Space Croppers

Space Croppers is the ninth episode of the television series Galactica 1980, a spin-off of the earlier ABC science fiction series Battlestar Galactica. The episode first aired on April 27, 1980 on ABC.

Plot

The Cylon Imperious Leader orders the destruction of the Galactican Fleet’s food supply in order to increase their dependence on Earth. In the ensuing attack, two Agricultural Ships are destroyed. Adama presses Dr. Zee to establish their first agricultural colony on Earth, an assignment for which Troy and Dillon are recruited.

The two warriors contact Hector Alonzo, a rural Hispanic farmer who has placed an advertisement in the local paper about his willingness to sell half the interest in his farm. Stricken by drought and a disadvantageous irrigation quota, Hector has considered moving his family if their prospects do not improve. Hector shows Troy and Dillon how John Stockton, head of the Growers Association, has dammed the local water supply, allowing his land to prosper while the Alonzos’ suffer under drought and Steadman’s prejudice against Latinos. When Steadman’s goons destroy their truckload of seed, Troy and Dillon meet with Steadman, who denies all involvement. He promises to replace the seed and offers the duo $1000 if they can ride Satan, an untamable horse. The two use their Languitron Translators to quickly subdue the beast, much to Stockton’s chagrin. He prepares to cut the Alonzos’ water quota.

Troy contacts Adama to explain their situation. Zee orders Troy to seed the fields before nightfall. Unable to reach local help, they enlist the Super Scouts. That night, Adama and Zee land the first of their colonists as their spacecraft whips up an artificial thunderstorm and injects a special formula to accelerate the growth process. Steadman, who secretly watches everything, reports his findings to the Growers Association, but his accusations are met with laughter and ridicule. The Association votes to knock out his dam and rescind quota restrictions. Troy and Dillon leave their colonists with the Alonzos.

Cast

• Lorne Greene as Commander Adama
• Herbert Jefferson, Jr. as Colonel Boomer
• Kent McCord as Captain Troy
• Barry Van Dyke as Lieutenant Dillon
• Robyn Douglass as Jamie Hamilton
• Patrick Stuart as Doctor Zee

Guests

• Ana Alicia as Gloria
• Bill Cort as Trent
• Dana Elcar as Steadman
• Bill McKinney as Barrett
• Anna Navarro as Louise
• Ned Romero as Hector
• Dennis Haysbert as the voice of the Imperious Leader

Production

• Many of the visual effects, especially the Cylon attack on the Agricultural Ships, are reused from the 1978 episode The Magnificent Warriors.
• The film clip of the Imperious Leader and a Cylon Centurion aboard a Cylon Basestar is also reused from the original series, although the Imperious Leader's dialogue is new.

External links

• Space Croppers at the BattlestarWiki