Episode Report Card Strega: C+ | 16 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Maybe If Robert Culp Had Narrated...
By Strega | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 2005.01.28
The nuggets are in the locker room, packing up their gear. Wow, Starbuck tossed them out, changed clothes, argued with Apollo, confessed to Adama, and then changed back into her flight suit, and they still aren't done packing up? Sheesh. The nuggets quickly stand at attention. Starbuck clears her throat and announces that they've all been returned to flight status. She tells Kat, Chuckles (the guy with the hat), and Hotdog that they'll be the first up, and says, "Pre-flight briefing in twenty minutes." Starbuck leaves, and Kat starts jumping up and down as everyone participates in a general "woohoo!"
And then they're flying. Hotdog zips up and plays laser-tag with Starbuck's ship, scoring a direct hit. Starbuck says that's swell, except he left his leader (Chuckles) behind. Kat's ship slips down behind Hotdog to demonstrate that he's toast. Starbuck asks what the moral is, and Hotdog dutifully says, "Never leave your leader."
CIC. Tigh listens to Starbuck putting the nuggets through their paces and marvels, "She actually sounds like a real instructor for a change." He looks at Adama, whose whole being conveys "Humph." Poor Tigh. You just know that he's like, "I finally said something nice about this girl he's always defending, and suddenly he hates her." Apollo looks at his father. Over the wireless, Starbuck says, "Holy frack, we've got incoming." Everyone hops to their posts and Gaeta spots the Cylons approaching. Apollo calls for Dualla to launch fighters.
Starbuck tells the nuggets to head home. The Cylon ships are in hot pursuit.
Adama asks where the Cylon base ship is. Gaeta says there are just eight raiders; nothing else.
Starbuck asks where the alert fighters are. Well, they're launching, is where they are. Voom. One pilot says they'll be there in two minutes. Starbuck tells her trainees to "stay together, and keep your throttles firewalled until you hit that deck. Now go." As the nuggets race to the Galactica, Starbuck brings her Viper to a stop, does a 3D three-point turn, and zips back toward the Cylons. It is very cool indeed.
Tigh announces, "Starbuck's gonna take on all eight. And get herself killed." Adama, Apollo, and Tigh all stare at the radar. Or "dradis," if you like, but come on.
Hotdog suddenly swings his ship around and heads back.
The Cylons open fire on Starbuck, who lifts up out of the line of fire and then aims down at the approaching Cylons. Hotdog zips past her, without doing the thing where you try to avoid getting hit. He opens fire, and a Cylon explodes as Starbuck asks what he's doing. As they both fire, Hotdog explains, "You said never to leave your leader." We know; that was five minutes ago. Starbuck snaps, "And I also said never disobey an order." A raider swings in behind Hotdog and fires, hitting the side of his ship. Starbuck says she'll take care of him, and orders him to break right.