The Living Legend
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| “The Living Legend” | |||||||
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| Battlestar Galactica (1978) episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 13 & 14 |
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| Written by | Glen A. Larson | ||||||
| Directed by | Vince Edwards | ||||||
| Guest stars | Lloyd Bridges as Commander Cain Rod Haase as Tolan Junero JEnnings as Pegasus bridge officer |
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| Production no. | 50919 & 50920 | ||||||
| Original airdate | November 26, 1978 & December 3, 1978 | ||||||
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| Episode chronology | |||||||
The Living Legend is a two-part episode of the original Battlestar Galactica television series. The episode is often rated as one of the most popular of the original series. It served as an inspiration for the "reimagined" series episode Pegasus in which the character of Commander Cain and the Battlestar Pegasus were revived, with substantial changes.
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Contents |
[edit] Plot Synopsis
[edit] Part One
While on a routine patrol, Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck encounter two other viper fighters, which attack and nearly destroy them. The viper pilots, who are led by a woman named Sheba, inform them that they are from the fabled Battlestar Pegasus, which was thought to have been destroyed in a battle with the Cylons years earlier. The Pegasus is under the leadership of the legendary Commander Cain, a man widely believed to be a military genius, and who was regarded as one of the greatest heroes of the war between the Twelve Colonies and the Cylons. Upon arriving at the Pegasus, Apollo and Starbuck are taken to Cain's quarters. After learning that they are from the Battlestar Galactica, Cain is elated and swears that with the Galactica's help, he will finally be able to defeat the Cylons. He also asks them if, among the survivors of the Cylon attack, they have seen a young woman he obviously remembers fondly; she turns out to be Cassiopea, Starbuck's girlfriend. Neither Starbuck or Apollo tell Cain that they know her.
Meanwhile, the Galactica and the fleet of civilian starships she is escorting have come to a complete stop due to a critical fuel shortage; if the fleet cannot find fuel soon their life-support systems will begin to shut down. At this point the battlestar's sensors detect another battlestar approaching the fleet; when Commander Adama states that all other battlestars were destroyed by the Cylons in their sneak attack, and thus the sensors must be malfunctioning, Commander Cain appears on the viewscreens of the Galactica's bridge. Adama is astonished - he and Cain had been friends for many years - and he immediately grants Cain permission to land on the Galactica with Starbuck and Apollo. Cain arrives aboard the Galactica and is given a hero's welcome. He and Adama meet in Adama's quarters, but a dispute soon develops between them. Cain, while brilliant, is also arrogant, egotistical, and does not seem to understand that the war has been lost. He tells Adama that the combined firepower of the two battlestars can overwhelm the Cylons occupying the nearby planet of Gomorray, and that the fleet of civilian ships will have all the fuel they need. Adama replies that he cannot risk a full-scale assault on a well-defended Cylon colony when several Cylon warships are in pursuit; they will likely attack and destroy the civilian fleet while the Galactica and Pegasus are away attacking Gomorray. Instead, Adama - who has the higher rank - proposes attacking and seizing several Cylon fuel tankers, thus giving the fleet the necessary fuel to leave that sector of space. Cain clearly disagrees, but he reluctantly agrees to follow Adama's plan. Cain then has a reunion with Cassiopea, it is clear that they were once lovers. However, this stirs the jealously of Sheba, the viper pilot, who turns out to be Cain's daughter. Sheba had apparently resented her father's affair with Cassiopea, which occurred not long after her mother's death.
Cain and Sheba lead a combined force of vipers from the Pegasus and Galactica on a raid to seize two Cylon fuel tankers. In the battle, Cain deliberately targets and destroys both tankers, thus disobeying Adama's orders. When Adama confronts him, Cain states that he was only doing what was necessary, and that Adama would now have "no choice" but to attack Gomorray. Adama, however, announces that he will divide the Pegasus fuel supplies to the rest of the fleet, and that Cain will be relieved of his command. Colonel Tigh is named as the new Pegasus commander. Although Cain takes his demotion in stride, his daughter and other Pegasus personnel attempt a mutiny to restore Cain to command. They are confronted by Apollo, Boomer, and other warriors from the Galactica, who have arrived on the Pegasus to distribute its fuel. Before shooting can begin, the fleet is attacked by a huge number of Cylon fighters. The fighters are led by Count Baltar, the human traitor who has joined the Cylons in trying to hunt down and destroy the Galactica and the last surviving humans. Realizing that he now needs Cain's military skills, Adama restores Cain to command of the Pegasus. When the Galactica suffers heavy damage in the ensuing battle, Cain takes the Pegasus into the fight. Baltar, who doesn't know of the presence of a second battlestar, is gloating over the Galactica's imminent destruction when he is informed by his pilot of a second battlestar approaching his fighter.
[edit] Part Two
Stunned by the sudden arrival of the Pegasus, Baltar calls off the attack, and the Galactica is saved. A council of war is immediately held aboard the Galactica, where repairs are underway. Adama reluctantly agrees to attack Gomorray and approves Cain's elaborate plan of attack. A small force of colonial warriors will land on the planet, and destroy the center which controls the defense batteries. The Galactica and Pegasus will launch fighters and overwhelm the planet. To keep the fuel tankers safe while they are fueling, the Pegasus will head towards the three Cylon basestars under Baltar's command and trick him into believing the Pegasus intends to attack, at the last moment Cain will move away and save his ship.
Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, Sheba, and Bojay - another pilot from the Pegasus and a close friend of Sheba's - parachute down to the planet's surface. With them is Cassiopea, who has come as their medical technician. Bojay is injured in a gunfight with a Cylon, and Cassiopea saves his life, thus earning the respect of Sheba. The Cylon control center is destroyed, and vipers from the two battlestars wreak havoc over Gomorray. Fuel tankers land and begin taking on tylium. The warriors board a shuttle, Cassiopea directs it to land on the Pegasus so she can help the wounded on board, including Bojay. Cain leads the Pegasus directly into a massive number of Cylon fighters, in the ensuing fight the battlestar suffers heavy damage but survives. His daughter Sheba is wounded in the battle, and is taken to the ship's medical center for help. At this point both Apollo and Commander Adama learn that Cain's plan was never to break off; he intends to head straight for the three Cylon basestars and attack them head-on. Given that he is outnumbered three-to-one it seems like a suicidal plan, but Apollo notes that if anyone could accomplish such an incredible feat, it would be Cain. Adama contacts Cain and begs him to turn away, but when Cain refuses Adama reluctantly gives him his blessing.
Cain has a tearful farewell with Cassiopea and his wounded daughter, who begs to stay with him. However, she is placed on a shuttle with other wounded Pegasus personnel and flown to the Galactica. Apollo and Starbuck lead an escort of vipers to ensure the shuttles reach the Galactica, but after a short time they turn command over to Lieutenant Boomer and fly back to the Pegasus to help her in the fight with the Cylon baseships. Baltar orders his basestar to fall back and allow the other two basestars to fight the Pegasus first. Apollo and Starbuck's vipers attack and cripple the two basestar's defensive laser cannons; Cain has the Pegasus fly between the two enemy ships and destroys them with nuclear missiles. Unfortunately, the dust and debris from the explosions prevents Starbuck and Apollo from discovering whether or not the Pegasus survived the battle. They return to the Galactica, where they tell the recovering Sheba that her father probably headed into deep space and no doubt survived the battle, and that the Pegasus will be heard from again (since the series was cancelled after only one season, the Pegasus was not seen again in the original series).
