Dirty Hands

"Dirty Hands" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 16
Writer(s)	Anne Cofell Saunders Jane Espenson
Story by
Director	Wayne Rose
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.	316
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	2007-02-25
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	41,400 survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
A Day in the Life	Dirty Hands	Maelstrom
Related Information
Official Summary
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Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
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Summary

Act 1

• On the hanger deck, deckhands are fueling a Raptor and performing a pre-flight check. A copy of of a booklet written by Gaius Baltar is being passed around.
• Seelix is handing out laundry with a bad attitude. Anthony Figurski ribs her about being an officer soon, but she states that she was turned down for pilot training due to her critical position.
• Tyrol comments that she is indeed in a critical position and the best avionics technician they have.
• After more ribbing a scuffle breaks out between her and Figurski. Tyrol breaks it off, but tells Seelix to stop sulking about her career and do her job.
• The Raptor takes off. Shortly thereafter, the thrusters malfunction and the Raptor becomes uncontrollable.
• Unable to stop an imminent collision with Colonial One, the pilots Racetrack and Skulls eject from the craft. The Raptor crashes into Colonial One near Presiden Roslin's office.

Questions

• Will Baltar's book help his image among the working class of the Fleet in his upcoming trial?
• Is it possible that Tom Zarek somehow assisted Baltar in the writing and distribution of his book?
• Has the Fleet's tylium reserve been re-stocked at all since "The Hand of God"?
• Have these class differentiations amongst the colonies been problematic before the destruction of the Twelve Colonies?
• Besides occupations that are related to the "working class" and other professions such as news reporters, what other occupations exist within the fleet besides those positions found on Colonial One and Galactica?
• Have the Colonials truly lost the Cylons or are the Cylons continuing on different plans?
• Why wasn't Tigh mentioned along with Dualla as another member of the "working class" that rose to be part of the Fleet leadership as he was born on Aerelon and started his career as an enlisted man?
• Besides Baltar's testimony, is there any real solid evidence that Baltar was born on Aerelon?
• With the information provided by "Unfinished Business" and "A Day in the Life", have the attitude and admiration towards Admiral Adama changed significantly to the point that his crew feel more indifferent or resentful of him?
• Besides the six Colonies that were mentioned, how were the other colonies, such as Picon considered?

Analysis

• Not having any real options for defending his actions during the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, Baltar has opted to use class warfare as a distraction from the real issues and to drum up support as a victim of "the aristocracy". His booklet appears to inspired by classic Marxist/Leninist rhetoric. Historically, such approaches to political change and power are most effective when conditions are unacceptable and dangerous for large numbers of workers.
• Adama's explanation and pending orders to execute Cally and the rest of the knuckledraggers to force Tyrol to call off the strike is reminiscent of the style of leadership found with Admiral Cain. However, once Tyrol relented and called off the strike, Adama immediately displayed his familiar style of leadership by informing Tyrol of his meeting with Roslin.
• This is the first time that an emergency cockpit ejection from a Raptor is shown during the series.
• Ever since her murder of Boomer and following detention and eventual release, Cally has displayed an attitude of disrespect towards the Fleet leadership, especially to Adama recently. Her recent demeanor and naive assumption that Adama would not do anything more than arrest the strikers may highlight a growing problem amongst the military workers that are beginning to dissent from the leadership.
• This episode, as well as "The Woman King" display an ongoing theme since Season 2 that focuses on how human beings are self-destructive by nature without any Cylon intervention. As was stated in "A Day In The Life", the Fleet hadn't encountered any Cylon forces for approximately 2 months. This state of complacency has allowed the typical in-fighting amongst the colonials to resume, especially with the depreciating state of quality of life amongst the ships in the fleet.

Notes

• A number of main characters are not present at all during this episode: Lee Adama, Sharon Agathon, Karl Agathon, Saul Tigh, Felix Gaeta, and Anastasia Dualla.
• According to Bradley Thompson, this episode was originally a different story titled "Our Enemies, Ourselves". When developing "The Woman King", it was felt that both episodes dealt with the same themes. As a result, "Dirty Hands" was created instead.
• The 79th Academy Awards were shown during the episode. The ratings should be taken lightly.
• The prop department still hasn't produced any Ensign rank insignia yet. Like in "Scar", Lieutenant j.g. insignia are used instead.
• Cally is still dealing with the injuries she sustained in "A Day in the Life".
• One of the deckhands has lost an arm, but is using a prosthesis to work.
• Dogsville is still in use.
• Baltar reveals that he is allegedly from Aerelon. He displays his native accent, traces of which he claimed to have heard in Sharon Valerii's voice in "Flesh and Bone".

Official Statements

Jane Espenson, in an interview with tvsquad.com, made the following remark: "The episode, co-written with Anne Cofell Saunders, is called 'Dirty Hands,' and as you might guess, it's a look at the people who do the dirty work in the fleet. Knuckle-dragging fun!"

Guest Stars

• David Patrick Green as Xeno Fenner