"The Living Legend" is a two-part episode of the American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

''. Written by series creator

Glen A. Larson Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American musician, television producer, writer, and director. His best known work in television was as the creator of the television series ''Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar ...

and directed by

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

, the episodes were originally broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on November 26 and December 3, 1978. "The Living Legend" introduced the character of Commander Cain (

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

) and the Battlestar ''Pegasus'', both of which were revived in the reboot series episode "''

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

''" in 2005. It also introduced the recurring characters of

Lieutenant Sheba '' Battlestar Galactica'' and ''Galactica 1980'' are American science fiction television series, produced in 1978 and 1980 by Glen A. Larson and starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. Original 1978 movie and series ;People ...

( Anne Lockhart) and Bojay (

Jack Stauffer Jack Stauffer (born December 3, 1945 in New York, New York, U.S.) is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is also a director of theater productions. Stauffer played the original Charles "Chuck" Tyler in ''All My Children'' and ...

), and included the final appearance of the recurring character of the Cylon

Imperious Leader ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction television series created by Glen A. Larson and starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict. The series follows the surviving humans as they flee in the fictional spacecraft ...

. The episodes were later edited and released theatrically in 1979 under the title ''Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack'', which also included material from the episode " Fire in Space".

Plot

The Battlestar ''Galactica'' encounters the ''Pegasus'', a battlestar previously assumed to have been destroyed, which is under the command of Commander Cain. The two battlestars fight the

Cylons The Cylons are the main antagonists of the human race in the '' Battlestar Galactica'' science fiction franchise, making appearances in the original 1978 series, the 1980 series, the 2004 re-imagining, and the spin-off prequel series '' C ...

Production and broadcast

"The Living Legend" was directed by

and written by series creator

, from a story by Larson and Ken Pettus. The episodes introduced the character of Commander Cain (

) and the Battlestar ''Pegasus'', both of which were revived in remake series episode "''

''" in 2005. They also introduced the recurring characters of

( Anne Lockhart) and Bojay (

), and included the final appearance of the recurring character of the Cylon

. Nigel Andrews said the narrative concerning ''Galactica'' shortage of fuel, and the Cylons' possession of an abundance of it, was influenced by the

1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...

that was happening at the time. Part one aired on

on November 26, 1978, and part two aired on December 3, 1978.

Reception

John Kenneth Muir praised "The Living Legend", and Krystal Sim called the episodes "memorable".

Novelization

The novelization ''Battlestar Galactica 6: The Living Legend'' was written by Glen A. Larson and

Nicholas Yermakov Simon Hawke (born September 30, 1951) is an American author of mainly science fiction and fantasy novels. He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also writt ...

, and was published by

Berkeley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berkl ...

in New York in 1982.

''Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack''

The episodes were later edited and released theatrically in 1979 under the title ''Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack'', which also included material from the episode " Fire in Space". The reviews of this film were described as "not so good". This film has been described as "glossy", "flimsily constructed" and a "cosmic yawn". Wishart said the film was liable to "fuel the imagination". The film was broadcast in Germany under the title ''Mission Galactica: Angriff der Zyclonen'' or ''Mission Galactica: Angriff der Zyklonen'' and shown in

sensurround Sensurround is the brand name for a process developed by Cerwin-Vega in conjunction with Universal Studios to enhance the audio experience during film screenings, specifically for the 1974 film ''Earthquake''. The process was intended for subsequent ...

in cinemas there under the title ''Mission Galactica: Angriff der Zylonen''. It was shown in France under the title ''Galactica: Les Cylons Attaquent''. ''Mission Galactica'' was released on VHS,

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

. The book ''Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack'' was published by Grandreams in London in 1980.Mission Galactica
ISBN 0 86227 005 7.

References

External links

* * "

The Living Legend ''Battlestar Galactica'' and ''Galactica 1980'' are American science fiction television series, produced in 1978 and 1980 by Glen A. Larson and starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. Series overview Episodes ''Battlesta ...

(Part 1)" at the ''Battlestar'' Wiki * "

(Part 2)" at the ''Battlestar'' Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Living Legend, The 1978 American television episodes Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series) episodes