Pegasus (Battlestar Galactica)

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“Pegasus”

Battlestar Galactica episode

Episode no.

Season 2
Episode 10

Written by

Anne Cofell Saunders

Directed by

Michael Rymer

Guest stars

Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain
P.J. Prinsloo as Lieutenant Mei Firelli
Graham Beckel as Colonel Jack Fisk
John Pyper-Ferguson as Captain Cole 'Stinger' Taylor
Fulvio Cecere as Lieutenant Thorne

Production no.

210

Original airdate

September 23, 2005

Episode chronology
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"Flight of the Phoenix"	"Resurrection Ship, Part 1"

Episode chronology

"Pegasus" is an episode of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series.

[edit] Plot

Survivor Count: 49,605

A large unknown ship appears on DRADIS. After a tense moment, Colonial recognition codes are exchanged and the fleet is stunned and overjoyed to learn that the Battlestar Pegasus also survived the Cylon attack on the Colonies. The Pegasus, far larger and more modern than the Galactica, is commanded by a young and ambitious rear admiral, Admiral Helena Cain. However, exuberance turns to concern as she pulls rank on Commander Adama and quickly takes charge of the fleet, even after promising not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Battlestar Galactica. Her first order of business is to reintegrate fleet personnel, transferring Capt. Apollo and Lt. Starbuck to the Pegasus Viper squadron.

Cain tells Adama of a large unidentified Cylon ship guarded by Cylon Basestars which she intends to attack. The Pegasus CAG plans a stock standard recon mission against the unknown Cylon ship. Apollo and Starbuck don't like the plan one bit and secretly form one of their own. Starbuck conducts an unauthorized recon mission in the Blackbird stealth ship to photograph the mystery Cylon ship.

Meanwhile, Col. Tigh strikes up an alcohol fueled friendship with the Executive Officer of the Pegasus, Colonel Jack Fisk, and so begins to learn of Cain's past ruthlessness. Fisk claims that Cain shot her own executive officer (his predecessor) in cold blood when the first XO refused an order to attack a strong Cylon force. Fisk quickly attempts to cover the statement as a joke, but Tigh is stunned and later relays the information to Adama. Dr. Baltar visits a Cylon prisoner aboard Pegasus. She is named Gina, and is another duplicate of Number Six. He is disgusted to find that she has been raped, tortured and degraded by the Pegasus interrogators and crew.

Cain orders the same treatment for Sharon on Galactica but she is rescued at the last moment by Chief Tyrol and Helo, who accidentally kill the Pegasus's interrogating officer (Lt. Thorne) in the process. They are arrested and brought to Pegasus under marine escort, where Cain sentences them to death without giving them the jury court martial that Adama believes they are entitled to, and without allowing anyone from Galactica to witness. From Cain's perspective, she is acting well within regulations as a flag officer on detached service during a time of war.

Adama is dismayed by Cain's actions. He refuses to accept this outcome but Cain is unyielding. He launches a Viper squadron and a Raptor filled with Marines in order to recover Tyrol and Helo from the Pegasus brig. Admiral Cain launches her own Vipers to counterattack. Both Battlestars stand at Condition One against each other.

[edit] Notes

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This episode echoes events in the original series episode "The Living Legend", Parts 1 & 2 where the fleet encounters the Battlestar Pegasus and the charismatic Commander Cain (originally a male character, played by Lloyd Bridges).
This episode was nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
This episode ran long: a normal episode has 4 acts worth of material, while on occasion the SciFi Channel has aired 90 minute specials, which consist of 6 Acts (as was the case with the Battlestar Galactica season 2 finale). However, "Pegasus" had 5 acts worth of material, and the production team felt that they couldn't round it out to 6 acts, to justify a 90 minute special, without resorting to just adding filler material not really relevant to the main plot. As a result, 15-20 minute of material was cut from the episode. The longer cut (59 minutes) was included on the Season 2.5 Region 1 DVD release, whilst the standard cut (44 minutes) was included on the Season 2.0 set. The Region 2 and Region 4 releases, which consists of the entire second season, have only the 59-minute version. The extra scenes include:
- A conversation between Cain and Adama which reveals technical information on the Pegasus, including the fact that it is a Mercury-class Battlestar and is approximately twice the size of the Galactica with only half the crew, due to greater automation technology. The conversation between Adama, Cain and Roslin is extended to reveal how Pegasus evaded the Cylon computer virus.
- A discussion between Adama and Roslin which details Cain's biography, namely that she is very young for her rank and achieved it through a combination of skill and good connections. This scene also includes some shots of the Galactica crew's excitement over finding Pegasus.
- Additional material featuring the Pegasus deck chief, including the fact that he is being transferred to Galactica to replace Tyrol.
- Extended scenes with Cain talking to Baltar, including a scene where Cain 'inspects' the captive Boomer.
- Minor extensions to the scene where Tigh and Fisk get drunk for the first time.
- A pre-credits sequence in which Starbuck outlines a plan to return to Caprica and rescue the resistance fighters last seen in the episode "The Farm", which is rejected by Adama and Roslin. This sequence, although cut from the original episode, was used in flashbacks and 'story so far' sequences in later episodes.
- A sequence in which additional spare parts and the Pegasus technical and entertainment database are transferred to Galactica.
- An alternate version of the scene where Thorne attacks Sharon. In this alternate version, Thorne actually succeeds in raping Sharon, while in the aired version Helo and Tyrol intervened before he was able to rape her.