Greetings from Earth

"Greetings from Earth"
Battlestar Galactica (1978) episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 19/20
Directed by	Ahmet Lateef
Written by	Glen A. Larson
Original air date	February 25, 1979
Episode chronology
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List of Episodes

"Greetings from Earth" is an episode of the original Battlestar Galactica television series. Other than the pilot episode, it is the only episode of the original series' run to have been aired as an extended-length special episode, at two hours long.^{[citation needed]}

Plot synopsis

Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck aboard their Colonial Viper fighters intercept a primitive spacecraft which fails to respond to communication. They take it in tow and bring it back to one of the Galactica's hangar decks.

Once there, the Colonials discover the ship contains six humans - two adults and four children - who are lying in transparent tubes in a state of suspended animation. Speculation arises that these humans may be from Earth. Despite the objections of Commander Adama, the Council of Twelve demands that Dr. Wilker and Dr. Salik bring the travelers out of their sleep-like state.

When the travelers awaken, they have difficulty breathing, and it becomes clear they cannot survive in the Galactica's atmosphere. While the Fleet begins to demand information from the travelers, Adama chooses a different course and the six escape.

Apollo, Starbuck and Cassiopeia escort the humans back to their original destination, the planet Paradeen. Arriving at Paradeen, the Colonials are introduced to the family's android caretakers, Hector and Vector. The Colonials discover that the travelers are from the planet Terra, part of which is enslaved by the Eastern Alliance, a totalitarian, expansionist empire responsible for destroying the majority of the population on Paradeen.

Unknown to the group, an Eastern Alliance spacecraft is in pursuit of the travelers Apollo and the others have befriended.

Cast

• Lorne Greene as Commander Adama
• Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo
• Dirk Benedict as Lieutenant Starbuck
• Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh
• John Colicos as Count Baltar
• Herbert Jefferson, Jr. as Lieutenant Boomer
• Maren Jensen as Lieutenant Athena
• Anne Lockhart as Lieutenant Sheba
• Laurette Spang as Cassiopeia
• Tony Swartz as Sergeant Jolly
• John Dullaghan as Dr. Wilker
• George Murdock as Dr. Salik

Guests

• Randolph Mantooth as Michael
• Kelly Harmon as Sarah
• Murray Matheson as Geller
• Bobby Van as Hector
• Ray Bolger as Vector
• Lester Fletcher as Donner
• Gillian Greene as Melanie
• David. G. Larson as Baby Walker
• G. Eric Larson as Todd
• Michelle Carol Larson as Charity
• Alex Rodine as Lanceman
• Gary Vinson as Doyle
• Lesley Woods as Aggie Moreland
• Kimberly Woodward as Loma
• Lloyd Bochner as Commandant Leiter

Production

• Part of the episode was filmed in Montreal, Quebec at the site of Expo 67. The futuristic but by then dilapidated structures provided the backdrop for a devastated Paradeen.

PIctures from original broadcast on Expo 67 site : [1]

Re-broadcasting

• Originally Greetings From Earth was aired as a two hour special on ABC on February 25, 1979. In later broadcasts, and in syndication, it was broken out into two parts.

Notes

The model for Michael's ship was later repainted and reused as Ranger 3 for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

External links

• Greetings from Earth at the Battlestar Wiki