Pegasus (Battlestar Galactica)
Encyclopedia
"Pegasus" is the tenth episode of the second season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
television series. It aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel
on September 23, 2005. Following "Pegasus", the series went on hiatus
until January 2006.
In the episode, the human fleet encounters the Battlestar Pegasus
, commanded by Admiral Helena Cain
. She assumes command of the fleet. Gaius Baltar
discovers that Pegasus crew members have been raping and torturing a Cylon prisoner. Cain sentences Helo
and Chief Galen Tyrol
to death after they accidentally kill a Pegasus officer who was preparing to rape Sharon. In response, Commander William Adama
orders Vipers to escort Marines to Pegasus. Cain orders her own Vipers to intercept as the episode ends.
"Pegasus" was nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. It received favorable critical review.
s DRADIS. After a tense moment, the ship is identified as the Battlestar Pegasus
, a Colonial
vessel previously believed destroyed in the Cylon attack on the Colonies. Cain boards Galactica with an armed escort and welcomes the crew "back to the Colonial Fleet." Cain relates to Adama and President Laura Roslin
how she ordered a risky maneuver to escape the initial Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies
. Adama recognizes Cain as his superior, but Cain promises not to interfere with Galacticas internal affairs.
Cain declines to resupply the fleet's civilian ships and integrates the battlestars' crews, transferring Apollo
and Starbuck
to Pegasus over Commander Adama's objections. Cain's executive officer
, Colonel Jack Fisk
, tells Colonel Saul Tigh
how Cain shot his predecessor for refusing an order. Fisk claims his story is a joke, but Tigh believes it is true and relates the story to Adama. Adama reiterates his willingness to follow Cain, to both Roslin and Tigh, and insists that Apollo and Starbuck obey their transfer orders.
Baltar visits Gina, a Number Six
copy held prisoner aboard Pegasus. He and Head Six are horrified to discover that the Pegasus crew has systematically tortured and raped Gina. Baltar attempts to establish a rapport with Gina by providing food and confessing to his involvement with another Six copy on Caprica.
Helo and Tyrol rescue Sharon from imminent rape by a Pegasus interrogator but accidentally kill the interrogator in the process. Cain denies Adama's request that Helo and Tyrol be given a jury court-martial
and sentences them both to death for murder and treason. Adama demands that Cain return them to Galactica and orders Vipers
to escort a Marine assault team to Pegasus. Cain refuses and sends the Pegasus Vipers to intercept Galacticas.
's cut of "Pegasus" was about 20 minutes too long for broadcast in an hour-long time slot. Executive producers David Eick
and Ronald D. Moore
advocated for "Pegasus" to be shown as a 90-minute special episode. The Sci Fi Network
refused, so Eick and Moore cut it down to about 44 minutes. However, a 59-minute "extended version" of "Pegasus" is included with the Region 1
DVD release of the second half of the second season, styled "Season 2.5".
Notable plot differences with the broadcast version are listed below, in the order in which they appear in the episode.
Several shots without dialogue are inserted or lengthened, as well.
from the television series Firefly
.
John Ip considers the depiction of torture
in "Pegasus". He contrasts the Galactica crew's relatively generous treatment of Sharon with the Pegasus crew's treatment of Gina and Starbuck's treatment of Leoben Conoy
in the first-season episode "Flesh and Bone
". Noting that Sharon has provided the humans with useful intelligence, where Gina and Leoben have not, Ip characterizes "Pegasus" as "an allegorical critique of the [George W.] Bush Administration
’s treatment
of terrorist detainees
." Ip also sees parallels between the way the Pegasus crew talks about the captive Cylons as subhuman and Bush administration rhetoric surrounding such detainees. Roz Kaveney considers the humans' simultaneous insistence on the inhumanity of the Cylons and use of torture and rape against them "paradoxical". Overall, Ip contrasts what he considers a "skeptical" portrayal of the effectiveness of torture as an interrogation method in "Pegasus" with what he views as a more sympathetic treatment in the television series 24
. Tung Yin also invokes 24, calling the Pegasus interrogator a more realistic "professional torturer" than Jack Bauer
, the 24 protagonist
.
Clifton notes that the Pegasus crew who celebrate raping Gina and look forward to raping Sharon are all men, and the female Galactica crew react negatively. He questions whether Cally
is truly concerned about Sharon, recalling Cally's sexual assault in the first-season episode "Bastille Day
". Clifton further suggests a homoerotic element to the men's enthusiasm and compares the situation to a frat party
.
Amanda Keith of Los Angeles Newspaper Group
's Film Cannon considers Cain's verdict against Helo and Tyrol. Keith notes Cain is in the right legally: Helo and Tyrol broke their oaths as members of the Colonial Fleet. However, Keith argues that Cain has a moral responsibility to spare them to preserve what human life still remains. Clifton argues that Cain's decision is correct and that the audience's prejudices in favor of the two men do not apply to her character because she does not know them.
Davis compares Adama's defiance of Cain to Apollo's mutiny
in "Kobol's Last Gleaming".
Eick notes a practice of actor Edward James Olmos
(Adama) going back to his role in Miami Vice
: his character avoids eye contact with other characters he doesn't respect. Eick says the amount Adama looks at Cain in "Pegasus" indicates that he respects her.
According to Clifton, the ways in which Apollo and Starbuck protest their transfer orders reflect their characters: Apollo points out the detrimental effects of shuffling personnel ahead of an operation, and Starbuck insults Cain and the Pegasus CAG.
commentary on the episode, Moore said he had been thinking about the episode "literally since I agreed to do the project." However, he waited until the middle of the second season so the series would be further developed when Pegasus and Cain appear. In particular, he wanted the audience to have built some loyalty for the Galactica characters to complicate their reaction to Cain's (correct, in Moore's view) assessment that Galactica runs problematically. Moore abandoned several elements of the original-series episode involving Cain, "The Living Legend
"; the main similarities in his view are Cain appearing suddenly in the Pegasus and being "more of a hardass character than Commander Adama." Moore considers the key differences to be Cain's gender and her authority over Adama.
"Pegasus" was the first episode of Battlestar Galactica written by Anne Cofell Saunders
, whom Eick and Moore hired based on her work writing an episode for the fourth season of 24
.
Several actresses were considered for the role of Cain. Moore had worked with Forbes previously when she played Ro Laren
on Star Trek: The Next Generation
. Other members of the production team knew her from her work in film. Moore was excited by what he described as the "challenge" of writing Cain as a younger character and was ultimately very pleased by the choice to cast Forbes. According to Eick, Forbes was reluctant at first to accept the part because she felt her role as Ro had resulted in her being typecast
as a science fiction actress.
Eick and Moore advocated for Sharon's rape as shown in the extended version to be included in the broadcast version. According to Eick and Moore, the Sci Fi Network did not permit it, citing substantial differences between the script and what was filmed and the belief that the material would be too controversial for television.
Gina's name is not mentioned within the episode. The name is a reference to fans of the original series who called the re-imagined series GINO for "Galactica in Name Only".
Cain's practice of forcing her staff to stand at meetings was inspired by a similar practice of John Bolton Moore read about in a newspaper.
The Pegasus set is distinct from the Galactica set, but it was built on the same soundstage. Financial and physical constraints meant they had to reuse pieces; all the scenes in the episode in corridors on Pegasus were filmed in the same corridor lit differently and shot at different angles to suggest different parts of the ship. Moore compares the difference between Galactica and Pegasus to the difference between a historical aircraft carrier like the USS Hornet
and a modern aircraft carrier
.
"Pegasus" features more shots with harsh lighting and with cameras on dollies rather than handheld than in prior episodes. According to Eick, Rymer thought such changes would make "Pegasus" less in the style of a documentary
and more appropriate to the larger scale of the narrative. Eick also suggests Rymer was bored with the series's style and wanted to try new approaches.
Eick and Moore characterized composer Bear McCreary
's score for the teaser
as lulling the audience into a state of comfort.
episodes "The Empty Child
" and "The Doctor Dances
".
Critical reception of "Pegasus" was favorable. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
wrote of the actresses playing Six and Sharon respectively, "Tricia Helfer
and Grace Park
gave outstanding performances". Clifton gave "Pegasus" an A, praising the performances of Mary McDonnell
(Roslin), Helfer, and especially Forbes and calling the episode as a whole "really, really well done, and really, really hard to watch." Segrest also said it was hard to watch but nonetheless reviewed the episode favorably, commending the performances of James Callis
(Baltar) and Helfer as Gina. Davis gave "Pegasus" an A+, praising Forbes, Helfer, McDonnell, and Olmos and calling the episode's musical score "without equal". Keith called "Pegasus" "the darkest the show has gone" but said both the aired and extended versions were "A+ episodes." Simon Brew of Den of Geek called the episode "flat-out outstanding."
Michael Hickerson of Slice of SciFi
ranked "Pegasus" as the eighth best episode of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, calling it "compelling and... fascinating". John Kubicek of BuddyTV
ranked it ninth best, saying the ending "could be one of TV's greatest cliffhangers." Kelly Woo of TV Squad also ranked it ninth best. Alan Sepinwall listed it among his favorite episodes of the series, calling the episode "a gut-wrencher from start to finish" and Forbes "perfect". Jackson Alpern of Maxim
ranked the first scene of confusion over whether Pegasus is a Cylon ship the ninth best moment in the series. Eric Goldman of IGN
ranked "Admiral Cain's reign" in "Pegasus" and the following (two-part) episode, "Resurrection Ship", second on his list of the series's top "storylines and moments", praising Forbes's performance and calling the three episodes "riveting".
In separate interviews, Olmos, McDonnell, and actor Aaron Douglas
(Tyrol) were asked to respond to criticism of the graphic nature of the rape scene. Olmos said of people who were upset, "They should be warned right now: please turn off your television sets and do not watch this show because it’s only going to provide more insight into the complexities of what happens to human beings." McDonnell said that the scene was helpful for promoting dialogue and contrasted it with how violence against women is portrayed elsewhere in media. Douglas insisted that the scene was not sensationalistic but rather was an attempt to honestly portray the human condition.
.
Some of Battlestar Pegasuss backstory is presented in the television movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor
:
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
television series. It aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
on September 23, 2005. Following "Pegasus", the series went on hiatus
Hiatus (television)
In television scheduling, a hiatus refers to a break of at least several weeks in the normal schedule of a broadcast programming. It can occur during a season of a television program, or can be between television seasons .- Planned hiatus :Many times television stations will implement a hiatus...
until January 2006.
In the episode, the human fleet encounters the Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
, commanded by Admiral Helena Cain
Helena Cain
Admiral Helena Cain is a fictional character in the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Michelle Forbes.-Youth:...
. She assumes command of the fleet. Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
discovers that Pegasus crew members have been raping and torturing a Cylon prisoner. Cain sentences Helo
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
and Chief Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica...
to death after they accidentally kill a Pegasus officer who was preparing to rape Sharon. In response, Commander William Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
orders Vipers to escort Marines to Pegasus. Cain orders her own Vipers to intercept as the episode ends.
"Pegasus" was nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. It received favorable critical review.
Plot
A large unknown ship appears on GalacticaBattlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
s DRADIS. After a tense moment, the ship is identified as the Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
, a Colonial
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
vessel previously believed destroyed in the Cylon attack on the Colonies. Cain boards Galactica with an armed escort and welcomes the crew "back to the Colonial Fleet." Cain relates to Adama and President Laura Roslin
Laura Roslin
Her first actions include organizing all FTL-capable ships together and convincing Commander William Adama to abandon a retaliatory attack on the Cylons. President Roslin and Billy Keikeya, her aide/press secretary/chief of staff, establish a working office space aboard her transport, renamed...
how she ordered a risky maneuver to escape the initial Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
. Adama recognizes Cain as his superior, but Cain promises not to interfere with Galacticas internal affairs.
Cain declines to resupply the fleet's civilian ships and integrates the battlestars' crews, transferring Apollo
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
and Starbuck
Kara Thrace
Kara Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
to Pegasus over Commander Adama's objections. Cain's executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
, Colonel Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk (Battlestar Galactica)
Jack Fisk is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Graham Beckel.Jack Fisk, service number 245A-34DC, was originally a Lieutenant Colonel aboard the Battlestar Pegasus and was the Executive Officer of the vessel, serving under the command of Admiral...
, tells Colonel Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
how Cain shot his predecessor for refusing an order. Fisk claims his story is a joke, but Tigh believes it is true and relates the story to Adama. Adama reiterates his willingness to follow Cain, to both Roslin and Tigh, and insists that Apollo and Starbuck obey their transfer orders.
Baltar visits Gina, a Number Six
Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)
Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven"...
copy held prisoner aboard Pegasus. He and Head Six are horrified to discover that the Pegasus crew has systematically tortured and raped Gina. Baltar attempts to establish a rapport with Gina by providing food and confessing to his involvement with another Six copy on Caprica.
Helo and Tyrol rescue Sharon from imminent rape by a Pegasus interrogator but accidentally kill the interrogator in the process. Cain denies Adama's request that Helo and Tyrol be given a jury court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
and sentences them both to death for murder and treason. Adama demands that Cain return them to Galactica and orders Vipers
Colonial Viper
The Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
to escort a Marine assault team to Pegasus. Cain refuses and sends the Pegasus Vipers to intercept Galacticas.
Extended version
Director Michael RymerMichael Rymer
Michael Rymer is a television and film director, best known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, for which he directed the pilot miniseries and several episodes of the series...
's cut of "Pegasus" was about 20 minutes too long for broadcast in an hour-long time slot. Executive producers David Eick
David Eick
David Eick is an American producer and writer, best known as the Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica, of which he also wrote several episodes with Ronald D. Moore, as well as the re-imagined version of Bionic Woman...
and Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
advocated for "Pegasus" to be shown as a 90-minute special episode. The Sci Fi Network
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
refused, so Eick and Moore cut it down to about 44 minutes. However, a 59-minute "extended version" of "Pegasus" is included with the Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD release of the second half of the second season, styled "Season 2.5".
Notable plot differences with the broadcast version are listed below, in the order in which they appear in the episode.
- Starbuck argues unsuccessfully to Adama and Roslin that Galactica should return to Caprica to rescue survivors. She promised to rescue Sam Anders from Caprica in a previous episode, "The FarmThe Farm (Battlestar Galactica)"The Farm" is the fifth episode of the second season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel on August 12, 2005...
". - Cain and Baltar discuss the efficacy of physical coercion in interrogation during a visit to Sharon's cell.
- A conversation between Cain and Adama makes clear that Pegasus is much larger, more advanced, and more powerful than Galactica.
- Helo and Tyrol interrupt rather than prevent Sharon's rape.
Several shots without dialogue are inserted or lengthened, as well.
Analysis
Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity, Jason Davis of Mania, and Jen Segrest of TV Squad each compare the Galactica crew to the Pegasus crew. Because they have chosen to guard a vast civilian fleet, the Galactica has lost some discipline but maintained its humanity. The Pegasus crew has lost some of its humanity, as demonstrated by their brutal treatment of their Cylon prisoner. Clifton compares the Pegasus crew to the barbaric ReaversReaver (Firefly)
Reavers are a group of humans in the television series Firefly and the movie Serenity who live on the fringes of civilized space and have become animalistic...
from the television series Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
.
John Ip considers the depiction of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
in "Pegasus". He contrasts the Galactica crew's relatively generous treatment of Sharon with the Pegasus crew's treatment of Gina and Starbuck's treatment of Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy is a fictional character portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie appearing in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series....
in the first-season episode "Flesh and Bone
Flesh and Bone (Battlestar Galactica)
"Flesh and Bone" is the eighth episode of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Plot:President Roslin sees a copy of Leoben Conoy, a duplicate of the Cylon that Commander Adama encountered on Ragnar Anchorage, in a dream. Soon afterwards, a copy of this Cylon is caught aboard the...
". Noting that Sharon has provided the humans with useful intelligence, where Gina and Leoben have not, Ip characterizes "Pegasus" as "an allegorical critique of the [George W.] Bush Administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
’s treatment
Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures are terms adopted by the George W. Bush administration in the United States to describe certain severe interrogation methods, often described as torture...
of terrorist detainees
Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, in the context of the War on Terrorism, refers to foreign nationals the United States detains outside of the legal process required within United States legal jurisdiction. In this context, the U.S...
." Ip also sees parallels between the way the Pegasus crew talks about the captive Cylons as subhuman and Bush administration rhetoric surrounding such detainees. Roz Kaveney considers the humans' simultaneous insistence on the inhumanity of the Cylons and use of torture and rape against them "paradoxical". Overall, Ip contrasts what he considers a "skeptical" portrayal of the effectiveness of torture as an interrogation method in "Pegasus" with what he views as a more sympathetic treatment in the television series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. Tung Yin also invokes 24, calling the Pegasus interrogator a more realistic "professional torturer" than Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
, the 24 protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
.
Clifton notes that the Pegasus crew who celebrate raping Gina and look forward to raping Sharon are all men, and the female Galactica crew react negatively. He questions whether Cally
Specialist Cally
Callandra "Cally" Tyrol is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series...
is truly concerned about Sharon, recalling Cally's sexual assault in the first-season episode "Bastille Day
Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica)
"Bastille Day" is the third episode of the first season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Plot:After a source of water is located on a nearby moon, Apollo suggests the use of the 1,000 prisoners aboard the Astral Queen to extract it, but President Roslin does not want to...
". Clifton further suggests a homoerotic element to the men's enthusiasm and compares the situation to a frat party
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
.
Amanda Keith of Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Los Angeles Newspaper Group
The Los Angeles Newspaper Group is an umbrella group of local daily newspapers published in the greater Los Angeles area by MediaNews Group. The news coverage of the newspapers are mainly local stories. The newspapers contain some national and international news, often from the Associated Press...
's Film Cannon considers Cain's verdict against Helo and Tyrol. Keith notes Cain is in the right legally: Helo and Tyrol broke their oaths as members of the Colonial Fleet. However, Keith argues that Cain has a moral responsibility to spare them to preserve what human life still remains. Clifton argues that Cain's decision is correct and that the audience's prejudices in favor of the two men do not apply to her character because she does not know them.
Davis compares Adama's defiance of Cain to Apollo's mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
in "Kobol's Last Gleaming".
Eick notes a practice of actor Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
(Adama) going back to his role in Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
: his character avoids eye contact with other characters he doesn't respect. Eick says the amount Adama looks at Cain in "Pegasus" indicates that he respects her.
According to Clifton, the ways in which Apollo and Starbuck protest their transfer orders reflect their characters: Apollo points out the detrimental effects of shuffling personnel ahead of an operation, and Starbuck insults Cain and the Pegasus CAG.
Production
In January 2005, Moore wrote that the writers had been discussing "for a couple of years" a storyline around a battlestar Pegasus inspired by the original Battlestar Galactica. In his September 2005 podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
commentary on the episode, Moore said he had been thinking about the episode "literally since I agreed to do the project." However, he waited until the middle of the second season so the series would be further developed when Pegasus and Cain appear. In particular, he wanted the audience to have built some loyalty for the Galactica characters to complicate their reaction to Cain's (correct, in Moore's view) assessment that Galactica runs problematically. Moore abandoned several elements of the original-series episode involving Cain, "The Living Legend
The Living Legend
"The Living Legend" is a two-part episode of the original Battlestar Galactica television series. The episode is often rated as one of the most popular of the original series...
"; the main similarities in his view are Cain appearing suddenly in the Pegasus and being "more of a hardass character than Commander Adama." Moore considers the key differences to be Cain's gender and her authority over Adama.
"Pegasus" was the first episode of Battlestar Galactica written by Anne Cofell Saunders
Anne Cofell Saunders
Anne Cofell Saunders is an American television writer and producer.-Career:She began working in television in 2002 as an assistant to the producers on 24. She made her television writing debut in 2005 with the 24 episode "Day 4: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m." She joined the writing staff of Battlestar...
, whom Eick and Moore hired based on her work writing an episode for the fourth season of 24
24 (season 4)
Season Four, also known as Day 4 of the television series 24 premiered on January 9, 2005 and aired its season finale on May 23, 2005.The Season Four storyline starts and ends at 7:00 am....
.
Several actresses were considered for the role of Cain. Moore had worked with Forbes previously when she played Ro Laren
Ro Laren
Ro Laren is a recurring fictional character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Michelle Forbes.Ro Laren was also planned to be a main character in the two following Star Trek television shows, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager...
on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. Other members of the production team knew her from her work in film. Moore was excited by what he described as the "challenge" of writing Cain as a younger character and was ultimately very pleased by the choice to cast Forbes. According to Eick, Forbes was reluctant at first to accept the part because she felt her role as Ro had resulted in her being typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
as a science fiction actress.
Eick and Moore advocated for Sharon's rape as shown in the extended version to be included in the broadcast version. According to Eick and Moore, the Sci Fi Network did not permit it, citing substantial differences between the script and what was filmed and the belief that the material would be too controversial for television.
Gina's name is not mentioned within the episode. The name is a reference to fans of the original series who called the re-imagined series GINO for "Galactica in Name Only".
Cain's practice of forcing her staff to stand at meetings was inspired by a similar practice of John Bolton Moore read about in a newspaper.
The Pegasus set is distinct from the Galactica set, but it was built on the same soundstage. Financial and physical constraints meant they had to reuse pieces; all the scenes in the episode in corridors on Pegasus were filmed in the same corridor lit differently and shot at different angles to suggest different parts of the ship. Moore compares the difference between Galactica and Pegasus to the difference between a historical aircraft carrier like the USS Hornet
USS Hornet (CV-12)
USS Hornet is a United States Navy aircraft carrier of the Essex class. Construction started in August 1942; she was originally named , but was renamed in honor of the , which was lost in October 1942, becoming the eighth ship to bear the name.Hornet was commissioned in November 1943, and after...
and a modern aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
.
"Pegasus" features more shots with harsh lighting and with cameras on dollies rather than handheld than in prior episodes. According to Eick, Rymer thought such changes would make "Pegasus" less in the style of a documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
and more appropriate to the larger scale of the narrative. Eick also suggests Rymer was bored with the series's style and wanted to try new approaches.
Eick and Moore characterized composer Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Biography:...
's score for the teaser
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
as lulling the audience into a state of comfort.
Reception
"Pegasus" was nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. It lost to the Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episodes "The Empty Child
The Empty Child
"The Empty Child" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Doctor Dances", was broadcast on 28 May...
" and "The Doctor Dances
The Doctor Dances
"The Doctor Dances" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story and saw Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, join the Doctor as a companion. The first part, "The Empty Child", was...
".
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote of the actresses playing Six and Sharon respectively, "Tricia Helfer
Tricia Helfer
Tricia Janine Helfer is a Canadian actress and former model, best known for her roles as Number Six in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, "Carla" on Burn Notice, and FBI Special Agent Alex Rice on Dark Blue, as well as for hosting the first season of Canada's...
and Grace Park
Grace Park (actress)
Grace Park is an American-born Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Sharon Valerii on Battlestar Galactica, as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont...
gave outstanding performances". Clifton gave "Pegasus" an A, praising the performances of Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell
Mary Eileen McDonnell is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves, and she is also very well known for her performance as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the President's wife...
(Roslin), Helfer, and especially Forbes and calling the episode as a whole "really, really well done, and really, really hard to watch." Segrest also said it was hard to watch but nonetheless reviewed the episode favorably, commending the performances of James Callis
James Callis
James Callis is a British actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' best friend in Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason...
(Baltar) and Helfer as Gina. Davis gave "Pegasus" an A+, praising Forbes, Helfer, McDonnell, and Olmos and calling the episode's musical score "without equal". Keith called "Pegasus" "the darkest the show has gone" but said both the aired and extended versions were "A+ episodes." Simon Brew of Den of Geek called the episode "flat-out outstanding."
Michael Hickerson of Slice of SciFi
Slice of SciFi
Slice of SciFi is a podcast and website and part of the FarPoint Media Network that looks into the world of science fiction, fantasy and horror...
ranked "Pegasus" as the eighth best episode of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, calling it "compelling and... fascinating". John Kubicek of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
ranked it ninth best, saying the ending "could be one of TV's greatest cliffhangers." Kelly Woo of TV Squad also ranked it ninth best. Alan Sepinwall listed it among his favorite episodes of the series, calling the episode "a gut-wrencher from start to finish" and Forbes "perfect". Jackson Alpern of Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
ranked the first scene of confusion over whether Pegasus is a Cylon ship the ninth best moment in the series. Eric Goldman of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked "Admiral Cain's reign" in "Pegasus" and the following (two-part) episode, "Resurrection Ship", second on his list of the series's top "storylines and moments", praising Forbes's performance and calling the three episodes "riveting".
In separate interviews, Olmos, McDonnell, and actor Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas was an African American painter and a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance.-Early life:...
(Tyrol) were asked to respond to criticism of the graphic nature of the rape scene. Olmos said of people who were upset, "They should be warned right now: please turn off your television sets and do not watch this show because it’s only going to provide more insight into the complexities of what happens to human beings." McDonnell said that the scene was helpful for promoting dialogue and contrasted it with how violence against women is portrayed elsewhere in media. Douglas insisted that the scene was not sensationalistic but rather was an attempt to honestly portray the human condition.
Connection to other series elements
In "Resurrection Ship", it is revealed that Pegasus raided several civilian ships for supplies and abandoned them to the Cylons. Some members of the Pegasus crew, including the deck chief, were conscripted from these ships. Also in "Resurrection Ship", two of the Pegasus crew members who brag in "Pegasus" about raping Gina subject the captive Helo and Tyrol to a blanket partyBlanket party
A blanket party is a means of corporal punishment or hazing conducted by a peer group. Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military or military academies...
.
Some of Battlestar Pegasuss backstory is presented in the television movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Battlestar Galactica: Razor is a television film of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It premiered in the United States on Sci Fi Channel, in Canada on the Space channel and in the United Kingdom on Sky One.-Production:...
:
- Cain and Gina were lovers until the Cylon attack on the Twelve ColoniesTwelve ColoniesThe Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
. - Cain executed her previous executive officer exactly as Fisk described.
- The raids on the civilian ships are shown.
External links
- "Pegasus" at the Battlestar Wiki
- "Pegasus" at SyfySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...