#23: The Return of Starbuck

Post by **Croft2014** » Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:26 pm

Doctor Zee tells Adama of a dream he had about Starbuck.

During a serious confrontaion with Cylon forces Starbuck is forced to crashland on an uncharted world, and the Galactica is forced to keep going, leaving him marooned. He rebuilds a Cylon warrior (one of their craft had also crashed) who he befriends.

After several weeks a pregnant woman is found.

Geez, what a thinly written cheese-fest.

Considering this episode's reputation it's pretty lame, albeit better than most of the other Galactica 1980 episodes (I prefer the opening 3-parter and the Halloween lark to be honest). It's also a cheap production with hilariously unconvincing crash sites and Starbuck manages to create a TARDIS out of scrap metal and a couple of boulders.

The choral music is also really lame, and the women (who remains unexplained and seems to be some kind of heaven-sent creature) remains heavily made up throughout and looks like she just stepped out of Studio 54! In fact both her's and Starbuck's oufits remain in perfect condiion.

Cheap and silly.

Post by **bishopdonmiguel** » Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:10 pm

Seems the core messages of the episode flew over your head while you were distracted by the impeccably clean costumes.

This problem with modern audiences is responsible for the utterly pointless sci-fi films & TV we get from Hollywood... hyper focus on production values and complete lack of interest in story. STORY IS EVERYTHING.

This is a tale of forgiveness, friendship, love and sacrifice. While not “the best,” it is perhaps the most “meaningful” episode in all Battlestar Galactica.

Two mortal enemies discover that friendship is possible when the pillars of politics and social values are no longer relevant. A Colonial discovers humanity in a Centurion while a Cylon discovers humans are not worthless. Both learn that what they have been taught by their respective cultures isn’t necessarily the truth, at least not when applied to two individuals. In the end, both make the ultimate sacrifice to save something they believe worthy.

Cheap yes, but not silly. Touching and inspiring.

Post by **johnnybear** » Sat Jan 26, 2019 7:16 am

It's worth being a Galactica 80 fan for this episode alone! The only thing I wasn't keen on was how they changed Cy's voice to that of a robotic Gary Owens rather than a normal Cylon warrior!
The woman fans believe was sent by the mysterious aliens in the light ships but nothing was said on screen and her having a child and Starbuck's sacrifice deemed him a worthy cause and we would have seen Starbuck return later on as an agent of the light beings but sadly the show got canned and that was that!
I never quite understood why Starbuck couldn't have flown the Cylon raider which deposited the three evil machine men at the end from the nameless planet and back to the fleet? He could have waggled again!!!
It's sad when a woman comes between two friends and this is no different as Cy begins to feel unappreciated after the woman is found and Starbuck vents all his concerns for her rather than his friend!

JB