# Kinda stupid question from the original Battlestar Galactica **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509 "2003-12-12T02:57:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/1 "2003-12-12T02:57:59Z")
Since the destruction of the 12 Colonies, the Colonials have been seeking a refuge, a planet with other humans where they can settle, regroup and defend themselves against the Cylons. Their hopes had been that they might find the lost 13th colony of Earth. Ok, so they’ve discovered the Terrans, the humans with the evil Eastern Alliance and the good Nationalist People’s Alliance (had to look that one up). These are apparently the first humans the Colonials have enountered who were not from the Twelve Colonies- perhaps descended from stragglers from the lost 13th tribe. Terra is home to millions if not billions of humans, and has numerous space bases and some colonies in neighboring star systems. They have interstellar (though not FTL) spaceflight. So what do the Colonials do? **They keep on going!!!** “Sorry, this isn’t THE Earth, guess we’d better keep looking”. WTF?! What were they hoping to find that Terra wouldn’t fit the bill? Of course the show would’ve ended there if they had, but what logic (if any) made them skip past Terra? ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/2 "2003-12-12T03:34:52Z")
What I don’t get is why _we_ want them here! “Don’t be bringin’ them damn Cylons here man! There’s plenty of room on Mars, and it’s just a planet over!” ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/3 "2003-12-12T06:20:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lumpy \* > \*\*Since the destruction of the 12 Colonies, the Colonials have been seeking a refuge, a planet with other humans where they can settle, regroup and defend themselves against the Cylons. Their hopes had been that they might find the lost 13th colony of Earth. > > Ok, so they’ve discovered the Terrans, the humans with the evil Eastern Alliance and the good Nationalist People’s Alliance (had to look that one up). These are apparently the first humans the Colonials have enountered who were not from the Twelve Colonies- perhaps descended from stragglers from the lost 13th tribe. Terra is home to millions if not billions of humans, and has numerous space bases and some colonies in neighboring star systems. They have interstellar (though not FTL) spaceflight. > > So what do the Colonials do? **They keep on going!!!** “Sorry, this isn’t THE Earth, guess we’d better keep looking”. WTF?! What were they hoping to find that Terra wouldn’t fit the bill? > > Of course the show would’ve ended there if they had, but what logic (if any) made them skip past Terra? \*\* The only thing I can guess is that(according to their thinking) if Earth is supposed to be the long lost colony, then _surely_ they must be at least as advanced as the other 12, if not more so. And since Terra is only a little straggler outpost and they have such goodies, well just imagine what Earth must be like. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/4 "2003-12-12T08:17:48Z")
You’re overlooking the fact that it was a very, very stupid show. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/5 "2003-12-12T10:45:08Z")
Randolph Mantooth looked too much like Richard Hatch. They would keep getting confused and calling each other Apollo. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/6 "2003-12-12T15:18:35Z")
Q: Why were the Battlestar Galactica’s windows always so clean? A: They had plenty of Colonial Vipers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc79bd/32.png) [@Hammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hammer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/7 "2003-12-12T16:40:35Z")
I always took it that they weren’t advanced enough to defend against the Cylons. Which also left me wondering if every little place they visited ended up getting wiped shortly after they left. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/8 "2003-12-12T21:27:59Z")
That was always my thought too, Hammer. They were leaving a wake of destruction behind them like nobody’s business. And I bet they never once paused to say “Oh by the way, a race of evil robots bent on destroying mankind is following us, so you may need to start finding another planet to live on. OK, bye!” ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/9 "2003-12-13T01:02:38Z")
I always kinda figured it was because they’d wind up fighting the Eastern Alliance _and_ the Cylons… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/10 "2003-12-13T02:31:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Odinoneeye \* > \*\*Randolph Mantooth looked too much like Richard Hatch. They would keep getting confused and calling each other Apollo. \*\* OK, I give. What connection does Randy Mantooth have with Battlestar Galactica? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/11 "2003-12-13T03:13:49Z")
I believe that Mantooth played the good guy driving Buck Roger’s shuttle, being chased by the Space Nazis. BUT, it has been decades since I considered the show at all. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/12 "2003-12-13T03:20:02Z")
Confirmed. > [@](#): > > Greetings from Earth > Airdate: February 25, 1979 (2 hours) > Written by: Glen A. Larson > Directed by: Rod Holcomb > Guest cast: Ray Bolger (Vector), Randolph Mantooth (Michael), Kelly Harmon (Sarah), Murray Matheson (Geller), Lesley Woods (Aggie Moreland), Frank Marth (Josh Moreland), Curt Lowens (Krebbs), Lloyd Bochner (Commandant Leiter), Bobby Van (Hector), Gary Vinson (Doyle), Alex Rodine (Lanceman), Lester Fletcher (Donner), Michelle Larson (Charity), Gillian Greene (Melanie), Eric Larson (Todd), Kimberly Woodward (Loma), David Larson (Walker), Donald Mantooth (Medtech), Ron Kelly (Reese) > > Apollo and Starbuck find a primitive sleeper ship carrying a man, a woman, and four children. It is taken aboard, and is believed to be from Earth. The council wants to open the ship, even though it might kill the inhabitants. Adama will not allow this. Dr. Wilker and Dr. Salik discover that the inhabitants cannot survive in their atmosphere. Apollo, Starbuck, and Cassiopea steal the ship, and continue with it to it’s destination, Paradeen. The male, Michael, informs the Galacticans that they are originally from Terra, but have fled the war with the Eastern Alliance (an evil government), who are killing the democratic Nationalists. An Eastern Alliance ship follows the sleeper ship and captures the party. However, the Galacticans are able to then capture the Alliance men, and take them back to the fleet in their own ship, and imprison them on the Prison Barge. The fleet then continues on to Terra, gaining the location from Michael. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/13 "2003-12-13T06:51:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manduck \* > \*\*You’re overlooking the fact that it was a very, very stupid show. \*\* :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinda-stupid-question-from-the-original-battlestar-galactica/218509/14 "2003-12-13T15:01:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrFidelius \* > \*\*I believe that Mantooth played the good guy driving Buck Roger’s shuttle, being chased by the Space Nazis. > > BUT, it has been decades since I considered the show at all. \*\* Ah. I must have missed that episode. I see there is a Donald Mantooth listed in the credits also.