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

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

''. Written by series creator

Glen A. Larson Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American television producer, writer, and composer. He created many series, including '' Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ' ...

and directed by

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

, the episodes were originally broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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 (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

''" in 2005. It also introduced the recurring characters of Lieutenant Sheba ( Anne Lockhart) and Bojay (

Jack Stauffer Jack Stauffer (born December 3, 1945) is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is also a director of theater productions. Career Stauffer played the original Chuck Tyler, Charles "Chuck" Tyler on the daytime soap opera ''All My ...

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

Imperious Leader The Cylons () are a race of sentient robots in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' science fiction franchise, whose primary goal is the extermination of the human race. Introduced in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), 1978 television s ...

. 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.

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 Lieutenant Sheba ( 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 writ ...

, and was published by

Berkeley Books Berkley Books is an American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compan ...

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 created by MCA Inc., MCA and developed by Cerwin-Vega in conjunction with Universal Studios, Inc., Universal Studios to enhance the audio experience during film screenings, specifically for the 1974 film ...

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 VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...

and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

. 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 "The Living Legend" is a two-part episode of the American science fiction television series ''Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), Battlestar Galactica''. Written by series creator Glen A. Larson and directed by Vince Edwards, the episodes we ...

(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