The Long Patrol
Original Airdate: October 15, 1978
Writer: Don Bellisario.
Director: Christian I Nyby II.
Guest Cast: James Whitmore Jr. (Robber), Ted Gehring (Croad), Sean McClory (Assault), Tasha Martell (Adultress), Cathy Paine (Voice of C.O.R.A.).
Starbuck tests out a new long range Viper. Outfitted with extra thrusters and a flirtatious computer named C.O.R.A., the recon Viper is twice as fast as a normal fighter but is unarmed. Outwitted by a criminal, Starbuck is captured and trapped on a penal colony where the inmates are imprisoned for the crimes of their ancestors.
“I liked the story on that one a lot,” recalls director Christian Nyby II. “It was an interesting concept, that these people were generations of prisoners and there were generations of guards.”
Nyby also enjoyed the opportunity to work with episode guest star James Whitmore. Waiting for the studio tour to go by, he recalled one instance on the back lot while filming. “He was sitting in the Viper and I was sitting on a crane and he said, ‘isn’t this great Chris, it’s like we’re ten years old and they are giving us all these great toys to play with.”
