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Battlestar Galactica

Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1

Season 1, Episode 12, Aired Mar 25, 2005

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In a moment of bad judgment, Kara sleeps with Gaius Baltar. Boomer and Crashdown discover a planet that Roslin believes is Kobol, the ancient homeworld of humanity. Boomer continues to struggle with her Cylon instincts, leading her to thoughts of suicide. Adama believes that the fleet could settle permanently on the new planet. However, the Raptor scouting party discovers a Cylon fleet near the planet. On Cylon-occupied Caprica, Helo encounters Caprica Sharon for the first time since he learned that she is a Cylon.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Stephen Spender

Pilot

Tricia Helfer

Number Six
Mary McDonnell

Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Jamie Bamber

Lee "Apollo" Adama
James Callis

Gaius Baltar
Grace Park

Sharon "Boomer" Valerii

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Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1

10

"Perfect"

By TrueTvWatcher, Jan 14, 2012

Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1 was a riveting episode that started out with a beautiful opening of the various characters engaging in different activities, though the camera shots and dialogue complimented each other in a very effective yet subtle way. There was so much character development as the relationships between characters are put to the test. Helo encounters Sharon after realizing she is a Cylon, Boomer had an "accident" and the President starts to really believe in prophecy. The people who work on this show really know how to put all the elements together to make a spectacular production and I was intrigued, surprised, and enthralled through out the episode. I look forward to watching what happens next in the season 1 finale!!!!!!!!!moreless
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The one where: there's one arrow to rule them all. Or show them the light. Look, it does something.

9.5

"Superb"

By MovieMark, Oct 06, 2011

What a fantastic episode! Straight-away, there was something different about this one. From the opening montage, which was beautifully shot and aided by some gorgeous pieces of music, to the little tidbits such as Appolo and Starbuck trading blows, right down to its riveting finish, Kobal's Last Gleaming packs a hell of a punch.
Sharon and Boomer are having it rough. Helo shoots Sharon in the shoulder and Boomer shoots herself in the face. Double ouch. Grace Park nails both characters. She may not be the strongest actor on the show, but both arcs are steadily making their way to forefront as contenders for best of the season, now that both have gained some much needed momentum. After quite a bit of treading water, they're finally paying off.
I thoroughly enjoyed head-Six's interaction with Gaius here. While I did feel it somehow belittled the character showing how crey crey she became over Gaius having sex with Starbuck, the majority of their scenes together proved to be a real highlight. Gaius' exchange with the president and Six simultaneously was pretty darn funny too.
What will the fleet do now since Starbuck abandoned her crazy, almost suicidal mission to blow up the cylon base ship, and instead opting for a crazy, almost suicidal mission to find a mythical arrow based on a drug-induced prophecy. And how come Six doesn't want Gaius on the battlestar? Shit is gonna hit the fan, folks. Hit it hard.
And a special mention for the score. It was just all kinds of brillopads. I particularly loved the piece when Boomer found Kobal, it was so haunting and delicate. [/nerd]
Frak-O-Meter: 4 fraks!
Cylon Sex: No cylon sex, but we do get some human boinking!
Spot the six: Cap-Six and head-Six.
Death/Injuries: 11 deaths here! Yikes!Boomer or Sharon?: Boomer, for sure!Ships Lost: Just a bunch of vipers.
Battlestar Bleakness: Uhm, does the entire episode count?
Great stuff!
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"Seemed to bring things nicely together." SPOILERS

9.0

"Superb"

By tiewashere, Mar 03, 2011

The tiny suggestions to "The Lords of Kobol" have finally seemed to come to a head. If anyone knew, when Lost started becoming mystical/spiritual I was a little disappointed and thought it was an easy way out. Something doesn't sit right with so much mysticism happening in an otherwise scifi show, but I can't really put my finger on why it doesn't sit right with me. Did anything else feel this way? I do like that Kara and Adama think the President is going wacko when they first hear about her plan. Things like this, with religion, happen to real people all the time so I don't see this being such a huge step out of character. I just wish we knew more about the religion, considering it is made up, which would make the story that much more believable but I don't feel like the show will continue down the mystical route. I feel like this story may lead to Laura's downfall or maybe crush people's ideas of religion within the show. The scenes of Boomer trying to commit suicide was really well done and I was shocked when the gun sound went off when Baltar left the room. Woah Baltar and Starbuck sex! Did this happen in episodes prior? I don't remember, but then again, I was very sleepy. I did like how they brought together the idea of the "cylon technology" from earlier parts of the show and the cylon raider. Seemed to bring things nicely together. I also enjoy seeing how Six talks about the Boomer model of cylons. I just don't know how I feel about the mystical stuff... 9/10moreless
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Something's wrong.

8.5

"Great"

By kickdoor, Nov 16, 2010

That was the best cold open so far in the series, so much going on but it was all done well. The shots of Sharon struggling with taking her own life were brilliantly acted on her part. Grace Park seems to be one of those actresses who does better without dialogue. Cdr. Adama's words to Apollo after their boxing match were written and delivered with equal aplomb.

Cdr. Adama: "You don't lose control."
Capt. Adama: "Thanks."
Cdr. Adama: "No...you gotta lose control. Let your instincts take over."
Capt. Adama: "I thought we were just sparring."
Cdr. Adama: "That's why you don't win."

And the string of scenes were tied together with such a beautiful piece of music, it was suspenseful yet somber, and thus fit perfectly with the the cold open.

My favorite scene, besides the cold open, was definitely the one between Baltar and Sharon in her bunk. Baltar really surprised me by even going in there, let alone showing that much compassion. If the two of them weren't already amongst my favorite characters they would have been after that scene.

Roslin, on the other hand, pretty much secured a permanent position as my least favorite character by convincing Starbuck to take the Raider back to Caprica. The thing that pissed me off the most about is that she's basically telling Starbuck, "I have no faith in you're ability or plan to take down the Basestar and don't think you'll make it back with the Raider." Plus, the Basestar has to be destroyed before they can use the arrow on Kobol anyway. So why not just do that first, potentially rescue a couple very important members of the fleet(Chief and Baltar), and then go off looking for the arrow in Cylon-held territory? Even if it was an issue of them being able to track the transponder in the Raider that was used to destroy the Basestar, they could have swapped it out with the other fully functional one before she headed off to Caprica. Awaggghh! I frakkin' hate her.

I did enjoy the entire episode, even when I was angry at Roslin.moreless
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“What could go wrong? Damn- I did not just say that”

10

"Perfect"

By scuttlecliff, Oct 11, 2010

In my opinion a really good drama should have three core elements:

1. Intelligent stories with suspense, drama and a little bit of humour.
2. Three-dimensional characters with human flaws and not clichd troubles to create spectacle.
3. A sense of direction. The show should know where it's going and how it's going to get there.

Battlestar Galactica is one of only four shows that I currently watch and that I believe contains all three elements (The other three are Lost, Carnivale and The Sopranos). Unfortunately this means sweet fuck all to Johnny Public who would rather spend their nights sat in front of Big Brother, Pop Idol (or American Idol to the yanks), soap operas and more reality shows that are about as real as Michael Jackson's face. People don't want intelligent, funny, moving programs that don't treat them like a bunch or retarded monkeys with ADD. People want to see Simon Cowell say mean things about crap singers. They want to see Donald Trump (and his bizarre wig) fire someone for not doing their job well enough. They like to see Z-List 'Celebrities' making complete arses of themselves for the sake of prolonging their fickle 15 minutes of fame. So why is it that for some reason millions of people are watching Battlestar Galactica.

Surly anyone who watched the first few minutes of this episode would have realised that this show was far too good to be considered a simple cult show. This is one of the best dramas on television and should be regarded as such. The opening of this episode is the finest piece of television I have seen this year. Brilliantly edited, fantastically scored this terrific montage told us everything we need to know about all the core characters. Adama may have been beating the crap out of his son but the two of them have never seen closer. They have finally but all of they're troubles and differences where they belong: in the past. They are now bonding like father and son in the only way grown men can through physical violence. Baltar and Starbuck have been flirting with each other for what seems like ever and now the two of them have finally done the nasty. Only silly Kara called out the wrong name and now poor little Baltar has had his gigantic ego bruised. Meanwhile back on Caprica Helo despite his better judgement can't bring himself to kill Sharon. Idiot. She'll be the death of you boy, mark my words. Back on Galactica Boomer 1 is busy sticking a swallowing her gun.

Wait a minutethe last time we saw Galactica's Boomer she was at the Colonial Day party dancing with Gaeta having fun, smiling with the rest of the crew. The week before she was winding up Crashdown about the ensign who had a crush on him. This week she is shoving a gun in her mouth for no apparent reason. Did we miss something, has something happened since last week that we haven't found out about yet. As well acted and written these scenes were Boomer's sudden suicidal nature is unbelievable. I will admit to be completely caught off guard when I heard the gunshot but I still find it hard to believe that this woman would just suddenly for no apparent reason decide to kill herself. Any doubts she had that she was a Cylon were soon put aside when Baltar gave her the all clear (yes we now he was lying but she didn't). I can tell from the way she was acting when she first appeared that something must have happened that wasn't shown so I am hopeful that this will be explained further in Part II but for them moment this is the only thing that lets down what it already a great episode.

Roslin is now officially off her head. Not only is she mistaking drug-educed hallucinations for prophecies but she now seems to think she is the goddamn messiah. And I thought Gaius was bad. Billy was right to finally stand up to her and tell her off for what she was doing. But even with her closest aid acting as the voice of reason Roslin still went ahead with her crazy plan and in the process practically left the raptor crew for dead. All I can say is that Adama is going to be mighty pissed off with her.

I figured Baltar and Starbuck would hook-up at some point but I never expected her to scream out another man name nor for that other man name to be that dull lamppost. Gaius Baltar maybe a self-serving, egotistical, cowardly, pathetic, manipulative little man but he's a lot more fun than boring Lee. You really are a screw up Kara Thrace and your taste in men leaves something to be desired.

Good Bits
-The opening teaser.

-Helo. He ain't taking the Cylon's crap anymore.

-Boomer's attempted suicide. It may be sudden but still very powerful.

-The effects shots of the Cylon Basestar over Kobal. WOW.

-Baltar. His scene with Boomer was rather touching. Even Number Six was in tears.

Bad Bits
-Roslin is now officially bonkers.

-Aren't Starbuck and Roslin a little suspicious that after a Cylon tells them they are going to find Kobal they just happen to find Kobal?

-The bleakness has returned.

-For the record Starbuck getting together with Apollo is a very bad idea.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Current population count as of this episode: 47,897 (written on the whiteboard behind President Roslin's desk).
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QUOTES (3)
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- (wondering why Starbuck slept with Baltar) Lee: Why'd you do it, Kara? Just tell me why? Kara: Because I'm a screw-up, Lee. Try to keep that in mind.
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- (After a sparring session) Adama: You don't lose control. Lee: Thanks. Adama: No, you gotta lose control. Let your instinct take over. Lee: I thought we were just sparring. Adama: That's why you don't win.
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- Kara: Hi, Gaius. Baltar: Mr. Vice President, if you please, Lt. Thrace. Some level of decorum has to be maintained after all, or is it a pirate ship you're running? Kara: No, just a battlestar, sir.
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NOTES (3)
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- This episode first aired in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2005, on Sky One. Sky One co-financed the first season of the show.
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- This episode featured scenes with both Boxey and Ellen Tigh, but they were cut due to time.
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- This episode was inspired by the two-part episode "Lost Planet of the Gods" from the original Battlestar Galactica series, which introduced the world and mysteries of Kobol.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Featured Music: Passacaglia by Bear McCreary. A passacaglia is a musical form. Its name derives from the Spanish pasear (to walk) and calle (street), supposedly to denote the music played by wandering musicians. Originally a slow Italian or Spanish dance in 3/4 time, the passacaglia later came to be an instrumental work in 3/4 based on a ground (that is, a melody which repeats unchangingly throughout while other lines are freely varied).
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