Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (1979)

Running low on fuel, the Battlestar Galactica receives the help of the supposedly lost Battlestar Pegasus which is taking the offensive with the Cylons.

Directors:

Vince Edwards (co-director), Christian I. Nyby II (co-director)

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (screenplay), Jim Carlson (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Hatch	...	Captain Apollo (archive footage)
Dirk Benedict	...	Lieutenant Starbuck (archive footage)
Lorne Greene	...	Commander Adama (archive footage)
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Lieutenant Boomer (archive footage)
John Colicos	...	Count Baltar (archive footage)
Maren Jensen	...	Lieutenant Athena (archive footage)
Laurette Spang	...	Cassiopeia (archive footage)
Tony Swartz	...	Flight Sergeant Jolly (archive footage)
Anne Lockhart	...	Lieutenant Sheba (archive footage)
Terry Carter	...	Colonel Tigh (archive footage)
George Murdock	...	Dr. Salik (archive footage)
Jack Stauffer	...	Lieutenant Bojay (archive footage)
William Bryant	...	Fireleader (archive footage) (as Bill Bryant)
Rod Haase	...	Flight Officer Tolan (archive footage)
Lloyd Bridges	...	Commander Cain (archive footage)

Storyline

The Battlestar Galactica encounters the Battlestar Pegasus, which they thought to be destroyed. The Pegasus is commanded by one of their most celebrated warriors, Commander Cain. Cain is a strategic genius, but is bent on destroying the Cylons while Adama is happy to acquire fuel and escape, thus keeping his fleet alive to find Earth. When Cain sabotages a mission to obtain fuel, the Galactica and Pegasus are forced to attack a Cylon Base World and three Baseships. While the Galactica stays on to attack the planet, the Pegasus leaves to engage the Baseships (against orders). After the battle, the Pegasus just keeps on going into deep space and is never heard from again. The Galactica gets the fuel they need and the fleet continues its journey, looking for Earth.

---

Plot Keywords:

outer space | star wars imitation | aircraft carrier | spacecraft | edited from tv series | 

---

Taglines:

Their very existence menaced by a strange civilization.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mission Galactica - Angriff der Zylonen

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions,Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Sensurround (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack" was given a limited theatrical release in 1979, making it a sequel of sorts to the theatrical version of the series pilot. No explanation, however, is given for the appearance of John Colicos as Baltar, who was killed off in the first film.

---

Goofs

Cain sends the Pegasus through a bright starfield after Baltar's base ship. According to the dialogue, the Pegasus is traveling alone at this point. However, the exterior shots in this sequence show the battlestar being followed by at least half a dozen other ships. (These shots are actually of the Galactica leading the fleet through the Nova of Madagon, from "Saga of a Star World"). In the "Living Legend" episodes from which Mission Galactica was derived, the sequence is different and does not show this goof.

---

Quotes

[under the personal command of Count Baltar, an enormous armada of Cylon raiders attacks the Colonial fleet]
Count Baltar: [from the command seat of a Cylon raider] This time, the Galactica hasn't a chance. Concentrate our fighters on the Galactica's landing bays! Her warriors won't be able to refuel, reload or land!
[Cylon raiders converge on the Galactica's Alpha flight bay and one breaks through the bay's force field and punches into the interior wall, exploding into a raging fire]
Flight Cpl. Omega: Fire in the bay.
Cmdr. Adama: [...]

---

Alternate Versions

Constructed from two Battlestar Galactica series episodes, "The Living Legend: Part 1" and "The Living Legend: Part 2", edited together to seem like one story.

---

Connections

Edited from Battlestar Galactica: The Living Legend: Part 2 (1978)

User Reviews

And it STILL works for me...

As I said in my comment about the first part: These two movies are better than most Science Fiction Fans confess.

The scenario in the second movie is not that moving as we don't see the destruction of human civilization, but the aftermath, thousands of refugees fleeing in tiny space cans, protected by only one powerful spaceship.

But when Battlestar Pegasus appears, the story heats up, carrying the battle back to the Cylon Planets. Okay, it has a little bit of Mad Max because all they fight for is fuel for their spaceships to travel on to find the distant Earth, but it works for me. It is thrilling Science Fiction entertainment featuring fine actors and decent special effects (even though those tend to repeat themselves, to say the least :-) ).

I would have loved a continuation with Starbuck and Apollo on board. Instead, we got a second sequel with no name characters who proved that the story had worked before especially because the feature characters were so well-chosen...

So thumbs down for the productions of 1980, but thumbs up for the two movies from 1978.