Fire In Space
Original Airdate: December 17, 1978
Writers: Jim Carlson and Terrence McDonnell.
Director: Christian I Nyby II.
Guest Cast: William Bryant (Fireleader), Jeff MacKay (Crewman).
The Cylons launch a kamikaze attack on the Galactica causing devastating damage to the bridge and a raging fire. Apollo and Starbuck place charges on the hull hoping that the resulting explosion will expose the fire to the vacuum of space and smother it.
Fire in Space created several amusing moments for animal trainer Boone Narr. Attempting to reach help, Muffet (played by Evie the Chimp) crawls through a series of ventilation ducts on the Galactica. “We had this elevator scene,” recalls Narr, “and it fills up with smoke. We opened the doors and all that was left in there were her shoes.” He laughs, “the effects guys put a little too much pressure on the smoke, so it made a real loud hissing sound. When we opened the doors up and the smoke cleared, she was up in the rafters.”
Yet another challenge for the production team was the episode's finale, which required Apollo and Starbuck to go out on to the hull the Galactica and set explosive charges. Art director Richard James remembers, "It was one of our late Friday afternoon/evening production meetings. We went through that line – you know – our boys go out on the exterior of the Battlestar and plant bombs to snuff out the fire and they just continued on with the meeting. My hand shot up and I asked, 'where is the exterior of this ship? It’s vast.'”
Under tight budget and time constraints, James set out to create a hull set that would match the intricate surface detail established by the six-foot miniature of the Galactica used in filming the special effects. "I got an empty stage, painted the walls all black, did the floor like the surface of the ship, and painted it Battlestar grey. I did rivet runs all over everywhere and went out and found big hunks of machinery on the back lot.
I painted the machinery all the same grey and stuck it around on the stage so that it kind of looked like ducts to match the miniature as close as possible."
