Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Timeline (RDM)

2006-02-25T19:17:02Z

DavidA: /* Home, Part I */ correcting spelling of "martial" (law) and removing unneeded "however"

''Dates use the day of the [[Cylon Holocaust]] as a baseline. See also [[Survivor Count]], [[History of the Twelve Colonies]].''

==Ancient History==
*'''-3600 Years:''' [[Pythia]] records her prophecies.
*'''-2000 Years:''' The thirteen tribes leave [[Kobol]]: twelve for the [[Cyrannus System]], the other for [[Earth]].

==Recent Colonial History==
*'''-52 Years:''' Cylon revolt begins the [[Cylon War]]. [[Articles of Colonization]] signed ([[Colonial Day]], [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/04/index.html#a000025 RDM, April 11, 2005]).
*'''-51 Years''' Colonials suffer a major defeat when the Colonial ship ''[[Brenik]]'' is lost after a boarding action by Cylon Centurions, which resulted in some of the bloodiest, hand-to-hand fighting of the war. A young Petty Officer [[Saul Tigh]] is one of a handful of survivors.
*'''-50 Years:'''
** [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' enters service under Commander [[Peter Dash]].
*'''c. -41 years:''' [[William Adama]] beings his service in the Colonial Fleet as a Viper pilot, near the end of the Cylon War.
*'''-40 Years:''' Armistice between the Colonials and the Cylons ends the [[Cylon War]].
*'''-20 Years:'''
**Last significant [[FTL|Jump]] recorded on battlestar ''[[Galactica]]'s'' logs.
**[[Tom Zarek]] imprisoned for blowing up a government building on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]].
**[[William Adama]] and [[Saul Tigh]] first meet.
**[[Laura Roslin]] begins her career in politics.
*'''-7 Years:''' [[Saul Tigh|Saul]] and [[Ellen Tigh]] marry. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]], [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season01/112/deleted1.html deleted scene])
*'''-5 Years:''' [[Galen Tyrol]] assigned to ''Galactica''.
*'''-3 Years:''' [[Felix Gaeta]] assigned to ''Galactica''.
*'''-2 Years:'''
**[[Number Six]] (in the guise of Natasi) first encounters Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]].
**[[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|A copy of Sharon Valerii]] begins serving aboard ''Galactica''.
**[[Zak Adama]] dies in a flight school accident. His funeral is Lee and William Adama's last meeting until the miniseries.
**Lt. [[Kara Thrace]] is re-assigned from Flight School to Battlestar ''Galactica''.
*'''-1 Year:''' Last time [[William Adama]] and [[Caroline Adama]] speak.
*'''-Several months''' [[Caroline Adama]] gets engaged.
*'''-3 Weeks:''' [[Anastasia Dualla]] last visits her home.
*'''Zero Hour:''' Cylons [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|destroy]] the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]]. The (so-far-known) only known survivors are a rag-tag fugitive fleet escorted by ''Galactica''; ''Pegasus'', another [[Pegasus (RDM)|isolated battlestar]]; a fleet of 15 civilian FTL capable ships; and the [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Events of the [[Mini-Series]].

==Season 1==
*'''1 Day:''' [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]. ''Galactica's'' fleet leaves [[Cyrannus]] System.
*'''6 Days:''' ''Galactica'' finally loses the Cylon pursuers. Events of episode "[[33]]".
*'''7 Days:''' ''Pegasus'' encounters a fleet of 15 civilian ships, including ''[[Scylla]]''.
*'''10 Days:''' Events of episode "[[Water]]"
*'''12 Days:''' Tom Zarek engineers the capture of the ''[[Astral Queen]]'' by its prisoner crew. Events of episode "[[Bastille Day]]".
*'''14 Days:''' Events of episode "[[Act of Contrition]]". [[Skirmish over the Red Moon|Starbuck is missing after a Cylon fight]].
*'''15 Days:''' Events of episode "[[You Can't Go Home Again]]"
*'''17 Days:''' Events of episode "[[Litmus]]"
*'''21 Days:''' First recollection by any of the ''[[Rising Star (RDM)|Rising Star]]'' crewmembers of giving [[Ellen Tigh]] medical assistance ("about a week" before "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]").
*'''24 Days:''' [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica Valerii]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] first make love. Events of episode "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]"
*'''25 Days:''' Events of episode "[[Flesh and Bone]]"
*'''26 Days:''' Ellen Tigh resumes consciousness ("a couple of days" before [[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]).
*'''28 Days:''' Events of episode "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]".
*'''36 Days:''' [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid]]. Caprica Valerii is pregnant and suffering morning sickness. Events of episode "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]".

===[[Colonial Day]]===

*'''Day 46:''' Delegates selected for the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. [[Tom Zarek]] selected to represent [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]]. Roslin implores Adama to permit his participation. [[Valance]] prepares to smuggle a ceramic stealth gun into the ''[[Cloud Nine]]''. Zarek addresses the fleet from the prison ship [[Astral Queen]]. Gaius Baltar selected to represent [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Apollo and Starbuck inspect the [[Cloud Nine]].

*'''Day 47 - Morning:''' Colonial Day. Delegates arrive on Cloud Nine. Roslin addresses the Quorum. Baltar eyes [[Playa Palacios]]. Zarek moves to elect a vice president and is nominated by [[Marshall Bagott]]. Motion passes, chair to remain open 72 hours for nominations.

*'''Day 47 - Afternoon:''' Roslin asks [[Wallace Gray]] to run for the vice presidency. Zarek expounds on his reform agenda. Valence scuffles with Apollo and Starbuck and is jailed. Helo and Caprica Valerii arrive at a spaceport in the vicinity of [[Delphi]].

*'''Day 47 - Evening:''' Starbuck and Apollo interrogate Valence to no effect.

*'''Day 48 - Morning:''' Grey addresses the Quorum. [[Safiya Sanne]] changes [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]]'s vote to Zarek, bringing his total to 5 of 12.

*'''Day 48 - Afternoon:''' Zarek serves [[Ellen Tigh]] a drink and inquires after the whereabouts of Valence. Baltar interviewed by [[James McManus]]. Valence found dead. Tigh, Apollo and Starbuck consult with Roslin on security.

*'''Day 48 - Evening:''' Roslin travels to ''Cloud Nine'' and asks Grey to drop out of the race and recruits Baltar to replace him, interrupting his "exclusive" with Palacios. Apollo and Starbuck flirt in the bunk on ''[[Galactica]]''.

*'''Day 49 - Morning:''' Baltar elected Vice President, with Roslin casting the tie-breaking vote.

*'''Day 49 - Evening:''' Victory party for Baltar. Roslin dances with Adama, Ellen with Saul Tigh, Billy with Dualla, Starbuck with Apollo and Baltar.

*'''Day 49 - Night:''' Helo and Caprica Valerii infiltrate the spaceport. Helo discovers Valerii is a Cylon and flees.

''Note: Roslin states that the chair will remain open for nominations for 72 hours on the morning of Day 47, but the [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|next episode]] clearly takes place the day after the victory party, and is stated to take place on Day 50. Perhaps the Quorum moved to close the nomination period early after the nomination of a strong candidate.''

===[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]===
*'''Day 50 - Early Morning:''' Apollo and Adama spar. Baltar and Starbuck have sex. Caprica Valerii catches up with Helo at [[Delphi]], and he shoots her. ''Galactica'' Boomer contemplates suicide. [[Cottle]] examines Roslin and gives her "six months, at the outside".

*'''Day 50 - Morning:''' Starbuck and an (already) drunken Baltar exchange innuendos over the officer's card game.

*'''Day 50 - Afternoon:''' Roslin briefs Baltar on her economic agenda. [[Number Six|Six]] warns him that "it's not safe to remain on ''Galactica''". ''Galactica'' Boomer and Crashdown stumble upon [[Kobol]]. Helo holds Caprica Valerii at gunpoint. Apollo and Starbuck exchange blows.

*'''Day 50 - Evening:''' Roslin examines an orbital photograph of Kobol and has a vision of the [[City of the Gods]]. Adama decides to send an expedition, which Baltar demands to accompany. ''Galactica'' Boomer shoots herself on Baltar's advice. In private, Roslin unsuccessfully petitions Commander Adama to send the Cylon Raider after the [[Arrow of Apollo]] on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]].

*'''Day 50 - Night:''' [[Battle of Kobol]] begins. Scout party ambushed by a [[Cylon Basestar]] at Kobol. Starbuck devises a plan to deliver a nuke to the [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] using the captured [[Cylon Raider|Raider]] and [[Cylon Transponder]]. Roslin convinces her to purloin the Raider and take it to Caprica instead.

===[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]===
*'''Day 51 - Early Morning:''' Survivors of [[Raptor 1]] escape the wreck. Baltar passes out. Adama terminates Roslin's presidency. Apollo and Tigh plan an assault on ''[[Colonial One]]''. Adama dispatches the wounded Boomer to take out the basestar. Caprica Valerii leads Helo to [[Delphi Museum of the Colonies]].

*'''Day 51 - Morning:''' Starbuck arrives at Caprica, retrieves the [[Arrow of Apollo]], kills a copy of [[Number Six|Six]] and meets up with Helo. ''Galactica's'' [[Marines|marines]] board ''[[Colonial One]]''. Apollo mutinies, Roslin stands down. Baltar has a vision of the shape of things to come. ''Galactica'' Boomer confronts other Valerii copies on the basestar. She returns from her mission and shoots Commander Adama.

==Season 2==
''Note: Season 2 dates are rough guesses, at best. See [[Talk:Re-Imagined Series Timeline|Talk]] for detailed rationalle.''

===[[Scattered]]===
*'''Day 51 - Morning:''' A [[Cylon Basestar]] ambushes the fleet, which jumps to an emergency rendezvous point. ''Galactica'' jumps to wrong coordinates and is forced to backtrack. [[Battle of Kobol#Scattering of the Fleet|''Galactica'' holds off basestar]] and returns to bulk of the Fleet.

===[[Valley of Darkness]]===
*'''Day 51'''
* ''Galactica'' is partially disabled by a Cylon [[Virus|virus]] while a [[Cylon Centurion]] boarding party attempts to [[Battle of Kobol#Cylon Boarding|commandeer the ship]].

===[[Fragged]]===
*'''Day 51'''
* [[Crashdown]] is shot by [[Gaius Baltar]] on Kobol after threatening to shoot [[Cally]].

===[[Resistance]]===
*'''Day 52:''' Tigh interrogates Tyrol and imprisons him with ''Galactica'' Boomer.

*'''Day 54 - Morning:''' [[Cally]] blackmails Baltar into running his Cylon test on Tyrol. Baltar notes to Tigh that he should assume Roslin's duties; he invites Baltar to join her in the brig. ''[[Aturian]]'' stops refining Tylium in protest of Martial law. Apollo briefs pilots in the ready room. Dualla checks out his ass. On Caprica, Starbuck and Helo meet [[Samuel Anders]]'s [[Resistance (movement)|Resistance]].

*'''Day 54 - Afternoon:''' Tigh deploys troops to vessels refusing to supply ''Galactica''. The [[Gideon]] Massacre takes place. Roslin is chagrined. Apollo initiates his escape plan.

*'''Day 54 - Evening:''' Saul and Ellen Tigh argue and have sex. Baltar poisons Tyrol and interrogates Boomer. Starbuck and Helo arrive at the Resistance HQ with Anders.

*'''Day 55 - Morning:''' Apollo delivers briefing, orchestrates Roslin's escape. The deck gang begin construction of a new brig cell for [[Cylon agent|Cylon agents]].

*'''Day 55 - Afternoon:''' Apollo & co. disembark at the [[Cloud Nine]] and link up with [[Tom Zarek]]. Starbuck and Anders flirt.

*'''Day 55 - Evening:''' Commander Adama wakes up. Cally kills ''Galactica'' Boomer.

===[[The Farm]]===
*'''Day 58:''' - According to a [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)|deleted scene]], this episode takes place one week after "Fragged".

===[[Home, Part I]]===
*'''Day ?? - Morning:''' Kara Thrace's captured [[Cylon Heavy Raider|Heavy Raider]] jumps into orbit around Kobol. Tom Zarek attempts to have it shot down because it's not the same Raider that Thrace departed in. Thrace lands her Heavy Raider aboard the ''[[Astral Queen]]'' and is reunited with President Roslin and Lee Adama. Lee learns that in addtion to Karl Agathon, Thrace brought back the Caprican copy of Sharon Valerii, whereupon Lee pulls a gun on Sharon. After defusing the situation with words, Roslin orders Valerii thrown out the airlock, but relents and has her thrown into the brig instead, after hearing both Thrace and Agathon's protest. Commander Adama promotes Captain [[George Birch]] to be the new ''Galactica'' CAG.

*'''Day ?? - Afternoon:''' Commander Adama holds a press conference regarding the escape of President Roslin from his custody and the ensuing martial law. Adama adjourns the press conference when the questions become increasingly pointed.

*'''Day ??+1 - Morning:''' Cpt. Birch on his first mission as CAG is responsible for an accident that nearly kills [[Kat]]. Zarek and his trusted lieutenant [[Meier]] plot to overthrow Roslin and take command of the fleet.

*'''Day ??+1 - Afternoon:''' Cpt. Birch oversees his second flight mishap as CAG when two ships he's supposed to be guiding collide with one another during a routine refueling operation.

*'''Day ??+2 - Morning:''' Roslin's party, made up of Thrace, Cpt. Adama, Elosha, Zarek, Meier, Agathon, Boomer, two Zarek red-shirts, two Roslin red-shirts and Rolsin herself land on Kobol. Using Valerii as their guide they set out in search of the [[Tomb of Athena]].

*'''Day ??+2 - Afternoon:''' The party is ambushed by Cylon Centurions after Elosha accidently trips a "bouncing betty" land mine and it blows up in her face, killing her. The surviving party is saved when Valerii uses an RPG launcher to destroy the last remaining Centurion.

*'''Day ??+2 - Evening:''' Adama makes the decision to put the fleet back together after a long and heartfelt talk with [[Dee]].

===[[Home, Part II]]===
*'''Day 66-67:''' - [[Raptor 1]] lands on Kobol with [[William Adama]] and his contingent. [[Tomb of Athena]] found.
*'''Day 68-74:''' - Roslin reestablished as lawful President; martial law ends. Fleet reunification.

===[[Final Cut]]===
*'''Day ~75''' [[D'anna Biers]] produces a documentary aboard the Galactica about the "[[Gideon massacre]]". It is a generally positive documentary broadcast to the fleet. Unknown to the fleet, it is also surveillance by the Cylons into the status of the Colonial fleet.

===[[Flight of the Phoenix]]===
*'''Day 86''' - [[Cally]] is released from the brig; a welcome back party is thrown for her by the deck crew.
*'''Day ??''' - [[Great Cylon Turkey Shoot|''Galactica'' routs hundreds of Cylon fighters]] without a casualty while dispatching a [[Logic bomb]] from their ship computers. The [[Blackbird]] prototype stealth fighter is built by [[Chief Tyrol]] and a team of Galactica crewmembers. Lt. Thrace flies it on its first test flight, quickly proving its value as a stealth craft.

===[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]===
*'''c. Day 175''' - ''Galactica'' encounters battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''. Admiral [[Helena Cain]] assumes fleet command.
*'''c. Day 175'''- [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] accidentally kills ''Pegasus'' Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne|Thorne]] and is arrested with [[Karl Agathon|Helo]].
*'''c. Day 175''' - A standoff between the two battlestars begins over the treatment of the arrested ''Galactica'' crew.

===[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]===
*'''Day ~175''' - The standoff between the two battlestars ends in an uneasy truce, and a tense summmit aboard Colonial One, after Lt. Thrace returns from an unauthorized surveilance mission to the Cylon fleet, where she gains critical evidence on a Cylon ship. Dr. Baltar is able to determine from [[Gina]] that this is the [[Resurrection Ship]] that cylons need to resurrect so far from the Cylon homeworld.

===[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]===
*'''Day ~177''' - The Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus together engage the Cylon fleet in the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], where they achieve an overwhelming victory with relatively light casualties, destroying not only the Resurrection Ship, but at least one other Cylon base star. The Blackbird is destroyed in the battle, although Lee Adama manages to eject successfully. At least one Raptor is also lost in the battle. Admiral Cain is killed by Gina, after Baltar helps her escape captivity. He then proceeds to hide her in the fleet.

===[[Epiphanies]]===
*'''Day 189''' - President Roslin near death; orders death of Cylon fetus. A [[Demand Peace|Cylon peace movement]] begins to pose as a threat to [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. The Cylon fetus is eventually spared, when Dr. Baltar determines how to use Cylon fetal stem cells to treat Roslin's cancer. Dr. Baltar smuggles the nuclear weapon that he was provided with for work on his Cylon detector to the Cylon peace movement aboard Cloud Nine.

===[[Black Market]]===
*'''Day ???''' - Commander Fisk is murdered aboard the Battlestar Pegasus. Lee Adama begins an investigation into the matter.
*'''Day ???''' - Lee Adama kills [[Phelan]], leader of the [[Black market (organization)|Black Market]] crime syndicate.
*'''Day ???''' - Lee Adama is debriefed on the entire incident regarding the murder of Fisk and the Black Market.

===[[Scar]]===
*'''Day ???''' - After 29 days in an asteroid field (putting us at Day 218 or later), the ''[[Majahual|Majahual's]]'' mining operation has produced enough raw materials for the construction of two new Viper squadrons using the fabrication facilities aboard the [[Pegasus (RDM)|Battlestar ''Pegasus'']]. Attacks on the operation continue by the ace Cylon raider known as [[Scar (Raider)|Scar]], making it the source of a heated competition between Lt. Katraine and Cpt. Thrace.

===[[Sacrifice]]===
*'''Day ???''' - Three men and a woman named [[Sesha Abinell]] lay siege to bar onboard [[Cloud 9]], taking the guests hostage, and sealing the area off from the rest of the ship. Abinell's husband was killed aboard the ''[[Greenleaf]]'' when the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] attacked it ten weeks ago, and she decides to exact vengeance. Lee Adama is wounded as a result of a failed rescue attempt by [[Kara Thrace]]

===[[The Captain's Hand]]===
*'''Day ???''' - At least one month after the events of "Sacrifice", [[Lee Adama]] has been promoted to Major and temporarily assigned to ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''. ''Pegasus'' Commander [[Barry Garner]] dies during the [[Battle of the Binary Star System]]. Adama is promoted to Commander and given command of ''Pegasus''. Talk begins in the Fleet about the upcoming Presidential election. Roslin bans abortion, and Vice President Baltar announces his candidacy for president in the upcoming election.

===[[Downloaded]]===
*'''Day 270 (Zero Hour + 9 months)''' - [[Hera]] born. This episode claims that the previous episode "[[Resistance]]" took place "10 weeks before" Day 270. However, 10x7 = 70 and 270 - 70 = 200, this would put Cally's shooting of ''Galactica''-Boomer ''after'' "[[Epiphanies]]" which was stated to take place on Day 189. Even a very liberal estimate could not possibly place "Resistance" more than a week or two after "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", when it was stated on screen that it was Day 51. This reference to "10 weeks" is probably a mistake.

==Future Events==
*'''<s>Day 86 + 1 month (c. Day 116):''' Roslin's maximum life expectancy as of Day 86 ([[Flight of the Phoenix]])</s>
*'''<s>Day 54 + 3 months (c. Day 144):''' [[Samuel Anders]]'s [[Resistance (movement)|Resistance]]'s anti-radiation med supply projected to run out ("[[Resistance]]").</s>
**Anders' group survives in "[[Downloaded]]", c. Day 270. They could have simply found more stockpiles of anti-radiation meds in the intervening time period.
*<s>'''Day 12 + 7 Months (c. Day 222):''' Elections due for President of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] ([[Bastille Day]]).</s>
**As of "[[Downloaded]]", c. Day 270, the elections are near but have not yet arrived.
*'''<s>Day 50 + 6 Months (c. Day 230):''' Roslin's maximum life expectancy as of Day 50 ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).</s>
**Roslin promised to get the fleet to [[Earth]] before her death '''(c. Day 230)''' ([[Fragged]]).
*'''<s>Day 24 + 9 Months (c. Day 294):''' [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|"Caprica" Sharon Valerii]]'s daughter born. (see [[#Notes|Notes]] below)</s>
**[[Hera]], daughter of [[Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|"Caprica" Sharon Valerii]] was born premature c. Day 270 ([[Downloaded]]).
*'''Day 36 + 3 years (c. Day 1131):''' Fleet runs out of [[tylium]] fuel that was resupplied from the Cylon asteroid mine; assuming that no other sources have been found before this date. ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]])
*'''Day 260 (approx) + 18 years (c. Day 6,830)''' Time at which, if the [[Survivor count]] keeps up its current rate of decline and never increases, the human race will simply go extinct, according to Baltar's estimate in "[[The Captain's Hand]]".

== Notes ==

*The above day listings use a simplistic calendar system with 30 day months and no leap years. The colonial calendar may be more sophisticated.
*The date of Valerii and Agathon's child is speculated, assuming that the [[Cylon agent]]s share the same gestation period that humans do, and that the birth of their hybrid daughter is not [[Wikipedia:premature birth|premature]].

[[Category:A to Z]] [[Category:RDM]] [[Category:Colonial History|*]] [[Category:Behind the Scenes]]

User:DavidA

2006-02-25T18:57:34Z

DavidA: I copied over my user page from Wikipedia; it's all the basics.

David Alvin (born December 11, 1971, Winfield, Illinois, USA) lived in Carol Stream, Illinois until August 1978. He moved to Georgetown, Florida and attended Crescent City (Junior-Senior) High School, where he graduated with honors on June 8, 1990. At Stetson University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in social science-education with history and political science minors on May 15, 1994.

After several years working in convenience stores and at several other retail occupations, he moved from Florida to North Dakota in August 2002. He married Martha Fix of Minot, North Dakota on July 12, 2003 and has been employed as office manager at Fast Cash North, a payday loan provider in Minot, since that September.

Beginning in November 2004, David Alvin embarked on another career as an author of science fiction and fantasy novels as well as an ongoing series of Christian devotionals known as An Ensign on the Mountains. The latter are available by request through the author's email at the end of each week, usually Fridays.

The Alvins' first child is expected to be born toward the end of February 2006.

Available and Projected Works

The Progeny Cycle

A skipped generation of super humans becomes the bulwark of resistance against enemies against and among them.

Progeny. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2004. ISBN 1418499455
Legacy. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 1425907431
Victory. Projected release date 2007.
Epiphany. Projected release date 2008.
Other Works

The Carbonari Players. Morrisville, NC: Lulu, 2005. 2005 National Novel Writing Month winner. A murder mystery set in the afterlife.
An Ensign On The Mountains. Weekly Christian devotional writing.

Downloaded

2006-02-25T17:46:13Z

DavidA: /* Notes */ corrected spelling of "Ithaca"

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Cylon_resurrection.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Downloaded
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 18
| Guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] ([[D'anna Biers]])
| Writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] and [[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0941276|Jeff Woolnough]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= 24 February 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[The Captain's Hand]]
| Next= [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]
}}

== Overview ==
Cylon society is revealed when a Cylon's consciousness is downloaded into a new body following her death. The conquerors of occupied Caprica hail two "heroes of the Cylon," who both resist their new celebrity.

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===
*Episode begins with a flashback to "Nine months ago - Caprica" showing Baltar's house being destroyed in the [[Miniseries]]. The copy of Number Six who had a relationship dies...and then we follow from her point of view as her consciousness is downloaded and reborn into another body in a Cylon rebirthing vat. She fell so deeply in love with Gaius Baltar that ''she'' starts having hallucinations of ''Baltar'', because the emotional impact of falling in love affected her so much. We then cut to "Ten weeks ago" on ''Galactica'' when [[Cally]] shoots [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Galactica-Sharon]]...and follow from her point of view as she is downloaded (no doubt aided by the [[Resurrection Ship]] at the time) and wakes up totally disoriented in a new body in another rebirthing vat. A copy of the same model of Cylon known to humans as [[D'anna Biers]] tells her she'll be fine, but upon seeing another Sharon-model, Galactica-Sharon starts screaming uncontrollably.
*On Caprica in the present day, the Cylons are rebuilding [[Delphi]] for their own use, even making gardens. A D'anna-copy sits down to talk with the Number Six copy that seduced Baltar. She has never told anyone that she fell truly in love with Baltar, and to this day hallucinates him as a result, because she thinks the others would destroy her for being defective. The D'anna-copy asks if she will go and see another Cylon who was recently downloaded into a new body, and is still having trouble adapting: ''Galactica''-Sharon, who is also something of a celebrity and war hero for her acts of sabotage and attempted assasintation on Adama. She points out that she even still calls herself "Sharon". She warns that if she cannot be fixed, there is talk of "[[boxing]]" her: putting her consciousness in cold storage and never loading it into a new body again.
*This copy of Number Six is considered a war-hero; she was personally responsible for gaining the information that allowed the near-total sabotage of the Colonial Fleet, and has actually become something of a celebrity to the Cylons. They even refer to her specifically as "'''Caprica-Six'''".
*In a short conversation while walking to ''Galactica''-Sharon's old appartment (which she moved back into), the D'anna-copy quickly lists off the Numbers of several Cylon models: "D'anna Biers" is '''Number Three''', "Aaron Doral" is '''Number Five''', and "Sharon Valerii" is '''Number Eight'''.
*Caprica-Six goes to ''Galactica''-Sharon's appartment, where she proclaims that she doesn't believe in the Cylon God or his "love" and that the only real love she had was with the ''Galactica'' crew. She expresses intense guilt at betraying them. Caprica-Six starts to manipulate her by trying to empathize with her, saying that she loved a man too: Gaius Baltar. Startled, ''Galactica''-Sharon says that Baltar is not dead, but is the new Vice President of the Colonies, on board ''Galactica''.
*Moving their conversation to a cafe on the ground floor of Sharon's appartment, Caprica-Six and Sharon wonder why Number Three never told Caprica-Six that Baltar was alive. Caprica-Six (through conversation with her hallucinated Baltar) realizes that Number Three manipulated her. Sending her to Sharon, and letting her find out that the man she loved was alive, might make her go crazy. Number Three could then use this as an excuse to have them ''both'' boxed.
*Meanwhile, [[Samuel Anders]] and two other members of the human [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] are planning to plant a bomb in the garage underneath the cafe, and blow it up. They know the Cylons will all just download into other bodies, but Anders points out that from Caprica-Sharon, they know that Cylons remember dying, and it must be horrifically painful: they're going to show them that nowhere is safe, and they should leave Caprica if they want to stop painfully dying and being reborn over and over again.
*Number Three shows up at the cafe, and asks how things are doing. Having realized her plan, Caprica-Six lies and says emphatically that Galactica-Sharon will move out of her appartment and start adapting back to Cylon life. Galactica-Sharon takes the hint and goes along with the lie. Disappointed, Number Three offers to help her move out right now, and they leave the cafe and start going up the stairs to Sharon's appartment.
*The resistance members set up the bomb and all but Anders leave, but just before he can get out a Cylon Centurion starts snooping around, and he can't get back to the exit. It sees the bomb and Anders shoots it then ducks behind a car as the bomb goes off.
*All three Cylons survived the blast, because the stairwell protected them on the higher floor. Caprica-Six is buried under some rubble, and Number Three insists that she is dead and they should leave her (subtly trying to kill her so Three can have her boxed). However, Caprica-Six then moves and asks for help and they uncover her. Her knee is dislocated, and Three again suggests that it would be easier, if Six wants, to just kill her so she'll be reborn. Realizing Three is trying to have her boxed, she insists on not doing that.
*They see someone else moving around under some rubble, and Number Three clears it off only to find that it is Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Galactica-Sharon protests. Caprica-Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Number Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn't kill him to he can be interrogated. Sharon sees that he has Starbuck's dogtags, and Number Three explains that she was on the planet a few weeks ago. Sharon realizes he's someone important to her.
*Number Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. Sharon tells her to stop, and Number Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she's human, but she's not. Sharon says that at least she has a conscience, and Number Three says she's a murderer. Caprica-Six realizes that's exactly what the Cylons have been doing: murder and the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|genocide of the human race]] cannot be the [[Cylon Religion|path of their loving God]].
*Caprica-Six realizes why Number Three wanted her and ''Galactica''-Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on unity. Three realized that based on their love of two human beings, they have different perspective on the War, and due to their celebrity status as Cylon heros they could actually cause a change in the way many other Cylons think about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the ''status quo'' which Number Three upholds.
*Number Three says they've been corrupted by their experiences, and are a waste. Caprica-Six explains to Sharon that that is why Three wanted to get rid of them: because both of them now know the murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God, and Sharon realizes that letting them tell the other Cylons this would make them all consider that the slaughter of mankind was a mistake.
*The rubble of the building shifts as Cylons outside are trying to clear their way to the survivors inside, and Anders makes a run for it and grabs his gun, shooting at Number Three before Galactica-Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands...which then lands near Number Three, who takes the gun. She stands up and just as Number Three is about to execute Anders, Caprica-Six hits her over the head with a large rock of stone from the rubble, then bashes it into her head again, killing her.
*Caprica-Six tells Anders to leave, and gives him back Starbuck's dogtags. Galactica-Sharon gives him back his gun as he leaves. Six realizes that with all of the Cylons dead in the cafe, it should be at least 36 hours before Number Three gets resurrected and tells the others what happened.
*Caprica-Six tells Galactica-Sharon that this is enough time to start changing things, start a new beginning for the Cylons: A way to live in God's love, without hate or lies. Together, these two Heroes of the Cylons can show them the way. Sharon says that she is with her, and they are dug out of the ruins of the building.

===On ''Galactica''===
*[[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] has gone into labor; she passed out and her placenta detatched, and Dr. [[Cottle]] delivers the baby by C-section. It is premature and it's lungs aren't fully developed as a result, so it has to be put in an oxygen-incubator. As Caprica-Sharon predicted, it is a girl. Helo and Caprica-Sharon adore it together, and name her "[[Hera]]".
*Meanwhile, President [[Roslin]], [[Baltar]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], and Col. [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] debate what to do with it. Baltar points out that it is half-human. Adama realizes the Cylons want it, and that the Cylons still hiding in the Fleet will try to make a move for it if they know about it.
*President Roslin has decided to hide Hera to protect her, so she has Cottle convice Helo and Caprica-Sharon that their baby has died (using a fake). Caprica-Sharon goes into hysterics and nearly chokes Cottle before breaking down, sobbing.
*In fact, Roslin has given her to a woman named [[Maya]], who lost her baby in the Cylon attack. Maya adopts Hera, thinking she is a normal human child from a Pegasus officer.
*Helo, helped by Chief Tyrol, spreads the "ashes" of Hera (actually faked) out the back of a Raptor into open space.
*Number Six is devastated that Baltar "let" this happen and could not protect "their baby", though he says he did all he could. Number Six says that God's will was that Hera survive, that God's will was that "she would lead the next generation of God's children". In a rage, she says that Gaius has commited a sin, and his entire race will suffer God's vengeance.

== Questions ==
*What will D'anna do when she is re-embodied?
*Who is Number One?
*Based on reports of Lucy Lawless being asked if she wanted to "be God" and her current command behavior, could Number Three be based on a Count Iblis type character?
**No. Number Three is a just a physical Cylon which will ''claim'' to be a God, Count Iblis was actually a God (God-like being).
**Ron D. Moore has also stated in [[Iblis#In the Re-Imagined Series|interviews]] that he does not intend to bring a Count Iblis character onto the Re-Imagined Series.
* What model numbers are "[[Simon]]" and "[[Leoben Conoy]]" ?
* Based on information mentioned in the Analysis, could the Cylons be patterning a [[Wikipedia: gerontocracy|gerontocratic]] form of leadship structure?
*Given that Baltar's home was destroyed and Caprica-Six "died" in a nuclear explosion, how did Baltar survive?

== Analysis ==
*Apparently the documentary broadcast from [[the Fleet]] in "[[Final Cut]]" was not made widely available, since if Caprica-Six had seen it, she would have already known about Baltar's survival.
*In the scene where ''Galactica''-Sharon is downloaded into her new body, when another Sharon smiles and says "we love you Sharon", this mirrors how another Sharon said the same thing to her on the basestar in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", at which point she also freaked out.
*There does not appear to be any pattern to the numbering scheme of the 12 Cylon models: Three (D'anna), Five (Doral), Six (Shelley Godfrey/Gina), Eight (Sharon), i.e. not all females are an even number, males an odd number.
**However, these models do seem to get progressively younger the higher (perhaps, "most recent") their Number is: Three is eldest and has the number closest to one, while Eight is youngest and has the highest number out of these four.
*Cylon society on Caprica appears to consist of mostly mimicking human behavior - clothing, apartments, cafe's, parks for relaxation, etc. In essence, the Cylons are merely trying to be what they have just exterminated - humans.
**They have established previously that they consider humans to be more "real" and closer to God than they are ("this form brings us closer to God..."); they think that humans are more "real" and that if they wish to be real, they should adopt ''some'' aspects of what humanity is, but this doesn't necessarily stop them from being quite different from humanity.
*As Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon pointed out, the Cylons' claim that they are superior to humans because humans still kill because of greed and jealousy, etc. is hypocritical. They point out the logical disconect of conducting genocide and murder in the name of an all-loving God. Further, Number Three's plan to "box" Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon, which would ''in effect'' be murdering them, also makes her a murderer like the humans she claims to be better than.
*At various points in the series, Baltar's internal Number Six has been seen manipulating physical objects: a test-tube in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", a chair in "[[Home, Part II]]", etc., which has led to the question of whether this is a continuity error, or if she is more real than she claims to be. In this episode, we seem to get an answer to this: Caprica-Six's hallucinatory Baltar makes a drink while in ''Galactica''-Boomer's appartment and hands it to her...only for the camera to shift angles, the hallucination-Baltar to be gone, and to show that Caprica-Six is actually grasping at air. Thus it can be inferred that this is just a stylistic choice by the production team: whenever Number Six ''appears'' to be manipulating a physical object on ''Galactica'', Baltar is hallucinating that she is doing this, and the camera is showing things that aren't "really" happening, from Baltar's perspective.
*The Cylons did not expect their initial attack to be anywhere near as successful as it was. This would explain the apparently large number of Cylon military vessels showing up everywhere as the Cylons expected to fight a more protracted war against a larger surviving human military force.

== Notes ==
*Anders refers to Humano-Cylons as "Skin Jobs" in this episode, another referrence to [[Wikipedia:Blade_Runner|Blade Runner]] by the Re-Imagined Series. The Cylon Centurions are being referred to as "Bullet Heads".
*The vision of [[Number Six]] that Baltar sees all the time is ''not'' the same person as the woman he was sleeping with on Caprica who used him to lower Colonial defenses: [[Caprica-Six]]'s consciousness was downloaded into a new body. Chip-Six might be a duplicate, or something else.
*[[Lee Adama]] is visible in a photograph in [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)]]'s apartment in [[Delphi]]. However, Adama and Valerii had never served together prior to the events of the [[miniseries]]. This is probably a continuity error.
*Apollo and Starbuck do not appear in this episode. This is the first episode that Apollo has never appeared in.
**As of this episode, the only characters that have appeared in every episode of the Re-Imagined Series are President [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama]], and Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]. Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) is actually not one of the seven "regular" cast members, but he has still been in every episode to date.
*Ricky Worthy (Cylon "[[Simon]]") and Callum Keith Rennie (Cylon "[[Leoben Conoy]]") do not actually appear in this episode. In several brief shots, body doubles dressed as their characters are seen from behind or in the distance, but these actors did not return for the episode.
*We learn a lot of Cylon names in this episode: out of the 12 [[Cylon agent|humanoid models]] of Cylon, besides the already-known "[[Number Six]]", the one who posed as human reporter "[[D'anna Biers]]" is model '''Number Three''', the one who posed as PR representative "[[Aaron Doral]]" is model '''Number Five''', and the one who infiltrated ''Galactica'' posing as the pilot "Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii" is model '''Number Eight'''.
*A longstanding question has been answered: What do the Cylons call each other amongst themselves? They actually don't use the names of any human personas they might have infiltrated the Colonies with. "Number Six" is actually called "Number Six" in dialog for the first time in this episode (in the [[Miniseries]], we were left with the cryptic "There are twelve models, I am number six"). It is revealed that Cylons just call and think of themselves as "Number Three" or "Three", etc. It was speculated that individual copies might be destinguished by using a serial number or other ID, but apparently Cylon society is based so much on the idea of unity and lack of individuality that they simply ''do not have'' designations for individual units. When Number Three refers to ''Galactica''-Sharon, she just refers to her as "an Eight", etc. "Caprica-Six" is a makeshift nickname that was made up for the individual "celebrity" Number Six (probably because the Cylons had never developed a formal convention for naming individual units). Caprica-Six is sometimes called "Caprica" for short.
*This gets a little confusing, because even though all of the Number Six copies on Caprica look and dress identically, copies that Caprica-Six walks by still recognize who she is.
*"Caprica-Six" appears to be a take on the ''ad hoc'' naming convention developed by fans for telling the different Cylon copies appart: review sites and messageboards over time started destinguishing the copy of Boomer on ''Galactica'' and the copy of Boomer on Caprica as "''Galactica''-Sharon" and "Caprica-Sharon" for convenience. This loosley developed system then spread to other Cylons as they appeared ("[[Gina|''Pegasus''-Six]]", "Caprica-Doral", "Caprica-D'anna", etc.), though it isn't based on any official material (''BattlestarWiki'' eventually adopted these terms of convenience as well). When Number Three remarks to "Caprica-Six" that her nickname is a little funny, because she's only one of hundreds of copies of "Number Six" on Caprica, this might be a small joke by the writers at the expense of fans.
*Sharon showed difficulty in performing chin ups, but later showed no problem in moving pieces of concrete weighing at least 100 pounds.
**She could have just been angry, and not actually appearing strained because it was physically hard.
**One of the consistent features of both ''Galactica''-Sharon and Caprica-Sharon has been the conflict between her "natural" Cylon Number Eight personality and her human Sharon personality. While probably intended that the two personalities should remain separate, with the Number Eight personality primary, it never worked out that way. In "[[Water]]", for example, Sharon reasserts herself before Number Eight can finish planting the charges. At this point, both ''Galactica''-Sharon/Eight and Caprica-Sharon/Eight have their personalities all jumbled up, with the Sharon personality exerting the stronger influence but retaining knowledge of being a Cylon and being Number Eight. Anyway: the Sharon "code" would have to include imposed limitations on what she believes her own strength and physical abilities to be, or she'd be found out much, much more easily. Inconsistencies in her apparent physical abilities can therefore be explained along with inconsistencies of her mixed but not really integrated personalities.
*Number Three appears to have some command functions based on her actions and behavior. These apparently include determining final disposition of other Cylon personalities.
*Lucy Lawless once again uses her native New Zealand accent for [[D'anna Biers]], even though at the end of "[[Final Cut#notes|Final Cut]]" it was implied that her character normally doesn't.
*Galactica-Sharon's old appartment number on Caprica was "502"
*Much of the dialog in the episode recap is entirely new, and dubbed in to better summarize the segment.
*According to RDM's podcast, there was an entire subplot in this episode in which Lucy Lawless's character "D'anna Biers" would interview President Roslin about rumors that the pregnant Cylon prisoner's baby had been born. Then "''Galactica''-Three" would try to kidnap the baby off of ''Galactica'' in collusion with [[Gina]] (''Pegasus''-Six). The subplot was cut for time (they wanted to spend more time focusing on events on Caprica), and also because they felt it made the episode very confusing; cutting between many different Cylon copies both on Caprica and ''Galactica''. These scenes apparently ''were'' filmed, then cut, because promotional photos for this episode show pictures of D'anna Biers on Galactica (with her new hairstyle), so it will probably appear in deleted scenes released in the next DVD set.
*Sharon has a pair of hand carved, wood elephants in her apartment. Caprica Six asks her if they are from "Ithaca", which on Earth is an island off the coast of Greece and is the home of Odysseus in Homer's [[Wikipedia:Odyssey|Odyssey]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Caprica-Sharon has gone into premature labor with her Hybrid baby:''
:'''Cottle''': I find it absolutely amazing you people went to all the trouble to appear human, and didn't upgrade the plumbing.

*''"Caprica-Six" and a D'anna-copy walk past a crowd of other Cylons of various models, and they all keep turning their heads to look at Caprica-Six:''
:'''Caprica-Six''': I still can't get used to this.
:'''D'anna-copy''': Well youre a Hero of the Cylon now. You're our first celebrity!
:'''Caprica-Six''': Oh, I'm just another Six
:'''D'anna-copy''': You're too modest. I'm just another Three...and they're Fives (''motions at a Doral-model'')..and Eights (''motions at a Sharon-model''). But you, everyone calls you "Caprica-Six"...like you're the only Six on the planet!

*''Anders and some resistance members are planning to bomb a cafe filled with humanoid Cylons:''
:'''Jean''': Security is minimal: two Centurions patrol out front, third bullet-head walks the perimeter. Bullet-head walking perimeter makes random changes to his patrol, be tough to get past him.
:'''Anders''': All right, so we go under him. The storm drain leads directly to the garage underneath the cafe. There'll be dozens of Skin Jobs inside.

== Official Statements ==
*David Eick's video blog shows the crew preparation for filming a Cylon rebirthing scene, most likely for this episode.

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Kerry Norton as Paramedic [[Layne Ishay]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Alisen Down as Jean Barclay
*Erica Cerra as [[Maya]]
*Diego Diablo Del Mar as Hillard

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.18
*Airdate Order: 18 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 24 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Jeff Woolnough]]

Downloaded

2006-02-25T17:42:51Z

DavidA: /* Analysis */ cleaning up English!

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Cylon_resurrection.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Downloaded
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 18
| Guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] ([[D'anna Biers]])
| Writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] and [[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0941276|Jeff Woolnough]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= 24 February 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[The Captain's Hand]]
| Next= [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]
}}

== Overview ==
Cylon society is revealed when a Cylon's consciousness is downloaded into a new body following her death. The conquerors of occupied Caprica hail two "heroes of the Cylon," who both resist their new celebrity.

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===
*Episode begins with a flashback to "10 months ago - Caprica" showing Baltar's house being destroyed in the [[Miniseries]]. The copy of Number Six who had a relationship dies...and then we follow from her point of view as her consciousness is downloaded and reborn into another body in a Cylon rebirthing vat. She fell so deeply in love with Gaius Baltar that ''she'' starts having hallucinations of ''Baltar'', because the emotional impact of falling in love affected her so much. We then cut to "9 weeks ago" on ''Galactica'' when [[Cally]] shoots [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Galactica-Sharon]]...and follow from her point of view as she is downloaded (no doubt aided by the [[Resurrection Ship]] at the time) and wakes up totally disoriented in a new body in another rebirthing vat. A copy of the same model of Cylon known to humans as [[D'anna Biers]] tells her she'll be fine, but upon seeing another Sharon-model, Galactica-Sharon starts screaming uncontrollably.
*On Caprica in the present day, the Cylons are rebuilding [[Delphi]] for their own use, even making gardens. A D'anna-copy sits down to talk with the Number Six copy that seduced Baltar. She has never told anyone that she fell truly in love with Baltar, and to this day hallucinates him as a result, because she thinks the others would destroy her for being defective. The D'anna-copy asks if she will go and see another Cylon who was recently downloaded into a new body, and is still having trouble adapting: ''Galactica''-Sharon, who is also something of a celebrity and war hero for her acts of sabotage and attempted assasintation on Adama. She points out that she even still calls herself "Sharon". She warns that if she cannot be fixed, there is talk of "[[boxing]]" her: putting her consciousness in cold storage and never loading it into a new body again.
*This copy of Number Six is considered a war-hero; she was personally responsible for gaining the information that allowed the near-total sabotage of the Colonial Fleet, and has actually become something of a celebrity to the Cylons. They even refer to her specifically as "'''Caprica-Six'''".
*In a short conversation while walking to ''Galactica''-Sharon's old appartment (which she moved back into), the D'anna-copy quickly lists off the Numbers of several Cylon models: "D'anna Biers" is '''Number Three''', "Aaron Doral" is '''Number Five''', and "Sharon Valerii" is '''Number Eight'''.
*Caprica-Six goes to ''Galactica''-Sharon's appartment, where she proclaims that she doesn't believe in the Cylon God or his "love" and that the only real love she had was with the ''Galactica'' crew. She expresses intense guilt at betraying them. Caprica-Six starts to manipulate her by trying to empathize with her, saying that she loved a man too: Gaius Baltar. Startled, ''Galactica''-Sharon says that Baltar is not dead, but is the new Vice President of the Colonies, on board ''Galactica''.
*Moving their conversation to a cafe on the ground floor of Sharon's appartment, Caprica-Six and Sharon wonder why Number Three never told Caprica-Six that Baltar was alive. Caprica-Six (through conversation with her hallucinated Baltar) realizes that Number Three manipulated her. Sending her to Sharon, and letting her find out that the man she loved was alive, might make her go crazy. Number Three could then use this as an excuse to have them ''both'' boxed.
*Meanwhile, [[Samuel Anders]] and two other members of the human [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] are planning to plant a bomb in the garage underneath the cafe, and blow it up. They know the Cylons will all just download into other bodies, but Anders points out that from Caprica-Sharon, they know that Cylons remember dying, and it must be horrifically painful: they're going to show them that nowhere is safe, and they should leave Caprica if they want to stop painfully dying and being reborn over and over again.
*Number Three shows up at the cafe, and asks how things are doing. Having realized her plan, Caprica-Six lies and says emphatically that Galactica-Sharon will move out of her appartment and start adapting back to Cylon life. Galactica-Sharon takes the hint and goes along with the lie. Disappointed, Number Three offers to help her move out right now, and they leave the cafe and start going up the stairs to Sharon's appartment.
*The resistance members set up the bomb and all but Anders leave, but just before he can get out a Cylon Centurion starts snooping around, and he can't get back to the exit. It sees the bomb and Anders shoots it then ducks behind a car as the bomb goes off.
*All three Cylons survived the blast, because the stairwell protected them on the higher floor. Caprica-Six is buried under some rubble, and Number Three insists that she is dead and they should leave her (subtly trying to kill her so Three can have her boxed). However, Caprica-Six then moves and asks for help and they uncover her. Her knee is dislocated, and Three again suggests that it would be easier, if Six wants, to just kill her so she'll be reborn. Realizing Three is trying to have her boxed, she insists on not doing that.
*They see someone else moving around under some rubble, and Number Three clears it off only to find that it is Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Galactica-Sharon protests. Caprica-Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Number Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn't kill him to he can be interrogated. Sharon sees that he has Starbuck's dogtags, and Number Three explains that she was on the planet a few weeks ago. Sharon realizes he's someone important to her.
*Number Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. Sharon tells her to stop, and Number Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she's human, but she's not. Sharon says that at least she has a conscience, and Number Three says she's a murderer. Caprica-Six realizes that's exactly what the Cylons have been doing: murder and the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|genocide of the human race]] cannot be the [[Cylon Religion|path of their loving God]].
*Caprica-Six realizes why Number Three wanted her and ''Galactica''-Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on unity. Three realized that based on their love of two human beings, they have different perspective on the War, and due to their celebrity status as Cylon heros they could actually cause a change in the way many other Cylons think about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the ''status quo'' which Number Three upholds.
*Number Three says they've been corrupted by their experiences, and are a waste. Caprica-Six explains to Sharon that that is why Three wanted to get rid of them: because both of them now know the murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God, and Sharon realizes that letting them tell the other Cylons this would make them all consider that the slaughter of mankind was a mistake.
*The rubble of the building shifts as Cylons outside are trying to clear their way to the survivors inside, and Anders makes a run for it and grabs his gun, shooting at Number Three before Galactica-Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands...which then lands near Number Three, who takes the gun. She stands up and just as Number Three is about to execute Anders, Caprica-Six hits her over the head with a large rock of stone from the rubble, then bashes it into her head again, killing her.
*Caprica-Six tells Anders to leave, and gives him back Starbuck's dogtags. Galactica-Sharon gives him back his gun as he leaves. Six realizes that with all of the Cylons dead in the cafe, it should be at least 36 hours before Number Three gets resurrected and tells the others what happened.
*Caprica-Six tells Galactica-Sharon that this is enough time to start changing things, start a new beginning for the Cylons: A way to live in God's love, without hate or lies. Together, these two Heroes of the Cylons can show them the way. Sharon says that she is with her, and they are dug out of the ruins of the building.

===On ''Galactica''===
*[[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] has gone into labor; she passed out and her placenta detatched, and Dr. [[Cottle]] delivers the baby by C-section. It is premature and it's lungs aren't fully developed as a result, so it has to be put in an oxygen-incubator. As Caprica-Sharon predicted, it is a girl. Helo and Caprica-Sharon adore it together, and name her "[[Hera]]".
*Meanwhile, President [[Roslin]], [[Baltar]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], and Col. [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] debate what to do with it. Baltar points out that it is half-human. Adama realizes the Cylons want it, and that the Cylons still hiding in the Fleet will try to make a move for it if they know about it.
*President Roslin has decided to hide Hera to protect her, so she has Cottle convice Helo and Caprica-Sharon that their baby has died (using a fake). Caprica-Sharon goes into hysterics and nearly chokes Cottle before breaking down, sobbing.
*In fact, Roslin has given her to a woman named [[Maya]], who lost her baby in the Cylon attack. Maya adopts Hera, thinking she is a normal human child from a Pegasus officer.
*Helo, helped by Chief Tyrol, spreads the "ashes" of Hera (actually faked) out the back of a Raptor into open space.
*Number Six is devastated that Baltar "let" this happen and could not protect "their baby", though he says he did all he could. Number Six says that God's will was that Hera survive, that God's will was that "she would lead the next generation of God's children". In a rage, she says that Gaius has commited a sin, and his entire race will suffer God's vengeance.

== Questions ==
*What will D'anna do when she is re-embodied?
*Who is Number One?
*Based on reports of Lucy Lawless being asked if she wanted to "be God" and her current command behavior, could Number Three be based on a Count Iblis type character?
**No. Number Three is a just a physical Cylon which will ''claim'' to be a God, Count Iblis was actually a God (God-like being).
**Ron D. Moore has also stated in [[Iblis#In the Re-Imagined Series|interviews]] that he does not intend to bring a Count Iblis character onto the Re-Imagined Series.
* What model numbers are "[[Simon]]" and "[[Leoben Conoy]]" ?
* Based on information mentioned in the Analysis, could the Cylons be patterning a [[Wikipedia: gerontocracy|gerontocratic]] form of leadship structure?
*Given that Baltar's home was destroyed and Caprica-Six "died" in a nuclear explosion, how did Baltar survive?

== Analysis ==
*Apparently the documentary broadcast from [[the Fleet]] in "[[Final Cut]]" was not made widely available, since if Caprica-Six had seen it, she would have already known about Baltar's survival.
*In the scene where ''Galactica''-Sharon is downloaded into her new body, when another Sharon smiles and says "we love you Sharon", this mirrors how another Sharon said the same thing to her on the basestar in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", at which point she also freaked out.
*There does not appear to be any pattern to the numbering scheme of the 12 Cylon models: Three (D'anna), Five (Doral), Six (Shelley Godfrey/Gina), Eight (Sharon), i.e. not all females are an even number, males an odd number.
**However, these models do seem to get progressively younger the higher (perhaps, "most recent") their Number is: Three is eldest and has the number closest to one, while Eight is youngest and has the highest number out of these four.
*Cylon society on Caprica appears to consist of mostly mimicking human behavior - clothing, apartments, cafe's, parks for relaxation, etc. In essence, the Cylons are merely trying to be what they have just exterminated - humans.
**They have established previously that they consider humans to be more "real" and closer to God than they are ("this form brings us closer to God..."); they think that humans are more "real" and that if they wish to be real, they should adopt ''some'' aspects of what humanity is, but this doesn't necessarily stop them from being quite different from humanity.
*As Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon pointed out, the Cylons' claim that they are superior to humans because humans still kill because of greed and jealousy, etc. is hypocritical. They point out the logical disconect of conducting genocide and murder in the name of an all-loving God. Further, Number Three's plan to "box" Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon, which would ''in effect'' be murdering them, also makes her a murderer like the humans she claims to be better than.
*At various points in the series, Baltar's internal Number Six has been seen manipulating physical objects: a test-tube in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", a chair in "[[Home, Part II]]", etc., which has led to the question of whether this is a continuity error, or if she is more real than she claims to be. In this episode, we seem to get an answer to this: Caprica-Six's hallucinatory Baltar makes a drink while in ''Galactica''-Boomer's appartment and hands it to her...only for the camera to shift angles, the hallucination-Baltar to be gone, and to show that Caprica-Six is actually grasping at air. Thus it can be inferred that this is just a stylistic choice by the production team: whenever Number Six ''appears'' to be manipulating a physical object on ''Galactica'', Baltar is hallucinating that she is doing this, and the camera is showing things that aren't "really" happening, from Baltar's perspective.
*The Cylons did not expect their initial attack to be anywhere near as successful as it was. This would explain the apparently large number of Cylon military vessels showing up everywhere as the Cylons expected to fight a more protracted war against a larger surviving human military force.

== Notes ==
*Anders refers to Humano-Cylons as "Skin Jobs" in this episode, another referrence to [[Wikipedia:Blade_Runner|Blade Runner]] by the Re-Imagined Series. The Cylon Centurions are being referred to as "Bullet Heads".
*The vision of [[Number Six]] that Baltar sees all the time is ''not'' the same person as the woman he was sleeping with on Caprica who used him to lower Colonial defenses: [[Caprica-Six]]'s consciousness was downloaded into a new body. Chip-Six might be a duplicate, or something else.
*[[Lee Adama]] is visible in a photograph in [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)]]'s apartment in [[Delphi]]. However, Adama and Valerii had never served together prior to the events of the [[miniseries]]. This is probably a continuity error.
*Apollo and Starbuck do not appear in this episode. This is the first episode that Apollo has never appeared in.
**As of this episode, the only characters that have appeared in every episode of the Re-Imagined Series are President [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama]], and Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]. Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) is actually not one of the seven "regular" cast members, but he has still been in every episode to date.
*Ricky Worthy (Cylon "[[Simon]]") and Callum Keith Rennie (Cylon "[[Leoben Conoy]]") do not actually appear in this episode. In several brief shots, body doubles dressed as their characters are seen from behind or in the distance, but these actors did not return for the episode.
*We learn a lot of Cylon names in this episode: out of the 12 [[Cylon agent|humanoid models]] of Cylon, besides the already-known "[[Number Six]]", the one who posed as human reporter "[[D'anna Biers]]" is model '''Number Three''', the one who posed as PR representative "[[Aaron Doral]]" is model '''Number Five''', and the one who infiltrated ''Galactica'' posing as the pilot "Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii" is model '''Number Eight'''.
*A longstanding question has been answered: What do the Cylons call each other amongst themselves? They actually don't use the names of any human personas they might have infiltrated the Colonies with. "Number Six" is actually called "Number Six" in dialog for the first time in this episode (in the [[Miniseries]], we were left with the cryptic "There are twelve models, I am number six"). It is revealed that Cylons just call and think of themselves as "Number Three" or "Three", etc. It was speculated that individual copies might be destinguished by using a serial number or other ID, but apparently Cylon society is based so much on the idea of unity and lack of individuality that they simply ''do not have'' designations for individual units. When Number Three refers to ''Galactica''-Sharon, she just refers to her as "an Eight", etc. "Caprica-Six" is a makeshift nickname that was made up for the individual "celebrity" Number Six (probably because the Cylons had never developed a formal convention for naming individual units). Caprica-Six is sometimes called "Caprica" for short.
*This gets a little confusing, because even though all of the Number Six copies on Caprica look and dress identically, copies that Caprica-Six walks by still recognize who she is.
*"Caprica-Six" appears to be a take on the ''ad hoc'' naming convention developed by fans for telling the different Cylon copies appart: review sites and messageboards over time started destinguishing the copy of Boomer on ''Galactica'' and the copy of Boomer on Caprica as "''Galactica''-Sharon" and "Caprica-Sharon" for convenience. This loosley developed system then spread to other Cylons as they appeared ("[[Gina|''Pegasus''-Six]]", "Caprica-Doral", "Caprica-D'anna", etc.), though it isn't based on any official material (''BattlestarWiki'' eventually adopted these terms of convenience as well). When Number Three remarks to "Caprica-Six" that her nickname is a little funny, because she's only one of hundreds of copies of "Number Six" on Caprica, this might be a small joke by the writers at the expense of fans.
*Sharon showed difficulty in performing chin ups, but later showed no problem in moving pieces of concrete weighing at least 100 pounds.
**She could have just been angry, and not actually appearing strained because it was physically hard.
**One of the consistent features of both ''Galactica''-Sharon and Caprica-Sharon has been the conflict between her "natural" Cylon Number Eight personality and her human Sharon personality. While probably intended that the two personalities should remain separate, with the Number Eight personality primary, it never worked out that way. In "[[Water]]", for example, Sharon reasserts herself before Number Eight can finish planting the charges. At this point, both ''Galactica''-Sharon/Eight and Caprica-Sharon/Eight have their personalities all jumbled up, with the Sharon personality exerting the stronger influence but retaining knowledge of being a Cylon and being Number Eight. Anyway: the Sharon "code" would have to include imposed limitations on what she believes her own strength and physical abilities to be, or she'd be found out much, much more easily. Inconsistencies in her apparent physical abilities can therefore be explained along with inconsistencies of her mixed but not really integrated personalities.
*Number Three appears to have some command functions based on her actions and behavior. These apparently include determining final disposition of other Cylon personalities.
*Lucy Lawless once again uses her native New Zealand accent for [[D'anna Biers]], even though at the end of "[[Final Cut#notes|Final Cut]]" it was implied that her character normally doesn't.
*Galactica-Sharon's old appartment number on Caprica was "502"
*Much of the dialog in the episode recap is entirely new, and dubbed in to better summarize the segment.
*According to RDM's podcast, there was an entire subplot in this episode in which Lucy Lawless's character "D'anna Biers" would interview President Roslin about rumors that the pregnant Cylon prisoner's baby had been born. Then "''Galactica''-Three" would try to kidnap the baby off of ''Galactica'' in collusion with [[Gina]] (''Pegasus''-Six). The subplot was cut for time (they wanted to spend more time focusing on events on Caprica), and also because they felt it made the episode very confusing; cutting between many different Cylon copies both on Caprica and ''Galactica''. These scenes apparently ''were'' filmed, then cut, because promotional photos for this episode show pictures of D'anna Biers on Galactica (with her new hairstyle), so it will probably appear in deleted scenes released in the next DVD set.
*Sharon has a pair of hand carved, wood elephants in her apartment. Caprica Six asks her if they are from "Ithica", which on Earth is an island off the coast of Greece and is the home of Odysseus in Homer's [[Wikipedia:Odyssey|Odyssey]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Caprica-Sharon has gone into premature labor with her Hybrid baby:''
:'''Cottle''': I find it absolutely amazing you people went to all the trouble to appear human, and didn't upgrade the plumbing.

*''"Caprica-Six" and a D'anna-copy walk past a crowd of other Cylons of various models, and they all keep turning their heads to look at Caprica-Six:''
:'''Caprica-Six''': I still can't get used to this.
:'''D'anna-copy''': Well youre a Hero of the Cylon now. You're our first celebrity!
:'''Caprica-Six''': Oh, I'm just another Six
:'''D'anna-copy''': You're too modest. I'm just another Three...and they're Fives (''motions at a Doral-model'')..and Eights (''motions at a Sharon-model''). But you, everyone calls you "Caprica-Six"...like you're the only Six on the planet!

*''Anders and some resistance members are planning to bomb a cafe filled with humanoid Cylons:''
:'''Jean''': Security is minimal: two Centurions patrol out front, third bullet-head walks the perimeter. Bullet-head walking perimeter makes random changes to his patrol, be tough to get past him.
:'''Anders''': All right, so we go under him. The storm drain leads directly to the garage underneath the cafe. There'll be dozens of Skin Jobs inside.

== Official Statements ==
*David Eick's video blog shows the crew preparation for filming a Cylon rebirthing scene, most likely for this episode.

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Kerry Norton as Paramedic [[Layne Ishay]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Alisen Down as Jean Barclay
*Erica Cerra as [[Maya]]
*Diego Diablo Del Mar as Hillard

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.18
*Airdate Order: 18 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 24 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Jeff Woolnough]]

Downloaded

2006-02-25T17:40:00Z

DavidA: /* Questions */ corrected typo

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Cylon_resurrection.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Downloaded
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 18
| Guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] ([[D'anna Biers]])
| Writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] and [[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0941276|Jeff Woolnough]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= 24 February 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[The Captain's Hand]]
| Next= [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]
}}

== Overview ==
Cylon society is revealed when a Cylon's consciousness is downloaded into a new body following her death. The conquerors of occupied Caprica hail two "heroes of the Cylon," who both resist their new celebrity.

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===
*Episode begins with a flashback to "10 months ago - Caprica" showing Baltar's house being destroyed in the [[Miniseries]]. The copy of Number Six who had a relationship dies...and then we follow from her point of view as her consciousness is downloaded and reborn into another body in a Cylon rebirthing vat. She fell so deeply in love with Gaius Baltar that ''she'' starts having hallucinations of ''Baltar'', because the emotional impact of falling in love affected her so much. We then cut to "9 weeks ago" on ''Galactica'' when [[Cally]] shoots [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Galactica-Sharon]]...and follow from her point of view as she is downloaded (no doubt aided by the [[Resurrection Ship]] at the time) and wakes up totally disoriented in a new body in another rebirthing vat. A copy of the same model of Cylon known to humans as [[D'anna Biers]] tells her she'll be fine, but upon seeing another Sharon-model, Galactica-Sharon starts screaming uncontrollably.
*On Caprica in the present day, the Cylons are rebuilding [[Delphi]] for their own use, even making gardens. A D'anna-copy sits down to talk with the Number Six copy that seduced Baltar. She has never told anyone that she fell truly in love with Baltar, and to this day hallucinates him as a result, because she thinks the others would destroy her for being defective. The D'anna-copy asks if she will go and see another Cylon who was recently downloaded into a new body, and is still having trouble adapting: ''Galactica''-Sharon, who is also something of a celebrity and war hero for her acts of sabotage and attempted assasintation on Adama. She points out that she even still calls herself "Sharon". She warns that if she cannot be fixed, there is talk of "[[boxing]]" her: putting her consciousness in cold storage and never loading it into a new body again.
*This copy of Number Six is considered a war-hero; she was personally responsible for gaining the information that allowed the near-total sabotage of the Colonial Fleet, and has actually become something of a celebrity to the Cylons. They even refer to her specifically as "'''Caprica-Six'''".
*In a short conversation while walking to ''Galactica''-Sharon's old appartment (which she moved back into), the D'anna-copy quickly lists off the Numbers of several Cylon models: "D'anna Biers" is '''Number Three''', "Aaron Doral" is '''Number Five''', and "Sharon Valerii" is '''Number Eight'''.
*Caprica-Six goes to ''Galactica''-Sharon's appartment, where she proclaims that she doesn't believe in the Cylon God or his "love" and that the only real love she had was with the ''Galactica'' crew. She expresses intense guilt at betraying them. Caprica-Six starts to manipulate her by trying to empathize with her, saying that she loved a man too: Gaius Baltar. Startled, ''Galactica''-Sharon says that Baltar is not dead, but is the new Vice President of the Colonies, on board ''Galactica''.
*Moving their conversation to a cafe on the ground floor of Sharon's appartment, Caprica-Six and Sharon wonder why Number Three never told Caprica-Six that Baltar was alive. Caprica-Six (through conversation with her hallucinated Baltar) realizes that Number Three manipulated her. Sending her to Sharon, and letting her find out that the man she loved was alive, might make her go crazy. Number Three could then use this as an excuse to have them ''both'' boxed.
*Meanwhile, [[Samuel Anders]] and two other members of the human [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] are planning to plant a bomb in the garage underneath the cafe, and blow it up. They know the Cylons will all just download into other bodies, but Anders points out that from Caprica-Sharon, they know that Cylons remember dying, and it must be horrifically painful: they're going to show them that nowhere is safe, and they should leave Caprica if they want to stop painfully dying and being reborn over and over again.
*Number Three shows up at the cafe, and asks how things are doing. Having realized her plan, Caprica-Six lies and says emphatically that Galactica-Sharon will move out of her appartment and start adapting back to Cylon life. Galactica-Sharon takes the hint and goes along with the lie. Disappointed, Number Three offers to help her move out right now, and they leave the cafe and start going up the stairs to Sharon's appartment.
*The resistance members set up the bomb and all but Anders leave, but just before he can get out a Cylon Centurion starts snooping around, and he can't get back to the exit. It sees the bomb and Anders shoots it then ducks behind a car as the bomb goes off.
*All three Cylons survived the blast, because the stairwell protected them on the higher floor. Caprica-Six is buried under some rubble, and Number Three insists that she is dead and they should leave her (subtly trying to kill her so Three can have her boxed). However, Caprica-Six then moves and asks for help and they uncover her. Her knee is dislocated, and Three again suggests that it would be easier, if Six wants, to just kill her so she'll be reborn. Realizing Three is trying to have her boxed, she insists on not doing that.
*They see someone else moving around under some rubble, and Number Three clears it off only to find that it is Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Galactica-Sharon protests. Caprica-Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Number Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn't kill him to he can be interrogated. Sharon sees that he has Starbuck's dogtags, and Number Three explains that she was on the planet a few weeks ago. Sharon realizes he's someone important to her.
*Number Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. Sharon tells her to stop, and Number Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she's human, but she's not. Sharon says that at least she has a conscience, and Number Three says she's a murderer. Caprica-Six realizes that's exactly what the Cylons have been doing: murder and the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|genocide of the human race]] cannot be the [[Cylon Religion|path of their loving God]].
*Caprica-Six realizes why Number Three wanted her and ''Galactica''-Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on unity. Three realized that based on their love of two human beings, they have different perspective on the War, and due to their celebrity status as Cylon heros they could actually cause a change in the way many other Cylons think about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the ''status quo'' which Number Three upholds.
*Number Three says they've been corrupted by their experiences, and are a waste. Caprica-Six explains to Sharon that that is why Three wanted to get rid of them: because both of them now know the murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God, and Sharon realizes that letting them tell the other Cylons this would make them all consider that the slaughter of mankind was a mistake.
*The rubble of the building shifts as Cylons outside are trying to clear their way to the survivors inside, and Anders makes a run for it and grabs his gun, shooting at Number Three before Galactica-Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands...which then lands near Number Three, who takes the gun. She stands up and just as Number Three is about to execute Anders, Caprica-Six hits her over the head with a large rock of stone from the rubble, then bashes it into her head again, killing her.
*Caprica-Six tells Anders to leave, and gives him back Starbuck's dogtags. Galactica-Sharon gives him back his gun as he leaves. Six realizes that with all of the Cylons dead in the cafe, it should be at least 36 hours before Number Three gets resurrected and tells the others what happened.
*Caprica-Six tells Galactica-Sharon that this is enough time to start changing things, start a new beginning for the Cylons: A way to live in God's love, without hate or lies. Together, these two Heroes of the Cylons can show them the way. Sharon says that she is with her, and they are dug out of the ruins of the building.

===On ''Galactica''===
*[[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] has gone into labor; she passed out and her placenta detatched, and Dr. [[Cottle]] delivers the baby by C-section. It is premature and it's lungs aren't fully developed as a result, so it has to be put in an oxygen-incubator. As Caprica-Sharon predicted, it is a girl. Helo and Caprica-Sharon adore it together, and name her "[[Hera]]".
*Meanwhile, President [[Roslin]], [[Baltar]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], and Col. [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] debate what to do with it. Baltar points out that it is half-human. Adama realizes the Cylons want it, and that the Cylons still hiding in the Fleet will try to make a move for it if they know about it.
*President Roslin has decided to hide Hera to protect her, so she has Cottle convice Helo and Caprica-Sharon that their baby has died (using a fake). Caprica-Sharon goes into hysterics and nearly chokes Cottle before breaking down, sobbing.
*In fact, Roslin has given her to a woman named [[Maya]], who lost her baby in the Cylon attack. Maya adopts Hera, thinking she is a normal human child from a Pegasus officer.
*Helo, helped by Chief Tyrol, spreads the "ashes" of Hera (actually faked) out the back of a Raptor into open space.
*Number Six is devastated that Baltar "let" this happen and could not protect "their baby", though he says he did all he could. Number Six says that God's will was that Hera survive, that God's will was that "she would lead the next generation of God's children". In a rage, she says that Gaius has commited a sin, and his entire race will suffer God's vengeance.

== Questions ==
*What will D'anna do when she is re-embodied?
*Who is Number One?
*Based on reports of Lucy Lawless being asked if she wanted to "be God" and her current command behavior, could Number Three be based on a Count Iblis type character?
**No. Number Three is a just a physical Cylon which will ''claim'' to be a God, Count Iblis was actually a God (God-like being).
**Ron D. Moore has also stated in [[Iblis#In the Re-Imagined Series|interviews]] that he does not intend to bring a Count Iblis character onto the Re-Imagined Series.
* What model numbers are "[[Simon]]" and "[[Leoben Conoy]]" ?
* Based on information mentioned in the Analysis, could the Cylons be patterning a [[Wikipedia: gerontocracy|gerontocratic]] form of leadship structure?
*Given that Baltar's home was destroyed and Caprica-Six "died" in a nuclear explosion, how did Baltar survive?

== Analysis ==
*Apparently the documentary broadcast from [[the Fleet]] in "[[Final Cut]]" was not made widely available, since if Caprica-Six had seen it, she would have already known about Baltar's survival.
*In the scene where ''Galactica''-Sharon is downloaded into her new body, when another Sharon smiles and says "we love you Sharon", this mirrors how another Sharon said the same thing to her on the basestar in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", at which point she also freaked out.
*There does not appear to be any pattern to the numbering scheme of the 12 Cylon models: Three (D'anna), Five (Doral), Six (Shelley Godfrey/Gina), Eight (Sharon), i.e. not all females are an even number, males an odd number.
**However, these models do seem to get progressively younger the higher (perhaps, "most recent") their Number is: Three is eldest and has the number closest to one, while Eight is youngest and has the highest number out of these four.
*Cylon society on Caprica appears to consist of mostly mimicking human behavior - clothing, apartments, cafe's, parks for relaxation, etc. In essence, the Cylons are merely trying to be what they have just exterminated - humans.
**They have established previously that they consider humans to be more "real" and closer to God than they are ("this form brings us closer to God..."); they think that humans are more "real" and that if they wish to be real, they should adopt ''some'' aspects of what humanity is, but this doesn't necessarily stop them from being quite different from humanity.
*As Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon pointed out, the Cylons claim that they are superior to humans because humans still kill because of greed and jealously, etc. is in fact hypocritical. They point out the logical disconect of conducting genocide and murder in the name of an all-loving God. Further, Number Three's plan to "box" Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon, which would ''in effect'' be murdering them, also makes her a murderer just like the humans she claims to be better than.
*At various points in the series, Baltar's internal Number Six has been seen manipulating physical objects: a test-tube in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", a chair in "[[Home, Part II]]", etc., which has led to the question of whether this is a continuity error, or if she is more real than she claims to be. In this episode, we seem to get an answer to this: Caprica-Six's hallucinatory Baltar makes a drink while in ''Galactica''-Boomer's appartment and hands it to her...only for the camera to shift angles, the hallucination-Baltar to be gone, and to show that Caprica-Six is actually grasping at air. Thus it can be inferred that this is just a stylistic choice by the production team: whenever Number Six ''appears'' to be manipulating a physical object on ''Galactica'', Baltar is in fact halucinating that she is doing this to, and the camera is showing things that aren't "really" happening, from Baltar's perspective.
*The Cylons did not expect their initial attack to be anywhere near as successful as it was. This would explain the apparently large number of Cylon military vessels showing up everywhere as the Cylons expected to fight a more protracted war against a larger surviving human military force.

== Notes ==
*Anders refers to Humano-Cylons as "Skin Jobs" in this episode, another referrence to [[Wikipedia:Blade_Runner|Blade Runner]] by the Re-Imagined Series. The Cylon Centurions are being referred to as "Bullet Heads".
*The vision of [[Number Six]] that Baltar sees all the time is ''not'' the same person as the woman he was sleeping with on Caprica who used him to lower Colonial defenses: [[Caprica-Six]]'s consciousness was downloaded into a new body. Chip-Six might be a duplicate, or something else.
*[[Lee Adama]] is visible in a photograph in [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)]]'s apartment in [[Delphi]]. However, Adama and Valerii had never served together prior to the events of the [[miniseries]]. This is probably a continuity error.
*Apollo and Starbuck do not appear in this episode. This is the first episode that Apollo has never appeared in.
**As of this episode, the only characters that have appeared in every episode of the Re-Imagined Series are President [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama]], and Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]. Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) is actually not one of the seven "regular" cast members, but he has still been in every episode to date.
*Ricky Worthy (Cylon "[[Simon]]") and Callum Keith Rennie (Cylon "[[Leoben Conoy]]") do not actually appear in this episode. In several brief shots, body doubles dressed as their characters are seen from behind or in the distance, but these actors did not return for the episode.
*We learn a lot of Cylon names in this episode: out of the 12 [[Cylon agent|humanoid models]] of Cylon, besides the already-known "[[Number Six]]", the one who posed as human reporter "[[D'anna Biers]]" is model '''Number Three''', the one who posed as PR representative "[[Aaron Doral]]" is model '''Number Five''', and the one who infiltrated ''Galactica'' posing as the pilot "Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii" is model '''Number Eight'''.
*A longstanding question has been answered: What do the Cylons call each other amongst themselves? They actually don't use the names of any human personas they might have infiltrated the Colonies with. "Number Six" is actually called "Number Six" in dialog for the first time in this episode (in the [[Miniseries]], we were left with the cryptic "There are twelve models, I am number six"). It is revealed that Cylons just call and think of themselves as "Number Three" or "Three", etc. It was speculated that individual copies might be destinguished by using a serial number or other ID, but apparently Cylon society is based so much on the idea of unity and lack of individuality that they simply ''do not have'' designations for individual units. When Number Three refers to ''Galactica''-Sharon, she just refers to her as "an Eight", etc. "Caprica-Six" is a makeshift nickname that was made up for the individual "celebrity" Number Six (probably because the Cylons had never developed a formal convention for naming individual units). Caprica-Six is sometimes called "Caprica" for short.
*This gets a little confusing, because even though all of the Number Six copies on Caprica look and dress identically, copies that Caprica-Six walks by still recognize who she is.
*"Caprica-Six" appears to be a take on the ''ad hoc'' naming convention developed by fans for telling the different Cylon copies appart: review sites and messageboards over time started destinguishing the copy of Boomer on ''Galactica'' and the copy of Boomer on Caprica as "''Galactica''-Sharon" and "Caprica-Sharon" for convenience. This loosley developed system then spread to other Cylons as they appeared ("[[Gina|''Pegasus''-Six]]", "Caprica-Doral", "Caprica-D'anna", etc.), though it isn't based on any official material (''BattlestarWiki'' eventually adopted these terms of convenience as well). When Number Three remarks to "Caprica-Six" that her nickname is a little funny, because she's only one of hundreds of copies of "Number Six" on Caprica, this might be a small joke by the writers at the expense of fans.
*Sharon showed difficulty in performing chin ups, but later showed no problem in moving pieces of concrete weighing at least 100 pounds.
**She could have just been angry, and not actually appearing strained because it was physically hard.
**One of the consistent features of both ''Galactica''-Sharon and Caprica-Sharon has been the conflict between her "natural" Cylon Number Eight personality and her human Sharon personality. While probably intended that the two personalities should remain separate, with the Number Eight personality primary, it never worked out that way. In "[[Water]]", for example, Sharon reasserts herself before Number Eight can finish planting the charges. At this point, both ''Galactica''-Sharon/Eight and Caprica-Sharon/Eight have their personalities all jumbled up, with the Sharon personality exerting the stronger influence but retaining knowledge of being a Cylon and being Number Eight. Anyway: the Sharon "code" would have to include imposed limitations on what she believes her own strength and physical abilities to be, or she'd be found out much, much more easily. Inconsistencies in her apparent physical abilities can therefore be explained along with inconsistencies of her mixed but not really integrated personalities.
*Number Three appears to have some command functions based on her actions and behavior. These apparently include determining final disposition of other Cylon personalities.
*Lucy Lawless once again uses her native New Zealand accent for [[D'anna Biers]], even though at the end of "[[Final Cut#notes|Final Cut]]" it was implied that her character normally doesn't.
*Galactica-Sharon's old appartment number on Caprica was "502"
*Much of the dialog in the episode recap is entirely new, and dubbed in to better summarize the segment.
*According to RDM's podcast, there was an entire subplot in this episode in which Lucy Lawless's character "D'anna Biers" would interview President Roslin about rumors that the pregnant Cylon prisoner's baby had been born. Then "''Galactica''-Three" would try to kidnap the baby off of ''Galactica'' in collusion with [[Gina]] (''Pegasus''-Six). The subplot was cut for time (they wanted to spend more time focusing on events on Caprica), and also because they felt it made the episode very confusing; cutting between many different Cylon copies both on Caprica and ''Galactica''. These scenes apparently ''were'' filmed, then cut, because promotional photos for this episode show pictures of D'anna Biers on Galactica (with her new hairstyle), so it will probably appear in deleted scenes released in the next DVD set.
*Sharon has a pair of hand carved, wood elephants in her apartment. Caprica Six asks her if they are from "Ithica", which on Earth is an island off the coast of Greece and is the home of Odysseus in Homer's [[Wikipedia:Odyssey|Odyssey]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Caprica-Sharon has gone into premature labor with her Hybrid baby:''
:'''Cottle''': I find it absolutely amazing you people went to all the trouble to appear human, and didn't upgrade the plumbing.

*''"Caprica-Six" and a D'anna-copy walk past a crowd of other Cylons of various models, and they all keep turning their heads to look at Caprica-Six:''
:'''Caprica-Six''': I still can't get used to this.
:'''D'anna-copy''': Well youre a Hero of the Cylon now. You're our first celebrity!
:'''Caprica-Six''': Oh, I'm just another Six
:'''D'anna-copy''': You're too modest. I'm just another Three...and they're Fives (''motions at a Doral-model'')..and Eights (''motions at a Sharon-model''). But you, everyone calls you "Caprica-Six"...like you're the only Six on the planet!

*''Anders and some resistance members are planning to bomb a cafe filled with humanoid Cylons:''
:'''Jean''': Security is minimal: two Centurions patrol out front, third bullet-head walks the perimeter. Bullet-head walking perimeter makes random changes to his patrol, be tough to get past him.
:'''Anders''': All right, so we go under him. The storm drain leads directly to the garage underneath the cafe. There'll be dozens of Skin Jobs inside.

== Official Statements ==
*David Eick's video blog shows the crew preparation for filming a Cylon rebirthing scene, most likely for this episode.

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Kerry Norton as Paramedic [[Layne Ishay]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Alisen Down as Jean Barclay
*Erica Cerra as [[Maya]]
*Diego Diablo Del Mar as Hillard

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.18
*Airdate Order: 18 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 24 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Jeff Woolnough]]

Downloaded

2006-02-25T17:33:39Z

DavidA: /* On Caprica */ I could be wrong (and if I am, change it back), but I thought "Downloaded" flashbacked to ten months ago, then nine weeks ago.

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Cylon_resurrection.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Downloaded
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 18
| Guests= [[Lucy Lawless]] ([[D'anna Biers]])
| Writer= [[Bradley Thompson]] and [[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0941276|Jeff Woolnough]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= 24 February 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[The Captain's Hand]]
| Next= [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]
}}

== Overview ==
Cylon society is revealed when a Cylon's consciousness is downloaded into a new body following her death. The conquerors of occupied Caprica hail two "heroes of the Cylon," who both resist their new celebrity.

== Summary ==

===On Caprica===
*Episode begins with a flashback to "10 months ago - Caprica" showing Baltar's house being destroyed in the [[Miniseries]]. The copy of Number Six who had a relationship dies...and then we follow from her point of view as her consciousness is downloaded and reborn into another body in a Cylon rebirthing vat. She fell so deeply in love with Gaius Baltar that ''she'' starts having hallucinations of ''Baltar'', because the emotional impact of falling in love affected her so much. We then cut to "9 weeks ago" on ''Galactica'' when [[Cally]] shoots [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Galactica-Sharon]]...and follow from her point of view as she is downloaded (no doubt aided by the [[Resurrection Ship]] at the time) and wakes up totally disoriented in a new body in another rebirthing vat. A copy of the same model of Cylon known to humans as [[D'anna Biers]] tells her she'll be fine, but upon seeing another Sharon-model, Galactica-Sharon starts screaming uncontrollably.
*On Caprica in the present day, the Cylons are rebuilding [[Delphi]] for their own use, even making gardens. A D'anna-copy sits down to talk with the Number Six copy that seduced Baltar. She has never told anyone that she fell truly in love with Baltar, and to this day hallucinates him as a result, because she thinks the others would destroy her for being defective. The D'anna-copy asks if she will go and see another Cylon who was recently downloaded into a new body, and is still having trouble adapting: ''Galactica''-Sharon, who is also something of a celebrity and war hero for her acts of sabotage and attempted assasintation on Adama. She points out that she even still calls herself "Sharon". She warns that if she cannot be fixed, there is talk of "[[boxing]]" her: putting her consciousness in cold storage and never loading it into a new body again.
*This copy of Number Six is considered a war-hero; she was personally responsible for gaining the information that allowed the near-total sabotage of the Colonial Fleet, and has actually become something of a celebrity to the Cylons. They even refer to her specifically as "'''Caprica-Six'''".
*In a short conversation while walking to ''Galactica''-Sharon's old appartment (which she moved back into), the D'anna-copy quickly lists off the Numbers of several Cylon models: "D'anna Biers" is '''Number Three''', "Aaron Doral" is '''Number Five''', and "Sharon Valerii" is '''Number Eight'''.
*Caprica-Six goes to ''Galactica''-Sharon's appartment, where she proclaims that she doesn't believe in the Cylon God or his "love" and that the only real love she had was with the ''Galactica'' crew. She expresses intense guilt at betraying them. Caprica-Six starts to manipulate her by trying to empathize with her, saying that she loved a man too: Gaius Baltar. Startled, ''Galactica''-Sharon says that Baltar is not dead, but is the new Vice President of the Colonies, on board ''Galactica''.
*Moving their conversation to a cafe on the ground floor of Sharon's appartment, Caprica-Six and Sharon wonder why Number Three never told Caprica-Six that Baltar was alive. Caprica-Six (through conversation with her hallucinated Baltar) realizes that Number Three manipulated her. Sending her to Sharon, and letting her find out that the man she loved was alive, might make her go crazy. Number Three could then use this as an excuse to have them ''both'' boxed.
*Meanwhile, [[Samuel Anders]] and two other members of the human [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] are planning to plant a bomb in the garage underneath the cafe, and blow it up. They know the Cylons will all just download into other bodies, but Anders points out that from Caprica-Sharon, they know that Cylons remember dying, and it must be horrifically painful: they're going to show them that nowhere is safe, and they should leave Caprica if they want to stop painfully dying and being reborn over and over again.
*Number Three shows up at the cafe, and asks how things are doing. Having realized her plan, Caprica-Six lies and says emphatically that Galactica-Sharon will move out of her appartment and start adapting back to Cylon life. Galactica-Sharon takes the hint and goes along with the lie. Disappointed, Number Three offers to help her move out right now, and they leave the cafe and start going up the stairs to Sharon's appartment.
*The resistance members set up the bomb and all but Anders leave, but just before he can get out a Cylon Centurion starts snooping around, and he can't get back to the exit. It sees the bomb and Anders shoots it then ducks behind a car as the bomb goes off.
*All three Cylons survived the blast, because the stairwell protected them on the higher floor. Caprica-Six is buried under some rubble, and Number Three insists that she is dead and they should leave her (subtly trying to kill her so Three can have her boxed). However, Caprica-Six then moves and asks for help and they uncover her. Her knee is dislocated, and Three again suggests that it would be easier, if Six wants, to just kill her so she'll be reborn. Realizing Three is trying to have her boxed, she insists on not doing that.
*They see someone else moving around under some rubble, and Number Three clears it off only to find that it is Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Galactica-Sharon protests. Caprica-Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Number Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn't kill him to he can be interrogated. Sharon sees that he has Starbuck's dogtags, and Number Three explains that she was on the planet a few weeks ago. Sharon realizes he's someone important to her.
*Number Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. Sharon tells her to stop, and Number Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she's human, but she's not. Sharon says that at least she has a conscience, and Number Three says she's a murderer. Caprica-Six realizes that's exactly what the Cylons have been doing: murder and the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|genocide of the human race]] cannot be the [[Cylon Religion|path of their loving God]].
*Caprica-Six realizes why Number Three wanted her and ''Galactica''-Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on unity. Three realized that based on their love of two human beings, they have different perspective on the War, and due to their celebrity status as Cylon heros they could actually cause a change in the way many other Cylons think about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the ''status quo'' which Number Three upholds.
*Number Three says they've been corrupted by their experiences, and are a waste. Caprica-Six explains to Sharon that that is why Three wanted to get rid of them: because both of them now know the murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God, and Sharon realizes that letting them tell the other Cylons this would make them all consider that the slaughter of mankind was a mistake.
*The rubble of the building shifts as Cylons outside are trying to clear their way to the survivors inside, and Anders makes a run for it and grabs his gun, shooting at Number Three before Galactica-Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands...which then lands near Number Three, who takes the gun. She stands up and just as Number Three is about to execute Anders, Caprica-Six hits her over the head with a large rock of stone from the rubble, then bashes it into her head again, killing her.
*Caprica-Six tells Anders to leave, and gives him back Starbuck's dogtags. Galactica-Sharon gives him back his gun as he leaves. Six realizes that with all of the Cylons dead in the cafe, it should be at least 36 hours before Number Three gets resurrected and tells the others what happened.
*Caprica-Six tells Galactica-Sharon that this is enough time to start changing things, start a new beginning for the Cylons: A way to live in God's love, without hate or lies. Together, these two Heroes of the Cylons can show them the way. Sharon says that she is with her, and they are dug out of the ruins of the building.

===On ''Galactica''===
*[[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] has gone into labor; she passed out and her placenta detatched, and Dr. [[Cottle]] delivers the baby by C-section. It is premature and it's lungs aren't fully developed as a result, so it has to be put in an oxygen-incubator. As Caprica-Sharon predicted, it is a girl. Helo and Caprica-Sharon adore it together, and name her "[[Hera]]".
*Meanwhile, President [[Roslin]], [[Baltar]], [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]], and Col. [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] debate what to do with it. Baltar points out that it is half-human. Adama realizes the Cylons want it, and that the Cylons still hiding in the Fleet will try to make a move for it if they know about it.
*President Roslin has decided to hide Hera to protect her, so she has Cottle convice Helo and Caprica-Sharon that their baby has died (using a fake). Caprica-Sharon goes into hysterics and nearly chokes Cottle before breaking down, sobbing.
*In fact, Roslin has given her to a woman named [[Maya]], who lost her baby in the Cylon attack. Maya adopts Hera, thinking she is a normal human child from a Pegasus officer.
*Helo, helped by Chief Tyrol, spreads the "ashes" of Hera (actually faked) out the back of a Raptor into open space.
*Number Six is devastated that Baltar "let" this happen and could not protect "their baby", though he says he did all he could. Number Six says that God's will was that Hera survive, that God's will was that "she would lead the next generation of God's children". In a rage, she says that Gaius has commited a sin, and his entire race will suffer God's vengeance.

== Questions ==
*What will D'anna's do when she is re-embodied?
*Who is Number One?
*Based on reports of Lucy Lawless being asked if she wanted to "be God" and her current command behavior, could Number Three be based on a Count Iblis type character?
**No. Number Three is a just a physical Cylon which will ''claim'' to be a God, Count Iblis was actually a God (God-like being).
**Ron D. Moore has also stated in [[Iblis#In the Re-Imagined Series|interviews]] that he does not intend to bring a Count Iblis character onto the Re-Imagined Series.
* What model numbers are "[[Simon]]" and "[[Leoben Conoy]]" ?
* Based on information mentioned in the Analysis, could the Cylons be patterning a [[Wikipedia: gerontocracy|gerontocratic]] form of leadship structure?
*Given that Baltar's home was destroyed and Caprica-Six "died" in a nuclear explosion, how did Baltar survive?

== Analysis ==
*Apparently the documentary broadcast from [[the Fleet]] in "[[Final Cut]]" was not made widely available, since if Caprica-Six had seen it, she would have already known about Baltar's survival.
*In the scene where ''Galactica''-Sharon is downloaded into her new body, when another Sharon smiles and says "we love you Sharon", this mirrors how another Sharon said the same thing to her on the basestar in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", at which point she also freaked out.
*There does not appear to be any pattern to the numbering scheme of the 12 Cylon models: Three (D'anna), Five (Doral), Six (Shelley Godfrey/Gina), Eight (Sharon), i.e. not all females are an even number, males an odd number.
**However, these models do seem to get progressively younger the higher (perhaps, "most recent") their Number is: Three is eldest and has the number closest to one, while Eight is youngest and has the highest number out of these four.
*Cylon society on Caprica appears to consist of mostly mimicking human behavior - clothing, apartments, cafe's, parks for relaxation, etc. In essence, the Cylons are merely trying to be what they have just exterminated - humans.
**They have established previously that they consider humans to be more "real" and closer to God than they are ("this form brings us closer to God..."); they think that humans are more "real" and that if they wish to be real, they should adopt ''some'' aspects of what humanity is, but this doesn't necessarily stop them from being quite different from humanity.
*As Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon pointed out, the Cylons claim that they are superior to humans because humans still kill because of greed and jealously, etc. is in fact hypocritical. They point out the logical disconect of conducting genocide and murder in the name of an all-loving God. Further, Number Three's plan to "box" Caprica-Six and ''Galactica''-Sharon, which would ''in effect'' be murdering them, also makes her a murderer just like the humans she claims to be better than.
*At various points in the series, Baltar's internal Number Six has been seen manipulating physical objects: a test-tube in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", a chair in "[[Home, Part II]]", etc., which has led to the question of whether this is a continuity error, or if she is more real than she claims to be. In this episode, we seem to get an answer to this: Caprica-Six's hallucinatory Baltar makes a drink while in ''Galactica''-Boomer's appartment and hands it to her...only for the camera to shift angles, the hallucination-Baltar to be gone, and to show that Caprica-Six is actually grasping at air. Thus it can be inferred that this is just a stylistic choice by the production team: whenever Number Six ''appears'' to be manipulating a physical object on ''Galactica'', Baltar is in fact halucinating that she is doing this to, and the camera is showing things that aren't "really" happening, from Baltar's perspective.
*The Cylons did not expect their initial attack to be anywhere near as successful as it was. This would explain the apparently large number of Cylon military vessels showing up everywhere as the Cylons expected to fight a more protracted war against a larger surviving human military force.

== Notes ==
*Anders refers to Humano-Cylons as "Skin Jobs" in this episode, another referrence to [[Wikipedia:Blade_Runner|Blade Runner]] by the Re-Imagined Series. The Cylon Centurions are being referred to as "Bullet Heads".
*The vision of [[Number Six]] that Baltar sees all the time is ''not'' the same person as the woman he was sleeping with on Caprica who used him to lower Colonial defenses: [[Caprica-Six]]'s consciousness was downloaded into a new body. Chip-Six might be a duplicate, or something else.
*[[Lee Adama]] is visible in a photograph in [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)]]'s apartment in [[Delphi]]. However, Adama and Valerii had never served together prior to the events of the [[miniseries]]. This is probably a continuity error.
*Apollo and Starbuck do not appear in this episode. This is the first episode that Apollo has never appeared in.
**As of this episode, the only characters that have appeared in every episode of the Re-Imagined Series are President [[Laura Roslin]], Admiral [[William Adama]], and Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]. Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) is actually not one of the seven "regular" cast members, but he has still been in every episode to date.
*Ricky Worthy (Cylon "[[Simon]]") and Callum Keith Rennie (Cylon "[[Leoben Conoy]]") do not actually appear in this episode. In several brief shots, body doubles dressed as their characters are seen from behind or in the distance, but these actors did not return for the episode.
*We learn a lot of Cylon names in this episode: out of the 12 [[Cylon agent|humanoid models]] of Cylon, besides the already-known "[[Number Six]]", the one who posed as human reporter "[[D'anna Biers]]" is model '''Number Three''', the one who posed as PR representative "[[Aaron Doral]]" is model '''Number Five''', and the one who infiltrated ''Galactica'' posing as the pilot "Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii" is model '''Number Eight'''.
*A longstanding question has been answered: What do the Cylons call each other amongst themselves? They actually don't use the names of any human personas they might have infiltrated the Colonies with. "Number Six" is actually called "Number Six" in dialog for the first time in this episode (in the [[Miniseries]], we were left with the cryptic "There are twelve models, I am number six"). It is revealed that Cylons just call and think of themselves as "Number Three" or "Three", etc. It was speculated that individual copies might be destinguished by using a serial number or other ID, but apparently Cylon society is based so much on the idea of unity and lack of individuality that they simply ''do not have'' designations for individual units. When Number Three refers to ''Galactica''-Sharon, she just refers to her as "an Eight", etc. "Caprica-Six" is a makeshift nickname that was made up for the individual "celebrity" Number Six (probably because the Cylons had never developed a formal convention for naming individual units). Caprica-Six is sometimes called "Caprica" for short.
*This gets a little confusing, because even though all of the Number Six copies on Caprica look and dress identically, copies that Caprica-Six walks by still recognize who she is.
*"Caprica-Six" appears to be a take on the ''ad hoc'' naming convention developed by fans for telling the different Cylon copies appart: review sites and messageboards over time started destinguishing the copy of Boomer on ''Galactica'' and the copy of Boomer on Caprica as "''Galactica''-Sharon" and "Caprica-Sharon" for convenience. This loosley developed system then spread to other Cylons as they appeared ("[[Gina|''Pegasus''-Six]]", "Caprica-Doral", "Caprica-D'anna", etc.), though it isn't based on any official material (''BattlestarWiki'' eventually adopted these terms of convenience as well). When Number Three remarks to "Caprica-Six" that her nickname is a little funny, because she's only one of hundreds of copies of "Number Six" on Caprica, this might be a small joke by the writers at the expense of fans.
*Sharon showed difficulty in performing chin ups, but later showed no problem in moving pieces of concrete weighing at least 100 pounds.
**She could have just been angry, and not actually appearing strained because it was physically hard.
**One of the consistent features of both ''Galactica''-Sharon and Caprica-Sharon has been the conflict between her "natural" Cylon Number Eight personality and her human Sharon personality. While probably intended that the two personalities should remain separate, with the Number Eight personality primary, it never worked out that way. In "[[Water]]", for example, Sharon reasserts herself before Number Eight can finish planting the charges. At this point, both ''Galactica''-Sharon/Eight and Caprica-Sharon/Eight have their personalities all jumbled up, with the Sharon personality exerting the stronger influence but retaining knowledge of being a Cylon and being Number Eight. Anyway: the Sharon "code" would have to include imposed limitations on what she believes her own strength and physical abilities to be, or she'd be found out much, much more easily. Inconsistencies in her apparent physical abilities can therefore be explained along with inconsistencies of her mixed but not really integrated personalities.
*Number Three appears to have some command functions based on her actions and behavior. These apparently include determining final disposition of other Cylon personalities.
*Lucy Lawless once again uses her native New Zealand accent for [[D'anna Biers]], even though at the end of "[[Final Cut#notes|Final Cut]]" it was implied that her character normally doesn't.
*Galactica-Sharon's old appartment number on Caprica was "502"
*Much of the dialog in the episode recap is entirely new, and dubbed in to better summarize the segment.
*According to RDM's podcast, there was an entire subplot in this episode in which Lucy Lawless's character "D'anna Biers" would interview President Roslin about rumors that the pregnant Cylon prisoner's baby had been born. Then "''Galactica''-Three" would try to kidnap the baby off of ''Galactica'' in collusion with [[Gina]] (''Pegasus''-Six). The subplot was cut for time (they wanted to spend more time focusing on events on Caprica), and also because they felt it made the episode very confusing; cutting between many different Cylon copies both on Caprica and ''Galactica''. These scenes apparently ''were'' filmed, then cut, because promotional photos for this episode show pictures of D'anna Biers on Galactica (with her new hairstyle), so it will probably appear in deleted scenes released in the next DVD set.
*Sharon has a pair of hand carved, wood elephants in her apartment. Caprica Six asks her if they are from "Ithica", which on Earth is an island off the coast of Greece and is the home of Odysseus in Homer's [[Wikipedia:Odyssey|Odyssey]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Caprica-Sharon has gone into premature labor with her Hybrid baby:''
:'''Cottle''': I find it absolutely amazing you people went to all the trouble to appear human, and didn't upgrade the plumbing.

*''"Caprica-Six" and a D'anna-copy walk past a crowd of other Cylons of various models, and they all keep turning their heads to look at Caprica-Six:''
:'''Caprica-Six''': I still can't get used to this.
:'''D'anna-copy''': Well youre a Hero of the Cylon now. You're our first celebrity!
:'''Caprica-Six''': Oh, I'm just another Six
:'''D'anna-copy''': You're too modest. I'm just another Three...and they're Fives (''motions at a Doral-model'')..and Eights (''motions at a Sharon-model''). But you, everyone calls you "Caprica-Six"...like you're the only Six on the planet!

*''Anders and some resistance members are planning to bomb a cafe filled with humanoid Cylons:''
:'''Jean''': Security is minimal: two Centurions patrol out front, third bullet-head walks the perimeter. Bullet-head walking perimeter makes random changes to his patrol, be tough to get past him.
:'''Anders''': All right, so we go under him. The storm drain leads directly to the garage underneath the cafe. There'll be dozens of Skin Jobs inside.

== Official Statements ==
*David Eick's video blog shows the crew preparation for filming a Cylon rebirthing scene, most likely for this episode.

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Kerry Norton as Paramedic [[Layne Ishay]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Alisen Down as Jean Barclay
*Erica Cerra as [[Maya]]
*Diego Diablo Del Mar as Hillard

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.18
*Airdate Order: 18 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 24 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Jeff Woolnough]]

The Captain's Hand

2006-02-18T17:48:30Z

DavidA: /* Analysis */ What kind of word is "decremented"? Replaced with "down"

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Adamas.jpg|300px]]
| Title= The Captain's Hand
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 17
| Guests= [[IMDB:nm0001334|John Heard]] (CMDR [[Barry Garner]]) [[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]])
| Writer=[[IMDB:nm0900599|Jeff Vlaming]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0590790|Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= February 17 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population= 49,584
| Prev= [[Sacrifice]]
| Next= [[Downloaded]]
}}

== Overview ==

== Summary ==
*The episode begins as two [[Raptor|Raptors]] begin a training mission outside [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]], which is near a [[Wikipedia:Binary star system|binary star]], causing [[Dradis|DRADIS]] and communications interference. The raptors pass through a cloud, when they pick up a transmission. In the Pegasus C.I.C., the Raptors disappear from DRADIS, the Comm officer believing that they may be in distress.

*On [[Galactica]], [[Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, when [[Cally]] mentions she heard movement from inside a fallen container. Against waiting for the Marines, Tyrol decides to investigate by entering the container. Inside, Tyrol finds a pregnant woman who asks for [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]]

*[[Lee Adama]] travels to the [[Mercury class battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where he meets up with [[Kara Thrace]]. Lee has been promoted to '''Major''', and Kara to '''Captain'''. The two encounter Commander [[Barry Garner]], now in command of ''Pegasus'', who orders Kara to the flight deck while he and Lee proceed to [[CIC|C.I.C.]]

*[[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]] and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] talk in private about the discipline on [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]. Garner thinks that [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] is a huge part of the problem, but Adama defends her, citing her excellent piloting skills. Garner thinks that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

*Meanwhile, President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]]'s relationship with Vice President [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] is growing increasingly strained.

*While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] makes a startling discovery, in that the reason for the disappearance may be the result of answering a supposed distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory.

*Over wireless, [[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]], [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]], and [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]] discuss the situation. Commander Garner feels they should jump to the missing location of the Raptors to bring them home. The Admiral asks Lee if he concurrs, in which Lee discusses Starbuck's theory that they were drawn to a Cylon trap. Admiral Adama is inclined to agree with the Major and Starbuck, and orders a recon mission to ascertain the fate of the two raptors. Garner is furious over the decision, and orders Major Adama off the C.I.C.

*Garner decides to make the jump regardless, causing a heated discussion in C.I.C. between him and Lee. By the end of the discussion, Garner asks the Sergant-at-arms to have Major Adama removed from the C.I.C., while the Major asks the same for Garner, relieving him of command. Drawing his weapon, the Sergeant asks for the '''Major''' to leave.

*Raptors are launched from Pegasus towards the now located raptors. One of the pilots is able to look inside their cockpits, only to find both Raptor crews dead. At that moment, a [[Basestar (RDM)|Basestar]] jumps into view of the pilots. DRADIS from Pegasus then shows two additional Basestars, which begin attacking Pegasus with conventional and nuclear arnaments.

*During the course of the assault, [[Pegasus|Pegasus']] [[FTL]] drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the cause from C.I.C. but is confused. Major Adama, still being held by the Sergeant-at-arms, attends to other duties, and confronts Commander Garner. Commander Garner decides to head down to the engine room, and gives Major Adama command.

*Pegasus manages to jump away, with [[Barry Garner|Garner]] sacrificing himself in the process.

*In [[William Adama|Admiral Adama's]] quarters, he and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] review the reports from the incident on Pegasus, pointing out that Lee was more forgiving of the late Commander than Starbuck was. Admiral Adama then asks what Garner's fatal flaw was, and Lee responds by mentioning that Garner was good with machines, and not people. The Admiral asks Lee to keep that in mind, as he offers Lee the job of commanding Pegasus, along with a promotion to Commander. Lee takes a moment, then shakes his father's hand, accepting the promotion.

== Questions ==
*Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.

*Was Baltar's report real, or was it just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
**Possibly, but either way, it is fairly obvious that with the constant Cylon attacks the Fleet's population (barring the unexpected return of ''Pegasus'') is almost always declining, as noted by Admiral Adama.
*Who will replace Baltar as Roslin's Vice President?
**Can Roslin actually pick another Vice President if Baltar refuses to resign? One of the reporters at the end actually directly asked if Baltar would remain as Vice President. Perhaps Roslin cannot forcibly remove Baltar from his office just because he's running aginst her.
*How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign?
**It is likely that Zarek hopes to become Vice President himself.
*Will Tigh accept the fact that Lee Adama now outranks him and has command of a ship? Or does Saul have no interest in command and already told Admiral Adama that before the posting was offered to Lee?
**As mentioned in [[Scattered]], Col. Tigh was never really interested in commanding a [[Battlestar|battlestar]].
***Fleet protocols, as in the real-world US Navy and other naval services around the globe, would require Tigh, as the senior officer to take command, as he did when Adama was incapacitated.
****This is true for an intra-ship command structure, but if other qualified officers were available, Col. Tigh probably had the privilege to pass up the command of Pegasus, citing XO's prerogative (or something similar).
*What will happen to Rya, now that she had been granted asylum on ''Galactica''?
*Why was Lee promoted straight from Major to Commander? Can a Colonel not be placed in command of a battlestar for long-term purposes?

== Analysis ==
*When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This reflects how then-Commander William Adama led the entire crew in a long, drawn-out slow clap in respect of President Roslin when she was re-instated to her office in "[[Home, Part II]".
*Survivor count is down by six from "[[Sacrifice]]", but seven people died in that episode - terrorists [[Sesha Abinell]], [[Vinson]], [[Page]] and [[Chu]], two unnamed marines, and civilian [[Billy Keikeya]]. At least one birth must have taken place to offset the population count between the two episodes.
*In the course of this episode's timeline, [[Lee Adama]] rises from the rank of Captain (CAG of [[Galactica]]) to Major (No details are given on that posting except Adama was assigned to [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]) with the rank of Commander and CO of [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]] in the wake of Commander [[Barry Garner]]'s death saving his ship.
**Though not stated, MAJ Adama's duty was likely a temporary stint as ''Pegasus'' acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer.

== Notes ==
*The recap at the beginning of this episode shows a scene we have not yet seen in the series. It is the scene where Admiral Adama says that he is choosing Garner as the new Pegasus Commander, possibly a scene that was cut from "Black Market" and will most likely appear on the next DVD set.
**Actually, this scene is really use of existing footage from "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to ''Pegasus'' on the hangar deck: the scene has been ingeniously redubbed, so that Adama is saying entirely new lines when the camera is pointed at ''Tigh'' (not at Adama's face), and then Tigh says new lines when the camera is pointed at ''Adama'' etc. The following exchange never happened in that episode:
::Adama: "I'm putting Garnder in command"
::Tigh: "He's an engineer, not a command officer"
::Adama: "He's the best they've got"
**There is also another case of this redubbing when Baltar is talking to Gina during the "previously" montage: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear Number Six saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "[[Epiphanies]]".
*[[Roslin]] refernces Shakespeare's ''Merchant of Venice'' when she asks [[Quorum of Twelve|Councillor]] [[Sarah Porter]] if she wants her "pound of flesh". It's unclear if analogues of his work exist in the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonies]].
*Col. Tigh does actually appear in this episode, seen very briefly in the ''Galactica'' CIC with no dialog.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

== Official Statements ==

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===

*John Heard as Commander [[Barry Garner]]
*[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] as Specialist [[Cally]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Brad Dryborough as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
*Christian Tessier as [[Tucker Clellan|Tucker "Duck" Clellan]]
*Amber Rothwell as [[Rya Kibby]]
*Kavan Smith as Lt. [[Richard Bayer|Richard "Buster" Bayer]]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2015903/ Stephanie von Pfetten] as Cpt. [[Marcia Case|Marcia "Showboat" Case]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Patricia+Idlette Particia Idlette] as [[Sarah Porter]]
*Aaron Pearl as Ensign [[Abel Thornton]]
*Christina Schild as [[Playa Palacios]]
*Tammy Hui as ECO [[Lyla Ellway|Lyla "Shark" Ellway]]
*James Bell as Lt. [[Steve Fleer|Steve "Red Devil" Fleer]]
*Kurt Max Runte as Ensign Charles Bellamy
*Kimani Ray Smith as Pegasus Sergeant

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.17
*Airdate Order: 17 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 17 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]

The Captain's Hand

2006-02-18T17:45:42Z

DavidA: /* Questions */ correcting typos

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Adamas.jpg|300px]]
| Title= The Captain's Hand
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 17
| Guests= [[IMDB:nm0001334|John Heard]] (CMDR [[Barry Garner]]) [[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]])
| Writer=[[IMDB:nm0900599|Jeff Vlaming]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0590790|Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate= February 17 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population= 49,584
| Prev= [[Sacrifice]]
| Next= [[Downloaded]]
}}

== Overview ==

== Summary ==
*The episode begins as two [[Raptor|Raptors]] begin a training mission outside [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]], which is near a [[Wikipedia:Binary star system|binary star]], causing [[Dradis|DRADIS]] and communications interference. The raptors pass through a cloud, when they pick up a transmission. In the Pegasus C.I.C., the Raptors disappear from DRADIS, the Comm officer believing that they may be in distress.

*On [[Galactica]], [[Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, when [[Cally]] mentions she heard movement from inside a fallen container. Against waiting for the Marines, Tyrol decides to investigate by entering the container. Inside, Tyrol finds a pregnant woman who asks for [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]]

*[[Lee Adama]] travels to the [[Mercury class battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where he meets up with [[Kara Thrace]]. Lee has been promoted to '''Major''', and Kara to '''Captain'''. The two encounter Commander [[Barry Garner]], now in command of ''Pegasus'', who orders Kara to the flight deck while he and Lee proceed to [[CIC|C.I.C.]]

*[[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]] and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] talk in private about the discipline on [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]. Garner thinks that [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] is a huge part of the problem, but Adama defends her, citing her excellent piloting skills. Garner thinks that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

*Meanwhile, President [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]]'s relationship with Vice President [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] is growing increasingly strained.

*While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] makes a startling discovery, in that the reason for the disappearance may be the result of answering a supposed distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory.

*Over wireless, [[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]], [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]], and [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]] discuss the situation. Commander Garner feels they should jump to the missing location of the Raptors to bring them home. The Admiral asks Lee if he concurrs, in which Lee discusses Starbuck's theory that they were drawn to a Cylon trap. Admiral Adama is inclined to agree with the Major and Starbuck, and orders a recon mission to ascertain the fate of the two raptors. Garner is furious over the decision, and orders Major Adama off the C.I.C.

*Garner decides to make the jump regardless, causing a heated discussion in C.I.C. between him and Lee. By the end of the discussion, Garner asks the Sergant-at-arms to have Major Adama removed from the C.I.C., while the Major asks the same for Garner, relieving him of command. Drawing his weapon, the Sergeant asks for the '''Major''' to leave.

*Raptors are launched from Pegasus towards the now located raptors. One of the pilots is able to look inside their cockpits, only to find both Raptor crews dead. At that moment, a [[Basestar (RDM)|Basestar]] jumps into view of the pilots. DRADIS from Pegasus then shows two additional Basestars, which begin attacking Pegasus with conventional and nuclear arnaments.

*During the course of the assault, [[Pegasus|Pegasus']] [[FTL]] drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the cause from C.I.C. but is confused. Major Adama, still being held by the Sergeant-at-arms, attends to other duties, and confronts Commander Garner. Commander Garner decides to head down to the engine room, and gives Major Adama command.

*Pegasus manages to jump away, with [[Barry Garner|Garner]] sacrificing himself in the process.

*In [[William Adama|Admiral Adama's]] quarters, he and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] review the reports from the incident on Pegasus, pointing out that Lee was more forgiving of the late Commander than Starbuck was. Admiral Adama then asks what Garner's fatal flaw was, and Lee responds by mentioning that Garner was good with machines, and not people. The Admiral asks Lee to keep that in mind, as he offers Lee the job of commanding Pegasus, along with a promotion to Commander. Lee takes a moment, then shakes his father's hand, accepting the promotion.

== Questions ==
*Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.

*Was Baltar's report real, or was it just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
**Possibly, but either way, it is fairly obvious that with the constant Cylon attacks the Fleet's population (barring the unexpected return of ''Pegasus'') is almost always declining, as noted by Admiral Adama.
*Who will replace Baltar as Roslin's Vice President?
**Can Roslin actually pick another Vice President if Baltar refuses to resign? One of the reporters at the end actually directly asked if Baltar would remain as Vice President. Perhaps Roslin cannot forcibly remove Baltar from his office just because he's running aginst her.
*How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign?
**It is likely that Zarek hopes to become Vice President himself.
*Will Tigh accept the fact that Lee Adama now outranks him and has command of a ship? Or does Saul have no interest in command and already told Admiral Adama that before the posting was offered to Lee?
**As mentioned in [[Scattered]], Col. Tigh was never really interested in commanding a [[Battlestar|battlestar]].
***Fleet protocols, as in the real-world US Navy and other naval services around the globe, would require Tigh, as the senior officer to take command, as he did when Adama was incapacitated.
****This is true for an intra-ship command structure, but if other qualified officers were available, Col. Tigh probably had the privilege to pass up the command of Pegasus, citing XO's prerogative (or something similar).
*What will happen to Rya, now that she had been granted asylum on ''Galactica''?
*Why was Lee promoted straight from Major to Commander? Can a Colonel not be placed in command of a battlestar for long-term purposes?

== Analysis ==
*When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This reflects how then-Commander William Adama led the entire crew in a long, drawn-out slow clap in respect of President Roslin when she was re-instated to her office in "[[Home, Part II]".
*Survivor count is decremented by six from "[[Sacrifice]]", but seven people died in that episode - terrorists [[Sesha Abinell]], [[Vinson]], [[Page]] and [[Chu]], two unnamed marines, and civilian [[Billy Keikeya]]. At least one birth must have taken place to offset the population count between the two episodes.
*In the course of this episode's timeline, [[Lee Adama]] rises from the rank of Captian (CAG of [[Galactica]]) to Major (No details on posting except assigned to [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]) to the rank of Commander and CO of [[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]] in the wake of Commander [[Barry Garner]]'s death saving his ship.
**Though not stated, MAJ Adama's duty was likely a temporary stint as ''Pegasus'' acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer.

== Notes ==
*The recap at the beginning of this episode shows a scene we have not yet seen in the series. It is the scene where Admiral Adama says that he is choosing Garner as the new Pegasus Commander, possibly a scene that was cut from "Black Market" and will most likely appear on the next DVD set.
**Actually, this scene is really use of existing footage from "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to ''Pegasus'' on the hangar deck: the scene has been ingeniously redubbed, so that Adama is saying entirely new lines when the camera is pointed at ''Tigh'' (not at Adama's face), and then Tigh says new lines when the camera is pointed at ''Adama'' etc. The following exchange never happened in that episode:
::Adama: "I'm putting Garnder in command"
::Tigh: "He's an engineer, not a command officer"
::Adama: "He's the best they've got"
**There is also another case of this redubbing when Baltar is talking to Gina during the "previously" montage: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear Number Six saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "[[Epiphanies]]".
*[[Roslin]] refernces Shakespeare's ''Merchant of Venice'' when she asks [[Quorum of Twelve|Councillor]] [[Sarah Porter]] if she wants her "pound of flesh". It's unclear if analogues of his work exist in the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonies]].
*Col. Tigh does actually appear in this episode, seen very briefly in the ''Galactica'' CIC with no dialog.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

== Official Statements ==

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===

*John Heard as Commander [[Barry Garner]]
*[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] as Specialist [[Cally]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*Rekha Sharma as [[Tory Foster]]
*Brad Dryborough as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
*Christian Tessier as [[Tucker Clellan|Tucker "Duck" Clellan]]
*Amber Rothwell as [[Rya Kibby]]
*Kavan Smith as Lt. [[Richard Bayer|Richard "Buster" Bayer]]
*Stephanie van Pfetten as Cpt. [[Marcia Case|Marcia "Showboat" Case]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Patricia+Idlette Particia Idlette] as [[Sarah Porter]]
*Aaron Pearl as Ensign [[Abel Thornton]]
*Christina Schild as [[Playa Palacios]]
*Tammy Hui as ECO [[Lyla Ellway|Lyla "Shark" Ellway]]
*James Bell as Lt. [[Steve Fleer|Steve "Red Devil" Fleer]]
*Kurt Max Runte as Ensign Charles Bellamy
*Kimani Ray Smith as Pegasus Sergeant

=== Writing & Direction ===


=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005 / 2006)
*Production Number: 2.17
*Airdate Order: 17 (of 20)

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

*UK Airdate: Date
*US Airdate: 17 February 2006
*DVD Release (UK): Date
*DVD Release (US): Date
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: X.X million households, XXX share

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]

Gaius Baltar

2006-01-28T17:57:59Z

DavidA: /* Why a Copy? */ correcting grammar in paragraph two, sentence one

''This page discusses the unwitting betrayer of humanity in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]. For information on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] character that intentionally betrays the [[The Twelve Colonies (TOS)|Twelve Colonies of Man]], see [[Baltar (TOS)|Baltar]].''

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Gaius Baltar promo.jpg|200px]]
|age=
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Interim Vice President of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|the Twelve Colonies]])
|rank=
|actor= [[James Callis]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' currently has two roles in the [[Government#Government_of_the_Fleet|Colonial Government]]; he is both Vice President and science adviser to the President. He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and is widely considered a genius. Baltar came to prominence as a computer technology designer having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s. Baltar was born on [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Sagittaron |Sagittaron]] and attracted to [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] by the Defense Ministry{{ref|birthplace}}. There, Baltar becomes responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Baltar also, apparently, has some training in medicine or biology, based on the fact that he has been tasked with things such as working with blood samples to build a Cylon detector, and to do such things as extract fetal blood and experiment on cancer cells. It's possible he has more than one advanced degree in unrelated fields.

Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, Baltar is nonetheless a deeply flawed person and almost pathologically narcissist. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a pathological weakness of character. Self-absorbed, sly, guileful, and utterly dedicated to his own self-preservation, Baltar has carried on a two-year affair with a woman he believed to be a corporate spy -- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- and thus allows her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.

=== [[Cylon Attack]] ===
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] kissing in the [[Mini-Series]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
When the Cylons launch their attack, Baltar becomes horrified to learn that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Humano-Cylon|Cylon in human form]]{{ref|hcylon}}, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail -- and that she altered his CNP as a gateway to make all integrated Colonial computers and defense systems vulnerable to a Cylon virus that subverts their command and control systems.

Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevertheless determined not only to survive but also avoid having his unintended treachery revealed.

Rescued on Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Karl Agathon|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Mini-Series]]) -- he is pleased to find himself treated with the same esteem he enjoyed back on Caprica. His only problem is that [[Number Six]], his former "lover" -- herself ostensibly destroyed in the shock wave of a nuclear blast -- now appears to him in visions, and he cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain{{ref|chip}}.

Shortly after Baltar's arrival on ''Galactica'', Commander [[William Adama]] learns that Cylons can mimic human form, and Baltar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting these humanoid Cylons. By an educated guess (and an apparent attempt to distract those who suspected him of treachery), he exposes [[Aaron Doral]] -- a PR executive who co-ordinated the media coverage of ''Galactica's'' decommissioning -- as a Cylon agent ([[Mini-Series]]), using little more than invented [[technobabble]] to convince [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]]. Despite his protestations of innocence, Doral is marooned at [[Ragnar Anchorage]], but soon a team of Cylon agents appear to pick up the stranded Doral. Baltar's educated guess was correct--Doral was indeed a Cylon agent.

Due to his unique abilities, Baltar is charged with turning his initial "[[Cylon detector]]" into a working machine capable of screening everyone in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. While he at first balks at this task, events such as the sabotaging of ''Galactica's'' water reserves ([[Water]]) force him into a position where he can no longer procrastinate over the detector -- despite his fear that such a device might somehow expose him as the original traitor among humans. Gaining aid from a most unusual source -- his "virtual" Six ([[Bastille Day]]) -- Baltar eventually develops a genuine detector, which, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establishes his credentials within the Fleet's hierarchy.

With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Sharon Valerii#"Boomer" Valerii|Lieutenant Valerii's]] true status as a [[Humano-Cylon|Cylon agent]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar willing enters the realm of political leadership, first as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the Colonies ([[Colonial Day]]).

=== Cylon Manipulations ===

The Cylons commenced their direct manipulations of Baltar some two years prior to the attack on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]], by bringing him into contact with their agent, [[Number Six]], who started a torrid affair with him while at the same time using him to access vital Colonial command and control systems within the Ministry of Defense ([[Mini-Series]]).

This manipulation continues even after the Doctor leaves Caprica behind, with Six appearing to him in sensory perceptions, possibly through an implant in his brain ([[Miniseries]]) or perhaps even through a series of psychotic hallucinations as the doctor struggles to reconcile his guilt and his desire of self-preservation.

Regardless of the cause of her appearances, Six continues to help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The majority of this manipulation has been through religious intrigue, linked to physical threats to Baltar's well-being or that of other humans. These manipulations include:

* Using the threat of Baltar's former colleague, Dr. [[Amorak]], attempting to contact [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] with information on a "traitor" within Colonial circles -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "repented of his sins" ([[33]])
* Using the threat of direct accusation (in the form of "[[Number Six#"Shelly Godfrey"|Shelly Godfrey]]") coupled with "photographic evidence" -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "accepted" [[God]] into his life ([[Six Degrees of Separation]])
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in "[[Scattered]]". (C. Universal Studios)]]
Baltar's near-acquiescence to the [[God|Cylon religion]] comes when he goes through a process similar to the [[wikipedia:Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] belief in "rebirth" through adult baptism. In this, the new believer in the Christian faith is baptized (generally through full immersion in water), symbolizing the "death" of the "old" self and "birth" of the "new" Christian self. In "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar apparently undergoes "death" at the hands of his inner Six when she "breaks" his neck -- and is "reborn" in his real life as the "instrument of God", able to point-out precisely where Colonial forces must strike in order to eliminate the Cylon base preventing them from accessing supplies of [[Tylium|tylium]] ([[The Hand of God]]).

This act leaves Baltar ripe for the final revelation of his role within Cylon expectations, when "the future" is revealed to him by Six on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Baltar is not particularly pleased by this, especially when he learns that he is to be the father and that the mother will be Six ([[Scattered]]). Despite this, when he believes Commander Adama is trying to kill the child in one of his dreams, he tries to stop this ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

===Survival on Kobol===
[[Image:Baltarixvalleydarkness.jpg|Number Six showing Baltar the clearing filled with human bones, telling him they were from human sacrifices.|thumb]]
While stranded on Kobol, Baltar "awoke" in a clearing filled with human bones. Number Six tells him the bones were from human sacrifices, and that all of the myths about the gods of Kobol and the paradise on Kobol were a lie to hide the true brutality of man, which increases Baltar's cynical opinion of humanity. Number Six also warns that one of the survivors of Baltar's crash would turn against the others.

The Raptor crash survivors, consisting of Baltar, Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Cally]], [[Seelix]], and ranking crew member [[Crashdown]], a lieutenant, are faced with [[Cylon Centurion]]s building a missile battery that will destroy any rescue ships trying to save them. Crashdown, obsessed with success after the deaths of [[Tarn]] and [[Socinus]], orders the team to make a suicidal attack on the Cylon position. Baltar has never fired a weapon in his life and feels it could not be done. Due to the fact that he was the only non-military member of the survivors, he insists that they put it to a vote before Tyrol shouts him down to follow the chain of command.

On starting the attack, Cally freezes in terror, unable to create the needed diversion. Crashdown points his gun at her head and threatens to kill her if she does not obey the order. Immediately, Tyrol levels his gun at Crashdown. A tense standoff ensues. Just as Crashdown is about to fire, Baltar shoots him in the back, killing him instantly{{ref|killing}}. The group successfully carries out the alternate plan of attacking the Cylon's [[DRADIS]] dish, and are rescued by the Raptors. Baltar tells the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown died a hero in the fight, and Tyrol reluctantly corroborates his story ([[Fragged]]).

===Return to ''Galactica''===

Back on ''Galactica'', Baltar insists that if Roslin's presidency was terminated, as Vice President he should then succeed her in command, but Col. Tigh dismisses the notion because he has instituted martial law in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. Later, Cally blackmails Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol is not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspects, or Cally would reveal to all that it was really Baltar that killed Crashdown. Baltar pushes Cally against the wall and lectures her sternly, but she refuses to back down, telling him to "help the Chief [by] help[ing] [him]self." Incensed at this ingratitude, Baltar heads to the [[brig]] to take a blood sample from Tyrol, located in the same cell as [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]], but actually injects him with a toxin that will kill him in seconds without an antidote. Baltar uses Tyrol's importance to Boomer to coerce the panicked Cylon agent to disclose how many remaining humanoid Cylons are hiding in the Fleet. He gambles that, even if Valerii was programmed to think she was human, on a subconscious level she truly ''would'' know the answer as a Cylon operative. With time running out, she shouts out "Eight!" Baltar revives Tyrol. Baltar plans to perform a series of experiments on Boomer, but she is soon killed by Cally ([[Resistance]]).
[[image:brainscan.jpg|Baltar recieves his brain scan from Dr. Cottle, as Six watches on in amusement.|thumb]]
Some time later, as Commander Adama attempts to retrieve President Roslin and reunite the Fleet, Baltar yells at his internal Number Six for her increasingly ridiculous random changes in appearance, even questioning her actual existence. She responds by simplifying her appearance and attitude and told him that he truly had gone crazy, claiming there is no "computer chip" in his head with her personality, and that she is indeed a hallucination brought on by his guilt-ridden subconscious. Baltar has a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] (despite ''interference'' from Six), which confirms no "foreign objects" are present in his head. Baltar is ready to believe that he is truly insane when he hears [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] discuss Valerii's pregnancy with a Cylon/Human hybrid child from his observation room. Six told Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this leads Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious couldn't have known that. Number Six says that she is indeed real and not a hallucination. While she still denies the presence of a chip in Baltar's head, she claims to be "an angel of God sent here to protect [Baltar]". Six tells Baltar that by "their" child she is referring to Caprica-Valerii's biological child: Six considers herself the mother, and Baltar the father ([[Home, Part II]]).

When [[D'anna Biers]] films a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urges Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar performs badly as he begins his interview but, fortunately, his interview is interrupted by a Cylon attack that Biers chooses to film instead ([[Final Cut]]).

Baltar aids in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which devastates ''Galactica's'' [[computers]]. Tigh's dislike of Baltar's involvement in this problem makes the scientist edgy enough to retort, "I'm sorry. Do you want to survive this one or not, Colonel?" ([[Flight of the Phoenix]])
[[image:baltargina.jpg|Baltar with Gina, the Cyclon prisoner from ''Pegasus''.|thumb]]

===Arrival of ''Pegasus''===

When battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' reunites with the Fleet, Commander Adama requests that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Upon arrival in the ''Pegasus'' brig, Baltar is horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of Number Six named "[[Gina]]". Baltar vows to help her in any way he could, and begins by having her restraints removed and bringing food to her. The inhumane treatment of Gina by the ''Pegasus'' crew likely makes Gaius more critical of humanity's worth ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

Over the course of his examination of Gina, he uncovers both her wish to die and the secret of the Cylon [[Resurrection Ship]]. He passes this information to Adama and [[Helena Cain|Admiral Helena Cain]], who develop an [[Attack on the Resurrection Ship|operation to destroy it]] ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]).

Baltar continues to spend time with Gina, growing closer to her despite Six's pleas to the contrary and eventually helps Gina escape from the brig. He tells Gina that he can hide her, and also that he loves her. Gina goes on to kill Cain and escapes from the ''Pegasus'' through unexplained means, although it is probable that Baltar had something to do with it ([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]).

{{spoiltext|According to an interview with Ron D. Moore, Gina's will go on to form a sort of love triangle between Gina, Baltar and Six. Baltar's relationship with her will "continue throughout the season".}}

== Speculation: The Real Baltar? ==

For Baltar to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear shock wave and that the body of Six that he knew was apparently destroyed in trying to protect his in the events of the Mini-Series.

A nuclear blast's shock wave is substantial (not unlike that from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flow pyroclastic cloud]). The shock wave would contain rocks, glass, metal, and other large debris that would bludgeon, pierce and lacerate human tissue with ease and at terrific speeds (at maximum, 1200 KPH, or 745 MPH). Such a debris-filled shock wave would obliterate Baltar's home and easily annihilate Six's body, which at those speeds would provide essentially no protection to Baltar's. (For comparison, note that, despite his superior strength, the head of the first [[Leoben Conoy]] copy encountered was bludgeoned by Commander Adama with a flashlight, and many other Humano-Cylon copies were just as easily shot or killed as easily as a human.)

Even if Baltar survived momentarily from Six's protection, either the remains of his home would have collapsed over him, likely trapping him if not killing him, or he and Six's body would also be carried away by the shock wave for some distance.

Six has had two years to gather plenty of Baltar's genetic material. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Humano-Cylon?

===Why a Copy?===

Information from RDM indicate that, at the start of season 2, there are ''eight'' Cylon operatives that appear in the fleet. A Baltar copy would also had made matters very, very easy for the Cylons in their work to infiltrate the Colonial defenses and would be easily dropped in place to escape or happen to appear on a ship of the nascent Fleet. Such clones may also explain the 'fake' recording from [[Shelly Godfrey]] of Baltar compromising Colonial computer systems in a latter Season 1 episode. Perhaps it was the Cylons who doctored what was, in reality, a legitimate recording of a Baltar copy.

One notable question would be ''why'' Six has spent so much time talking to Baltar and then thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a humano-Cylon, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, already disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploitable. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Humano-Cylon personality yet seen.

===The Baltar-as-Father Argument===

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Humano-Cylon couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ("[[The Farm]]"). If Baltar and Six were both Humano-Cylon, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but Six has repeatedly made it clear that she considers the hybrid human-cylon baby that Sharon is carrying to be "our" (as she puts it) baby. "Our" may in fact be inclusive of all cylons, which may just include Baltar.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|''Galactica'' copy of Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Humano-Cylon could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Humano-Cylons could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occurred much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Humano-Cylons). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

===Inside Baltar's Head===

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Humano-Cylon construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Number Six#Gina|Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Humano-Cylon or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

===But Cylons aren't copies of real humans===

In a 10/24/05 interview on "The Chase Show" on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml TheFandom.com] with veteran "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557732/ Chase Masterson], Ron D. Moore is interviewed, remarking that "the idea is not there was one like an original human model that they were copied from". This would suggest either of two possibilities for Baltar: first, that he survived the blast and escaped, or second, that Baltar was a Cylon all along, even on Caprica.

The idea of Baltar being originally a Cylon has problems, however. If Baltar were a Cylon, it would be redundant and unnecessary for Number Six to "choose him" for her mission (unless the Cylons preferred Baltar to remain a "sleeper" throughout his mission to give "plausible deniability" in his mind as well as allow him to do what his personality is likely to do). Furthermore, from a story perspective, the idea of Baltar being a Cylon very much goes against the idea of Baltar as a traitor betraying humanity to the Cylons—as well as the idea of Baltar's relationship with Six being a true human/Cylon pairing. It should be noted, however, that Ron D. Moore's "Gaius Baltar" differs significantly from the [[Baltar (TOS)|"Baltar" of the Original Series]]. The Baltar of the Original Series was a true turncoat with megalomaniacal tendencies; Gaius, on the other hand, is not power-hungry but is driven by a strong sense of self, albeit to the exclusion and ignorance of the needs of everyone else.

Gaius is often treated by Six as a human--ultimately the only human who will be allowed to survive by the Cylons. But the human models of Cylon also behave with classically human qualities (not all of them perfect or utopian) and seem to see each other in varying emotions (admiration and contempt are prevalent when Six speaks of the pregnant Caprica Valerii). So, at the least, Gaius is treated with no less respect than any other humano-Cylon by his virtual Six. If we assume Gaius is indeed human, Six's interaction with Baltar (given the hostilities of the Cylons) borders on admiration. Although we can't necessarily use Six's emotions as a ''de facto'' gauge of Baltar's genuine humanity, it does lend to the mystery.

The storyline possibilities do change somewhat if Baltar has ''always'' been a Cylon. Note that Baltar has never spoken of his family or other friends (other than President [[Richard Adar|Adar]]), strongly suggesting Baltar has been a "loner." If Baltar's parentage (or offspring--he is rather promiscuous) cannot be confirmed (as has been done with Commander Adama, also on the [[Humano-Cylon#William Adama?|speculated infiltrators list]]), then the laws of physics (nuclear shock wave damage to human tissue) as well as the laws of procreation (Cylons can't quite procreate as humans do) continue to leave open the possibility that Baltar is model of Cylon, however reduced the odds are now, based on Moore's new information.

==Notes==

#{{note|hcylon}}"Humano-Cylon" is the popular ''Battlestar Wiki'' term for the humanoid Cylons. It is not a [[canon|canonical]] term found in any episode.
#{{note|chip}}The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.
#{{note|killing}}The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. When Cally tries to blackmail him after they return from Kobol, Baltar is somewhat rough with her. When he visits Tyrol and Boomer in the brig, he does not hesitate to inject Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.
#{{note|birthplace}} Baltar's planet of birth and recruitment by the Colonial Defense Ministry to Caprica are according to SkyOne. However, information from SkyOne may not be canonical at all.

Here is SkyOne's summary of Baltar:

:''Scientific genuis Gaius is one of the greatest minds humanity has to offer. Unfortunately, his abundance of intellect is counterbalanced by a complete lack of ethics. His moral weakness allows the Cylons to infiltrate and neutralize the defences of the 12 Colonies.''

:''Gaius Baltar was born on a farm on the colony of Sagittaron.''

:''His family had worked the land for three generations and even as a boy, Gaius hated farm life. Fortunately, his parents owned a large and sprawling agri-business controlling millions of acres across the planet; Gaius found a different use for farm life and used it to study science and maths.''

:''Gaius became more than a good student - he was a genuis at 14.''

:''By the age of 21 he had his first doctorate under his belt. Soon he was being hotly pursued by every major university to set up a research lab.''

:''Gaius' speciality was theoretical physics, but his true passion was computer science. He saw the prevailing anti-technological edicts as short-sighted, and believed in advancing human technology that the Cylons could not infiltrate.''

:''Because of his achievements, Gaius' help was needed by the Defence Ministry on top-secret projects. Gaius soon found himself the keeper of secrets, a position that flattered his already impressive ego.''

:''Still it wasn't enough; he hungered for a chance to work on a true artificial intelligence project. He then meets a smart and beautiful woman who seemed to understand him in a way no other had. She shared his passion of A.I. systems. The relationship lated for two years and during this time she provided him with new and innovative ideas. Only one thing was missing; Gaius could not find out anything about her. Was it the perfect relationship he once thought it was?''

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:Characters|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:RDM|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Baltar, Gaius]]

Gaius Baltar

2006-01-28T17:51:18Z

DavidA: /* Cylon Attack */ making last sentence of paragraph 1 less ambiguous

''This page discusses the unwitting betrayer of humanity in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]. For information on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] character that intentionally betrays the [[The Twelve Colonies (TOS)|Twelve Colonies of Man]], see [[Baltar (TOS)|Baltar]].''

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Gaius Baltar promo.jpg|200px]]
|age=
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Interim Vice President of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|the Twelve Colonies]])
|rank=
|actor= [[James Callis]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' currently has two roles in the [[Government#Government_of_the_Fleet|Colonial Government]]; he is both Vice President and science adviser to the President. He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and is widely considered a genius. Baltar came to prominence as a computer technology designer having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s. Baltar was born on [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Sagittaron |Sagittaron]] and attracted to [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] by the Defense Ministry{{ref|birthplace}}. There, Baltar becomes responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Baltar also, apparently, has some training in medicine or biology, based on the fact that he has been tasked with things such as working with blood samples to build a Cylon detector, and to do such things as extract fetal blood and experiment on cancer cells. It's possible he has more than one advanced degree in unrelated fields.

Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, Baltar is nonetheless a deeply flawed person and almost pathologically narcissist. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a pathological weakness of character. Self-absorbed, sly, guileful, and utterly dedicated to his own self-preservation, Baltar has carried on a two-year affair with a woman he believed to be a corporate spy -- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- and thus allows her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.

=== [[Cylon Attack]] ===
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] kissing in the [[Mini-Series]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
When the Cylons launch their attack, Baltar becomes horrified to learn that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Humano-Cylon|Cylon in human form]]{{ref|hcylon}}, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail -- and that she altered his CNP as a gateway to make all integrated Colonial computers and defense systems vulnerable to a Cylon virus that subverts their command and control systems.

Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevertheless determined not only to survive but also avoid having his unintended treachery revealed.

Rescued on Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Karl Agathon|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Mini-Series]]) -- he is pleased to find himself treated with the same esteem he enjoyed back on Caprica. His only problem is that [[Number Six]], his former "lover" -- herself ostensibly destroyed in the shock wave of a nuclear blast -- now appears to him in visions, and he cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain{{ref|chip}}.

Shortly after Baltar's arrival on ''Galactica'', Commander [[William Adama]] learns that Cylons can mimic human form, and Baltar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting these humanoid Cylons. By an educated guess (and an apparent attempt to distract those who suspected him of treachery), he exposes [[Aaron Doral]] -- a PR executive who co-ordinated the media coverage of ''Galactica's'' decommissioning -- as a Cylon agent ([[Mini-Series]]), using little more than invented [[technobabble]] to convince [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]]. Despite his protestations of innocence, Doral is marooned at [[Ragnar Anchorage]], but soon a team of Cylon agents appear to pick up the stranded Doral. Baltar's educated guess was correct--Doral was indeed a Cylon agent.

Due to his unique abilities, Baltar is charged with turning his initial "[[Cylon detector]]" into a working machine capable of screening everyone in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. While he at first balks at this task, events such as the sabotaging of ''Galactica's'' water reserves ([[Water]]) force him into a position where he can no longer procrastinate over the detector -- despite his fear that such a device might somehow expose him as the original traitor among humans. Gaining aid from a most unusual source -- his "virtual" Six ([[Bastille Day]]) -- Baltar eventually develops a genuine detector, which, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establishes his credentials within the Fleet's hierarchy.

With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Sharon Valerii#"Boomer" Valerii|Lieutenant Valerii's]] true status as a [[Humano-Cylon|Cylon agent]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar willing enters the realm of political leadership, first as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the Colonies ([[Colonial Day]]).

=== Cylon Manipulations ===

The Cylons commenced their direct manipulations of Baltar some two years prior to the attack on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]], by bringing him into contact with their agent, [[Number Six]], who started a torrid affair with him while at the same time using him to access vital Colonial command and control systems within the Ministry of Defense ([[Mini-Series]]).

This manipulation continues even after the Doctor leaves Caprica behind, with Six appearing to him in sensory perceptions, possibly through an implant in his brain ([[Miniseries]]) or perhaps even through a series of psychotic hallucinations as the doctor struggles to reconcile his guilt and his desire of self-preservation.

Regardless of the cause of her appearances, Six continues to help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The majority of this manipulation has been through religious intrigue, linked to physical threats to Baltar's well-being or that of other humans. These manipulations include:

* Using the threat of Baltar's former colleague, Dr. [[Amorak]], attempting to contact [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] with information on a "traitor" within Colonial circles -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "repented of his sins" ([[33]])
* Using the threat of direct accusation (in the form of "[[Number Six#"Shelly Godfrey"|Shelly Godfrey]]") coupled with "photographic evidence" -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "accepted" [[God]] into his life ([[Six Degrees of Separation]])
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in "[[Scattered]]". (C. Universal Studios)]]
Baltar's near-acquiescence to the [[God|Cylon religion]] comes when he goes through a process similar to the [[wikipedia:Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] belief in "rebirth" through adult baptism. In this, the new believer in the Christian faith is baptized (generally through full immersion in water), symbolizing the "death" of the "old" self and "birth" of the "new" Christian self. In "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar apparently undergoes "death" at the hands of his inner Six when she "breaks" his neck -- and is "reborn" in his real life as the "instrument of God", able to point-out precisely where Colonial forces must strike in order to eliminate the Cylon base preventing them from accessing supplies of [[Tylium|tylium]] ([[The Hand of God]]).

This act leaves Baltar ripe for the final revelation of his role within Cylon expectations, when "the future" is revealed to him by Six on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Baltar is not particularly pleased by this, especially when he learns that he is to be the father and that the mother will be Six ([[Scattered]]). Despite this, when he believes Commander Adama is trying to kill the child in one of his dreams, he tries to stop this ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

===Survival on Kobol===
[[Image:Baltarixvalleydarkness.jpg|Number Six showing Baltar the clearing filled with human bones, telling him they were from human sacrifices.|thumb]]
While stranded on Kobol, Baltar "awoke" in a clearing filled with human bones. Number Six tells him the bones were from human sacrifices, and that all of the myths about the gods of Kobol and the paradise on Kobol were a lie to hide the true brutality of man, which increases Baltar's cynical opinion of humanity. Number Six also warns that one of the survivors of Baltar's crash would turn against the others.

The Raptor crash survivors, consisting of Baltar, Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Cally]], [[Seelix]], and ranking crew member [[Crashdown]], a lieutenant, are faced with [[Cylon Centurion]]s building a missile battery that will destroy any rescue ships trying to save them. Crashdown, obsessed with success after the deaths of [[Tarn]] and [[Socinus]], orders the team to make a suicidal attack on the Cylon position. Baltar has never fired a weapon in his life and feels it could not be done. Due to the fact that he was the only non-military member of the survivors, he insists that they put it to a vote before Tyrol shouts him down to follow the chain of command.

On starting the attack, Cally freezes in terror, unable to create the needed diversion. Crashdown points his gun at her head and threatens to kill her if she does not obey the order. Immediately, Tyrol levels his gun at Crashdown. A tense standoff ensues. Just as Crashdown is about to fire, Baltar shoots him in the back, killing him instantly{{ref|killing}}. The group successfully carries out the alternate plan of attacking the Cylon's [[DRADIS]] dish, and are rescued by the Raptors. Baltar tells the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown died a hero in the fight, and Tyrol reluctantly corroborates his story ([[Fragged]]).

===Return to ''Galactica''===

Back on ''Galactica'', Baltar insists that if Roslin's presidency was terminated, as Vice President he should then succeed her in command, but Col. Tigh dismisses the notion because he has instituted martial law in [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. Later, Cally blackmails Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol is not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspects, or Cally would reveal to all that it was really Baltar that killed Crashdown. Baltar pushes Cally against the wall and lectures her sternly, but she refuses to back down, telling him to "help the Chief [by] help[ing] [him]self." Incensed at this ingratitude, Baltar heads to the [[brig]] to take a blood sample from Tyrol, located in the same cell as [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]], but actually injects him with a toxin that will kill him in seconds without an antidote. Baltar uses Tyrol's importance to Boomer to coerce the panicked Cylon agent to disclose how many remaining humanoid Cylons are hiding in the Fleet. He gambles that, even if Valerii was programmed to think she was human, on a subconscious level she truly ''would'' know the answer as a Cylon operative. With time running out, she shouts out "Eight!" Baltar revives Tyrol. Baltar plans to perform a series of experiments on Boomer, but she is soon killed by Cally ([[Resistance]]).
[[image:brainscan.jpg|Baltar recieves his brain scan from Dr. Cottle, as Six watches on in amusement.|thumb]]
Some time later, as Commander Adama attempts to retrieve President Roslin and reunite the Fleet, Baltar yells at his internal Number Six for her increasingly ridiculous random changes in appearance, even questioning her actual existence. She responds by simplifying her appearance and attitude and told him that he truly had gone crazy, claiming there is no "computer chip" in his head with her personality, and that she is indeed a hallucination brought on by his guilt-ridden subconscious. Baltar has a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] (despite ''interference'' from Six), which confirms no "foreign objects" are present in his head. Baltar is ready to believe that he is truly insane when he hears [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica-Sharon]] discuss Valerii's pregnancy with a Cylon/Human hybrid child from his observation room. Six told Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this leads Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious couldn't have known that. Number Six says that she is indeed real and not a hallucination. While she still denies the presence of a chip in Baltar's head, she claims to be "an angel of God sent here to protect [Baltar]". Six tells Baltar that by "their" child she is referring to Caprica-Valerii's biological child: Six considers herself the mother, and Baltar the father ([[Home, Part II]]).

When [[D'anna Biers]] films a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urges Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar performs badly as he begins his interview but, fortunately, his interview is interrupted by a Cylon attack that Biers chooses to film instead ([[Final Cut]]).

Baltar aids in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which devastates ''Galactica's'' [[computers]]. Tigh's dislike of Baltar's involvement in this problem makes the scientist edgy enough to retort, "I'm sorry. Do you want to survive this one or not, Colonel?" ([[Flight of the Phoenix]])
[[image:baltargina.jpg|Baltar with Gina, the Cyclon prisoner from ''Pegasus''.|thumb]]

===Arrival of ''Pegasus''===

When battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' reunites with the Fleet, Commander Adama requests that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Upon arrival in the ''Pegasus'' brig, Baltar is horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of Number Six named "[[Gina]]". Baltar vows to help her in any way he could, and begins by having her restraints removed and bringing food to her. The inhumane treatment of Gina by the ''Pegasus'' crew likely makes Gaius more critical of humanity's worth ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

Over the course of his examination of Gina, he uncovers both her wish to die and the secret of the Cylon [[Resurrection Ship]]. He passes this information to Adama and [[Helena Cain|Admiral Helena Cain]], who develop an [[Attack on the Resurrection Ship|operation to destroy it]] ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]).

Baltar continues to spend time with Gina, growing closer to her despite Six's pleas to the contrary and eventually helps Gina escape from the brig. He tells Gina that he can hide her, and also that he loves her. Gina goes on to kill Cain and escapes from the ''Pegasus'' through unexplained means, although it is probable that Baltar had something to do with it ([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]).

{{spoiltext|According to an interview with Ron D. Moore, Gina's will go on to form a sort of love triangle between Gina, Baltar and Six. Baltar's relationship with her will "continue throughout the season".}}

== Speculation: The Real Baltar? ==

For Baltar to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear shock wave and that the body of Six that he knew was apparently destroyed in trying to protect his in the events of the Mini-Series.

A nuclear blast's shock wave is substantial (not unlike that from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flow pyroclastic cloud]). The shock wave would contain rocks, glass, metal, and other large debris that would bludgeon, pierce and lacerate human tissue with ease and at terrific speeds (at maximum, 1200 KPH, or 745 MPH). Such a debris-filled shock wave would obliterate Baltar's home and easily annihilate Six's body, which at those speeds would provide essentially no protection to Baltar's. (For comparison, note that, despite his superior strength, the head of the first [[Leoben Conoy]] copy encountered was bludgeoned by Commander Adama with a flashlight, and many other Humano-Cylon copies were just as easily shot or killed as easily as a human.)

Even if Baltar survived momentarily from Six's protection, either the remains of his home would have collapsed over him, likely trapping him if not killing him, or he and Six's body would also be carried away by the shock wave for some distance.

Six has had two years to gather plenty of Baltar's genetic material. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Humano-Cylon?

===Why a Copy?===

Information from RDM indicate that, at the start of season 2, there are ''eight'' Cylon operatives that appear in the fleet. A Baltar copy would also had made matters very, very easy for the Cylons in their work to infiltrate the Colonial defenses and would be easily dropped in place to escape or happen to appear on a ship of the nascent Fleet. Such clones may also explain the 'fake' recording from [[Shelly Godfrey]] of Baltar compromising Colonial computer systems in a latter Season 1 episode. Perhaps it was the Cylons who doctored what was, in reality, a legitimate recording of a Baltar copy.

One notable question would be why Six have spent so much time talking to Baltar, and then have thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a humano-Cylon, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, already disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploited. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Humano-Cylon personality yet seen.

===The Baltar-as-Father Argument===

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Humano-Cylon couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ("[[The Farm]]"). If Baltar and Six were both Humano-Cylon, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but Six has repeatedly made it clear that she considers the hybrid human-cylon baby that Sharon is carrying to be "our" (as she puts it) baby. "Our" may in fact be inclusive of all cylons, which may just include Baltar.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|''Galactica'' copy of Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Humano-Cylon could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Humano-Cylons could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occurred much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Humano-Cylons). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

===Inside Baltar's Head===

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Humano-Cylon construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Number Six#Gina|Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Humano-Cylon or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

===But Cylons aren't copies of real humans===

In a 10/24/05 interview on "The Chase Show" on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml TheFandom.com] with veteran "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557732/ Chase Masterson], Ron D. Moore is interviewed, remarking that "the idea is not there was one like an original human model that they were copied from". This would suggest either of two possibilities for Baltar: first, that he survived the blast and escaped, or second, that Baltar was a Cylon all along, even on Caprica.

The idea of Baltar being originally a Cylon has problems, however. If Baltar were a Cylon, it would be redundant and unnecessary for Number Six to "choose him" for her mission (unless the Cylons preferred Baltar to remain a "sleeper" throughout his mission to give "plausible deniability" in his mind as well as allow him to do what his personality is likely to do). Furthermore, from a story perspective, the idea of Baltar being a Cylon very much goes against the idea of Baltar as a traitor betraying humanity to the Cylons—as well as the idea of Baltar's relationship with Six being a true human/Cylon pairing. It should be noted, however, that Ron D. Moore's "Gaius Baltar" differs significantly from the [[Baltar (TOS)|"Baltar" of the Original Series]]. The Baltar of the Original Series was a true turncoat with megalomaniacal tendencies; Gaius, on the other hand, is not power-hungry but is driven by a strong sense of self, albeit to the exclusion and ignorance of the needs of everyone else.

Gaius is often treated by Six as a human--ultimately the only human who will be allowed to survive by the Cylons. But the human models of Cylon also behave with classically human qualities (not all of them perfect or utopian) and seem to see each other in varying emotions (admiration and contempt are prevalent when Six speaks of the pregnant Caprica Valerii). So, at the least, Gaius is treated with no less respect than any other humano-Cylon by his virtual Six. If we assume Gaius is indeed human, Six's interaction with Baltar (given the hostilities of the Cylons) borders on admiration. Although we can't necessarily use Six's emotions as a ''de facto'' gauge of Baltar's genuine humanity, it does lend to the mystery.

The storyline possibilities do change somewhat if Baltar has ''always'' been a Cylon. Note that Baltar has never spoken of his family or other friends (other than President [[Richard Adar|Adar]]), strongly suggesting Baltar has been a "loner." If Baltar's parentage (or offspring--he is rather promiscuous) cannot be confirmed (as has been done with Commander Adama, also on the [[Humano-Cylon#William Adama?|speculated infiltrators list]]), then the laws of physics (nuclear shock wave damage to human tissue) as well as the laws of procreation (Cylons can't quite procreate as humans do) continue to leave open the possibility that Baltar is model of Cylon, however reduced the odds are now, based on Moore's new information.

==Notes==

#{{note|hcylon}}"Humano-Cylon" is the popular ''Battlestar Wiki'' term for the humanoid Cylons. It is not a [[canon|canonical]] term found in any episode.
#{{note|chip}}The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.
#{{note|killing}}The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. When Cally tries to blackmail him after they return from Kobol, Baltar is somewhat rough with her. When he visits Tyrol and Boomer in the brig, he does not hesitate to inject Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.
#{{note|birthplace}} Baltar's planet of birth and recruitment by the Colonial Defense Ministry to Caprica are according to SkyOne. However, information from SkyOne may not be canonical at all.

Here is SkyOne's summary of Baltar:

:''Scientific genuis Gaius is one of the greatest minds humanity has to offer. Unfortunately, his abundance of intellect is counterbalanced by a complete lack of ethics. His moral weakness allows the Cylons to infiltrate and neutralize the defences of the 12 Colonies.''

:''Gaius Baltar was born on a farm on the colony of Sagittaron.''

:''His family had worked the land for three generations and even as a boy, Gaius hated farm life. Fortunately, his parents owned a large and sprawling agri-business controlling millions of acres across the planet; Gaius found a different use for farm life and used it to study science and maths.''

:''Gaius became more than a good student - he was a genuis at 14.''

:''By the age of 21 he had his first doctorate under his belt. Soon he was being hotly pursued by every major university to set up a research lab.''

:''Gaius' speciality was theoretical physics, but his true passion was computer science. He saw the prevailing anti-technological edicts as short-sighted, and believed in advancing human technology that the Cylons could not infiltrate.''

:''Because of his achievements, Gaius' help was needed by the Defence Ministry on top-secret projects. Gaius soon found himself the keeper of secrets, a position that flattered his already impressive ego.''

:''Still it wasn't enough; he hungered for a chance to work on a true artificial intelligence project. He then meets a smart and beautiful woman who seemed to understand him in a way no other had. She shared his passion of A.I. systems. The relationship lated for two years and during this time she provided him with new and innovative ideas. Only one thing was missing; Gaius could not find out anything about her. Was it the perfect relationship he once thought it was?''

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:Characters|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:RDM|Baltar, Gaius]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Baltar, Gaius]]

Billy Keikeya

2006-01-28T17:44:49Z

DavidA: integrated sentence fragment into text

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Mini-Billy.jpg|200px]]
|age= 20s
|colony= Presumably [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= William Keikeya
|callsign=
|death=
|parents= Living on Picon at time of attack
|siblings= Sisters on the colony of Picon
|children=
|marital status= Dating Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla]]
|role= Presidential Aide to [[Laura Roslin]]
|rank=
|actor= [[Paul Campbell]]
|cylon=
}}

'''Billy Keikeya''' is a young, fairly good-looking member of [[Laura Roslin]]'s staff. Possibly an intern, given his relative youth, he is nevertheless gifted and capable - and much more insightful than people might otherwise assume.

==Biography==
As a result of his abilities, [[Laura Roslin]] selects Keikeya to accompany her to the decommissioning ceremonies for [[battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''. During this time, he recognises that not only is [[Laura Roslin|Roslin]] ill, she is in fact suffering from cancer ([[Mini-Series]]).

His parents had moved to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] two months prior to the Cylon attack to be with Keikeya's sisters and their families. It is assumed they died there.

Following the loss of President [[Richard Adar|Richard Adar's]] cabinet, Roslin is sworn-in as President, and Keikeya finds himself promoted to the position of her senior aide. One of his first tasks is to work with her to tally the number of survivors in the fleet ([[33]]) and establish records for the dead. Later, he engages in attempts to get the 1,500 prisoners aboard the ''[[Astral Queen]]'' to help [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] obtain water supplies ([[Bastille Day]]), after ''[[Galactica]]'s'' water supplies are sabotaged ([[Water]]). Despite his dubious mathematical aptitude (as shown in "[[33]]"), Keikeya is an exceptionally organized individual who also acts as the senior spokesperson for Roslin's administration ([[Litmus]]).

[[Image:Dee and bee.jpg|thumb|left|Billy Keikeya and Anastasia Dualla on a date in the forward observation lounge ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]])]]Off-duty, Keikeya strikes up a friendship with Petty Officer 2nd Class [[Anastasia Dualla]], a member of ''[[Galactica]]'s'' command crew, which blossoms into romance ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]), despite the fact that Dualla and Keikeya share irreconciliable viewpoints about [[Tom Zarek]]. Keikeya believes that Zarek was a prisoner of conscience who saw his fellow Sagittarians being mistreated by the other [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonies]] ([[33]]).

As Roslin continues the [[Chamalla|unconventional treatment]] of her cancer, Keikeya's concerns increase. When she passes out due to an overdose of Chamalla, he makes a call for help which he, unknowingly, does on an open channel - as such, it was intercepted by the often irksome [[Colonial Press]].

Later on, he questions Roslin's hallucinations and her actions in her search for the [[Arrow of Apollo]]. He believes that her actions would irreparably damage the Colonial [[Government]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]) though he stands by her side as Roslin and her [[Presidential Security Service|personal security]] agents prepare to thwart [[William Adama|Commander Adama]]'s attempt to arrest her ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).

Roslin is arrested when she subverts the separation of military and civilian government by convincing [[Kara Thrace]] to purloin the captured [[Cylon Raider]] for a [[FTL|Jump]] back to Caprica. Other government aides and officers such as Keikeya, [[Gaius Baltar]] and the members of the [[Quorum of Twelve]] are still free to do as they wished within the Fleet. Keikeya rarely leaves Roslin's side during her internment in ''Galactica'''s brig and routinely keeps her briefed on the deteriorating situation within [[The Fleet (Rdm)|The Fleet]] in the wake of the attempt on Commander [[William Adama|Adama]]'s life by a Cylon infiltrator, a popular [[Raptor]] pilot known as [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] (Events from "[[Scattered]]" through "[[Resistance]]").

When [[Lee Adama]] formulates a plan to break the President out of the brig and fly her to safety on ''[[Cloud 9]]'', Keikeya is supportive of the effort but ultimately does not follow her down the path she was about to take. The two part company in ''Galactica'''s hangar bay with Billy staying behind and Roslin hiding on other ships in the Fleet before Col. Tigh and Commander Adama could recapture her ([[Resistance]]).

''In his Podcast for "[[Home, Part II]]", [[Ronald D. Moore|RDM]] indicated that Keikeya was an atheist, and that his reticence was motivated by a distaste for the cloak of prophecy Roslin had assumed.''

''Galactica'' prepares for a return to Kobol to find President Roslin, who go there with over a third of the Fleet in search of the [[Tomb of Athena]]. Commander Adama brings Keikeya along with him and his insertion team because he feels that, aside from himself and Lee Adama, Keikeya is the only other person that Roslin would listen to. When he humbly denies the assumption that Roslin placed any stock in his opinions, Adama stuns him by saying Roslin feels that he would become President himself some day. Adama tells him that Roslin said he reminded her of former President [[Richard Adar|Adar]] on his first campaign for public office. Keikeya had no idea how to respond to Adama's lofty comparison, but was quickly brought back to reality when Adama comments that Adar was a "moron".

On the surface of Kobol, Keikeya reunites with Roslin. She is overjoyed to see him once again. Keikeya is also one of the few people that enter the Tomb of Athena and sees the map to Earth ([[Home, Part II]]).

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Keikeya, Billy]]
[[Category:Characters|Keikeya, Billy]]
[[Category:RDM|Keikeya, Billy]]

Thomas Zarek

2006-01-28T17:35:50Z

DavidA: I don't remember verb tense rules here, but I tried to make the first paragraph sound in-universe.

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Tom_zarek_001.jpg|200px]]
|age= Early 50s
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]]
|birthname= Thomas Zarek
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Representing Sagittaron on the [[Quorum of Twelve]]
|rank=
|actor= [[Richard Hatch]]
|cylon=
}}

'''Tom Zarek''' has been a political activist for more than 30 years. He is a charismatic, eloquent and ideological political agitator who was incarcerated for destroying a government building on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]]. His 20-year incarceration lands him aboard the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', a [[FTL]]-capable prison ship. Assigned the prison number of [[893893]], Zarek was under consideration for parole at the time of the [[Cylon attack]].

== Biography ==

Zarek came from [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]], a colony known to be mistreated by the other eleven [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Colonies]]. Through his experiences on that colony, he became an advocate of freedom from slavery. Zarek became a voice for the disenfranchised and, along with publishing a book that was virtually banned throughout the Colonies, actively sought to fight against injustices.

To some he is considered a terrorist and nuisance for his tactics, which included the destruction of a government building that resulted in an unspecified loss of life. He believes in the efficacy of violence as a means of change, going as so far as to go to prison over a "matter of conscience" and his refusal of President [[Richard Adar|Richard Adar's]] politically motivated conditional pardon (the conditions of the pardon being that he would publicly apologize and pledge to give up violence as a means of change).

Even some of his fellow Sagittarons have an intense dislike of him, including Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla]]. Despite this, he became a public figure whose name had weight and almost became legendary, thanks to public opinion ([[Bastille Day]]).

== After the Exodus ==

After avoiding the ''[[Astral Queen]]'' commander's desire to euthanize the prisoners (thanks to President [[Laura Roslin]]'s humanitarian decision) ([[Mini-Series]]) Zarek plots to escape captivity. With the water shortage and the discovery of a planet that could replenish the lost water ([[Water]]), Commander [[William Adama|Adama]], [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] and President Roslin reluctantly decide to ask the prisoners to volunteer as badly needed manpower, under the condition that they would not be treated as slaves and they would agree of their own volition.

After [[Lee Adama]]'s unsuccessful attempt to persuade the prisoners to help in the recovery efforts, Zarek's springs the prisoners' escape plan. The prisoners, under Zarek's command, usurp control of the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', and takes her crew and ''Galactica's'' visitors as prisoners. Zarek states his terms for release of the prisoners: the resignation of [[Laura Roslin]] and her administration, and the start of free and open elections for a new president. Zarek deems Roslin's presidency as illegitimate and illegal.

Unfortunately, Zarek's aims are not in keeping with his demands; he wants a bloodbath to ensue, believing that all that people understand is violence, and that a bloodbath would destroy any credibility that Adama and Roslin have.

When the situation deteriorates near the point of catastrophe for all involved, Zarek, ready to sacrifice his life for his beliefs, is swayed by [[Lee Adama]]'s promise that he would uphold the [[Articles of Colonization]] and hold open elections for a new president, as well as give the ship over to the prisoners as a show of good faith.

== Attempts for Political Power ==
[[Image:Home_pt1_debate.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tom Zarek]] in debate with [[Quorum of Twelve|Quorum members]]. (C. Sci-Fi Channel)
]]
With a degree of freedom obtained by the prisoners - including control of the ''Astral Queen'', Zarek engages in a steady effort to gain the goodwill of others of influence within the fleet. This effort includes physical acts of support for other ships (such as fixing the air filtration system on the ship occupied by [[Marshall Bagott]], a politician from [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Virgon|Virgon]].

Zarek's efforts result in a nomination as the Representative of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Sagittaron|Sagittaron]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. From there, Zarek makes a bid for the position of Vice President using the support of those he assisted, and possibly badgered ([[Colonial Day]]).

While Zarek's attempt at the Vice Presidency fails after Roslin replaces the somewhat unlikeable [[Wallace Gray]] with the charismatic Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]] as an alternative candidate, Zarek makes it clear to Roslin that he will be standing against her in the elections.

Zarek remains possibly the most powerful and popular representative in the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. 

== Breakaway from [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] ==

The schism created by Commander Adama's unlawful arrest of President Roslin and [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]]'s declaration of [[Wikipedia:martial law|martial law]] presents Zarek with an opportunity to convince others that Adama is after total control of the Fleet. Zarek likely sought to use Tigh's inexperience with dealing with the government and [[Colonial Press|press]] against the military powers. Zarek and the Quorum soon learn of Roslin's terminal cancer, after Tigh permits the Quorum of Twelve to see her in ''Galactica'''s brig ([[Fragged]]).

After the ''[[Gideon]]'' incident, where four civilians die, some crewmembers of ''Galactica'' orchestrate Roslin's escape. Lee Adama, knowing they would be hunted throughout the Fleet, enlists Zarek's assistance in secreting Roslin away from Tigh and Commander Adama ("[[Resistance]]", "[[The Farm]]"). Roslin is initially dismayed to be greeted by Zarek, but realizes that Zarek, no friend to Adama or Tigh, is "the enemy of my enemy."

Zarek and Roslin attempt to use appeals by recorded [[wireless]] messages to sway favor in the Fleet to return to Kobol. Zarek convinces Lee Adama at first to create a dissenting message against ''Galactica's'' rule, but changes his mind. After Roslin plays the "religious card" to sway support for her cause in the Fleet, Roslin and Zarek lead a [[Laura Roslin faction|separatist fleet]] back to [[Kobol]] to await [[Kara Thrace]]'s return with the [[Arrow of Apollo]], for use in unlocking the [[Tomb of Athena]].

Zarek, with his associate [[Meier]], plan to eliminate the young Captain Adama on Kobol, using the rationalization about [[Zeus]]' warning that any return to Kobol would "exact a price in blood". Zarek feels that removing the young Adama would create a political power vacuum, allowing Zarek to take the position as captain of factioned Fleet, while Roslin would remain president ([[Home, Part I]]).

Zarek abandons the assassination plan when Commander Adama arrives on Kobol to mend fences with Roslin. However, Meier privately revises the plan outside of Zarek's knowledge, now with the goal of eliminating both Adamas by soliciting the help of the [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]] that returned with [[Karl Agathon]] and Thrace. Unfortunately for Zarek, Sharon Valerii double-crosses Meier, killing him at the entrance to the Tomb of Athena. While none in the group immediately consider Zarek as a suspect in Meier's assassination attempt, Commander Adama remains guarded and leaves Zarek and several others outside of the Tomb while they unlock its secrets ([[Home, Part II]]).

== Notes ==

Tom Zarek is portrayed by actor [[Richard Hatch]], who portrayed the original [[Apollo (TOS)|Apollo]] in the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|1978 ''Battlestar Galactica'' series]].

Hatch has written novels based on the original series, and also leads an attempt to bring the Original Series back theatrically in a project called "[[Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming]]."

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Zarek, Tom]]
[[Category:Characters|Zarek, Tom]]
[[Category:RDM|Zarek, Tom]]
[[Category:People from Sagittaron|Zarek, Tom]]

Black Market

2006-01-28T17:32:53Z

DavidA: /* Analysis */ spelling and grammar edits

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Universal_logo.jpg|300px]]
| Title= Black Market
| Series= [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
| Season= [[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode= 14
| Guests=[[Richard Hatch]] ([[Tom Zarek]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0006419/ Claudette Mink] ([[Shevon]]) Bill Duke ([[Phelan]]) Unknown ([[Paya]]) Unknown ([[Weller]]) Unknown ([[Beach]]) Graham Beckel (CMDR [[Jack Fisk]] [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]])
| Writer=
| Story=
| Director=
| Production=
| Rating=
| US Airdate=Not available
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population=
| Prev= [[Epiphanies]]
| Next= [[Scar]]
}}



== Overview ==

: ''Not available at this time.''

== Summary ==

*The recovered Prsident [[Laura Roslin]], feeling behind in her work since her absence, discusses her plan to eliminate black market problems with internal trade of supplies 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.
*[[Lee Adama]], severely depressed since his ejection from the [[Blackbird]], has apparently has nurtured a relationship on ''[[Cloud 9]]'' with a woman named [[Shevon]], who has a young daughter named [[Paya]].
*Shevon soon resorts to working as a prostitute to get basic food and medical supplies. Adama pays her cubits when he stays there, mostly to help, then later as she makes it clearly aware of the nature of her business. Adama appears to want a serious relationship.
*In flashback scenes, we see a past love of Lee Adama on Caprica, who became pregnant. Adama became afraid and didn't know if he should commit or not. She got angry and stormed off, then he ran away. With the Cylon attack, Adama presumes she (and that relationship) dead.
*Unaware that Fisk was murdered, Baltar stumbles into Fisk's quarters to see him but finds Lee Adama on the scene. After stating (correctly) that he had nothing to do with Fisk's murder, he storms out. Adama deduces correctly that Baltar was actually trading for a hard to find commodity: "Caprica Imperials" [[fumerellos]] that Fisk had.
*Adama 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 confront's 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 shuttle black market goods.
*Dr. [[Cottle]]'s autopsy finds cubits jammed in Fisk's mouth as a warning. Adama realizes that Fisk was trying to undercut one of his black market suppliers, and they took revenge. Adama is angry that Tigh would use the black market, but Tigh counters that almost everyone does some trading with it to get things they need, even Adama, who responds that just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.
*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', President Roslin, aware from her [[Epiphanies|near-death recollections on Caprica]] of Baltar's pre-holocaust contact with a copy of the Cylon agent the Fleet knows under the names of [[Number Six|"Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina"]], asks Dr. Baltar, her vice president, to resign.
*Baltar's pride is wounded. 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''.
*As Lee is packing things up to leave, he 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. A pistol-whip to the head knocks Lee out.
*Adama awakens to find an empty room, and calls for a medic and security team. Only then does he notice 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 says that he's not actually not involved with it, because he needs to keep his hands clean, but he also won't help Apollo shut it down (giving ship names, contacts, etc.) because Zarek doesn't want it shut down; it's evidence that Roslin was unable to establish a utopian society in the Fleet, and successfully dismantling it would just prove her right.
*Zarek points out that the black market does gets 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.
*Adama 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 what 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.
*Phelan makes Apollo realize the only way Shevon was able to obtain life-saving antibiotics for Paya was the black market. Taking a gun from one of Phelan's guard, Adama points it threateningly at Phelan. Surprisingly, two other guards behind Adama neither help or hinder him.
*Apollo says to Phelan that he may be right, maybe he shouldn't try to shut down the market, but that there are lines that should never be crossed, and Phelan has crossed them. When Phelan confidently tells Adama that he won't shoot him, because he's not a thug like Phelan, Adama contemplates. Lee then cycles through another series of flashbacks of his lost relationship on Caprica... and pulls the trigger. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Phelan slumps into his chair and dies.
*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, hold back essential medicines, or use children, he will annihilate them without restraint.
*In tears, Shevon breaks up with Adama, rightly claiming he just wanted Shevon and Paya to replace the woman and child he lost, and that she and Paya can't replace what he lost for him.
*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. At least this way, they know where and who they are, and can monitor it to keep a measure of control. Admiral Adama fully supports Lee, but Roslin isn't at all happy with this and dismisses them rudely.
*Tom Zarek is seen walking through a crowd on the ''Prometheus'' with one of Phelan's old henchmen in tow.
*Admiral Adama and Lee Adama sit casually in the admiral's quarters over a drink, discussing the results of the black market issue. Admiral Adama tells his son he is disappointed that he did not discuss the nature of his relationship with Shevon to him earlier.

== 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?

== Analysis ==

*Ron D. Moore appears to almost admit as much 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 amd 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.
*Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the his character, much like the issues involving [[Laura Roslin]]'s miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the [[Epiphanies|previous episode]].
*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.
*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 intriguing. However, confusion entered in with Shevon's line of Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child". Many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. The repetitive flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot and may have made viewing less comfortable.
*The plausibility of [[Jack Fisk]] being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's [[Number Six#Gina|killer still on the loose]], it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia.
*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 from 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 Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his responsibilities in a less-than-official capacity.
*Central characters [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] and [[Sharon Valerii]] do not appear in this episode.
*Jack Fisk's 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 off all the ships in the fleet.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*"You're not gonna shoot."
:—''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."

== Statistics ==



{{Episode List}}

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Saul Tigh

2005-11-12T20:32:05Z

DavidA: /* Background */ typo

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Bsg-tigh-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= 60s
|colony=
|birthname= Saul Tigh
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children= None
|marital status=Married to ([[Ellen Tigh]])
|role= Executive Officer, ''[[Battlestar]] [[Galactica]]''
|rank= Colonel
|actor= [[Michael Hogan]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

A veteran probably in his 60s, Saul Tigh is estranged from his wife and has been somewhat disillusioned with his career, seeking refuge in alcoholism - a move which has lead many in the crew to view him with contempt ([[Mini-Series]]; [[33]]).

He is a third generation Colonial soldier. [[Saul, Tigh (father of)|His father]] was a decorated fighter pilot killed in combat and [[Tigh, Saul (grandfather of)|his grandfather]] served under President [[Mueller (president)|Mueller]]. According to [[Billy Keikeya]], Tigh was a published military historian until personal problems became apparent. ([[Mini-Series]], [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)|deleted scene]])

According to the [[series bible]], Tigh began his career as a deckhand, where he became a chief (apparently similar to CPO [[Galen Tyrol]]) during the first [[Cylon War]]. His ship was boarded by the Cylons where he and others fought in hand to hand combat, during the bloodiest time of that war; his ship was subsequently destroyed and he survived. He was transferred to another unnamed ship, which succumbed to a similar fate as his original ship. Bearing witness to many a bloody combat, he became emotionally scarred, which had, among other impetuses, lead him to alcoholism.

His disposition was not aided by his being "dragooned" into Colonial Officer Candidate School, or his reassignment as a Viper pilot. After the cessation of hostilities, he was dismissed from service and eked out an existence as a deckhand aboard a commercial freighter. While onboard, he drowned himself in alcohol and, after a time, encountered [[Adama, William|William Adama]], who had not seen as much combat experience as Tigh himself did. The two fostered their friendship and when Adama reenlisted with the service, he pulled strings to reinlist Tigh as well. ([[Scattered]])
[[image:33-Tigh_Adama.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"If the crew doesn't hate the XO, then he's not doing his job." (C. Sci-Fi Channel)]]
Following the Cylon attack, Tigh recovered some of his old verve and attempted to give up alcohol. However, this, combined with the initial stress of flight from the Cylons caused him to over-compensate as a martinet, frequently driving the personnel overly-hard, and berating where encouragement might have proved the better option ([[33]]). He excuses this by using the truism that the XO is supposed to be the "hard face" of command.

With his drinking problem relatively under control, Tigh settled back into his role as the ''Galactica's'' Executive Officer and proved himself both honest and level-headed - if still hard on himself and others - in a number of circumstances, and he provided the kind of support [[Adama]] needed.

During Cylon attacks, he has proven himself an excellent battle manager and tactician, his quick actions sometimes saving the ship and the fleet from damage or destruction ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]), [[Scattered]], [[Valley of Darkness]]).

He is uneasy around President [[Laura Roslin]] ([[Water]]), and resents what he sees as her interfering with Adama's command ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]) - something born out of his deep respect for Adama which even the most heated of disagreements between them ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]) cannot disrupt.

He has a personal dislike of Kara "[[Starbuck]]" Thrace, one of the ''Galactica's'' pilots, and - while grudgingly conceding she is a fine pilot, he does not understand what Adama sees in her ([[Mini-Series]]), seeing her purely as an egotistical, insubordinate youngster. While they have tried to bury the hatchet between them ([[Mini-Series]], [[Water]]), there is potentially too much water under the bridge now for them to get completely past their differences.

Outside of Adama, Tigh has few others he can regard as confidants aboard ship; and since the initial Cylon attack, he has very much withdrawn from interacting with the crew during off-duty hours, making him perhaps more isolated than even Adama - who is at least held in awe and respect by the crew.

=== Wife's Return ===

Some three weeks after the Cylon attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], Tigh was stunned to discover his wife, [[Ellen]], had not been killed as he had thought, but had been rescued from [[The Twelve Colonies#Picon|Picon]], and carried aboard the ''[[Rising Star]]'' as an unconscious "Jane Doe". Whether this reunion will be for his betterment or not remains to be seen.

However, despite the emotional implications from the destruction of the Colonies and life aboard the ship, Tigh is thrust further into politics as his wife plays her schemes. Much to his disdain, his wife attempts to procure photo opportunities with the likes of [[Tom Zarek]] -- a person Tigh views with the utmost disdain. ([[Colonial Day]]) Additionally, Ellen seems to have re-established Saul Tigh's alcoholism with gratuitious drinking.

Despite this, Adama sent Tigh with a squadron of marines to arrest [[Laura Roslin]] after it was discovered that she convinced [[Kara Thrace]] to jump back to [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] to retrieve a mythical artifact called the [[Arrow of Apollo]]. This action deprived the fleet of its own military resource -- the [[Cylon Raider]], which would have been used to plant a nuke aboard the base star in orbit around the planet believed to be [[Kobol]] -- and convinced Adama that Roslin was misusing her authority.

Onboard ''[[Colonial One]]'', Tigh's men and Roslin's [[Presidential Security Service|personal security agents]] were at a standoff. This was the point where [[Lee Adama]] [[mutiny|aimed a weapon at Tigh's head]], attempting to thwart the arrest. In order to defuse the sitation, Roslin agreed to be arrested and Lee Adama was arrested on charges of treason. ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]])

=== Tigh in Command ===

Tigh was present at the [[assassination]] attempt on Adama by [[Sharon Valerii]]. As guards restrained Valerii, he attempted to stop the bleeding from the torso gunshot wounds Adama sustained in the attempt ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Needing reliable officers, Tigh granted Lee Adama a furlough from his arrest. After his daily duties as CAG are done, Lee promises to return to the brig when off-shift.

With Adama incapacitated and with Roslin dethroned, Tigh tried to maintain order, however, his irrational and gruff command style displeased many crew. Morale and ship efficiency began to suffer. Ellen Tigh became a private advisor to her husband, frequently questioning his power to command while also suggesting ways of usurping more power and quashing his opponents. Ellen Tigh's advice would worsen an already bad situation.

Tigh's interrogation of suspected Cylon collaborators or infiltrators was brutal. After beating, then nearly shooting the Galactica copy of Valerii, other issues in the fleet diverted him from further interrogation. He ordered a special cage made for her for later interrogation. Tigh also savagely interrogated Valerii's former lover, Chief [[Tyrol]] as a possible [[Humano-Cylon]] himself. Tigh would have left him with Valerii in the new cage if [[Gaius Baltar]] did not intervene to prove medically that Tyrol was not a Cylon himself.

With Roslin in prison, uprisings began with ships that refused to give ''Galactica'' supplies until Roslin was released. Worse, the [[Quorum of Twelve]] demanded to see Roslin. Knowing of Roslin's hallucinations in the brig, he intentionally invites the Quorum to see Roslin in her poor state. However, Roslin recovered sufficiently from her [[Chamalla]] withdrawal after getting a supply smuggled to her by Corporal [[Venner]], her guard. Unlike many Gemenon colonists, Tigh is very secular and believes that the accounts within the [[Sacred Scrolls]] weren't to be believed, and teased Roslin in front of the Quorum on her visions. Roslin not only was able to speak to the Quorum, but decisively reinforced her decisions as well as her role in the search for the location of Earth as told in the Pythian prophesies. This act greatly impressed the dominantly religiously-oriented Quorum, and greatly angered Tigh, who feared a larger civilan government uprising led by the Quorum. Tigh instituted [[Wikipedia:martial law|martial law]] throughout the fleet in an attempt to maintain order in a rapidly chaotic shuffle of power between the civilian and military governments ([[Fragged]]).

The supply situation led Tigh to a poor decision of using Viper pilots to retrieve the supplies. On one ship, an incident led to four deaths and many injuries due to the pilot's inexperience in managing such a situation. Unlike Adama might have done when realizing he made a bad decision, Tigh blamed the pilot and not himself for the incident.

=== Fleet Factioning and Adama's Return ===

The shootings, Tigh's decision for martial law, and his unwillingness to discuss anything with anyone except Ellen Tigh (and the unconscious Adama) became the dividing point of those wanting to press on to finding Earth, and those wanting to settle on Kobol. ([[Season 2 (2005-06)|Season 2]]) Tigh's drinking became more out of control, and led to very irrational and edgy behavior that left many very concerned of his command ability, particularly the [[CIC]] staff. The situation came to a head when Roslin, tacitly aided by other officers and crew on ''Galactica'', escaped the brig and hid amongst the many ships in the fleet with the aid of [[Tom Zarek]]. Tigh chased down the escaping Raptor using the [[CAP]] patrol, having the Viper fire across the bow of the Raptor to warn it to return. Luckily, Tigh did not worsen the issue and let the Raptor escape, rather than shooting it down, which would have killed Adama's son, the President, and could have placed himself in a grave situation.

Fortunately, Commander Adama regained consciousness soon after the escape and inquired with his friend what had transpired. Despite the serious problems that Tigh created, Adama did not blame his friend and XO, indicating that they would repair the situation together ([[Resistance]]).

Both Adama (also a rather secular man) and Tigh were astounded at the number of ships that seceded from the main fleet to join the [[Laura Roslin faction|faction]] that sought the [[Tomb of Athena]] with President Roslin ([[The Farm]]). Tigh backed up Adama while he maintained a similar official position on Roslin and the separated ships as Tigh had. However, after Adama realized that survival of the entire fleet would only come if everyone held together, Adama began to prepare a journey to Kobol to retrieve the remainder of the fleet and reach out to Roslin ([[Home, Part I]]). At first Tigh seemed to believe that Adama was going to do this in a more military light, and scoffed at Roslin's religious views on the quest until he realized that Adama had begun to follow Roslin's information, taking her reports and visions seriously. Tigh was left in command while Adama successfully reunited the fleet and reconciled with Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]).

==Notes==
* Tigh's first name has been given as "Paul" on a number of websites. This may be based on an early [http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/battlestar/season1/galactica-ms1.pdf version of the script] '''(PDF file)''', which has Adama speaking to "Paul" in their discussion of his fight with Starbuck. Since this version of the script has significant differences to the final script, its canonical value is low.
* [[Ronald D. Moore]] has indicated via the [[podcast]] commentary on the episode "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]" that the character's name initially was Paul Tigh. The name, however, had to be changed due to legal issues that Moore was unable to recall in that podcast.
* Tigh is based off the character of Paul Eddington in the movie "In Harm's Way" portrayed by Kirk Douglas (with John Wayne).

[[Category:A to Z|Tigh, Saul]]
[[Category:Characters|Tigh, Saul]]
[[Category:RDM|Tigh, Saul]]

Cassiopeia

2005-02-15T19:11:21Z

DavidA: /* Overview */ changing the actress' name who played Cassiopeia to the name she was known by on the show

== Overview ==

Name: Cassiopeia

Nickname: Cassie

Age: 20s

Status: Single

Siblings: None

Children: None

Race: Gemon

Position: [[Medtech]], [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''

Portrayed by [[Sprang-McCook, Laurette|Laurette Spang]]

Cassiopeia (Cassie) can be described as an attractive, level-headed survivor with her own strengths. Despite her past as a [[socialator]], she grew into her role as [[medtech]] on the [[Galactica (TOS)|Galactica]].

== Biography ==

=== Before the Cylon Attack ===

Not much is known about Cassiopeia's history, except that when she was a child she sent out messages in an old [[Aeries Merchant code]] for her father. Her father, presumably, is either a trader hailing from [[Gemoni]] or was an [[Aerian]] himself. ([[The Long Patrol]]) Nothing is known about her mother. By some means she managed to become a [[socialator]], the profession of which she apparently found herself defending to other Colonials -- including [[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]]. ([[Saga of a Star World]])

Later on in her adult-hood, [[Cain (TOS)|Commander Cain]] and Cassiopeia crossed paths and the two clicked. He apparently went to her for compassionate reasons -- to mourn for the death of his wife -- which is something that Cain's young daughter, [[Sheba]], too offense to. This had occured sometime before the [[Battle of Molecay]], which saw the entire [[Fifth Fleet]] being eradicated by [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylon]] forces and the assumption of Cain's (and Sheba's) deaths. ([[The Living Legend]])

=== After the Cylon Attack ===

Cassiopeia managed to escape from the Colonies, earning a broken arm in the process in the "[[borays of humanity]]" aboard the freighter [[Gemini]]. Apparently, several irate [[Gemons]] of the [[Otori Sect]] were about ready to throw her and what she represented off the ship. This was interviened by [[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]] while surveying the ship for [[Solium]] leaks with [[Boomer (TOS)|Boomer]] and [[Apollo (TOS)|Apollo]].

She was interviewed by Starbuck, who found out who and what she was. She found herself automatically defending [[socilators]] to him too, though he was not concerned about it. Ever since she became attracted to him, although he probably had his reasons for going after her.

After [[Paye|Doctor Paye]] fixed her arm, Starbuck and Cassiopeia were getting better acquainted. However, this was interrupted by a jealous [[Athena (TOS)|Athena]] who [[steam purged]] the [[launch tube]] causing some discomfort from both Starbuck and Cassiopeia.

She later purchased a suite on [[Carillon]] after Starbuck and Boomer discovered the [[Ovions]]' [[Ovion facade|mining/luxury operation]]. She had hoped to foster intimate relations with the Warrior, but instead was taken down to the lower levels of the facility for an Ovion entrée. Starbuck and Apollo later rescued her from being a buffet. ([[Saga of a Star World]])

Sometime after she became trained and employed under the guidance of [[Salik|Doctor Salik]], and she seems to have matured slightly and grown more motherly after escorting [[Boxey (TOS)|Boxey]] out of the [[pilot's bunks]]. ([[The Lost Warrior]])

Her motherly attitude does not, however, underscore Cassiopeia. She had her fun with Starbuck on the [[Rising Star (TOS)|Rising Star]] in celebration of exiting their home galaxy of [[Cyranus]]. She later found out, however, that Starbuck was playing musical women between her and Athena, bumping into each other when both were looking at the [[ranking pin]] he gave both of them "to remember me by". She was also instrumental in discovering that the transmissions beamed from Starbuck's appropriated [[Recon Viper]] were of [[Aerian Merchant Code]], thus allowing Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Boomer to repossess the Recon Viper (which Starbuck piloted) as well as figure out what exactly was going on. ([[The Long Patrol]])

When Starbuck told her that Cain had been found, she happened to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, undecided about her relationship with either men. She did accompany him to the [[Officer's Club]] on the [[Battlestar]] [[Galactica (TOS)|Galactica]], much to the indignation of Sheba. ([[The Living Legend, Pt. I]]) Later, she noticed that the [[drop team]] to [[Gamoray]] had no medtech, as per guidelines, forcing them to accept her as part of the ground force -- where she attempted to make amends to Sheba. Despite her motives, she did assert herself professionally and had [[Bojay]] treated on the Battlestar [[Pegasus (TOS)|Pegasus]]. She was also given the care of Sheba, who had been injured during the [[daggitfight]] with the Cylons, and sent back to the Galactica. Cassiopeia knew Cain well enough to know what this meant... Cain wasn't planning on coming back. ([[The Living Legend, Pt. II]])

She was instrumental in saving [[Adama (TOS)|Adama]]'s life when Salik was forced to operate after discovering a shard embedded in the wall of his heart. The massive onboard fire and the [[generator]] disruptions made the operation much more tricky, but still it was a success. ([[Fire in Space]])

Sometime later, she was also apparently enjoying the partying throughout the fleet, thanks to [[Iblis|Count Iblis]]. However, Iblis was later found to be the [[Prince of Darkness]], destroying the mood of the Fleet. ([[War of the Gods]])

She and Starbuck had a strong steady relationship, enough to cause Starbuck to comment that she was the only person he'd ever actually thought about being [[Sealed]] to when he discussed her to [[Chameleon]]. Cassiopeia, by Starbuck's choosing, ran the genetic testing on both men to see if Chameleon was really Starbuck's father. She informed Chameleon about the results of the test, but he had convinced her not to, reasoning that Starbuck would "throw away everything" just to spend time with him. He did, however, promise her to reveal this fact to Starbuck when he was Sealed. Although dubious about that statement, she revealed nothing and told Starbuck the lie. ([[The Man with Nine Lives]])

She was also a frequent spectator to the [[Triad]] games, noting that she knew the angry look on Starbuck's face when he was ejected from the game because of [[Ortega]]. She later broke up the fight between the two and informed Starbuck brusquely that she would be going back to the Galactica -- with or without him.

Ortega was killed, and Starbuck was the only suspect in the case as his laser was used as the [[termination weapon]]. When things looked grim for Starbuck, she attempted to get him to go with the self-defense plea that [[Solon|Chief Opposer Solon]] proposed. He wouldn't plead it and she was maneuvered into testifying against him for the most part. Fortunately, Starbuck was found innocent of the crime since [[Karibdis]] was revealed to be Ortega's murder. ([[Murder on the Rising Star]])

She was also involved with the mission to retrun [[Michael]] and his group to [[Paradeen]], apparently able to breathe the thin air on the ship for some period of time without a breather. She also assisted in searching for Starbuck when he was lost in the passages under Paradeen's main city. ([[Greetings from Earth]])

When Starbuck discovered [[Aurora]], a previous love interest he thought dead, and he attempted to make some semblance of peace between the two, Cassiopeia took the duckets to the [[Spehroid Concert]] away from him since she "wasn't going alone". However, after the [[Celestra]] situation had been solved and he returned to the battlestar, she revealed that she "knew he would come back". ([[Taking the Celestra]])

She and Starbuck went with Apollo and Sheba up to the [[Celestial Temple]] to "enjoy the view". Instead, she and the others managed to come across an [[Apollo Moon Landing|old signal]], which Apollo believed originated from [[Earth]]. Nothing came of that signal since it was destroyed when the Galactica attacked the base star, much to Cassiopeia's worry and angst. ([[The Hand of God (TOS)]])

By [[The Hand of God (TOS)|The Hand of God]], Sheba and Cassiopeia reconciled their differences, though no one is sure how it had occured.

== Notes ==

The character of Cassiopeia was supposed to be "eaten" by the carnivorous [[Ovions]] of [[Carillon]] in the [[Saga of a Star World|premiere]]. However, since [[Jensen, Maren|Maren Jensen]] ([[Athena (TOS)|Athena]]) lacked a level of acting talent that was painfully obvious, Laurette Spang now found a steady job (at least for a [[yahren]]) as a [[medtech]] onboard the Battlestar Galactica in future episodes.

Cassiopeia only became a medtech by express order of [[ABC]] (American Broadcasting Company), who didn't appreciate that she was a "socialator".

[[Wikipedia:Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]] is also the name of a W-shaped constellation that can be seen in the northern hemisphere, near the star of [[Wikipedia:Polaris|Polaris]] -- the brightest star in [[Wikipedia:Ursa Minor|Ursa Minor]] at the end of the handle of the "[[Wikipedia:little dipper|little dipper]]".

Interestingly enough, "Cassie" -- the character's nickname -- is the name of a [[Wikipedia:Cassie|tropical American thorny shrub/small tree]] with fragrant yellow flowers used in the production of perfumery.
[[Category:A to Z]] [[Category:Characters (TOS)]] [[Category:TOS]]