Continuity errors

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The Battlestar Galactica television shows, while entertaining, sometimes contain contradictions, changes to established information, and subtle or obvious mistakes in filming or dialogue. On Battlestar Wiki, these are collectively classified as continuity errors.


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Part of the series on


This is a listing of continuity errors in the Original Series.

Logic errors[edit]

"Saga of a Star World"[edit]

  • When Galactica arrives at Caprica after the Cylon attack, Adama tells a group on Galactica's bridge that he wants to take his shuttle to check on his home and wife there. Apollo overrides him, stating that it's too dangerous to take a shuttle and instead will take him on his fighter. However, the fighter they take (shown parked outside Adama's home) is a one-seat Viper. There would have been no room for both men on the same fighter, and no other fighter was shown.
  • After the bombardment of the colonies, Starbuck returns to Galactica, but his Viper does not work. Athena tries to help him and reviews the diagram of the ship on her computer. The point is that in the information about the Viper we clearly see "Made in USA."

"Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II"[edit]

  • At 00:19:08, when Adama, Apollo and Serina look to see the landram on Kobol's surface, the landram footage is flipped, as betrayed by the flipped number "4" on the side of the landram.

"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part II"[edit]

  • As the pulsar fires and misses the Fleet, it causes an explosion just past the Fleet. However, a laser beam should continue on at the speed of light relatively indefinitely, until coming close to a black hole or hitting an object.
  • At ~00:33:20, as a shot of the Fleet is established, a ship at the extreme right of the screen suddenly snaps into existence, whereas the ship did not appear there before the previous second earlier.
  • When Thane tricked the Cylons and detonated the bomb, the violent explosion that neutralized the Cylons did not affect the Thetas.

"The Young Lords"[edit]

  • During the approach of the Cylon Raiders in the teaser, Boomer's scanner shows three ships–but four are seen commencing their attack.

"The Man with Nine Lives"[edit]

  • When Chameleon tells Starbuck to "hit the deck," Starbuck lands near the front of the Viper as Chamelon fires the Viper's lasers into the launch tubes. After the volley is fired, the next scene finds Starbuck jumping out of the launch tube, which is filled with smoke, as if he were running the whole time.
  • In Adama's ready room, when Chameleon is ordered to report to Siress Blassie on the Senior ship for rehabilitation, Apollo is first seen with his pistol belt. When the shot cuts to Apollo and Sheba around 00:48:04, Apollo is seen without the belt. The belt reappears only 12 seconds later as Starbuck and Chameleon walk by to leave the room.

"Greetings From Earth"[edit]

  • Sire Geller said "lieutenant" to Jolly. Whereas, Joly is a sergeant.

"Baltar's Escape"[edit]

  • At ~00:03:37, when Adama visits the Prison Barge to question Commandant Leiter, the Council Security guard moves to open the door to the cell—which slides open before he is even able to slide his keycard.

Prop errors[edit]

"Baltar's Escape"[edit]

Footage used from other sources[edit]

The snowram suddenly has a hood?

"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I"[edit]

  • At 00:33:53, the viewer is shown the perspective from the left front window looking out from what we're to believe is the snowram. However, this is a serious gaffe, as the snowram does not have a hood and it appears that there have been other vehicles in the path they are traveling in, when clearly traveling to Death Point Plateau is inadvisable due to the di-ethene levels.

"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part II"[edit]

  • At various times during the trek up Mount Hekla, footage from other sources is used. Typically, the footage depicts a four-man team, however during the initial climb there are six people (Wolfe, Leda, Apollo, Ser 5-9, Tenna, and Croft) until Tenna and Ser 5-9 go back down the mountain after Ser sustains injuries to his leg due to an avalanche.

Misplaced reused footage[edit]

"Saga of a Star World"[edit]

A Raider follows the Vipers as they start their patrol?
  • At 00:06:06, just as Apollo and Zac are launching on their patrol a Raider swoops in out of nowhere for a moment. This is likely footage from later in the episode.

"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I"[edit]

  • At 00:31:01, when Starbuck destroys the lone Cylon Raider with the snowram's turret, the scene depicting the Raider's destruction is the same explosion scene that depicts the basestar's destruction over Carillon in "Saga of a Star World". Note the orange glowing background and, at ~00:31:01, the basestar's exterior which is the most noticeable at the top right of the screen.
  • At 00:40:34, a misplaced shot of three Tennas is placed after Tenna says that the Thetas prefer the term "Theta class life-forms" instead of clones. The shot of the three Tennas seen at 00:40:34 is taken from the second part of the episode, where Starbuck is dragged away by Boomer.

"The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part II"[edit]

"The Living Legend, Part I"[edit]

  • Around 00:02:41, as Starbuck and Apollo are being attacked by two other unknown craft (actually Colonial Vipers piloted Bojay and Sheba from Pegasus), blue laser bolts streak past. Vipers fire red bolts; Raiders fire the blue.
  • Around 00:45:17, Adama orders "positive shield" and the batteries commencing fire. The scene is archive footage is from "Saga of a Star World". This is telling due ot the fact that Adama sports a cape and Omega's being replaced by another officer. When the scene resumes around 00:45:55, Adama's cape suddenly disappears and Omega reappears, reporting that there's a fire in the bay.

"The Living Legend, Part II"[edit]

  • Around 00:45:18, Adama orders "positive shield" and the launch of Vipers. The scene is archive footage is from "Saga of a Star World". This is telling due ot the fact that Adama sports a cape and Omega's being replaced by another officer. When the scene resumes around 00:45:54, Adama's cape suddenly disappears and Omega reappears, reporting that there's a fire in Alpha bay.
  • As Pegasus engages the Cylons, the scene where the core command offers wince and react to the explosions is too ripped from "Saga of a Star World". Note the caped Adama in the blue uniform with Colonel Tigh on core command.
  • During Pegasus is closing to Basestar, "Galactica" is written on landing bay of Pegasus as right to left.

"Fire in Space"[edit]

  • Around 00:03:54, Sheba is shown putting on her Pegasus crested helmet as she launches her Viper, but once out in space (around 00:05:48) she has the "hawk" like the rest of Galactica pilots. It continues to switch back and forth (such as 00:06:56 when it goes back to the horse again).

"Hand of God"[edit]

  • During Galactica is closing to Basestar, "Galactica" is written on landing bay as right to left.

Reused special effects[edit]

Repeated usages of stock footage[edit]

A majority of the special effects shots involving various exterior shots of Galactica and her Fleet in space, to Viper and Raider skirmishes, as well as attacks on Galactica herself, are reused throughout the series with little exception. Some of the noteworthy reuses are noted below:

Effects reuses[edit]

Reuses from the Original Series to 1980[edit]

Main article: Continuity errors (1980)

External links[edit]

Part of the series on


These are continuity errors seen in Galactica 1980.

Costume errors[edit]

  • In "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I," Troy's Warrior jacket does not have the Galactica patch upon landing on Earth, and embarking on his turbocycle. However, Kent McCord's stunt double has this emblem on his jacket, allowing viewers to discern between footage shot with McCord and footage shot with the actors' stunt double on their turbocycles.

Dialogue errors[edit]

Logic errors[edit]

  • The signal correctly believed by some Colonials to be from Earth is the Apollo 11 moon landing from 1969, and is received by Galactica in the Original Series finale, "The Hand of God". Eleven years have passed on Earth, since the Fleet finds Earth in 1980; however, thirty years have passed for the Fleet, indicating they should have come across the planet much later than 1980.
An energy bolt goes through an USAF airman.
  • In "The Super Scouts, Part I," the Delphi develops engine trouble and stops "dead in space". However, the ship should still have inertia, thus continuing to move in space, until slowed or diverted by a gravitational pull or other outside force.
  • In "The Super Scouts, Part II," Sydell opens the back of John Stockton's van, seeing the empty beds. As he points the flashlight in Stockton's face, he asks where the Warriors and children are. On another shot at roughly ~44:08, which is supposed to show his response to this question, Stockton is (somehow) on the left side of the van when he replies to this question.
  • In "Space Croppers," there are three Agro Ships being attacked by Cylons. However, it is previously established that within the first year of their journey for Earth, two of the three surviving Agro Ships are destroyed by a similar attack in "The Magnificent Warriors". To add to the contradiction, Adama refers to the attack as having destroyed one agricultural ship.
  • In "Space Croppers" at ~04:22, a Viper pilot jukes to his port, but the next special effects shot shows the Viper juking to starboard.

Prop errors[edit]

A cop with two different badge numbers! (1980: "The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II").
  • In "The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II," the old NYPD cop that pursues Troy and Dillon is wearing badges with two different and conflicting numbers. His hat says 4286 while the badge on his jacket reads 6425. This is also prevalent on many of the NYPD cops that make appearances in this episode.
  • In "Space Croppers, the laser pistols used by Troy and Dillon to prepare the ground for planting are the laser pistols of Cylon Centurions, not Colonials.


Reused footage[edit]

Due to the alleged substantively reduced budget and production problems in 1980, much of the series reuses footage from the Original Series to a much higher degree than in the original.

Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I[edit]

Galactica Discovers Earth, Part III[edit]

  • At ~00:21:04, footage of Troy pressing the switch to activate the flying mode on the turbine is used. However, it can be plainly seen that he is wearing the standard Colonial uniform, instead of the puffy jacket that he's actually wearing when being pursued by the sheriff.
  • The computer screen depicting how close Troy and Dillon are near to Xavier's Viper is taken from "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I," when the Cylons are readying the Ravashol pulsar to fire.

The Super Scouts, Part I[edit]

  • Footage depicting the destruction scenes on the Delphi are taken from various sources, primarily "Fire in Space".
  • Also at ~00:07:17, an explosion effect is overlaid with a shot of a launch tube with a Viper inside.

The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I[edit]

  • Immediately after Britton and Kanon's Viper rams into the A-B Raider, the undercarriage of a regular Raider can be seen briefly at ~00:03:22 from inside the Viper's cockpit.
  • The scene between Zee and Adama discussing the fact that the Cylons have evolved beyond their greatest fears is the same as the discussion about the attack on the Delphi in "The Super Scouts, Part I". There is an abandoned sub-plot in a previous version of the script for "The Super Scouts, Part I" that would have introduced the android Cylons, and this dialogue is clearly the only surviving descendant of that abandoned plotline.
  • The scene of two police cars alleging to be on West 12th Street at ~00:44:22 shows two older police cars, as noted by the different strobe-and-flash rack on the roof, and the car types.
  • While A-B Raider has been closing the Earth, Paradeen (or Attila) has been seen to replaced the Earth through the windows

Space Croppers[edit]

The Return of Starbuck[edit]

Special effects[edit]

Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I[edit]

The black "rods" can be seen from the back of the Raider models in this shot.
  • The visual effects depicting two Raiders reveal what appear to be stubs from two rods that hold and rotate the Raider models in "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I" at ~00:09:08. These rods can be seen throughout Dr. Zee's simulated attack scenes.
  • At ~00:09:12, at the top of the Capitol Records building is a burning hole, which can be seen through the Raider wing.

The Super Scouts, Part I[edit]

  • The smoke on the Delphi is overlaid on top of the live-action footage, as one can clearly see when the camera angle moves, yet the smoke remains fixed in place.
Part of the series on


This is a listing of continuity errors in the Re-imagined Series.

Acknowledged Mistakes[edit]

Tomb of Athena[edit]

  • At the end of "Home, Part II," when everyone is looking at the map to Earth in the Tomb of Athena, Lee Adama points out the Lagoon Nebula in one of the constellations shown in the sky. According to him, and supported by the visual effects, the nebula is located in Scorpio, but in the real world it is actually in the constellation Sagittarius. The events of "Daybreak" the Tomb of Athena itself is considered a mistake, as the constellations would not have looked

Captions[edit]

  • At the beginning of "Downloaded" two captions are shown: one states that the Cylon Attack in the Miniseries occurred nine months before the current episode (which is consistent with the other episodes in Season 2.5), while the second reads "10 weeks ago," and then shows Cally shooting "Boomer" Valerii in "Resistance." However, it is impossible for this to have happened "10 weeks before 9 months after the attack": 9 months = 270 days. There is another plaque in the episode "Epiphanies" which clearly states on screen that that episode took place on Day 189. There are 70 days in 10 weeks. 70 days before Day 270 would be around Day 200; well after "Epiphanies". To correct this, the title card of the home video and international television releases has been changed to "10 weeks later," meaning 10 weeks after Caprica-Six's resurrection.

Corrected Sequences[edit]

  • In "Scar" Starbuck and Kat fly Viper Mark VIIs but the launch in the originally aired episode showed a Viper Mark II. This has been fixed in the home video release that includes a shorter launch sequence with the Mk VIIs. (Although, a few previous episodes like "Resurrection Ship, Part II" only use the Mk II sequence, but both types of Vipers are deployed by Galactica.)

Out-of-Order Sequences[edit]

  • "Exodus, Part I": At the end of "Precipice" Cally is clearly in the woods when the gunfire is going off. At the time Tyrol and his group take aim at the Cylon Centurion, Cally has not reached the wooded area by the time gunfire sounds. Further, when the gunfire begins in "Precipice," Tyrol is at the firing position, far from Cally, while in "Exodus, Part I" he is holding her to the ground when it begins.

Retcons[edit]

Season two timeline discontinuity[edit]

  • All episodes before Season 2.5 (starting with "Resurrection Ship, Part I") seem to indicate that Season 2.5 begins 3-4 months after the Cylon attack. However, "Resurrection Ship, Part I" and all subsequent Season 2.5 episodes indicate that "Resurrection Ship, Part I" began 6 months after the Cylon attack. See the main article for more detailed analysis. There are 3 main points of discontinuity:
    • Caprica-Valerii is not visibly pregnant in "Pegasus," but by "Epiphanies," roughly 2-3 weeks later, she appears to be in her second trimester.
    • The presidential elections in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" are said to take place 9 months after the attack, when throughout Season 1 it was consistently said to be 7 months after the Cylon attack.
    • If all of the dates mentioned in each episode are counted up, "Pegasus" only occurs roughly three months post-attack, not six.

Fleet numbers[edit]

  • In the Miniseries, a total of 40 FTL ships (led by Roslin) rendezvous with Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage. This makes the count 41 ships, including Galactica. However, this number was enlarged for the series. In "33," Dualla states: "Jump 237 underway... 53 ships have jumped, 10 still reporting trouble with their FTL drives, including Colonial One." Thus making the total 64 ships, including Galactica herself. By the end of "33," the count drops to 63 as Lee Adama and Kara Thrace destroy the Olympic Carrier. In "You Can't Go Home Again," Colonel Tigh mentions the Cylons searching for "a sixty-odd ships". The count offered in "The Farm" is similar — 24 ships leave to join Roslin's fleet, which was "almost a third" of the Fleet, putting the number at about 75. About 65 ships have been named to date, mostly on the vote tally boards in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II".
  • The Astral Queen: In the Miniseries, Billy Keikeya states that the captain had 500 prisoners in his cargo hold, and that the Queen was a cargo vessel transporting prisoners to a prison. In "Bastille Day," Billy Keikeya's lines were re-dubbed: 1,500 prisoners are aboard the Astral Queen and that the ship was a prison transport. Lee Adama would go on to later state that the Astral Queen was en route to Caprica for parole hearings.

Cylon detector[edit]

  • In the episode "Flesh and Bone," it takes only minutes to identify "Boomer" Valerii as a Cylon. However, in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down," he states that complete testing on one sample of blood takes 11 hours. However, this could be because a negative result takes 11 hours to confirm but a positive result potentially may be more instant. Although, since Ellen is later revealed to be a member of the Final Five in "Sometimes a Great Notion," coupled with the fact that Baltar rigged the results to always read as negative and said he would "never tell" what Ellen's true results were, it is possible that it takes 11 hours to alter any positive readouts so that they'd appear to be negative.

Kobol[edit]

  • The exodus from Kobol: In "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I" Elosha, Billy and Roslin are discussing Kobol and the exodus of the tribes. Billy says that the ruins on Kobol are 2,000 years old. Elosha states this is when the Thirteen tribes left Kobol. Other mentions in the show (particularly Season 3 episodes concerning the Cylon virus and the Temple of Five) mention that the 13th tribe left Kobol about 2,000 years before the other twelve did. Elosha's comment implies that all thirteen tribes left Kobol together, just in different directions.

Characters[edit]

  • In "Final Cut," Louanne Katraine says hello to her mother on camera in the duty locker and says hello to her buddies on Freighter 212, yet in "The Passage," Katraine is noted as the alias for Sasha, a gun-runner who has been avoiding her past. These two pieces of information are not fully congruent.
  • In "No Exit," Cavil tells Ellen that he had programmed himself to stop sleeping decades ago. However, Cavil is shown in pajamas getting into bed in "The Plan," which takes place only a few years before his statement to Ellen.

Danglers[edit]

Danglers are plotlines that have been started, but were never explicitly resolved.

Zarek-Tigh Plotline[edit]

In the episode "Colonial Day," it is heavily implied that Ellen Tigh revealed the location of Valance to agents of Tom Zarek, and that she intends for her husband, Colonel Saul Tigh, to meet with Zarek's people in the near future. Nothing of this is touched again up to Ellen's murder in "Exodus, Part II" or even Zarek's execution later in "Blood on the Scales," at which point the Tighs had been outed as Cylons.

Zarek-Black Market Plotline[edit]

Similarly, the end of "Black Market" implies that Zarek has assumed some measure of influence in that organization, yet there is no mention of his association with the black market in the remainder of the series. However, Zarek tells Apollo what he knows about the Black Market because he was approached by Phelan to join the operation but declined on principles, leading to Astral Queen being shunned when supplies were distributed. He provides this background information to Apollo because it will help Apollo shut down the black market, serving Zarek's stated agenda of making access to supplies and luxuries equitable to all.

Demand Peace[edit]

The pro-Cylon terrorist faction that sprung up in the fleet during "Epiphanies" never resurfaced. The episode concluded without any firm resolution regarding the fate of the movement and its leader, Royan Jahee. Their base of operations, "Cloud 9," was destroyed by Gina Inviere in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". The plotline of "Epiphanies" implies that the group is gearing up for a full-scale campaign against the Fleet's leadership, but they are never seen again and the fates of the group's members are not discussed later on. Adama declared the organization outlaw and terrorist, and it is likely that the incident depicted in "Sacrifice" led to a general crackdown on armed insurgent organizations within the Colonial Fleet.

Colonial Workers Alliance[edit]

This union, lead by Galen Tyrol, begins on New Caprica in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" and is touched upon in the episode "Dirty Hands". However, in light of Tyrol's discovery of being a member of the Final Five, and his subsequent breakdown occurring after the death of his wife, his association with the union has not been noted since, and its existence has not been mentioned post-"Dirty Hands".

Recasting[edit]

Zak Adama[edit]

In the Miniseries, a different actor (or stand-in) is pictured as Zak Adama. In "Act of Contrition," a new actor portrays Zak, and the picture was changed to reflect the casting choice.

Ellen Tigh[edit]

The picture of Saul Tigh's estranged wife, which Tigh has burned a hole through, was originally a picture of David Eick's wife, Jennifer Birchfield-Eick. When Kate Vernon was cast as Ellen beginning in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down," the image was changed and scene reshot for the "previously on" recap used in the episode.

Photo Burning Comparison
Jennifer Birchfield-Eick as Ellen Tigh during the cigarette burning picture scene (TRS: "Miniseries").
The reshot cigarette burning picture scene featuring Kate Vernon (TRS: "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down").

Richard Adar[edit]

In the Miniseries, Adar is portrayed by David Eick in a photograph in Baltar's domicile on Caprica. When Adar appears in person in "Epiphanies" he is played by Colm Feore.

Carolanne Adama[edit]

At Zak's funeral, Carolanne Adama is portrayed by an uncredited actress, wearing a broad hat and black veil that obscures her face in "Act of Contrition." She is portrayed by Lucinda Jenney in the episode "A Day in the Life" during William Adama's remembrances of his former wife.

Logic errors[edit]

"Scar"[edit]

  • In the last act of this episode, when Kara Thrace enters the rec room, an intercut scene of the people in the room shows Kara Thrace (at ~38:50) sitting at a table drinking from the "Top Gun" stein. However, the stein is being used by Louanne Katraine at this point, and Thrace had just entered.

"He That Believeth in Me"[edit]

  • Missing Limp: In the previous episode, it is established that Samuel Anders has a limp from a broken leg he received in "The Son Also Rises." The limp is visible in the revelation regarding Four of the Five in the last act. However, the limp disappears completely in "He That Believeth in Me" in events that are depicted to happen 10 (or fewer) minutes later.
  • Pilot Training: In "Crossroads, Part II," it is implied that Samuel Anders only began his training, as he is being shown avionics and other key systems in a Raptor by Lieutenant Margaret Edmondson. In this episode, he tells Kara Thrace that he concluded basic training and began ACM, and is capable of flying the Viper.

"Sine Qua Non"/"The Hub"[edit]

  • The events of the episodes "Sine Qua Non" and "The Hub" occur concurrently, yet the population count drops by one in between the two episodes. Arguably there should have been no drop until the survivor count appears again in "Revelations." The appearance of Eammon Pike, who dies during the events seen in "The Hub" but whose corpse is found in the preceding episode probably explains the error.

"The Plan"[edit]

Wrong Footage[edit]

Miniseries[edit]

VFX Gaffes[edit]

Miniseries[edit]

  • An instance of a destroyed Viper fuselage sans tail number and nameplate (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 1").
    When the Armistice Officer's shuttle first docks at the Armistice Station, the Cylon pentagon and the Colonial Phoenix are seen above the base of the docking tube. Later, when the Station is destroyed, the symbol positions are swapped.
  • While en route to make a visual inspection of the port flight pod, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace passes the remains of the Viper Mark II that does not have a tail number.
  • No less than three copies of Viper 1104 are present at the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage. Of these, one is crash landed by Lieutenant Thrace, one destroyed by Cylon fire, and one successfully landed on Galactica.
  • Miniseries and "33": As Galactica prepares to jump to Ragnar Anchorage, the flight pods retract. As the ship jumps, the pods are not retracted. When Galactica has jumped to Ragnar Anchorage the pods are retracted again. This same footage is reused during "33"'s opening titles.

Season 1[edit]

"33"[edit]

  • As the Cylon Centurion approaches Helo from behind, the rain is hitting it, but it does not drip off its body. In contrast, water is dripping from Helo's face in a fairly consistent and noticeable manner.
  • As Olympic Carrier approaches the Fleet, Galactica turns to engage it, putting itself perpendicular to the ship. When Olympic Carrier is destroyed, Galactica is shown in the position it was before Olympic Carrier appeared.

"You Can't Go Home Again"[edit]

  • Before searching for Starbuck, Apollo climbs into a Viper Mk VII, although he is shown piloting a Mk II in all other effects shots. However, his Mark VII is mentioned as being down for repairs at one point, implying that he flies it off screen.

"The Hand of God"[edit]

Flipped decals on Vipers (TRS: "The Hand of God").
  • During the ground run lead by Lee "Apollo" Adama , "GALACTICA," "BEWARE OF BLAST," "NO STEP" and other textual details (excluding the tail number and nameplate) on the fuselage and wings of Vipers 4267 and 7961 are flipped, as they are meant for the port side of the digital model, and not its starboard.

Amid Season 1[edit]

  • Half-way through Season 1, the Colonial One CG model was updated and the seal of the President of the Colonies was added to the hull. However, the reuse of stock footage from the Miniseries and earlier in the first season cause the seal to continually disappear and reappear in the same episode depending on what shot is used.

Season 2[edit]

"Scattered"[edit]

Mirrored shot of Viper 1104 (TRS: "Scattered").

"Flight of the Phoenix"[edit]

  • Viper and pilot numbers: 42 Vipers are deployed at a time when no more than 34 could have been serviceable, and with no more than 25 pilots available. 40 were available at the start of the series.
  • Blackbird: As the Great Cylon Turkey Shoot begins, the Blackbird (still incomplete, untested, and missing its composite skin by this point) can be seen swooping across the screen in a manner inconsistent with its flight characteristics; the ship was built for speed, not maneuverability. The ship also fires what appears to be autocannons, although Blackbird is unarmed except in its final mission.

"The Captain's Hand"[edit]

Season 3[edit]

"Crossroads, Part II":[edit]

  • Lee Adama's Viper Mark VII is identified as 2220NC, or Viper 2220. However, Viper 2220 has already been established as a Viper Mark II, not a Mark VII, which has seen multiple appearances as Adama's Viper throughout Season 1.
  • Further, Kara Thrace's pristine Viper does not have a nameplate. This is telling in closeups of her in her Viper's cockpit. This error is remedied in the following episode, "He That Believeth in Me".

Season 4[edit]

"Razor"[edit]

  • When Starbuck orders Showboat to "open up with all you've got" as they find themselves in Pegasus' firing solution, the gun shown firing is that of a Viper Mark II. However, Starbuck and Showboat are in Viper Mark VIIs.

"Revelations"[edit]

Anachronisms[edit]

Miniseries[edit]

  • An F-16 Fighting Falcon is visible in a picture in Adama's quarters when he and Colonel Tigh discuss Starbuck striking Tigh. However, this could be a tribute; the F-16 is sometimes called "Viper" by its pilots.

"Six Degrees of Separation"[edit]

  • The special-effects group for the Re-imagined Series appear dedicated to creating computer screens, equipment and interfaces that are familiar to viewers, but aren't full counterparts to real-world Earth materials. However, the logo for NEC computer manufacturers can be seen on the monitors while Gaeta is working on the photograph. A similar occurrence happens in "Sacrifice".

"Home, Part I":[edit]

  • As Adama gives his first press conference after recovering from his gunshot wounds, the logo of the electronics manufacturer SHURE is seen on the podium microphone.

"Scar"[edit]

  • The little model plane on top of the "Top Gun" mug sported by Starbuck and Kat is actually an F/A-18 Hornet.

"Sacrifice":[edit]

"Exodus, Part II"[edit]

  • In the scene where Galactica falls to New Caprica after an inter-atmosphere Jump, a closeup of the grease pencils that roll around on the navigation table makes the markings of where they are made visible, in this case: China.

"Maelstrom"[edit]

  • During one of the flashbacks, there is a quick shot of Kara Thrace's mother's ashtray, containing at least one cigarette that quite clearly has the word "Marlboro" on it.

"Guess What's Coming to Dinner?"[edit]

  • A Windows XP dialogue box can be seen on one of the Cylon Basestar's wall displays.

"A Disquiet Follows My Soul":[edit]

  • The blood pressure monitor on Nicholas Tyrol reads Welch Allyn, a medical diagnostic supply company.

"The Plan"[edit]

  • The Caprican landmasses shown at the beginning of the attack on the Colonies are clearly identifiable as those of Earth, specifically an inverted and stretched image of Europe, as well as the Iranian Peninsula, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. This most likely represents an instance of CGI corner-cutting.
  • In what is either an Easter egg (given the large amount of Battlestar Galactica filming which took place in and around Vancouver) or another CGI cost-cutting move, a Cylon MIRV is seen detonating over a large city [1] which is actually a Google Maps satellite image of downtown Vancouver, rotated approximately 180 degrees counterclockwise. [2] The domes of the General Motors Place and BC Place Stadium sports arenas are clearly visible when the nuclear missiles are falling.
  • The CGI landscape which appears during the Hybrid's statement that the "courthouses of Libran are burning" is the exact same landscape which is shown on screen as Tauron City in the Caprica episode "Know Thy Enemy," which takes place some 58 years before the events of "The Plan." The Caprica version is widened and more buildings added. However, it is unclear whether the landscape shown in "The Plan" was indeed intended to represent Tauron, or if this is simply another example of CGI corner-cutting by incorporating footage created for "The Plan" into Caprica.

Prop and Equipment Errors[edit]

Major Spencer in Viper 2276 (TRS: "Miniseries").

Miniseries[edit]

Season 1[edit]

"33"[edit]

  • Colonial One's co-pilot notifies Billy Keikeya about Colonial One's FTL issue (TRS: "33").
    The Colonial One co-pilot appears briefly when he notifies Billy Keikeya about Colonial One's FTL issue, wearing a Colonial Fleet junior flight wing pin instead of the civilian flight wing pin from his appearance in the Miniseries.
  • When Dualla admits that she lost the Olympic Carrier, her headset changes sides during the conversation. In addition, there are times between scenes where her BDU does and does not have her rank insignia pins throughout the episode.
  • As Helo fires upon the Cylon Centurion that survives the detonation of an anti-personnel mine (similar to a Claymore mine), the first time Helo fires the pistol, it is heard to fire, but there is no accompanying visual spark from the barrel. In contrast, the second shot is accompanied by both a spark and the appropriate sound.
  • After the disappearance of the Olympic Carrier in jump 238, with the timer running towards the 33 minute mark, the viewer can see that the clock is at 10 seconds. When focusing on Adama and Tigh, the viewer hears ten seconds counting off, but when the camera quick-pans to the overhead console, it reads that 3 seconds have passed.
  • Before the clock reaches zero in the teaser, a wide shot of CIC is shown with Adama and Tigh standing at the central console. The timer on the screen above their heads is flashing 00:00:00.
Sharon Valerii opens up a case of A-type detonators in Galactica's small arms locker, seeing that 5 of the 12 are present (TRS: ).

"Water"[edit]

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace's helmet jaw plate in the "open" position while being dragged by her deployed escape parachute (TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again").

"You Can't Go Home Again"[edit]

  • As Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is pulled by her escape parachute, the jaw piece of her helmet keeps on opening and closing.


"Colonial Day"[edit]

  • During the bar fight scene, Valance's gun is shown with a silencer attached as it falls out of his briefcase, but the silencer is not present for the rest of the scene. The silencer is back when Valance is interrogated by Starbuck and Apollo.

Season 2[edit]

"Valley of Darkness"[edit]

  • Louanne "Kat" Katraine finds a box of explosive rounds with only 6 shells. The shells in the container start out scattered within the box, but as the camera cuts back and forth in the scene the shells switch from organized to scattered many times.

"Black Market"[edit]

"Scar"[edit]

  • When getting intimate with Apollo, the bandage on Thrace's back moves from one side to the other. Usually, such bandages are used to cover Katee Sackhoff's crucifix back tattoo.

"Sacrifice"[edit]

  • When Thrace removes handguns out of her tool case, she still has the environmental engineer's hat on. When she quickly turns around with the guns and starts firing, her hat has disappeared without explanation.

"Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"[edit]

  • When the rescue mission returns from Caprica, Cavil (as well as probably Sharon Valerii and Karl Agathon) are carried by a Raptor featuring Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson's nameplate. However, Racetrack never made it to Caprica; this may not be so much of an error, but an indication of resource shortages.

Season 3[edit]

"Exodus, Part II"[edit]

"The Passage"[edit]

  • Raymond "Raygun" Lai's name appears on Galactica’s active flight roster. His name previously appeared on one of the 40 year-old Viper Mk. IIs in Galactica museum during the Miniseries.

Season 4[edit]

"Razor"[edit]

  • Early in the scenes with the search and rescue party in the Guardian basestar, Kara Thrace can be seen with the tattoo she gets after marrying Samuel Anders, an event that won't happen for months from the story's perspective. It is absent in later scenes.
  • Kendra Shaw has a band-aid on the end of her right index finger throughout the episode, in both the present and in the flashback scenes. However, it seems highly unlikely that she would either still be wearing it over the course of ten months or would coincidentally have to apply another one on the same part of the same finger.

"Six of One"[edit]

Missing Phone
Karl Agathon enters with the wooden box of ambrosia and shot glasses, walking past a door frame missing the phone on left (TRS: "Six of One").
The phone to the left of the door reappears when Noel "Narcho" Allison brings the room to order (TRS: "Six of One").

"Daybreak[edit]

  • As Lee Adama rappels over the airlock into The Colony, the neck piece from his flightsuit falls away.
  • In a deleted flashback scene, Sharon "Boomer" Valerii and Karl "Helo" Agathon wear the newer Raptor helmets introduced in late Season 2, even though they should've been wearing the earlier version with the "horns" and silver braided tubing.

Insignia Changes[edit]

In several episodes characters wear the wrong rank insignia:

  • After the Miniseries, Felix Gaeta begins wearing standard flight wings.
  • "The Hand of God": Kara "Starbuck" Thrace wears junior lieutenant (short chevron) insignia in several scenes.
  • "Fragged": Cally is wearing petty officer, 2nd class instead of crewman specialist insignia.
  • "Home, Part I" and "Home, Part II": Apollo wears major instead of captain insignia.
  • "Scar":
    • In the first scene in the recreation room Starbuck wears lieutenant insignia despite having been promoted to captain.
    • Some of the nuggets have lieutenant insignia despite being addressed as ensigns. This is because there was never a formal ensign pin produced by production, thus all ensigns (including Samuel Anders in Season 4) wear the junior lieutenant pins.
  • "The Captain's Hand": Lee Adama's insignia switches between captain and major at least once. Major is his correct rank at that time.
  • "Hero": In the flashback scenes in Valkyrie's CIC, Commander Adama is wearing admiral's insignia.
  • "Dirty Hands": Again, junior lieutenant pins are used for the rank of ensign.
  • "Escape Velocity": Saul Tigh wears admiral's insignia during the episode's teaser. This is due to this scene being a pickup shot during or after production of "Sine Qua Non," when Adama leaves the Fleet to search for Roslin thus temporarily promoting Tigh to Admiral during his leave.
  • "Sometimes a Great Notion": Commander Adama spills liquor on Saul Tigh's table and throws the marine's pistol on the table. In each of the six cuts, the module below the barrel of the gun changes: first it is slightly wet, then dry, then wet in a different way, dry again, then wet matching the first scene, then dry again.

Dialogue Errors[edit]

Miniseries[edit]

  • The pronunciation of Lt. Gaeta's name frequently shifts between GAY-ta and GUY-ta during the Miniseries. Colonel Tigh regularly calls him GUY-ta while Adama vacillates between GAY-ta and GUY-ta. From "33" onward he is referred to by everyone as GAY-ta.
  • When the Cylon beacon device is spotted on the DRADIS ("DRAY-dis") console, Tigh refers to it as the "DRAD-is" (like "gratis") console.
  • Tigh exclaims "Jesus!" when shown the photo of Adama, Zak and Lee. Ron Moore has stated that this was just an ad-lib by the actor, and was never in the script, and should have been removed during editing. In fact this was removed from the "theatrical version" shown on Universal HD.
  • "Oh my God!" as opposed to "Gods".
    • When being informed by Six of her true nature and mission, Gaius Baltar exclaims "Oh, my God!"
    • Also when Caprica-Six breaks the neck of the baby the mother, Chantara, screeches "Oh, my God!" several times.
    • Jackson Spencer also makes this mistake after the Cylon Raiders launch missiles at his disabled squadron.
    • When Secretary of Education Laura Roslin informs the passengers of Colonial Heavy 798 about the attack a woman reacts "Oh my God".
      • All of these instances of the use of "Oh my God!" may not necessarily be errors. The events of Caprica have demonstrated that monotheism was known to the Twelve Colonies; the Colonials were not uniformly polytheistic. However, Baltar did not explicitly adopt monotheism until much later in the series.

"33"[edit]

  • Helo states his rank as "lieutenant, junior grade" despite consistently wearing "lieutenant, senior grade" rank insignia.
  • Later in the episode, when President Roslin and Dr. Baltar are discussing cutting off communications with the Olympic Carrier, Baltar uses the term "radio" instead of the in-universe term of "wireless" during the conversation.

"Valley of Darkness"[edit]

"Downloaded"[edit]

  • In the Miniseries, Boomer claims that her parents died while she was very young, regarding the accident at Troy, which is later supported by dialogue in "Flesh and Bone." In "Downloaded," she explains that she received a gift from her mother when she left for the Fleet academy.

"Hero"[edit]

  • The episode places the flashback events one year prior to the Cylon attack. However, this conflicts with earlier information that Adama served on Galactica for several years, Tyrol under him for at least five years and Gaeta for three years. For more details, see Hero#Analysis.

"Unfinished Business"[edit]

  • When Adama is down in his corner and bleeding badly, Roslin says "coagulant for the swelling, ice for the bleeding". This should be the other way around.
  • In the extended version, as Cottle is looking after Adama in the corner, he can be heard exclaiming "Christ!"

Crew Visible[edit]

  • A member of the production crew, possibly a boom operator, is visible on screen in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II". He can be seen behind the damaged wall behind the display of the Arrow of Apollo.
  • In "Flight of the Phoenix" another camera operator can be briefly seen after the fight between Tyrol and Helo, as Tyrol walks to the Raptor to sit on its wing.
  • At ~31:14 in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II," a cameraman can be seen to the right of the frame as another camerman pushes in through the small crowd that celebrates Laura Roslin's victory over Gaius Baltar and ultimately up to Roslin's reaction at her desk.
  • At 1:06:12 in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II," as the Cylons are marching in, a video screen of the crew can be seen in the distance on the right. Also, a camera dolly track can be seen on the ground just to the right of the crowd. The camera is most likely obscured from view by a plastic tarp.
  • At 00:02:26 in "Unfinished Business," a camera can be seen briefly in the darkness behind the crowd.

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