BG-12: Murder On The Rising Star

Flamingo Girl · May 10th, 2003, 04:46 PM

Following an intense game of Triad, Starbuck is framed for the murder of a rival Colonial Warrior, Ortega, which he didn't commit. And his only chance for acquittal is: Baltar.

Series stars; Richard Hatch as Apollo, Dirk Benedict as Starbuck, Herb Jefferson Jr. as Boomer, Lorne Greene as Adama, Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh, Maren Jensen as Athena, Tony Swartz as Jolly, Laurette Spang as Cassiopia, Noah Hathaway as Boxey, Sarah Rush as Rigel, David Greenan as Omega, Anne Lockhart as Sheba, Jack Stauffer as Bojay, Ed Begley, Jr. as Greenbean, and John Colicos as Baltar.

Guest starring Brock Peters as Solon, W. K. Stratton as Barton, Ben Frank as Chella/Riftis, Lyman Ward as Pallon/Karibdis, Frank Ashmore as Flt. Sgt. Ortega, Jeff Mackay as Corp. Komma, and Newell Alexander as Elias.

(Thanks to Michael Faries Battlestar Galactica.com)

goldcenturian · August 19th, 2003, 12:57 PM

TRIAD outfits!!!
The scene with Starbuck and Cassiopeia in the brig that has him realizing that SHE doesn't entirely believe that he is innocent is one fabulous piece of acting. You can see his face when he says that to her: pain and shock.
And the scene when Stabuck escapes and Apollo talks him into trusting him with his life is so angry and frustrating for the characters that I have to wonder how many takes they had to do to get it just right.
Apollo: I never thought I'd see Starbuck run from anything!
I always wanted to tack on : Except committing to a woman!
Carolyn

Charybdis · August 19th, 2003, 01:13 PM

I read that there is an alternate script scene where Apollo actually sits on top of the viper so as to not allow Starbuck to launch. The script is the same where Starbuck says that he will take Apollo down the launch tube with him. the way they shot it, however, has Apollo get down off the viper and walk a short distance away yet the same line stayed in the show...

LadyImmortal · August 19th, 2003, 01:44 PM

I liked this episode, except for the whole 'person is accused of a crime he didn't commit' fiasco. I HATE those kinds of stories with a passion, I always have...

But it was very well acted. And I DO love a good murder mystery so watching the hoops they went through to discover who the true murderer was was great.

Also really loved the shuttle scene =).

--Rhonda

shiningstar · August 19th, 2003, 06:12 PM

I liked this episode. I thought it was on of
Benidicts best acting episodes EVER! And
Hatch wasn't too bad either.

February 14th, 2004, 11:34 AM

***1/2

Dirk Bendict's best of the entire series, A good murser mystery shot through with a story about friendship...

shiningstar · March 3rd, 2004, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldcenturian

TRIAD outfits!!!
The scene with Starbuck and Cassiopeia in the brig that has him realizing that SHE doesn't entirely believe that he is innocent is one fabulous piece of acting. You can see his face when he says that to her: pain and shock.
And the scene when Stabuck escapes and Apollo talks him into trusting him with his life is so angry and frustrating for the characters that I have to wonder how many takes they had to do to get it just right.
Apollo: I never thought I'd see Starbuck run from anything!
I always wanted to tack on : Except committing to a woman!
Carolyn

I always thought she was a fantastic actress ...........and Dirk Benidect as well.
But this scene between them .......PROVED it for me!

Omega · June 25th, 2004, 04:26 PM

For me, it's this ep and "The Man with Nine Lives" that really set Galactica apart from Star Wars and Trek. I kind of realized it when I was young and the show was first on, and now I understand it more.

To me, where Galactica shines is that they show the fleet as a place where people live normal lives. It comes through in a lot of the episodes, but to me it's most clear here. They may be heroic when they need to be, but they also just kick back like normal people, even Col Tigh. In Star Wars, the characters are supposed to be larger than life, and they come through that way. The original Trek could have had more moments where the crew is just kicking back, and they've moved that way in all the later shows, but they pretty much still come through as heroic personalities even when they aren't being pushed to their limits. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and I like Trek too, but as a 8-9 year old I couldn't really imagine what it would be like to be a Rebel or to live on the Enterprise, while I knew exactly what it would be like to live on Galactica.

braxiss · June 27th, 2004, 08:17 AM

i'll agree with everyone that there was some really good acting in this episode, it's just the whole story line that i had a hard time grasping, but if the rumars are true about the writing of this episode it's understansable

Eric Paddon · June 27th, 2004, 08:40 AM

Carlson and McDonnell said that they had literally 48 hours to write the entire script before shooting began and it clearly shows in a number of spots. Charybdis could not possibly have planned ahead of time to frame Starbuck, because he couldn't have anticipated Starbuck being thrown out of the game and thus being in position for him to become the fall guy. Clearly, Charybdis must have had some alternate plan initially that involved killing Charybdis.

On the plus side, the mere existence of Charybdis and his being referenced as "Baltar's pilot" clears up the mystery of how Baltar got off the Atlantia before the attack began in Saga. Clearly, Charybdis after doing the sabotage work, must have been waiting in a shuttle aboard the Atlantia for Baltar to board at the right opportunity.

Omega · June 29th, 2004, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Paddon

Charybdis could not possibly have planned ahead of time to frame Starbuck, because he couldn't have anticipated Starbuck being thrown out of the game and thus being in position for him to become the fall guy. Clearly, Charybdis must have had some alternate plan initially that involved killing Charybdis.

Maybe he was just biding his time for the right opportunity. If he previously knew about Baltar, he probably already would have moved on him. As long as no one knows he's Charybdis, the other guys who bribed Ortega are going to keep quiet about him. Maybe he was just over on the Rising Star to keep an eye on the casino dealer, or maybe he's just a Triad fan. He saw his opportunity with the fight and jumped on it.

BRG · September 22nd, 2004, 07:37 AM

Another good mid season episode, 3 out of 5!

Ah, the good old murder mystery episode! Almost every show in history has at least one episode like this, and this was as good an example as you will find.

A few wee things set this episode apart from most. First, as has already been mentioned, the scene in the cell between Starbuck & Cassie. The fact that you can see the doubt in her eyes, and when Starbuck realises that if the woman he loves doubts his innocence, the what chance that the jury ould believe him? You could read his emotions like a book. Wonderfull acting from both actors.
The second point comes as a direct result of that excellent cell scene. Realising that even Cassie thinks he may be guilty, Starbuck views his only option is escape. And we end up with another great scene, this time with Starbuck in a powered up Viper pointing a gun at his best pal. You can really feel Starbuck's desperation, and Apollo pleads for his friend to give himself up. Apollo's belief in his innocence brings Starbuck back from the edge, and you get the feeling that if anybody but Apollo tried to stop him, he would have launched the Viper. Again, hats off to the actors for great performances!

It is always great when Baltar gets into the action! Colicos always delivers the goods, and is a joy too watch. And it was great to see Brock Peters in the role of Chief Opposer. Many Star Trek fans may remember Peters. He played Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek 6, one of the renegade officers who tried to scupper the Federation-Klingon peace treaty. And he also played Joseph Sisko, Captain Sisko's dad in many episodes of DS9. He has appeared in many other shows over the years, and is always excellent.

One of the only things I find annoying about BSG is the tecnobabble! It never sounds as beleavable as Star Trek or Babylon 5. In this episode we had somthing called a 'Laseronic Ergon Scan' which proved that Starbuck's gun was the termination wepon. It just sounded daft!

But, a good episode!

BRG

Charybdis · September 23rd, 2004, 07:24 AM

You know, the conversation about Charybdis being Baltar's pilot brings up a question...once Baltar leaves the Atlantia, the next scene we see him in is down on Caprica after the Destruction talking to the Cylon centurions...how did he get there??? And where was Charybdis if he was his pilot??? I do not believe that Charybdis was with him onboard the Atlantia.

Charybdis went with the fleet once the exodus began and we learn from this episode that he was in the command center on Caprica fixing the defense computers during the attack, so it might be safe to assume that Baltar left the Atlantia some other way. ..

BRG · September 23rd, 2004, 10:57 AM

When Baltar left the Atlantia, I assume he had a device similar to Apollo & Starbuck in 'The Hand of God', which told the Cylon Raiders that his shuttle was a friendly craft not to be fired on. I suppose he killed the shuttle pilot and either transfered to a Cylon ship after the battle was over, or flew to Caprica himself to rendezvous with the Basestar.
Thats how BRG reckons it went down.

Charybdis is a odd one though! Again, I assume he was sabotaging Caprica's surface defences in preperation for the attack, and had an escape route ready but somthing went wrong so he had to buy his way off the surface.
But the part I find confusing is this- nobody suspected Baltar's treachery until the sh*t hit the fan. But how do they suddenly know Charybdis was his right hand man, and why does no one know what he looks like?
BRG

Eric Paddon · September 23rd, 2004, 11:38 AM

I think what happened is that after Charybdis flew Baltar to a safe zone, he likely left Baltar on Caprica perhaps to check on the status of other operatives in their group who had to be in on the whole plan, and after that happened, Charybdis likely realized before Baltar did that the Cylons had double-crossed them as well and that his best chance was to slip in amongst the survivors with a new identity.

Eric Paddon · September 23rd, 2004, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omega

Maybe he was just biding his time for the right opportunity. If he previously knew about Baltar, he probably already would have moved on him. As long as no one knows he's Charybdis, the other guys who bribed Ortega are going to keep quiet about him. Maybe he was just over on the Rising Star to keep an eye on the casino dealer, or maybe he's just a Triad fan. He saw his opportunity with the fight and jumped on it.

Actually Charybdis is on the Rising Star serving drinks at the beginning of the episode to Adama and Tigh, and then asks if he can go, and since this happens before Starbuck's ejection, he clearly had some other plan in mind for killing Ortega and changed it on the fly to frame Starbuck.

Senmut · September 24th, 2004, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRG

When Baltar left the Atlantia, I assume he had a device similar to Apollo & Starbuck in 'The Hand of God', which told the Cylon Raiders that his shuttle was a friendly craft not to be fired on. I suppose he killed the shuttle pilot and either transfered to a Cylon ship after the battle was over, or flew to Caprica himself to rendezvous with the Basestar.
Thats how BRG reckons it went down.

Charybdis is a odd one though! Again, I assume he was sabotaging Caprica's surface defences in preperation for the attack, and had an escape route ready but somthing went wrong so he had to buy his way off the surface.
But the part I find confusing is this- nobody suspected Baltar's treachery until the sh*t hit the fan. But how do they suddenly know Charybdis was his right hand man, and why does no one know what he looks like?
BRG

I doubt Baltar would have needed any such device. He left the bridge of the Atlantia in plenty of time to launch before the Cylons got into range. He was probably off their scanners by the time the attack began, and the Cylons were interested only in the Fleet.
As to Charybdis, remember that Boomer calls him "Baltar's pilot", only under another name, "Proteus". It may be that no one left in the Fleet, save Ortega, had ever seen Charybdis before the Holocaust, and thus connected the two. It could have been anything from shaving a beard to an elaborate disguise. Since he flew Baltar's shuttle, it is a fair guess that he was in on the plan. He may even have used Baltar's Councillior clearance to access vital systems back home, and left a trace. I doubt Adama would have fled the Colonies without trying to gather as much information as possible about what had just happened. Since Charybdis did not expect his treachery to be exposed, he would not have bothered to cover his trail.

Senmut · September 24th, 2004, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Paddon

Actually Charybdis is on the Rising Star serving drinks at the beginning of the episode to Adama and Tigh, and then asks if he can go, and since this happens before Starbuck's ejection, he clearly had some other plan in mind for killing Ortega and changed it on the fly to frame Starbuck.

He is obviously a quick thinker, able to improvise as he goes along. Doubtless this is how he managed to avoid someone putting the pieces together for so long. By this time, only Baltar could expose him.

Charybdis · September 26th, 2004, 01:18 PM

Judging from the info given on the show, was Charybdis on Caprica? or was he ever on the Atlantia with Baltar?

The episode says he was on Caprica sabotaging the defense computers that night, so he could not have been with Baltar on the Atlantia. But it does give one pause to think that if Charybdis was in on it, how many others were too???

Eric Paddon · October 27th, 2004, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charybdis

Judging from the info given on the show, was Charybdis on Caprica? or was he ever on the Atlantia with Baltar?

I say both. When I did my fanfic adaptation of these episodes, I established Charybdis flying Baltar from his colony to the Atlantia, but during the journey there was a stop on Caprica to give him the opportunity to sabotage Caprica's defense system (and assuming Caprica's importance, perhaps that included a network for all of the Colonies which was why it had to be done there), and then after he did his business he flew Baltar to the Atlantia and waited.

Senmut · October 28th, 2004, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charybdis

Judging from the info given on the show, was Charybdis on Caprica? or was he ever on the Atlantia with Baltar?

The episode says he was on Caprica sabotaging the defense computers that night, so he could not have been with Baltar on the Atlantia. But it does give one pause to think that if Charybdis was in on it, how many others were too???

Boomer calls him "Baltar's pilot". Since Baltar says he was caught by the Cylons "between the President's Battlestar and my own", he must have been in a shuttle. Of course, he is lying, but someone must have flown him home. Charybdis is our only suspect at this point.

bsg1fan1975 · December 1st, 2004, 11:38 AM

just loved those triad outfits. The crush I had on Dirk and Richard escalated due to this episode. Still drool over those tiny little outfits even to this day!

julix · December 1st, 2004, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsg1fan1975

just loved those triad outfits. The crush I had on Dirk and Richard escalated due to this episode. Still drool over those tiny little outfits even to this day!

BSG I am with ya 100% on this

Eric Paddon · December 1st, 2004, 09:16 PM

What would the costumes have been like if there'd been a women's triad league in the Fleet?

Spike The Cylon · March 19th, 2005, 04:35 AM

To me, this episode has always been a slow one, but it , like "Man with Nine Lives" shows how the fleet has other thngs to do besides fight Cylons.

Senmut · October 15th, 2006, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charybdis

Judging from the info given on the show, was Charybdis on Caprica? or was he ever on the Atlantia with Baltar?

The episode says he was on Caprica sabotaging the defense computers that night, so he could not have been with Baltar on the Atlantia. But it does give one pause to think that if Charybdis was in on it, how many others were too???

Since each Colony was hit, we have to assume it was a Colonies-wide sabotage. Since it would have been impossible for Charybdis to have been on all 12 planets in the timeframe required, he probably used a virue or tapeworm program, to make sure all the defense systems went down at the proper time. Hence, he could have both sabotaged the defense computers, and flown Baltar where he needed to go.

Eric Paddon · October 15th, 2006, 10:54 AM

I think it more likely that Charybdis sabotaged the computers *before* piloting Baltar to the Atlantia and then getting him off safely before the attack began.

Senmut · May 11th, 2011, 10:46 PM

You admire the triad players for their minds, right?

Benedict · May 11th, 2011, 11:11 PM

Do like Benedict's mention of the uniforms on the documentary.. "We were like pieces of meat", joking of course. Murder's a good little episode though the story behind one scene, where Lockhart and Spang wedgied Benedict and Hatch.

Oh and seeing Brock Peters in Galactica wasn't too bad.

Croft2018 · March 21st, 2020, 04:17 AM

A rival of Starbuck's, Ortega (Frank Ashmore) is found dead and evidence says he did it; Apollo takes on his defence (his Protector) in the legal case but he lacks experience. Boomer and Apollo investigate and find that circumstantial evidence indicates that the killer is one Karibdis, the man who helped disable the Caprican defence systems for Baltar and thus allow the Cylon forces to attack ... who is now living in the fleet under an alias. Baltar is recruited from the Prison Barge as he's the only one who can spot Karibdis.

Usually considered one of the weakest BG episodes and and it's thumpingly obvious that Starbuck isn't a murderer from the off, but the script, production and performances are good enough to distract from the fact that the resolution is a foregone conclusion. Throw in two other suspects with secrets to hide and given that the writers had only two days to get this script done, it's surprisingly engaging.

This is still a filler episode and a minor entry in the sense of the series taken overall but I found that I enjoyed it much more than previously with this viewing. There are several nice little aspects to this episode that indicate the wider Colonial culture like the broadcasts, the Triad game and the fact that many in the fleet follow the sport (also seen in War of the Gods).

It's also interesting in how it portrays Ortega as a blackmailer; a sound bit of depth to a Colonial Warrior that we hadn't had before; a shame he hadn't been a semi regular. I also found the depiction of the Colonial legal system interesting; it would've been good to see that explored in the further seasons.

Of course the 2003-09 remake did explore the darker, negative side of the premise to the hilt; sadly, it didn't deal with the positive side much.