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Black Market

2006-02-22T12:32:45Z

Aapold: add question

:''For information on the black market itself, see [[Black market (organization)]].''

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Black_Market-Lee.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Black Market
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 14
| Guests=[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]] [[IMDB:nm0004886|Bill Duke]] as [[Phelan]]
| Writer=[[IMDB:nm0894156|Mark Verheiden]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0372138|James Head]]
| Production=
| Rating= 1.8
| US Airdate=January 27 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=49,597
| Prev= [[Epiphanies]]
| Next= [[Scar]]
}}



== Overview ==

: ''Captain [[Lee Adama]], battling haunting demons of his own from a spurned love lost on Caprica, investigates the murder of new ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' commander [[Jack Fisk]], and uncovers a black market that strains the resources of the Fleet.''

== Summary ==

*The recovered President [[Laura Roslin]], discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] in Adama's quarters with Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]], ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' Commander [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]], and Dr. [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]].
*When he arrives back in his quarters on ''Pegasus'' (Cain's old quarters) Fisk is garroted by several black market gangsters. One in particular stands out as a well-dressed "businessman".
*[[Lee Adama]], severely depressed since his ejection from the [[Blackbird]], has apparently been nurturing a relationship on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' with a woman named [[Shevon]], who has a young daughter named [[Paya]].
*In a "morning after" talk, Lee and Shevon talk in tones that hint towards his wanting of a serious relationship. Shevon appears to dodge these, and requests 100 extra cubits as Lee is leaving since he "stayed the night".
*In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica. The scenes revolve around a rendevous between Lee and this girl, which resolves with her running away. The details and intensity of these flashbacks increase as the episode progresses.
*Apollo finds a small fortune of luxury goods in Fisk's closet, including a gold bracelet with the monogram "E.T" on it. Apollo realizes it's [[Ellen Tigh]]'s, and confronts Col. [[Saul Tigh]] about it in his quarters. Tigh says that it was he and not his wife who traded it to Fisk for good liquor, fruit, etc. for Ellen and himself. Tigh explains that Fisk was deeply involved in using ''Pegasus'' as a hub to fence black market goods.
*Dr. [[Cottle]]'s autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth, perhaps as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge.
[[Image:Leeshevon.jpg|Lee with Shevon.|thumb]]
*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', President Roslin, piecing together her [[Epiphanies|near-death recollections of Caprica]], becomes aware of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of [[Number Six|the Cylon agent]] known to the Fleet as "[[Shelly Godfrey]]" and "[[Gina]]". She candidly asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign. While he never wanted any political power in his life or the office at first, he wants to stay VP now. Roslin tells him it's not an offer she'll make again, but he leaves anyway.
*Off duty, working out in ''Galactica's'' gym, [[Anastasia Dualla]] comes to [[Lee Adama]] to bravely ask if their flirtation while working out is leading somewhere. Adama has no idea what to say, and Dualla takes the quiet hint.
*Lee Adama rushes to Shevon's quarters on ''Cloud 9'' after she calls for help. He finds the bruised Shevon and Paya, and decides to take them to ''Galactica'', but is ambushed by thugs, who nearly garrote him. As he is held within a breath of his life, he is confronted by a well-dressed, blunt "businessman", who warns him to back off of the investigation.
*After the beating, Apollo notices the corpse of the man that garroted Fisk. [[Tom Zarek]] drops by the scene in Shevon's room later, and discusses the black market with Apollo.
*Zarek points out that the black market does get supplies where they are needed. Nonetheless, Zarek mentions the central hub of the black market, ''[[Prometheus]]'', a ship so lawless it's practically "off the grid", where you can supposedly get anything. Zarek gives a name to the "businessman" -- [[Phelan]] -- and tells Apollo that he probably took Shevon there. Additionally, he points out that Phelan has given Lee the murderer -- the thug with a bullet in his head -- and that it should be considered "a way out."
*On ''Prometheus'', alone, Lee Adama searches and finds Paya and other children locked up.
*Apollo encounters Phelan in the ''Prometheus's'' bar. Apollo warns that ''Galactica'' is fully aware of his location, and that the battlestar would vent ''Prometheus's'' air into space unless he gets Shevon and Paya back, and the black market is shut down.
*Phelan counters that the Fleet needs the black market; it's like a pressure valve. Whenever a ship falls behind in the supply schedule, the black market fills the need. Phelan states that they sell all things to fill all wants, including ''child'' prostitution. Adama is horrified. Shevon is dragged out and admits to her work for Phelan as a prostitute.
*Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guards, Adama threatens Phelan about the black market crossing the line and after several flashbacks, shoots him in the chest.
*Apollo turns to Phelan's guards, also in shock, and tells them that he's not going to shut down all black market trade because the Fleet needs it for vital supplies whether he likes it or not. However, they continue their business at his whim only. If there are more killings, if they hold back essential medicines or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
*Shevon rejects Apollo, telling him he he doesn't really care for her and only sees her as a replacement for the girl he left on Caprica.
*Back on ''Colonial One'', the Adamas present their reports to the President. Roslin is upset that Apollo did not shut down the black market, but Apollo counters that they will never have a perfect system and there will always be a black market.

== Questions ==
*How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate ''Pegasus''' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
**It is likely that ''Pegasus'' draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
*At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the ''Prometheus'', with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
**Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
***It's possible that Zarek is going to fill the gap with his own agents and use it as political leverage against President Roslin at some future point in time. This is just speculative however, more evidence would be required to prove Zarek's hand in the Black Market.
*The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
**Could very easily be both, though it is probably the latter of the two choices. If Admiral Adama's relationship with his son was strained before the attacks, he might not know about his son's prior bedroom activities.
*Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "[[Epiphanies]]"?
**Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unoficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
*Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon [[Farms]]?
*Who will take command of ''Pegasus'' following Fisk's death? ([[Barry Garner|Answer]])
*Where does the Black Market get all their goods, given the finite supplies on the fleet?
**Could the cylons be supplying them?

== Analysis ==

*Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "[[Downloaded]]", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
*It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
*This is the third episode to use a "Flash Forward" introduction to the storyline as a hook; the trope was also used just two episodes previous in [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]. Moore has said that the device was added after he was disappointed with initial cuts of the episode to try to add suspense.
*Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving [[Laura Roslin]]'s miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the [[Epiphanies|previous episode]].
**Then again, it was rather addressed in [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]] when Lee admits to Kara, "I didn't wanna come back alive."
*The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "[[Resistance]]", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with [[Billy Keikeya]], where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to [[Cally]] or [[Kat]], who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
**The relationship between Apollo and Dualla may have been a contingency plan in case Campbell left the series.
***Actually, RDM said it was introduced because they thought it would make an interesting love triangle.
*Much of the regular cast, including [[Kara Thrace]], [[Sharon Valerii]], [[Helo]], [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Galen Tyrol]], and [[Cally]] do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual [[Number Six]] is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on ''Pegasus'' and in the meeting with Roslin.
*Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. [[Cottle]]'s screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
*Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the ''realism'' of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
*The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was unusual in that this episode is the first mention of such a crucial backstory thread. Considering the extent to which the memory seems to weigh Lee down, it seems contrived to introduce it so late in the series, especially when there have been [[Resurrection Ship, Part II|many circumstances]] in earlier episodes during which such reflection would have been considerably more apt. In addition, confusion arose concerning Shevon's line about Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child." That is, many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. Further, the incessant repetition of the flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot.
*[[Jack Fisk]] being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's [[Gina|killer still on the loose]], it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia.
**Phelan and his men clearly had access to Fisk already, so it may not be all that implausible.
**Considering that an attempt on Adama's life has already happened once, marines should have been escorting him from the very beginning. With Fisk and Cain now both dead, there may be a standing Fleet or Colonial military order in place that automatically activates, similar to such real-world orders in the US military.
*The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be ''extremely'' polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now ''knows'' Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

== Notes ==
*Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less than last week's episode, "[[Epiphanies]]" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
*Zarek notes that he is the representative of the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', although in "[[Colonial Day]]", he was elected to represent the colony of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]]. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his status as ''de facto'' leader of the Astral Queen.
*Central characters [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] and [[Sharon Valerii]] do not appear in this episode.
*Fisk, Phelan, and Apollo all use the term "cigar" in this episode. The use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of [[fumarello]], was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of [[DRADIS]] in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the [[series bible]] and past episodes.
*As seen in [[Final Cut]], there are occasionally meetings of all the ships in the fleet.
*Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film [[Wikipedia:Predator|Predator]], and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming [[Wikipedia:X-Men_3|X-Men 3]].
*[[Karl Agathon|Helo]] does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "[[Fragged]]".
*[[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "[[Home, Part I]]".
*Apollo pilots a Raptor alone to get to the ''Prometheus''; as we've seen in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]", he is qualified to fly both Vipers and Raptors.
*The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "[[Wikipedia:The_Thing|The Thing]]": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*"You're not gonna shoot. You're not like me. You're not gonna--(''Apollo shoots him in the chest midsentence'')--Uhuhhh..."
:—''The last words of Phelan''

== Official Statements ==

*''In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]]) said'': "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

== Guest stars ==
[[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0006419/ Claudette Mink] ([[Shevon]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/ Bill Duke] ([[Phelan]]) Hayley Guiel ([[Paya]]) Unknown ([[Weller]]) Unknown ([[Beach]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065320/ Graham Beckel] ([[Jack Fisk|CMDR Fisk]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Amy+Ciupak+Lalonde Amy Lalonde] [[Gianne]] John Mann (Linden) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Brad+Mann Brad Mann] (Pegasus Marine) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+James+Ashcroft James Ashcroft] (Security Officer) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gustavo+Febres Gustavo Febres] (Herbalist)

== Statistics ==


* USA [[Wikipedia:Nielsen Ratings|Nielsen Ratings]]: 1.8 household rating (note: this is the lowest ratings figure that an episode of the Re-Imagined Series has ever received).

{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Mark Verheiden]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by James Head]]

Talk:Black Market/Archive 1

2006-02-22T12:31:06Z

Aapold:

==Analysis==
The criticism here needs to be toned down drastically. I personally enjoyed this episode much more than I had been expecting to. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:16, 28 January 2006 (EST)
: I don't know exactly how to feel about this episode. Honestly, it wasn't all that bad -- it could have been much better executed, however. I can't really disagree with any of the critisms leveled at this episode, primarily because I hold them to be evident as well. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 09:45, 28 January 2006 (EST)
::I'm in agreement, the analysis section does need to be toned down a little. Some of the criticisms are totally justified, while other parts seem unduly harsh. It wasn't a great episode but despite its flaws in did tell an interesting story. --[[User:Rexpop|Rexpop]] 10:12, 28 January 2006 (EST)

I've edited this article heavily to concise it from its overly play-by-play format, but it could still see a more concising eye. I've also toned down the analysis to provable (i.e., non-subjective) points of the episode, deleting redundant or highly subjective commentary. There was too much personal bias in the story, reading more like a review than an analysis. Despite the small story in this episode, this article is quite weighty than the others. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 11:50, 28 January 2006 (EST)

Thank you for editing down my Analysis. Sometimes it's hard to do a write up, so I just let myself rant, and acutally ''hoped'' that others would heavily edit it down to something more concise, depending one whether they agreed or not. I was just getting the ball rolling. Thanks. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 12:57, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:I was about to say, the summary seems a bit lengthy. It's supposed to be a summary, not a play-by-play. I admire the fact the Noteworthy Dialogue's have been shorter lately, focusing on critical stuff. Thanks for the edit, but I still think its overly detailed. Read the summaries for "33" and "Water" and see that they focus on what happens during the episode and not why or reasoning. I feel like i'm reading an essay rather then a description, but thats just me. --[[User:Bane Grievver|Bane Grievver]] 18:10, 28 January 2006 (EST)
::That's simply because there hasn't been as much quotable stuff in the past two episodes, while a LOT of Res Ship I and II was quoteable. Yeah, it was a little long but I was just trying to hurry and get it all on before I had to turn my computer off. I don't normally do summariies, besides; the plot was really confusing and took quite a few twists and turns. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 20:08, 28 January 2006 (EST)
:::Whoa, look at that summary. I saw an earlier version this morning, and its better now, but its still exceptionally long when compared to other episodes. Someone needs to take to it with a flaming chainsaw. I'd do it, but I am somewhat unsure of how much would be too much, as Ricimer is correct - it was a complicated episode. Does anyone really like it the way it is now, or can I go in there and edit it? Remember, it can always be reverted. I'd rather shorten it too much, and then have us realize that some points were exceptionally important and replace them, then leave it too long with unimportant points left in. --[[User:BMS|BMS]] 20:18, 28 January 2006 (EST)

: I actually pared it down a bit, and made it more chronologically correct. Any hint of analysis or reasoning in the Summary's content is not my doing -- I try to keep a very sterile "This happened, then that" approach in writing. I'm sure that a few "steps" can be condensed further, but looking it over at this point, it looks like it describes what transcended fairly well. -- [[User:Hawke|Hawke]] 20:56, 28 January 2006 (EST)
::Got rid of a few analysis points myself, looks a lot better now. --[[User:Bane Grievver|Bane Grievver]] 16:10, 29 January 2006 (EST)

I don't know if the flashbacks of Apollo's relationship from before the attack should be characterized as an "interesting turn." "Contrived" would make more sense. We've heard next to nothing about Apollo's relationships for 26 episodes, not to mention the miniseries, and all of a sudden he has a pregnant girlfriend that he misses terribly? I can excuse someone like Wallace Grey appearing out of nowhere, but this is just too much, and I think the analysis should reflect that. --[[User:Drumstick|Drumstick]] 13:37, 29 January 2006 (EST)

Regarding Drumstick's edit at 03:38, 30 January 2006: ''''You have done well, grasshopper'''' --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 23:37, 29 January 2006 (EST)

:Just trying to stick to the high standard set by all of you =) Thanks Ricimer. --[[User:Drumstick|Drumstick]] 01:03, 31 January 2006 (EST)

== Regular vs. Guest Star ==
I noticed that someone edited this and said that they "included Leah Cairns (Racetrack)" as a Guest Star. At what point are characters considered "regulars" versus just being a spot-on "guest star"? Personally, I consider characters like Racetrack, Cat, and Hot Dog as regulars by now, albeit in the minor, second-tier category. They are existing in the "Wedge factor"... or, to put it better, they are in that role that [[Boomer (TOS)|Boomer]] and [[Jolly (TOS)|Jolly]] held in The Old Series -- that of a regularly re-occuring peripheral character that the fan can follow, and aren't getting killed off every episode like the Star Trek "Redshirt". -- [[User:Hawke|Hawke]] 10:50, 28 January 2006 (CST)

:There are seven regulars - Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sakhoff, and Grace Park. They are contracted on a per-season basis. Everyone else is a guest star, paid on a per-episode basis. There are two types of guest star - those listed during the opening of Act 1, after the intro sequence, and those listed in the credits at the end of the episode. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is, but the larger roles tend to be the ones listed earlier. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:56, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:It's a bit of a grey area; officially, there are 7 "regular cast" members, as stated above. There's also "recurring characters", in legalize, these are "guest stars" that appear in most episodes. Case in point, Colonel Tigh has been in every episode but ins't counted as a main cast member (something to do with salaries, etc) and Chief Tyrol has appeard in all but two episodes (he grew more as they went along), so he's kind of also a recurring character too. Cally kind of also grew into that, as well. So the line between "regular" and "recurring" is blurry for Col. Tigh and Tyrol. Similarly, there is a blurry line between "guest" and "recurring". Several "guest" characters reappear more than once (Elosh, Dr. Cottle, Cain and Fisk I guess). Meanwhile, Kat and Hot Dog were originally intended as one-shot guests, but according to the DVD commentary, RDM was surprised that other writers would then script them in whenever "another pilot" was required, and they've been building up Kat. Likewise, Racetrack was just a "guest" but I think has advanced to "recurring" becase of all the character development she got in Final Cut and Flight of the Phoenix and she's also appeared alot. At any rate, there's a blurry line and it's really subjective.
:That said, I do want to add "Helo and Tyrol do not appear in this episode" to the notes for easy referrence, because even though they aren't "regulars", they have each only missed one maybe two episodes before this. Tyrol wasn't in "Home, Part I", and Helo wasn't in "Fragged". So I think that makes it significant enough to put down there.--[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 13:33, 28 January 2006 (EST)

::BSG also makes the distinction of "co-stars" which appear at the beginning of Act 1 but without the heading of "Guest Star" that all the other guest stars do. I think Racetrack, Kat, and Hot Dog are still listed as actual guest stars, though. --[[User:Redwall|Redwall]] 13:26, 28 January 2006 (EST)

::I still disagree. There's no expectation that guest characters like Helo and Tyrol will appear in every episode, so their absence here is really unremarkable. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:00, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:::Given that both of them have each appeared in all but one of the previous episodes, I would actually find it ''quite'' remarkable. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 20:06, 28 January 2006 (EST)

== Baltar's Treason ==
Seems to me there's a lot of "jumping the gun" vis-a-vis Baltar. For one thing, he did not knowingly have anything to do with the Cylon attack. While his actions were unethical, he clearly had no intention of committing genocide. He was a dupe in that respect. Nor is there any reason for the President to think him working with the Cylons on the basis of his having been with '''Six''' prior to the attack unless she also had some motive for believing he knew this woman to be a Cylon (which he did not). If confronted with this fact, he can (with complete honesty even) say: "Madame President, no less than two crewmembers of the Galactica fell in love with a Cylon. So did I. I admit this. And, like them, I did not know she was a Cylon. Nor can I say in total candor my feelings for the woman I knew are not still...tender. As well as not a little bit confused. This was not a matter I would share willingly. But if you examine the facts, you will realize it likely I was neither the first, the tenth, or even the hundredth human being to be so deceived by the nature of our enemy."

She may think him a selfish, unethical wild card (and I'd agree). She may dislike him personally and think he'd best be as far from any kind of political power as possible. That seems to me totally reasonable. But what reason has anyone to think he's an actual traitor? A Cylon himself? Ah, that would at least make some sense, as far as suspicions go. But how to prove it? And besides, what if he isn't? [[User:Zahir|Zahir]] 12:21, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:You're also talking about a woman who had an epiphany during a very traumatic situation, and like most of the people in the Fleet, Laura is human...and humans make mistakes. She might be "on the ball" in every way when it comes to her work as President, but her dislike of Baltar is on a personal level, and personal feelings, no matter how much people try to prevent it, will come into play in other aspects of their dealing with the situation. I suspect that will crystalize more as we go towards the season finale.

:There is also the fact that while Baltar may have been a dupe in the beginning, he's cleaning perilously close to the pit of darkness now, and today's dupe may well end up being season three's traitor.--'''[[User:Mitsukai|み使い]]''' '''''[[User_talk:Mitsukai|Mitsukai]]''''' 19:34, 28 January 2006 (EST)

::RDM notes in his podcast for ''Epiphanies'' and implies in his podcast for ''Black Market'' that it was his intention that the viewer understand Roslin's reaction in ''Epiphanies'' as her realization that Baltar "had something to do with it." "It" being the Cylon Attack. Whether RDM pulled that off or not is, of course, up to the viewer. --[[User:Watcher|Watcher]] 19:39, 28 January 2006 (EST)

:::Regardless, she doesn't have physical "evidence" against him, so acting on what she remembered might be harder to do. --'''''[[User_talk:Ricimer|Ricimer]]''''' 20:11, 28 January 2006 (EST)

::::Not to mention that in a case of law, it's merely "he said, she said". Yeah, few in the fleet like him, and they'd probably love to bounce him out the first airlock sans space suit, but as long as they have courts, laws and a (slightly flagging) desire for order, he's got the law on his side.--'''[[User:Mitsukai|み使い]]''' '''''[[User_talk:Mitsukai|Mitsukai]]''''' 03:53, 29 January 2006 (EST)

::::: Baltar could even confirm every single fact Roselyn might offer, yet still realistically claim innocence. The simple facts are that, while there is something fishy going on, no one has any real evidence that Baltar is guilty of anything. And I still suspect he's going to end up in a real sense saving the day--because life is like that. Some of the greatest leaders have had repellant qualities while sometimes those with nothing but good intentions really frak things up. Besides, look at it this way. This war has only three possible ends: (1) Humanity is wiped out, very possible. (2) The Cylons are wiped out, highly unlikely. (3) Cylons and Humans find a way to share the universe. Between them, Baltar seems to be working for option number three.

:::::: Also Baltar has already been publicly accused of treason and managed to demonstrate that the accusation was false. Roselyn would require some solid evidence (which at the moment she doesn't have) to publicly accuse him otherwise it could easily be dismissed as another attempt to smear his name. --[[User:Rexpop|Rexpop]] 18:45, 29 January 2006 (EST)

== Shevon's name? ==

Minor question here: are we sure about the spelling of her name? Watching the
episode, I assumed it was Siobhan, a fairly common name of (I think) Irish origin, which
is pronounced approximately like "Shevon". Was surprised to see "Shevon" listed as the actual spelling.--Ashe

:Ashe, I ran into you saying this before on the official messageboard, where I man known as "The Merovingian". I had assumed you were being sarcastic. I really, REALLY don't want to be rude in any way, but simply list what I feel are the facts, and I say this without being condescending: 1) Multiple Galactiaca news sites and previews like Gateworld refer to her as "Shevon" 2) It ''sounds'' like "Shevon" 3) No one that ''I'' have myself encountered ever thought that was anything like an Irish name. It seems to me like you are letting personal feelings get in the way of your interpretations. If anyone else would like to comment on this to clear things up, please do so. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 12:19, 30 January 2006 (EST)

::Sorry, that was not me. Please make sure you're flaming the right person, hmm?
I have never asked this question (or seen it addressed) anywhere else. Let me take your points in reverse order. #3: According to www.babynamesofireland.com, Siobhan is currently their number-one most popular girl's name. #2: Siobhan is pronounced like "Shevon", as I already said. #1: If official BSG sites list this character's name as "Shevon" then I'm not arguing otherwise. Just needed clarification, which you have provided. On to other topics, then.
--Ashe

:Please sign your names to things. Thank you for seeing that it's on other Galactica sites too, but I want to point out that your logic doesn't make sense there. You said that you though that "Shevon" might be the Irish name "Siobhan". I said it wasn't. Your counterpoint to this was to point out that, ''in Ireland'', the Irish name Siobhan is the most popular female baby name? That doesn't really prove anything one way or the other. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 15:27, 30 January 2006 (EST)

::Not gonna fight this one with you. My goal was, and is, to help improve the contents of the wiki, which sometimes includes asking questions about things. Sorry for not knowing how to generate the name/date/timestamp before now. -- [[User:Ashe|Ashe]] 17:23, 30 January 2006 (EST)

::Ricimer, you're overreacting again. A simple explanation would have sufficed. Remember to assume good faith. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:17, 30 January 2006 (EST)

:::Indeed. But I felt I might as well be definative; the Tyrol v. Hadrian rank thing has dragged out for some time because we didn't list all evidence at the beginning. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 19:35, 30 January 2006 (EST)

::::Practice being definitive and polite at the same time. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:37, 30 January 2006 (EST)

:::::I concur with Peter. Ricimer, please assume good faith; it is possible to be polite and truthful simultaneously. Thank you, Ricimer. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 21:19, 30 January 2006 (EST)

as a side note...when all else fails...check IMDB for character name spellings. in this case ( http://imdb.com/title/tt0519764/ ) its spelled "Shevon".--[[User:Stratohead|Stratohead]]
: Unfortunately, IMDb is not as reliable as some people think... -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:05, 7 February 2006 (EST)

== Black Market Theory ==
Not sure if this belongs here, but... a number of our regular viewing group were wondering about the Black Market itself.

Namely, where does the black market gets all this stuff. Its not like they have connections with some factory... I can't believe they have a ship making cigarettes or booze... (yes I know people probably have private stills, but you're seeing bottles with labels and stuff)...

The theory: the cylons are supplying them. the black market probably doesn't know the source, but the cylons could easily do it. Hell, they have 12 planets full of warehouses and stuff, not all of them got nuked....

Why would they do this? they seem to be all about showing how humanity if flawed, what better way to further that goal than to hand them tools of their self-destruction...

The Farm

2005-08-22T22:39:07Z

Aapold: /* Noteworthy Dialogue */

== Overview ==
: ''[[Kara Thrace]] is shot and wakes up in a remote hospital facility on [[Caprica]], and learns that her friendly doctor has his own plans for her future.''

== Summary ==

=== On Caprica ===

*[[Starbuck]], [[Helo]], and two members of the Resistance ([[Anders]] and [[Sue-Shaun]], who were introduced in the last episode) devise a plan to escape from [[Caprica]] by commandeering a [[Cylon Heavy Raider]] from a nearby airstrip. They will fit as many people as possible onto the craft, and will dispatch a rescue mission for the remainder upon return to [[Galactica]].
*As the team is about to assault the airstrip, they are ambushed, and Kara is hit by a bullet that grazes off her head and gets lodged in her abdomen. She loses consciousness.
*[[Kara]] wakes up in a hospital. She is being attended to by a doctor named [[Simon]], who tells her that she was brought into the hospital by Anders, and that Anders died from a shrapnel wound. Kara is devastated.
*Kara spends the next few days conversing with Simon, who muses that women capable of bearing children are a rare "commodity" now that the [[Cylons]] have nuked the colonies, and suggests that Kara should consider giving birth to a child.
*Simon speculates that Kara's reluctance to have children stems from her mother having abused her when she was young, as evidenced by a pattern of fractures in her fingers. This topic upsets her.
*Kara wakes to discover a new scar on her abdomen. Simon tells her it's from an operation he did to stop some bleeding, but Kara doesn't believe him.
*Kara fakes sleep, and when Simon leaves, she follows him into the hallway, where she overhears him having a conversation with a copy of [[Number Six]] about the "complete removal" of her ovaries scheduled for the next day.
*Back in bed, Kara stabs Simon and escapes the room. Lurching around the deserted hospital, she stumbles upon a room full of semi-conscious women wired horrifically to machines. Among them is Sue-Shaun, who begs Kara to destroy the "baby machines" and end their misery. She obliges with a prayer, a pair of medical tongs, and a primal scream.
*Kara staggers outside, braining the Six model with a fire extinguisher in the process, only to find a new Simon standing there to greet her. Just then, [[Helo]] and the rest of the resistance emerge from the woods. They pepper Simon with bullets, but soon get bogged down in a firefight with a squad of [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]]. Time for the second rescue in as many minutes: Caprica-Boomer ([[Sharon Valerii]]) swoops down in a stolen [[Cylon Heavy Raider]] and blows the enemy away.
*Kara relates her experiences in the hospital to the others. C-Boomer explains that the [[Cylons]] have a flaw which renders them unable to reproduce biologically, and that they have been holding human women in "farms" to try to implant them with human/Cylon embryos. This effort has failed, however, leading the Cylons to believe that conception requires "love". According to this theory, C-Boomer was able to conceive with Helo because of their love for each other.
*Helo, Sharon, and Starbuck leave Caprica on the Heavy Raider. Starbuck has promised [[Anders]] to return someday to rescue the Resistance. In the meantime, Anders says he will try to destroy as many farms as he can.

===On Galactica===

*Commander Adama returns to duty, and is greated by applause in the CIC. He tells the crew that he loves them all.
*To try to rally support to the president, Zarek wants Apollo to make a recording denouncing his father. Apollo stops in the middle of it and says he can't go through with that. It's left to Roslin to win over the fleet.
* Roslin plays the "religion card" to convince a third of the fleet to jump with her to Kobol despite an infuriated and staunchly secular Adama. She transfers to the [[Astral Queen]] from which she transmits a message imploring the Fleet to follow her and the path the [[Lords of Kobol]] have set out for her. Adama didn't board the Astral Queen because he thought only three or four ships would seriously listen to her religious nonsense. Instead, 24 ships ("almost a third of the Fleet") go with her.
*Cally is thrown in the brig for killing Galactica-Boomer. Chief Tyrol implores Adama to release her, because she was traumatized by events on Kobol on not in her right mind when she did it. Adama agrees to let her off easy by charging her with discharging a firearm without permission, which gives her only one month in the brig.
*Adama asks Tyrol if he could love Boomer even though she was a machine. Tyrol isn't quite sure, but it becomes apparent that Adama is asking himself the question as much as he is Tyrol; Adama loved all of his pilots like his children.
*Adama visits Galactica-Boomer's body in the morgue. He asks "Why?" then breaks down crying over her body.

== Questions ==
*Caprica-Boomer says that she knows that [[Leoben Conoy]] told Kara she was special during his interrogation aboard the ''Galactica''; how could she have known this? How do the Cylon agents communicate to each other?
**Since it is confirmed that Humano-Cylon bodies do transmit their consciousness or updated information from body to body upon death, this implies that '''all''' models share memories between each other, no matter where they are. Caprica-Boomer seems to know much of Galactica's state of affairs when asked. If such communication is the case, wouldn't the relative strength of such a signal from the body be a tip-off for Colonials to locate the remaining Cylon infiltrators?
**Boomer also says that she "hasn't accessed that data" when asked how many farms there are. Does this mean that Cylons transmit information only upon death? She knew about Leoben during [[Flesh and Bone]] but she doesn't know the thoughts of the other Cylons on the planet who have not died. Conversely the Cylons seem unaware of her rebellious thoughts.
***Has the rebellious Caprica-Boomer severed her connection with the other Cylons? After she switched sides in [[Flesh and Bone]], the other Cylons seem unaware of her current thoughts and actions. Perhaps she only knows of events on ''Galactica'' before this point?
**Leoben appeared to acknowledge in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" that he was too far from Cylon forces for his personality to be recovered. Was he able to covertly transmit his memories to one of the Basestars encountered in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]] or [[Scattered]] by way of another agent?
*Will we see Simon again? Is he one of the eight Cylon agents hiding in the fleet?
*Why does the Caprica resistance seemed more concerned about Kara's disappearance than Sue-Shaun's? Did Kara's love interest generated the greater concern?
*Could Commander Adama's evident grief upon viewing the corpse of Galactica-Boomer in the ship's morgue mean that they were personally involved at some point? Or, perhaps, did the level of humanity that this Boomer showed cause Adama to mourn her loss as he would a daughter or daughter-figure such as Kara? In any case, given her role in Adama's assassination attempt, this is strange and strong behavior.
*Would any viable embryos harvested by the Cylons be accelerated into mature adults or placed ''in vitro'' into a host? Would the host be humano-Cylon or human?
**Caprica-Boomer seemed to imply that no viable hybrid embryos had ever been produced by the Farms, at least up until this point. Then again, she said that they "weren't very successful", which is somewhat vague.

== Analysis ==

== Notes ==
*This episode's opening credits marks the return of the "blipvert" effect used in the first season episodes, which Ron D. Moore uses as an homage to "Space: 1999".
*As of the opening credits, the fleet population is now 47,857, a net loss of 4 since "[[Resistance]]". This reflects the deaths of four civillians on board the [[Gideon]] in that episode, but apparently not that of Boomer. Was she removed from the count immediately after her assassination attempt?
*According to [[Gaeta]], this episode takes place "a week" after Apollo docked at [[Cloud Nine]] in the last episode, although apparently Adama hasn't been well enough to resume command until very recently.
*24 ships, almost a third of the fleet, have left with Roslin for Kobol.
**This would mean the total fleet consisted of over 72 ships. In the [[Mini-Series]], there are only about 40 FTL-capable ships able to rendezvous with Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage.
*Cally has been put in the brig for 30 days for discharging a firearm without permission. Tyrol actually tried to help get her out immediately by telling Adama that she was traumatized by events on Kobol and not in her right mind. Adama agrees to be lenient and give Cally the short sentance, and Tyrol is grateful.
*Galactica-Boomer's body is now in the morgue.
*Number Six mentioned that "procreation is one of God's commandments" in the first episode, "[[33]]".
*The [[Humano-Cylon|Humano-Cylons]] cannot reproduce biologically with each other (they can produce more copies of the existing models, but a male and female Cylons cannot reproduce with each other). However, according to the Cylon religion it is a commandment of God that they procreate; "be fruitful and multiply". Therefore, the Cylons began a project to create a hybrid offspring of Humano-Cylons and Humans (who can easily reproduce biologically), basically trying any way they could to find some way to procreate their new race. To this end, the Cylons have created a large number of "[[Farms]]": breeding centers filled with captured Human women hooked up to medical equipment, being used as living incubators (a "baby factory"), which basically amounts to medically raping hundreds if not thousands of women. However, it seems that up to this point, the Farms have not been able to successfully produce any hybrid offspring. Trying to understand their failure, the Cylons developed a new theory: the element they were missing was love, and perhaps a hybrid baby conceived in love would succeed. This was the reason why [[Helo]] was set up by the Cylons into being trapped in a position where he would fall in love with the copy of [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] and have sex with her. The Caprica-Boomer's unborn child is indeed unique: it is the first Human/Cylon hybrid conceived in love, and as a result appears to be the first and only successful hybrid; it seems that no other embryo survived nearly as long as it already has (it is now about five weeks old, since it's conception in "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]").
*The Galactica-Boomer was serving aboard the Galactica for two years, which means the Cylons had begun infiltrating Colonial society from at least that long ago. This matches the length of time of Six's affair with Baltar while on Caprica.
*Starbuck was the victim of frequent physical abuse as a child; she's suffered many bone fractures in childhood, and all of her fingers have been broken at some point.
*It has clearly been established that there are at least 5 remaining Raptors aboard the Galactica. Lt. Gaeta mentions that 5 Raptors were standing by to perform a mission. There might be more that they simply didn't want to use, or there might be more that are currently down for repairs.
*Caprica-Boomer is aware of [[Leoben Conoy]]'s interrogation by Starbuck in "[[Flesh and Bone]]", even of specific things he said during it.
*This episode introduces the 5th confirmed Humano-Cylon, [[Simon]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Cylons discussion the surgical testing they are performing on Starbuck'':
:Simon:...pending lab test results on [sample for] ovaries, complete removal will proceed tomorrow. They've lab tested positive and subject will be removed to processing facility for final disposition.
:Number Six: Is that regret I hear in your voice, Simon?
:Simon: If it is, it certainly is none of your concern.

*''Explanation of the Human/Cylon hybrid project:''
:Boomer: They were conducting research, into Human/Cylon breeding programs.
:Starbuck:: Human/Cylon?
:Helo:: 'Call them "Farms"...your gunshot wound looks fine...
:Starbuck:: So "Farms", that's great...what were they going to do, 'knock me up with some Cylon kid?
:Boomer: They were going to try to. We haven't been very successful so far.
:Anders: Supposedly they can't reproduce...you know, ''biologically'', so they've been trying every which-way to produce offspring.
:Starbuck: Why?
:Boomer: Procreation. It's one of God's commandments; "be fruitful". We can't fulfill it, we've tried. So we decided--
:Starbuck: To rape human women?!
:Boomer: You know, if you agreed to bear children it would be voluntary, maybe even set you up with someone you like.
:Starbuck: And you two kids? [''Helo and Caprica-Boomer'']
:Boomer: We're different.
:Starbuck: What the frak is that supposed to mean?
:Helo: They have this theory; maybe the one thing they were missing was '''love'''. So Sharon and I...were set up...
:Starbuck: To fall in love?! They didn't ask [[Sue-Shaun]] if she wanted to fall in love, alright! They put a tube in her, and they hooked her up to a machine!
:Boomer: They know who you are, Kara. You're special. Leoben told you that. You have a destiny.
:Helo: [''pointing out the other scar on Starbuck's lower abdomen''] Starbuck what's the second scar?
:Starbuck: I don't know. I don't think I want to know now. You know?
:Boomer: No.
:Anders: Alright, how many women do they have in these "Farms"?
:Boomer: Hundreds, maybe thousands. I don't know, I haven't accessed that data.

*''Adama wonders aloud about the nature of Cylons and humans''
:'''Tyrol:''' I don't believe she [Cally] was in her right mind when she shot Boomer--
:'''Adama:''' Did you love her, Chief?
:'''Tyrol:''' 'Scuse me?
:'''Adama:''' Boomer. Did you love her?
:'''Tyrol:''' Thought I did.
:'''Adama:''' Well, when you think you love somebody, you love them. That's what love is. Thoughts... She was a Cylon. A machine! Is that what Boomer was, a machine? A thing?
:'''Tyrol:''' That's what she turned out to be.
:'''Adama:''' She was more than that to us. She was more than that to me. She was a vital, living person aboard my ship for almost two years! She couldn't have been just a machine. Could you love a machine?
:'''Tyrol:''' No, sir. Guess I couldn't have.
: '''Adama'''Cally discharged a firearm without permission, endangering life of her fellow shipmate. 30 days in the brig. Dismissed.
:'''Tyrol:''' Thank you, sir.
:'''Adama:''' You'll see her again, Chief.
:'''Tyrol:''' Excuse me?
:'''Adama:''' There are many copies. You'll see her again.

*''Simon, talking about Starbuck's reluctance to have children but also perhaps talking about the Cylons view of themselves (and maybe the "human" cylons).
:'''Simon:''' Children of abusive parents often fear passing along that abuse to their own children.

== Official Statements ==
[[Ronald D. Moore]] mentions in his [[Podcast]] that because of [[Starbuck]]'s promise to [[Anders]] to return with help, we'll probably return to [[Caprica]].

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0941796/ Rick Worthy] as [[Simon]]

=== Writing & Direction ===

*Written by
*Story by
*Teleplay by
*Directed by

=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005/2006)
*Production Number: 2.5
*Airdate Order: 5 (of 20)

=== First Run Air Dates & Releases ===

*UK Airdate: September 2005
*US Airdate: August 12th, 2005
*DVD Release: Date

{{Episode List}}
[[Category:A to Z|Farm, The]]
[[Category: Episode Guide (RDM)|Farm, The]]