The memorial hallway[1] was created by the crew of Galactica to aid the survivors of humanity to find any loved ones who may have been rescued from the Cylon destruction of the Colonies and were lucky to find themselves on one of the many ships in the battlestar's care.
Five days after the Fleet's escape from Ragnar, Specialist Socinus and other crew are gathering a record of surviving colonists for the new Colonial government, but cannot upload photos to the database (or possibly to other ships) at that moment. When Anastasia Dualla offers her photos to Socinus, he suggests to leave the photo with his group or to place it outside in one of Galactica's hallways. Opting for the latter, Dualla encounters hundreds of photos, newspaper clippings, drawings, and other mementos of loved ones presumed lost or missing in the new Cylon war (TRS: "33").[2]
Unbeknownst to Galactica's crew, Brother John Cavil uses the hallway to post calling cards to other Cylon agents via the placement of pamphlets for his religious services, at the suggestion by an unwitting Socinus (TRS: "The Plan").
Despite the Fleet registry's completion, the memorial remains and is periodically updated and visited by many as a personal shrine. Crewmembers and civilians pray there, lighting candles and mourning the dead. With no possibility of visiting their dead in cemeteries, the hallway serves as a cenotaph or "Yahrtzeit wall" for Colonials and their newly-mortal Cylon allies alike.
In addition to the memorial hallway, the Viper pilots on Galactica have a special picture in their ready room that they touch as they exit as a memorial to other fallen comrades; a copy of the same photograph hangs on the bulkhead of President Roslin's office aboard Colonial One (TRS: "33").
Updates Throughout the Journey[edit]
The memorial's scope extends beyond those lost during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies to include those lost during the journey to Earth.
Louanne Katraine adds a picture of Reilly's girlfriend to the hallway in hopes that she will not be forgotten as quickly as the pilot (TRS: "Scar"). Over a year later, Kara Thrace adds Katraine's photo to the wall beneath Katraine's addition, after Katraine succumbs to radiation poisoning (TRS: "The Passage"). Following a promise made by Lee Adama to Kara Thrace prior to her death (TRS: "Maelstrom"), he places a photo of her on the wall, near Katraine's photo (TRS: "The Son Also Rises").
Since joining the fleet, Rebel Cylons have also been witnessed placing images and pictures of fallen comrades on the memorial wall. Most notably on the wall are an image of Natalie Faust, as well as images of two unnamed Eights, a Six and a Two. At least one of the images seems to be a Colonial Identification card. President Roslin and Admiral Adama's discovery of the Cylons' adoption of the practice cements their realization that the two societies' integration is a fait d'accompli irrespective of their own ambivalence (TRS: "Deadlock").
After Adama gives the order to abandon Galactica, most of the pictures in the hallway are removed by survivors, save those that were placed there by people who died during the journey to Earth. Notably, Brendan Costanza retrieves the photographs of dead pilots to ensure they will not be forgotten (TRS: "Daybreak, Part I").
Location[edit]
A section of the hallway happened upon by Anastasia Dualla led to a head during its initial genesis (TRS: "33"), while another section adjoined lead to an infirmary (TRS: "Final Cut"). The breadth and depth of the hallway is otherwise not fully quantifiable.
Notes[edit]
- The Re-imagined Series' story lines were heavily influenced by the tone of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
- In the early days of this event, fences and sign posts in the area around the site of the attacks were covered by pictures of missing people by the citizens to ask help in finding their loved ones. As the rescue attempts at "Ground Zero" turned into recovery efforts, these many signs became makeshift memorials. The Galactica memorial hallway was apparently intended as an poignant allegory to these tributes.
- The terrorist attacks not only influenced the series, but created delays that led to the premature demise of an earlier planned Battlestar Galactica continuation in pre-production that same year.
- Similar memorials are created after many large catastrophes in the world, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
- Many of the photographs and notes posted in the memorial hallway on Galactica do not have their edges clipped as with all other Colonial paper. Further, many of the persons on the wall were relatives or friends of the cast and crew of the show, and sections were often replicated with the same photos to maintain the illusion of depth and breadth of the converted hallway set.
Additional pictures[edit]
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Closeup (TRS: "33"). -
Kara Thrace and a mourning crewman at the memorial (TRS: "The Passage"). -
Kat with mourning crewmember in the background (TRS: "Scar"). -
Louanne "Kat" Katraine's placement of Reilly's picture of his girlfriend following his death (TRS: "Scar"). -
Kat's picture is added after her death (TRS: "The Passage"). -
Closeup (TRS: "The Passage"). -
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The memorial hallway is stripped nearly bare during the evacuation (TRS: "Daybreak, Part I"). -
William Adama goes over the once-brimming walls of the memorial hallway during the scuttling of Galactica, coming across a photo of the abducted Hera Agathon with her mother, Sharon "Athena" Agathon (TRS: "Daybreak, Part I").
References[edit]
- ↑ This is a Battlestar Wiki descriptive term.
- ↑ It is not known how, cinematically, the wall was created, but a popular guess is that the many photos are the anonymous contributions of the show's cast and crew.
