REVIEW: THE GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO, PT. 2
wing...@penn.com
entitled "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part 2". I recall watching this on
ABC, and reading the novelization entitled "The Cylon Death Machine".
*********************************************
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part 2"
*********************************************
THE STORY
Synopsis
The Galactica fleet is at a dead stop in space, waiting for its commando
team on the icy asteroid Arcta to disable the powerful weapon on Mount
Hekla. Baltar is upset that the crash-landed commandos were never found and
killed. On the surface of Arcta, Apollo and his team, lead by the Arcta
clones, hide in a frozen crevasse while a Cylon foot patrol passes by. Once
the way is clear, the clones lead Apollo's party to a vast underground
network of interconnecting caves which form a village.
Apollo breaks off from his expedition to be led by a bearded male clone,
Series 5, Culture 9 (Denny Miller) to meet the "Father-Creator", Dr.
Ravashol (Dan O'Herlihy) in his laboratory. Apollo confronts the human
scientist about the use of the Pulsar as "a weapon of war". At first,
Ravashol pleads ignorance, "I have no control over the use of my creations;
no responsibility!" But Apollo presses on and reveals that Ravashol's clones
do not use the "energy lens" for benevolent purposes. Indeed Ser 5-9 insists
the clones "would be whipped if they came near" the mountain-gun. But three
Cylon centurions come calling, cutting the debate short. Apollo is able to
secret himself in a curious trap-door inside an electronic "research stack",
but Ser 5-9 is taken by Vulpa's centurions to be punished; a "worker clone"
is not permitted to visit Ravashol, only "planners" are. Once the Cylons are
gone, Apollo comes out of hiding and confronts Ravashol again, this time
revealing the clone are secreting offspring in the underground village.
Ravashol relents, showing Apollo plans to the mountain-gun and garrison and
advising him on how to effectively destroy it. Ravashol warns the clones
will be reluctant to help in destroying the very weapon which makes the
Arcta outpost such a threat; without the Cylon garrison, the clones will
want the mountain-gun as insurance. One of the convict/commandos, Thane
(James Olson), secretly attacks a clone and steals his clothes just before
being captured by the Cylons and paraded around before the villagers.
Starbuck later reports back that Wolfe was killed.
Baltar presses Lucifer to keep the Cylon fighters from his base-ship in the
environs of the Galactica. He keeps ordering the attack craft to attack and
then withdraw to give Adama the impression that the pursuit force is
actually closer to striking the Galactica fleet than the Cylons really are.
Lucifer quarrels with Baltar over this strategy, arguing it jeopardizes the
body of fighters. Baltar also radios ahead to Vulpa, ordering the Ravashol
Pulsar gun to begin a random sweep of Arcta's approach corridor to further
harass the refugee fleet. Vulpa gives up on the cerebral cortex scan of the
captured pilot, Cadet Cree (Alan Stock) and orders the prisoner locked in a
cold cell. The mountain-gun's skyward assault begins.
Ravashol accompanies Apollo to the village to meet with the clones. The
clones resist the notion of destroying the Pulsar, but their
"Father-Creator" urges them to regard the fleet of human refugees as their
"brothers". The clones agree to assist Apollo in climbing Mount Hekla.
Starbuck and Boomer set out with the female clone Tenna (Britt Eckland) to
attack the garrison. The clones lead Apollo, Croft (Roy Thinnes), Leda
(Christina Belford), and Wolfe (Richard Lynch) up the side of the mountain.
As the Pulsar fires, the noise triggers an avalanche. The falling debris
injures one of the clones, forcing Apollo to go on without them. Once up to
the garrison heights, Wolfe pulls a blaster-pistol on Apollo and declares
himself free. Croft intervenes, and in a struggle, gets the blaster. Wolfe
escapes into the blizzard. Croft, Leda and Apollo continue their ascent.
Inside the garrison, Starbuck and Tenna separate from Boomer's force. The
two break into the Cylon brig and free Cadet Cree. They then rejoin Boomer
and get into position to place explosive charges for their timed assault on
the Cylons. Apollo's team reaches the summit, entering through an air-intake
vent. Once inside, they secret themselves near the base of the gun so they
can strike on schedule.
The Galactica fleet is forced to move forward in the corridor. Baltar has
two more base-ships escorting his own into the area. The brilliant weapons
fire from the mountain-gun is zeroing in on the Galactica. Adama has Tigh
order all ships to accelerate through the corridor. On schedule, Apollo,
Leda and Croft attack the base of the gun, taking out a few Cylons there.
They plant the bombs on the gun's mechanism. If Ravashol's plan works,
detonating the base of the gun will cause a chain reaction, destroying the
entire facility. As Apollo is about to lead his team out, Vulpa appears and
kills Leda.
Starbuck, Boomer, Tenna, and Cree attack the garrison's control center. With
the Cylon forces in the dark, the team withdraws and meets Apollo for their
descent in the elevator. The force reaches the bottom and evacuate the other
clones and their children. As the Galactica is set in the sights of the
mountain-gun, the surviving Cylons at the summit prepare to fire. The entire
top of the mountain explodes. Far below, Apollo asks Ravashol what the Arcta
community will do now. The "Father-Creator" promises that they will not bow
to the Cylons again. He apparently has more defenses in mind for Arcta.
Baltar and Lucifer spar over the failure of the Pulsar plan. How will they
explain this disaster to Barkol, the Cylon Imperious Leader?
---------------------------------------------
A Second Look
The episode suffers from so many bloopers and non-seqitors it can barely be
taken seriously. The weirdest continuity goofs come from the use of Vulpa,
the golden Cylon command centurion on Arcta. Starting with the Ravashol
scene in the laboratory, Vulpa is the first golden centurion to use a deeper
voice. Later in the story, when Vulpa orders a probe of Cadet Cree's brain,
that voice reverts back to the usual one used for silver Cylon centurions.
To make matters worse, Vulpa is shown in two places at once. First, Vulpa is
in command of the Pulasar's fire control station. Then, as Apollo's team is
about to withdraw, Vulpa is shown surprising Leda. Vulpa is destroyed by
Starbuck in that scene. Later, Vulpa is back up in the fire control station.
These goofs underscore the need for Vulpa to be an Lucifer-like IL-series
Cylon, if not of some other variety.
It doesn't make any sense for the commando team to split up. It seems more
logical to board a few Cylon fighters at the garrison, launch them up to the
summit, and attack the gun from below. They may not destroy the gun by doing
so, but they could certainly disable it long enough to usher the fleet
through. (The only new footage needed would be the gun being hit by weapons
fire and some scenes with commandos in the cockpits of the Cylon fighters.)
And the whole notion of the convicts expecting to use Cylon ships to escape
sounds absurd. It would make more sense for them to seek asylum in the
village. That would seem like an equitable trade where everyone, even
Ravashol, would be happy.
The convenient way Apollo is hidden in the "research stacks" points to
Ravashol being a double-agent all along. Ravashol doesn't seem too surprised
by the notion of the clones having children, either. It is as if he had his
own secret endeavors in place all along, and Ser 5-9 knew of them. It makes
one wonder why there were no follow-up episodes or novels done on the
exploits of Ravashol and his Arcta society. They seem to be more powerful
than anyone else in the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA universe, except for the beings
of light. It looks like Ravashol had designs on the Cylons; they seemed to
have him right where he wanted them. Isn't it neat how the centurions have
to ask for permission to enter the laboratory? And the centurions do nothing
while Ravashol calls their commander on them.
Only on 1970's prime-time television would a kid (Boxey) refer to other kids
(the offspring of the clones) as "children". That poor boy needs some starch
taken out of his collar.
When Baltar's fighters begin harassing the fleet, Blue Squadron is called on
to patrol the rear. In the ever-rudundant launch sequences, we see female
pilots manning the vipers. Where were they in Part 1, when those cadets were
in trouble? :-)
It is a forgone conclusion that a Colonial centon is analogous to a minute,
give or take a few microns. Mount Hekla must be a pretty small hill if the
climb to the summit takes only 200 centons. Maybe someone took the
cable-car. Those Cylon fighters are looking mighty sensible.
Baltar orders Vulpa to begin random sweeps of the corridor leading to Arcta.
This leads to a few perplexing issues:
1: What corridor? The images of Arcta and the fleet in space look like
there's a backdrop of vast openness. Somebody forgot to insert some FX to
make the image of the corridor more convincing.
2: Every time the Pulsar fires, a brilliant spear of light shoots skyward.
Adama even has time to order evasive maneuvers to avoid the beams. This
seems to suggest the weapon operates at the speed of light, though this is
never made clear. So how much of a threat is this gun?
3: With the number of viper-squadrons the Galactica has available, how can
that one gun possibly stand a chance in the event of an advance assault? (Of
course, who's gonna volunteer to go in first?)
4: How come the spear of light keeps exploding in deep space, every time it
passes the Galactica? Shouldn't it just keep going on into the galaxy,
merrily evaporating any unsuspecting comets that get in the way?
The drama involving Ravashol seems to draw some small substance from THE
HEROES OF TELEMARK, in which captive scientists are forced to live in their
laboratory which the Nazis demand they accelerate their heavy water
experiments. It seems more than a little ironic that Richard Hatch would
appear on THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO as Inspector Dan Robbins, a character
who succeeded Inspector Steve Keller, played by Michael Douglas. In "The Gun
on Ice Planet Zero," Hatch's Apollo plays much the same role in the story as
Kirk Douglas (Michael's father) played in TELEMARK. In light of these
parallels, it should be noted that TELEMARK was no critical darling, and
"Gun... Part 2" didn't pack the dramatic punch it could have. Too much
fireworks and not enough plot and character development.
The basic plot rotates around the mission to neutralize the Pulsar so the
Galactica fleet can escape. Still, what is this story really about? Is it
about Baltar's obsession with avenging himself? Is it about Apollo
confronting Ravashol about the scientist's responsibility? Will Starbuck
begin warehousing girlfriends? There are so many sidebars going on that the
story winds up being convoluted, a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.
---------------------------------------------
Spectacle Value
The viper combat footage in this episode adds nothing to the story. It
wastes valuable time.
The mountain blowing its top was a beautiful effect, although ridiculously
derivative. The detonation scene in THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and Count Blofeld's
self-destructing volcano in the James Bond flick YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
(British/MGM-UA, 1967) had already done this more than a decade before.
**************************************************
IF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WERE NEW TODAY:
The Pulsar weapon effect could be done more effectively, as an expanding
bolt of energy instead of a straight laser beam. STAR TREK provides a few
decent examples: in the "Classic" episode "Balance of Terror", the Starship
Enterprise tries unsuccessfully to evade a Romulan weapon that resembles an
expanding ring of fire. In STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE (1979), the alien
V'Ger launches plasma-energy weapons that can engulf whole vessels. But
perhaps the best effect was the "shock wave" resulting from the explosion of
the Klingon moon Praxis (STAR TREK VI - THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, 1992) or
the forced super-nova explosions (STAR TREK - GENERATIONS, 1995).
The drama between Apollo and Ravashol would have to become the focal point.
Getting someone in Ravashol's position to take responsibility was a golden
opportunity to show both characters in a genuinely compelling controversy
with no easy answers.
Instead of just running from the Cylons all the time, doing this story
differently (setting it up so Apollo's forces could damage the gun
temporarily with a view toward taking it over intact) would allow Adama to
briefly turn the tables on Baltar. The fleet could lure the Cylon base-ships
to Arcta on the pretense the fleet was trapped there. Once Baltar advanced,
Apollo could turn the Pulsar on the Cylons. This would put the Adama in a
position of power the Cylons would have to respect, and assuring Ravashol
would maintain that respect even after the Galactica left.
The Baltar-Lucifer drama would have to be even better than this. The two
often come across as bickering fools. If the whole Cylon allegory is
supposed to remind us of the atrocities committed by the Nazis and Japanese
imperial forces during World War II (only magnified), then we should see
more realistic depictions of the war-criminal mentality. Lucifer could still
be calculating, using that buttery-smooth voice, but what these characters
would say would be much more sinister.
***************************************************
TIDBITS & NITPICKS
Again in this episode, there's another use of naval protocol: in the scene
when the Galactica bridge crew realizes the Pulsar is destroyed, Tigh
answers Adama's command with an "Aye, sir."
If Cree was being kept in a cold cell, how come he isn't suffering from
hypothermia? He isn't wearing a hat or helmet, and much of the body's heat
is lost through the head. Once Starbuck releases Cree, the cadet seems fully
ready for combat. Cree should be incapacitated.
This is the first episode where the Cylon Imperious Leader is referred to by
a name, not just a title: Barkol.
We also get to see Baltar in direct telecommunication with Cylon forces off
his base-ship (he confers with Vulpa at the Arcta garrison). The scene
leaves the impression that Baltar has clout as a Cylon leader, albeit at
Barkol's whim.
They would have to put Dirk Benedict in a Fonzie-like scene where he's
kissing three women. Why not just show him reporting for duty in red-velvet
pajamas? Strangely in contradiction to this display, Tenna is shown speaking
for her people in telling Starbuck the clones will not aid in an attack on
the pulsar.
Bridge aide Rigel (Sara Rush) is given a little extra time at the end of
this story to do something other than say "launch when ready" or recite a
count-down.
The scene where Thane suicidally encourages the centurion to tamper with a
"hand mine", thus resulting in both he and the Cylons being blown up in
front of the villagers, was an important occurrence in the original airing
of this story. This passage was omitted from the Sci Fi showing.
Disappointing since Thane's death along with the Cylons probably helped fuel
the revolt the plot seems to depend (at least a little bit) on.
Lucifer's sentiment "we are all machines, even you" seems odd for a race
that seems to disrespect humans. The Cylon enslaving of the clones, rather
than killing them, seems to mesh well with both Baltar's designs to seize
control of the Colonial fleet, as well as Barkol's use of Baltar to be a
"more charitable" dictator over the humans once they are captured. Perhaps
extermination is only seen as a wartime tool, with the desired goal being
subjugation. Apollo obviously doesn't see it that way. He believes that if
the Cylons didn't kill him, he'd be better off dead than under their rule.
J.B.L.
>differently (setting it up so Apollo's forces could damage the gun
>temporarily with a view toward taking it over intact) would allow Adama to
>briefly turn the tables on Baltar.
Why have the Cylons in it at all? I hope that if they ever renew the show, they
realize that the most annoying, childish, stupid aspect of it was the fact that
those Cylons were in every episode. Even LOST IN SPACE didn't make that sort of
mistake. Even VOYAGER realized --- after much too long, of course --- the Kazon
could and should be left behind.
"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet
sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils... Let no such man be
trusted!" --- Shakespeare
Michael Martinez
>>Instead of just running from the Cylons all the time, doing this story
>>differently (setting it up so Apollo's forces could damage the gun
>>temporarily with a view toward taking it over intact) would allow Adama to
>>briefly turn the tables on Baltar.
>
>realize that the most annoying, childish, stupid aspect of it was the fact that
>those Cylons were in every episode. Even LOST IN SPACE didn't make that sort of
>mistake. Even VOYAGER realized --- after much too long, of course --- the Kazon
>could and should be left behind.
Um, the whole premise of the series was that the rag-tag fugitive fleet was
staying just one step ahead of the Cylons.
Of course, they did switch off to the Devil and the Angels story arc (with
Patrick MacNee, who did the voice of the Imperious Leader, doubling as the
Devil).
The Ship of Lights was pretty cool, not overused (and another of those special
effects budget busters, though I'm sure it could be knocked off with CGI
pretty cheaply nowadays).
--
\\ // Science Fiction and Fantasy in...@xenite.org
\\// Andromeda: http://www.xenite.org/boards/andromeda/
//\\ Star Wars: http://www.xenite.org/movies/phantom_menace/
// \\ENITE.org....................................................
WWS
"J.B.L." wrote:
>
> >Instead of just running from the Cylons all the time, doing this story
> >differently (setting it up so Apollo's forces could damage the gun
> >temporarily with a view toward taking it over intact) would allow Adama to
> >briefly turn the tables on Baltar.
>
> Why have the Cylons in it at all? I hope that if they ever renew the show, they
> realize that the most annoying, childish, stupid aspect of it was the fact that
> those Cylons were in every episode. Even LOST IN SPACE didn't make that sort of
> mistake. Even VOYAGER realized --- after much too long, of course --- the Kazon
> could and should be left behind.
The Kazon always seemed like they should have gotten some kind
of prize for "Species you most expect to see on a Dr. Who episode".
--
__________________________________________________WWS_____________
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur."
J.B.L.
>staying just one step ahead of the Cylons.
Yes, and it was a horrid premise, ruining what could have been a great idea.
When I saw the pilot, I thought to myself: "Now that all the Cylon stuff is out
of the way, this could prove to be a pretty interesting series, dealing with
the people of the rag-tag fugitive fleet, their stories, the workings of this
space-bound culture, etc. I mean, surely there are enough stories in _that_ to
make Cylons unnecessary."
My whole problem, evidently, is this strange insistence on characters and
characterization.
Klyfix
(J.B.L.) writes:
>
>>Um, the whole premise of the series was that the rag-tag fugitive fleet was
>>staying just one step ahead of the Cylons.
>
>Yes, and it was a horrid premise, ruining what could have been a great idea.
>When I saw the pilot, I thought to myself: "Now that all the Cylon stuff is
>out
>of the way, this could prove to be a pretty interesting series, dealing with
>the people of the rag-tag fugitive fleet, their stories, the workings of this
>space-bound culture, etc. I mean, surely there are enough stories in _that_
>to
>make Cylons unnecessary."
>My whole problem, evidently, is this strange insistence on characters and
>characterization.
>
Hmm, could that have been successful, actually? I'd think the masses
wanted an action adventure. Heck, one lady friend of mine disliked
DS9 in part because there were so many stories that were just interactions
between the characters on the station; I think BG would have needed
really good writing to pull that off.
-----------------------------
V. S. Greene : kly...@aol.com : Boston, near Arkham...
Eckzylon: http://members.aol.com/klyfix/eckzylon.html
RPG and SF, predictions, philosophy, and other things.
starkers
>When I saw the pilot, I thought to myself: "Now that all the
Cylon stuff is out
>of the way, this could prove to be a pretty interesting series,
Pardon my naivite but if they'd escaped the Cylons why keep
running?? They could have settled on any number of planets, they
found several that were more than habitable. The whole impetus
for the series was that they were being hounded by the cylons.
This is what drove them on and gave the show its direction. Take
the Cylons away and you're left with an inferior Space 1999.
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Michael Martinez
>>Um, the whole premise of the series was that the rag-tag fugitive fleet was
>>staying just one step ahead of the Cylons.
>
>Yes, and it was a horrid premise, ruining what could have been a great idea.
Just out of curiosity, what do you feel could have been the great idea?
>When I saw the pilot, I thought to myself: "Now that all the Cylon stuff is out
>of the way, this could prove to be a pretty interesting series, dealing with
>the people of the rag-tag fugitive fleet, their stories, the workings of this
>space-bound culture, etc. I mean, surely there are enough stories in _that_ to
>make Cylons unnecessary."
>My whole problem, evidently, is this strange insistence on characters and
>characterization.
Well, they had both. It's funny how one of the highest rated shows of that
season could dupe so many millions of people into thinking it was worth
watching week after week.
Were the Cylons unnecessary? Maybe, maybe not. Why keep the fleet in space,
using up dwindling resources, if there's no immediate peril of destruction?
The Endless Pursuit is a fairly old theme, going all the way back to ancient
mythologies.
Invid Fan
<yourtrainingm...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> >
> >When I saw the pilot, I thought to myself: "Now that all the
> Cylon stuff is out
> >of the way, this could prove to be a pretty interesting series,
>
> Pardon my naivite but if they'd escaped the Cylons why keep
> running?? They could have settled on any number of planets, they
> found several that were more than habitable. The whole impetus
> for the series was that they were being hounded by the cylons.
> This is what drove them on and gave the show its direction. Take
> the Cylons away and you're left with an inferior Space 1999.
>
However, the Cylons didn't have to show up EVERY week. Gets boring. A
similar thing happened to Blakes 7, where it seemed that Servalan was
behind every plot in every episode. Gosh it was such a shock! :)
--
Chris Mack "Opinions are *not* like assholes. They are more
'Invid Fan' like nipples really. Some people like theirs
stroked, others like them rubbed, still others
peirced and the most unique among us have three or
In...@localnet.com four." -Cronan Thompson Dec.10,1979- Nov.1,1999
Michael Martinez
>In article <1d106d65...@usw-ex0102-014.remarq.com>, starkers
><yourtrainingm...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Pardon my naivite but if they'd escaped the Cylons why keep
>> running?? They could have settled on any number of planets, they
>> found several that were more than habitable. The whole impetus
>> for the series was that they were being hounded by the cylons.
>> This is what drove them on and gave the show its direction. Take
>> the Cylons away and you're left with an inferior Space 1999.
>>
>However, the Cylons didn't have to show up EVERY week. Gets boring. A
>similar thing happened to Blakes 7, where it seemed that Servalan was
>behind every plot in every episode. Gosh it was such a shock! :)
The Cylons DIDN'T show up every week, and they DID invest some time in
shipboard episodes, such as when they found Starbuck's father (played by Fred
Astaire), the episode "Baltar's Escape", and when they ran into Count Iblis
(the devil, played by Patrick MacNee, who also did the voice of the Imperious
Leader), and the episode where they had a mutiny on one of the ships. Then
the Cylons also played a small part in a few other episodes, such as when they
had the Galactica damaged in a fire fight so that the landing bay caught fire,
etc.
Francis Martinstein
article <20000312155512...@ng-cd1.aol.com>:
> My whole problem, evidently, is this strange insistence on characters and
> characterization.
Yeah, what's up with that, anyway?
; )
Francis M'stein (Replace 'Netherlands' with 'nl' to email)
- - - - - - - -
"Everybody is always singing
'War what is it good for?'
While planning the next one...
I don't need to win
You don't have to lose
We can choose
Happiness is an option..."
From The Pet Shop Boys 'Nightlife' album
Francis Martinstein
wrote in article <120320002044336322%in...@localnet.com>:
> However, the Cylons didn't have to show up EVERY week. Gets boring. A
> similar thing happened to Blakes 7, where it seemed that Servalan was
> behind every plot in every episode. Gosh it was such a shock! :)
Really? I don't remember the number of Servalan (or other
'Evil Federation') driven eps on B7 being that large. Could just be my
memory playing tricks on me, I suppose...