BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BALTARS ESCAPE
- Borgduck
- Feb 12
- 4 min read
Battlestar Galactica - Baltars Escape (1979)
As the title suggests Baltar tries to escape from the prison barge with a little help from his new friends. The Borellian Nomen & the Eastern Alliance enforcers. Meanwhile, those clowns at the council want to embrace the Alliance enforcers with open arms despite the fact they've proved just as hostile & dangerous as the Cylons that the rag tag fleet have eluded (for now, at least!). Commander Adama is to be awarded the Star Of Kobos, the first in a millennia, there's always a but. In other words, he is to retire to a second rank level, but he'll still be a "living legend".
Siress Tinia is to be his "shadow" for the Council. But, of course, Baltar is planning his escape! Will history repeat itself if the Council foolishly try to be pally with the Eastern Alliance as it did with the Cylons at the beginning? Great Disco-era Science-Fiction!
We're onto a ride of an adventure with this one! Baltar manages to get his own alliance together in his bid not just for freedom but for power that he expects to recieve from the Alliance bad guys. First I want to on onto the Nomen, brilliant design! I love the elongated heads like neanderthals or Klingons as they would come to look, & that look we Trekkies are most familiar via Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979) & beyond. Of course John Colicos played the first Klingon seen on screen on Star Trek TOS & go on to play Kor in 2 other episodes of Ds9.
Lance Le Gault (of French decent?) has the imposing tallness & distinct voice to play the Nomen leader Maaga. They can "die" at will & come back to life again, they can halt their life signs? Hence, their success at their part of the escape plan in disabling the prison barge guards. The ultimate living dead with a Klingon, Ayatollah vibe? they were meant to look primitive & they instil fear on all that encounter them. I love those laser, diamond boles that they carry on them, deadly weapons once activated. Richard Hatch also played a Klingon in a fab fan production in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Alliance are your ultimate space-Nazis'. Commadant Lieter (Lloyd Bochner, I didn't recognise him with that moustache on Star Lost!) is in charge of the Alliance Enforcers complete with total arrogance to match.
They're your Human, fascist bad guys in uniforms to stereotype. Diplomacy just doesn't work with these fascists, (looking at you Council) & is their planet Terra the Earth that the Galactica & fugitive fleet have been trying so hard to reach? I love the design of the concord-like spaceship destroyers that they fly. The interior has the feel of a U Boat! I would love to see Lieters threat to Adama take place. Imagine at least a thousand of those destroyers attacking the Galactica like the wolf pack dispatches the bear?! This enemy didn't get used as often as they should have.
It's creepy that Adama, Tigh & just about the entire Universe except the Council know that something is wrong when they lose communications both with the prison barge then with the approaching shuttle to alpha landing bay. But, no, Siress threatens Colonel Tigh about getting his fresh air at the landing bay with a convenient amount of warriors.
Only Council security are allowed to greet the Enforcers at the landing bay, that same Council security that couldn't fix a turbo flush that Mr IBS here needs to use. Love how Baltar sounds like Khan from Star Trek II in calling Adama an "old friend". He's also acts weasely much to the surprise of Lieter but not Maaga judging from their expressions. Sheba & Boomer are among the hostages, & don't give in to pressure. They're the hostages & he's afraid?! & do the trio of villains hate each other? They just have to work together or what? I sense no love with this lot, no marsh mellows over a camp fire.
Baltars Cylons are a bit spare part since Baltar was forced to surrender by Patrick Macnee from the Avengers. At least we get a couple of Cylons even if you couldn't buy them from a second hand salesman. I feel sorry for Baltar, I really do, honest! His new pals get away but he doesn't. Why didn't he plan for his Cylon fighter to be leaving the bay first? & back to the Nomen, what kind of life, reception are they going to get from the fine folks at Lunar 7? Say what you want about Baltar, but at least he had a plan, he knew the ins & outs of the Galactica, & imagine handing that over as a prize?!
But, the need for spaceships! We need spaceships, it wouldn't be the same with this Space-Opera! I prefer Classic Sci-Fi, Classic Galactica, Classic Doctor Who, like Classic Rock, like..well, erm, all things "Classic".
Pictured above, is the last of the battlestars, Galctica. The others were destroyed by the Cylons during their sneak attack on the 12 colonies, apart from Pegasus, but that is one for a future blog? & How can we not admire the design of the Eastern Alliance Stazi-Class, destroyers? That swan-like design(?)
If only we could see them up against a viper but the powers that be... I can understand why that would be hard to realise, never mind.
This is arguably my favourite episode of this Science-Fiction franchise. Anne Lockhart (Sheba) is like the Mona Lisa (above) to behold, just like her mother, June. Baltar, Nomen, space-Nazis Enforcers, AND the Council lead to an action packed adventure. Enjoy with a snack or poison of your choice.
Enjoy,
Stewart aka borgduck,
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