The Young Lords

"The Young Lords" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

After crash-landing on a Cylon-occupied planet, Starbuck joins forces with a group of young human renegades.

Summary

• While on patrol in the Omega sector, Boomer and Starbuck are suddenly attacked by four Cylon Raiders. The undercarriage of Starbuck's viper is badly damaged.
• On his scanner, Boomer locates Antilla, a habitable planet for Starbuck to land his crippled fighter on. Running low on fuel, Boomer returns to the Galactica to bring back help.
• In a Cylon-controlled garrison on the planet Antilla, the two vipers are tracked on scanner. When one viper is seen crash landing on the planet's surface, garrison commander Specter (an IL-series Cylon) orders a squad of Centurions to capture the downed pilot.
• Starbuck pulls himself from the wreckage of his viper, but his leg is badly injured. Meanwhile, the Cylon patrol looms closer and closer, approaching the Colonial Warrior through tall marsh reeds. Starbuck tries to evade the Cylons, but he collapses on the riverbank in exhaustion, only to be captured by the pursuing Centurions.
• Specter informs Baltar (aboard his basestar) of the warrior's capture. Baltar, of course, seeks information about the location of the last remaining battlestar.
• Returning to the garrison with Starbuck, the Cylon patrol is ambushed by a group of young fighters (children, really) who destroy the Cylons and rescue Starbuck, who passes out cold.
• Aboard the Galactica, an ill Adama is told the bad news about Starbuck. They decide that Apollo and Boomer will pilot a shuttle, so as not to attract attention to themselves, back to Antilla to fetch Starbuck. They have 24 centares before the fleet is out of range.
• On Antilla, Starbuck is helped back to the children's campsite, inside a cave. The children turn out to all be siblings of the true owners of the garrison currently occupied by the Cylons. The children have been waging war against the "tin cans" ever since.
• The eldest son, Kyle, is their de facto leader. Eldest daughter Miri is their moral leader and acting mother. The other children include Ariadne and brothers Nilz and Robus.
• With his father away on the mission to rescue Starbuck, Boxey crawls into bed with his grandfather, and they tell one another stories as they drift off to sleep.
• Kyle, who had previously lied to Starbuck that his father (Megan) was dead, has secretly conspired with Specter and the Cylons to trade Starbuck for his imprisoned father. Specter gives the good news to Megan, who reluctantly agrees to cooperate.
• Specter lies while reporting to Baltar, concealing the fact that Starbuck has escaped. Lucifer expresses his distrust of Specter, a previous IL-version of himself.
• Starbuck, pleading to Miri's and Kyle's better judgment, finally convinces them to not proceed with the trade. Instead, they put a dummy (wearing Starbuck's flight jacket) on a raft, and push it across the moat to the Cylons.
• Specter and the Cylons, who had the same plan, push a likewise-fake dummy of Megan in a raft across the moat to the children. When Specter realizes that he has been deceived, the Cylons open fire on the children's position.
• Kyle finally agrees to allow Starbuck to lead their forces, although Kyle will remain as the second-in-command. Together with their whole clan they compose a battle plan, and a rhyming poem to match, to attack the Cylons occupying their castle:

Through the tunnel, under the land/Starbuck and Miri creep hand on hand.

We swim the moat to the petro dump/And blow it up with a great big whump!

At the bridge, the youngest daughter/Drops tin cans into the water.

And around the castle, the son firstborn/Rides at a gallop and blows his horn.

We go up the steps to the castle floor/And sneak a peek through the secret door.

Although the dump is double-guarded/We'll sneak across when the guards are parted.

Robus sets one bomb and then the other/Leaving the rest to his older brother.

When all is ready across the moat/Kyle will sound the signal note.

At the bridge, the youngest daughter/Drops tin cans into the water.

Through all the confusion, noise, and bother/Starbuck and Miri rescue father.

• As the plan comes to fruition, Specter files one final (bogus) report with Baltar. Immediately thereafter, the entire Cylon force departs Antilla, as it is "too rusty for their circuits".
• With the Cylon presence gone from their castle, Megan is reunited with his children.
• Apollo and Boomer land the shuttle to bring Starbuck home to the Galactica, arriving just in time to see Starbuck get a passionate farewell kiss from Miri.

Questions

• Were Megan and his family the sole human occupants of the planet Antilla? If not, then why didn't the Cylons hunt down the other humans? The castle seemed to exist inside a vacuum on the planet. (See Analysis)
• Why do the Cylons so ruthlessly pursue the Galactica as the "last remnants of humanity" when, in reality, humans clearly exist in abundance everywhere they go. Nearly every episode has them encountering some forgotten "fringe colony" teeming with humanity, yet the Cylons turn a blind eye toward them and myopically follow the Galactica.
• When Colonials encounter a planet such as Antilla (specifically, a planet populated with humans), why don't they become inquisitive about the human inhabitants? In other words, why don't they assume that they're getting closer to Earth? After all, they left their devastated home worlds (Saga of a Star World), then went through a vast, unknown magnetic void (Lost Planet of the Gods), and have since emerged into what is effectively "uncharted space". So when they find humans, shouldn't they be a little more inquisitive (or, at least, excited?) rather than dismiss them as an unimportant fringe colony. (See Analysis)
• Which one was adopted, Kyle or Miri?

Analysis

• Kyle says of his siblings, "They watched the Tin Cans slaughter our people" and later, "Our fortress held out longer than any of the others when the Tin Cans attacked." Therefore, we may infer that Megan and his family were not the sole inhabitants of the planet, originally. However, since it seems all the other humans on Antilla were exterminated, the family may well be the last inhabitants of their planet -- since six blood relatives do not constitute a genetically viable population. The family uses the typical Star Trek line about "This planet is our home now" and refuses to leave when offered passage on the Galactica. And no one from the Galactica opts to stay on Antilla; thus ensuring that the human presence on Antilla will eventually die out.

• At the end of the episode, Megan explains that "Our ancestors originally migrated here from the Colonies." This explains why Kyle apparently knew about Galactica -- when he first rescues Starbuck, Kyle asks "You're from the Galactica, correct?" Thus the Galacticans do not look to Megan and his family for clues about Earth.

• More generally, in Experiment in Terra, Adama theorizes that the humans they have encountered during their flight are probably offshoots of the Thirteenth Tribe, who split off from the Tribe during that ancient journey. Since the humans they have encountered are no more technologically advanced than the Colonials (often less), that may be a reason why Adama basically ignores them and keeps looking for Earth -- since he hopes and believes that Earth would be a strong ally against the Cylons. Realistically, it seems silly and/or callous that Adama doesn't (a) try to work with these offshoot colonies for mutual aid or even resupply; (b) allow the Colonials the choice of settling on one of the human-populated worlds; (c) spend any time whatsoever researching the legends or history of these offshoot humans for clues about Earth; (d) in the case of Terra, for example, at least warn his fellow human beings that they may encounter a war fleet of fantastically advanced hostile robots bent on the destruction of the life form known as man. But hey, I'm not in Adama's shoes. There you have at least one possible motive why the Colonials never show much interest in the human worlds they encounter along their journey: the humans aren't advanced enough.

Notes

• This is a "Starbuck episode".

• In the opening sequence just before Starbuck's viper is damaged, three incoming Raiders are seen on Boomer's scanner. However, there are four Raiders in the actual dogfight.

• The report to Baltar from Specter was used in the Direct-To-Video Release, Conquest of The Earth.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Starbuck: A viper pilot only flies three fighters — the one he trains in, the one he escapes from, and the one he dies in."

• Boomer:"I'll be back with a clean uniform before you know it."

• Centurion:"These humanoids are not well constructed. They damage easily."
• Starbuck: "At least we don't rust."
• Centurion:"Silence."

• Lucifer: "Oh, Felgercarb..." (Lucifer mutters a familiar expeletive under his breath[?] when Specter's blatant flattery appears to work on Baltar)

• Specter:"Oh, no! Not again."
• Centurion:"The petro dump is exploding."
• Specter:"I know the petro dump is exploding!"

• Baltar:"Excellent idea: scorched earth policy. You're a wonder, Specter."

• Starbuck:"About time you showed up. Got the clean uniform?"
• Boomer:"Clean uniform? What...?"

• Starbuck:"Miri, you'd have broken half the hearts on the Galactica, including mine." (kisses Miri)
• Boomer:"I don't know how he does it."
• Apollo:"Neither do I. Starbuck, we have to go.... Starbuck!"

Guest Stars

Bruce Glover (Megan)
Audrey Landers (Miri)
Murray Matheson (Specter(voice))
Charles Bloom (Kyle)
Adam Mann (Nilz)
Brigitte Muller (Ariadne)
Jonathan B. Woodward (Robus)