Commander Cain

This article is about the character from the original Battlestar Galactica. For the re-imagined character, see Helena Cain.

Cain
Battlestar Galactica character
Lloyd Bridges as Commander Cain
Portrayed by	Lloyd Bridges
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Title	Commander
Affiliation	Colonials

Commander Cain is a fictional character in the original Battlestar Galactica science fiction TV series, portrayed by the American actor Lloyd Bridges.

Description

Commander Cain is the commander of the Battlestar Pegasus, the father of Lieutenant Sheba, and former lover of Cassiopeia. He is one of the greatest heroes in the Colonial Service; his battle strategies are legendary throughout the fleet. However, he is also known to be rather impulsive and a maverick. He inspires near-fanatical loyalty amongst his crew on the Pegasus. Under his command, the Pegasus sortied to defend a human ally world, out of contact with the Twelve Colonies, with an expeditionary force (referred to as The Fifth Fleet) that was destroyed by the Cylons; the Pegasus, however, escaped, and was spared destruction at Baltar's betrayal to the Cylons.

"The Living Legend"

Cain appears in the original series two-part episode, "The Living Legend", where the Pegasus meets up with the Galactica, under the command of Commander Adama, and its refugee fleet just as it is experiencing a fuel shortage. After a joyous reunion, Cain offers to solve the fleet's difficulty by raiding Cylon tankers. However, Cain desires much more and proposes the Battlestars attack the planet Gamoray, occupied by the Cylons, in an effort to take the offensive against the enemy.

However, Adama, more concerned with his quest for Earth and the protection of the refugees, refuses to agree to Cain's reckless plan. When Cain is discovered deliberately interfering with fuel raids to force the attack he wants, Adama relieves him of duty in favor of Colonel Tigh assuming authority of Pegasus with orders to distribute its fuel reserves amongst the refugee fleet. The Pegasus crew nearly mutiny at this treatment of Cain and the fleet is perilously close to a small civil war.

However, Count Baltar suddenly attacks with a large force of Cylons to destroy the Galactica and interrupts the colonial dispute in the face of the common enemy. Adama restores Cain to his command while Cain concedes that had his offensive been carried out, the refugee fleet would have been helpless at this moment.

Although outnumbered, the commanders decide on a pincer movement where the Galactica occupies Baltar's attention while Pegasus maneuvers around for a surprise attack. In the ensuing engagement, the Galactica suffers heavy damage, and its landing bays are crippled to prevent its Vipers from refueling. However, just as Baltar expects the battlestar to fall, the traitor is caught completely off guard as the Pegasus makes its attack run with its Viper complement deployed to relieve the sister ship. Stunned with the unexpected appearance of a second battlestar and alarmed by its fresh reinforcements about to attack his depleted forces, Baltar orders a retreat.

Cain eventually convinces Adama to let him return to command of his Battlestar, which he takes into a near-suicidal attack on a duo of Cylon Basestars. In the ensuing battle, the Cylons are destroyed and it appears Cain and his ship as well, although Apollo is unable to determine their fate as the explosions and clouds of debris from the battle are too intense. (Their ultimate fate remains unknown.)

Cain subsequently appears in series star Richard Hatch's re-launch novel series, having led the Pegasus to a planet where he and his surviving crew founded a new colony and began construction of two new battlestars and were preparing to resume the war with the Cylons. He also appears in the Maximum Press Battlestar Galactica comic book series. Due to image licensing restrictions, he sports a mustache and bears no resemblance to Lloyd Bridges.

Proposed movie

Glen A. Larson, creator and producer of Battlestar Galactica, attempted a revival in the late 1990s with a feature film project that would feature Commander Cain and the Battlestar Pegasus. However, Larson's planned film never went into production.

Cain (as played by Lloyd Bridges) was featured in the second Battlestar Galactica movie Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack, which was a feature-length release edited from the series episodes "The Living Legend" and "Fire in Space".

Reimagined version

The character of Cain was included in several episodes of the remake of Battlestar Galactica, as was the storyline where the Galactica meets the Pegasus. In the remake, the character is Admiral Helena Cain, who is Commander Adama's superior officer, and is portrayed by the actress Michelle Forbes.

External links

• Cain at the Battlestar Wiki