This kicked off a run of fascist episodes. It's got a very good situation - the Galactica discover a ship with a family on board, and everyone is torn whether to wake them up or let them be. But the dramatic deck is stacked by giving the "let them go" case to Apollo and the "open them up" case to the grumpy Council of the Twelve, who seem to be idiots. How dare they suggest democracy! It's got a stand off between the military and the civilian security... of course the military are really in the right.
If Starbuck had pushed the case of opening them up - or Tight, Athena, Adama - it would've been a much better episode.
Anyway then they get off the battlestar and wind up on a deserted planet. Part two involves some wacky androids (Ray Bolger and Bobby Van) and Nazi surrogates (humans) and relationship complexity with Mark Harmon's sister propositioning Apollo despite being partnered with Randolph Mantooth (who probably auditioned for the role of Apollo).
The Nazi equivalents are bad villains. Lazy. I missed Cylons. The Borellian Nomen in the previous episode were good characters - couldn't they think of something better?
Athena is teaching school now. Poor Athena. At least she has some dialogue. I liked seeing a school. I liked Cassiopeia going on the trip.
A note - I really love the characters of the scientist and the doctor, two grumpy old men. They felt real and sold to verisimilitude of the situation.
These episodes were written by Glenn Larson and feel like it was written in one sitting without planning it out. "We'll find a ship... with a family... only the man and woman aren't together... Council of Twelve... they're fleeing Nazis... they arrive on a planet... the planet is deserted... the woman wants Apollo... the Nazis arrive... Starbuck almost dies... there's these random homesteaders... Mark Harmon's sister wants to be with Mantooth..."
It's not without interest it's just messy.
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