The Return of Starbuck: Difference between revisions
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* He says his tearful farewell to Starbuck, telling him both that he loves him and that they all love him. | * He says his tearful farewell to Starbuck, telling him both that he loves him and that they all love him. | ||
* Out beyond the Fleet, Starbuck begins landing procedures | * Out beyond the Fleet, Starbuck begins landing procedures as he approaches [[Planet Starbuck|a planet]] and then crash lands on a sand dune. | ||
* In the crash site, Starbuck's Viper cockpit has become an escape pod and jettisoned from the rest of the fuselage; Starbuck is alive, but is whimpering and has a headache. He then thinks the headache is wonderful. "Pain, I love you," he says, thankful to be alive. | * In the crash site, Starbuck's Viper cockpit has become an escape pod and jettisoned from the rest of the fuselage; Starbuck is alive, but is whimpering and has a headache. He then thinks the headache is wonderful. "Pain, I love you," he says, thankful to be alive. | ||
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* Exploring the terrain for a while, and experiencing some hopelessness, since he only has three days of food rations, Starbuck suddenly happens upon the wreckage of a Cylon fighter from the battle. | * Exploring the terrain for a while, and experiencing some hopelessness, since he only has three days of food rations, Starbuck suddenly happens upon the wreckage of a Cylon fighter from the battle. | ||
* Starbuck surveys the wreckage, asking what he had done to anger the Gods so as to bring Cylons upon the planet Starbuck as well. With his pistol drawn, he surveys the wreckage. | * Starbuck surveys the wreckage, asking what he had done to anger the Gods so as to bring Cylons upon the planet Starbuck as well. With his pistol drawn, he surveys the wreckage. None of the Centurions appear to be functional. | ||
* Later, during a wind storm and cold enough to require a [[Uniforms (TOS)|parka]], Starbuck begins pulling the Cylon ship apart to construct a shelter. He starts a fire with his [[laser pistol (TOS)|laser pistol]] and wonders if his being marooned on the planet is repayment for every selfish act he's ever done. | |||
=== Act 2 === | |||
* In the morning, Starbuck talks to the "dead" Cylons to give them his orders of the day. He wants the area whitewashed, boundaries manicured and the uniform of the day will be "polished metallic". They'll dine at dusk in dress silvers, and he'll expect some form of entertainment. | |||
* One of the Cylons falls out of its chair. Starbuck whips around with his pistol drawn, telling the Cylon never to do that again. He adds that they speak only when spoken to and they speak directly to him and never amongst themselves. | |||
* He asks if they have any questions. The Cylons do not reply and Starbuck says he's heading to headquarters. They may continue with their duties. | |||
* | * Of the Cylons, Starbuck says they are a loose group and it would take some time to whip them into shape. | ||
* | * On the third day, Starbuck decides to cannibalize the Centurions and try to rebuild one into a functioning unit to deal with his boredom. Starbuck runs a line of wire from the Cylon to the Raider wreck. | ||
* When the task is complete, the Cylon activates and immediately threatens to kill Starbuck. Starbuck manages to win over the huge robot soldier with a combination of persuasion and threats to turn off his power. | * When the task is complete, the Cylon activates and immediately threatens to kill Starbuck. Starbuck manages to win over the huge robot soldier with a combination of persuasion and threats to turn off his power. | ||
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* After the Cylon has managed to convince Starbuck not to switch him off for good, he asks why Starbuck reconstructed him. | * After the Cylon has managed to convince Starbuck not to switch him off for good, he asks why Starbuck reconstructed him. | ||
* Starbuck explains, rather wanly, that after three days alone, he decided he needed a friend. | * Starbuck explains, rather wanly, that after three days alone, he decided he needed a friend. "We are enemies," the Cylon states. "We're cultural dissidents," Starbuck rationalizes, since there are only the two of them on this planet. | ||
* Starbuck offers to teach the Cylon everything he knows about humans, in the process names the hulking machine "[[Cyrus|Cy]]." He also instructs the Cylon on how to play the Colonial card game [[pyramid (TOS)|pyramid]]. | * Starbuck offers to teach the Cylon everything he knows about humans, in the process names the hulking machine "[[Cyrus|Cy]]." He also instructs the Cylon on how to play the Colonial card game [[pyramid (TOS)|pyramid]]. | ||
Revision as of 04:53, 11 January 2008
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| "The Return of Starbuck" An episode of the Galactica 1980 series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode No. | Season 1, Episode 10 | ||
| Writer(s) | Glen A. Larson | ||
| Story by | |||
| Director | Ron Satlof | ||
| Assistant Director | |||
| Special guest(s) | Dirk Benedict as Starbuck | ||
| Production No. | 1.10 | ||
| Nielsen Rating | |||
| US airdate |  1980-05-04
| ||
| CAN airdate |  {{{CAN airdate}}}
| ||
| UK airdate | 
| ||
| DVD release | |||
| Population | survivors | ||
| Additional Info | Series Finale | ||
| Full Credits | |||
| Episode Chronology | |||
| Previous | Next | ||
| Space Croppers | The Return of Starbuck | (Series Cancellation) | |
| [[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[edit]
- Doctor Zee relates a dream he had about a pilot called Starbuck to Commander Adama; thus revealing Starbuck's fate.
Summary[edit]
Act 1[edit]
- Doctor Zee is in Adama's quarters, asking him if he believes that dreams are relevant. Adama replies that some of them are.
- Zee tells Adama that he had a dream that he was neither born aboard Galactica or any of the other ships in the The Fleet. Adama confirms this.
- Zee asks who he is and of his origin; Adama instead asks about his dream.
- Zee relates to Adama that his dream is not about him, but of "a great Warrior" whose name was Starbuck. A shocked Adama stands up and tells Zee to please tell him of the dream.
- Years back, Starbuck and Boomer are on patrol, but are ambushed by Cylon Raiders as part of a "great battle".
- A Raider manages to damage Starbuck's Viper, but is able to execute a reverse thrust and thus the Cylons overshoot him. He then fires on a Raider, destroying one.
- In another, apparently damaged Raider, a Centurion comments that the move is unexpected and that the Warrior is very good; a small consolation, given that they will crash.
- In the battle, Starbuck's Viper is damaged severely, and he realizes he will not be able to make it back to the Fleet, much to Boomer's dismay.
- Boomer offers to stay with Starbuck for as long as he can. Starbuck balks at the offer, noting that the Fleet cannot afford to lose two pilots and their ships. Despite Boomer's insistence that he will get help, Starbuck tells Boomer that his first duty is to warn the Fleet.
- An emotionally distracted Boomer then asks if Starbuck will drift or try to find land; Starbuck affirms the latter. Boomer tells Starbuck to take care of himself, to which Starbuck replies in the affirmative.
- Starbuck tells Boomer to send Cassiopeia and Athena his love; but makes note that "tell them to not sit around waiting, I might like it where I'm going." The conversation is cut short when Starbuck tells Boomer that his support vapors are running low.
- Starbuck tells Boomer that he will be seeing him; Boomer gives his pal a thumb's up, Starbuck returns this gesture.
- Boomer veers off, telling his "dear, dear friend" that "if I could switch places with you, I would".
- Starbuck heads toward a system with three visible planetary bodies.
- Back at Galactica, the battlestar and her Vipers fight of Cylon Raiders.
- In a smoke-filled core command, Boomer tells a clean-shaven Adama that Starbuck is out there and needs their help. An emotional Adama replies that they can't go back for him, and that they would be lucky if they were able to save the Fleet from the Cylon attack.
- In reply to a question to Adama about never coming back, Adama informs Boomer in a raised voice that they can never do so, as there is "no going back, our enemy pushes us on and on and on, and until we're strong enough, or can find Earth and get help, we can never stop, or turn away, or look back!"
- Boomer begins to walk away without a word, but turns around and thanks Adama for his honesty. An officer notifies Adama that the Vipers want permission to pursue the retreating Cylons, but he orders that they land immediately and the Fleet increase to flank speed.
- He says his tearful farewell to Starbuck, telling him both that he loves him and that they all love him.
- Out beyond the Fleet, Starbuck begins landing procedures as he approaches a planet and then crash lands on a sand dune.
- In the crash site, Starbuck's Viper cockpit has become an escape pod and jettisoned from the rest of the fuselage; Starbuck is alive, but is whimpering and has a headache. He then thinks the headache is wonderful. "Pain, I love you," he says, thankful to be alive.
- Climbing out of the wreck he discovers nothing but sand and barren rock on this desert planet. He activates his automatic beacon for help he knew would never come, takes a knapsack and begins his trek on the planet, thinking that he may find an oasis, or thousands of primitive people who would worship him like some sort of "winged god from the heavens".
- During his trek, he decides to call the planet "Starbuck", after himself for he discovered it.
- Exploring the terrain for a while, and experiencing some hopelessness, since he only has three days of food rations, Starbuck suddenly happens upon the wreckage of a Cylon fighter from the battle.
- Starbuck surveys the wreckage, asking what he had done to anger the Gods so as to bring Cylons upon the planet Starbuck as well. With his pistol drawn, he surveys the wreckage. None of the Centurions appear to be functional.
- Later, during a wind storm and cold enough to require a parka, Starbuck begins pulling the Cylon ship apart to construct a shelter. He starts a fire with his laser pistol and wonders if his being marooned on the planet is repayment for every selfish act he's ever done.
Act 2[edit]
- In the morning, Starbuck talks to the "dead" Cylons to give them his orders of the day. He wants the area whitewashed, boundaries manicured and the uniform of the day will be "polished metallic". They'll dine at dusk in dress silvers, and he'll expect some form of entertainment.
- One of the Cylons falls out of its chair. Starbuck whips around with his pistol drawn, telling the Cylon never to do that again. He adds that they speak only when spoken to and they speak directly to him and never amongst themselves.
- He asks if they have any questions. The Cylons do not reply and Starbuck says he's heading to headquarters. They may continue with their duties.
- Of the Cylons, Starbuck says they are a loose group and it would take some time to whip them into shape.
- On the third day, Starbuck decides to cannibalize the Centurions and try to rebuild one into a functioning unit to deal with his boredom. Starbuck runs a line of wire from the Cylon to the Raider wreck.
- When the task is complete, the Cylon activates and immediately threatens to kill Starbuck. Starbuck manages to win over the huge robot soldier with a combination of persuasion and threats to turn off his power.
- After the Cylon has managed to convince Starbuck not to switch him off for good, he asks why Starbuck reconstructed him.
- Starbuck explains, rather wanly, that after three days alone, he decided he needed a friend. "We are enemies," the Cylon states. "We're cultural dissidents," Starbuck rationalizes, since there are only the two of them on this planet.
- Starbuck offers to teach the Cylon everything he knows about humans, in the process names the hulking machine "Cy." He also instructs the Cylon on how to play the Colonial card game pyramid.
- Starbuck grows bored with the card games over time, and Cy realizes that Starbuck is cheating.
- Cy deduces that Starbuck is bored with him, and would prefer the company of a human female. Promising to locate a woman for Starbuck, the Centurion heads out into the bitter cold.
- Feeling guilty, Starbuck searches for the runaway Centurion all night, but is unable to find him.
- Starbuck is shocked when Cy arrives the next morning, carrying an unconscious, pregnant woman in his arms.
- Starbuck attempts to talk to the mysterious woman but she does not respond, just stares without speaking.
- This goes on for a few days, then, out of nowhere the woman asks Starbuck a short question: "Would you die for me?" The woman, named Angela, remains enigmatic and refuses to elaborate on how she came to be on the planet.
- She starts strangely referring to her unborn baby as "our child," referring to her and Starbuck, and indicates a vehicle must be built to transport the baby.
- In part to appease Angela, Starbuck enlists Cy's help in building an escape vessel from the combined wreckage of the Viper and the Cylon Raiders.
- The morning after the baby's birth, Starbuck is shocked to see another Cylon fighter landed close to the crash site. The Cylons apparently picked up the distress beacon, and are coming to investigate.
- Starbuck hustles Angela to the completed hybrid ship and gets her and the baby inside.
- There is no room for both Starbuck and Angela in the ship. Starbuck decides to stay behind, launching the ship manually and letting Angela and the baby go.
- As the ship disappears into the sky, Starbuck is suddenly pinned down by the Cylon laser fire, but is surprised to see Cy appear, carrying his own laser.
- Cy guns down two of the approaching Cylons, but the third gets off a crippling shot before Starbuck drops him, and Cy sinks to the ground, mortally damaged.
- In his dying minutes, Cy describes his relationship with Starbuck as that of friends.
- Dr Zee's voice grows more disturbed as he recounts the progress of the pod towards Galactica, containing the 'incredible gift' of a child from the stars.
- He realizes that the dream was referring to him, and that he is the gift.
- Starbuck's ultimate fate remains unknown.
Notes[edit]
- "The Return of Starbuck" is viewed as -- and was -- the last best hope to save Galactica 1980. It failed.
- For all his vaunted knowledge, Zee did not know of his origins, at least until these were confirmed by Adama.
- Starbuck's use of the word frack during the battle scene is the first and only instance that the word is used in a Galactica 1980 episode.
- A majority of the scenes concerning Starbuck and Boomer's battle with Cylons in the first act of this episode are taken from "The Young Lords", spliced with new scenes. A telltale sign that differentiates these scenes is the use of the two-seater Viper canopy in the scenes specifically shot for this episode.
- Had the series been permitted to live, an episode called "The Wheel of Fire" would have seen Starbuck rescued by the Beings of Light to become one of their rank.
- The events leading up to Starbuck's landing on "Planet Starbuck" nearly mirror the events of the teaser for "The Young Lords".
- Much of "The Return of Starbuck" was filmed in Red Rock Canyon State Park, 25 miles northeast of Mojave, California on Highway 14, near Cantil.
- The episode is deliberately patterned after "Hell in the Pacific", a story Glen Larson very much admired according to story editor Allan Cole.[1]
Analysis[edit]
Continuity[edit]
- While not explicitly stated, this episode takes place between "The Hand of God" and "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I". Assuming Doctor Zee is ten years of age in Galactica 1980, this episode is set around 1970.
- This also slightly contradicts Dillon's comment in "The Super Scouts, Part I", where he says that the Cylons haven't attacked in a generation. However, Galacticans may consider a generation to be as little as 10 years, not the 20 or 30, which is an average timespan for a generation.
- Both Athena and Cassiopeia are still alive during the events of this episode, though unseen. The whereabouts of other Original Series regulars, such as Sheba, Jolly, Salik and even Muffit remain unstated.
The Cylons[edit]
- Despite the Battle at Galaxy's Edge depicted in "The Hand of God", the Cylons still pursue the Fleet ruthlessly and seem to have only extended their sphere of influence.
- As Starbuck discovers in his talks with Cy, Centurions have major flaws:
- They are incapable of acting independently. According to Cy, the Cylons were reviewing a manual and voting to determine the next steps in avoiding a dangerous crash before the crash finally occurred.
- Centurions work as a team, each one equal to the other.
- This is a slight contradiction of information provided in "The Hand of God", where Apollo explains that one Cylon acts as a gunner, another as a pilot, and another as the Raider's commander. However it should be noted that the Cylons voted on what to do, thus the third Cylon would be needed to avoid a 50/50 split in voting.
- The Cylons have very limited knowledge of humanity, aside from their study of human women, who they found to be "weaker than man, less durable".
- In addition to their flaws, the Cylon Centurions are much more developed in this episode than previous episodes. From dialogue between Starbuck and Cy, the viewer discovers that:
- Cylons view humanity as, in their words, "evil".
- Despite their analytical thinking, the Cylons can either exhibit or merely emulate actionable emotions. Cy's emotion of being "disappointed" at Starbuck's cheating at pyramid and previous conversations with Starbuck pertaining to "woo-man" lead Cy to recover Angela, who appears to be a human woman.
- Cy claims that "internal perfection and order is the goal of the Cylon Empire". However, once this objective is achieved, Cy indicates that they haven't thought much (or at all) beyond that.
- Cylons are capable of loyalty to those outside of their own race, as exemplified by Cy's defending Starbuck from a Cylon rescue party at the end.
Questions[edit]
- Now that the Cylons know about the first crash on planet Starbuck, will they follow up the first rescue mission with a second?
- What happened to Starbuck?
- Where is Apollo during this time?
- What is the status of the Fleet?
- What would have happened next had the series continued?
Noteworthy Dialogue[edit]
- Starbuck: Goodbye. Thought I was going to give up and die, huh?
- Centurion #1: That was an unexpected move. He is a very good Warrior.
- Centurion Commander: That is a small consolation. We are going to crash.
- Boomer: But sir, we can't just leave him there!
- Adama: Boomer, don't you think I want to go back for him? You think I want to leave someone I love like a son, knowing we'll never see him again? Take a look out there!
- Adama gestures at screen:
- Adama: We'll be lucky if we can save our Fleet!
- Boomer: You mean we can never go back?
- Adama: That is correct! There is no going back! Our enemy pushes us on and on and on! And until we're strong enough or can find Earth and get help, we can never stop or turn away or look back!
- Boomer: Thank you, sir. I appreciate your honesty.
- Scan Officer: First enemy wave has been taken back. They're running with our fighters in pursuit.
- Adama: Order our fighters to break off and let them run! Fleet is to proceed ahead at flank speed!
- Adama: Goodbye, Starbuck. I love you. We all love you.
- Starbuck: I've been in charge of this planet for three days and already I've doubled the population. I hereby declare myself president-elect, if that's all right with you.
- Cy: Die, human.
- Starbuck: Don't be ridiculous.
- Starbuck: You'd think I'd save you and then let you shoot me? Besides, it doesn't work. See. (pulls trigger, seizing sound) Here, try it.
- (Starbuck hands weapon back, Cy pulls trigger)
- Starbuck: You really did!
- Starbuck: So, what happened during the landing?
- Cy: The situation did not compute.
- Starbuck: So you didn't know what to do. What happened next? (jokingly) Someone whip out the manual.
- Cy: Yes. The Manual did not help.
- Starbuck: (gives Cy an odd look) What'd you do when it came time for a little personal initiative?
- Cy: We were taking a vote when the ground came up and hit us.
- Starbuck: Starbuck. Just call me Starbuck. Just like this planet your on. This planet is called Starbuck.
- Cy: What an interesting coincidence.
Official Statements[edit]
- Allan Cole discusses how this episode came to be:
- Allan Cole: Basically, GL [Glen Larson] was tired and pissed off. [Galactica 1980] was never the show he wanted to do. And he and Dirk Benedict were always pretty tight. He talked Dirk into coming back to do one last episode. Which was basically a two-man radio play. Personally, I think it was the only decent episode in the series and showed what GL could have done if they had let him alone.[1]
Guest stars[edit]
- Patrick Stuart as Doctor Zee
- Herbert Jefferson Jr. as Boomer
- Judith Chapman as Angela
- Rex Cutter as "Cy"
- Gary Owens as "Cy" (voice)
- Ellen Gerken (as "Ellen Gurkin") as Girl on Bridge
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Larocque, John (28 Feburary 2005). Interview with Galactica 1980 story editor Allan Cole (backup available on Archive.org) (in ). Retrieved on 11 August 2007.