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Battlestar Galactica
"Greetings from Earth" (Part 1)
(0:00-49:36 in the episode)
TV episode
Written by Glen A. Larson
Directed by Rod Holcomb |
The fleet encounters a
spacecraft with 6 human fugitives fleeing a war on their home
planet…a world called Terra.
Read the complete story summary at the Battlestar wiki site
Didja Know?
Actress Kelly Harmon, who plays Sarah, is the sister of actor
Mark Harmon.
The medical technician who examines Reese after he's shot by
Michael is actor Donald Mantooth, brother of Randolph Mantooth,
who portrays Michael here. Donald's role here may be something
of an homage to brother Randolph's best known role
as paramedic John Gage on the 1972-1978 TV series Emergency!
Didja Notice?
Starbuck's scan of the Lunar Avion (Michael and
Sarah's ship; we learn the name in
"Greetings from Earth"
Part 2) from his Viper gives
the following information:

Aboard the Galactica, there is a lot of debate and
conjecture about how there could possibly be any life-form
readings in the ship they've brought aboard, yet they never
mention the possibility that the occupants may simply be
travelling in suspended animation (which they are). It seems hard
to believe that a civilization as advanced as the Colonials
would not think of that,
especially considering the ship has only sublight speed
capability, making it almost mandatory that passengers be in
suspended animation for any voyage outside their own solar
system. (In the novelization, they do presume the
passengers are in suspension aboard the ship.)
At 13:57 on the DVD, we see one
of the consoles which maintain
the suspended animation tubes of
the Lunar Avion. This
console is a mock-up of the
control console used in Skylab
experiment M131 for testing
human vestibular function (sense
of balance and spatial
orientation) in space; notice
the almost
exactness between the two panels
in the two photos below. (Skylab
was an American space station
which orbited Earth from
1973-1979.) |
 |
 |
Aboard the
Lunar Avion |
Skylab
experiment M131 |
During the argument in the Officer's Club about whether the
fleet has the right to stop the suspected Earth ship and
question the passengers, Starbuck argues they need to obtain all
the information they can about potential Earth people, saying
that's why they haven't stayed at one of the planets they've
passed that supported life. Apollo counters that's not why they
didn't stay, it was because they were never strong enough,
always being a hunted people. But Starbuck counters again that
they haven't been hunted for some time, implying they have not
encountered the Cylons for a long period. Does this mean though,
that they have discovered some habitable worlds in that time
and, if so, were these worlds populated with humans like some of
the worlds closer to the Colonies they've encountered in
their journey?
At 20:09 on the DVD, the picture of the Galactica which
has been seen on the back wall of Adama's quarters since
"War of the Gods" Part 1
is now gone.
When Dr. Wilker finds references to a planet called Terra on
Lunar Avion, Commander Adama excitedly states that "Terra", in
Gemonese, means "Earth". In our world, Terra is the Latin name
for Earth.
The prominent Quorum member in this episode is called Sire
Geller. I wonder if his name was an in-joke to the earlier
character of Sire Uri? In other words, were both names borrowed by Glen A. Larson
from the infamous self-proclaimed psychic, Uri Geller.
During the second classroom sequence, Boxey uses the expletive "frack"
without any particular reaction from Athena, so it would seem
that the word does not have the same profane meaning it does in
the reimagined BSG series of the 2000s.
The Lunar Avion
appears to have been slightly
modified and reused as the exterior of Emperor
Thorval's escape ship in the
final chapter of The Secret
Empire segments on the
concurrently running TV series
Cliffhangers! The Lunar Avion may
have also have been modified to
become Ranger 3, Buck
Rogers' NASA shuttle in the TV
series Buck Rogers in the
25th Century which, like
Battlestar Galactica,
was a Glen A. Larson
production. |
 |
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Thorval's
escape ship from
The Secret Empire on
Cliffhangers! |
Lunar Avion |
At 25:25 on the DVD, Boomer calls Reese a "galmonging snitrat."
The expletive "galmonging" has been used previously in the
series, but this is the first appearance "snitrat".
Starbuck refers to Reese as "blackshirt", presumably a
derogatory term for the Council's security personnel, of which
Reese is a prominent officer.
When the Terrans wake up, it's convenient they just happen to speak
the same language as the Colonials.
At 30:52, we see what must the
badge of a Colonial medtech. |
 |
Notes from the Deleted Scenes on the DVD
There is a deleted scene which seems to depict a near encounter
by the fleet with an Eastern Alliance destroyer.
 |
Notes from the novelization of
"Greetings from Earth" by Glen A. Larson and Ron
Goulart
(The page numbers come from the 1st
printing, paperback edition, published June 1983)
Pages 1-82 cover the events of "Greetings
from Earth" Part 1. |
For some reason, author Goulart has Apollo and Starbuck
constantly referring to each as "good buddy" and "old chum" and
the like. Although the two are occasionally known to use such
terms with each other, it's way overdone here.
Author Ron Goulart seems to prefer using many Earth terms over
the traditional Colonial ones in this novel. He uses Earth names
for Colonial people in many cases and terms such as "hell", "dog", and
"Holy
Crow". Perhaps because the book is about the possible discovery
of Earth by the fleet, he wanted to lean the reader into
thinking so by slipping in Earth words and phrases.
On page 2, Starbuck comments that the fleet hasn't run into any
Cylons in a long time. At the beginning of
"The Man With Nine Lives",
Commander Adama implies it has been 3 months since they've
encountered the Cylons, so quite a stretch of time, considering.
However, page 33 implies it has only been weeks when Starbuck
remarks, "We haven't seen a Cylon in sectons." (A secton is
approximately 1 week).
On page 2, Starbuck relights the cigar that went out while he
was in
sleep period on extended patrol in his Viper. But on page 5, the
narrative states he sets his unlit cigar down on the
panel in front of him.
On page 5, the Lunar Avion is described as a silvery
ship instead of the orange-painted one seen in the episode.
Also on page 5, Starbuck mentions some paranurses he and Apollo
once met. Probably, paranurses are akin to paramedics in Earth
terminology.
On page 6, after scanning the
Lunar Avion for weaponry, Starbuck comments that he doesn't detect
the presence of either Corrilax or Lazon for power. Apollo
remarks they must be using some other form of explosive
material. This is the first mention of these two types of power
sources for weapons.
Also on page 6, Apollo refers to suspended animation as "deepsleep".
On page 7, Starbuck announces he's going to drop a parasite
control box onto the Lunar Avion before they tow her in
to the Galactica. Presumably a "parasite
control box" is some type of decontamination device for use
on the hull of a ship.
On page 11, Jolly is on a date with a nurse named Zixi.
Possibly, the name "Zixi" was derived by the author from the
1905 children's book Queen Zixi of Ix (an offshoot of
the Oz series) by L. Frank Baum.
Also on page 11, Jolly uses the phrase, "A meech by any other
name would smell as sweet." Jolly explains to Zixi that a meech
is a pleasant-smelling flower that grows on many worlds he's
visited. This is a play on the line from William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, "A rose by any other name would smell as
sweet." The meaning of the quote from the play is that the name
of something is not what matters, but, rather, what that something is.
Possibly author Goulart used the vaguely unpleasant-sounding "meech"
as a way of accenting the meaning of the phrase.
On page 12, Zixi says she sometimes wishes she had a name like
Anne Marie or Dolly! Those aren't particularly Colonial-sounding
names!
Also on page 12, Jolly mentions that he met Zixi at the airpong
table the other night. Possibly, airpong is one of the games
seen in the
Rejuvenation Center in "Fire in
Space".
On page 15, Starbuck makes a remark about taking a stray dog in.
Shouldn't he say "daggit"?
Maybe Jolly has a hair fetish. On page 16 he tries to tell
Starbuck about the auburn-haired Zixi, calling her "an
absolutely striking young woman with hair the color of--" before
Starbuck cuts him off. And the title of the Jolly-centered story
of Marvel Comics' Battlestar Galactica #22 is
"Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair",
where he was falling for Medea.
On page 18, Starbuck exclaims, "Holy H. Crow." This is an Earth
colloquialism, though more commonly stated simply "holy crow".
Page 25 reveals that the class Athena is teaching Boxey and the
other kids is Applied Science.
Pages 26 and 27 reveal that two of Boxey's classmates are Loma
and Wally.
On page 28, Boxey remarks that he heard his father refer to Dr.
Wilker as "an arrogant nitwit". Dr. Wilker does seem to have a somewhat callous attitude in this story, but he's normally been
very helpful to Apollo in the past. In particular, wouldn't you
say Apollo owes him for building Muffit for Boxey (not to
mention repairing the seriously damaged mechanical daggit at
least twice in "The Last
Hiding Place" and
"Fire in Space")?
Also on page 28, when Boxey comments that Starbuck called Dr.
Wilker a cold fish, Athena cautions him, "You mustn't pay
attention to most of what Lieutenant Starbuck says."
On page 30, Athena and Apollo argue in the corridor about his nasty
remarks regarding Dr. Wilker in front of Boxey rather than about
the possibility of the newly-discovered ship's passengers being
dangerous or deadly as they do in the episode.
During the altercation with Reese in the Officers' Club, it is
Apollo who restrains Starbuck from going after the security
officer; it was vice versa in the televised episode.
On pages 40 and 42, Adama seems to have a secretary (or guard)
outside his quarters who is greeting and announcing visitors who
wish to see him.
In the earlier parts of the book, Dr. Wilker and even Michael
refer the origin world of the new human visitors as Earth rather
than Terra. And Michael and Sarah repeat to each other that they
are heading for Lunar Seven. But when Apollo and the others are
helping the ship escape the fleet, suddenly they are using Terra
for Earth and saying that the group is fleeing from
Lunar Seven, as it is in the televised episode.
On page 67, Zixi says to Jolly, "A frenkel for your thoughts." "Frenkel"
has not previously been used in BSG, but is presumably a small
unit of currency used or known of by the Colonies, as the phrase
is an obvious borrowing of our Earth phrase "A penny for your
thoughts."
On page 70, Starbuck uses the phrase "Nell's bells." This may be
a takeoff on our own Earth phrase "Hell's bells."
Page 71 refers to the blankets covering the portable
decompression chambers used by the medical team as plyocloths.
Page 78 reveals that Terra and its colonies are apparently
unaware of any other intelligent life in the galaxy.
On page 80, Starbuck uses the phrase "when the flapdoodle hits
the fan." "Flapdoodle" is an actual word meaning
"nonsense". Of course, the phrase normally used on
Earth is "when the shit hits the fan."