- Murder on the Rising Star
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"Murder on the Rising Star" Battlestar Galactica (1978) episode Episode no. Season 1
Episode 18Directed by Rod Holcomb Written by Don Bellisario, James Carlson, Terrence McDonnell, Michael Sloan Original air date 18 February 1979 Guest stars Newell Alexander as Elias
Frank Ashmore as Ortega
Paul LeClair as 1st Guard
Jeff MacKay as CPI Komma
Ted Noose as Official
Frank Parker as Zed
Brock Peters as Solon
Patricia Stich as Zara
W. K. Stratton as Barton
Lyman Ward as PalloniEpisode chronology ← Previous
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"Greetings from Earth"List of Episodes "Murder on the Rising Star" is an episode of the original Battlestar Galactica television series.
Plot synopsis
Apollo and Starbuck are playing the game of Triad against Flight Sergeants Ortega and Barton. However, Ortega's rough play starts to anger Starbuck. Cassiopeia, Athena and Sheba are watching the game as they reveal Starbuck's bitter rivalry with Ortega. It is also revealed by Barton that Ortega likes to win - Triad or Pyramid. It isn't long before Ortega unleashes another hit on Starbuck, which then escalates into an all-out brawl between the two, causing both players to be ejected from the game. However, both continue to scuffle before they are eventually stopped by Cassiopeia, who informs Starbuck he has ten centons to get in the shuttle if he hopes to continue seeing her. Starbuck rushes to the shuttle to meet Cassie's deadline, while a Pyramid dealer named Chella discovers Ortega's dead body lying on the floor.
The Rising Star is sealed by Adama's orders as Chella is questioned. The dealer's solid alibi is Starbuck, who he has seen rushing through. Apollo and Boomer volunteer to find Starbuck and let him know of Ortega's murder. In attempt to clear him, they check his laser but find that it has been fired. The test is soon performed by Wilker, which resulted in a perfect match. Sire Solon, a prosecuting attorney, has come to believe that Starbuck is the guilty party, which gets Starbuck irked. Starbuck is charged with murder and risks the tribunal, believing it is not right to plea self-defense for a crime he did not commit. Apollo and Boomer, the only warriors who believe Starbuck, step up to act as protectors but have only ten centars to gather and present their evidence.
The two warriors first question Barton, who is about to go on patrol but manages to reveal that Ortega often gambled at a gambling Table 3 on the Rising Star and that Ortega often fears of being killed by a man named Karibdis. The protectors head to the personnel computer to run a query on the name but find no entries to anything related to Karibdis. Back in the brig where Starbuck is held, Cassiopeia tries to convince Starbuck to change his mind, but to no avail. He was too distracted by the interview of Sire Solon who is all but proclaiming Starbuck guilty, and it drives him to smash the viewscreen. Starbuck makes his escape, and would have flown off out of the fleet if it weren't for Apollo.
Apollo and Boomer tell Adama that they need to find Karibdis, whose name Adama recognizes as being Baltar's pilot who has sabotaged a colonial defense grid that preceded Cylon ambush. Baltar is soon questioned on board the Prison Barge, and he admits to his old pilot's whereabouts. But the prisoner refuses to talk as the two cannot offer him anything in exchange, instead saying that Starbuck has many enemies on board the barge waiting to kill him. The protectors go back to the Rising Star where Chella is dealing at Table 3 and questioned once again about the murder. Chella reveals that his real name is Riftis, who has bribed Ortega into taking a spot on one of the ships fleeing from the Colonies. Since then Ortega has been repeatedly blackmailing him to expose his secret, and Riftis was forced into letting the warrior win. Elias and Pallon were also victims of the blackmail, and has got in the same way Riftis did. The three were eventually ordered to the Galactica in order to testify.
As they shuttle the former blackmail targets, Apollo attempts a ruse to flush out Karibdis by announcing that the real killer has been identified, much to Boomer's dismay. Having informed Boomer to keep an open channel to the shuttle, Apollo drops the suspects off to pick up Baltar, who continues to keep quiet but is informed by Apollo that Karibdis is believed to be on board the shuttle. Pallon, who has secretly boarded the shuttle and grabbed a laser, soon reveals himself as Karibdis, and Baltar is visibly shaken by this. In the tribunal, Cassiopeia is on the witness box and forced to testify that she heard Starbuck threaten Ortega. Boomer then manages to break the tribunal procedure by turning on the channel for the whole tribunal to hear, which reveals a chilling but triumphant confession by Karibdis on board the shuttle with Apollo and Baltar. The scuffle ensues and Karibdis is eventually caught, finally allowing Starbuck to be acquitted. Apollo and Starbuck are welcomed by the ovation of the crowd upon re-entering the Triad court.
Actors
- Dirk Benedict - Lieutenant Starbuck
- Terry Carter - Colonel Tigh
- John Colicos - Count Baltar
- John Dullaghan - Dr. Wilker
- Lorne Greene - Commander Adama
- Richard Hatch - Captain Apollo
- Herb Jefferson, Jr. - Lieutenant Boomer
- Maren Jensen - Lieutenant Athena
- Anne Lockhart - Lieutenant Sheba
- Laurette Spang - Cassiopeia
- Tony Swartz - Sergeant Jolly
External links
- Murder on the Rising Star at the Battlestar Wiki
Categories:- 1979 television episodes
- Battlestar Galactica (1978) episodes
- United States science fiction television stubs
- Fictional universe stubs
- Television episode stubs
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