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Dirty Hands

2007-02-27T11:00:41Z

Mccallin: /* Analysis */

{{Episode Data
| title= Dirty Hands
| image= 3x16-DirtyHands-TyrolSelix.jpg
| season= 3
| episode= 16
| guests=
| writer= [[Anne Cofell Saunders]] [[Jane Espenson]]
| story=
| director= [[Wayne Rose]]
| production= 316
| rating=
| US airdate= 2007-02-25
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| population=41,400
| prev=[[A Day in the Life]]
| next=[[Maelstrom]]
| itunes=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=VWbyALbmqZY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewTVSeason%253Fi%253D215973805%2526id%253D200852806%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30
}}

== Overview ==

: ''Amidst unsafe and harsh conditions in the maintenance and production areas of the Fleet, as well [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s [[My Triumphs, My Mistakes|personal diatribe]] stirring feelings of dissent amongst the working class, Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] must wrestle whether or not to resurrect the worker's union he began on [[New Caprica]].''

== Summary ==
===Teaser===

*A group of deckhands, with Chief [[Galen Tyrol]] at the head, are prepping [[Margaret Edmondson|Racetrack's]] [[Raptor]] for a mission.
*Tyrol reminds [[Anthony Figurski|Figurski]], [[Pollux]] and [[Sanchez]] not to leave as they have to work on additional engine refits. A number of deckhands, one literally missing a hand and using a prosthetic arm, are busy with their work. Complaints about fatigue are deflected by Tyrol.
*Viewers see [[tylium]] fuel, refined from its ore state into a gasoline-like liquified state, being pumped into the Raptor.
*[[Diana Seelix|Seelix]] is returning bags of cleaned laundry to Figurski, Pollux, and [[Redford]]. She's not too happy as, despite high marks on the written exam for [[Viper (RDM)|Viper pilot]] flight training, Seelix has been denied promotion because she was considered to have mission-essential duties and could not be transferred. Pollux is left surprised, believing that others don't want the "knuckledraggers" to rise in rank.
*Tyrol, who heard about the failed promotion from the [[CAG]], apologizes to Seelix. Figurski teases too much about Seelix's fate and her unglamorous laundry work, which causes Seelix to attack Figurski before Chief Tyrol breaks it up. Seelix goes back to laundry delivery, obviously depressed in spite of Tyrol's attempt to have her look at her work on the [[hangar deck]] as critical to the Fleet's safety.
*Racetrack and [[Skulls]], her [[ECO]], launch from the lift from the hangar deck to the port [[flight pod]]. They fly through the motley of civilian ships and begin plotting their course, passing the [[Space Park]], when a malfunction occurs in the reaction control jets and one of the main engines. The vehicle is out of control.
*Racetrack yells for Skulls to sit in the copilot seat and moments later, both eject from the wayward vehicle. The Raptor tumbles on a collision course with ''[[Colonial One]]'' at the same area of the ship where President [[Laura Roslin]] and [[Tory Foster]] are handling their daily business.

=== Act 1 ===
*Admiral [[William Adama]] is assisting President Roslin with moving her office area to another section of ''Colonial One'' while the damaged bulkhead of the ship is repaired. The presidential flagship suffered only a glancing blow from Racetrack's Raptor, but hit with sufficient force to cause a dozen injuries, including to Tory Foster. No one was killed, fortunately.
*When Roslin notes the cramped confines, Adama offers Roslin any of his beds on ''[[Galactica]]''. A moment of humorous silence hangs as Adama realizes the unintended double-meaning and Roslin smiles.
*The two leaders of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] discuss the cause of the Raptor's malfunction. So far, the investigation suggests a fuel contamination problem. Roslin finds the matter unsettling since, before, the refinery ship was always reliable and timely.
*The leaders discuss [[Xeno Fenner]], who has complained about numerous labor-related problems despite the overall significance of the overall survival of humanity. Adama is impatient with Fenner's effectiveness over the last two weeks and wants to get the Fleet back on its path to [[Earth]].
*Roslin, who [[Home, Part II|began the serious quest for Earth]], can't resist teasing Adama, a [[Home, Part I|skeptic about the legends of Earth]] despite his claims of [[Miniseries, Night 2|knowing where it was]]. Adama plays along with Roslin, asking "Have I ever doubted it?"
*Fenner meets with President Roslin and Admiral Adama. Fenner complains of exhaustion, very long shift hours and other problems that go unheeded throughout his operation by the senior staff. Adama reminds Fenner that, because of the backlog of fuel processing and distribution between the ships of the Fleet, they have fuel for maybe one or two [[FTL|jumps]]. Both leaders warn that safety is in danger and that fuel resupply is imperative.
*Fenner questions if intentionally causing a slowdown or other problems with the fuel processing would yield some results.
*When Fenner quotes a passage from an underground book written by [[Gaius Baltar]] to reinforce his case ("If you hear the people, you never have to fear the people") Roslin is incensed by the quote and has the [[marine]]s in the room arrest Fenner.
*Roslin explains to Adama that Baltar's lawyer had snuck out the book, called ''[[My Triumphs, My Mistakes]]'', which has been copied about the Fleet. Roslin and Adama discuss how it is causing class strife throughout the Fleet. A visibly angered Roslin, her voice quieting to almost a whisper in her usual manner when in such a state, says, "I am thinking of having a good old-fashioned book burning."
*In their quarters, the Tyrols are having a meal. [[Cally Tyrol]] adminishes her husband from eating too much, recalling their recovery from [[A Day In The Life|vacuum exposure]] and apparent diet requirements to aid in it.
*The two eventually discuss the recent labor problems. Cally, reciting passages from Baltar's book, notes how work throughout the Fleet is divided by class lines, which also happen to be related to how work was culturally based on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]]. Prosperous colonists from Caprica, Tauron and Virgon were mostly in administrative or professional jobs such as politicians and pilots, while colonists from places such as Gemenon, Sagittaron, and Aerelon, which were agrarian or otherwise raw-material sources, had primarily blue-collar populations. When Galen comments that [[Anastasia Dualla|Lieutenant Dualla]] was from Sagittaron, Cally answers that she was promoted only because of her [[Lee Adama|husband's Caprica status]].
*Chief Tyrol gets a call from Admiral Adama, who tells him of Fenner's arrest for "pissing off the President." Adama orders him to get to the refinery ship and get the fuel supply running. Cally recalls the old union on [[New Caprica]] and that, while the scenery has changed, the people who desired change in then-President Baltar's leadership were still around.
*Roslin visits Gaius Baltar with marine contingent, intent on confiscating any further passages of his clandestine book. She lies to Baltar, telling him that the book was intercepted before it could be mass-produced, and that was dying to read the latest entries. Roslin objects to Baltar's portrayal as a "man of the people" in his book.
*She forces a strip search of Baltar before his [[Cylon-Related Hallucinations|virtual Six]] convinces him to give up the passages to save his dignity.
*Tyrol arrives to investigate the refinery ship's operation and meets with [[Cavett]], who remembers Tyrol's work as the union leader. He shows him a large cavernous room with a single comparatively small pile of tylium in its center. When asked about the amount of tylium available, Cavett notes that the Fleet would be lucky to get out of this system.
*Cavett notes that the ship is as loud as an "A-bomb" when in full production, and as equally safe.
*The conditions are squalid at best, as many workers move the granular tylium through its conversion process from ore to precursor and fuel. The working conditions are less of the problem, as workers are tired and have very little time off. Work is going much too slowly, and Cavett reminds Tyrol of the harsh work schedules that have greatly reduced fuel production.
*The group enters a conveyor area, where many workers appear to be cleaning or making minor repairs. The refining process appears to have stopped. Despite Cavett's pleas, Tyrol asks him to stop up the process. A laborer named [[Milo]] tells Tyrol that the system won't work. When pressed as to the reason, Milo is silent.
*Tyrol looks around to find that several critical pressure relief seals are missing, making the machinery unusable. The workers have intentionally hidden the seals as a protest for Fenner's arrest and an attempt to get improved working conditions.
*Later, on ''Galactica'', Tyrol reports to Admiral Adama and Roslin on his initial investigations on the refinery ship. A search has not turned up the seals. Since the group did not harm him or have contaminated the existing fuel, he believes that the workers are buying time to get their pleas heard.
*He notes that some of the people on the refinery ship have been working almost continuously since the original [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack on the Colonies]] with no chance to transfer or take a break.
*Roslin acknowledges the hard work, but notes that work is equally hard on the algae processing, or munitions or waste processing teams. When Tyrol asks to cede to some labor demands to get things working again, Roslin objects, calling it extortion, and asks for the names of the leaders to put them under arrest, which Tyrol reluctantly notes Cavett. Roslin curtly dismisses Tyrol when he tries to continue his pleas.

===Act 2===
*Tyrol visits Fenner and Cavett. Cavett, who was incarcerated on New Caprica by the Cylons, is experiencing hallucinations and is injuring himself. Tyrol asks for the seals, to Fenner's anger.
*Tyrol yells at both to tell him where, when Fenner relents and tells the location of the seals.
*The seals are replaced. Milo asks to flip the switch. Tyrol asks Milo's age: 12. The production resumes. Tyrol looks around to see many very young faces; many of the refinery workers are children and adolescents.
*On ''Colonial One'', Tyrol explains that the parents are passing down their skills to their children, and that the children are thus automatically stuck in their parent's careers instead of choosing an own path for their future. Roslin understands the problem, and offers to gather a list of colonists with any relevant experience that can be used to supplement the workers on the refinery ship.
*A young man named [[Danny Noon]], pulled from [[Dogsville]], questions Tyrol on the hangar deck on why he is tasked to work on the refinery ship. As Figurski tells Tyrol of the young man's farming experience, Noon denies any actual experience, having worked for one summer for money for college before the Cylon attack on the Colonies. Before Tyrol can consider reassigning the man, Figurski warns that letting the young man go may cause more to deny their experience as well, setting back the conscription process. Tyrol does not interfere.
*As Tyrol walks away, he finds a copy of Baltar's underground manifesto. Turning the page, he notes one page entitled "The Emerging Aristocracy and the Emerging Underclass." He decides to go to Baltar.
*Interviewing Baltar (who now knows that his book has circulated), Tyrol tries to separate fact from fiction. Baltar (now possessing only a mattress on the floor, with no bed frame) explains that he is really born on a dairy farm outside of [[Cuffle's Breath Wash]] on Aerelon. When Tyrol questions further, particularly Baltar's posh accent, Baltar explains (as he begins to speak in his native Aerelon voice) that he began to mimic Caprican speech starting at 10 years old so that people would not believe he was from Aerelon, a "drab, ugly rock condemned to be the food basket for the twelve worlds." Baltar left Aerelon after his 18th birthday.
*When Tyrol indicates that the strife was left on the Colonies and begins to leave the [[brig]], Baltar disagrees, indicating that the social strife has followed the people, and that the aristocracy will continue to hold on to their power.

===Act 3===
*The fresh labor on the refinery ship is helping and tylium ore is again being refined, per Fenner. He notes that some problems in the process was where the contaminants were accumulating and that work is being done to clean up the process.
*A malfunction occurs on the refinery ship conveyor, but Fenner warns that the belt has to be repaired while running, else, shutting it down will seize the whole system. Worse, not fixing the problem soon could cause an explosive chain reaction with the ore stuck in the system.
*Tyrol tries to get the problem part, but can't reach it. Danny Noon manages to reach underneath to restore the belt to operation but suffers a piercing injury as he exits from under the belt.
*Watching this suffering becomes too much for Tyrol. He slowly walks over to the belt systems main power levers and pulls them, shutting down the entire fuel operation. He tells everyone that the plant is offline and that the workers are on strike.
*Several pilots, including [[Kara Thrace]], are trying to get a flight, but Pollux tells them that they are on strike, and that only vital missions are being serviced.
*Chief Tyrol is arrested in placed in ''Galactica's'' brig. Admiral Adama tells him that the Colonial Fleet shoots mutineers like Tyrol and the deckhands.

===Act 4===
*Tyrol tries to explain his side, but Adama warns that no one on this ship can disobey orders. To prove how far he will go, he makes a phone call.
*Adama orders Cally Tyrol to be taken to the starboard hangar deck. When the Chief asks why, Adama tells him he is taking her there to be shot as a mutineer. He then states that he will continue with the executions, starting with the rebellious deck crew, if he has to.
*Tyrol is terrified, but Adama continues to elaborate: Orders, no matter how one feels about them, must be adhered to. If even one person hesitates to fulfill an order or feels that orders are optional, everyone will perish, including Tyrol's [[Nicholas Tyrol|son]]. Adama tells him that this is not his desire, but that he would put ten Callys against the wall to be shot to ensure the survival of the Fleet.
*Tyrol resigns. Adama releases him and lets him speak to Cally, who mistakenly believes that Tyrol has won. Adama releases her. Adama releases the Chief as well, reminding him that he wanted to speak with the President on the labor issues.
*On ''Colonial One'', Tyrol and President Roslin talk over drinks about the cultural vocations that some colonists are locked into by birth, which Roslin understands but cannot see how to change. Tyrol suggests a plan where other colonists, including professional types who inhabit ''Colonial One,'' get their hands dirty with many tasks, allowing some sharing of low-level chores. For high-stress jobs, Tyrol recommends that crew rotations are recommended. Roslin agrees.
*Tyrol recommends a training program, but Roslin defers it and wants Tyrol's union to give some ground in collective bargaining. When Tyrol is confused about the mention of a union he believed long gone, Roslin explains the necessity of the union and his leadership to ensure that the Fleet doesn't tear itself apart.
*Later, back on the hangar deck, Chief Tyrol is announcing work assignments when Captain Thrace arrives to complain about a missing [[nugget]] who did not report for training. She asks for Diana Seelix, who is both visibly confused and excited.
* After berating Seelix for not checking the duty roster to see where she should have reported, Thrace then tells her that she is "out of uniform". Tyrol, in on the ruse, states that he can fix that part of the problem and presents Seelix with ensign pins, promoting her to the basic officer's rank needed to train as a pilot.
*Thrace continues to play the nasty drill officer and orders the smiling Seelix off to the pilots ready room. Thrace herself cracks a smile as Tyrol asks her to "be nice" to her new recruit.

===Bonus Scene===
*Chief Tyrol has finished sorting out a handful of children who were mistakenly picked in the pool of conscripts to aid on the refinery ship. He returns to his quarters to pick up some paperwork.
*Cally Tyrol notes that most of the conscripts are from poor colonies, and that the work involved actually doesn't involve any genuine skills. She noticed that no one from ''Colonial One'' was in the list of conscripts.
*Galen berates Cally for what he feels is yet another recitation from Gaius Baltar's book. He warns her that, if he pushes too hard with the Fleet's leadership, they may pull him off of the assignment of assigning conscripts, where someone like Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] may be ordered to manage, with more dire results for everyone.
*Cally tries to encourage her husband to continue fighting for the rights of the workers as he did as the union leader on [[New Caprica]]. As she continues to press for his support, he tells her that the New Caprica union is over and leaves without further discussion.

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

== Analysis ==
* Not having any real options for defending his actions during the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, Baltar has opted to use class warfare as a distraction from the real issues and to drum up support as a victim of "the aristocracy". His booklet appears to inspired by classic Marxist/Leninist rhetoric. Historically, such approaches to political change and power are most effective when conditions are unacceptable and dangerous for large numbers of workers.
* However, it is worth remembering that, historically, revolutions rarely take place at the worst of times. They usually occur in periods just after testing or trying times. If 'Galactica's' writers have done their jobs well, and if Tyrol's efforts lead to better working conditions and a more equitable sharing of burdens, then we might be in for more civil unrest. This unrest will likely occur or coincide with Baltar's trial. A true revolutionary, like Tom Zarek, who is also an astute observer of political and popular trends, will know this, and might explain why he was so upset at Roslin's decision to try Baltar. It also calls into question his absence during this episode. He would have been perfect to run point on these issues for the administration.
* Baltar's actions and attitudes reflect a great deal of hypocrisy and self loathing. One one hand he is the ultimate aristocrat, living luxuriously with many expensive vices with an affected accent, and on the other hand he appears to hold the upper class in as much contempt as the working class people he grew up with. His words condemn the life and people he knew as he grew up, casting those people in the light of being nothing more than ignorant drunks and barroom brawlers that "worked with their hands", and he did everything he could to make sure that he was never actually identified with his roots.
* Adama's explanation and pending orders to execute Cally and the rest of the knuckledraggers to force Tyrol to call off the strike is reminiscent of the style of leadership found with Admiral Cain. However, once Tyrol relented and called off the strike, Adama immediately displayed his familiar style of leadership by informing Tyrol of his meeting with Roslin.
* This is the first time that an emergency cockpit ejection from a Raptor is shown during the series.
* Ever since her murder of Boomer and following detention and eventual release, Cally has displayed an attitude of disrespect towards the Fleet leadership, especially to Adama recently. Her recent demeanor and naive assumption that Adama would not do anything more than arrest the strikers may highlight a growing problem amongst the military workers that are beginning to dissent from the leadership.
* This episode, as well as "[[The Woman King]]" display an ongoing theme since Season 2 that focuses on how human beings are self-destructive by nature without any Cylon intervention. As was stated in "[[A Day In The Life]]", the Fleet hadn't encountered any Cylon forces for approximately 2 months. This state of complacency has allowed the typical in-fighting amongst the colonials to resume, especially with the depreciating state of quality of life amongst the ships in the fleet.

== Notes ==

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

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''[[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] talking to [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] about his [[My_Triumphs%2C_My_Mistakes|Book:]]''
: '''Baltar''': I don't sound like I'm from [[Aerelon|Aerelon]]?
: '''Tyrol''': No
: '''Baltar''': Well you know I take that as a particular complement. I don't know about you, but I've always found the Aerelon dialact to be particularly hard on the ears.
:''Baltar begins speaking with an Aerelon accent''
: '''Baltar''': Something about the consonates that scrape the back of the throat. Course I should know an awful lot about my native tongue, I spent hours on it in trying to overcome it. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a ten year old boy to change the way he speaks? To unlearn everything he ever learned, so that one day, one day there might be the small hope that he might be considered as not commin' from Aerelon.
:''Baltar speaks with his usual accent''
: '''Baltar''': Maybe I don't know, Caprica... Caprica... oh to be Caprican, the seat of politics, culture, art, science, learning. And what was Aerelon, just a drab ugly rock condemned to be the food basket for the twelve worlds, and thats how we were treated, like servants, like labourers, like working-class. You know you would have fitted right in there Chief, lots of men who like to work with their hands, and uh, grab a pint down at the pub and...
:''Baltar again speaks with his Aerelon accent''
: '''Baltar''': ...finish off the evenin' with a good old fashioned fight.
:''Baltar returns to speaking as he normally does''
: '''Baltar''': Oh yes, I left Aerelon after my eighteenth birthday, I turned my back on my family, my heritage, all of them, of course it doesn't matter though, they're all dead now...

== Official Statements ==
Jane Espenson, in an interview with tvsquad.com, made the following remark: "The episode, co-written with Anne Cofell Saunders, is called 'Dirty Hands,' and as you might guess, it's a look at the people who do the dirty work in the fleet. Knuckle-dragging fun!" <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/06/jane-espenson-answers-your-battlestar-questions/|title=TV Squad: Jane Espenson answers your Battlestar questions|date=6 December 2006|accessdate=11 December 2006|last=McDuffee|first=Keith|format=|language=English}}</ref>

== Guest Stars ==
*[[David Patrick Green]] as [[Xeno Fenner]]

== External Links ==

== References ==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

{{Episode list (RDM season 3)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Anne Cofell Saunders]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jane Espenson]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Wayne Rose]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Dirty Hands

2007-02-27T10:58:03Z

Mccallin: /* Analysis */

The Captain's Hand

2006-06-12T08:42:53Z

Mccallin: /* Analysis */

{{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=[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]
| Writer=[[Jeff Vlaming]]
| Story=
| Director=[[Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]
| Production=
| Rating= 1.7
| US Airdate= February 17 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population= 49,584
| Prev= [[Sacrifice]]
| Next= [[Downloaded]]
}}

== Overview ==

:''When two Raptors go missing after a training mission, new ''Pegasus'' commander [[Barry Garner]] challenges Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]]'s orders by sending his battlestar directly into the rescue zone — and a trap.''

== Summary ==
*Two [[Raptor|Raptors]] begin a training mission outside [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']], which is near a [[Wikipedia:Binary star system|binary star]] that causes [[Dradis|DRADIS]] and communications interference. Shortly after, contact with the Raptors is lost.

*On ''[[Galactica]]'', [[Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, Chief Tyrol finds a pregnant teenager inside who asks for [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]].

*[[Lee Adama]], now promoted to Major, arrives as acting [[Executive officer|XO]] on the [[Mercury class battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where he runs into [[Kara Thrace]]. Both report to Commander Garner in ''Pegasus''' [[CIC]]. Garner argues with now-Captain Thrace over the disappearance of the Raptors.

*[[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]] and 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 and that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', [[Laura_Roslin|President Roslin]] is hounded by her new aide, [[Tory Foster]], about preparing for the coming election. Elsewhere, [[Tom Zarek]] discusses the idea of presidency. He concedes he's not able to garner support, but is willing to support someone more popular: [[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]].

*Back on ''Galactica'', Dr. [[Cottle]] & Admiral Adama discuss the fate of the young woman found in the container, [[Rya Kibby]]. Kibby mentions the fact that she doesn't want to keep the baby, but Admiral Adama (on request from the Gemenese delegate) is intent on sending her back to her family. Dr. Cottle suggests that she request asylum aboard ''Galactica''.

*News of Rya Kibby's asylum request raises a stir throughout the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] discusses the issue with Admiral Adama, Tory Foster, and Delegate [[Sarah_Porter|Sarah Porter]] from [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Gemonon|Gemenon]]. Delegate Porter states that abortion is a obscenity and demands that the girl be returned to her parents. Afterwards, President Roslin mentions she's not willing to even consider the idea of abortion in general, having fought for a woman's right to control her body for her entire career, but Admiral Adama reminds her that their population must increase in order to survive.

*While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] discovers the reason for the missing Raptors may be that they responded to a distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory. Additional search parties learn of the distress call that lured the first Raptors away. Commander Garner decides to start preparing the Pegasus for a Jump.

*Over [[wireless]], [[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]], Major Adama, and [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]] discuss the missing Raptor situation. Commander Garner feels that ''Pegasus'' should [[FTL|Jump]] to bring home the missing crews and ships, while the Admiral and Major believe it may be a trap and orders a 5-Raptor recon mission to ascertain the training mission's fate.

*Garner orders a Jump despite Admiral Adama's orders. [[SAR]] Raptors at the rescue site find both Raptors, but the crews are dead. At that moment, three [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] ambush ''Pegasus'' with conventional and nuclear missile barrages seconds after their arrival.

*''Pegasus''' [[FTL]] drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the FTL failure's cause from CIC., but the Engineering crew are confused from the attack. Commander Garner heads down to Engineering to assess the damage, and transfers command of ''Pegasus'' to Major Adama. Adama orders ''Pegasus'' to target one of the Basestars with its forward batteries, severely damaging the basestar and buying them more time.

*Garner's successful repair of their FTL system allows ''Pegasus'' to escape. Commander Garner, however, dies in the process due to lack of oxygen.

*In [[William Adama|Admiral Adama's]] quarters, the Admiral and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] review the reports from the incident on ''Pegasus''. After discussing the late Pegasus commander, the Admiral offers his son the job of commanding ''Pegasus'', along with a promotion to Commander.

*[[Gaius Baltar]] proclaims his candidacy for President of the Colonies in the Presidential election in the midst of a press conference called by [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] regarding abortion in the Fleet.

== Questions ==
*Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.
**Given that Cottle is the only real doctor left in the fleet, Adama may be hesitant to take such an action.
***This idea is supported by Cottle's behavior toward officers: Adama is the only one to whom he shows even marginal respect.
**Are there no doctors on Pegasus? If Cain had a large civilian fleet to recruit from, it is likely that she would have drafted some doctors into service.
*Was Baltar's report real, or was it just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
**With the constant Cylon attacks to the Fleet (barring the unexpected return of ''Pegasus'') the population 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, under Colonial law, 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 against her.
***If Colonial law works similarly to American political protocol, Baltar was elected in his own right. For example, George Bush cannot force Dick Cheney to resign, only Mr. Cheney himself can elect to resign. Interestingly, 204 years ago, US President John Adams faced a similar situation: His own Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson, plotted Adams' political downfall.
*How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign?
**It is likely that Zarek hopes to become Vice President himself.
***Does Zarek plan to have Baltar killed, as per his plan in "[[Colonial Day]]"?
****Zarek actually seems willing to make a beneficial alliance with Baltar, which Roslin would never agree to.
****Baltar may be a political novice but he's no fool; he would spot that a mile away. In fact, Baltar specifically asks Zarek what he (Zarek) would want in return. Zarek gave a diplomatic answer rather than openly ask for the VP slot.
*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.
*What will happen to Rya now that she has 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?
**No. Colonel [[Jack Fisk]] was promoted to Commander of ''Pegasus'' before his death. It appears to be something of a rank nomenclature formality, as Garner was promoted up from being head of engineering. Compare to the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Captain established terminology convention] on ''Star Trek'' for always referring to the commanding officer of a ship as "Captain", even if that officer does not hold that specific rank.
***The use of "captain" is done in real life as well. In the US Navy, a person in the command of a vessel is referred to as "Captain" even if his actual rank is Lieutenant Commander, Ensign or even if he/she is a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).
*Had Garner been serving as XO to ''Pegasus's'' previous commander, the late [[Jack Fisk]]?
*Does the fact that the Cylons had such a large force waiting to ambush ''Pegasus'' indicate that they have a new [[Resurrection Ship]] in place?
**Given that there were three basestars in wait, it is more likely that the Cylons opted on surprise and sheer numbers to succeed. Still, ''Pegasus'' caused one basestar to retreat, despite being outnumbered. It is likely that the ''lack'' of a Resurrection Ship resulted in the basestar's retreat.
**Before, the Cylons were confident in making a frontal assault on a battlestar with a single basestar, in "[[Scattered]]", etc. They are markedly ''less'' confident now.
*How does the double layer flight pod system on ''Pegasus'' operate? Just before the battlestar jumps away from the ambush, there is a short sequence of Vipers returning to the ship that shows them landing on two distinct levels of the flight pod, with Vipers landing on the lower level being upside down with respect to ''Pegasus''. Both the Colonials and Cylons obviously have some form of artificial gravity on their spacecraft, so this explains why such an arrangement is possible.
**For more on the use of artificial gravity, see the article, [[Science in the Re-imagined Series]].
*How could abortion be legal and established throughout the colonies despite being against the religious views of at least one planet? Was it introduced only recently?
**Abortion may have been illegal or tightly-curtailed on that one planet. How much power did the Colonial political structure give to individual planets or smaller geographic areas?
***On present day Earth, there are several countries which have legalized abortion despite having internal regions/cultural subgroups which frown upon it. The Twelve Colonies were ruled by a federal system, not a loose confederation adhering to principles of States' Rights, etc.; the majority view in the federal government could probably enforce such laws on member worlds.
*What kind of equipment is available to fix small breaches such as the one in the "Pegasus" Engine room?
** [[Helo]] uses a hand-held pressure pad to seal a minor breach in the damaged Raptor during the [[Miniseries]] right after he receives his leg wound. Would such a device not help here?
***Maybe not all hull breaches are small enough to fix that way.
***There may not have been time to patch it, the ship was under heavy fire and could be destroyed at any moment; Restoring the FTL drive was the priority.
*Now that Lee Adama is commanding Pegasus, who does he have for an XO since it is apparent both battlestars are short field grade officers? Does he elevate Stinger to XO, or does he bring someone from Galactica?

== Analysis ==
*When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This action runs in parallel to 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.
*Based on the ''[[Colonial One]]'' whiteboard seen toward the end of the episode, only five people died as a result of the ambush on ''Pegasus'': [[Richard Bayer|Richard "Buster" Bayer]], [[Lyla Ellway|Lyla "Shark" Ellway]], the unnamed crew of [[Raptor 314]], and Commander [[Barry Garner]].
* It seems clear now that the Cylons are again shadowing the fleet. They are doing so accurately enough to vector three basestars onto ''Pegasus''. Why do they not attack the fleet itself? The trap for Pegasus was somewhat laborious. This returns us to theories that the Cylons want the fleet to survive, even with ''Galactica'', but that the arrival of ''Pegasus'' throws some of their calculations out.
**This casualty figure is conspicuously low, considering that ''Galactica'' lost 85 crewmen as the result of a hit by a single nuclear missile in the [[miniseries]], while ''Pegasus'' is hit with no less than three in this episode.
**On the other hand, it is at least consistent with the surprisingly low number of casualties incurred in the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], and may indicate that the hull armor on ''Pegasus'' is significantly stronger than on ''Galactica'', which has many conspicuously bare structural ribs.
**A large number of the casualties ''Galactica'' incurred were due to the firefighting crews failure to use breathing gear when Tigh ordered the flight pod vented. However, based on dialogue in this episode, it appears that the ''Pegasus'' firefighting teams did take this precaution.
*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'']]), to Commander and CO of [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']] in the wake of Commander [[Barry Garner|Barry Garner's]] death saving his ship.
**Major Adama's duty was intended as a temporary stint as ''Pegasus'' acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer. In the opening scene, he tells [[Anastasia Dualla]] that he expects to return to ''Galactica'' "in a couple of weeks".
*Garner's decision to mount a rescue operation in contravention of his commanding officer's orders is an explicit parallel to "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", down to the choice of words:
:'''Adama:''' "I'm getting my men."
:'''Garner:''' "I'm going to get our men."
*Kara Thrace's posting is finally clarified in this episode: she is now serving as CAG on ''[[Galactica]]''.
**She was transferred to ''Pegasus'' in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and then promoted to that ship's CAG over [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]". In "[[Epiphanies]]", it is made clear that Lee Adama regained his posting as ''Galactica's'' CAG. In "[[Epiphanies]]", Thrace is seen piloting one of ''Galactica's'' Mk. II Vipers with Kat; in "[[Scar]]" she is serving on Galactica, and appears to have assumed the majority of Adama's responsibilities as CAG, although she still takes orders from him.
**During this episode it's mentioned that she's only been on board ''Pegasus'' for four days before getting thrown in the brig, so clearly she isn't ''Pegasus's'' CAG any longer. Thus, despite the great esteem Cain held her in (she was the second speaker at Cain's funeral, after Jack Fisk), it seems clear that she was removed from her position on ''Pegasus'' sometime after Cain's death.
*Although there's no clear evidence of this, it's nice to imagine that when Admiral Adama promoted his son to Commander, he gave Lee his old Commander rank insignia.

== Notes ==
*Timeline-wise, Baltar says that he made an initial projection of the fleet's population "over seven months ago". This would have been before the arrival of ''Pegasus'', since he said he factored in the arrival of her crew subsequently.
*Baltar states that he added the crew of the ''Pegasus'' into his calculations, with the result of the end of the human race within 18 years at current attrition rates.
*It has been "almost a month" since Apollo was shot in "[[Sacrifice]]".
*The recap at the beginning of this episode includes two scenes that did not actually appear in any previous episode, but were constructed by redubbing existing footage.
**The scene where Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama discuss Garner's promotion is constructed from the scene in "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to ''Pegasus'' on the hangar deck. The scene has been cleverly 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''.
**The same technique is used when Baltar is talking to Gina: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear [[Gina]] saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "[[Epiphanies]]".
*Capt. [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] is still onboard ''Pegasus'', mentioned by Capt. Thrace as being in the brig for insubordination.
*The adjectival form of "Gemenon" is "Gemenese".
*Under Gemenese law, minors are the "property" of their parents.
*[[Mercury class battlestar]]s do not need to retract their flight pods prior to a jump, unlike the [[Galactica type battlestar|Galactica type]].
*The coolant pressure gauges on ''Pegasus'' measure in PSI, presumably [[Wikipedia:Pound-force per square inch|Pound-force per square inch]]. This is consistent with the use of customary units on the Viper Mk. II's [[Altimeter]], seen in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
*This is the fourth episode of the season in which [[Grace Park]] has not appeared as [[Sharon Valerii]].
*Writer Jeff Vlaming references [[Wikipedia:William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s "[[Wikipedia:The Merchant of Venice|The Merchant of Venice]]" when he has [[Laura Roslin]] tell [[Quorum of Twelve]] delegate [[Sarah Porter]], "you have your pound of flesh".
*Sharon warned Admiral Adama in the previous episode, "[[Sacrifice]]", that the Cylons might try to lay ambushes near some pulsar stars ahead of their position, due to DRADIS interference.
*Based on the promo images for the episodes, it appears that in a deleted scene, Rya tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills when she was told she couldn't have an abortion, and she had to be resuscitated.
*This episode had the lowest [[Wikipedia:Nielsen Ratings|Nielsen Ratings]] figure that an episode of the Re-Imagined Series ever received, although the episode was well-received by critics.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Following the Cylon ambush of '''Pegasus''' and the death of Commander Garner''
:'''[[William Adama|Admiral Adama]]''': In your opinion, off the record, what was Garner's flaw?
:'''[[Lee Adama|Major Lee Adama]]''': He was used to working with machines. Command is about people.
:'''Admiral Adama''': Remember that, as you take command of "The Beast" ([[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']]). Garner was my decision; His failures, my responsibility. Don't let me fail a second time. Congratulations, Commander.

*Responding to President Roslin's decision to criminalize abortion:
:'''[[Gaius Baltar|Vice-President Baltar]]''': It is true in the light of recent events, the President may have lost support in some quarters. I would ask the people to understand that if this is an extreme decision, we live in extreme times. The decision has been made with good faith. I, however, cannot with good conscience support it. I am so sorry, Madame President, but the Cylon have no understanding the meaning of the word "freedom". How could they? They're programmed...machines. Every time you take away one of our freedoms, every time we restrict or curtail one of our rights, we become one step closer to being like them. As the Vice-President, I am bound to follow the administration's lead; As President, I should have no such strictures. Given the current situation, I'm afraid that I have no alternative but to announce that I am, as of now, a candidate for the Presidency.

=== Guest Stars ===

*[[IMDB:nm0001334|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

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)|Captain's Hand, the]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]

The Captain's Hand

2006-06-12T08:41:55Z

Mccallin: /* Analysis */

{{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=[[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]
| Writer=[[Jeff Vlaming]]
| Story=
| Director=[[Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]
| Production=
| Rating= 1.7
| US Airdate= February 17 2006
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=
| Population= 49,584
| Prev= [[Sacrifice]]
| Next= [[Downloaded]]
}}

== Overview ==

:''When two Raptors go missing after a training mission, new ''Pegasus'' commander [[Barry Garner]] challenges Admiral [[William Adama|Adama]]'s orders by sending his battlestar directly into the rescue zone — and a trap.''

== Summary ==
*Two [[Raptor|Raptors]] begin a training mission outside [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']], which is near a [[Wikipedia:Binary star system|binary star]] that causes [[Dradis|DRADIS]] and communications interference. Shortly after, contact with the Raptors is lost.

*On ''[[Galactica]]'', [[Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, Chief Tyrol finds a pregnant teenager inside who asks for [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]].

*[[Lee Adama]], now promoted to Major, arrives as acting [[Executive officer|XO]] on the [[Mercury class battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', where he runs into [[Kara Thrace]]. Both report to Commander Garner in ''Pegasus''' [[CIC]]. Garner argues with now-Captain Thrace over the disappearance of the Raptors.

*[[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]] and 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 and that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

*On ''[[Colonial One]]'', [[Laura_Roslin|President Roslin]] is hounded by her new aide, [[Tory Foster]], about preparing for the coming election. Elsewhere, [[Tom Zarek]] discusses the idea of presidency. He concedes he's not able to garner support, but is willing to support someone more popular: [[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]].

*Back on ''Galactica'', Dr. [[Cottle]] & Admiral Adama discuss the fate of the young woman found in the container, [[Rya Kibby]]. Kibby mentions the fact that she doesn't want to keep the baby, but Admiral Adama (on request from the Gemenese delegate) is intent on sending her back to her family. Dr. Cottle suggests that she request asylum aboard ''Galactica''.

*News of Rya Kibby's asylum request raises a stir throughout the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] discusses the issue with Admiral Adama, Tory Foster, and Delegate [[Sarah_Porter|Sarah Porter]] from [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Gemonon|Gemenon]]. Delegate Porter states that abortion is a obscenity and demands that the girl be returned to her parents. Afterwards, President Roslin mentions she's not willing to even consider the idea of abortion in general, having fought for a woman's right to control her body for her entire career, but Admiral Adama reminds her that their population must increase in order to survive.

*While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] discovers the reason for the missing Raptors may be that they responded to a distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory. Additional search parties learn of the distress call that lured the first Raptors away. Commander Garner decides to start preparing the Pegasus for a Jump.

*Over [[wireless]], [[Barry Garner|Commander Garner]], Major Adama, and [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]] discuss the missing Raptor situation. Commander Garner feels that ''Pegasus'' should [[FTL|Jump]] to bring home the missing crews and ships, while the Admiral and Major believe it may be a trap and orders a 5-Raptor recon mission to ascertain the training mission's fate.

*Garner orders a Jump despite Admiral Adama's orders. [[SAR]] Raptors at the rescue site find both Raptors, but the crews are dead. At that moment, three [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] ambush ''Pegasus'' with conventional and nuclear missile barrages seconds after their arrival.

*''Pegasus''' [[FTL]] drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the FTL failure's cause from CIC., but the Engineering crew are confused from the attack. Commander Garner heads down to Engineering to assess the damage, and transfers command of ''Pegasus'' to Major Adama. Adama orders ''Pegasus'' to target one of the Basestars with its forward batteries, severely damaging the basestar and buying them more time.

*Garner's successful repair of their FTL system allows ''Pegasus'' to escape. Commander Garner, however, dies in the process due to lack of oxygen.

*In [[William Adama|Admiral Adama's]] quarters, the Admiral and [[Lee Adama|Major Adama]] review the reports from the incident on ''Pegasus''. After discussing the late Pegasus commander, the Admiral offers his son the job of commanding ''Pegasus'', along with a promotion to Commander.

*[[Gaius Baltar]] proclaims his candidacy for President of the Colonies in the Presidential election in the midst of a press conference called by [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] regarding abortion in the Fleet.

== Questions ==
*Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.
**Given that Cottle is the only real doctor left in the fleet, Adama may be hesitant to take such an action.
***This idea is supported by Cottle's behavior toward officers: Adama is the only one to whom he shows even marginal respect.
**Are there no doctors on Pegasus? If Cain had a large civilian fleet to recruit from, it is likely that she would have drafted some doctors into service.
*Was Baltar's report real, or was it just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
**With the constant Cylon attacks to the Fleet (barring the unexpected return of ''Pegasus'') the population 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, under Colonial law, 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 against her.
***If Colonial law works similarly to American political protocol, Baltar was elected in his own right. For example, George Bush cannot force Dick Cheney to resign, only Mr. Cheney himself can elect to resign. Interestingly, 204 years ago, US President John Adams faced a similar situation: His own Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson, plotted Adams' political downfall.
*How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign?
**It is likely that Zarek hopes to become Vice President himself.
***Does Zarek plan to have Baltar killed, as per his plan in "[[Colonial Day]]"?
****Zarek actually seems willing to make a beneficial alliance with Baltar, which Roslin would never agree to.
****Baltar may be a political novice but he's no fool; he would spot that a mile away. In fact, Baltar specifically asks Zarek what he (Zarek) would want in return. Zarek gave a diplomatic answer rather than openly ask for the VP slot.
*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.
*What will happen to Rya now that she has 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?
**No. Colonel [[Jack Fisk]] was promoted to Commander of ''Pegasus'' before his death. It appears to be something of a rank nomenclature formality, as Garner was promoted up from being head of engineering. Compare to the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Captain established terminology convention] on ''Star Trek'' for always referring to the commanding officer of a ship as "Captain", even if that officer does not hold that specific rank.
***The use of "captain" is done in real life as well. In the US Navy, a person in the command of a vessel is referred to as "Captain" even if his actual rank is Lieutenant Commander, Ensign or even if he/she is a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).
*Had Garner been serving as XO to ''Pegasus's'' previous commander, the late [[Jack Fisk]]?
*Does the fact that the Cylons had such a large force waiting to ambush ''Pegasus'' indicate that they have a new [[Resurrection Ship]] in place?
**Given that there were three basestars in wait, it is more likely that the Cylons opted on surprise and sheer numbers to succeed. Still, ''Pegasus'' caused one basestar to retreat, despite being outnumbered. It is likely that the ''lack'' of a Resurrection Ship resulted in the basestar's retreat.
**Before, the Cylons were confident in making a frontal assault on a battlestar with a single basestar, in "[[Scattered]]", etc. They are markedly ''less'' confident now.
*How does the double layer flight pod system on ''Pegasus'' operate? Just before the battlestar jumps away from the ambush, there is a short sequence of Vipers returning to the ship that shows them landing on two distinct levels of the flight pod, with Vipers landing on the lower level being upside down with respect to ''Pegasus''. Both the Colonials and Cylons obviously have some form of artificial gravity on their spacecraft, so this explains why such an arrangement is possible.
**For more on the use of artificial gravity, see the article, [[Science in the Re-imagined Series]].
*How could abortion be legal and established throughout the colonies despite being against the religious views of at least one planet? Was it introduced only recently?
**Abortion may have been illegal or tightly-curtailed on that one planet. How much power did the Colonial political structure give to individual planets or smaller geographic areas?
***On present day Earth, there are several countries which have legalized abortion despite having internal regions/cultural subgroups which frown upon it. The Twelve Colonies were ruled by a federal system, not a loose confederation adhering to principles of States' Rights, etc.; the majority view in the federal government could probably enforce such laws on member worlds.
*What kind of equipment is available to fix small breaches such as the one in the "Pegasus" Engine room?
** [[Helo]] uses a hand-held pressure pad to seal a minor breach in the damaged Raptor during the [[Miniseries]] right after he receives his leg wound. Would such a device not help here?
***Maybe not all hull breaches are small enough to fix that way.
***There may not have been time to patch it, the ship was under heavy fire and could be destroyed at any moment; Restoring the FTL drive was the priority.
*Now that Lee Adama is commanding Pegasus, who does he have for an XO since it is apparent both battlestars are short field grade officers? Does he elevate Stinger to XO, or does he bring someone from Galactica?

== Analysis ==
*When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This action runs in parallel to 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.
*Based on the ''[[Colonial One]]'' whiteboard seen toward the end of the episode, only five people died as a result of the ambush on ''Pegasus'': [[Richard Bayer|Richard "Buster" Bayer]], [[Lyla Ellway|Lyla "Shark" Ellway]], the unnamed crew of [[Raptor 314]], and Commander [[Barry Garner]].
* It seems clear now that the Cylons are again shadowing the fleet. They are doing so accurately enough to vector three basestars onto Pegasus. Why do they not attack the fleet itself? The trap for Pegasus was somewhat laborious. This returns us to theories that the Cylons want the fleet to survive, even with Galactica, but that the arrival of Pegasus throws some of their calculations out.
**This casualty figure is conspicuously low, considering that ''Galactica'' lost 85 crewmen as the result of a hit by a single nuclear missile in the [[miniseries]], while ''Pegasus'' is hit with no less than three in this episode.
**On the other hand, it is at least consistent with the surprisingly low number of casualties incurred in the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], and may indicate that the hull armor on ''Pegasus'' is significantly stronger than on ''Galactica'', which has many conspicuously bare structural ribs.
**A large number of the casualties ''Galactica'' incurred were due to the firefighting crews failure to use breathing gear when Tigh ordered the flight pod vented. However, based on dialogue in this episode, it appears that the ''Pegasus'' firefighting teams did take this precaution.
*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'']]), to Commander and CO of [[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']] in the wake of Commander [[Barry Garner|Barry Garner's]] death saving his ship.
**Major Adama's duty was intended as a temporary stint as ''Pegasus'' acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer. In the opening scene, he tells [[Anastasia Dualla]] that he expects to return to ''Galactica'' "in a couple of weeks".
*Garner's decision to mount a rescue operation in contravention of his commanding officer's orders is an explicit parallel to "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", down to the choice of words:
:'''Adama:''' "I'm getting my men."
:'''Garner:''' "I'm going to get our men."
*Kara Thrace's posting is finally clarified in this episode: she is now serving as CAG on ''[[Galactica]]''.
**She was transferred to ''Pegasus'' in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]" and then promoted to that ship's CAG over [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]". In "[[Epiphanies]]", it is made clear that Lee Adama regained his posting as ''Galactica's'' CAG. In "[[Epiphanies]]", Thrace is seen piloting one of ''Galactica's'' Mk. II Vipers with Kat; in "[[Scar]]" she is serving on Galactica, and appears to have assumed the majority of Adama's responsibilities as CAG, although she still takes orders from him.
**During this episode it's mentioned that she's only been on board ''Pegasus'' for four days before getting thrown in the brig, so clearly she isn't ''Pegasus's'' CAG any longer. Thus, despite the great esteem Cain held her in (she was the second speaker at Cain's funeral, after Jack Fisk), it seems clear that she was removed from her position on ''Pegasus'' sometime after Cain's death.
*Although there's no clear evidence of this, it's nice to imagine that when Admiral Adama promoted his son to Commander, he gave Lee his old Commander rank insignia.

== Notes ==
*Timeline-wise, Baltar says that he made an initial projection of the fleet's population "over seven months ago". This would have been before the arrival of ''Pegasus'', since he said he factored in the arrival of her crew subsequently.
*Baltar states that he added the crew of the ''Pegasus'' into his calculations, with the result of the end of the human race within 18 years at current attrition rates.
*It has been "almost a month" since Apollo was shot in "[[Sacrifice]]".
*The recap at the beginning of this episode includes two scenes that did not actually appear in any previous episode, but were constructed by redubbing existing footage.
**The scene where Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama discuss Garner's promotion is constructed from the scene in "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to ''Pegasus'' on the hangar deck. The scene has been cleverly 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''.
**The same technique is used when Baltar is talking to Gina: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear [[Gina]] saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "[[Epiphanies]]".
*Capt. [[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]] is still onboard ''Pegasus'', mentioned by Capt. Thrace as being in the brig for insubordination.
*The adjectival form of "Gemenon" is "Gemenese".
*Under Gemenese law, minors are the "property" of their parents.
*[[Mercury class battlestar]]s do not need to retract their flight pods prior to a jump, unlike the [[Galactica type battlestar|Galactica type]].
*The coolant pressure gauges on ''Pegasus'' measure in PSI, presumably [[Wikipedia:Pound-force per square inch|Pound-force per square inch]]. This is consistent with the use of customary units on the Viper Mk. II's [[Altimeter]], seen in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
*This is the fourth episode of the season in which [[Grace Park]] has not appeared as [[Sharon Valerii]].
*Writer Jeff Vlaming references [[Wikipedia:William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s "[[Wikipedia:The Merchant of Venice|The Merchant of Venice]]" when he has [[Laura Roslin]] tell [[Quorum of Twelve]] delegate [[Sarah Porter]], "you have your pound of flesh".
*Sharon warned Admiral Adama in the previous episode, "[[Sacrifice]]", that the Cylons might try to lay ambushes near some pulsar stars ahead of their position, due to DRADIS interference.
*Based on the promo images for the episodes, it appears that in a deleted scene, Rya tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills when she was told she couldn't have an abortion, and she had to be resuscitated.
*This episode had the lowest [[Wikipedia:Nielsen Ratings|Nielsen Ratings]] figure that an episode of the Re-Imagined Series ever received, although the episode was well-received by critics.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''Following the Cylon ambush of '''Pegasus''' and the death of Commander Garner''
:'''[[William Adama|Admiral Adama]]''': In your opinion, off the record, what was Garner's flaw?
:'''[[Lee Adama|Major Lee Adama]]''': He was used to working with machines. Command is about people.
:'''Admiral Adama''': Remember that, as you take command of "The Beast" ([[Pegasus (RDM)|''Pegasus'']]). Garner was my decision; His failures, my responsibility. Don't let me fail a second time. Congratulations, Commander.

*Responding to President Roslin's decision to criminalize abortion:
:'''[[Gaius Baltar|Vice-President Baltar]]''': It is true in the light of recent events, the President may have lost support in some quarters. I would ask the people to understand that if this is an extreme decision, we live in extreme times. The decision has been made with good faith. I, however, cannot with good conscience support it. I am so sorry, Madame President, but the Cylon have no understanding the meaning of the word "freedom". How could they? They're programmed...machines. Every time you take away one of our freedoms, every time we restrict or curtail one of our rights, we become one step closer to being like them. As the Vice-President, I am bound to follow the administration's lead; As President, I should have no such strictures. Given the current situation, I'm afraid that I have no alternative but to announce that I am, as of now, a candidate for the Presidency.

=== Guest Stars ===

*[[IMDB:nm0001334|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

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)|Captain's Hand, the]]
[[Category: RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan]]

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down

2006-03-02T17:17:33Z

Mccallin: /* Questions */

{{Episode Data|
Image =[[Image:bsg-1-09.jpg|300px]]
| Title=Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
| Series=[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|the Re-imagined Series]]
| Season=[[Season 1 (2004-05)|1]]
| Episode=9
| Guests=
| Writer=[[IMDB:nm0900599|Jeff Vlaming]]
| Story=
| Director=[[Edward James Olmos]]
| Production=1.09
| Rating=
| US Airdate=11 March 2005
| UK Airdate=March 4 2005
| DVD=March 28 2005 (UK) September 20 2005 (US)
| Population=
| Prev=[[Flesh and Bone]]
| Next=[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]
}}
: ''This episode is also known under its draft title, "Secrets and Lies". Its official title is "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down".''

== Overview ==

: ''[[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh's]] world is turned upside down when [[Ellen Tigh|his wife]] arrives on ''[[Galactica]]'' -- but is she all she professes?''

== Summary ==
* [[Laura Roslin]] comes aboard ''[[Galactica]]'' as [[William Adama|Adama]] receives a report that [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar’s]] [[Cylon detector]] is operational.
* Unable to shake [[Leoben Conoy|Conoy’s]] words to her ([[Flesh and Bone]]), she wants Adama to take the test first; he reluctantly agrees.
* When a lone [[Cylon Raider]] shows up, [[Lee Adama]] is ordered to intercept, and [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] is stunned to learn Adama is off-ship.
* The Raider is crippled, and a [[Raptor]] is dispatched to gather intel on it, particularly how its [[FTL]] drive operates.
* Adama returns to ''Galactica'' on a [[Raptor]] with a further shock for Tigh: his wife, [[Ellen Tigh|Ellen]].
* Roslin calls Baltar to check on the progress of Adama’s Cylon test – only to find Adama has cancelled so that a woman called “Ellen” can be tested. Roslin orders Baltar to restart Adama’s test immediately.
* Roslin summons Tigh to ''[[Colonial One]]'' and reveals her suspicions regarding Adama, and challenging a defensive Tigh over Adama’s behavior in leaving ''Galactica'' unannounced.
* Tigh takes the wind out of Roslin’s sails when he states Adama was off-ship so he could collect Tigh’s missing wife.
* After Tigh has left her office, Roslin calls Baltar and orders him to stop Adama’s test and resume Ellen’s.
* Later, at a dinner in Adama’s quarters, Ellen behaves with a mixture of her old self – trying to play footsie with Lee Adama under the table, and trying to flirt with him over the table – and a strange curiosity concerning [[Earth]].
* Adama deflects her probing by asking how it could be that she got aboard a ship, the ''[[Rising Star (RDM)|Rising Star]]'', without anyone having any knowledge or her or of treating her during her alleged 3 weeks of being unconscious.
* Ellen simply shrugs off the questions in her apparently drunken state and breaks up the party with her “drunken” playing.
* As she and her husband return to their quarters, they encounter Baltar, with whom she openly flirts, both annoying Tigh and raising [[Number Six|Six]]’s curiosity.
* After Baltar has departed, Ellen deflects her husband’s anger at her behavior by claiming Adama wants her, then dragging Tigh after Baltar.
* In Baltar’s lab, a row is brewing over the various tests that should have been carried out; things become more complicated when Tigh and his wife arrive, and the disagreements and suspicions become a three-way argument, which is broken up when Adama, Lee and Tigh are summoned to [[CIC]].
* The Cylon Raider has stopped behaving oddly, and is on a collision course for ''Galactica''. [[Alert Fighters]] are dispatched at Tigh’s order, and the Raider is destroyed.
* Later, back in Baltar’s lab, Ellen’s test results come through and are apparently green. Baltar, however simply states to Six that having everything turn up green makes life a lot easier.

=== On Caprica: ===
*[[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Valerii]] are trying to avoid the Cylons by running through the storm drains under a city.
*Valerii has a plan -- she claims to have overheard the Cylons discussing a huge base at [[Delphi]], she believes they can steal a ship from there and get off the planet.
*[[Aaron Doral|Doral]] and [[Number Six|Six]] are definitely affected by the fact that even though Valerii has run off, she is experiencing emotions they have never had -- as is Helo.

== Summary from scifi.com ==
President Roslin's fears that Commander Adama is a Cylon are stoked when she learns he's making secret wireless calls to other ships. Then, to make things worse, a single Cylon raider appears near the Galactica and begins acting strangely after being damaged in battle.

When Adama returns to the ship with Tigh's wife, Ellen, an earthy temptress and irrepressible flirt who claims to have been in a coma since their civilization was destroyed, Roslin's suspicions increase. She orders Baltar to screen both Ellen and Adama with his newly completed Cylon detector.

Meanwhile, Col. Tigh and the rest of the crew watch warily and gather data as the wounded Cylon raider jumps in and out of space.

On Caprica, the Cylon overseers fear that the Cylon Sharon is developing a strange feeling toward Helo — love.
--This section ©2005, [http://www.scifi.com SCI FI]. All rights reserved.

== Questions ==
*Is [[Ellen Tigh]] an [[Humano-Cylon]]?
*What is [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]] hoping to gain from keeping the test results secret?
**Answer: The official season 1 companion book explains this more fully. Basically, Baltar does not know if the Cylons in the Fleet are capable of communicating with each other. That's why in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" he didn't call in the Marines to grab Sharon as soon as she left his lab; if he reveals one or two of the Cylons, while more are still at large, he is afraid that the others will then target him for assassination. More or less, Baltar's plan is to screen out as many people as he can to find all of the Cylons, and then reveal them in one fell swoop. Even if they don't possess a communications net they might just realize his Cylon detector works if one of their number like Boomer is revealed by the test; he wants them to think it doesn't really work. Alternatively, as it might take years to test the entire Fleet, Baltar would do what he will do later on in "[[Resistance]]"; find one Cylon, then interrogate it to find out who the other Cylons are, etc. For the moment, he is biding his time.
** This does not, however, account for Six's apparent ignorance of whether or not Ellen is a Humano-Cylon. If her question on this to Baltar was not purely rhetorical, and if she does not know, what does this say about her nature? At the very least, it would indicate that she is not privy to all that Baltar does and knows. This has implications for her precise nature, what activates her appearances, and what happens when she is dormant.

== Analysis ==

An episode that cleverly mixes intrigue and humour to conjure a rich tapestry that is somewhat different from earlier episodes – but no less entertaining in the questions it raises.

The intrigue is initially driven out of Roslin’s paranoia towards Adama, but quickly re-centers on Ellen Tigh.

Roslin’s paranoia is fed by Leoben Conoy’s last words to her in “Flesh and Bone” – she is genuinely concerned that Adama is a Cylon, and his pre-occupation with Ellen Tigh doesn’t help calm her fears. But even when the mystery surrounding Adama’s actions is resolved, the intrigue doesn’t let up: just who or what is Ellen Tigh? Human or Cylon?

The weight of evidence for her being human is almost overwhelming. She is vindictive, manipulative, calculating (witness her ability to play footsie under the table with Lee Adama after hearing about his brother's death), but human nonetheless. She has clearly been a destructive force in Tigh's life - and most likely the reason for his drinking problem, and despite her claims to want a reconciliation, it is clear that little has really changed within her: she is man-hungry, and delights in sowing the seeds of mischief.

BUT - and there is always a "but" in BSG, the writers throw in just enough to create doubt:
*Why is it that - as Adama points out - no-one can remember her either being aboard the Rising Star or being treated for her injuries until the last few days?

*Why can’t the Captain of the Rising Star remember how she came to be aboard his ship. Her "rescue" from Picon sounds so dramatic, surely someone would remember her coming aboard the ship, whether she was conscious or not?
*And why is her interest at the dinner table focused singularly on the subject of Earth? Is it really the "talk of the fleet", or is there something behind her persistence?
*She operates in a manner strikingly similar to a cross between Six and Conoy. Like Six, she is not afraid to use her sexual mores against men; like Conoy, her words seem laced with half-truths and are frequently manipulative and border on the insidious
*Finally, there is her comment on meeting Baltar, “Oh, I know exactly who you are.” On the one hand, it could simply be a result of her recognising Baltar as a leading scientist and (no doubt) playboy, and her predatory nature kicking-in. On the other hand, knowing exactly who someone “is” usually means a person is not fooled: they know intimate secrets about the individual they are meeting, and so the comment is usually taken as a thinly-veiled threat. Does Ellen Tigh know more than she is letting on?

Even the denouement concerning Ellen Tigh’s heritage is open to interpretation: Baltar proclaims her to be human, but then admits to Six he’s decided all results are going to be “green”; as he puts it: “no muss, no fuss”. He won’t even reveal the true result of the test to Six.

Six’s reaction to Ellen Tigh is equally interesting: “Something here, isn’t there?” she states after Ellen’s unconventional introduction to Baltar – and it is doubtful she is referring to the flirting that takes place; rather, her words are a warning, as is her follow-up comment: “You should be watching her.” Six has sensed something in Ellen Tigh, and it is something she doesn’t trust.

So, could it be that Ellen Tigh is a Cylon? Certainly, it has been established that there are 12 models of Cylon, so again, this leaves room for her to be one. But – again – if she were, that would raise an interesting precedent: it would mean that that Cylons can replicate living (or once-living) humans. Were this to be the case, it would significantly alter the balance of things. For this reason, more than any other, it is unlikely Ellen Tigh is anything more than a human woman with an agenda of her own.

Meanwhile, on Caprica things also continue to take an interesting turn. Now fugitives together, Helo and Valerii are finally making an attempt to get off the planet, and Valerii is reaching the point where if she doesn’t admit her status to Helo, he’s going to guess. Above them – literally - we are given further insight into Cylon motivations for what was occurring around Helo, and once again it all seems to boil down to the emotions generated by love: loyalty, need, protectiveness, desire, generosity, anguish, the motivations it creates – all of which appear to be beyond Cylon understanding, even though they are capable of other, baser emotional responses, as witnessed by Six’s tears and Doral’s hurt envy. And there is still that small matter of procreation hanging in the air... This is also the first mention of the city of Delphi and Helo's hostile reaction to the news of its being used as a Cylon hub. Plausibly the emotional reaction is due to Delphi as a spiritual center for the Twelve Colonies.

Perhaps the one weak link in the episode is the arrival of the Cylon Raider. Despite all the material the production crew have to play with in this episode, this one thread sticks out from the rest and almost screams “Padding!” at the top of its voice.

As an attempt to heighten concern about Adama’s real motivations (the Raider turning up while he is out and about in a Raptor), it is nothing short of clumsy. As a means of confirming the fact that the Colonials don’t have FTL systems of a comparable size to those contained in the captured Raider, and are thus keen to find out all they can about a “working” version, it is short on drama. Was the Raider really crippled? Was it playing a game with the Colonials - if so, to what purpose? What caused Starbuck to come to this conclusion? None of the answers to these questions are even hinted at - much less explained, leaving the entire Raider situation something that has a big “So what?” hanging over it.

But this aside, “Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down” serves up another interesting blend of character-driven drama that demonstrates that Battlestar Galactica is also capable of some fine humour.

== Questions ==
*The test themselves apparently take 11 hours to generate results (although Boomer’s result in “Flesh and Bone” was obtained in far less time than this – "a couple of minutes", according to Baltar, and about 60 seconds of screen-time.)
**Baltar claims in [[Resistance]] that he allowed Boomer to believe she was human "for [his] own purposes". Does he have the ability to determine other Cylon infiltrators in a much shorter timeframe than he chooses to admit in this episode? Perhaps he was just going through the math in his head - but then why the half-serious jokes about suicide as he contemplates the task?
*Is it possible that the Cylon Raider is there to transmit instructions to other cylons within the fleet? In [[Final Cut]], we see that they can receive messages from their agents.
**In a deleted scene, they mention that they noticed a high-frequency burst which could have been a Cylon within the fleet sending out a signal, but they couldn't track which ship it came from. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 23:22, 8 January 2006 (EST)

== Notes ==
*The script was originally called "Secrets and Lies". However, "'''Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down'''" is the official title for the episode, according to [[Ronald D. Moore]].
*It is 3 days since the events of "[[Flesh and Bone]]".
*There are now 47,905 survivors in the fleet, a loss of 49 since "Flesh and Bone". Compared to other casualty figures in the first season, this is unusually high for a three-day period.
**Are Boomer (tested last episode) and Baltar himself included in this figure?
*Billy’s relationship with Dualla is picking up, despite his attempts to pump her for information
*Tigh’s alcoholism was more than likely kicked-off by his wife – either directly or through her infidelity – or possibly both.
*Baltar apparently has no intention of being honest about the results of his Cylon tests.
*''Galactica'' has a forward observation lounge that has become a much sought-after trysting-place, with individuals and couples rotated through it at regular intervals.
*The Cylons have established a major base at [[Delphi]], another major city on Caprica.
*Helo curses the Cylons for choosing Delphi as their base.
*The opera music that Baltar is listening to in his lab while talking to and getting intimate with Number Six is sung in Italian, and directly relates to Baltar's situation. The lyrics translate: "Woe upon your Cylon heart / There's a toaster in your head/ And it wears high heels / Number Six calls to you / The Cylon Detector beckons / Your girlfriend is a toaster / Woe upon your Cylon heart / Alas, disgrace! Alas, sadness and misery! / The toaster has a pretty dress / Red like its glowing spine / Number Six whispers / By your command" (translation given in the liner notes for the [[Soundtrack (Season 1)]].)
*[[Edward James Olmos]], who portrays [[William Adama]], also directed this episode. He was originally to direct "[[Flesh and Bone]]" but could not do so due to scheduling conflicts.
*The "R&D TV Animation" skit during the credits consists of Ron Moore substituting himself for a knight and the knight smashing David Eick's head in with a mace.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

* ''As Commamder Adama and Laura Roslin talk in the CIC:''

:Commander Adama: Madame President, we are the proud owners of the universe's first bona fide Cylon detector.
:Laura Roslin: Well, that is great news. So... when do we begin?
:Commander Adama: Doctor Baltar would like to start widespread testing as soon as possible, but there are some serious limitations, because he can only do one person at a time and verification takes hours.
:Laura Roslin: So, who's going to go first?
:Commander Adama: (thinking for a second) The test... right. I think people in sensitive positions should go first.
:Laura Roslin: I completely agree. How about you?
:Commander Adama: Excuse me?
:Laura Roslin: If you're a Cylon, I'd like to know.
:Commander Adama: If I'm a Cylon, you're really screwed.
:(Adama and Roslin both start laughing)
:Laura Roslin: Seriously, I do think you should go first. Show everyone in the fleet that they can trust the people at the top.
:Commander Adama: Well then, maybe YOU should go first. (silence) All right... I'll go first.

* ''As Commander Adama, Colonel Tigh, Ellen Tigh, Apollo, and Laura Roslin are eating dinner:''
:Ellen Tigh: So Bill, now the question on everyone's mind -- and, I do mean everyone -- is "Where's Earth?" and "When are we going to get there?"
:Commander Adama: Yeah... that's classified information.
:Ellen Tigh: Oh, there's that word again!
:Colonel Tigh: Ellen, leave the man alone.
:Ellen Tigh: Come on! If there aren't privileges to being an XO's wife, then what's the point? I mean, Bill, we're all family here, so come on!
:Laura Roslin: The need for secrecy is paramount, Ellen. Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps you don't know that the Cylons look like us now.
:Ellen Tigh: Oh... that. Yes. Yes, I knew that.
:Laura Roslin: It's recent news. Most people just found out a few days ago.
:Ellen Tigh: (thinking) A thing like that would travel fast.
:Commander Adama: Any one of us could be a Cylon.
:(the entire table goes silent)
:Ellen Tigh: BOO!
:(everyone jumps in their seat, but Ellen and Saul start laughing)

== Official Statements ==



*"'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' was originally called 'Secrets and Lies', or 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' by Jeff Vlaming. And when I saw those titles on the script, I knew we had to go with 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down'. It was too good. Too good a title to let lie on the cutting room floor." -- Ronald D. Moore [[podcast]]
*"'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' began life as a very different episode than it ultimately came out to be. It was originally going to be a riff on 'Crimson Tide'." -- Ronald D. Moore [[podcast]]
*"It did feel right that, perhaps, there was one place; that perhaps there was one area of the ship, which accepted a window or a port to look out and that it would be a fairly confined space for the crew on these very long, deep space missions that probably lasted months, if not years. And that there might be a place where they can go to and just stargaze. And in this situation, it seemed like there would be a lot of people lining up to try and look out at the stars, you know, a break from the monotony of staring at metal walls." -- Ronald D. Moore [[podcast]], talking about the observation area of the ''[[Galactica]]''
*"The long and the short of it was that we had just come out of a very heavy, very dark, very [[Flesh and Bone|disturbing episode]]. And the very next episode was supposed to be 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' which was all about a very disturbing, very dark, very (sort of) unhappy episode where our two -- two of our lead characters started pointing guns at one another. So there came a point when I just decided, well, lets just punt. Lets not do the dark and brooding episode. Lets try a different tone. Lets see if the show can withstand something lighter. Lets try something that's closer to a comedy, or as close to a comedy as ''Galactica'' can withstand." -- Ronald D. Moore [[podcast]]

== Guest stars ==
[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Michael+Hogan Michael Hogan] (COL [[Saul Tigh]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Tahmoh+Penikett Tahmoh Penikett] ([[Karl Agathon|Helo]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Dougl(Aaron Douglas] (CPO [[Galen Tyrol]]) [[Kate Vernon]] ([[Ellen Tigh]]) [[Matthew Bennett]] ([[Aaron Doral]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Slex+Green Alex Green] (Deckhand)

== Statistics ==


== External Links ==
[http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season01/109/ "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down"] at scifi.com

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos]]

Flight of the Phoenix

2006-03-02T17:13:16Z

Mccallin: /* Questions */

{{Episode Data|
Image = [[Image:Blackbird FotP.JPG|300px]]
| Title=Flight of the Phoenix
| Series=[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|the Re-imagined Series]]
| Season=[[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode=9
| Guests=
| Writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] & [[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[IMDB:nm0002749|Michael Nankin]]
| Production=2.09
| Rating= 1.9
| US Airdate=September 16 2005
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=December 20 2005 (US Season 2.0)
| Population=47,853
| Prev=[[Final Cut]]
| Next=[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]
}}

== Overview ==

''Galactica is besieged, first internally by [[Cylon]] computer viruses, then externally by a large imminent Cylon attack force. Faced with a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] shortage, [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] tackles the difficult task of building them from scratch. Meanwhile, [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] is dealing with the repercussions of his relationship with [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]], a known [[Humano-Cylon|Cylon agent]].''

== Summary ==
* [[Laura Roslin]]'s illness has reached a critical level. While she is still well enough to walk, Dr. [[Cottle]] gives her approximately one month to live.
* [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] has become ''persona non grata'' to many of the crew who distrust him due to his romance with the Caprica copy of [[Humano-Cylon]] [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]].
* Many of the crew, even the generally level-headed and reliable Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]], are showing the strain of the apparent futility and fatigue of running from the Cylons.
* Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]], with also little else to do with scrapped Vipers, begins a project to craft a new fighter. Initially many crew are very skeptical, but soon many others help Tyrol.
* Helo suggests carbon composite material for the skin in lieu of the rare plate metal for the fighter. Like the American F/A-22 Raptor Air-Dominance Fighter's low visibility to [[Wikipedia:Radar|RADAR]], Tyrol's new ship is nearly invisible to [[DRADIS]].
* [[Kara Thrace]] and [[Lee Adama]] nearly suffocate when the life-support systems on the [[firing range]] malfunction.
* A Cylon [[Logic bomb]] has attacked ship's systems and will fully control ''[[Galactica]]'' once an expected Cylon force arrives to activate it by infiltration. Gaeta and Baltar work together to figure a way to rid the ship of it by erasing the hard drives of all computers. Doing this, however, would leave the ship a sitting duck for an attack while time is needed to restore function and data to the computers.
* Adama, after asking the advice of the President, allows the Caprica Valerii to connect herself to the ship's mainframe and communication systems while Gaeta and Baltar erase the hard drives of all computers.
* A Cylon fighter armada consisting of hundreds of [[Raider]]s and [[Heavy Raider]]s attempts to activate the bomb. However, Valerii responds by transmitting a version of the same bomb to the Cylon fleet, disabling it as the Cylons did the Colonial fleet during the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. The Viper squadrons annihilate the helpless Cylon fleet in a joyous moment of payback.
* Kara Thrace takes the new fighter, dubbed the [[Blackbird]], for a initially ungainly test spin. This fighter was designed for speed, and delivers it. Lee Adama, in a Viper chase plane, is horrified when the Blackbird disappears, but Kara rises above to face his ship quietly, proving the new fighter's stealth ability.
* In a ceremony similar to the one given to Commander Adama in the [[Mini-Series]], President Roslin inspects and christens the new fighter. Many sign the ship. Tyrol reveals the name of this first fighter: ''Laura''.
* The mere work on the new fighter renewed the creativity and hope of the crew--a reason why Adama allowed its construction to continue, despite the logic bomb crisis.

== Questions ==
* This episode was rare in that Baltar's [[Number Six]] was completely absent in this episode, despite the Cylon-rich plot. What would she had to say about Valerii's aid or the logic bomb?
**According to RDM's podcast Number Six was in this episode in one scene which was in the end deleted for time; in it Baltar gets up from working on the Cylon virus with Gaeta and has a conversation with Six standing in the middle of CIC.
*It is unlikely that the Caprica-Valerii's presence on ''Galactica'' is a secret to her crew since extraordinary measures were made to house her. It is possible that Adama is using a lie-of-omission to cover the existence of the second Valerii to the civilian fleet, since it is very likely that her likeness has been distributed to the rest of the fleet as a warning to keep a watch for other copies, a policy established in a Season 1 episode. While is it improbable that the death of the Galactica-Valerii could be fully contained, it is probable that Adama realizes that rumor and innuendo will disguise the fact that they harbor a second copy for interrogation purposes. In the [[Final Cut|previous episode]], Commander Adama angrily ordered [[D'anna Biers]] not to reveal her existence because it could divide the Fleet. There is likely an order to all under Adama's command not to discuss the existence of the second Valerii outside of military circles, although it would not likely stop them from discussing the matter amongst themselves.
*Is [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] attracted to Apollo (or vice versa)? Dualla seemed to "check out" Apollo's "backside" in "[[Resistance]]", and now she's in close physical contact with him. And Apollo has what almost might be called a jealous look when Billy shows up. Yet in "[[Home, Part I]]" Lee let it slip in conversation that he "loves" Starbuck (he didn't necessarily say it in more than platonic/fraternal way, however).
*Helo got angry at Chief Tyrol for calling Boomer a [[Toaster]]; is this a sign that Helo is thinking more sympathetically towards the Cylons than before? Like the Cylons, does he consider it an "offensive racial epithet"?
* Also with regard to Helo, where does he get the idea to use carbon-composite on the Blackbird? Is that something he thought up himself, or perhaps did Caprica-Valerii 'point' him in that direction?
*Is order on ''Galactica'' starting to break down? In the [[Mini-series]] Starbuck was put in the [[brig]] for striking a superior officer. Now, Starbuck assaulted Racetrack but there were was no visible punishment, and Tyrol got into a fight with Helo (who outranks him), also with no shown punishment. The deck crews aren't bothering to hide the still they built as much as before, going to far as to have a large "Welcome Back Cally" party with its products in public. Col. Tigh makes a halfhearted verbal chastisment of Tyrol when Tigh finds the still, but doesn't do anything about it and ends up taking a jar of booze for his own use. Also, even Lt. Gaeta is now snapping back at the command officers, shouting and even [[frak|cursing]].
*Was the software code Helo showed to Caprica-Boomer only a virus or did it contain instructions outside the scope of destabilizing and controlling ''Galactica's'' systems? Valerii's response to the code seemed to indicate it had affected her on some level. Perhaps was she merely compiling it in her head.
*If the Cylons are so interested and cautious about protecting Caprica-Boomer and her unborn child as stated by [[Aaron Doral]] in "[[Final Cut]]", why then are they willing to launch a massive assault against ''Galactica?''
*To what extent is Cylon knowledge & experiences shared? We know that [[Humano-Cylon|Humano-Cylon]] can transfer their consciousness to other copies of themselves ([[mini-series]]), but are other cylon models (such as the drones) interconnected? They would have to be on some level for Caprica-Boomer's trick to work. Is there some 'collective consciousness' at work (similar to the 'Borg' in Star Trek)?
**Caprica-Boomer seemed to imply in "[[Home, Part I]]" that she wasn't involuntarily in constant communication with the other Cylons through some sort of wireless communication net. She probably "switched off" her connection when she went on the run for real in "[[Flesh and Bone]]", because two Cylons talking amongst themselves (Six and Doral) said that they didn't know what she was planning (or thinking).

== Analysis ==
* While Humano-Cylons appear human to the cellular level, Sharon could control a fiber-optic connection inserted into her forearm. This suggests that the humanoid Cylon design uses light-sensitive cells disguised as regular cells in their forearms as data access nodes, probably involving the cells interacting with her [[Silica Pathways|Silica Relays]] in her brain, the last vestiges of the humanoid Cylons' mechanical nature. Based on Valerii's extreme discomfort in having to cut herself to interface with the data line in this way, it could be presumed that this is not a typical practice for Humano-Cylons.
* Continuing from "[[Resistance]]", Dualla is shown being attracted to Apollo.
* Tyrol's comment to Lee Adama on the lack of miracles, and his answer to the problem, may remind some of another [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/character/1112502.html great miracle worker] of television science fiction.
* Despite Valerii's belief that she has become a "liability" to the Cylons, the previous episode made it clear that at least some Cylons considered the survival of her baby a paramount concern. The virus, installed before her arrival, was probably oblivious to this, but the massive fleet the Cylons deployed to interdict ''Galactica'' could not have been. Additionally, an earnest attack would almost certainly have included a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]. We must therefore assume that the Cylons had a more complicated motive in making such a massive material sacrifice.
** Perhaps they hoped to furnish Valerii with an opportunity to demonstrate her loyalty and strategic value to the fleet, thus enabling her to ensure her future safety.
** Alternatively, perhaps the fleet was sent to ''remove'' the logic bomb from ''Galactica'', now that it was putting Valerii in harm's way. However, why so many, and why did one of the Raiders try to activate the logic bomb?
** Perhaps there are different Cylon factions working at cross purposes.
**The armada contained several Heavy Raiders as well--perhaps the Cylons were planning on boarding Galactica and taking Sharon by force.
**Sharon could have just been "assuming" that she was a liabilty, and simply be wrong. The virus itself was introduced into the ship in "[[Scattered]]" and that was before Caprica-Boomer arrived on ''Galactica.'' In "[[Final Cut]]" it was established that by that episode the Cylons were surprised that Sharon was still alive (they didn't know): perhaps they didn't know she was on ''Galactica'' up to that point. But by this point, however, the Cylons knew Sharon was on ''Galactica'' when the attack was launched. The virus appears to have just been acting out its function since "[[Scattered]]" (ignorant the its actions would destroy Sharon). However, this doesn't clearly explain why the massive Raider attack was launched.
* Our heroes passed up a major opportunity by destroying the Cylon fleet. Adama revoked Roslin's presidency on the basis of the misappropriation of a SINGLE captured Cylon Raider, yet they eliminated dozens of crippled-but-serviceable assets in the name of retribution. After all that work to create a single new fighter, wouldn't a squadron of superior Raiders be worth maintaining in the unused starboard flight pod?
**A point against the idea of capturing a Raider involves the lucky manner in obtaining the first one. The Raider in "[[You Can't Go Home Again]]" was brain-dead from a lucky shot. The Raiders here were turned off by a virus, but it may have been too difficult to remove all of their control mechanisms. Since these are in fact organic mechanisms that could still be fighting to survive, they may have their own ability of causing additional harm if captured alive.
**Further, ''Galactica'' had not idea how long it would be until Cylon reinforcements showed up; they probably didn't want to wait for a Basestar to come. Further, the civilian fleet had jumped away from ''Galactica'' in anticipation of the attack, and ''Galactica'' probably didn't want to leave them unattended too long. There wasn't enough time and it was too dangerous.
**At this point, ''Galactica'' could have as many as two Heavy Raiders already—the one that crash-landed into the starboard pod in "[[Scattered]]" and the one Starbuck, Helo, and Sharon returned with in [[Home, Part II]]
***The Heavy Raider that crash landed in "Scattered" may have suffered irrepairable damage.
*As noted below, Helo is now a Viper pilot. This isn't unexpected, as the fleet's desperation in training new Viper pilots has led them to recruit otherwise unqualified candidates ([[Act of Contrition]]). Compared to these rapidly trained nuggets, a trained military pilot such as Helo, even if he wasn't qualified and trained as a Viper pilot, would be a great asset. It's likely that he was given some training between "[[Home, Part I]]"/"[[Home, Part II]]" and this episode.
*It was Helo that suggested the use of carbon composites for the Blackbird, and Starbuck says "Good call, Helo" after it is finished – showing that despite everything, Helo's opinions are still respected, perhaps symbolic of his redemption in the eyes of his crewmates.

===Deus Ex Machina Dilemmas in this Episode===
Some viewers may express confusion over the amount of time necessary to build the new fighter as well as the time it took to fight off the logic bomb and the Cylon attack. All in all, the whole episode may seem like a series of ''deus ex machina'' events to close up the episode.

To the episode's credit, it appears that several days worth of time elapsed in the episode. This might stretch believability in the fighter's construction, but not in the logic bomb crisis. It must be noted that the breakdown in morale has left many of the crew with ''very'' little to do that's worthwhile in their free time. A monumental task such as building a fighter may be easy for a highly motivated, highly skilled and '''highly bored''' group of people. (Note the near-cheerful disposition of the workers when Lee Adama and Tigh visit the fighter.)

Further, the fighter was aided by specialists of particular fields in its construction--something that the Chief hasn't the luxury of having while in combat situations. As such, he had more willing and able resources at his command to create the ship than during any Viper repair. The crew also was not under pressure to build the system rapidly; there were many contributors, and work such of this led to a fast build time. It may also be presumed that the Viper design, of which the Blackbird is derived, may have a simple construction of [[avionics]], crew pressure module, engines, and superstructure. These ships are designed for rapid repair and redeploy, so, aside from the Blackbird's initial framework, much of the ship would likely be similar to a Viper. Also, the Blackbird is likely built with more modern technology than that found in the older and harder-to-service Viper Mk. II fighters--the Blackbird is likely descended more from the advanced Mk. VII Viper, of which Tyrol's crew was trained to understand and maintain, not the ancient Viper Mk. II museum pieces.

It was also established in the episode that there were spare spacecraft parts available to Tyrol—at the beginning of an episode he marks a severely damaged Viper for scrap, and Col. Tigh walks in on his still and informs him of some extra engines and other parts that another ship in the fleet is trying to dispose of. Given the ability to cannibalize already-built parts, the assembly of the Blackbird is not as great a task as building a Viper from scratch might be.

Given that the Blackbird wasn't employed in the main plot to, say, take on the hundreds of Cylon fighters in a desperate attack using last-minute technology, the ship was an interesting development. Some viewers may wonder why the Colonials have never built (or why viewers have never seen) a stealth craft to date, or why the Cylons haven't used them in their attacks. Generally speaking, technology usually appears when there is a need for it, and not merely a desire for it. Since both sides are very dependent on DRADIS for coordination and tactical advantage in a fight, the idea of commanding a squadron of ships you cannot see on your own tactical plot can be a bit challenging. Further, while the Colonials still had a standing force in case the Cylons returned, such sneaky technology may seem out of mind to defense strategists when there's no enemy about to test it--especially an enigmatic one such as the Cylons. The Colonials were more intent (at least, up until Baltar's time) to defend itself by using less sophisticated technology and basic war principles such as armor and superiority of numbers, not in making high-tech, fly-by-wire ships with complex evasive ability. As Starbuck seemed to prove in the Blackbird's maiden flight, no amount of technology will compensate for the power of a good pilot and her [[Mark One Eyeball]].

In his podcast for this episode, [[Ronald D. Moore|Ron D. Moore]] acknowledges the build-time dilemma for the Blackbird, and notes that the vagueness of time elapsed to build the machine was intentional so as to allow it to be built and done with in one episode, instead of drawing out the building into two or three episodes.

== Notes ==

* Population count is 47,853. This is the first time this season that there has been no net change in the count from the previous episode ([[Final Cut]]).
* Literary/Film Reference: ''[[Wikipedia:Flight of the Phoenix|Flight of the Phoenix]]'' is the title of a 1964 novel where survivors from a plane crash in the middle of a desert attempt to rebuild the plane from the wreckage. Two movies, one made in 1965 and the other in 2004, were also made following a similar story line inspired by the book.
* The [[Wikipedia:phoenix|phoenix]] is a character from Egypt mythology where, at the end of its lifespan, the bird turns to ash -- only to have another phoenix arise.
* The [[Blackbird]], a new stealth fighter craft, has been constructed by Chief Tyrol with help from the crew.
* The name of new fighter is also shared with the worlds's fastest known operational supersonic aircraft, the American SR-71, which also has some stealth ability.
* Helo now wears a Viper patch on his flightsuit. He wasn't visibly identified as piloting one of the Vipers deployed against the Cylons, but indeed may have been.
* There is a wide shot when apparently ''all'' of ''Galactica's'' Vipers are deployed where it's possible to count how many they have: there are 42 Vipers visible onscreen. Oddly, the current count says that there should be no more than 34, and even with [[Joe Palladino]] on parole after [[Final Cut]] and Helo in a Viper, ''Galactica'' shouldn't be able to muster more than 25 pilots.
** There are at least 7 Viper Mk. VII's visible in this shot. This agrees well with [[Scattered]].
* The first (and so far, only) episode without an appearance by Number Six.
* At the end when Chief Tyrol reconciles with Cally (no longer upset with her for killing Galactica-Boomer), she reaches into a Viper and fixes something he couldn't reach, and he responds "Nice to be small, huh?". This is remeniscent of the scene at the end of the [[Mini-Series]], when they have almost the exact same exchange. In that scene, they were reconciling after ''Cally'' got angry that Tyrol was having a relationship with Galactica-Boomer.
* President Roslin returns the book "[[Dark Day]]" to Commander Adama, which he gave to her back in the second episode, "[[Water]]".
* Chief Tyrol and Galactica-Boomer were planning to leave the military together and get married before the Cylon attack. Galen doesn't know now if this is what she really wanted, or if it was just another Cylon manipulation.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*Apollo: Nobody's expecting a miracle.
:Tyrol: Maybe that's the problem.

*''Discussing Helo's return to ''Galactica'':''
:Duck: So he's the Cylon lover.
:Starbuck: You know what? I don't care who or what he fraks. He saved my ass down there, all right?
:Duck:How could anyone fall in love with a toaster, though?
:Starbuck: Same way I hear everyone was high-fiving our Sharon right before she put two in Adama's chest. The bastards frak with your head.
:Hotdog: Yeah. Just ask the Chief.

*''Card game in the Viper pilot's lockeroom:''
:Racetrack: Been playing with these cards for so long, I know every fold.
:Starbuck: So life's a bitch. What do you want to do, cry about it?
:Racetrack: No, I just want it to end, okay? The bad food, the endless rotations, pretending that a card game is the high point of our day.
:Starbuck: It's not going to last forever, all right? Earth is out there.
:Racetrack: Right. We could all be chasing our tails over some half-assed planetarium show.
:Starbuck: And you guys can all go to hell. I'm going to go find Helo.
:Racetrack: Good idea. Maybe that Cylon whore taught him a few tricks.

''(Starbuck politely turns around, walks over to Racetrack and grabs her by the neck and slams her head into the card table).''

*''Helo is sitting in Sharon's old Raptor when the Chief walks up:''
:Helo: Hey! Look, Chief. I never intended for Sharon and I to-- You know, it just kind of evolved.
:Tyrol: Just a couple lovesick kids, huh?
:Helo: I know how she felt about you, okay? She loves you.
:Tyrol: Did she fill you in on the rest of the plan? She and I were going to muster out at the end of our service. You know, then we would get married. Maybe we would have children. I guess I'm just a big frakkin' idiot, though, huh? Probably that goddamn [[Toaster]]'s plan all along.
:Helo: Don't call her that.
:Tyrol: Sucker some moron into giving her a kid. Hey, you know, but you know what? I should probably be grateful to you. Probably be grateful. You know why? Because that freak in her belly could have been mine! ''(Helo and Tyrol fight)''

*''Lt. Gaeta is starting to lose his composure under constant pressure:''
:Gaeta: Sir, I'm running every diagnostic we've got. Checking each line of code could take days.
:Tigh: I am not interested in excuses. Fix it!
:Gaeta: (''shouting'') It's not an excuse, sir. It's a frakking fact!

*Commander Adama: Months on the run, and what do we have to show for it? Casualties. Deteriorating conditions. This crew needs a rest. It's finally hitting them, that's all. Our old lives are gone. The only thing we have to look forward to is this.

*''Tigh walks into the tool closet on the hanger deck''
:Tigh: What's this, Chief?
:Tyrol: I'm making solvent, sir, to clean machine parts.
:Tigh: Solvent my ass. I know a still when I smell it.

*''Starbuck is taking the [[Blackbird]] on its first test flight while Apollo follows:''
:Apollo: Starbuck, Starbuck, where are you? Starbuck, come in. Starbuck, do you read? Kara, are you okay?
:Starbuck: (''Starbuck turns the lights of the Blackbird on; she's actually got her ship feet away from Apollo's, facing it'') Of course you lost contact. It's a damned stealth ship, remember?

*Roslin: Oh, you're much too modest. After what we've been through, it would be very easy to give up, to lose hope. But not here. Not today. This is more than a ship, Chief. This is an act of faith. It is proof that despite all we've lost, we keep trying. And we will get through this, all of us, together. I promise.

== Official Statements ==

*In an [http://www.battlestargalactica.com/outside_docs/bg_outdoc0050.htm interview with BattlestarGalactica.com on December 28th, 2005] RDM was asked about the continuity problems noticed with the number of Vipers deployed in this episode:

: "Q: In the battle scene with the Cylons in "Flight of the Phoenix", some think they see more Vipers than pilots, there is the presence of many Mark 7 Vipers, and the Blackbird is in flight before its maiden voyage. Was this effects shot the victim of a script change or something in the editing room? Was the episode originally intended to appear after the Pegasus encounter?

: RDM: To be honest, I don't recall the exact number of Vipers in the shot or where we were in the continuity at that point. I do recall the topic coming up in various VFX and production meetings, and I think there was at least an initial rationale for the number on screen -- but it's entirely possible that we cheated a bit in Post in order to make the shot a little sexier. Sorry. It happens."

== Guest stars ==
[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] (CPO [[Galen Tyrol]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] (SPC [[Cally]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnelly Rhodes] (Dr. [[Cottle]]) [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0952778/ Dominic Zamprogna] ([[Jammer]]) [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0647453/ Bodie Olmos] ([[Brendan Constanza|Hot Dog]]) [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0356501/ Jen Halley] ([[Seelix]]) [http://imdb.com/name/nm0856351/ Christian Tessier] ([[Tucker Clellan|Duck]]) Don Thompson ([[Anthony Figurski]])

== Statistics ==


* USA [[Wikipedia:Nielsen Ratings|Nielsen Ratings]]: 1.9 household rating

{{Episode List}}

[[Category:A to Z]] [[Category:Episode Guide (RDM)]] [[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Nankin]]

Pegasus (episode)

2006-03-02T17:09:35Z

Mccallin: /* Questions */

: ''For information related the [[Mercury-class Battlestar|battlestar]] ''Pegasus'' itself, see ''[[Pegasus (RDM)]]''.''
{{Episode Data|
Image = [[image:caingalact.jpg|300px]]
| Title=Pegasus
| Series=[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|the Re-imagined Series]]
| Season=[[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode=10
| Guests=[[Michelle Forbes]] as Admiral [[Helena Cain|Cain]]
| Writer=[[IMDB:nm1093194|Anne Cofell Saunders]]
| Story=
| Director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| Production=2.10 '''(Season 2.0 Cliffhanger)'''
| Rating= 2.0
| US Airdate=September 23 2005
| UK Airdate=
| DVD=December 20 2005 (US Season 2.0)
| Population=49,605
| Prev=[[Flight of the Phoenix]]
| Next=[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]
}}
== Overview ==
: ''Tensions run high when ''Pegasus'', a battlestar more advanced than ''[[Galactica]]'', is found -- only to have Admiral [[Helena Cain]] take command of [[The Fleet (RDM)|The Fleet]] and enforce her demands on those under her new command.''

== Summary ==
*''Pegasus'', a [[Mercury-class]] [[battlestar]], has joined the Fleet. She survived the attack by [[blind-jump]]ing as the [[Cylon]]s attacked the [[Scorpion Fleet Shipyards]].
* A Cylon fleet, comprised of two [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]s, about a dozen support ships and an [[Unknown Cylon Ship]] have been trailing the Fleet -- and detected by Cain and ''Pegasus''.
*''Pegasus'' discovered this Cylon Fleet and have been carrying out hit-and-run attacks against the Cylons. At first the Cylon fleet's course seemed to be random, until Cain realized they were going to systems with natural resources. Cain then tried to predict which system the Cylons were going to [[FTL|Jump]] next, and stumbles upon ''Galactica.''
* After looking over ''Galactica's'' logs, Cain surmises that the Cylon fleet was following ''Galactica'' (which itself was Jumping to systems with natural resources for the Fleet).
* Upon assuming command of the fleet, Cain begins moving crew members around, citing discipline concerns, transferring [[Lee Adama]] and [[Kara Thrace]] to ''Pegasus''.
* President [[Laura Roslin]] has concerns about why Cain ignores her requests to talk and, more importantly, why ''Pegasus'' is only resupplying ''Galactica's'' military stores and ignoring the Fleet's needs.
* Tyrol welcomes his counterpart from ''Pegasus''. [[Peter Laird]] is a civilian aeronautical engineer-turned Deck Chief who designed the [[DDG-62|old engines]] in the [[Blackbird]]. Laird is both appalled and impressed by Tyrol's new stealth fighter.
* Lee is essentially busted down to [[Raptor]] pilot in a recon mission to the Cylon fleet. But he shows his defiant side by asking Thrace to commandeer the Blackbird to take some better recon photos of the Cylon fleet without being noticed by Colonial ''or'' Cylon forces.
* [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Galen Tyrol]] discover that [[Gina]], the Cylon prisoner aboard the ''Pegasus'', was raped by the crew as a form of torture. They rush to ''Galactica'''s brig, where a ''Pegasus'' lieutenant, [[Alistair Thorne]], is about to rape the Caprica copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]. Tyrol throws Thorne against a bulkhead, unintentionally killing him. The pair are arrested and taken to ''Pegasus''. [[image:pegasus02.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''.]]
*Commander Adama is angered to hear that Admiral Cain is going to hold the court-martial on ''Pegasus'', not ''Galactica'' where the offense occurred. Admiral Cain refuses to return the prisoners and balks at the thought of an independent tribunal to settle the dispute. Using Adama's logs against him once more, she notes that the [[Litmus|last time Galactica held one]], Commander Adama dissolved the tribunal when he "didn't like the verdict."
*Admiral Cain, however, does not give the pair a court martial hearing or trial by jury, instead rapidly deciding the verdict by herself and ordering Helo and Tyrol to be executed.
*Upon discovering what Admiral Cain has done, Commander Adama orders a Raptor to fly out with an armed Marine boarding party. and launches ''Galactica's'' Vipers against ''Pegasus'', demanding that Admiral Cain release [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and [[Galen Tyrol]].
*Admiral Cain launches ''Pegasus''' Vipers against the incoming Vipers from ''Galactica''. They close in on each other as the episode ends.

== Questions ==

*Will Starbuck and her [[Blackbird]] stealth fighter play a role in the armed standoff between ''Pegasus'' and ''Galactica''?
**Although we won't know until [[Resurrection Ship|next episode]], that seems initially unlikely, as the Blackbird is being used for the Recon mission against the Cylon "Unknown". The episode seemed to suggest that both were occurring at the same time.
*Where did the ''Pegasus'' crew get fresh fruit?
**Dualla explains in "[[Final Cut]]" that their ships have very effective refrigeration units to keep food fresh for long duration duty tours, etc.
*In the absence of Apollo and Starbuck, who is leading ''Galactica's'' fighters against ''Pegasus''? [[George Birch]]? [[Simes]]?
**Answer: [[Louanne Katraine]] ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]).
*As for the unknown ship in the Cylon fleet, what ''is'' its function? Is it, as Adama speculates, a Raider factory? Or a command-and-control vessel? Could it be a [[Humano-Cylon]] creation facility? The next episode's title, "Resurrection Ship," could foreshadow that possibility, as when Humano-Cylons "die" they're downloaded into new bodies. Where would these new bodies be stockpiled?
**Could the title "Resurrection Ship" refer to ''Pegasus'', as it was presumed to be dead but "came back"?
*Could the new "Cylon mothership" be a command ship that contains the Re-Imagined Series' equivalent of the [[Imperious Leader]]?
*Roslin is commander-in-chief of the Colonial fleet. Could she be the one to order Cain to stand down by citing regulations to Roslin's benefit in the same way that Cain has done against Adama? Roslin could also order another member of ''Pegasus'' to assume command to enforce this. At the same time, Roslin's never been the type to use force, and may use other means to keep this event from turning into a bloodbath.
**Further, Cain doesn't seem to think of Roslin as the "real" president, just "Secretary of Education". Even if Roslin does order Cain to obey Adama, would Cain even consider them legitimate orders?
*Does the Blackbird have FTL? It's a bit smaller than the Raptor and, if it's based on the Viper design, wouldn't have one. At the same time, how is Starbuck supposed to go on the recon mission without one?
**Based on the information provided for the [[Raptor]] and [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]], both ships are similar in size. A possibility could be in the amount of energy generated by both fighters. Seeing as the Raptor is equipped with more surveillance & communication equipment, it may have additional generators to power a [[FTL]] drive. Refer to talk page for additional discussion regarding Blackbird FTL capability.
***Answer: Yes. We see the Blackbird jump in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]".
** Are the Vipers going on the recon mission? If not, why is it a blow to Apollo's honor for him to be piloting a Raptor? And how are the Vipers supposed to get there if they have to jump to the moon?
* How did Cain and her crew discover the existence of Humano-Cylons?

== Analysis ==
*[[Cally]]'s charged reaction to the drunken Pegasus crewmen ''bragging'' about raping Number Six/Gina repeatedly is probably due to herself being the survivor of an attempted rape, in "[[Bastille Day]]". This disgust with the ''Pegasus'' crew's gang-rape of Gina is interesting in light of the fact that Cally had no compunctions about killing the ''Galactica'' copy of Valerii. Evidently she now acknowledges the Cylons' humanity in at least some measure. Perhaps she's felt a connection between this and her own assault on board ''[[Astral Queen]]'' by [[Mason]] in "[[Bastille Day]]".
**It's also possible that, since her fellow female deck crew also look disgusted and follow her out, women just don't appreciate talk about rape in general. RDM says something to this effect in the podcast.
*It is also interesting on a dramatic level how the portrayal of Cally's killing Galactica-Valerii in "[[Resistance]]" contrasts with the portrayal of the brutalized Gina and the attempted rape of Caprica-Valerii. It was less shocking to many to watch Boomer being shot to death than it was to watch Caprica-Valerii being pinned down over her bunk and almost raped—possibly because, while killing a Valerii copy is an understandable act of revenge, raping one would be a senseless act of cruelty.
*Talking amongst themselves on Cylon-occupied Caprica, the Cylons mentioned in passing that there was a main Cylon fleet in "[[Final Cut]]".
*In the miniseries, Adama first proposes that ''Galactica'' will go about independent of the rest of the fleet and fight the Cylons. Roslin persuades him to instead protect and lead the fleet on their escape from the colonies. The ''Pegasus'', in contrast, ''did'' travel about independently attacking the Cylons. The condition of the ''Pegasus'''s crew may be an indication of what would have happened to ''Galactica'' if she stood and fought.
*In contrast to ''Galactica'''s nearly evenly gender-divided crew, the crew of the ''Pegasus'' seems predominantly male to a very high degree. Admiral Cain was the only female aboard ''Pegasus'' with a speaking role, with only a couple other females visible in the hallways or in the ''Pegasus'' ready room. This stands in notable contrast to Ron Moore's egalitarian vision of gender issues in the military, and appears to have been an intentional decision made during production. In addition, the dialogue of the drunken ''Pegasus'' crewmen suggests they've perhaps forgotten how to act around women— they either ignore or fail to understand Cally and Selix's disgust with their talk about gang-raping Gina. This may be a contributing factor to the behavior of the ''Pegasus'' crew—the relative paucity of women aboard ''Pegasus'' and the resulting sexual frustration could have led to the overly regimented, authoritarian, and brutal culture the crew developed, culminating in the senseless, repeated gang rape of the Cylon prisoner [[Gina]].
*Not simply relying on her rank, Admiral Cain asserts her dominance in more subtle ways as soon as she sets foot on ''Galactica''. Despite the fact that she's bringing one ship to join dozens, she welcomes ''Galactica'' back to the Colonial Fleet, thus defining the Fleet as wherever she is. Later she tells Roslin 'You look like I just shot your dog' when she asserts her authority over Adama. Both of these acts give some show of being welcoming or friendly, but also claim her spot at the top of the food chain.
**Although ''Pegasus'' is only one ship, it's only one of two battlestars in the fleet. Being a [[Mercury class battlestar]], it is also more advanced than ''Galactica'', which was scheduled to be decommissioned. As such, the older battlestar hasn't the resources that ''Pegasus'' does. Although Cain's statement obviously shows her enlarged ego, it rings true purely from the standpoint of military prowess.
**Cain is also the higher ranking officer—with the rest of Colonial Fleet destroyed, command naturally fell to her, not Adama, despite her absence from the remainder of the fleet. So by military regulation her statement also rings true.
*[[Peter Laird|Laird]], ''Pegasus' '' deck chief, refers to events since "the war happened". Admiral Cain and her ''Pegasus'' crew seem to still consider fighting against the Cylons to be a war, while in the [[Mini-series]] Commander Adama admitted that "the war is over, we lost".
**Laird is still on ''Galactica'' during the period immediately leading up to the assault on Caprica-Valerii. As the deck chief of the ''Pegasus'' wouldn't his presence be required on his own ship or has he, like Apollo and Starbuck, been reassigned?
***According to the podcast in a scene deleted for time, Laird is reassigned as deck chief of ''Galactica'' over Tyrol. Of course, that raises the question of who is now performing deck chief duty on Pegasus.
*Thrace's criticism of Taylor's reconaissance plan - that the Cylons would never leave such an obvious blind spot unaccounted for - is the same criticism she made of Tigh's initial assault plan in [[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]].

== Notes ==
*Population count is 49,605, a dramatic increase of 1,752 since the 47,853 count in "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", undoubtedly to account for the addition of Battlestar ''[[Pegasus(RDM)|Pegasus]]'' and her crew to the Colonial fleet.
**Cain notes that Pegasus lost 700 crew in the opening attack. Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne|Thorne]] also tells [[Gaius Baltar|Dr. Baltar]] that Gina killed 7 of his men. Also, Colonel [[Jack Fisk]] tells Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] that Cain executed the previous XO for failure to attack a Cylon staging area. Thus we may speculate that at the time of the attack her crew totalled to 2,460, give or take a few.
***This number does not take into account any casualties that may have occured because of the attack on the Cylon staging area, or any subsequent encounters with the Cylons.
***Given the relative ease that Cain had with removing disloyal officers -- according to Colonel Fisk, her XO had served with her for many years prior to his execution by Cain -- there may be additional officers she had swiftly court martialed (ref: Tyrol and Agathon) and executed as well. Given Cain's megalomaniac streak, it is also possible that some of the civilians she'd rescued from the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards may have met unfortunate "mishaps" as well.
**This is substantially smaller than ''[[Galactica]]'''s crew, possibly explained by many of Cain's crew being on leave at the time of the attack. ''Galactica'', although soon to be decomissioned, was still fully operational. Also, Pegasus's systems are newer, and may be more automated.
**Also, as [[Peter Laird|Laird]] indicates, many civilians were pressed into service. So the actual number of actual pre-Holocaust ''Pegasus'' crew members may be far less than indicated above.
*[[Louanne Katraine|Kat]] flies wingman to [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] in the opening sequence of this episode, as the [[CAP]] scouts ''Pegasus''. Evidently she's been judged fit to resume flight status after negligently damaging a Viper due to overuse of [[Stims]] in "[[Final Cut]]".
* As the episode ends, it's interesting to see that the bulk of ''[[Galactica]]'s'' Viper fleet consist of the Mark II's, while ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' had the Mark VII's. A classic picture of "old vs. new".
**While ''Pegasus'' seems to have entirely Viper Mk. VII's, they would presumably have had to removed most of the automated systems from them (to prevent Cylon virus infiltration). Doing this makes them more difficult to fly (''Galactica's'' few Mk. VII's are only used by the most capable pilots now). ''Pegasus' '' pilots might have more advanced fighers but they aren't as reliable now as the tried-and-true Mk. II's.
* [[Helena Cain]] is the female version of [[Cain (TOS)|Cain]], who was portrayed by the late [[Lloyd Bridges]] in the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978)|Battlestar Galactica]]''.
* This episode is inspired by the two part episode, "[[The Living Legend, Part I (TOS)|The Living Legend]]".
* [[Ronald D. Moore]] also wrote another episode called [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Pegasus The Pegasus], in the seventh season of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
* Visual effects gaffe: When we cut to ''Galactica's'' exterior as Adama makes is way to the bridge, it is behind and slightly above and to the left of ''Pegasus''. When we see it again a few minutes later as it launches Vipers towards ''Galactica'', it's quite a distance away from the fleet, above it and facing its left side.
* During the premiere airing of this episode on the Sci-Fi Channel, when the episode came back from commercial at the start of Act 3 a "Viewer Discretion Is Advised" black and white message has inserted, warning of "mature subject matter" and content. The following final act of the episode shows drunken ''Pegasus'' crewmen bragging about raping the Cylon agent known as Gina, then the scene where Lt.Thorne attempts to rape Caprica-Sharon and Tyrol and Agathon intervene and fight the marine guards appears.
* ''Pegasus'' crew wear a silver version of the colonial patch on their uniforms instead of the gold version used by ''Galactica'' and the colonial government.
**Apollo and Starbuck do not switch to this version after their transfer to ''Pegasus'', in this or subsequent episodes.

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
*'''Baltar''' (to Gina): The food is yours. It's not a trick. I'm not going to take it away at the last second. You know, I...um...I'm just gonna talk right now. I don't expect you to say anything. Back on Caprica, before the attack—and sometimes I forget there was a world before the attack—I knew someone…a woman, unlike any other woman I'd ever known. She was unique. Beautiful, clever, intensely sensual. When she wasn't in my bed, she was in my thoughts. She was a Cylon. And she changed my life in a very real, very fundamental way in that I have quite literally never stopped thinking about her, because I love her. To this very day, I love her. And she looks exactly like you. My name is Gaius Baltar, and I'm here to help you.

* ''Cain and Adama are discussing Helo and Tyrol's court-martial over [[wireless]]''
:'''Adama''': You told me they'd get a fair trial. What kind of a trial could they have possibly had?
:'''Cain''': I assure you I heard them out. I weighed their statements against those of the guards and I took into consideration their service records and commendations. It was a difficult decision, Commander, but I dare say it was a fair one.
:'''Adama''': They have the right to have their case heard by a jury.
:'''Cain''': I am a flag officer on detached service during a time of war. Regulations give me broad authority in this matter.
:'''Adama''' (to Tigh): Launch the fighters. (to Cain): You can quote me whatever regulation you'd like. I'm not going to let you execute my men.
:'''Cain''': I highly suggest you reconsider that statement, Commander.
:'''Fisk''': Admiral, ''Galactica'' is launching Vipers and a Raptor.
:'''Cain''': Commander, why are you launching Vipers?
:'''Adama''': Please arrange for Chief Tyrol and Lieutenant Agathon to be handed over to my marines as soon as they arrive.
:'''Cain''': I don't take orders from you!
:'''Adama''': Call it whatever you like. I'm getting my men.
:'''Cain''': You are making such a mistake.
:'''Adama''': I'm getting my men.

== Official Statements ==
*Ron D. Moore stated in his podcast that there were a number of scenes filmed for this episode that had to be deleted for time, but that he expects to be edited back into the episode for the DVD release. According to Moore, although most episode rough cuts run a little overtime and one or two scenes have to be edited out, "Pegasus" had more than a full extra Act worth of material left over. The full episode would have been an hour and 15 minutes long. Moore tried to put in more scenes to push it to 90 minutes, in which case Scifi Channel would air it as a 90 minute special (as they had done in the past for "Stargate Sg-1" on occasion), but ultimately not enough material could be included in "Pegasus" to make it 90 minutes long without detracting from story quality; they were left with an episode that was too short to be a 90 minute special, but also too long to include all filmed scenes in a one hour episode. Deleted scenes, which Moore says will be restored in the DVD release, include:
**A scene when Adama, Tigh, and Roslin are heading to the flight deck to meet Admiral Cain when she first arrives on the ship, and while they're walking Adama and Tigh give Roslin a brief biography of Cain; who she is, that she was an up and coming officer promoted to Admiral over several other possible choices, etc.
**An extension to Admiral Cain's meeting with Adama and Roslin in Adama's quarters, in which she explains that ''Pegasus'' survived Cylon computer virus infiltration through the [[Command Navigation Program]] because ''Pegasus'' was being overhauled at the shipyards, and most of her computers were disconnected.
**An extension to the scene in Cain's quarters on ''Pegasus'' where Adama and Cain discuss how Pegasus is a [[Mercury-class]] battlestar, and the differences between this newer model and ''Galactica''. Cain also explains that she intentionally doesn't have any chairs there so her meetings with her staff will run faster.
**A scene where Admiral Cain asks about ''Galactica's'' Cylon-prisoner, Caprica-Sharon, and goes to the brig to observe her.
***According to an interview with James Callis (Baltar) in issue #197 of TV Zone, "There’s another cut scene where Cain is interviewing Sharon. She hardly says anything but she’s obviously furious that this Cylon has been treated so well. It sickens her, and that’s when Baltar realizes he’s dealing with a psycho."
**According to an interview with James Callis (Baltar) in issue #197 of TV Zone, "In one of [the deleted scenes], Six actually says to Baltar, ‘God, [Cain]’s a real tough nut, isn’t she, Gaius? She’s just your type. You like hard women, don’t you?’ Baltar says, ‘Yeah, I do.’"
*According to RDM's podcast, there was entire subplot alluded to in the episode which was in the original script, but which was excised before it was ever filmed due to time constraints. The fragment that remains is when Roslin complains to Adama that ''Pegasus'' is focusing on re-supplying the Fleet's military assets (re-arming ''Galactica'' and re-supplying ''Pegasus'' from stores in the civillilan fleet) while ignoring the needs of the civillian fleet. The subplot would show how Roslin wanted ''Pegasus'' to provide machine parts for repairs to the civillian Fleet, and that after these are repeatedly ignored the civillian fleet ultimately goes "on strike" by refusing to give ''Pegasus'' more [[tylium]] fuel. It would also expand on Cain's refusal to acknowledge Roslin as the President (and therefore her superior as Commander-in-Chief).
*Moore also stated in the podcast that an alternate version of the attempted rape scene with Boomer was also filmed in which the rape was actually underway when Tyrol and Helo intervened. Ultimately, the decision was made to use the version seen where Thorne is stopped just in time, before he is able to rape Boomer. This is an ''alternate'' scene and thus doesn't "really" happen and will ''not'' be re-edited into the Director's Cut.

*Unfortunately, it has been [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=4712 confirmed] that the "Season 2.0" DVD box set of Battlestar Galactica (containing the first ten episodes of season two) will '''not''' contain the Director's Cut of "Pegasus". Universal Home Video said that they could not ready the extended version of the episode in time for the DVD release. However, it ''will'' now be the first episode in the boxed set of "Season 2.5" (containing episodes 11 through 20 of season 2). So the next DVD set will have 11 episodes in it. The practical application of all of this is that fans have the opportunity to buy ''both'' versions (in his podcast, Moore said he liked the extended cut better because of the great character moments and drama, but that some might feel that the tight, rapid pace of the cut-down episode kept it more thrilling). This was not the case with Universal's previous release of a 90 minute "Stargate SG-1" episode, in which only one version was put into the DVD set.

*In an [http://www.battlestargalactica.com/outside_docs/bg_outdoc0050.htm interview with BattlestarGalactica.com on December 28th, 2005] RDM was asked about controversy surrounding this episode:

:"Q: Walt Kelly's Pogo used the phrase "the enemy is us" as part of a 1970's anti-litter campaign, and recently David Eick has cited it as a theme in the longer Pegasus arc of the second season. Some of the show's vocal critics charge that this notion promotes a "Blame America" attitude or is a sort of stealth anti-Americanism. What is this concept supposed to convey as we head into the bottom half of the second season?

:RDM: The reference is to the fact that human beings are often their own worst enemy. In the context of the show, it means that the real challenges to who and what these people are often comes not from bullets, but from within. I continue to be amazed at how easily one gets tagged with the moniker of "anti-American" these days by those on the right. It's almost... well, anti-American."

* From [http://www.thescifiworld.net/interviews/aaron_douglas_01.htm TheSciFiWorld.net's inverview] with [[Aaron Douglas]]:

: '''Gilles Nuytens:''' I read some critics about the "rape" scene shown in the last episode aired, as you played in this scene, what's your opinion on it?
: '''Aaron Douglas:''' BSG is a reflection of real life and these types of events go on everyday. Many people were upset by it but to me they need to realize that this is the world we live in. Does that mean they have or want to watch? Absolutely not but do not discount it as sensationalism. What we shot was so much more graphic than what was aired and I understand why they did not use it. In what aired the rape had not totally begun. It was suggestive. I thought it was a good scene and on point with the story and not added to draw in viewers. That suggestion is absurd. I know Ron Moore very well and he is not the kind of person or writer to add scenes purely for sensationalistic or ratings purposes. They have to be on point, truthfully reflect the situation and todays world and be relevant to the story or they are not there. It also amazes me that people have no problem with beatings, shootings, bombings, stabbings etc. but show a breast, a bottom, or a grope and they fly off the wall to condemn it.

: This happens in all areas of film, television and theatre and it is ridiculous.

== Guest stars ==
[[Michelle Forbes]] ([[Helena Cain]]) Graham Beckel ([[Jack Fisk]]) John Pyper-Ferguson ([[Cole Taylor|Cole "Stinger" Taylor]]) Sebastian Spence ([[Whiplash]]) Fulvio Cecere ([[Alistair Thorne]]) Vincent Gale ([[Peter Laird]]) Derek Delost ([[Vireem]]) Mike Dopud ([[Gage]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] ([[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aaron+Douglas Aaron Douglas] ([[Galen Tyrol]]) [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nicki+Clyne Nicki Clyne] ([[Cally]]) Michael Jonsson (Pegasus Guard #2)

==Statistics==

* USA [[Wikipedia:Nielsen Ratings|Nielsen Ratings]]: 2.0 household rating

{{Episode List}}
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category: Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Anne Cofell Saunders]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Rymer]]