HINTS AND CLUES IN GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO
The second episode of Battlestar
Galactica, in order of filming, was Gun on Ice Planet Zero, written by Leslie
Stevens, Don Bellisario, and Michael Sloan, although it is fifth in order aired. Excepting
the premiere, Gun had the longest period of gestation of any of the BG
scripts actually shot, being based on a very early script by John Ireland originally
entitled The Nari of Sentinel 27 and later Crossfire,
and dated 11/30/77 and 12/8/77. Crossfire is in itself fairly uninteresting; a
one-hour teleplay that featured some of the central elements of Gun in an episode
that was, if anything, even more stereotyped than fans sometimes accuse Gun itself
of being. In spite of this, the producers evidently felt that the core of the script, an
adventure mingling clones, a lost outpost, and a Cylon superweapon, was sufficient
material to develop a two-hour BG movie around (it is worth repeating, because a
lot of newer BG fans do not realize this, that in its original form BG was
to consist of the three-hour premiere and two two-hour movies, with possibly more to
follow; one of the two-hour movies was obviously Gun and we cannot be certain what
the other “movie” would have been).It is difficult to trace the exact
evolution of Crossfire into the Gun on Ice Planet Zero script, because at
some time during the writing of the script the production number was changed from #50203
to #50202 (which raises yet another unanswerable question; since the
production number was moved back a digit, was Gun originally intended to be the third
movie? The premiere, after all, is indeed #50201) and the list of revision dates thus only
goes back to March 16, 1978, at which time the episode must have been in the advanced
stages of preproduction. The list of dates continues with 5/3/78, 5/16/78, 5/18/78, two
revisions dated 6/9/78 (which is about the time the episode started shooting, so those
revisions may indicate the initial shooting script), 6/12/78, 6/16/78, 6/21/78, 6/29/78,
7/05/78 (by which time filming must have actually been over and rethinks to fit the
episode into the series chronology, particularly to accommodate the sudden survival of
Baltar, were well underway), and finally 9/13/78 and 9/14/78, which represent the reshoots
(they’re even clearly marked RESHOOTS on the script) involving Baltar and Lucifer and
the scenes fans have noticed that feature Dirk Benedict with a dramatically different hair
length.Gun on Ice Planet Zero itself
was evidently a last-minute title; the title on the script I have is Ultimate
Weapon. One final note of interest on the cover page is the misspelling of Don
Bellisario’s name.Since this represents a final script,
after all the reshoots were done and the episode was at last being edited, there is not a
great deal in it unfamiliar to BG fans, especially those who have seen the 2-hour
“movie” cut or read Robert Thurston’s novelization. But there are a few
pieces of interest and even a mistake that points directly to a minor, but significant,
plot change.There is also some interest to be found
in something as banal as the cast list. Dr. Ravashol, for example, has a first name;
he’s listed as Dr. Benel Ravashol (interestingly, in Crossfire Cadet Cree
had a first name, Terry). Two mystery characters are listed, Mira and Stafford. Who were
they? They’re not in this script and so must be a holdover from an earlier draft.
Also, the part of Cadet Bow (played by Alex Hyde-White in the episode) is listed as
nonspeaking, even though in this draft of the script and in the episode itself he does
have a small speaking part.The first minor difference we come upon
in the script is a line of dialogue credited to Cree that Starbuck actually spoke in the
episode; after Cadet Bow’s viper is destroyed by the pulsar cannon,
Boomer asks “What happened?” and Cree replies “He was picked off! It’s
some kind of energy beam…like a pulsar…only bigger…much bigger.” This
may very well represent a typographical error.The first Baltar/Lucifer scene includes
a note about Baltar rubbing his stiff leg, which is clearly meant to place this episode
after Lost Planet of the Gods.BG fans often don’t realize
that the Buck Rogers premiere was being filmed at about the same time as the early
episodes of BG (I’ve seen, for example, fans claim that the Lunar Seven
shuttle from Greetings From Earth was reused in Buck Rogers as Buck’s
ship when in fact the borrowing was the other way around); proof, as if
any was needed, shows up in a set description for the room in which the unfortunate Cree
undergoes his brain probe. The description reads “(Small room, possibly Buck Rogers
set.).”The description of Croft and his fellow
prisoners is worth quoting from; judging from similarities of style with the Beta
Pirates script, I suspect Leslie Stevens may have written this:
“In the center of the room, flanked by two guards, stands the first of the
prisoners—Croft. A tough, wiry specimen, an explorer in the style of Shackleton, he
is no-one to cross. Each of the prisoners, as they are escorted into the room, is a rough,
dissipated member of humanity, shackled and chained, shabbily dressed in prison clothes.
Yet they maintain a defiance—a dignity glittering in their eyes, the rake of their
heads, the controlled authority that most of the them carry.” Another nice piece of
description a little farther along refers to Killian, the pilot of the viper escorting the
shuttle to Arkta, as “a tough linebacker with a warlord mustache.”Scene 144 contains an interesting clue
to an earlier version of the episode. A Cylon centurion reports to Vulpa:
CYLON
We found two dead humanoids in the wreckage.
VULPA
Only two?
CYLON
The rest escaped in a Snow Ram. We found it abandoned on the plateau.
Now we all know that ABC wanted to
make BG “safe” for the family hour. Presumably two warriors were
originally killed in the crash of the shuttle—perhaps the mysterious “Mira”
and “Stafford” from the cast list, or perhaps Vickers and Voight, but ABC
objected and the deaths were expunged, to survive only by mistake in a piece of Cylon
dialogue.
Fans who have read Thurston’s
novelization of the episode are familiar with the scene in which Tenna offers to
“warm Starbuck up” (as if he needs help!); an interesting bit of description
accompanies these lines: “(Note*: to be shot so the following two lines can be cut
from the TV release.).” Presumably Larson et al were considering the
likelihood of releasing Gun as a feature film overseas.
A very small edit removes a nice bit of
warmth from the episode:
TENNA
We were thought to be sterile. It was a Cylon prerequisite to maintain the purity of the
Theta life form.
SER 5-9
(smiles)
But we have been bearing children.
BOOMER
And hiding them.
TENNA
Yes. We love them.
You’ve got to wonder who makes
these decisions.
Following almost immediately upon this
is a scene in which Thane tries to rape Leda; no surprise that she practically chokes him
to death. Immediately after this scene Thane splits from the group to go it on his own,
leading to his capture and suicide.
When we first encounter Ravashol there
is another interesting piece of description that I think again is probably the work of
Leslie Stevens: “The scientist looks like Lenin with graying hair and with a quality
of abstract thought. Ravashol is subtly deformed as though his spine were twisted by the
forces which flow through his being. The deformity makes him isolate, lonely, vulnerable,
the way Lautrec was cut off by his dwarfism or Liebnitz by his hunchback. His clothing is
simple, dark, almost Maoist in its plainness. Appearance means absolutely nothing to this
man.”
Another indication that this script was
retyped in rather a hurry, or at least not edited very well, is scene 187-188 and scene
188-A. The first features Imperious Leader ordering Vulpa to initiate random firing down
the corridor along which the Galactica and fleet must pass, while the second
features Baltar, using the exact same dialogue, giving Vulpa his orders. Following on
188-A is 188-B, a slightly different and somewhat more amusing version of Vulpa ordering
Cree dumped into the cold cell:
VULPA
Anything?
CENTURION
Occasionally. But it is always cluttered with these female images.
VULPA
Strange. Take him to a cold cell. I will examine his cortex later.
Of course the unfortunate Cadet Cree is hardly the only Colonial warrior with women on his mind; here’s a brief Starbuck-Tenna scene didn’t make the final cut:
STARBUCK
Listen…if we ever get out of here…I’d like to try an experiment of my own
in human engineering. But I’ll need some help.
TENNA III
The Clone Female Series was designed for pleasure.
STARBUCK
I’d noticed…I’d sure like to check out the design. Don’t let me
forget.
TENNA III
I don’t think you’ll need reminding.
Likely not!
One thing the script confirms, in two
places, is that Croft was indeed ranked a Commander; I have seen numerous
fan references to Croft in which he is referred to as a Colonel. The second and final such
reference is in the final scene of the episode, which takes place on the bridge and did
not turn up in the aired version:
CROFT
I guess it’s back to the grid barge.
ADAMA
No. You’re needed on the Galactica…Commander.
One regret I have and that I believe
a number of fans share is that Croft, like Dietra in Lost Planet of the Gods,
never turned up in a later episode; indeed there seems to have been no thought of doing so
in spite of the fact that the character was a memorable one and well-played by Roy
Thinnes.
Fans have complained that Gun on Ice
Planet Zero is stereotyped and an obvious take-off on Alistair McLean’s Guns
of Navarone. It may be that, but it’s also an adventurous episode that introduced
several enduring characters to the BG canon. Given the pressure that it and the
rest of the series was produced under, it remains a notable achievement and in my view one
of the more interesting episodes of the series.
©1999, Susan J. Paxton