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The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I

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Revision as of 18:40, 8 August 2006 by Steelviper (talk | contribs) (mods for template change)
The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I
"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I"
An episode of the Original Series
Episode No. Season 1, Episode 6
Writer(s) Michael Sloan
Donald Bellisario
Glen A. Larson
Story by John Ireland Jr.
Director Alan Levi
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No. 50206
Nielsen Rating
US airdate USA 1978-10-22
CAN airdate CAN {{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate UK
DVD release 2004-12-28
Population survivors
Additional Info
Full Credits
Episode Chronology
Previous Next
The Long Patrol The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part II
[[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]]
Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
Amazon: Standard Definition | High Definition
iTunes: [{{{itunes}}} USA]


Overview

Herded into a confined area of space, the fleet must pass within close range of a lethal Cylon pulsar cannon—unless an expedition from the Galactica can assault the ice-bound fortress housing the weapon. Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer lead a team of cut-throat demolitions and cold-weather experts (and the stowaway Boxey). Along they way, they encounter the misguided human scientist who originally built the weapon, as well as his legions of clones.

Summary

  • Aboard the Galactica, Adama suspects that despite recent successes, they are being herded into this particular region of space. He is unable to send out extra patrols, though, as his crew is already stretched to the point that they are using cadets for patrol duty.
  • The Viper patrol makes contact with a small planetoid. The icy planet appears to be covered with diethene storms. The patrol asks permission to take a closer inspection, which is granted. The patrol is warned to stay out of the orbit of the planet.
  • A Cylon garrison is shown on the planet, and they detect the Vipers on their sensors. Garrison commander Vulpa orders the gun crews to readiness.
  • Cadet Bow sees a flash on the planet surface and veers off to investigate, only to be killed by the first shot of the Ravishol pulsar. Starbuck and Boomer are amazed at the range, and warn the Galactica (which goes to alert status and stops the fleet).
  • The cadets attempt to engage the pulsar themselves, while Starbuck and Boomer attempt to call them off. Vulpa orders his crew to capture one of the pilots alive. Cadet Shields is killed by the pulsar, while Cadet Cree is forced down by Cylon Raiders. Starbuck and Boomer reluctantly return to the Galactica, unable to help Cree.
  • Adama believes that a single shot from the Ravishol Pulsar would destroy the Galactica, which explains why they are being herded into that particular sector. Adama determines that a small commando team would have the best chance of destroying the pulsar, and orders a computer search to determine the personnel with the appropriate skills.
  • While the computer is running its search, Starbuck enters the computer room. Starbuck feigns ignorance regarding computers, then persuades Corporal Komma to briefly abandon his post in order get a chance to see the new female Viper pilots. While Komma is gone, Starbuck sits down at the console and alters the program.
  • The computer finishes its report, and Starbuck is surprised that most of the specialists selected are criminals. Boomer and Starbuck are sent to the Prison Barge to retrieve the selected prisoners.
  • The prisoners selected include a former ice planet garrison commander Croft, demolitions expert Wolfe, alien environment expert Thane, and sub-zero experienced medic Leda. Leda reveals that she is Croft's wife, and that putting them together is dangerous.
  • Apollo successfully argues his way into mission, suspicious that somebody (possibly Adama) had tampered with the computer results. Gunners Haals and Vickers are also attached to the mission, as well as weapon specialist Voight. Boomer and Starbuck are also assigned.
  • Adama lays out the plan to the assigned crew. The Cylon basestars will catch up in "eight or nine hundred centons". The crew is told the fleet will be moving on in 700 centons, with or without them.
  • Starbuck becomes agitated when somebody tried to pack up Cadet Cree's personal items. He insists that Cree is not dead yet.
  • Down on Arcta, Cree is approached by three Centurions. He manages to shoot one before his laser pistol malfunctions and he is captured.
  • Apollo tells Boxey that he is going away on a mission to an ice planet. Boxey wants to come, having never seen snow, but Apollo insists that he stay.
  • The crew fights amongst themselves while preparing in the shuttle, and Apollo breaks them up. Apollo points out that they might have set off a hand mine if they had continued.
  • The shuttle takes off, escorted by a Viper piloted by Killian. Killian manages to fight off a raider as they approach Arcta, but is destroyed by the pulsar. Lacking an escort, the shuttle is damaged and forced down. The Galactica loses contact with the shuttle, unable to contact them without giving away the position of the fleet.
  • The crew assesses the situation, and find that Voight is severely injured. Wolfe manages to secure Voight's laser pistol while they are tending to him. The shuttle is too damaged to fly again or even sustain life, so the crew will have to transfer to the snowram. A raider spots the crash site, so the crew must hurry. As Apollo boards the snowram to offload of the shuttle, he discovers Boxey and Muffit in the cabin. The snowram offloads, and Starbuck mans the turret on top of the snowram, using it to shoot down the Cylon raider.
  • Vulpa orders a foot patrol of Centurions to retrieve the humans.
  • Cree is being interrogated by the Cylons regarding the location of the Galactica. Cree fails to cooperate, and the Cylons decide to hook him up to a brain probe to retrieve the information.
  • As the crew is finishing loading up the snowram, some of the criminals are plotting the best way to escape. Croft is more concerned with completing the mission, while Thane and Wolfe are looking for their chance to get away.
  • As the snowram heads out, there is not enough room in the cabin for everybody. They will have to rotate two people at a time on top of the snowram. Haals and Wolfe (despite his objections) are the first two to ride on top.
  • Wolfe, fed up from the cold, attempts to use Voight's laser pistol on Haals, but ends up knocking on the power systems on the snowram.
  • A diethene storm is approaching the crew, so they pile into the snowram and hope to wait it out. Croft warns that they are doomed if the diethene reaches death point, the temperature at which the air turns liquid. Muffit, unaffected by the diethene, runs out of the snowram and off into the snow. A group of four Centurions finds the wreckage of the shuttle, and a backpack that was left that has the Galactica insignia on it. They begin to follow the tracks of the snowram.
  • The crew awakens alive, inside some sort of a cave. A bearded man tells them they are lucky to have been found. Apollo asks if they are free to go, but the man insists that the storm will prevent that for now, but in the meantime he will get them some water as they are likely dehydrated from their diethene exposure. The man leaves out one door, and appears to enter from the opposite side a second later. When questioned, he is very gruff and does not have the promised water. The man returns (from the door he originally left), along with some other identical men. They give the crew food and water.
  • Apollo reveals that it is their plan to destroy the pulsar. The Thetas seem to believe this is not possible, until the crew reveals they have brought solonite. The Thetas agree to lead them to their village.
  • Starbuck inquires with the female if they have seen any other Warriors, or where they would be taken if they were captured. The female indicates that she has not seen any others, and does not know where they would be taken.
  • As the crew is led by the Thetas to the village, Wolfe shows Thane that he has the laser pistol and tells him that he is ready to use it at the right opportunity.
  • The crew has to freeze and hunker down near the entrance to the village, as a patrol of Centurions passes overhead.
  • Baltar is shown in his command chair. Lucifer reports that the Galactica is passing near Arcta as Baltar had planned. Baltar requests extra basestars be brought up. Lucifer reminds Baltar that recent losses have nearly depleted their supply of raiders, but Baltar points out that Adama does not know that.

Questions

  • Why are there prisoners and a prison barge in the fleet? While it is possible they could have been on a ship already in transit at the time of the attack this is never explained.

Analysis

The Gun on Ice Planet Zero is another episode of Battlestar Galactica that borrows from other Hollywood productions. In particular 1961's The Guns of Navarone [1] starring Gregory Peck and the Rock Hudson classic Ice Station Zebra [2] which was released in 1968. Both these movies involve teams of military men accomplishing difficult missions - in the first story to capture a large gun manned by Germans on a Greek island, and the second to rescue a crew from a weather station high in the arctic. In The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, both elements are combined, a team must infiltrate an enemy outpost on the ice planet 'Arcta' to capture a large gun manned by Cylons. The final element of the show, the use of prisoners to accomplish the task, is also a well known plot device, but was perhaps best depicted in the 1967 World War II classic The Dirty Dozen.

Influences aside, this is an interesting episode with new effects and a broad scope that is involving and action filled. With the possible exception of some of the longer segments where our heroes are slogging through the snow (I can hear the "slogging through snow music" as I type that), the story moves along at a good pace, and a real sense of tension is built up.

The character of Dr. Ravashol is interesting, and the relationship he has with the clones he has created is an interesting one. Instead of being governed by a god complex, he seems to have a benign neglect for the clones, and his lack of concern for the uses the Cylons have put his laser to suggests an absent minded professor who loves to tinker, as opposed to a person who thinks more deeply about the uses of his creations. In this way, Dr. Ravashol is a scientific genius that seems to work totally against the usual type in science fiction. Although his laser is ultimately destroyed, he seems to have no fear of the technology itself, or even of the Cylons who are the best example of technology gone amuck in the series.

The clones as well are an interesting group. Perhaps due to the casting choices, or perhaps because of some long lost backstory, the society of clones has an almost Scandinavian feel, and the expressions of pacifism and egalitarianism actually resonate.

Finally, the model work in this episode is great. The crash sequences of the shuttle and of the Viper remain some of my favorite work in the series.

Notes

  • It seems likely that the episode Bastille Day in the reimagined series was partially inspired by elements of this episode. In both episodes, a group of criminals was conscripted from a prison ship to work on the icy surface of a hostile planet. A notable difference between the two episodes lies in how the workers were chosen. While the workers in Bastille Day were chosen in part for their expendability, the conscripts in "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" were chosen for their expertise in harsh environments and in demolition work.
  • "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" was actually the second episode in order of filming, hence Cassiopeia's absence, as she was originally not intended to be a continuing character.

Noteworthy Dialogue

Thane: I work with breathing gear. Rare gases, chemical blends. I can take you through land, air, fire and water.
Starbuck: Says here you're in for murder.
Thane: Hmm. That too.

Guest Stars

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