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Hero (Battlestar Galactica)
Encyclopedia
"Hero" is the eighth episode of the third season from the science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica
. This episode aired on November 17, 2006.
s in pursuit of a third. Starbuck
and Kat
take out the two pursuing Raiders and engage the third when a panicked male voice comes over the comm identifying himself as Lt. Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek and pleads to call off the attack. Admiral Adama
allows the Raider to land on the Galactica
and a disheveled man emerges from the cockpit. Adama welcomes the man aboard apparently knowing who he is. Novacek is checked over by Doctor Cottle who confirms he is not a Cylon and in good physical health.
Novacek is then debriefed by Adama who is curious to know how he escaped the Cylons. Novacek he explains he was held prisoner for the past three years and found an opportunity for escape when the Cylons showed signs of sickness. Adama believes it was the effect of the virus they found killing the Cylons earlier, to which Novacek says he was apparently immune.
President Roslin
asks for more details on Novacek's situation. Adama informs her that Novacek was a pilot for a black op
mission when Adama was in command of the Battlestar Valkyrie. Adama was sent to the Tauron colony who were violating the Cylon Peace Treaty by mining tylium on a planet that was too close to the Armistice Line. Novacek was on a recon mission but the Cylons shot him down, and Adama states he didn't know that Novacek had survived.
Elsewhere, the Cylon Number Three is wandering the corridors of Galactica dodging security personnel. Once it becomes apparent they are after her, she runs away, coming upon a door she cannot open which reads "End of Line". She turns to the human soldiers, telling them to shoot her. They do, but she quickly awakens from the "dream", back aboard a Cylon Basestar and in bed after an apparent ménage à trois
with Gaius Baltar
and Number Six
.
Back at the fleet, Adama goes to Colonel Tigh's
quarters to tell him about the reappearance of Novacek. Tigh is baffled as to how the man had survived his recon mission and wonders what Adama plans to do about it, since Novacek's return could cause a problem if the "truth" were found out.
Later, Adama meets with his son Lee
to discuss Novacek. Adama tells Lee the truth about the Tauron mission. Adama was ordered by the Colonial Admiralty (directly by Admiral Corman) to conduct surveillance on the Cylons. They hoped to send a stealth ship across the Armistice Line to learn about the Cylons' military capabilities and intentions. During the mission, unidentified Cylon ships, disabled Novacek's Stealthstar fighter. Lee is shocked to learn that some in the military suspected that the Cylons were using the Armistice to rebuild their forces and that an attack on the Colonies was inevitable. Adama then chokes up, stating the worst part of the mission was his decision to shoot down Novacek himself to avoid his being captured. He feared that if the Cylons captured him, they would retaliate knowing the humans violated the Armistice first by spying on them.
Simultaneously, Novacek visits Tigh. Believing Novacek already knew what really happened, Tigh reminisces about the fateful mission, revealing the harrowing truth about Adama's decision.
Adama continues with the story, lamenting that the failed mission probably instigated the Cylon attack. Despite protests from Lee, Adama believes that he is responsible for destruction of the Colonies.
Back on the Basestar, Number Three's dreams grow increasingly worse and she seeks release. She orders a Centurion to kill her, overriding its directives and telling it to delete the incident from its memory afterwards. The Centurion promptly shoots her in the head and she is resurrected. After awakening from her "death", she tells another Three that during her download, she saw "something so beautiful between life and death", apparently getting a rush from the effect to temporarily escape her mental torment.
Back aboard Galactica, Starbuck analyzes the gun camera footage of the Cylon Raider chase of Novacek and finds something curious. She brings hard copies of the images to Tigh and informs him that the Raiders had every opportunity to shoot Novacek down, but it looks like they were purposely missing. She is also skeptical about Novacek not only escaping the Cylons, but how he managed to find the fleet as well. Tigh becomes concerned and goes to inform Adama.
Adama is in his quarters when he gets an urgent call from Novacek asking to talk to him. Adama quickly heads down and enters Novacek's quarters, where Novacek strikes him in the stomach with a metal pipe. Adama stoops over and Novacek hits him in the face, sending Adama crashing into a table. Novacek ties Adama up and begins choking him, furiously blaming his former commander for sending him on a mission to be captured and tortured by the Cylons for the past three years.
Tigh comes to Adama's rescue, pointing a gun to Novacek's head. Novacek goes for the gun, but Tigh fights him off with the metal pipe. Tigh defends the Admiral's decision to shoot Novacek down, telling him "We're all soldiers Danny, we're all expendable." Tigh tells Novacek that he was duped by the Cylons. They purposely let him go and drove him toward the fleet, somehow knowing that once he learned the truth, he would try to kill Adama. Novacek finally comes to his senses and realizes he was just doing the Cylons' dirty work for them.
A while later, Adama goes to Colonial One and hands his resignation to Roslin, saying he has to face up to what he has done and no longer deserves his command. Roslin refuses his resignation; in fact, she was just about to award him a medal of distinction for his 45 years of military service. Adama says he doesn't deserve it, but she admits the medal is not for "him" but for "them", the men and women under his command, who need a hero. When Adama laments his role in destroying the human race, Roslin responds by saying that the matter was both anybody's and everybody's fault. She also suggests he may have been manipulated by the admiralty to provoke a war. His penance in the Novacek matter will be to accept the medal, like it or not, and continue his job.
Adama accepts his medal. After the ceremony, he sees Novacek off as he departs for another ship in the fleet to attempt to rebuild his life as a civilian. Before he departs, Adama hands Novacek his Fleet uniform, reminding him "once a pilot, always a pilot," and the two salute each other one final time. Adama is then later paid a visit in his quarters by Colonel Tigh, who is uncertain why he went there in the first place. When Tigh rebuffs Adama's plea for him to return to his duties as the Galacticas XO, Adama then asks him if he is ready to talk about what happened to Ellen
. Tigh says he needs a drink to which Adama replies, "Me too." The two sit down to talk.
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
. This episode aired on November 17, 2006.
Plot
The fleet encounters two Cylon RaiderCylon Raider
The Cylon Raider is the standard starfighter used by the Cylons, in the various Battlestar Galactica movies and television series. Cylon raiders are used as the main line of defense for Cylon Basestars.- Original series :...
s in pursuit of a third. Starbuck
Kara Thrace
Kara Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
and Kat
Louanne Katraine
Louanne Katraine is a fictional character from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series, portrayed by Luciana Carro.- Character biography :...
take out the two pursuing Raiders and engage the third when a panicked male voice comes over the comm identifying himself as Lt. Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek and pleads to call off the attack. Admiral Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
allows the Raider to land on the Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
and a disheveled man emerges from the cockpit. Adama welcomes the man aboard apparently knowing who he is. Novacek is checked over by Doctor Cottle who confirms he is not a Cylon and in good physical health.
Novacek is then debriefed by Adama who is curious to know how he escaped the Cylons. Novacek he explains he was held prisoner for the past three years and found an opportunity for escape when the Cylons showed signs of sickness. Adama believes it was the effect of the virus they found killing the Cylons earlier, to which Novacek says he was apparently immune.
President Roslin
Laura Roslin
Her first actions include organizing all FTL-capable ships together and convincing Commander William Adama to abandon a retaliatory attack on the Cylons. President Roslin and Billy Keikeya, her aide/press secretary/chief of staff, establish a working office space aboard her transport, renamed...
asks for more details on Novacek's situation. Adama informs her that Novacek was a pilot for a black op
Black op
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
mission when Adama was in command of the Battlestar Valkyrie. Adama was sent to the Tauron colony who were violating the Cylon Peace Treaty by mining tylium on a planet that was too close to the Armistice Line. Novacek was on a recon mission but the Cylons shot him down, and Adama states he didn't know that Novacek had survived.
Elsewhere, the Cylon Number Three is wandering the corridors of Galactica dodging security personnel. Once it becomes apparent they are after her, she runs away, coming upon a door she cannot open which reads "End of Line". She turns to the human soldiers, telling them to shoot her. They do, but she quickly awakens from the "dream", back aboard a Cylon Basestar and in bed after an apparent ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
with Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
and Number Six
Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)
Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven"...
.
Back at the fleet, Adama goes to Colonel Tigh's
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
quarters to tell him about the reappearance of Novacek. Tigh is baffled as to how the man had survived his recon mission and wonders what Adama plans to do about it, since Novacek's return could cause a problem if the "truth" were found out.
Later, Adama meets with his son Lee
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
to discuss Novacek. Adama tells Lee the truth about the Tauron mission. Adama was ordered by the Colonial Admiralty (directly by Admiral Corman) to conduct surveillance on the Cylons. They hoped to send a stealth ship across the Armistice Line to learn about the Cylons' military capabilities and intentions. During the mission, unidentified Cylon ships, disabled Novacek's Stealthstar fighter. Lee is shocked to learn that some in the military suspected that the Cylons were using the Armistice to rebuild their forces and that an attack on the Colonies was inevitable. Adama then chokes up, stating the worst part of the mission was his decision to shoot down Novacek himself to avoid his being captured. He feared that if the Cylons captured him, they would retaliate knowing the humans violated the Armistice first by spying on them.
Simultaneously, Novacek visits Tigh. Believing Novacek already knew what really happened, Tigh reminisces about the fateful mission, revealing the harrowing truth about Adama's decision.
Adama continues with the story, lamenting that the failed mission probably instigated the Cylon attack. Despite protests from Lee, Adama believes that he is responsible for destruction of the Colonies.
Back on the Basestar, Number Three's dreams grow increasingly worse and she seeks release. She orders a Centurion to kill her, overriding its directives and telling it to delete the incident from its memory afterwards. The Centurion promptly shoots her in the head and she is resurrected. After awakening from her "death", she tells another Three that during her download, she saw "something so beautiful between life and death", apparently getting a rush from the effect to temporarily escape her mental torment.
Back aboard Galactica, Starbuck analyzes the gun camera footage of the Cylon Raider chase of Novacek and finds something curious. She brings hard copies of the images to Tigh and informs him that the Raiders had every opportunity to shoot Novacek down, but it looks like they were purposely missing. She is also skeptical about Novacek not only escaping the Cylons, but how he managed to find the fleet as well. Tigh becomes concerned and goes to inform Adama.
Adama is in his quarters when he gets an urgent call from Novacek asking to talk to him. Adama quickly heads down and enters Novacek's quarters, where Novacek strikes him in the stomach with a metal pipe. Adama stoops over and Novacek hits him in the face, sending Adama crashing into a table. Novacek ties Adama up and begins choking him, furiously blaming his former commander for sending him on a mission to be captured and tortured by the Cylons for the past three years.
Tigh comes to Adama's rescue, pointing a gun to Novacek's head. Novacek goes for the gun, but Tigh fights him off with the metal pipe. Tigh defends the Admiral's decision to shoot Novacek down, telling him "We're all soldiers Danny, we're all expendable." Tigh tells Novacek that he was duped by the Cylons. They purposely let him go and drove him toward the fleet, somehow knowing that once he learned the truth, he would try to kill Adama. Novacek finally comes to his senses and realizes he was just doing the Cylons' dirty work for them.
A while later, Adama goes to Colonial One and hands his resignation to Roslin, saying he has to face up to what he has done and no longer deserves his command. Roslin refuses his resignation; in fact, she was just about to award him a medal of distinction for his 45 years of military service. Adama says he doesn't deserve it, but she admits the medal is not for "him" but for "them", the men and women under his command, who need a hero. When Adama laments his role in destroying the human race, Roslin responds by saying that the matter was both anybody's and everybody's fault. She also suggests he may have been manipulated by the admiralty to provoke a war. His penance in the Novacek matter will be to accept the medal, like it or not, and continue his job.
Adama accepts his medal. After the ceremony, he sees Novacek off as he departs for another ship in the fleet to attempt to rebuild his life as a civilian. Before he departs, Adama hands Novacek his Fleet uniform, reminding him "once a pilot, always a pilot," and the two salute each other one final time. Adama is then later paid a visit in his quarters by Colonel Tigh, who is uncertain why he went there in the first place. When Tigh rebuffs Adama's plea for him to return to his duties as the Galacticas XO, Adama then asks him if he is ready to talk about what happened to Ellen
Ellen Tigh
After she is killed for treason against the resistance on New Caprica, Ellen resurrects aboard a Cylon ship, where John Cavil holds her prisoner. However, by downloading into a new body, she regains the memories that Cavil had blocked decades earlier...
. Tigh says he needs a drink to which Adama replies, "Me too." The two sit down to talk.
External links
- "Hero" at the Battlestar Wiki
- "Hero" at Syfy.comSyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...