Wheel of Fire

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"Wheel of Fire" An unproduced script for the Galactica 1980 series
Writer(s)	Louise R. Kelly and Alan S. Young (sic)
Story by
Director
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.	55114
Nielsen Rating	{{{rating}}}
US airdate	{{{US airdate}}}
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate	{{{UK airdate}}}
DVD release	{{{dvd}}}
Population	{{{population}}} survivors
Additional Info	Dated March 19, 1980.
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
The Day They Kidnapped Cleopatra	Wheel of Fire	Earthquake
[[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]]
Listing of props for this episode
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			@ BW Media
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Summary

A viper squadron led by Troy and Dillon chases Xavier through space. Suddenly, three Cylon fighters attack them. During the battle, one viper is destroyed and Dillon's viper is severely damaged. The entire squadron except for Troy is forced to return to Galactica.

Troy continues to pursue Xavier who is attacked by another Cylon raider. Then the Ship of Lights appears (from the BG TOS episode "War of the Gods"). Its high-pitched whine causes Troy to fall unconscious, and his ship is captured. Meanwhile, Xaviar activates his time-travel device and enters a time warp. The Cylon raider following him is caught in the time warp and is pulled into it as well.

On Galactica, Dr. Zee and Adama see images of what has happened to Xaviar and the Cylon raider. Because Troy's viper is gone, they assume he had been killed. Meanwhile, Troy wakes up on the Ship of Lights in disbelief. He is welcomed by Lt. Starbuck, who was lost and believed dead fourteen years earlier.

Dillon lands on Galactica and is told Troy is dead. He puts his grief aside to work on the problem with Xavier. He goes to Earth to get Jamie and takes her to Galactica. While mourning the death of their friend, the two kiss. On the Ship Of Lights, Troy is confused. Starbuck says that he's going to help him stop Xaviar. He tells Troy that he (Starbuck) didn't die. He merely evolved to another plane of existence. Starbuck says that this is the ship of the Guardians of the Universe, the beings who gave the Colonials the coordinates to Earth many years back (in War of the Gods).

Jamie and Dillon prepare to go 2,600 years into the Earth's past. Troy asks what happened to Apollo, his father, but Starbuck says there is no time to discuss it. Moments later, Troy wakes up on his viper, activates his time-warp synthesizer, and goes into the past.

Xaviar arrives in the Chaldea desert in 592 BCE followed by the Cylon raider. Seconds later, Troy arrives and gives pursuit. He and Xaviar agree to team together to destroy the Cylon raider.

In the desert below, the people watch the aerial battle with fascination. The Cylon raider is damaged and plummets toward the earth, giving the appearance of a giant wheel spinning in the sky. Xaviar then time-warps into another period. Troy's viper is also damaged and he crashes.

Dillon and Jamie then arrive and investigate the crashed viper, believing it to be Xavier's. They are stunned when they see Troy climb out. Before Troy can explain, a damaged Cylon who survived the crash comes at them firing his laser. Troy and Dillon blast him and he falls. As the three are about to destroy what remains of the Cylon raider, the supposedly dead Cylon rises and fires at his ship, causing an explosion which knocks Dillon senseless. Then the Cylon aims at Troy, who can't fire back because his laser is jammed. Jamie grabs Dillon's laser and shoots the Cylon, exploding it in a shower of sparks. They then set explosive charges on the Cylon raider and completely incinerate it. They board their vipers and fly into another time-warp and vanish, unaware that they were observed by a man on a sandy knoll.

On Galactica, Adama and Troy are reunited. Afterwards, Jamie realizes that the Cylon Raider was the "Wheel of Fire" (the famous vision from the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel) seen in 592 BCE

Notes

• This script is the sequel to the classic Galactica 1980 episode The Return of Starbuck.
• It is revealed why Angela from The Return of Starbuck was judging Starbuck. She was testing him to see if he was worthy to become one of the Guardians of the Universe on the Ship of Lights.
• Troy asks Starbuck what happened to Apollo but is told that there isn't time to discuss it. Apparently, Apollo's death was a mystery.
• Romance begins to develop between Dillon and Jamie. They were only friends in the produced episodes of the series.

Get The Script

• Click here to download this script. Pages 18 and 19 appear in reverse order.