Despite this, we see an episode in which his character grows by leaps and bounds over some of the chessier passages from earlier in the series.

All of this having been said, this story, taken on its own merits as an hour of prime-time television, rates as a "good" show. It is not excellent. The notion of a main character discovering a long-lost relative/friend while trouble brews because the relative/friend turns out to be more than meets the eye is hardly an original idea. With a more detailed story about the Borellians and their ambitions, and how Chameleon/Demitri fits into their tangled web, this could've been an excellent two-part story like "Lost Planet of the Gods", "The Living Legend", or "War of the Gods". So here's yet another BATTLESTAR story with great potential that was left half-baked.

Why would the Galactica crew allow any new, unscreened recruits on board to carry their own weapons??? This one boggles the mind. Add to that the notion that Lomas would turn his back on the Nomen after he's seen that they are armed and you have to wonder whether it's the character who's incompetent or the show's makers.

When Starbuck announces the end of his friendship with Apollo and Boomer in front of Tigh, he is way too insolent. Tigh and Apollo both should've pulled rank on him by telling him to shut up and listen. This whole scene was unnecessary and contributed nothing to the story. And given the obvious past Starbuck has with his fellow pilots, it seems unbelievable that he would throw away his friendship with them so suddenly, as if it never mattered.

Curiously, Adama's log entry indicates that the coordinates to Earth do not contain a time reference, yet the recitation Apollo, Sheba and Starbuck blurted out in "War of the Gods, Part II" clearly makes mention of "nineteen million sectons".

And speaking of time, there is a reference in this episode which really throws a monkey wrench into a notion tied to the beginnings of the series: In the earliest moments of "Saga of a Star World, Part I", Colonial President Adar (Lew Ayres) raises a toast to the Council of Twelve in which he proudly mentions he expects peace as they approach "the seventh millennium of time". This implies that the yahren is probably in the late 59th centura. But in "The Man with Nine Lives", we are left with the impression that Starbuck was orphaned in a Cylon raid which seemed to occur in the yahren 7322. This would make it clear the Colonists are in their 74th centura, or eighth millennium of time. This obvious goof is more than just a minor nit-pick. One would think this would be obvious to television series makers who produced a show in the 1970's, which we part of the twentieth century. (Are we not currently at the brink of the third millennium here on Earth?)

Another odd fumble in the writing: Jolly knows enough about Borellian social behavior to realize they don't mix with other Colonists unless they are on a blood trail. But Boomer, not Jolly, knows that the Nomen weapons can't be disarmed once activated.

Yet another annoying fumble occurs in the direction, when we see Sheba in the scene where she pilots the shuttle. She talks, gestures with her hands and even looks away while she flies. This looks ridiculous. Sheba, you are grounded until you learn to keep your eyes on the road and your hands firmly on the wheel.

Spectacle Value

The makeup department may not have gone as all-out with the Nomen as STAR TREK has done with the Klingons, but it is understood that these Borellians are essentially human. They may be of a variety not seen on Earth, but they are apparently not completely alien, either. The costumes seem at least as important as the makeup, anyway.

The Borellian bola weapons, while a simple effect, are surprisingly effective and innovative for 1970's prime-time TV. They even look good by today's standards. Too bad we never got to see these Nomen tangle with the Cylons.

Other than some images of the civilian shuttle nearing the Rising Star, there is no space action in this show. It isn't really missed. The best spectacle of all, other than the action at the heart of the plot, is the emphasis on civilian life in the fleet. From the mention of "inter-fleet orbit beta" as a kind of transit route, to the Nomen pursuit of their vendetta, this story relies more on the viewer's imagination. This is a more powerful effect than a whole fleet of Cylon ships!

Another simple-but-effective scene is when Chameleon fires the viper's lasers. A very nice touch.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY...

The notion of an episode dealing with intrigue within the fleet would have to come much earlier in the series. That was the problem with the first several episodes of BATTLESTAR. Too many battles with Altar and the Cylons and not enough fleshing out of who the people in the fleet were and what made them tick. Maybe this should've been the next episode after "Lost Planet of the Gods", or "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero".

This outing should've been expanded into a more in-depth two-part story. Fred Astaire did a great job with a mediocre story. He could've done an even better job if they had given him an even better story.

A revived BATTLESTAR should definitely bring back the Borellians, and not just as criminals doing their underworld dirtywork, either. Maybe instead of criminals being used in "The Gun of Ice Planet Zero", they could've used Nomen commandos. Things would definitely get interesting if Apollo had to command a team of unruly warriors from an autonomous organization.

TIDBITS & NIT-PICKS

Why wouldn't laser fire from a viper in a launch tube cause a fire or hull breech?

Lomas deserved to get clubbed from behind. Any idiot who allows recruits to walk up to him armed, then insult the recruits, and then turn his back on them, is asking for it.

There is mention in this episode that the Cylon raid on Umbra in 7322 was one of the first on Caprica. This seems to imply that the war between the Great Colonies and the Cylons/alliance escalated in stages. If the hostilities had continued for 1,000 yahrens straight, it would make sense that the Colonies were attacked long before this.

It is mentioned that Borellian bola weapons take at least 50 microns to reach critical mass before they explode. Also of note: the other Colonists in the nightclub on the Rising Star obviously knew what these weapons were once Taba plucked them.

Apparently, fuel consumption and standard of living are not the problem they once were for the ships in the civilian fleet. We are left with the clear impression that there is a regular transport system between ships ("inter-fleet, orbit beta") and that well-dressed people exchange money in an economy which permits them to enjoy leisure time aboard the argo-ships or the Rising Star. This is in contrast to the more grim pictures shown to us in previous episodes.

Apollo tells law enforcement personnel aboard this Rising Star that Taba "is to be held for a security council hearing. I'll file a complaint." This, combined with Boomer's repeated tough stance with the Nomen, points to law enforcement powers on the part of Colonial warriors. But it also shows that there are other personnel devoted to security who may not be (purely) military.

Maga's rant that "we alone survived in the land of the Magus sun and the endless sands" sounds like Borellians lived on a planet that did not orbit the same sun as Caprica. Could the great Colonies have been located in a planetary system of multiple suns? Or could this be yet another hint (after the "straights of Madagon") that the Colonies were within a dense star cluster?

While this is Dirk Benedict's show, Richard Hatch gets the best line, if the silliest: "I'm beginning to feel like an equetisus atrum!" Poor Apollo. It's not every day he looses a friend and makes a "horse's ass" out of himself.

One nice little touch when the "recruits" assemble on the flight deck of the Galactica was the appearance of huge containers marked "BORATON".

There is a cameo appearance of the same Rising Star host (John Holland) who appeared in "The Long Patrol".

This is the review of the second half of the two part episode featuring Patrick MacNee...

The War of the Gods (Part 2) Analysis
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

"This is an event unlike any we've experienced since the destruction of our civilization. Baltar's ship is reaching our quadrant, and will be escorted by an elite squadron that will deliver the treasonous instrument of our holocaust directly into our hands. Word is spreading like sunbursts through every corner of the Fleet. There is a a jubilation unprecedented, as Baltar is brought before the Council of Twelve. It is just as Count Iblis promised. Our enemy has been delivered." --Adama's memoirs

As Baltar (portrayed by the late John Colicos) faces the Council, the president renounces the Cylon double-agent. Baltar, apparently tried in absentia, is sentenced to life aboard the prison barge. Naturally, the traitor protests, insisting that the Colonists and the Cylons need each other in the face of a new threat. But then Count Iblis (Patrick Macnee) steps forward and rebukes Baltar, using his powers to force the prisoner to his knees. Adama has Baltar removed. Iblis then insists that the Council decide on his third test quickly. The Council recesses.

In a holding cell, a fuming Baltar paces until he hears a voice. "Sit, Baltar! Sit, old friend!" It is Iblis. Baltar refuses. "I know you! I remember that voice! It is the voice of the Cylon Imperious leader!" Iblis simply smiles an evil smile. Cylons are machines, he points out. But Baltar recalls they were living beings who were overcome by their own technology 1,000 yahrens ago when their war with the humans began. But Iblis' smile broadens: he responds that in order for his voice to have been transcribed into a machine leader, it would have to have been done 1,000 yahrens ago. Iblis "would have to be over a thousand yahrens old." Iblis then walks through the cell door and consoles Batlar: "Do not fear, my friend. All is not lost." Iblis then disappears, leaving Baltar alone.

Just before a game of triad, Iblis and Sheba visit Boomer, who is getting ready to play against Apollo. Boomer tells them "I'd give anything to beat them, just once." Iblis offers to play the game through Boomer. With Iblis' mysterious unseen help, Boomer's blue team defeats Starbuck and Apollo's gold team. After the game, everyone heads over to the cruise liner Rising Star for a huge celebration in a Studio 54-style dance hall. A jubilant Sheba is with Iblis. She wants to cheer up Apollo. When she and Apollo go off on their own, Starbuck talks to Iblis about Iblis' relationship with Sheba. Iblis doesn't mind Apollo's closeness to her. After all, why should she be limited to one man? Starbuck is pleased to hear that a man should be able to enjoy as many women as he wishes.

Later on, the Galactica is buzzed again by the mysterious lights. But the battlestar's crew and fighters are unresponsive. Adama is outraged to learn from Tigh that many warriors are on Life Station relief after "excessive pleasure." With the defense alert fully twelve centons along, Apollo finds himself trying to wake his hung-over warriors out of their bunks. Iblis storms in and admonishes all of them, provoking a resentful Apollo. Adama rushes in a breaks up the confrontation, but not before Iblis starts dishing out threats.

The Galactica's remaining vipers launch and try in vain to pursue the mysterious lights. Boomer tries to attack one, but his own ship disappears, having been captured by the brilliant alien colossus. Starbuck wants to see if they can find Boomer, but Apollo knows it is too late. Boomer is gone with the other ships. Back on the Galactica, a conference on the bridge makes it clear that Iblis is not helping them stop the disappearances, let alone find the missing pilots. Apollo and Starbuck visit Dr. Wilker (John Dullagham) again, and discover that an analysis on the fruits which resulted from the recent "miracle" growth aboard the agro-ships seems to have coincided with an energy release at the time of the appearance of the mysterious lights.

In Adama's office, the commander sits at his desk, almost perfectly still. He concentrates on the figurine of a bird that he slowly moves with only the power of his will. Apollo enters and in astonished by the display. Adama explains that before his children were born, he used to irritate his wife with telekinetic tricks he learned in a pliot program on psionics at the Military Institute. It seems that in the history of ancient Kobol there were legends of advanced beings who visited that world like "angels", using great powers as "custodians of the Universe." Perhaps Iblis is linked to such a past. Apollo must tell no one that he is going on a mission back to the red planet to find whatever clues exist in the remains of the ship which crashed there. As Apollo readies to leave in a shuttle, Starbuck appears in the launch bay and insists on accompanying his friend. As the two leave under the premise of an unscheduled mission to a passenger ship, Iblis, with Sheba (Anne Lockhart) on agro-ship 9, can sense that something has happened. Iblis returns to the Galactica immediately. Confronting Adama, Iblis threatens to kill Apollo for trying to reveal the Count's true identity. Adama says outright that he doesn't believe in Iblis. With that, a fuming Iblis departs. Later on the bridge, Adama learns that Iblis has disappeared. A viper is also missing; Sheba took off after Apollo's shuttle.

On the surface of the red planet, Apollo and Starbuck descend into the crater and begin probing the wreckage. Apollo finds something shocking in the debris and calls out to Starbuck. Sheba arrives, and climbs down the cliff to the debris. Apollo and Starbuck are about to show Sheba what they found when Iblis appears on top of the cliff, arcing lightning bolts across the sky, and thundering "No! I forbid it!"

Iblis makes his way to the group, and orders Sheba away from the wreckage. Apollo tries to reason with her; he has put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Remember the ancient records... the name Diabolis, Mephistopholes... the Prince of Darkness." Iblis warns Sheba to come to him, or he will kill her. This is enough for Apollo to draw his blaster and shoot Iblis. What happens next stuns the warriors more than Iblis. The energy from Apollo's weapon is harmlessly absorbed into Iblis' body, but not before Iblis undergoes a split-second transformation into some lurid, dark creature. Iblis waves his hand to throw a thunderbolt at Sheba, but strikes Apollo instead. Starbuck is outraged to find Apollo has been killed. In his greif, he draws his own weapon on a chuckling Iblis and fires twice again. Each time, Iblis' appearance briefly changes back to that of the creature, wearing an almost identical robe to that of Iblis yet having some eerie appearance of a devil.

Sheba and Starbuck refuse to obey Iblis, choosing to grieve over Apollo. The mysterious dancing lights appear in the clouds. Iblis is taken aback by their return. Starbuck taunts the Count, asking if he has broken some rule by striking down someone not under his command. Iblis promises he will return. With that, the count resumes his alien appearance and seems to teleport away. Starbuck and Sheba, still weeping, load Apollo's body into the shuttle and launch into space after the Galactica. Once in space, they are captured by the brilliant alien colossus.

On board the brilliant alien colossus, we see Starbuck, Sheba and Starbuck revived by beings wearing shimmering veils. "What you are, we once were. What we are, you may become," the aliens tell the Galactica's warriors. Iblis overstepped his bounds by killing Apollo, who was only dead "by primitive measures." The aliens applaud Apollo's "courage to grow beyond limitations of the flesh," and express hope for the human race's potential. They foresee a time when the Colonists seed the Universe with new civilizations that will ascend to become Great Powers. All of the warriors will now be returned to the Galactica, with reasonable explanations.

In Adama's dining hall, Apollo, Sheba and Starbuck try to reconcile gaps in their memories. It seems they remember Apollo loosing a fight with Iblis, and they brought his body back in the shuttle. After that, nothing. Boomer reasons that Apollo was merely stunned and Iblis was scared off. But Apollo, Sheba and Starbuck remember something else. Light, sound, something good and pure. Adama muses that few see the Light of Good and Truth first-hand. Human beings will always struggle with the conflict between good and evil, even after they find Earth. This brings a stir of facts, streaming from the lips of Apollo, Sheba and Starbuck:

"Earth, quadrant alpha, nineteen million sectares by epsilon vector twenty-two, on a circular reckoning course of zero-zero-zero-point-nine... in a star system of nine planets and one sun."

A Second Look

While there are some similarities in this show to Arthur C. Clarke's anthology which started with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (MGM-UA, 1968), this episode, like "Saga of a Star World" and "Lost Planet of the Gods", can be said to be truly original and uniquely BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Unfortunately, there were too many episodes in between which were derived from war movies and westerns. It's a shame, because Count Iblis and the "custodians of the universe" were a far better execution of STAR TREK's Q (portrayed by John DeLancie, who made a cameo in BATTLESTAR's "Terra" anthology as a prison guard) years before TREK ever introduced the notion.

To be fair, some would say Q came from the character Trelane from "Squire of Gothos", more than a decade before BATTLESTAR was made.

There does appear to be a tasty treat of decent science fiction tucked away in this story, dealing with something TREK never bothered to explore in depth: the notion of a race of beings who make what they want by the sheer power of will. There is just a hint of "the Force" from STAR WARS evident in Iblis forcing Baltar to kneel. This can be forgiven thanks to subsequent performances by Patrick Macnee and the other regular characters, especially the unusually eloquent scenes feature Richard Hatch's Apollo and Dirk Benedict's Starbuck. Why didn't this kind of dialogue and drama happen earlier in the series?

Anne Lockhart and Dirk Benedict render surprisingly good performances in this outing. Their acting is made better, in no small part, by smarter characterization and dialogue. They have something interesting to say because the story gives them something interesting to talk about.

In the first part of this story, Apollo expresses dismay over the notion that, if Iblis represented a parent civilization, "from this point forward, we'd be powerless to control our own destiny." Indeed, if the Galactica does find living offshoots of its ancient roots who proove to be formidable, that would threaten the stability of BATTLESTAR's premise without some fancy footwork. Unfortunately, BATTLESTAR simply side-steps the issue by showing us glimpses of these advanced beings, followed by their disappearance.

This episode establishes some contradictory issues about the fleet and its facilities. While "The Magnificent Warriors" left the impression that the fleet had been reduced to one agro-ship, "War of the Gods, Part II" makes it clear there are least nine such ships in the fleet. And while residents of the Freighter Gemini complain of their living conditions, Baltar seems to enjoy much nicer accommodations in the Jailbird Hilton. People of the fleet are ready to dump Adama's leadership, but it seems the Council of Twelve is chaired by a civilian, with Adama simply being a member. And how down-trodden can their condition be when they later celebrate in great parties after Baltar is captured? There seems to be a regular shuttle service set up so people have mobility throughout the fleet. They can visit the Rising Star or agro-ships, or other vessels. If there's a problem with the quality of life, why do the people on the Gemini wait to complain? If anything, the ones who need better quarters could camp out under a tree on board an agro-ship. Why whine when action can be taken?

Upon returning to the red planet, the redness appears to have faded. Apollo and Starbuck don't appear to be worried about toxic "radion levels" anymore, and the warriors' sensitivity to the sounds of the dancing lights seems to have waned. And just how did Sheba know where Apollo and Starbuck took that shuttle? And how did she manage to get a viper without clearance? Again, BATTLESTAR seems to treat this as if Junior simply snatches the keys to the station wagon and takes off on a date with Suzie.

What did Iblis think he was doing, when he tried to kill Sheba? What good would that do him? Was he going to kill her to make an example of her to the other two?

Never mentioned, but loosely understood, was the fate of Sheba's viper which she took to the red planet. Did she leave it behind when she accompanied Starbuck back to the Galactica? Or did they stow it aboard the shuttle?

Spectacle Value

The fandom focus appears to be on the brilliant alien colossus, or "ship of lights", as an outstanding special effect. While it was, attention should also be paid to the "real" Count Iblis effect. Patrick Macnee, on his own, managed to make the character more alien in "Part II" with the right acting and that evil smile. But things really kicked into overdrive when Apollo shot Iblis.

One nice little bit of acting goes to Dirk Benedict, who made his own home-made special effect by rising awkwardly when the aliens revived Starbuck on the brilliant alien colossus. He makes it look like they were handling him like a flimsy rag doll.

Not enough recognition goes to the simple effects of the wreckage on the red planet. Again, simple but effective.

The aliens aboard the brilliant alien colossus were also effective. Showing veiled people, who seem slender enough to be feminine and yet have a masculine voice, gave them a more alien, androgynous feel. This technique was also effectively used in the form of the telepathic inhabitants of the forbidden world of Talos IV in the aborted STAR TREK pilot "The Cage" (Paramount, 1964).

Another overlooked special effect: the geodesic domes of the agro-ships. Derived from the 1972 sci fi movie SILENT RUNNING, these ships made a credible component of the fleet. The interior shots were extremely creative illusion-builders.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY

The Council of Twelve should not be shown as so gullible. A sudden fruit harvest, Baltar shows up on their doorstep, and they're ready to turn over the keys to a complete stranger? Without anyone asking where the Cylon baseship is that Baltar had to originate from? Gimme a break!

Count Iblis' notion of multiple sex partners would raise some eyebrows, no doubt.

This show should bring back Patrick Macnee, no matter what his age.

The show's makers may want to revisit these Great Powers, but it would be best not to allow the contents of BATTLESTAR to be too heavily influenced by them.

If they are going to show other ships in the fleet, how about using metaphors other than the slum-in-a-metal-box? People can still feel confined in a clean, high tech, cush freighter converted for long-term passenger use. Human beings know how to adapt to harsh conditions. Why not show people finding innovative ways to make their homes more livable?

Tidbits & Nit picks

There are a couple of fandom theories about Iblis' relationship to the Cylon Leader:

1: Iblis is the Cylon Leader, in the flesh.

2: Iblis is responsible for the downfall of the original organic Cylon reptiles, who were overcome by the machines he programmed.

Speculation goes that if Iblis were a Cylon, they would know exactly where the fleet was and be able to pursue them in greater numbers. If Iblis simply instigated the rise of the Cylon machines over the living beings, there does arise the question of free will again. How much sense does it make for a race of beings to consciously choose to destroy themselves by creating killer machines? That doesn't sound like a choice made freely. That leads to a third (my own) possibility:

3: Iblis is a being of many false identities, who pursues a life creating alter-ego cults-of-personality by infiltrating the leadership of civilizations he encounters. Perhaps the Cylon machines were created by the Cylons for service or defense, but were tampered with after Iblis (in another form/identity) gained prominence in ancient Cylon society. Maybe Iblis didn't even do the tampering; he was part of a movement that became corrupt as a result of his politicking. He connived his way into becoming leader of the Cylons, only to find his civilization collapsing around him as the machines took over. Perhaps Iblis could inhabit the body of another being, such as the Cylon machine leader. Or perhaps the Cylon machine leader, an alter-ego of his, is a puppet which can either act independently or at his whim.

Still, the first theory should not be dismissed. Iblis is a master of illusion, and could take on the form of the Cylon leader quite easily. Baltar pursued the Galactica on the Cylon leader's wishes, with the intent to storm the fleet and capture the humans to be taken under Cylon rule. When the Cylon baseship was destroyed at Carillon, the Leader's indentity was mysteriously restored to a successor. It should be remembered that Iblis apparently is endowed with two other powers: immortality (he can't be killed) and the ability to teleport to another distant place at will. The Cylon Empire is brimming with IL-series machines who are constantly trying to step on each other to gain power and prominence. How does a leader keep things stable at the top with this going on? Iblis could be using his powers of influence.

Adama's dining room aboard the Galactica seems mighty plush considering the emergency conditions the Colonists are constantly living and working under.

One would think that a few more lines could've been given to Athena throughout this story.

You have to love that line Starbuck gave while in the custody of the aliens: "Sweet lady, there aren't many places I've been in my life where I didn't feel like I was in complete control, but, uh, this is an exception."

Howdy All,

 I know it's been awhile since I posted a blog so here goes.

I updates my contact information in my profile here on this site.

 I also updated the Gemenon Delegate's webpage to see the changes ( only a few ) go here :

Home of the Gemenon Delegate

 There are 2 pages so check them both out.

I am also asking everyone here to make suggestions for the page and if I use your suggestion I will mention you as the one who suggested the idea.

 I almost forgot, I plan on making a new radio chat real soon so look for that as well I will be posting the link for it here and on the Gemenon Delegate's web site.

I'm sure someone out there will recall that I first announced forming a Colonial News Network newsletter. I'm certain you can wade through my blog postings here and find it. Anyways, I'm still working on this and this time around I'm calling it the Colonial Alliance News Corps, CAN-SEE for those of you who like acronyms. Right now I'm developing the design and layout for this. What I really need is stories (articles), pictures, warm bodies as well as a few toasters willing to work on this with me. 

I'm using what I have here on my laptop and that is Microsoft Publisher version 7. But don't let this stop anyone from sending me something for the newsletter. You can send what you have to me at jcecil922930@att.net

The Quorum voted 10 (yes) to 0 (no) to approve the Caprica Fan Club into the Colonial Alliance. The Final approval now heads over to the Executive Authority of the Colonial Alliance of which Daniel Allen, 13th Tribe Quorum Member will be pushing for the vote of approval for the Caprica Fan Club to the EA. I do feel strongly that the Caprica Fan Club will be approved by the Executive Authority and be allowed into the Colonial Alliance.

This is an interview I did with Tahmoh a couple of years back...enjoy!

Battlestar Galactica Fan Club President Shawn O'Donnell  recently had the opportunity to speak with actor Tahmoh Penikett, who portrays the character of Lt. Helo on Battlestar Galactica. He was able to give us some insight regarding his role on the show and the field of acting. Special thanks go to Deb Dillistone at Lucas Talent for making this interview possible.

Shawn: How did you get your start in the acting business?

Tahmoh: I guess I got started in the business back in high school. There was a new music, art and drama program that I was asked to take part in. Ironically I signed up with the intention of focusing on art because I loved to draw but ended up acting on stage for the rest of the year. After that I studied theatre for years at a couple of different schools and a year long acting program tailored for on camera acting.

Shawn: What do you consider your first initial "break" in the field of acting?

Tahmoh: I guess my first big break was a regular on "Cold Squad". Sonja Benett and I were the new characters introduced for what was the last and what I thought the best season.
I clearly remember how excited I was when I found out. It was such a distinguished and long running Canadian series that I was truly honored.

Shawn: You've worked on "Stargate SG-1", "Dark Angel", Smallville" among other shows, not to mention Battlestar Galactica, do you have a favorite that you've worked on?

Tahmoh: I recently finished a T.V. movie, "Hush". It was awesome working with the experienced and talented actors Tori Spelling and Victoria Pratt. It's somewhat of a suspense, mystery, love triangle drama. Tori and Victoria both have wicked senses of humor and I spent days on set laughing till my guts hurt. BSG of course has been huge step for me and a great opportunity.
I still remember going to the table to read for the pilot and seeing Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell walk in. I had no idea that either of them were in the show and it was then that I realized how great this project was really going to be.

Shawn: Are you wanting to work yourself into leading roles?

Tahmoh: Absolutely, it's always been the goal. "Hush" was my first big leading role and as I said I loved the experience. I look forward to doing film in the future. I think what attracts me so to film is the opportunity to explore and tell the story of different characters.

Shawn: Any special projects you'd like to work on?

Tahmoh: My favorite film since my father took me to see it when I was a little boy is "Blade Runner". It's the film that I first got to see Edward James Olmos perform.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan and especially the writing of Philip K. Dick. If I could do ever do a film anywhere near that caliber it would definitely be a dream come true.

Shawn: Any specific kind of character or characters you'd like to play?

Tahmoh: I love gritty dramas. My idols growing up were DeNiro, Pacino, Ford, and Voight to name a few. I'd really like to play a bad guy soon. I think sinking my teeth into a truly evil character would be so much fun.

Shawn: Just how did you get involved in working on Battlestar Galactica?

Tahmoh: My lovely agent Deb Dillistone called and told me I had the audition. I remember reading the script and thinking that I knew this character. I could empathize with some of the tough decisions that he had to make. I did the audition for Michael Rhymer and the casting directors and about eight days later found out that I booked the gig.

Shawn: Did you ever watch the original series? and did you re-watch some episodes to gain perspective on your role in the new show?

Tahmoh: I did and still remember the episode where Starbuck and the Cylon are stuck on the planet together more than anything.* I was quite young when the original series was on but still remember how big it was. When we did the boot camp for the pilot we watched a few of the original episodes and that definitely brought back some memories and gave me a good sense of what we trying to honor and yet recreate.

Shawn: What would you like to do with the character you play on BSG? Helo is basically in his own storyline.

Tahmoh: Tough question! I kind of like the fact I don't know what Helo's going to be faced with. The guy has an unstoppable spirit and heart.
I'm sure the audience appreciates the fact that Helo does his best to rise to the ever volatile obstacles he's always facing. As long as the writers keep it exciting, I'm game!

Shawn: Any suggestions or advice for aspiring actors and actresses out there?

Tahomoh: It's a cliché but we've all heard "That if you want something bad enough work harder than the rest and you will have success". One thing I'm constantly reminded of is how we must always train at our craft. Whether it's voice classes, movement or scene study. You have to be diligent at it. Nothing in life comes for free. Believe and your dreams will come true.

The first of a two-parter featuring Patrick MacNee as the evil Count Iblis...

The War of the Gods (Part 1) Analysis
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Lieutenant Bojay (portrayed by Jack Stauffer), formerly of the Battlestar Pegasus, is leading Jolly (Tony Swartz) and a contingent of Silver Spar squadron vipers on a deep space probe ahead of the Galactica. As they near a planet, mysterious lights appear in space and begin buzzing the fighters with unusual speed and swiftness. Bojay orders the pilots to hold their course, they won't contact the Galactica until they have more information. But as the vipers probe deeper, the pilots are suddenly overwhelmed by a bright light and high pitched screech from a brilliant alien colossus which causes the pilots to black out in flight. On the Galactica, the bridge crew suddenly looses track of Bojay's patrol. There was a seismic report from the sector where the planet is located. Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba (Anne Lockhart) volunteer to fly a recon mission to the last known position of the Silver Spar patrol.

Upon arriving in the space where the vipers disappeared, Apollo's patrol finds no traces of the first probe. The scanners indicate no life forms on the planet. Still, Apollo decides to lead the patrol into this world's atmosphere for an examination of the surface where the disturbance took place. Sheba comments on the strange environs of this planet; while beautiful and habitable, the sky has an eerie glow and the vegetation is all red tinted. The vipers set down in a lush meadow near a huge, burned out crater that resembles the crash site of a great ship.

As the warriors start to descend the wall of the crater toward some wreckage, a strange, white-caped man appears nearby and warns the warriors off. Apollo and company meet the man, who identifies himself as Count Iblis (Patrick Macnee). Apollo's hand scanner cannot read anything, from the wreckage or from this stranger. Iblis tells in curiously vague references that he is the lone survivor of the crashed vessel, downed by the hitherto unknown Great Powers. When Apollo offers aid, Iblis smiles and returns the offer, apparently believing he has plenty to offer the them. Sheba seems sympathetic, even drawn, to Iblis. An irked Apollo wonders if this strange man, who speaks in convoluted riddles and seems distressed yet also appears fit and full of energy and confidence, could somehow be a threat. Sheba half-speculates Iblis could be one of Baltar's spies, but Starbuck seems to think one man couldn't be very dangerous. A shuttle is summoned to bring Iblis back to the Galactica.

Once back aboard the battlestar, Sheba offers to escort Iblis to quarters and an examination. Adama is curious when Apollo and Starbuck tell of their encounter on the planet. The commander will await a full report on Iblis. But Sheba seems completely captivated by the newcomer. She agrees to take him on a tour of the bridge. While there, the ship's instrumentation goes haywire. When Iblis departs, everything reutrns to normal. Apollo and Starbuck visit the Galactica's head surgeon, who reports that all attempts to scan Iblis' body have failed. When Adama learns from Tigh that Iblis was seen touring the bridge, the commander is outraged. Why would an unknown alien be exposed to a sensitive military post? Adama demands the Iblis be summoned to the commander's office immediately. Apollo and Starbuck find Iblis touring the triad court (like combining basketball with a little pool and doubles tennis) with an adoring Sheba, who is now in a civilian dress. Apollo orders Iblis to accompany him to the commander's office. Both Iblis and Sheba protest. Apollo offers Iblis the chance to come freely, or as a prisoner. Sheba leaves, insisting Iblis "is the only man who ever really knew me." Iblis goes to leave, but stops and says with an eerie smile "Apollo, don't ever make the mistake of threatening me again, or you'll forfeit your life in the wink of an eye."

Adama privately confronts Iblis, who reveals very few answers. The strange, caped man offers only this: "Your people will be safe, under my leadership."

Sheba takes Iblis to an agro-ship, where they tour an arboretum. There, Iblis reveals he can read Sheba's mind, about her wish to be reunited with her father, Cain. He uses this to seduce Sheba. In one of the Galactica's labs, Apollo and Starbuck ask Dr. Wilker (John Dullagham) if Iblis could be an android. Wilker agrees that it is very possible to make a lifelike machine. Just then, the Galactica goes on alert. The fleet is being buzzed by the bright lights which the viper patrols encountered earlier. Adama addresses the fleet's public address system, assuring people not be alarmed. There are no hostile moves being made by the lights. Interceptors are launched. The pilots try to track the lights, but find any attempts to keep up with them impossible. Before the ships can turn around to return to the Galactica, the brilliant alien colossus appears again and the interceptors disappear. Adama again confronts Iblis. This time, Iblis displays the power to move a candle display by sheer force of will. Iblis offers that he is from a race of beings that have harnessed the power of the mind. He proposes that he will perform three "miracles" as tests of his worthiness. Passing these tests will mean that Iblis will assume leadership.

In deep space, a Cylon basestar is buzzed by the strange lights. Baltar gazes into a malfunctioning scanner while Lucifer reports that the Cylon fighters are not swift enough to intercept these lights. Baltar muses on the origin of the lights: "Adama. He has scientists aboard the Galactica." Could this be some technological breakthrough? Lucifer expresses hope that it is. This astounds Baltar. Lucifer indicates that the alternative is that some other force in the Universe has been discovered, one that is more powerful than their own. On board a freighter starship fashioned into a refugee habitat, Sheba shows Iblis the primitive conditions people live under. Apollo again confronts Iblis, but this time Iblis rallies the civilians to his support. He says to go to the agroships and see that there is food in abundance. Sure enough, Dr. Wilker and the agroship hand show Apollo that the trees bare new fruit. On the Galactica, the Council of Twelve convenes, and Iblis tells them what they were thinking. The first test Iblis will face is to "deliver your enemy unto you this night".

On the Cylon basestar, Lucifer reports that attempts to intercept the lights proved impossible. Baltar decides to contact the Galactica and fly in his fighter to negotiate with Adama. News of Baltar's pending arrival spreads "like sunbursts, through every corner of the fleet." The people are jubilant. Their enemy has been delivered.

A Second Look

Once again, BATTLESTAR has shown us a two-part story where the first part stands on its own.

One thing I found odd: Apollo's scan of the red planet indicated "NO LIFE FORMS", yet we see the surface of the world covered with vegetation. And we hear the faint sound of songbirds in the background during the lush garden scenes.

There are some very loose ends in this story: why did the bright lights start buzzing the vipers in the first place, and why did the brilliant alien colossus abduct the fighter pilots? Were the Great Powers trying to keep the pilots from discovering Iblis on the red planet? If so, why didn't they simply drop the pilots off again, headed in the opposite direction? Why hold them against their will? This contradicts the notion of free will in this episode.

Why did the Council of Twelve not confront Count Iblis about the ship found crashed in the crater on the red planet? Shouldn't they make him explain what happened? It seems like everyone forgot where this Iblis was discovered in the first place. It doesn't make any sense for the fleet's leadership to welcome an alien so easily.

If Iblis must allow people to flock to him of their own free will, how did he get away with sweeping Sheba off her feet? She initially expressed concern for his well being. It seems that he took control of her by reading her thoughts and exerting telepathic influence over her. That's more than just con-artistry. Sheba's careless attitude toward Apollo is also disturbing. While her insubordination exhibits clearly that she is being influenced by Iblis, it also seems to take her out-of-character too suddenly. Would she be so disrespectful of a superior officer, so quickly?

The scene where Apollo confronts Iblis on the triad court, only for Iblis to turn and make a clearly terroristic threat to Apollo, was off the scale. Apollo was within his rights (and duties as a commissioned officer) to arrest Iblis right there, with Starbuck as his witness. Of course, they were all soft on Iblis right from the start. Iblis should've been placed in military custody from the time he was discovered on the red planet. It is the duty of warriors to treat a newcomer in a potentially dangerous situation as a suspect. Clearly, they had Probable Cause.

Count Iblis wins support from the civilians far too easily. The elder lady (Paula Victor) says "forget Adama" too quickly. If the people of the fleet respect their own protectors so little and exhibit such opportunism, then it seems they survive in spite of themselves, not because of themselves. Such a mentality would not last long in the icy cold of space...

A paradox is created by Baltar's arrival aboard the Galactica. Did Iblis cause Baltar to make contact? If so, then it's a foregone conclusion that not all of the dancing lights are hostile to Iblis. In fact, Iblis would have to be responsible for the lights buzzing the Cylon basestar. Why else would those lights visit the Cylons? Lucifer indicates they were previously unknown to the Cylons.

If Iblis did not cause Baltar to come to the Galactica, but simply saw the future and took credit for it, then why did the lights buzz the Cylons?

This episode walks a fine like between the telepathic science fiction of STAR TREK and the magical, spiritual fantasy of STAR WARS (20th Century Fox, 1977). The scenes where Sheba is being influenced by Iblis seem too much like the Jedi parlor tricks, like when Obi-Wan Kenobi affected the "weak" minds of the Imperial guards near the Skyport. GALACTICA would do best to keep inside sci fi territory.

Spectacle Value

The brilliant alien colossus, or "ship of lights", was a great special effect. The visual effect gives the impression that this is a huge, Death Star-like city in space that would make a Colonial battlestar, or even a Cylon basestar, look small in comparison. But equally eerie is the music and the sound effects that go with the colossus.

The little round balls of light do the job, but are less impressive. They seem too surrealistic, especially when superimposed over BATTLESTAR's existing special effects. They also seem inconsistent in size. And the sound issue begs the question: while it is one thing for warriors to use radio communications to converse while in flight, how do the lights use sound to cause them pain? Sound, on its own, does not carry through the vacuum of space. If the sound is being carried over their comm system, why don't they just turn the volume down, or shut it off? If the sounds from the lights are not being carried via comm-link, then how do these warriors come to hear them? Are the lights causing the ships themselves to resonate? Or maybe the sound is telepathic in its conveyance, much like the mutant telepaths in the subterranean Temple of the Holy Fallout in the bizarre post-apocalyptic tale RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th Century Fox, 1970).

The scenes of the planet surface, apparently seen through a red filter, may seem like a cheap special effect. Still, they work. It's a shame the show's makers didn't see fit to show the fighters touching down in a locale more exotic than a meadow. Despite all this, the planetfall scenes are a dramatic improvement over seeing so many previous worlds in darkness. The scenes of the crash site are very effective.

We finally get to see a Colonial warrior using a handheld scanning device that seems vaguely reminiscent of the tricorders seen in STAR TREK. Apollo's unit has what appears to be a very small liquid crystal display. Too bad the makers of this show couldn't stray a couple of decades into their own future and borrow a Palm or PocketPC for ideas. This is one place where BATTLESTAR can make better technological sense than TREK: show the warriors using a handheld device with a built-in scanner, communicator and computer that can use a wireless link to the spaceships for telemetry purposes. We've already seen warriors using headsets for hands-free communications. Why not marry the two ideas? This would actually make for a very plausible special effect.

The costume worn by Count Iblis may not seem at first to be technically considered a special effect, but it only helped an already capable Patrick Macnee give that much more of a magnetic presence to his role.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY...

Iblis' seduction of the Colonial people, including Sheba, would have to be less magical and more human in nature. Iblis would have to be shown as more of a lawyer-like con-artist.

There would have to be more exploration of interesting alien places, like the red planet and the crash site. And there would have to be more detail on what's going on there than just a "high radion levels" cop-out. Why not show civilian specialists accompanying a survey mission? It would add depth to the relationship between the warriors and the refugees in the fleet.

There should also be exploration situations where the Colonists meet aliens that are profoundly different from the human race. An excellent example of this would be the beautiful Speilberg picture CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Columbia Pictures, 1977) which Galactica should've patterned itself after in the first place.

If BATTLESTAR were to be revived, its makers should think seriously about bringing Patrick Macnee back to the show. He may be getting older, but he's just too good to pass up.

This episode proves that BATTLESTAR does not need the Cylons. It would be far more interesting if the Galactica and her fleet encountered other alien races-- some more advanced, some not --whose intentions were unclear. Conversely, it would also be very entertaining to see a "strange bedfellows" story in which the Galactica has to join forces with a Cylon basestar to escape a common problem.

The whole use of the Freighter Gemini to exhibit the malcontent dregs of humanity, combined with the all-too-foolish Council of Twelve (aka dumb old men draped in grey and white) has, by this point in the series, become a very tired cliche. An insult, in fact. It's almost as bad as the repetitive use of Cylon combat footage. If the conditions in the fleet are that bad, then why doesn't someone propose a seeding program, where a small percentage of the fleet's people have an opportunity to part ways and settle on some isolated planet at their own risk? Given that the fleet apparently has the ability to manufacture fighters and important equipment, why not groom small contingents of warriors to accompany each group of "Colonial offshoots" in establishing a new home? This could lead to a variety of stories, including mutinies from those who do not wish to wait their place in line.

Tidbits & Nit-picks

In this episode, we get to see the warriors making planetfall on an unknown world, then returning to the Galactica without even mentioning decontamination procedures.

This marks the last appearance of Lucifer, or any other IL-series Cylon, in the original BATTLESTAR series. A pity, since they were the only interesting Cylon characters on the show.

If Iblis' presence jams all of the Colonists' equipment, how did they manage to launch a shuttle with him in it?

If the presence of the mysterious lights jams Cylon equipment like Iblis jams the Colonists' equipment, how did the Cylons know the lights were there, much less launch fighters to investigate?

It is strange enough that Sheba is able to give Iblis a tour of the Galactica's sensitive posts, but it is patently absurd to think she can give him a tour of the fleet at will. That takes time, fuel to shuttle from one ship to another, and permission. Sheba is, after all, in the military.

Earlier in the series, in the episode "The Magnificent Warriors", we are left with the impression that the fleet has three agroships; a Cylon attack destroys two of them and damages a third. During this BATTLESTAR outing, we see at least one, maybe two, such ships. The impression left in the episode is that there are several such vessels in operation. And apparently, there is enough excess room in the ship Iblis tours with Sheba for an arboretum. This implies plenty of room for growing both crops and less space-efficient trees and other non-agricultural plant life. All this implies that either there were more agro-ships in the fleet to begin with, or the fleet's internal industrial infrastructure was able to build new ships.

If the Colonists have the ability to either build new ships or rebuild existing ones while in flight, then why can't they work to improve the living conditions of their population?

In this episode, we get to see Adama at his desk with a pen and papers. On board a fleet in deep space under emergency conditions, one would think that this kind of primitive technology would be unheard of. Again, these folks need a Palm or a PocketPC for all their notes, memos and other documentation.

Once again, BATTLESTAR gives the Bad Guy the best line: when the bright lights buzz the agro-ship while Iblis is romancing Sheba on board, he tells her "Don't be beguiled! They taunt you with a glow that conceals everlasting darkness! Look away, Sheba!" Of course, Casseopia comes in a close second: "When all of our medical technology fails, we still resort to blatant feminine wiles."

On to the next episode review!

Fire in Space Analysis
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Boomer and Athena are enjoying some "furlon" time (off-duty) in the Galactica's game room with other personnel, young Boxey (Noah Hathaway) and Boxey's pet robo-"daggit" Muffey (A daggit being a Colonial dog, played by Evie the Chimp). On the Galactica bridge, Adama and Tigh watch their scanners closely as an approaching Cylon baseship and fighter squadrons, which the Galactica evaded ten centares (hours) before, poise for an attack. The Galactica manages to launch all her fighters in time, and Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba (Anne Lockhart) proceed to blow the huge task force out of the sky. The Cylons aren't fighting back, instead, a couple of Cylon ships break through the vipers and attack the Galactica directly. The Cylon suicide mission results in Adama suffering critical injuries on the bridge, while the Alpha (port) landing bay is destroyed in a huge fire. The fire rages through the huge Galactica's interior, cutting off the game room and threatening the vital inner workings of the ship.

Dr. Salik, the Galactica's head surgeon, (George Murdock) discovers a metal fragment from the Cylon attack is lodged in Adama's heart. Still, Salik is reluctant to operate on his commander because of the ship's unstable condition. Power outages make surgery too risky. Firefighting crews, lead by the Galactica's Fire Leader (William Bryant) try advancing on foot with hoses to spray "boraton", a powerful extinguishing fluid, on the fire. But the Galactica's power plant and explosive storage remain in jeopardy, and the rest of the ship's fate along with them. Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba conduct straffing runs on the flaming landing bay with "mega pressure" boraton fire extinguisher cannon rigged in place of their weapons. The viper mission fails.

Boomer decides to attach an S.O.S. note to Muffey and the cyber-dog (er, "daggit") through the ventilation duct. Tigh visits Adama in the Life Center. Adama's condition is deteriorating, but through his weak voice we can hear his wisdom intact. The dying commander suggests a radical strategy: place time bombs on the Galactica's hull and blow holes in the ship's armature that will suck all the fire into the vacuum of space. As Apollo and Starbuck don spacesuits and begin a weightless travail to place the explosives at strategic points on the battlestar's exterior, the fire continues to rage. Vital parts of the ship are more threatened than ever. Apollo radios Tigh that Boxey trained Muffey to sniff out mushies, so Tigh places a tray of the snacks near an open ventilation duct. Sheba watches Starbuck and Apollo's spacewalk from her viper, running a close parallel course with the Galactica. Apollo nearly looses his handhold on the hull, and it turns out that the process of setting the explosives is more difficult than anyone expected. Muffey emerges next to the mushies, and Tigh reads the note from Boomer. Tigh attaches a sack of life support masks to the robo-daggit, along with a note warning Boomer about the explosive charges. Muffey crawls back into the vent, and makes its way toward the fire. Along the way, it spots and injured firefighter laying in burning corridor. When Muffey returns to Boxey, Boomer breaks out the air masks and Tigh's warning note. The trapped Colonists all huddle together and wait for the blast. But Muffey escapes through the vent again. In the Life Center, Salik decides to risk surgery on Adama's heart. Power outages make the operation tricky, but he presses on for his commander's sake.

Apollo places his last bomb, but slips off the hull. Sheba watches helplessly as Apollo tumbles over the blast zone. Starbuck see this, and lunges off the hull toward his captain. The two join hands and the momentum carries them off. Then the bombs explode, sucking the air out of the fire and ending the danger. But Apollo and Starbuck are nowhere to be found. Did they tumble off into space? Where they caught in the explosion? Sheba starts to look for them. She sees the two of them, gripping each other's hands. A shuttle is sent to recover them.

In the Life Center, Apollo is glad to see his father is awake and recovering. Boxey is mourning his Muffey. But Starbuck has a surprise: a burned and battered Muffey is hauled in. It appears that Muffey went back to drag the injured firefighter to safety. With a little work, Boxey's noble pet will be good as new.

A Second Look

People can look at this and see it is an obvious retread of THE TOWERING INFERNO and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. It is a disaster movie, scaled down and watered down for television. As a criticism, this view has merit only if this outing does not bring something new and innovative to the well-used concept. To be fair, BATTLESTAR actually does, by introducing the notion of spacewalking to the show. This episode also skips the usual guest cast appearances in favor of emphasizing the regulars. This is a welcome change, although it is too long overdue.

The notion of a fire in space is a tricky one to justify. Fire, in the terrestrial sense, requires air. If the Galactica's exposed landing bay were set on fire, one would think the failure of the atmosphere containment there would suck all the air out to begin with. And if all the ship's compartments are sealed, yet the fire keeps repturing them, why wouldn't the inferno eat through the hull and open up holes for the vacuum on its own? Still, the advent of a fire on the aging Russian space station Mir points to the limited possibility of fire in space.

This whole story hinged on a ridiculous design flaw in the landing bays of Colonial battlestars: the absence of a door mechanism to close off these huge caverns from space during a battle. Close a door over the gaping hole in the rear of these bays, and there's no clear way for a Cylon fighter to attack the inside of the ship. End of story.

The notion of Cylon suicide runs on a battlestar is hardly original. Since the series' debut, we have seen repeated footage of the very same tactic, even contributing to the destruction of the Battlestar Atlantis. If we had to see the Galactica crippled by a Cylon attack, couldn't the show's writers and producers come up with a new approach? In the fifth-year episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (Paramount/syndicated, 1987-94) entitled "Disaster", the Starship Enterprise stumbled upon a natural phenomenon called a "quantum filament", which blindsided the starship, disabling its power and communications. This left people trapped inside the great ship, suddenly cut off from essential services they took for granted. This ship's delicate power plant was also in danger of malfunctioning, threatening to explode and take the rest of the ship and crew with it. While this was far from being original by the time it aired (October, 1991), it did manage to bring new life to the "great starship in distress" concept.

The silliest flaw with both of these "great starship in distress" stories is that both crews should've had access to wireless communications. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION's characters routinely used high-power, computerized badges for voice communication, while it would seem that BATTLESTAR's warrior characters would have vaguely similar technology. The notion these two stories tried to pass off is that, with the ship disabled, it's every man for himself. Neither one was very convincing. If computers, lighting, heating and gravity still worked, why not communications? Taken the other way, if communications were down, the characters should be in the cold, weightless pitch black.

At least we get to see Athena doing something other than calling reports out on the bridge. Too bad she comes across as an airline stewardess helping injured passengers.

Just what a black character needs to depict on prime-time network television: a juvenile delinquent past stealing hovermobiles.

Maybe it would've been better if Athena used her circuitry smarts to improvise an escape to the next compartment. We already know of her technical expertise from the series' debut.

If the time bombs can use a magnetic base, why couldn't the boots of the spacesuits worn by Apollo and Starbuck? Use of magnetic "gravity boots" was seen in STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (Paramount, 1992) and again in STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (Paramount, 1996).

The best performances were given by Dr. Salik (George Murdock), Tigh (Terry Carter), Omega (David Greenham) and Sheba (Anne Lockhart).

Why would Sheba and Tigh have a hard time finding Apollo and Starbuck after the explosives go off? They have radio communications, don't they? And doesn't Sheba's viper have tracking scanners?

If the detonation of those time bombs cause the atmosphere to be sucked out of the fire zone, what good would those masks do Boomer and company in a vacuum?

Where were the Galactica's laser turrets when the crew needed them?

Why did Tigh insist there was a manpower shortage? Couldn't more firefighters be called from other ships in the fleet?

Spectacle value

The Cylon combat footage, which is repetitive from previous episodes, adds nothing to the action.

One of the hokiest gimmicks that is used in space action television and movies to show a starship suffering structural damage is the alleged spectacle of a structural girder, bulkhead or frame falling on someone on the bridge. This was a tired cliche long before BATTLESTAR was ever on the drawing board. It looked ridiculous when STAR TREK (NBC/Paramount, 1966-69) did it with a Romulan bridge in "Balance of Terror", and it looks worse in this episode. Did anyone ever stop to think that, if a starship were seriously damaged in an attack, a more logical spectacle would the failure of the ship's artificial gravity or the breeching of the hull?

The shooting of "boraton" fire extinguishing element from the vipers was a somewhat innovative, if decidedly weird, special effect. It begs the question: why not equip the fleet's other starships with "boraton" cannon, and have them draw in close enough to keep pumping the extinguishing substance into the Galactica, just as some habor fireboats do here on Earth?

While we're on the subject, isn't it interesting that the other starships in the fleet are not shown throughout the combat and fire portions of this episode? Where did 220 ships go?

Those wall phones seen on board the Galactica look so cluncky and silly today. Of course, they didn't win acclaim in 1978, either.

The Colonial spacesuits make their debut in this episode. They're bobbing around so much that we never get a definitive look at them. While they are a neat (and long overdue) effect themselves, I'm left wondering why we don't see helmets that look like they are more familial with the Egyptian-style viper flight helmets.

One handy special effect that is appreciated: Muffey. The robotic pet redeemed itself in this episode.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY

Despite the critical panning of this episode, the use of a similar plot in "Disaster" makes it clear that a "great starship in distress" story can work, if it is done well enough. The Cylon attack would have to use a more original approach (Why not show a basestar inflicting heavy damage, or trying out a prototype ship-to-ship weapon? Or how about showing the Galactica destroying a basestar, and the explosion causes collateral damage to the Galactica?) and showing some other kind of crippling damage that is not a fire.

How about showing spacesuits with magnetic "gravity boots"?

How about showing characters like Boomer and Athena is a more flattering light?

How about showing the rest of the fleet getting involved to help save the Galactica?

One key thought: if the Galactica were so ravaged by explosion and fire, what would be the ongoing consequences? This episode did not indicate how many fatalities resulted, nor did it illuminate how the damaged sections of the mighty starship were restored. It is a foregone conclusion that the landing bay and adjoining sections would have to be at least partially rebuilt... while in flight. The clearly implied ability to do this brings some more questions to mind:

1: if the Galactica is able to repair and restore crippling battle damage while in flight, why can't the Colonists use her underside to create a kind of "mobile drydock" cradle, for repairing, rebuilding and refitting other ships in the fleet?

2: We've seen the Galactica, which is supposedly a self-sufficient starship, relying on other ships in the fleet (such as the Celestra) for support services. Is it not a forgone conclusion that the Adama chose to shift some facilities to other ships in the fleet, to prevent over-reliance on one ship in the event said ship could suffer damage or other failure?

3: Why couldn't the Galactica use its in-flight construction capabilities to construct new starships? They would be constrained to a size the Galactica could handle during in-flight construction, but smaller ships could further decentralize and fortify the fleet, cushioning the refugees from even greater disaster if something happened to the Galactica.

None of these three points would necessarily alter the premise of BATTLESTAR. In fact, they could open new doors while still showing the vulnerable fleet wondering the Universe. The Colonists simply would not be as vulnerable as they started out after Carillon.

Tidbits & Nit-picks

One embarrassing goof in production values: "old" shots of Sheba launching and piloting her viper from "The Living Legend" show her wearing a pilot's helmet with a Pegasus on it. In other shots, she is shown with a helmet just like the Galactica pilots.

Speaking of "Legend", this episode's use of suicide Cylon fighters does make logical sense after Cain destroyed those two basestars near Gamoray. What happened to all of those fighters that returned to find their motherships destroyed? Baltar had to do something with them. As with the damaged Galactica in this episode, Baltar's lone basestar could only handle so many fighters at a time. The rest would have to wait their turn to refuel. The ultimate solution is to throw as many at the Colonists as possible, on a suicide mission. This is the implication used in the MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK telemovie.

One interesting oversight is Tigh's reference to viper squadrons: he loosely implies there are only four. After the fighters from the Pegasus made the Galactica their new mothership, what happened? Were these squadrons absorbed into the Galactica's exisiting units, making each squadron double in size? Or did the Pegasus' squadrons disperse to other ships in the fleet, such as the Celestra? I don't recall Silver Spar Squadron ever being mentioned after the Pegasus vanished.

Why would a starship as compartmentalized as a Colonial battlestar need central air? Isn't it a foregone conclusion that the fire or poison gas could spread that way? And what's to stop the shock from the explosion from spreading throughout the ship through those ducts? Wouldn't it make sense for every compartment (or maybe every section, or subsection) to have its own self-contained life support systems?

They should've shown Boomer replacing the ventilation cover in the storage compartment and turning a knob to seal it shut to keep the atmosphere in the room. Explosive decompression is not necessarily a better way to die than fire or smoke inhalation.

Does anyone ever notice the angle from which we see the airlock situated, relative to the Galactica's engines? It looks like Starbuck and Apollo would have to be right on top of the burning sections when they emerged. Does this imply they walked through the fire to get there?

Considering the events of this past weekend it more than occured to me that it was was high time to write a sequel to the original Anatomy of a Photoshoot which is featured on BattlestarGalactica.com ...which I should explain a bit before delving into this one!

A couple of months back, my good friend & most excellent photographer Chris Loomis did a full montage of photo's with my good friend Richard Hatch at Studio 1444 in Hollywood.

Just an aside, you can find Chris right here on the Fan Club site...have a chat with him!

Anyway I was lucky enough to be there with him along with our Deputy Vice President Herb Brunner & Club Member Cliff Gardner & get some video time in with Richard.

We had a great time....& as a matter of fact is was SO great that we thought we'd repeat it.

This time out Chris did a photoshoot with my buddy Noah Hathaway.Noah is of course best known for his roles as Boxey in the original Battlestar Galactica as well as Atreyu in The Neverending Story...look out for his upcoming film Sushi Girl!

Come see Noah if you are in the Dallas-Fort Worth Texas area on February 11-12, he will be joining our Vice President Paul Nix at the Battlestar Galactica Fan Club table at the The Sci Fi Expo in Irving that weekend.

On top of that Chris also hosted actress Adrienne Wilkinson, best know for her roles in Xena: Warrior Princess, Days of our Lives & the current Vence: The Series...such a gracious person & just simply nice too....

Yesterday was a long day....but fun!

Besides the photo's included here...please check out the full set of photo's (that I took at least!) in of course our photo section!

Some people probably think that doing a photoshoot is easy...WRONG!

It's fun but a lot of work too...& if you take a peek at the video...I've found that my friend Chris Loomis had some talents besides being...again, THE most excellent photographer on the planet...I was really quite amazed!...well you take a peek & see what you think!

The second half of Walt's take on this two-parter...

The Living Legend (Part 2) Analysis
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Baltar is personally leading an attack on the Battlestar Galactica, using the combined Cylon fighter-bomber squadrons from three baseships. The Galactica and her fighters, outgunned, are on the ropes with Cylon attacks on the landing bays making relief impossible. Baltar savors the moment until one of his Cylon co-pilots notices the approach of another battlestar: Commander Cain (portrayed by the late Lloyd Bridges) aboard the Pegasus orders a counter strike with his ship's fighters freshly fueled and armed. Baltar's fighter narrowly avoids collision and anti-fighter fire from the Pegasus. He notices Pegasus' vipers swarming in and sounds a retreat. Cain radios Adama aboard the Galactica and requests a conference to plan their next move.

On the Galactica, Cain insists that the one way to prevent Gamoray's fighters (they have four complete squardons, the equivalent of a baseship) from joining Baltar's strike force in a attack would be to attack the Cylon city immediately. Once the supply depot is secure, the fleet can refuel and escape. Cain points out that with the Galactica damaged and still in need of fuel, Adama's flagship should remain over Gamoray until it is time to escape. The Pegasus will go out to meet the returning Cylon fighter squadrons and decoy them away from Gamoray. Adama reluctantly agrees. Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer and getting ready for a parachute drop onto Gamoray when their insubordinate rivals Sheba (Anne Lockhart) and Bojay (Jack Stauffer) show up and offer their familiarity with the target. As the airborne-commandos get ready to move out, Casseopia stops Starbuck and notes that Cain is leaving in the Pegasus without her. That can only mean he doesn't expect to come back. Since the commando team doesn't have a med-tech, she volunteers to go with them.

A shuttle sprints into Gamoray's atmosphere, and drops the commando team into the Cylon's outer capitol. Once there, the commandos start planting explosive charges on an exposed munitions dump. The team regoups to attack command post, but they are missing Bojay, they go back to find him hit. Casseopia manages to stop Bojay's injuries from getting any worse, but she has to stay behind with him while the others attack the Gamoray's office complex. While the warriors make their way back to the Cylon headquarters, the Cylon Imperious Leader's ship lands at the air dome. The Leader has come to dedicate the newly completed base. In a great reception hall, many Cylons gather to greet their Leader. The Leader appears, and begins his address to dedicate the capitol. Just this occurs, the charges planted in the capitol go off. The Cylon Leader demands an explanation. Starbuck and Boomer are first to make it to the Cylon command station. They get into a firefight with the locals and bomb the place. With the Cylons incapacitated, the battlestars launch fighter squadrons to strafe the defensive installations and secure the depot. With that done, shuttles begin arriving to rescue the commandos and to drain the fuel stores. As a shuttle begins taking Apollo's team up to orbit, he notes they are heading for the Pegasus. Casseopia gave the order because Bojay needs medical attention. She tells Starbuck she still hasn't decided, she is still confused. He tells her he understands.

Baltar learns that Gamoray is being attacked. He sees this as the perfect opportunity to attack the Colonial fleet; they will be vulnerable. Lucifer tells his commandant of how the Imperious Leader has come to Gamoray to dedicate the base. Baltar changes his tune: "Send everything we have to destroy those two battlestars, and let not a single ship return until that's accomplished!" As the Cylon squardons head for Gamoray, Cain orders the Pegasus to charge toward the baseships. Apollo confronts Cain, saying that he will be sending all the pilots of both battlestars, including Sheba, into battle against the odds. As the Pegasus meets the Cylon squadrons, Cain launches the combined forces of vipers from both battlestars to spearhead a corridor for the Pegasus right through the Cylons. The Pegasus takes on heavy damage to her landing bays, and its seems the Cylons will close in from behind and destroy the battlestar. But Baltar determines that the Pegasus is attempting a decoy to draw Cylon fire away from the Colonial fleet at Gamoray. He orders the Cylons to continue on to Gamoray, leaving the Pegasus alone. The Cylon attack force veers off, leaving the Pegasus to continue on, away from Gamoray. Apollo and Starbuck, who landed on the Pegasus when Sheba's viper was damaged and she was injured, realize Cain is planning to continue on to attack the Cylon baseships. Casseopia tends to Sheba's injuries aboard the Pegasus, which is undergoing quick repairs. Adama and Tigh realize that Cain's decoy isn't working, the Cylons are continuing in the Galactica's direction. They order a withdrawal of troops and shuttles from Gamoray. Adama opens a communication link to Cain, and confronts the Pegasus' commander about what he is doing. Cain admits he is out to attack the baseships, thus again he will draw the Cylon fighters away from the Galactica. Adama concedes there is nothing he can do to stop Cain.

Apollo is to lead all of the fighter squadrons on an escort of the Pegasus shuttles back to the Colonial fleet. All the injured and non-essential personnel are to be evacuated on the shuttles. On the lead Cylon basestar, Lucifer reports that the Pegasus is continuing to advance in their direction. Baltar is horrified upon discovering that the legendary Commander Cain may be after his head. He orders the fighter squadrons to reverse course, and return to the baseships for protection. Apollo and Starbuck realize the course that the shuttle fleet is taking will lead their force away from the path of the Cylons, should they return. So, why not check out the rear flank? The two steer their vipers to catch up with the Pegasus. As the Pegasus draws closer to the Cylon motherships, the Apollo and Starbuck's vipers approach from behind. Baltar orders the two supporting baseships to confront the Pegasus, while his baseship will retreat.

Cain is surprised to learn that two vipers are passing the Pegasus and attacking the two nearest basestars. Apollo and Starbuck note that the Cylon juggernauts can't fire at the vipers without hitting each other, so they don't. The two warriors pick off the Cylon weaponry, severely damaging the starships. The Pegasus moves in and fires her own weapons at point-blank range. The Cylon ships explode in an incredible cascade of energy. When the bright lights die away, there's nothing but smoke and debris. The Pegasus is nowhere to be found. As Baltar's fighter squadrons approach, Apollo and Starbuck sprint for the Galactica.

On the Galactica, Sheba is still recovering in the Life Station. Apollo and Starbuck visit her, and they speculate on what became of Cain and the Pegasus. The rogue battlestar has not been heard from since it engaged the two basestars. It was never conclusively proven to be destroyed. With the Cylon fighter force from the three baseships returning with no baseships to land on and drained fuel cells, the Pegasus could've slipped away. Adama stops in and welcomes Sheba to her new battlestar and a new family.

A Second Look

This clever story of maneuvering, both in tactical moves and in relationships, stands on its own as well as the first part of "The Living Legend" did. It introduces us to new characters who would continue to appear in the series, while also showing them working with and relating to the established ones. Unlike the first half, "Part 2" does not show a Colonial fleet as threatened from within as it is from without. Instead, the reclosive Cain orders his ship to go off on its own, with very little confrontation from Adama and his people.

Many aspects of the battle tactics in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA seem derived from MIDWAY (Universal, 1976), the epic hours-long feature film detailing the changes of fortune of the United States and Japanese navies from the Battle of Coral Sea through the pivotal Battle of Midway, in late May and early June of 1942. "The Living Legend, Part 2" especially capitalizes on the deceptive feinting tactics seen in MIDWAY. Still, Cain's reclosive battle tactics seem to have more to do with two other more commentary-based war movies from the 1970's, namely PATTON (Paramount, 1970) and COLLISION COURSE (TV movie, 1975). In PATTON, George C. Scott portrayed the legendary U.S. Army commander George S. Patton, Jr., who lead campaigns in North Africa, southern Italy, and the Battle of the Bulge. Scott's Patton was shown as a harsh and eccentric figure, sometimes abusive of his troops, sometimes a loose cannon. The movie translated to television well, which makes this GALACTICA outing somewhat disappointing. Lloyd Bridges could not draw his character from a real-life military leader, so he made up a gambler with big guns. Cain's egotistical demeanor seems to have as least something to do with Henry Fonda's portrayal of an insubordinate Gen. Douglas MacArthur in COLLISION COURSE, which focused on the Korean War.

So, now we're back to playing HOGAN'S HEROES again. Is that all these warriors can do, just sneak into enemy installations with curiously lax security, and plant stick-on bombs? At least the notion of parachuting commandos into the capitol was original enough, even though it remains to be seen how they landed on this alien world and knew right where to focus their attacks. It also remains to be seen how they managed to fly a shuttle so close to the city so that the parachutists could be deployed without being intercepted by Gamoray's fighter squadrons.

A recurring problem with BATTLESTAR's depiction of violence is that it makes the ongoing war with the Cylons look like a game, instead of the horror that war is. When the vipers fly strafing runs on the Gamoray capitol, pilot Jolly comments "This is almost to easy!" Indeed, this show is one of the most vivid examples of how the series trivializes combat. Even if prime-time television in the 1970's had to remain bloodless, earlier series such as COMBAT! (ABC-MGM/UA, 1962-7) showed it did not have to be a plastic parody of the real thing.

The "city" which the commandos parachute into looks conspicuously like a college campus in California, which fan lore maintains it is. The boxy concrete architecture of the buildings seems so incongruous, after what we've seen of the Cylon ground stations in the past. Could it be that, like the captured castle/citadel seen in "The Young Lords", these facilities were designed and built by the Delphian Empire? In the interior scenes, we see IL-series Cylons and centurions gathering to greet the Imperious Leader. We also see another species, which is not given a speaking role in the episode. This species is shrouded in shiny capes, and has what looks like a cyber-mechanical prosthesis for a face. Are these Cylons, or are they Delphians under Cylon rule?

The Cylon Imperious Leader, voice by Patrick Macnee, appears for the last time in this episode. Unfortunately, we never get to see the Leader's face. We see a profile of the Leader, facing away from our view. It looks conspicuously like the show's makers did not want to show to whole costume. Maybe this would've been too expensive, and maybe it should've been that way. To show the Cylon Leader in this episode, then reduce "his" appearance to only a couple of incidental scenes, makes the whole "dedication" into a ho-hum plot device. Given the significance of this figure, and the history of the Cylons on this show, it was clearly a mistake not to show more of the Cylons' interplay and eventual reaction to the Colonial attack. Could the Leader have been on Gamoray in anticipation of Baltar's attack on the fleet, and subsequently to relieve the human commander of his post in favor of the traitor's execution? Did the Leader know nothing about what was happening in this galaxy? And isn't it interesting that the Leader's arrival suggests even more Cylon forces would be on hand for the Imperious escort? There could be yet another baseship in the area (this was shown in the MISSION GALACTICA telemovie) which would raise the Cylon firepower to five baseships! And two battlestars got the best of them. Now that's pushing the envelope!

There is the implication from the viper strafing runs that yet another Imperious Leader was killed by the Galactica warriors, this one the second after the destruction of Carrilon.

Speaking of Carrilon, isn't it neat that the Cylon/Ovion tylium mines caused that planet to completely explode, but a more severe attack on the munitions dump on Gamoray leaves the base intact enough for the Galactica's shuttles to extract enough fuel to replenish the fleet's reserves? Given that whatever the fuel is that powers spaceships in BATTLESTAR must be powerful enough for those ships to at least approach the speed of light (if not go many times lightspeed) then wouldn't detonating an even small amount of this fuel create an explosion which would dwarf most nuclear devices on contemporary Earth? (The munitions dump must have some fuel, or something similar.) This is no nit-pick after "Saga of a Star World, Pt. 3". If anything, raiding the supply depot would be out of the question.

At least in STAR TREK, ground troops employ computerized sensing devices called tricorders to analyze the situation and tell them the difference between a repair shop and a command office complex. The commando team does not appear to use anything but their eyes and ears.

Spectacle Value

Despite the recycling of fighter combat footage ad nauseum, there are some long-overdue interesting sequences in this episode. We get to see a confrontation between starships (two Cylon basestars against the Battlestar Pegasus) for the first time. We also get to see a nice viper-strafing sequence where Cylons on the ground get chewed up by incoming fire.

There is a comical sequence where Apollo and Sheba catch up with Starbuck and Boomer, just as the Cylon command center explodes. Did they find the command center? Yep. Where? There! Kaboom!

You have to hand it to BATTLESTAR's makers: they recognized that commandos look good in basic black tights.

At the beginning of "Part 2", we see Batlar's fighter narrowly avoid collision with the Battlestar Pegasus. The size of Baltar's fighter seems unusually large next to the nose-section of the Pegasus.

Fans have been known to criticize the decline of production values in this episode. There is a sequence where recycled stock footage of a shuttle in flight is superimposed over itself a handful of times, to create the appearance of a squadron of shuttles in space. The recycled, overlapping footage doesn't fit together. It makes two of the shuttles look like they're about to collide.

A far worse misuse of stock footage would have to be the missile launch from the Pegasus during its final battle with two Cylon basestars. The images of missiles launching was actually real-life footage of the Command Module separation from the final stage, prior to "LEM Extraction" during N.A.S.A.'s Apollo moon missions. In "Part 2", this footage, unedited, is used to look like a torpedo/missile is being fired from inside the dark recesses of a launch tube on the Pegasus. An external view of this same process can be seen during the outstanding APOLLO 13 (Universal, 1995). The missile firing is further shown by large red streaks shown across the Cylon basestars. These red streaks look especially cheap and cheesy.

One semi-nice computer graphic used on the bridge of the Pegasus would have to be the profile views of two Cylon basestars. They are not very detailed, and not entirely correct in their proportions, but still fairly effective.

The best effects are when Apollo and Starbuck's vipers strafe the basestars. We get to see some new perspectives on those ships, even if they aren't well-lighted. It makes for a nicely done combat sequence.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY...

This episode would be viable, although the combat would have to be much more creative than the same old same old. This is not simply true of the space dog-fights; it is especially true of the commando sequences. It would've been more convincing if several commando teams had landed, possibly using a bomber-craft or a small contingent of two- or three-seat vipers. It would really be interesting if dedicated, full-time infantry were used, instead of fighter pilots. There would have to be an explanation as to how the commandos got close enough to the Gamoray base without being detected. Perhaps a shuttle or bomber could land a discreet distance away from the base, and then use smaller, mini-viper-like attack craft to approach at low altitude. And the troops would have to do something more creative than plant those silly stick-on bombs. Maybe a computer virus could be inserted into a security system?

The story would have to allow less time to useless rituals, like the protracted display of fighter launches and dog-flight sequences.

The Cylon Imperious Leader would have to be presented in more than just a profile view, or a seated view from behind. Perhaps the Leader should be a special effect, like the adult ALIEN.

How about explaining the infiltration of the Gamoray base by showing cooperation with a Delphian underground? The natives of this planet could be part of a larger empire that is threatened by the Cylons. By working with the Colonists, they could be overthrowing the Cylons, while still leaving the base intact enough to sieze its technology to prevent a Cylon counter-strike.

While Adama's position is logical in regards to not being able to secure a planet, this episode missed the opportunity to show the Colonists doing more than just going on the offensive. It could've shown them having the upper hand over the Imperious Leader and impressing upon the Cylon chief that hunting down the human refugees is becoming more trouble than it's worth. It would also have been interesting to see Baltar pleading with Adama and Cain to spare the Leader.

It would also have been interesting to see the Galactica warriors stealing vital Cylon information from the Gamoray computers, and then sharing it with the Delphians, in exchange for information that might lead the Galactica to Earth.

In MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK, footage of the bridge of the Cylon basestar from the BATTLESTAR episode "The Hand of God" is cannibalized to show the Cylons' reaction an attacking Colonial battlestar. Despite criticisms of MISSION's patch-together nature of grafting footage of various unrelated episodes together, this was actually a nice touch. Maybe we should've seen more footage of Gamoray and the two basestars, each prior to their respective attacks. This would've meant making "The Living Legend" into a three-parter, which might not have been a bad idea, especially if it meant showing dedicated commando teams working with a Delphian underground.

Despite BATTLESTAR's very loosely sci fi pretense, this story had more to do with a war/fantasy arrangement. It was STAR WARS without the magical, mystical hokum. Perhaps it would've been better if Delphian collaborators with Cylons were exposed on Gamoray, ahead of a Cylon move to take over this world.

Tidbits & Nit-Picks

During this episode, Cain makes a couple of hitherto unheard of mentions of spacecraft protection. Prior to engaging the Cylon basestars, he orders "all electronic defense shields to maximum power". Later, he expresses confidence that the Cylons will not be able to survive a point-blank-range missile launch, "not even their shields will be able to help them". What was he talking about? The only shielding we ever explicitly see in GALACTICA is armor plating that comprises the hulls of starships. Is he talking about something else? If so, why do Apollo and Starbuck find it so easy to strafe the basestars, knocking out their flankside missile launchers?

There are some interesting inconsistencies in this episode. The Colonial brass is correctly convinced that there are three basestars involved in the attack on their rear. From "Saga of a Star World", and later "The Hand of God", we know a basestar carries approximately 300 fighters. As a result of "The Living Legend, Pt. 2", we know that the Galactica wound up carrying the combined fighter compliment of both the Galactica and the Pegasus, thanks to the evacuation. In "Hand", Tigh stated in regards to fighters, "You'll be outgunned, two to one." This implies that the lone basestar in that episode likely carried twice the fighters the Galactica retained. That would mean there would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 fighters between the squadrons originating from the Galactica and those from the Pegasus. If three baseships attacked with a full standard compliment from each, it would imply that a maximum of roughly 900 Cylon fighters would be involved. Yet, in "The Living Legend, Pt. 2", there are repeated references to the viper pilots facing "three to one" odds. It would seem more like six-to-one odds. When one factors in the fighter compliment on Gamoray (Lucifer indicates "four complete squadrons; the equivalent of a baseship.") that would imply a total of 1,200 Cylon fighters. And if we accept that the Cylon Leader arrived in yet another standard baseship, this brings the total up to 1,500. That's ten-to-one. The only way out of this is to assume the Pegasus has a very large overstocking of vipers and pilots, say, three times the implied normal compliment of about 75 vipers. In order for that number to be reduced by the time of "Hand", an awful lot of pilots and ships would have to vanish.

Upon hearing explosions in the Gamoray capitol, the Cylon leader also uses the decidedly old Earth expression "What, pray-tell, was that?"

In "Part 1", Tolan (Rod Haase) appears to be the Pegasus' top enlisted man by virtue of his position on the bridge and his demeanor. ("If you officers will excuse us...") Yet it appears in "Part 2" that Cain is addressing Tolan as "Colonel". Yet another inconsistency. Where's the Chief of the Boat when you need him?

We do get to see a greater variety of IL-series Cylons, as well as those other gold-shrouded creatures, in the grand reception hall on Gamoray. Too bad we didn't get to see more of this earlier in the series.

One irritating scene takes place in the Cylon headquarters on Gamoray: an IL-series Cylon is noting the detection of a U.F.O. in their quadrant. The person speaking the line nearly fumbles it on the word "quadrant". Could it be, like so much of the content of this series, that this scene was thrown together at the last minute?

Why do the Cylons need a city on this planet? To call it their own, maybe? And just what does constitute a Cylon civilian society, just different kinds of androids other than centurions? And what do all of these Cylons do? Do they build more ships to locate and establish bases on more planets? Do they sit around and write Java applets all day long? What do they do?

Nit-pick special: Spotlight on galaxies

Despite references throughout the series that clearly indicate the Colonial fleet is traveling through at least one galaxy other than their home one, some BATTLESTAR fans insist on ignoring this and assuming that all references to speed, astronomy and travel are suspect. While there is ample reason for this attitude, "The Living Legend", in both parts, reaffirms the notion of intergalactic travel, and that Gamoray is located in a galaxy other than the Colonists' home stars.

In "Part 1", Adama is disappointed upon learning that the Cylons control Gamoray, noting that if they do "they wield power across half the Universe!" While fans assign exaggeration to this, there's only so far that exaggeration can go, in light of explicit intergalactic references, especially in "The Long Patrol" and "The Hand of God", along with loose inferences in other stories. It is noted from "The Long Patrol" that, upon entering a new galaxy, Apollo tells Boxey that "no living human in this fleet has ever seen before", and the subsequent discovery of a human presence in this galaxy, including descendents of migrants from the Colonies, appears at first to be a contradiction. But perhaps it isn't: What is so wrong with a local cluster of galaxies being connected by some network of naturally occurring wormholes? Migrants of the past could've spread to other galaxies and lost contact with the Great Colonies easily. And just because no living human in the Galactica's fleet has never seen the stars of a different galaxy doesn't mean the migrants descendents had to forget about the Colonies, either.

On possible explanation for interstellar, and maybe even intergalactic, travel in BATTLESTAR lies in an alternative form of travel that would be divorced from either thrust-based rockets or "warp" drive in the STAR TREK sense.

Fan Susan J. Paxton, (http://www.fortunecity.com/banners/interstitial.html?http://www.geocities.com/sjpaxton) wrote on the Battlestar Galactica E-List: "In his novels Jerry Pournelle proposed what he called the Alderson drive, which assumes there are naturally occurring flaws or lines of force between star systems, along which ships can move almost instantaneously by using their FTL drive at the points where the flaws intersect normal space. This has become almost ubiquitous throughout science fiction; Lois McMaster Bujold uses it, Weber and White use it, etc. It certainly explains why the Colonials always seem to be near or in a planetary system..." Perhaps the same fllaws could exist between galaxies. And perhaps Adama knew about the Delphian Empire because the Delphians once visited the Great Colonies, long ago.

Still, there is another reference in this episode which lends itself to the notion of intergalacitc travel. When the Cylon Leader gives a dedication speech on Gamoray, the Leader makes the following remark: "With the securing of this outpost, deep in the heart of the Krillian Star System, our supremacy is all but assured." While BATTLESTAR frequently mangled astronomical terminology, confusing a galaxy with a star system, the Cylon Leader's language does appear to lend itself to the notion that Gamoray is meant to assure Cylon presence in a Krillian Galaxy

Peter Berkos was the sound effects editor on the Battlestar Galactica 1978 series. In 2004 Peter Berkos was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar for his outstanding career in sound editing. For Battlestar Galactica he was responsible for the sound effects of the laser guns, the barking of Muffit and of course the distinctive voice of the Cylons. He was interviewed some years back about his career and how the sounds on Battlestar Galactica were created.: "Battlestar Galactica fell into my lap. When it was ready for post-production, I was not working on a feature film. I met Glen Larson, a man I had great respect for, we hit it off and I was invited to be part of the team. I was asked to run the rough cut of the film, which had no sound refinements and conjure up appropriate sounds for the various space crafts, lasers, interiors, exteriors, robotics for animals, etc. Every episode of Battlestar Galactica presented a new challenge. Glen [Larson] had a keen, inventive mind. The battleships, the Vipers, the Cylon craft, various modes of transportation were established early and used week after week. However, each week I had to create new fantasy sounds: radar mine fields, celestial castles, galactic night-club atmosphere, actually, too many to recall. For the Cylon voice,a 'vocoder' was used in tandem with a companion sound, I seem to remember it was a synthesizer. Only one actor was used for all Cylon voices to keep the sound consistent. I was in the recording studio during the taping to insure a monotone reading. Then in the editing room to introduce the dialogue onto the sound track and finally in the dubbing studio to combine the recorded dialogue and the synthesizer through the vocoder. I created the sound effect for the moving eye ;a simple electrical sound on a loop. I can tell you how I got the sound of laser guns. I started with the snap of a bullwhip. We recorded sharp cracks, which we expanded electronically (It was so long ago that don't remember the name of the instrument we used). We then fed the elongated sound through the mixing panel to add highs. Frank Warner, who did the sound effects for Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, used the same principal, however, instead of a bullwhip, he found a telephone pole with a heavy cable that extended to the ground. Frank recorded the sound of hitting the cable with a hammer and recording the sound. He then worked with that sound at the panel to turn it into laser shots. When you create sound effects, you find your own starting point. "

Buffeted and battered,

Bobbing against riptides

And odds,


Reluctant protector and leader

Relentlessly seeking,

Ruthlessly sought


Gnashing and nervous

Railing against a fate

That visionaries cannot know.



Obsolete, and vital,

Unfailing, a constant,

Amid swirling alliances, and bloodshed.



Tenacious and tireless,

Determined, driven by duty

Toward the truth

And the end.

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.

The next installment in the episode reviews of original series Battlestar Galactica by Walt Atwood...

The Young Lords
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Starbuck and Boomer are probing near the delta-class planet Attila in the Omega Sector when they are ambushed by four Cylon fighters. While three of the Cylon ships are destroyed, a fourth damages Starbuck's Viper before slipping away. Boomer leads Starbuck to Attila for a controlled crash landing.

On the surface of this marshy world, the Cylon garrison administrator, an IL-series model named Specter, is overseeing the fortification of a captured human castle when a centurion brings news of the viper battle. Specter radios Baltar aboard the human's Cylon baseship. Lucifer is not amused with Specter's flattery toward Baltar, but both are interested in seeing the Colonial pilot captured and interrogated to discover the Galactica's position. Starbuck, suffering from a leg injury, tries to evade a Cylon infantry squad. As the centurions carry the warrior back to their castle garrison, the squad is quickly ambushed by a small band of indigenous human youths riding in on Unicorns. Starbuck blacks out as they rescue him.

When Starbuck awakens later in a fire-lit cave the young woman named Miri (portrayed by Audrey Landers), clad in thin cloths and feathers, cares for him. Attila was invaded by Cylons in the recent past, and her family, who lived in the citadel-like castle, were driven underground. Most of the castle-villagers, descendants of migrants from the Colonies, were killed, except for this cave-dwelling of brothers and sisters. Miri mourns the loss of their mother. When the eldest boy, the tall teenage Kyle (Charles Bloom) returns and calls the pre-teen siblings to formation for a patrol report, he insists their father is also dead. Starbuck is baffled at how these children managed to both stay alive and harass the Cylons in the castle.

On the Galactica, Boomer and Apollo gain permission from an ailing Adama to take a shuttle back to Attila. They rule out sending a large force of vipers for the rescue. Tigh and Adama are both disappointed to discover the Cylons have penetrated this far into deep space. On the Cylon basestar, Lucifer checks over records of Specter's progress on the planet. It seems that, for a successful garrison which supposedly exterminated the inhabitants, Specter's unit repeatedly places substantial materiel requests, including calls for more weapons. When Baltar signals Specter again, the Cylon misleads the human by reporting the captured pilot is both in custody and receiving medical attention. Lucifer is still chaffing, but Specter is successfully conning Baltar into sympathizing with the garrison's plight; on such a wet planet, the Cylons are rusting. Kyle leads a raid on the castle again, but this time he has Miri plant a message offering to exchange Starbuck for their father, Megan. (Played by Bruce Glover.) In the castle's watch-tower jail, Specter brings Megan the news of his pending freedom, and extracts a commitment from the father to stop the rebellion.

As Kyle readies to exchange Megan for Starbuck by floating each across a mote, Starbuck pleads to Kyle and Miri to beware of treachery. True to form, Specter's infantry squad brings Megan to the mote's shore to speak, then puts a straw dummy in the Cylon boat to float across. But Specter is surprised to find Kyle's raft with the dummy wearing Starbuck's uniform. Kyle relinquishes command of the young warriors to Starbuck. They then plot to invade the castle through a secret entrance, rescue Megan and blow up the fuel depot. They chant a battle song with the plans on how the little ones will plant bombs and use slingshot grenades to disrupt the garrison.

Specter is caught in the position of having to explain the din of the attack to Baltar; the Cylons are destroying all shelter in a "scorched planet policy" as they await permission to evacuate their ailing unit to the basestar. Baltar falls for it, and Specter orders the troops to board the transport ship. Starbuck and Miri rescue Megan just as the family assembles in the castle. The Cylons depart just before Apollo and Boomer's shuttle lands. Megan decides his family will stay on Attila. Starbuck kisses Miri good-bye. Boomer snorts "I don't know how he does it."

A Second Look

Unlike the well-worn fighter-pilot-on-patrol-gets-stranded-on-a-planet-and-needs-rescued outings that have been all too abundant thus far in BATTLESTAR, "The Young Lords" is the most fun as a guilty pleasure. The kids get to recite, and then play out, their fireside commando battle song. (Was this an omen of the rap era, which hit the urban scene just a few years later?) Starbuck gets to make cozy with a very young Audrey Landers. (Child molestation, anyone?) And of course, true to the 1970's, the unicorn-riding kids from the cave dwelling in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe get to make war on King Friday's castle. One has to ask, why didn't the Cylons just take Trolley into the tunnel, or recruit the wicked Lady Elaine Fairchild to use her boomerang-toomerang-soomerang to win back the day? (XENA, WARRIOR PRINCESS would've sided with kid-power anyway. And we didn't need to see Starbuck loose Miri to a love triangle with Xena and Gabrielle.)

On the plus side, this episode establishes several Cylon conventions which make their presence more interesting and less confusing in the series. We see Specter, an IL-series Cylon like Lucifer, in command of a Cylon garrison. Specter distinguished himself as devious and conniving, while Lucifer displays suspicion and jealousy. ("Felgercarb!" and "Daggit drivel!") Baltar chuckles at the rivalry. There's more character development among the bad guys than anyone else in this story.

We also get to see more of the Cylon baseship's interior. Baltar is shown entering his new throne room, which is apparently the bridge of the dreadnought vessel. We see centurions manning control panels and dealing directly with him. And, much like the bridges of starships in STAR TREK, he uses a wall-mounted viewscreen for ship-to-surface telecommunications. His new throne pedestal is much smaller, but more attractive, than the huge one in the Imperious Leader-style throne room. (Notice Lucifer is never shown sitting in it or rising from it.) The passage leading to this chamber is shown, lined with buzzing electronic luminaria. Baltar is even shown engaged in the operation of the equipment here, as if he really is a hands-on Cylon commander-in-chief. Specter confers with Baltar, even taking orders from the human. This shows the character, played by the recently departed stage and screen star John Colicos, was growing both in depth portrayed and in influence within the empire.

Sadly, Baltar and his Cylon allies didn't grow fast enough in BATTLESTAR. These scenes should've occurred much earlier in the series. Specter and the Attila garrison come off as clowns, having been not just sabotaged but outright bombarded by a ridiculously small group of kids. The only way this could've worked would be to take the plight of the Attilans more seriously as a larger, bleaker, more serious rebel Underground. It would've helped if a cue had been borrowed from "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero", where the clones were hiding children and someone still living in the garrison had sold out to the Cylons. Another opportunity missed.

It is easy to ridicule "The Young Lords" showing such a small group of youths attacking a Cylon garrison. It trivializes the suffering of children living in an occupied territory. These kids act like they're out for summer camp. And the most ludicrous fakery of combat is shown when Specter orders the centurions to fire across the mote. The children confer with Starbuck, "what will happen to father", in a normal tone of voice while explosions from Cylon volleys are heard very close-by. While previous commando expeditions seemed to have too much to do with the World War II espionage farce HOGAN'S HEROES (CBS/Bing Crosby, 1965-71), this BATTLESTAR story seemed to make F-TROOP (ABC/Warner Brothers, 1965-7), the Western cavalry spoof, look good. Actually, F-TROOP was good. And F's Capt. Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry) could've given Specter some pointers on how to deal with the Indians.

Still, we never learn the true size of Specter's castle unit. It looks to be simply an outpost of a small company of centurions. We never see the size of the transport ship the Cylons escape in, but the handful of fighters engaged in combat indicates a small listening station, like the one seen in "Lost Planet of the Gods". Such a station could be set up for early warning protection of the soon-to-be-dedicated Cylon city on Gamoray, in the subsequent episode "The Living Legend".

At least Starbuck gets the best line in the show, when he remarks, "at least we don't rust", in reply to a centurion's insult about the fragility of the human body.

It boggles the mind. The kids have custody of Cylon weapons which should be capable of blasting right through the castle walls, exposing the garrison and giving the little rebels the upper hand. (Those blaster rifles have to be more powerful than machine guns.) Still, we have to show the little tykes underfoot, planting bombs.

Spectacle Value

Sexpot Audrey Landers, older sister of equally attention-getting blonde tease Judy Landers, adds a little extra spectacle to the show. Ms. Landers' career in films and television dates back to 1970, and spans through the late '90's. True to BATTLESTAR's habit of eye-candy sidetracking, Landers would ultimately appear with her sister in one of PLAYBOY magazine's infamously "tasteful" celebrity pictorials in the early 1980's.

Despite the recycling of old space combat footage, this episode offers some nice new spectacles, including the castle images and the other new venues, both on the planet and aboard the basestar. Another nice touch was the use of improved aerial computer graphics when Apollo and Boomer discover the surface battle in progress.

A very nice scene was when Boomer inspects damage to Starbuck's viper. Note that BATTLESTAR's makers showed a moment of brilliance by illustrating the battle damage to the ship's exterior by showing electric arcs flashing through the hull breeches, rather than showing a fire.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY:

This episode could be done, but its execution would have to be much better. Children playing a role in an Underground war movement do not look like cub scouts out for a camping safari in the woods. They look like the tunnel-dwelling Viet Cong. There would have to be some explanation as to how they avoid Cylon detection. Their appearance would not be Audrey Landers-sexpot-style cute, either. Starbuck would feel great sympathy for a budding young woman, but it would not be of the cliched show-me-some-skin kind depicted here. As with the previous "The Magnificent Warriors" episode, we don't need to employ any such kitchy stereotypes to arouse Starbuck, any more than we needed to put the farcical fear-of-God into Adama.

It would be nice if the notion of Attila being a long-lost Colonial splinter outpost were tied into the subsequent discovery of the Delphian Empire capital of Gamoray in "The Living Legend." Could the Delphian Empire have been an offshoot of the Kobolian migrants? Could Attila be a Delphian fringe colony? Or could a marooned wartime expedition from a lost Colonial starship have started a colony on Attila many yahrens ago? If the Battlestar Pegasus made it out further than this, the later scenario could be possible.

They should show the rebel Underground in a more sophisticated light. If the kids knew about the Colonies and were literate enough to identify Starbuck by his rank, then some spacefaring Colonists must've brought that heritage to Attila. Either these settlers' descendants survived the Cylon invasion through special powers indigenous to Attila or they retain some technology. It would really be more interesting if the Attilan unicorns, instead of just having a horn, also had wings. Imagine a unicorn-pegasus hybrid that could fly in attacks on the garrison! (This, of course, would be an expensive, though innovative, effect for the series.)

The notion that an entire world could be considered "controlled" by the Cylons, simply by garrisoning one castle, typifies the cheap tunnel-vision of BATTLESTAR's writing. It would be something if Starbuck led a revolt by recruiting former rival lords from other nearby castles, or by showing a larger underground from this one. It would also be more credible if it were explained that Attila's surface were mostly ocean and the castle served as an outpost on the world's largest island.

The equally ludicrous notion that a guerrilla war can be fought by such a small force without the guerrillas suffering even a scratch would have to be ditched. If a guerrilla war is going to be shown, there would have to be casualties and real fear in their lives. The Bajorans of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE are one example of how American sci fi TV did this successfully. World War II action for a small Army squad in rural Europe was shown at its nearly-bloodless best in the well-written COMBAT! (ABC-MGM/UA, 1962-7).

A Cylon occupation would have to be much more formidable and sinister. Think Nazis. Think Imperial Japanese. Think Soviets in Afghanistan. The characterization of Specter would have to be more than just a conniving royal milquetoast or a Colonel Klink. A good example of what prime-time television can do to show the ruthlessness of an occupying power would be WAR AND REMEMBRANCE (ABC, 1989), especially the scene when the Nazis in France confront the Jewish character of Aaron Jastrow (played by Sir John Gielgud). And the Galactica would have to send viper escorts to protect the rescue effort, even if they weren't sure where the previous ambush originated from.

TIDBITS & NITPICKS

This episode wastes time showing Adama, ill, in bed. Then Boxey comes along with the "pet" again. This takes time away from the story. At least we don't waste time showing spaceships being launched. Once again, Starbuck is missing on assignment and we don't get to see any reactions from Athena. We barely get to see Cassiopea express concern. Maybe they should've accompanied the rescue team. (Athena could've used the unarmed, boosted Recon Viper One to run interference over Attila, and later she could've used the superior speed and tracking abilities of the craft to home in on the fleet when returning to the Galactica, in case a change of the fleet's course were needed.)

So, Cylons worry about rust, eh? What a shame. Nobody better tell them about Ziebart.

Interesting that the Cylons conduct their command center in the castle's main hall, with a raging fireplace and candlelight. Why not show a centurion dressed as a court jester, performing a juggling act? Or maybe Specter could play a tune on a medieval flute. (Cylons don't breathe air, though. Or do they?)

It would make sense if the centurions wore holstered sidearms, not just carrying rifles all the time. It would free up their hands.

It was neat how Specter just hurriedly abandoned a working Cylon outpost, with the equipment still functioning. The Cylons left Attila without firing a shot. They could've nuked the castle from high altitude. Given time, and the possibility there might be other survivors hidden on Attila, Megan's revolt could prove to be a formidable thorn in the Cylons' sides. They took custody of their castle back, plus a full working garrison operation from the Cylons. And they have the wreckage of Starbuck's viper to salvage and study.

Maybe Specter expects the centurions will be as dishonest as "he". After all, are they going to refute their garrison commandant's lies about the "progress" of the "extermination" of the Attilans?

Since Boomer reported back about the firefight, it makes little sense not to send at least a small contingent of vipers to Attila. What do they have to loose? If the shuttle encounters resistance, lack of fighter protection makes a rescue impossible. Even if Specter's garrison has only one fighter left to muster, that one fighter could make short order of a shuttle. This is yet another reason why a bomber/ "PT boat" craft is desperately needed in BATTLESTAR.

Megan tells Starbuck how the Attilans are migrants from the Great Colonies, and Kyle knows about the Galactica from raiding the "tin cans". Earlier, in space, Boomer finds an unnamed "delta-class planet" for Starbuck to land on. Later, Boomer reports the planet's name is Attila, as if the Colonists knew about this distant world in another galaxy all along. It's so contradictory. On the one hand, Starbuck and Boomer are on patrol (in an area where there just happens to be a habitable planet for Starbuck to crash-land on) and never mention Attila. They don't even seem to be ready to deal with Cylon interceptors, or anything else, for that matter. And Starbuck is later surprised to learn of Attila from Kyle. Yet Boomer reports on this world to Adama.

The scene where Boomer inspects the damage to the underside of Starbuck's viper lends credibility to the notion this these fighters are faster-than-light craft which rely, at least in part, on high energy propulsion. (This as opposed to chemical-reaction rockets.) The electric arcs in the hull breeches are somewhat reminiscent of what you would expect of damaged warp nacelles in STAR TREK.

During the bedroom conference, Adama mentioned that a rescue operation would have less than 24 centares to recover the missing pilot and return to the Galactica.

Another from Walt Atwood's reviews from the classic series...

The Magnificent Warriors
By Walt Atwood

STORY SYNOPSIS

Blue Squadron serves as an advance interceptor force, to shield the fleet from a small Cylon attack wing. The warriors seem to have blunted the offensive, but a few of the attacking ships reach the fleet. To everyone's surprise, the Cylons do not engage military targets. Instead, the fleet's "agro-ships" (apparently mobile hydroponic greenhouses, used to cultivate nutrition for the fleet's population) are either damaged or destroyed. This forces Adama to seek out two things: an agricultural planet where new seed can found to restart the fleet's agricultural process, and an old, unmarked "energizer" to trade for the seed.

Apollo finds a suitable "energizer" aboard a Geminise freighter in the custody of a human woman who apparently has her eye on Adama: Siress Belloby (portrayed by Brett Somers). The only way the Siress will agree to part with her equipment is if Adama visits her and courts her. The old commander seems to regard this prospect with all the anticipation of a coffee enema. Still, Adama and the Siress accompany Apollo, Boomer, Starbuck, Boxey and Muffey to the surface of the frontier farming world of Sectar, setting down their shuttlecraft near the deceptively named village of Serenity. It seems Serenity's town constables have a hard time staying alive on the job. The problem lies with a cowardly populace that doesn't want to deal with a gang of piggish primates called Borays, lead by the Boss Nogow (Ben Frommer). At every showing of a full moon (Sectar seems to have several) Nogow leads his thunderous gang of Borays on horseback down from the hills to Serenity to steal supplies and turn the town upside down if anyone gets in the way. In need of a new constable, the town elder, Bogan (Barry Nelson) and his hired hands Carmichael (Olan Soule), Farnes (Range Howard) and Duggy (Dennis Fimple) try to slap the constable's badge on any drifter who happens into Serenity. When Starbuck and Boomer stumble into the Serenity saloon, Bogan targets the warriors as his next constables. The Geminise power source is stolen, and Starbuck is suckered into winning the constable's badge in a poker game. Boomer returns to the shuttle for help, and brings Adama and the rest of the party back to Serenity.

The Siress finds the Colonial dune-buggy with the power source hidden in the village. But then the Borays attack again, Adama decides he and the warriors will use their blasters to drive the intruders off, but Nogow abducts Belloby before retreating to the hills. Adama and party hop in the buggy and follow Muffey until the trail leads them to the Boray cave. Adama finds Belloby and tries to negotiate with Nogow. When that fails, Starbuck hatches a plan: make Nogow into the new constable and let the Borays move into town and run things. The raids stop, Nogow takes over, and the Colonists get their seeds. Belloby dumps Adama for a "real animal".

A Second Look

The only thing that redeems this farce is the chance to see Adama, out of his Fleet Blues, standing his ground on a planet surface with his warriors, with weapons drawn and firing. A little Ben Cartwright could've done this show some good. Too bad we don't see more of it.

The whole bit with Brett Sommers playing Siress Belloby was a disaster. Still, those who claim GALACTICA was just TV's imitation of STAR WARS may want to consider that Belloby was giving Adama heartburn a full decade before Majel Barrett-Roddenberry's Laxwana Troi chased after STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. There is some consolation in there, somewhere.

It makes no sense for such an advanced spacefaring society, even one that is on-the-run like the Galactica fleet, to be threatened by famine. While it is a foregone conclusion that the Colonists have not mastered matter replication technology (have they?) it still doesn't make sense for them to be so vulnerable. How do the Cylons stop the fleet? Just pick off the agro-ships. End of story. The delicacies most commonly seen in the series are a clear protein drink and "mushies". How difficult could it be for each ship in the fleet to use some form of crude energy-matter distillation technology to synthesize these substances? If the ships of the fleet can synthesize breathable air and useful gravity, and if at least some of their ships are capable of achieving the speed of light, it can't be that technologically infeasible for them to fabricate edible delicacies using processes divorced from agriculture. Think of it: how did battlestars sustain their crews in deep space without support ships?

That having been said, the appearance of agro-ships, lifted from footage of the 1972 sci fi motion picture SILENT RUNNING, look great and are probably the only other good thing about this GALACTICA outing.

We get to see yet another human colony that seems to carry on in perpetual night. No sunlight to be found, but then the characters don't stay here long.

Just how are the warriors going to stuff enough seeds into one shuttlecraft to re-seed the entire fleet's agricultural base? Leave the dune-buggy behind, maybe?

Spectacle Value

The point is legitimately made that GALACTICA's fighter combat metaphor made for a monotonous regurgitation of Cylon attack footage. This episode at least attempts to superimpose action footage over the SILENT RUNNING agro-ship images. While it gets the job done, it also reveals some issues:

1: The fighter combat metaphor, once introduced, stifled creativity. This is because combat footage consumes an episode's airtime and leads to a predictable "sameness" of the outcome. A viewer must know the Cylons are going to use their fighters to attack either the Galactica or the fleet, or both. They are going to use their turbo-lasers to break down the Colonial defenses somehow, often the very same way, time after time. There is nothing new or interesting about it. The only thing special about this episode is a change in target.

2: There was no alternative to the fighter combat metaphor. While the Galactica would see action later on, in "Experiment in Terra" and "The Hand of God" (recycling footage of the Pegasus engaging Cylon basestars from "The Living Legend, Pt. 2") the limiting of action to just the vipers both cuts off avenues of advancing a plot and leaves a gaping hole in the viability of the fleet. While the use of fighters is inevitable in the GALACTICA format, over-reliance on them in light of no alternative metaphor for either confronting Cylons or exploring space hurts the show's ability to renew itself each week.

3: In the previous episode, "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Pt. 2," we see Baltar's forces pursuing the Galactica with not one Cylon baseship, but three. In the entire series run, we never see a basestar attack the fleet directly. They are obviously capable of it. It would've been more plausible to see a basestar targeting the agro-ships directly before being driven off by reinforcements from the Galactica. Granted, this kind of footage would cost more, but it would break up the monotony.

Unlike the Runabouts of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE or the Eagles of SPACE: 1999, the shuttles of GALACTICA don't seem to provide as interesting or versatile a setting for excursion scenes. We seldom see more than the "hind-quarter" of the ship or the cabin. Glen Larson's crew did little to make these sets look interesting. The aforementioned Runabouts and Eagles were more logically presented as viable ships in their own right. Each kind of ship offered better lighting, more compartmentalized interior, and better creature comforts to allow passengers and crew to endure longer voyages. Both also allowed for the use of firepower. Colonial shuttles, on the other hand, seem incongruous to the situation they arise from. They seem to be fragile, air-bus type vehicles.

The use of hard-to-read, 1970's-style eccentric computer keypunch lettering, similar to that used in the first year of SPACE:1999, as a caption to introduce the planet Sectar and the village of Serenity, looked odd and seemed unnecessary in light of Adama's "Captain's Log"-like oration.

IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY:

Alternatives to the Cylon fighter combat metaphor would have to be found. There have to be other ways to show confrontation and attacks. To that end:

Two new kinds of ships would be needed desperately: a small starship (a little bigger than a Cylon tanker) for excursions away from the fleet without the danger of never making it back (something that could destroy any Cylon patrol it encountered, and be able to support vipers), and some smaller, shuttle-sized "bomber" craft. These ships would support the Galactica and the refugee fleet, while not altering the show's premise. Both the small Colonial warship and the "bomber" would have to be packed with automatic blaster-turrets to make them less vulnerable than viper-fighters alone. They would not be as maneuverable as fighters, but could easily outmaneuver larger ships. Maybe the small warship could even carry a very limited contingent of craft, say, a handful of vipers and a couple of shuttles/"bombers".

The show could never get away with the kind of demeaning display personified by Siress Belloby. A story like this would have to deal with more serious implications and issues, such as:

1: How the Galactica keeps the fleet going, in the event the Cylons attack civilian ships in the fleet. (I guess nobody ever thought of what would happen if the Cylons disabled the engines of even one or two ships.)

2: How the Cylons could pursue the fleet, and yet not expose nearby human-settled planets to any danger.

3: How these human settlements could use a language and culture even vaguely similar to that of the Colonists. ("My name is A-da-ma. What is your name?")

4: How Adama and the governing council handle catastrophic failures in the fleet, and still keep things running.

5: How the warriors remain on call to keep the refugee ships in shape. This notion was abandoned after the pilot episodes. We never see why.

TIDBITS & NITPICKS

Some would say the plot from this episode was lifted from THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (MGM/UA, 1960). Not me. I wouldn't insult a Yul Brinner motion picture like that.

Another little techno-question pops up in the story: the "energizer". Apparently, this portable power unit can be handed over to primitive inhabitants of this farming world with little or no support or fuel needed. (We don't see any tanks of tylium being handed over, do we?) We can assume that technology exists for both starships and planets to tap into some kind of zero-point, or other renewable, power source that requires little or no fuel. Surely this makes sense for indefinite journeys in space. And chances are that if it doesn't take in much, it won't put out much in the form of pollution/waste. This makes a great deal more sense than the notion of mining a planet for a flammable mineral to be used as a chemical propellant in rocketships.

How could three agro-ships grow enough food for a fleet of 220 ships? If the scenes in "Saga of a Star World" were any indication, it is not unreasonable to assume that each ship in the refugee fleet carries perhaps and average of, say, 500 residents. That's a rough guesstimate of 110,000 total refugee population, not including how many people the Galactica could hold. It's hard to understand how the space inside three agro-ships could grow that much nutrition.

If Blue Squadron was flying an "advance intercept" outside of the fleet to keep the Cylons at bay, where were the fighter-escorts to protect the starships themselves?

One would think that, at the very least, the refugee ships would be fitted with at least some form of automatic defense. Why wouldn't the agro-ship pack at least a couple of strategically-placed automatic blaster-turrets?

Adama complains he's been cooped up on board the Galactica "for sixteen quattrons", whatever they are. Adama did briefly spend time on Caprica before departing with the fleet. It raises the question: just how long have they been in flight from the Colonies?