Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II

"Galactica Discovers Earth, Part 2" An episode of the Galactica 1980 series
Episode No.	Season 1, Episode 2
Writer(s)	Glen A. Larson
Story by
Director	Sidney Hayers
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Herbert Jefferson Jr as Boomer
Production No.	1.2
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	1980-02-03
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I	Galactica Discovers Earth, Part 2	Galactica Discovers Earth, Part III
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Overview

As Colonial Warriors attempt to contact Earth scientists to aid in improving their technology, Earth authorities complicate Troy and Dillon's mission, while Doctor Zee discovers that a rogue Council member is attempting to change Earth history.

Summary

Willy Griffin discovers the Vipers

• The young boy Willy Griffin arrives home to tell his dad he's found two spaceships. His dad is skeptical but eventually decides to take a look.

• When Griffin's father sees the Vipers, he calls the police.

• Meanwhile, Jamie Hamilton has reached the UBC television studios, where her interview is not going well. During the interview, she is interrupted to take a phone call from Dillon. Hamilton refuses to talk and hangs up.

• Dr. Mortenson calls Hamilton, having determined she was somehow connected with Troy and Dillon.

• Overhearing part of this conversation, Mr. Brooks, the UBC station manager, offers Hamilton a reporting job if she can manage to get an interview with Mortinson. Hamilton agrees to the offer.

• Followed by a UBC camera crew in a van, Hamilton goes to meet Mortinson as planned, and Troy and Dillon catch up to her on the way.

• When Mortenson arrives, he is pleased to meet the Colonials, but realizes Hamilton is trying to get him on film.

• Troy suggests they leave, and the four get into the doctor's car.

• As the UBC van sets off after them, Dillon grabs the wheel and a car chase ensues.

• Dillon plows the car into the front of a store, but the four are without injury and manage to escape by use of the invisibility screen.

• Leaving Mortinson behind, Troy, Dillon, and Jamie return to Galactica.

• The Vipers cross the night sky and are witnessed by Willy Griffin, his dad and the police - but the police discount them as shooting stars.

• Arriving at Galactica, an amazed Hamilton accompanies Troy and Dillon to the briefing with Adama.

• While the two were away on Earth, Xaviar has been arguing with Adama over the merits of introducing technological advancements to Earth in 1980, and has taken matters into his own hands.

• Xaviar steals Doctor Zee's time machine to travel to the past and make changes to history to speed up the technological development of Earth.

• Doctor Zee determines that Xaviar has gone back to Nazi Germany during World War II.

• Troy, Dillon, and Hamilton launch for Earth and, using Doctor Zee's space warp, travel backwards in time. The process alters the molecules in their clothes, leaving their uniforms white in color.

• Arriving in the skies over 1944 Germany, the Colonials avoid the pursuing Luftwaffe, and Troy and Dillon land the Vipers in a field.

• Suddenly, the trio sees a B-17 sail into view, under heavy fire. The plane is downed, but a lone parachutist makes it down.

• The parachutist is Major Stockwell, who is in Germany to try and sabotage the new V-2 rocket which is being tested nearby.

• On their way to the rocket base, Troy, Dillon, Stockwell, and Hamilton observe a transport of Jews about to be shipped to Auschwitz.

• They manage to free a single young girl, and take her with them as they head to a home owned by one of Stockwell's contacts.

• Suddenly, the SS arrives to raid the house. The team uses the invisibility cloak to avoid capture.

• Promising to help those who were taken by the SS later, Troy determines that they need first to find Xaviar.

• Xaviar is indeed at the rocket base, posing as a British rocket scientist with Nazi sympathies. He is overseeing the testing of an augmented V-2 - equipped with a jet using Colonial technology.

Troy and Dillon in disguise

• Dressed as German soldiers, the Warriors, Hamilton and Stockwell sneak into the base just in time to see the V-2 sitting on the pad, awaiting the test that could give the Nazis the upper hand in the war, altering Earth's history.

Notes

• Segments of the episode were filmed at the Golden Oak Ranch. The Nazi rocket base was filmed in part on the Universal Studios backlot.
• The "white uniforms" are reuses from the episodes "War of the Gods, Part II" and "Experiment in Terra". In "War of the Gods", the uniforms are seen on Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba when they are aboard the Ship of Lights. Later, Starbuck and Apollo have these uniforms when given an aura that permits them to see John, a Being of Light, during their assignment on Terra.
• The only new Viper-based special effects created for this episode involves the time warp effect as Troy and Dillon pursue Xavier back to 1944.
• Dillon uses the vulgar word felgercarb in this episode, which is the first occurance of a vulgarism in this series. It is also interesting, given the restrictions the FCC placed on programming that occupied 1980's timeslot.

Analysis

• Doctor Zee has earned the respect of the Council of Twelve and Commander Adama due to his accuracy and his feats that have saved them. The Council has never rebuked or challenged Zee, unlike Adama, who has fought the council on nearly every issue in the Original Series.

• The Colonials do not know the science of time travel. Xavier points out that it is something that the Colonials have tried to achieve, but failed in their past.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Jamie Hamilton stops Troy from driving the stolen cop car in reverse:

Jamie Hamilton: What are you guys? Martians?!

Dillon: (after consulting the wrist computron) Close.

Guest Stars

• Richard Lynch as Xavier
• Robbie Rist as Doctor Zee
• Robert Reed as Donald Mortinson
• Christopher Stone as Major Stockwell
• Albert Paulsen as Resistance Leader/The Old Man
• Louis Turenne as German Officer
• Michael Strong as (unknown)
• Fred Holliday as Mr. Brooks
• Ted Gehring as Sheriff
• Curt Lowens as German Commander
• James R. Parkes as Walt Griffin
• Bruce Wright as Aide
• Adam Star as Willie Griffin
• Missy Francis as Little Girl
• Todd Martin as 3rd German
• John Zenda as 3rd Cop
• Erik Holland as 2nd German Officer
• Erik Forst as 1st German Officer
• Unknown as Al