The Return of Starbuck

Overview

Doctor Zee relates a dream he had about a pilot called Starbuck to Commander Adama; thus revealing Starbuck's fate.

Plot Summary

Unable to sleep, Doctor Zee awakens Commander Adama. Zee relates to Adama a dream he has had about a great warrior whose name was Lieutenant Starbuck, and the rest of the episode relates this tale.

Years back, Starbuck and Boomer are on patrol, but are ambushed by Cylon raiders. In the battle, Starbuck's Colonial Viper is damaged severely, and he realizes he will not be able to make it back to the fleet.

Starbuck manages to find a small planet in the nick of time, and crash lands his damaged Viper on the surface. Eventually he comes to, with a blinding headache, most of his ship damaged beyond repair. Climbing out of the wreck his discovers nothing but sand and barren rock on this desert planet.

Exploring the terrain for a while, Starbuck suddenly happens upon the wreckage of a Cylon fighter from the battle. Surveying the wreckage, soon Starbuck begins pulling the Cylon ship apart to construct a shelter.

After a time, Starbuck decides to cannibalize the robot Cylons and try to rebuild one of them into a functioning Centurion. 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 argument, 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. Finally 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.

Unfortunately, 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. But Starbuck is subsequenly shocked when Cy arrive the next morning, carrying an unconscious, pregnant woman in his arms.

Starbuck attempt 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 also 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 Starbuck in the ship; not if the mother and baby are to make it back to the Colonial fleet, and so he makes a sacrifice and decides to stay behind, launching the ship manually and letting Angela and the baby go.

As the ship disappears into the sky, Starbuck is suddently 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, but 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 the 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. The fate of Starbuck, however, remains unkwown, and on that melancholy note the episode, and the series, end.

Point Form Summary

Dr. Zee has had a dream about a Colonial Warrior called Starbuck, who crashed on an unknown planet. After confiding in Commander Adama, he discovers that the dream is indeed true.
Some 14 yahren ago, Starbuck and Boomer were on patrol when they were attacked by a phalanx of Cylon Raiders.
After being seriously damaged, Starbuck says farewell to his friend, Boomer, and finds a planet to crash land on.
Boomer pleads with Adama to mount a rescue; such an act is impossible as the Cylons are actively pursuing them. They can only press forward.
After setting up camp on the planet Starbuck, Starbuck comes across the wreckage of a Raider, finding all the Cylons non-functional.
Out of loneliness, Starbuck fixes a Cylon Centurion, who initially tries to kill the Warrior. However, Starbuck has wired himself a remote on/off switch, so that he can disable the Centurion at will.
The Cylon, whom he calls Cy (shorthand for Cyrus), and Starbuck become friends of a sort, much to their mutual astonishment.
Cy runs off after discovering that Starbuck was cheating at pyramid.
As Starbuck mopes, Cy returns to the camp with a female human. She calls herself Angela and is pregnant.
Cy hoped that now that Starbuck had a human companion that he would not be so bored.
Angela asks that Starbuck find a way to get her child off the planet; Starbuck begins to suspect that Angela is not all she appears.
Cy and Starbuck cobble together parts from both their crafts, creating a ship that could carry Angela and her child to safety.
After the ship launches, a Cylon patrol lands on the planet. Finding Starbuck, the Cylon Centurions attempt to kill him.
Cy defends Starbuck, sacrificing his life for that of the Warrior's.

Questions

Analysis

Notes

This is the only episode that fandom would deem canonical, as they believe it has the spirit of the original series; unsurprising as it was an idea thrown around during the run of the original.
"The Return of Starbuck" is viewed as -- and was -- a last-ditch effort to save Galactica 1980. It failed.
Had the series been permitted to live, an episode called "Wheel of Fire" would have seen Starbuck rescued by the Beings of Light to become one of their rank.

Noteworthy Dialogue

Official Statements

Statistics

Guest Stars

Writing & Direction

Written by Glen A. Larson
Directed by Ron Satlof

Production Notes

Series 1 (1980)
Production Number: 1.10
Airdate Order: 10 (of 10)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

UK Airdate: Date
US Airdate: 4 May 1980
DVD Release: N/A

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