Crash landing on the moon

Crash on the moon is the fifth episode of the first season of the Televised series Battlestar Galactica .

Detailed summary

The lieutenant Starbuck is forced to eject itself on a hostile planet after its Viper was seriously damaged at the time of a skirmish with a hunter cylon. On the Galactica , one of the pilots saved who was implied in the battle reports that Viper de Starbuck always manœvrait and could have survived. The commander Adama goes against the weighed reasoning and to the reserves of the colonel Tigh and organizes a mission of help to find it.

Starbuck is found captive of a deserted and rocky world, touched by strong winds. The atmosphere is inhospitable and cannot accommodate the human life. With a wounded knee, she fights to reach raised tops, hoping that a research team of the Galactica can locate it. She sees the hunter cylon which attacked it, decontaminated but relatively intact, on the ground in a close crater. By thanking the gods, it forces the opening of the trap door, and discovers that the interior resembles more internal bodies of a creature than to the electronics of a machine. It climbs inside uses the vessel as shelter: the oxygen of its combination has suddenly missed and it must find another source in the hunter of it.

On the Galactica , the search for Starbuck goes badly. The visibility on planet is poor and Vipers spends of enormous quantities of fuel at the time of the operations of atmospheric recognition. Worse, the dusty conditions cause serious mechanical problems for the squadron of Vipers, forcing many of those to remain on the ground. The president Roslin starts when she hears that Adama also set in motion Vipers of the patrol of combat of the fleet to help the searchs for Starbuck. That leaves the fleet without defense vis-a-vis an attack cylonne. Gaïus Baltar adds a layer to the situation by telling in Roslin that Adama risks the whole fleet at the time of an unfruitful search for only one pilot.

The president Roslin faces Adama and her son. She had learned from colonel Tigh that the reason for which Adama would not give up research is that she is the last bond between him and her son deceased, Zak Adama. Research is any more one military operation, but personal from which neither Adama nor his/her son cannot withdraw himself: the death of Zak and engagement of Starbuck to him. When they carry out that, they return to reality: they endangered the whole fleet to seek Starbuck. It will not occur a long time before cylons them do not note their missing patrol and sends heavy reinforcements.

After a mutual glance which in known as length, Adama and Apollo agrees together that there remains only one thing to be made. The search for Starbuck must be abandoned and the fleet must leap far from this place as fast as possible.

During this time, on planet, Starbuck finds an oxygen supply in the hunter and starts to touch with the muscles and tendons attached to mechanical controls. It finds what seems to be controls and learns quickly how to use them. she finally manages to activate the engines of the vessel and escapes from planet. She discovers that the hunter cylon is a fast and nimble combat machine.

Whereas the last preparations with the jump are in roads, the Galactica suddenly detects a hunter cylon on the Dradis, undoubtedly a scout of a more important troop to the back. It will be in the middle of the fleet before it can jump: Adama must stop the calculation and launches the vessels of alarm.

Without knowing that Starbuck controls the machine, Apollo tries to cut down the hunter since its Viper, but it cannot do it because it seems very nimble and sharp. Suddenly the hunter is placed at the top of Apollo and flies in formation with him. After having located the words “Star” and “Buck” written under the wings of the hunter, Apollo carries out of it the reason and the hunter is escorted on the bridge of the hangar. A team of navy is on the alert, not knowing what was going to occur until Starbuck appears finally. Safe on the Galactica , Adama and Starbuck reconcile themselves (at least partially) in connection with the death of Zak.

During this time on Caprica, Helo and Boomer-with-Caprica leave the shelter until a patrol arrives. During the attack of the centurions, the pair is separate. When Helo takes again conscience, it is in the shelter and attacks is finished. He seeks Boomer hopelessly, but no sign sees any. It does not realize that it itself is observed by cylons.

Notes and comments

When it is mentioned number of survivors, this episode does not take into account the pilots killed in the accident of the bridge of the hangar of the preceding episode.
the original title of this episode is a reference to the news of the same name of Thomas Wolfe in 1940.
This episode is a homage to the episode “the Return of Starbuck” of Galactica 1980 .
Bodie Olmos, wire of Edward James Olmos (the commander Adama) appears in several episodes as Brendan “Hot Dog” Constanza, and divides a short scene with his/her father in this episode.

Invited actors

Michael Hogan: Colonel Saul Tigh
Douglas Aaron: Chief Galen the Tyrol
Tahmoh Penikett: Lieutenant Karl “Helo” Agathon
Kandyse McClure: Warrant officer Anastasia Dualla
Paul Campbell: Billy Keikeya
Alessandro Juliani : Lieutenant Felix Gaeta
Samuel Witwer: Crashdown
Donnelly Rhodos: Dr. Cottle
Alonso Oyarzun: Specialist Socinus
Bodie Olmos: Brendan “Hot Dog” Costanza

See too

Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica
List of the episodes of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (televised series)

External bonds

'' Crash on the moon '' on Battlestarwiki.org