Review of "The Lost Warrior," season 1 episode 4 of Battlestar Galactica

Review of

The Lost Warrior, season 1 episode 4 of Battlestar Galactica


Four out of five stars

Old genre slightly recast

 This episode uses one of the most used scenarios in American entertainment. The western drama was once a staple of television, with the most popular being Gunsmoke that ran for 20 years. Most were based on the hero willing to stand in the street and engage in a gun duel with the evil entity. Battlestar Galactica was science fiction with ships in space and robotic aliens, but this episode is essentially a remake of many previous events in the western genre.

Captain Apollo is on a solo patrol when he encounters a group of Cylons. He leads them away from the fleet until he runs out of fuel and crash lands on the planet Equellus. It is populated by humans that farm, raise livestock and dress like people in the old west. Most men also carry firearms that fire projectiles and the dueling code is still active. In other words, two men can engage in a fast draw.

 The local village has been taken over by a man called La Certa, his strength comes from a Cylon called Red Eye that accepts his commands. Since Red Eye is impervious to kinetic weapons, they must comply when La Certa demands tribute in livestock and crops. Once Apollo understands that Red Eye is isolated and not part of a Cylon contingent, he is free to challenge him in a classic western duel.

 Apollo is very much the stranger that comes into town and becomes the hero, rescuing the village from the tyrant before departing. Seen many times before without the robot and laser pistols, it is an old story that works fairly well.