The Super Scouts

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Super Scouts
Series = Galactica 1980
Season = 1
Episode = 4-5
Airdate = March 16 and March 231980
Writer = Glen A. Larson
Director = Vince Edwards-Part I, Sigmund Neufeld Jr.-Part II
Guests = George DelHoyo (as George Deloy) as Dr. Spencer, Jack Ging as Collins, Fred Holliday as Mr. Brooks, Mike Kellin as Stockton, John Quade as Sheriff Ellsworth, Caroline Smith as the Bank Teller, Mikeal Swan as Denver, Carlene Watkins as Nurse Valerie
Episode list = Episode chronology
Prev = Galactica Discovers Earth
Next = Spaceball

"The Super Scouts" includes the fourth and fifth episodes produced for the short-lived television series "Galactica 1980", a spin-off of the earlier ABC science fiction series "Battlestar Galactica".

The episode first aired in two parts broadcast on March 16 and March 23, 1980 on ABC. Returning after a brief hiatus, this story marks a distinct shift away from the series’ original time travel plotline.

Plot

Part I

Dr. Zee expresses to Adama his concerns about the safety of the fleet’s children. Worried they will be destroyed by the Cylons, the doctor proposes to send an advanced guard to prepare the way for clandestinely assimilating their young into Earth’s culture.

A Cylon attack on the school-ship Delphi results in two crew and all twelve kids safely escaping to Earth; unfortunately their shuttle is irrevocably damaged.

The children are awed by their new environment and its affects. The atmosphere and gravity are thinner and weaker than the artificial conditions aboard their ship. The children soon discover they can jump very high. They cannot, however, do very well to blend in. The next morning, Troy and Dillon go in search of apparel for the children. After evading two motorcycle cops (who perused because their Turbines lacked plates), Troy wanders into a department store, where the salesperson mistakes him being for a Scoutmaster in search of camping equipment. While Troy orders “twelve of everything”, Dillon attempts to exchange some of his Colonial Cubits for currency. The teller grows suspicious of his motives, panics at the sight of his stun gun, and hands Dillon a bag of cash. Dillon asks for her address in order to later return his ‘stolen’ property and then beats a retreat with Troy. They are perused once more by the cops and once more must use their “backup systems” to escape.

Unbeknownst to the Galacticans, Air Force Special Detachment One—a branch specializing in UFO sightings—is closing in on their position. Having almost collided with a Jumbo Jet upon their arrival in Earth’s atmosphere, and having stun two hunters who came upon their landing, the recent mysteries have put Colonel Sydell on a hunt for the culprits. When the Colonel learns a group of ‘Boy Scouts’ were sighted in the area he decides to ask them if they noticed anything unusual. He fails to get answers from the troop (who seem to be more interested in the Colonel's automobile), just as he fails to notice that the reporter who has tagged along with him—Jamie Hamilton—recognizes the two Scoutmasters.

That night, three of the children develop a strange illness and are rushed to the Paradise Valley Medical Center. Investigation reveals the three drank from a polluted lake on land belonging to the Stanford Chemical Plant. The plant’s manager, John Stockton, laughs at the accusations brought by Troy and Dillon, as well as their warnings about the dire long term exposure to such chemicals. Although he promises to “look into it”, Stockton believes the duo are part of an environmentalist group whom previously shutdown the plant for six months. He calls the Sheriff’s office and the police head out to round up the children. Jamie, upon hearing the sheriff’s bluster, warns Troy and Dillon their “Super Scouts” are in jeopardy, and the pair flies off on their Turbines.

Part II

Troy and Dillon reach the scouts before the Sheriff. After dismantling their encampment, the children leap into a tree and activate their nuclear fields. While unseen, the group steals the Sheriff’s vehicles. The Sheriff is prompted to contact Sydell.

At the medical center, Dr. Spencer reveals to Jamie that his analysis of the children’s blood has uncovered abnormal cells. He believes this finding is somehow related to pollutants from the chemical plant and persuades Jamie to hear his evidence. He takes Jamie to a contaminated riverbed and demonstrates how the chemicals deposited therein are combustible, but the interview is broken up by a group of workers from the plant. Ordering Jamie and the doctor off the property, they are subdued by Troy and Dillon. Mr. Stanford in turn arrives at the scene of the altercation and commands Troy, Dillon, Jamie, and Spencer to follow him to the Sheriff’s Office. However, on route Spencer is called by Nurse Valerie, who tells him the children’s condition has worsened.

The Sheriff’s office receives a report that some of the money ‘stolen’ during a certain bank robbery was used at a certain department store. The Scout Troop, however, has not been sighted by any of the Sheriff’s roadblocks. Sydell realizes the people they are looking for must be heading for the clinic. As he leaves for the Clinic with officers in tow, Troy and Dillon arrive to find the children have succumbed to chemical shock. However, their breathing is being maintained by machines, and it is enough to give the warriors hope. They contact Galactica with an emergency transmission. Dr. Zee volunteers to go down in his new ship, and Adama decides to join him. Then Spencer is convinced to load the children and portable respirators into Stockton’s van, who is also convinced to drive to a secluded mountaintop. Unfortunately, Sydell is also able to learn where the van is headed, and he gets reports about strange transmissions being picked up in his area. He leads the National Guard in an assault on the mountain, but as their vehicles approach the summit they loose all power, and the Colonel beings to foot it.

A magnificent ship lands on the summit. The children are brought inside and healed. Then Stockton is brought to Zee. Zee uses his Computron Simulator to show Stockton images of his community in the year 1990, a year which includes the funeral of Stockton’s son due to chemical poisoning. As the bewildered Stockton leaves, Adama tells Troy to remain on Earth with their young. The ship departs just as Sydell approaches. Later, when the Sheriff’s vehicles are found, a box is discovered containing enough gold to more than repay the robbery.

The scouts are having breakfast at a diner when they are joined by Troy and Dillon. The two warriors announce they have been ordered away on a special mission and must deposit the children with Jamie.

The episode ends with a final card: "The United States Air Force stopped investigating UFOs in 1969. After 22 years, they found no evidence of Extra-Terrestrial visits and no threat to National Security."

Notes

This episode marks the first appearance of the ‘New’ Dr. Zee, as James Patrick Stuart assumed the role originated by Robbie Rist.

The battle footage from this episode is entirely made up of footage used since Saga of a Star World.

This marks the second appearance by D.G., Eric, and Michelle Larson—all of whom play Super Scouts—in a series created by their father, Glen A. Larson. They previously appeared in "Battlestar Galactica"'s Greetings from Earth.

The song heard at the diner is “Daydream Believer”, possibly Anne Murray's cover.

External links

* at the Battlestar Wiki
* at the Battlestar Wiki