Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Revelations

2008-06-14T14:26:15Z

Roddickrocker21: /* Analysis */ Analyzing the state of which Earth was found

{{Episode Data
| image=4x10 - Revelations - Promo 1.jpg
| title= Revelations
| season= 4
| episode= 10
| forumthread= 1300
| extra=Mid-Season Cliffhanger<br/>Extra Act
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]] <br/>
[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Rymer]]
| production=412
| rating=
| US airdate=13 June 2008
| CAN airdate=13 June 2008
| UK airdate=17 June 2008
| dvd=
| population=39,663
| prev= [[The Hub]]
| next= [[Sometimes a Great Notion]]
| imdb=0993911
}}

== Overview ==

: ''Lead by [[Number Three]], the band of rebel Cylons hold President Roslin and ''Galactica''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> pilots hostage while attempting to lure the "Watchtower Four" out of hiding. Meanwhile, [[Kara Thrace]]'s Viper may hold a previously undiscovered clue to finding [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].''

== Summary ==

=== Teaser ===

=== Act 1 ===

=== Act 2 ===

=== Act 3 ===

=== Act 4 ===

=== Act 5 ===

== Notes ==

* This episode is the mid-season cliffhanger for the first ten episodes of [[Season 4 (2008-09)|Season 4]]. The conclusion to the cliffhanger, "[[Sometimes a Great Notion]]", will not air until 2009.
* The episode was given an advance screening in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 11th, in order to draw attention for the upcoming Emmy Award nominations. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://syfyportal.com/news425104.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' Hosting Free Screening In L.A.}}</ref>

== Analysis == 
* How Earth came to the state which the fleet found it in is uncertain. It is possible that the Number 1's, 2's and 3's found it earlier and destroyed it. But, due to the actions taken by the Landing Party (scanning the soil, etc.) as well as the similarity of the ruins to a post-nuclear blast, it is likely that the original inhabitants destroyed themselves through nuclear war; this would supposedly answer the question of what time period the show is placed in, suggest it takes place in the near future.

== Questions ==

* Is [[Number Three]] honest in her claim that there are only four of the Final Five in the [[Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]? If so, where is the fifth and last Cylon? If she's lying, is it because she still harbors distrust for her compatriots and the humans?
* What of the other [[Number Two|Twos]], [[Number Four|Fours]], and [[Number Five|Fives]]?
* What happened to [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]?
* Will the other Cylons find the Fleet and the rebels, as well as Earth? If so, will they finish [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|what they]] [[Cylon Civil War|started]]?

== Official Statements ==

  

<br>

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

 

== Guest Stars ==

* [[Michael Hogan]] as [[Saul Tigh]]
* [[Rekha Sharma]] as [[Tory Foster]]
* [[Aaron Douglas]] as [[Galen Tyrol]]
* [[Michael Trucco]] as [[Samuel Anders]]
* [[Lucy Lawless]] as [[Number Three]]
* [[Callum Keith Rennie]] as [[Number Two]] / [[Leoben Conoy]]
* [[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Captain [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
* [[Kandyse McClure]] as Lieutenant [[Anastasia Dualla]]
* [[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]]
* [[Bodie Olmos]] as Lieutenant [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza]]
* [[Keegan Connor Tracy]] as [[Jeanne]]
* [[Lara Gilchrist]] as [[Paulla Schaffer]]
* [[Finn R. Devitt]] as [[Nicholas Tyrol]] (credited as "Baby Nicky")
* [[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]
* [[Brad Dryborough]] as Lieutenant [[Hoshi]]
* [[Alexandra Thomas]] as [[Hera Agathon]]
* [[Heather Doerksen]] as [[Unnamed Galactica and Pegasus crew (RDM)#Blonde female Marine|Surveillance Marine]] 
* [[Leo Li Chiang]] as [[Tattooed pilot]] (uncredited)

== References ==

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:Episodes_written_by_Bradley_Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes_written_by_David_Weddle]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[ms:Revelations]]

Erin Mathias

2008-05-03T03:10:50Z

Roddickrocker21: Including Cause of Death

{{Character Data
|photo=Mathias.jpg
|birthname=Erin Mathias
|seen=Exodus, Part I
|death= Impact from Explosion ([[The Road Less Traveled]])
|role=[[Colonial Marine Corps|Marine]]
|rank=Gunnery Sergeant
|actor=[[Eileen Pedde]]
}}
Gunnery Sergeant '''Erin Mathias''' is one of the few [[Marine]] NCOs seen in the series.

Under [[Kendra Shaw]] and [[Kara Thrace]] she leads a team of Marines that boards a [[Guardian basestar|Cylon basestar]] in order to rescue a captured Raptor crew. When the arming mechanism of a nuclear device, that they brought along to destroy the basestar, fails and she can't repair it, she rigs a manual switch. Shaw then detonates the bomb manually ([[Razor]]).

Later Mathias leads [[Sharon Agathon]]'s Marine escort on [[New Caprica]] as part of Admiral [[William Adama]]'s rescue operation ([[Exodus, Part I]]). She and her team repel a [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] ambush on a preliminary meeting between Agathon and the New Caprica Resistance under [[Samuel Anders]]. She then accompanies the resistance group back to [[New Caprica City]] to discuss the rescue plan with all leaders, among them [[Saul Tigh]], [[Laura Roslin]] and [[Tom Zarek]] ([[Exodus, Part I]]). When Adama's plans are executed, Mathias is in charge of the Marines who participate in the attack on the [[New Caprica Detention Center]] ([[Exodus, Part II]]).

Mathias is later part of the party that boards the infected basestar discovered at the [[Lion's Head Nebula]]. She is assigned to execute the prisoners retrieved from this baseship in a failed plan to infect the entire Cylon race via the download process ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

She also leads the Marine force on the [[algae planet]] and is ordered by Lee Adama to detain Samuel Anders when he wants to rescue his wife whose Raptor was shot down by the Cylons ([[The Eye of Jupiter]]).

Sergeant Mathias leads the Marines responding to [[Kara Thrace]] taking President Roslin hostage in Adama's quarters. Later, she releases Thrace from the [[brig]] and escorts her to the hangar deck ([[Six of One]]).

Mathias dies during an extravehicular inspection of a damaged [[Heavy Raider]], when its reactor explodes ([[The Road Less Traveled]]).

==Notes==
*The character's first name was supplied by [[Bradley Thompson]].
*Ron Moore named the character after Jim Mathias, the high school superintendent that preceded his father at Chowchilla Union High School <ref>{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=Exodus, Part I|act=1|id=mathias-namesake|timestamp=|totalrunning=}}</ref><ref>{{cite companion|season=3|page=42}}</ref>.

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

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Recurring Guest Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Template:Characters

2008-05-03T03:07:30Z

Roddickrocker21: Adding Srgnt. Mathias's named to death list (after Road Less Traveled)

<br clear="all"/>
<div align="center">
{| id="characters" class="messagebox"
|-
| align="center" | '''[[Portal:Characters|Characters]] in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]]'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" |'''Main:''' [[William Adama]] | [[Laura Roslin]] | [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] | [[Lee Adama|Lee "Apollo" Adama]] | [[Gaius Baltar]] | [[Number Six]] | [[Number Eight|Number Eight/Sharon]]
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" |'''Supporting:''' [[Saul Tigh]] | [[Galen Tyrol]] | [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]] | [[Felix Gaeta]] | [[Anastasia Dualla]] | [[Samuel Anders]] | [[Tory Foster]]
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" |'''Recurring:''' [[Cottle|Dr. Cottle]] | [[Brendan Costanza|"Hot Dog"]] | [[Margaret Edmondson|"Racetrack"]] | [[Diana Seelix]] | [[Tom Zarek]] | [[Number One|Number One/Cavil]] | [[Number Two|Number Two/Leoben]] | [[Number Four|Number Four/Simon]] | [[Number Five|Number Five/Doral]]
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" |'''Deceased:''' [[Socinus]] | [[Alex Quartararo|"Crashdown"]] | [[Elosha]] | [[Helena Cain]] | [[Billy Keikeya]] | [[Ellen Tigh]] | [[Louanne Katraine|"Kat"]] | [[James Lyman|"Jammer"]] | [[Number Three|Number Three/D'Anna Biers]] | [[Kendra Shaw]] | [[Callandra Tyrol|Cally Tyrol]] | [[Erin Mathias]]
|-
| align="right" | {{navbar|type=mini|Characters}}
|}
</div>
{{#switch:{{PAGENAME}}
| Number One
| Number Two
| Number Three
| Number Four
| Number Five
| Number Six
| Number Eight
| Sharon Valerii
| Sharon Agathon
| Cavil
| Leoben Conoy
| Simon
| Tory Foster
| Saul Tigh
| Samuel Anders
| Galen Tyrol = {{Characters (RDM Cylons)}}

}}
<noinclude>
[[Category:Navigational Infobox|{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[de:Vorlage:Charaktere]]
[[es:Plantilla:Characters]]
</noinclude>

The Road Less Traveled

2008-05-03T03:05:01Z

Roddickrocker21: Removing spoiler warning from previously aired information.

{{air|forumthread=1008}}
{{spoiler}}

{{Episode Data
| image=4x05 - The Road Less Travelled - Promo 1.jpg
| title= The Road Less Traveled
| season= 4
| episode= 5
| guests=
| forumthread= 1008
| writer=[[Mark Verheiden]] <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/02/battlestar-ga-2.html|title=The Watcher: 'Battlestar Galactica': Hints and clues about Season 4}}</ref>
| story=
| director=
| production=407
| rating=
| US airdate=1 May 2008
| UK airdate=
| dvd=
| population=
| prev= [[Escape Velocity]]
| next= [[Faith]]
}}

== Overview ==
The prospect of a truce between humanity and the Cylons encourages Starbuck to trust an old enemy.<ref>Episode description was unintentionally accessible on scifi.com until recently. Descriptions were noted on other websites before removed, and editor confirmed them several days ago before removal from scif.com. </ref>

== Summary ==

=== Teaser ===

=== Act 1 ===

=== Act 2 ===

=== Act 3 ===

=== Act 4 ===

== Notes ==
*The title is derived from the poem "The Road Not Taken" by [[w:Robert Frost|Robert Frost]]
::''Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—''
::''I took the one less traveled by,''
::''And that has made all the difference.''
The common interpretation is that one may be rewarded greatly by choosing a more difficult path than the one used by the crowd. The phrase may also have had a religious meaning for Frost, alluding to [http://www.newadvent.org/bible/mat007.htm Matthew 7,12-14], which mentions a broad gate leading to destruction and a narrow gate leading to salvation. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://local.google.com/answers/threadview?id=426710|title=Google Answers: Origin of "road less travelled"}}</ref>

== Analysis ==


== Questions ==


== Official Statements ==





== Noteworthy Dialogue ==



== Guest Stars ==


== External Links ==

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

{{Episode list (RDM season 4)}}

[[Category:RDM]]

The Destiny

2007-05-22T11:40:37Z

Roddickrocker21: /* The Aurora Connection */ - Changing an opinion to a possibility

:''For information on an Original Series [[BW:SEP|separate continuity novel]], see [[Destiny (book)]].''

The nature of '''[[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace's]] specific destiny''' began in the season 1 episode, "[[Flesh and Bone]]", continues through "[[Maelstrom]]", where the character dies, and continues with theological ramifications in the season 3 cliffhanger, "[[Crossroads, Part II]]". Indications from the series' events strongly suggest that Thrace has an unknown connection to one or more locales or entities: The [[Temple of Five]], the Cylon's [[final five]], the [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] and the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)|The Lords of Kobol]].

Thrace is told of her part in a destiny by the second copy of the Cylon [[Leoben Conoy]] in the season 1 episode "[[Flesh and Bone]]" during his interrogation. The lines suggest that Thrace's destiny also involves the Leoben himself:

<div style="font-size:90%"><blockquote>"This is not your path, Starbuck. You have a different destiny."</blockquote>
<blockquote>"All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."</blockquote>
<blockquote>"You kneel before idols and ask for guidance and you can't see that your destiny's already been written. Each of us plays a role, each time a different role. Maybe the last time I was the interrogator, and you were the prisoner. The players change, the story remains the same. And this time...this time, your role is to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It's your destiny, and mine."</blockquote></div>

In this same dialogue, the Leoben talks of the abuse that Thrace suffered at the hands of her mother, [[Socrata Thrace]].

==The Eye of Jupiter==
[[Image:Valley of Darkness-Starbuck Helo.jpg|thumb|The [[Eye of Jupiter]] in Starbuck's apartment]]
Fewer elements are noted about the destiny in season 2. In the episode "[[Valley of Darkness]]", [[Helo]] and Thrace enter Thrace's old apartment, where, among other paintings, a noticeable "bullseye"-like painting is seen. Several episodes later, in "[[The Farm]]", the Cylon later to be known as [[Sharon Agathon]] tells Thrace after her rescue from the [[farm]]: "They know who you are, Kara. You’re special. Leoben told you that. You have a destiny." A [[Simon]] also reflects knowledge of Thrace's abuse as a child through a medical examination in the same episode.

[[Image:S3-eyeofjupiter.jpg|thumb|The 'mandala' in the [[Temple of Five]]]]
By late into season 3, the episodes "[[The Eye of Jupiter]]" and "[[Rapture]]" reveal the [[Eye of Jupiter]], a symbol left by the [[Thirteenth Tribe]] in the [[Temple of Five]]. As the home star of the [[algae planet]] goes nova, the star's discharge is very similar to one that was observed in the distant [[Ionian system]] at the time of the Thirteenth Tribe's journey, and greatly resembles the symbol of the Eye in the temple. Only Helo had seen what is now called the "[[w:mandala|mandala]]" by the Fleet leadership before, and shows Thrace the photo of one mandala from the Temple of Five, comparing it to Thrace's symbol. Thrace remembers the words of the Leoben from "Flesh and Bone."

By "[[Maelstrom]]", Thrace is seeing the mandala in many objects: the dripping of wax, and as the colors of a gas giant's planetary storm. Thrace becomes increasing distracted by and attracted to the symbol whenever it appears. When she is knocked unconscious during her last flight and "awakens" in her old apartment (where the mandala appears again), a [[Virtual Leoben|person in Leoben's likeness]] greets Thrace and allows her to relive the last moments with her mother. This section vaguely alludes to information that Socrata knew about her daughter's path in life and tried to prepare her for it as best she knew how. The [[Podcast:Maelstrom|podcast]] for the episode by [[Ron D. Moore]] supports this by stating:

<div style="font-size:90%"><blockquote><nowiki>[. . .]</nowiki>"(In) this episode, you could see that there was really something behind it. That Kara really does have a destiny. That Kara really was fated for a particular end. And that mom was trying to prepare her for that. And prepare her for those roles, on some level, even if she couldn't quite articulate why and what she was doing to her daughter, that her mother believed and had seen oracles and had felt that Kara was special, and that out of her desire to toughen her daughter and make her daughter strong enough to take on the challenges that she was gonna face one day, she had really stepped over the line and had abused the daughter and had created this really toxic relationship between mother and child."</blockquote></div>

Moore's note on Socrata Thrace's use of [[oracle]]s strongly support the connection between Thrace and the Lords of Kobol.

==The Aurora Connection==

When Thrace visits the oracle [[Yolanda Brenn]], the pilot finds a figurine of [[Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn|Aurora]], ostensibly a figure of worship in the Colonial faith, if not a Lord of Kobol itself. The oracle tells Thrace to keep the figure until Thrace realizes who should receive it. That person is [[William Adama|Admiral Adama]]. After Thrace's death, Adama places the Aurora figurine on his sailing ship model as a [[w:figurehead|figurehead]]. The figurehead on a ship given by Thrace may allude to a connection to the path to Earth through Thrace and her destiny, but little more can be determined by this aired information.

The most mysterious element towards the end of the episode involves the revelation by Thrace that the [[Virtual Leoben|Leoben in her vision]] is not in fact Leoben (nor does it claim to be). What or who the vision was that guided Thrace in the vision is unknown, but "Leoben's" presence with Thrace in her last moments before choosing to die reflects the "Flesh and Bone" line from an actual Leoben: "You have to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It's your destiny, and mine." The "Leoben" claims to guide Thrace to what lies "between life and death". Thrace then reawakens in her cockpit, and finds herself rapidly losing altitude, endangering her Viper. After briefly saying goodbye to [[Lee Adama]], she intentionally lets her Viper drop below the critical altitude. Thrace sees a vision in a white light (viewers also see Thrace as a young girl) after which her Viper explodes.

In the [[Crossroads, Part II|Season 3 finale]], Kara Thrace's destiny as a possible [[w:avatar|avatar]] of Aurora appears to gain support when she reappears in a pristine Viper Mark II, flying alongside and speaking with Lee Adama. The fact that Apollo suggests that Thrace's Viper on his DRADIS identifies her as a physical object, not a hallucination or [[Virtual beings|other vision]], although it is possible that in addition to hallucinating Thrace, Adama in turn hallucinated her viper on the DRADIS scan. The method of Kara Thrace's resurrection is unclear. The [[Podcast:Crossroads, Part II|podcast]] for this episode confirms that Thrace ''did'' die, and has returned--something that, prior to this episode, only a [[humanoid Cylon]] could do.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial History (RDM)]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion]]
[[Category:Colonial Religion (RDM)]]
[[Category:Cylon Religion (RDM)]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Flight of the Phoenix

2007-04-16T11:22:03Z

Roddickrocker21: /* Summary */

{{Episode Data
| image = Blackbird_FotP.JPG
| title=Flight of the Phoenix
| series=
| season=2
| episode=9
| guests=
| writer=[[Bradley Thompson]]<br/>[[David Weddle]]
| story=
| director=[[Michael Nankin]]
| production=209
| rating= 1.9
| US airdate=2005-09-16
| UK airdate=2006-03-07
| dvd= {{Season 2.0 NTSC DVD release date}} '''US'''<br/>{{Season 2 PAL DVD release date}} '''UK'''
| population= 47853
| oldpopulation= 47853
| prev=[[Final Cut]]
| next=[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]
| podcast=Y
}}

== Overview ==

:''[[Galen Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] throws himself into the task of constructing a new [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] from scratch, despite the ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' crew's misgivings and apprehension. [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] must deal with the repercussions of his relationship with [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] on Caprica. A Cylon computer [[virus]] long thought deleted reasserts itself in ''Galactica's'' computers, putting the ship and the crew in danger.''

== 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 [[Humanoid Cylon]] [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]. [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] and Chief Tyrol have a fight over [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]]'s love.
* 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 they and others help Tyrol.
* Helo suggests carbon composite material for the skin in lieu of the scarce metal plating normally used for Vipers. As a result Tyrol's new ship has stealth capabilities; it is nearly invisible to [[DRADIS]].
* [[Kara Thrace]], [[Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]] and [[Lee Adama]] nearly suffocate when the life-support systems on the [[firing range]] malfunction.
* A Cylon [[Logic bomb|logic bomb]] has studied all ship's systems. It 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, will 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 [[Great Cylon Turkey Shoot|joyous moment of payback]].
* Kara Thrace takes the new fighter, dubbed the [[Blackbird]], for a initially ungainly test flight. This fighter is designed for speed, and soon delivers it. Lee Adama, in a Viper chase plane, is horrified when the Blackbird disappears, but Starbuck 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 [[Miniseries]], 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 have said about Valerii's aid or the logic bomb?
*Is [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] attracted to Apollo (or vice versa)? Dualla seemed to "check out" Apollo's "backside" in "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", and now she's in close physical contact with him ([[The Captain's Hand|Answer]]).
*Helo gets 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"?
* Where did Helo 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 [[Miniseries]], Starbuck was put in the [[brig]] for striking a superior officer. Now, Starbuck assaults Racetrack but there was no visible punishment, and Tyrol gets into a fight with Helo (who outranks him), also with no apparent punishment. The deck crews aren't bothering to hide the [[Wikipedia:Moonshine|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 chastisement 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-Valerii 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 she was merely compiling it in her head.
*If the Cylons are so interested and cautious about protecting Caprica-Valerii 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 [[Humanoid Cylon]]s can transfer their consciousness to other copies of themselves ([[Miniseries]]), but are other Cylon models (such as the drones) interconnected? Is there some 'collective consciousness' at work (similar to the 'Borg' in Star Trek)?

== Analysis ==
* While Humanoid Cylons appear human to the cellular level, Caprica-Valerii could control a fiber-optic connection inserted into her forearm. This suggests that the biological design of Humanoid Cylons uses light-sensitive cells disguised as regular cells in their forearms as data access nodes. 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 Humanoid Cylons.
* Tyrol's comment to Lee Adama on the lack of miracles, and his answer to the problem, may remind some of another [[Wikipedia:Montgomery Scott|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.
** It was likely (as shown later through the events of "[[Downloaded]]" to "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]") they there are indeed different Cylon [[Caprica-Six|factions]] working at cross purposes.
* 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.
**''Galactica'' had no idea how long until Cylon reinforcements could appear. 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'' has 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 use of the [[FTL]] drive from one of these ships is mentioned by Lt. Gaeta as part of the planning of the [[Caprica Resistance]] [[SAR]] in "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]." Another factor would be the potentially still active Cylon Centurions, probably not affected by the virus transmitted by Sharon.
*As noted below, Helo is now assigned as a Viper pilot. While Helo's specialty to date as as an [[ECO]], it is very likely that ''any'' Colonial officer who wears a [[flight suit]] is also a qualified (if not highly experienced) [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] ''and'' [[Raptor]] pilot. This appears confirmed through the actions of many characters. Commander Adama is seen himself flying a Raptor in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]." [[Racetrack]] is seen on [[ECO]] duty in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]" but later is Raptor pilot in several episodes.
*It was Helo that suggested the use of carbon composites for the Blackbird, and Starbuck says "Good call, Helo" after it is finished. Despite everything, Helo's opinions are still respected, perhaps symbolic of his redemption in the eyes of his crewmates.
*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 ''[[Wikipedia:Deus ex machina |deus ex machina]]'' events to close up the episode. For more analysis on these events, see this [[Science in the Re-imagined_Series#Construction of the Blackbird |section]] of the article [[Science in the Re-imagined Series]].
**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.
*Not counting deleted scenes, Sharon is the only Humanoid Cylon to appear in this episode.

== 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]]).
* ''[[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 (mythology)|phoenix]] is an animal from Egyptian mythology (and those derived) that, at the end of its lifespan, burns into ashes from which another arises.
* The [[Blackbird]], a new stealth fighter craft, has been constructed by Chief Tyrol with help from the crew.
* 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]] (unrealistically) 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 the events of "[[Scattered]]."
* This is the first episode without an appearance by [[Number Six]].
** She appears in a brief scene in CIC which was ultimately deleted; it is available on the Season 2.0 DVD set and on Scifi.com.
* When Chief Tyrol reconciles with Cally (regarding her killing of Boomer), she reaches into a Viper and fixes something he couldn't reach, and he responds "Nice to be small, huh?" This is reminiscent of the scene at the end of the [[Miniseries]], 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 "Boomer" Valerii.
* President Roslin returns the book "[[Dark Day]]" to Commander Adama, which he gave to her back in the second episode, "[[Water]]."
* Chief Tyrol and Boomer were planning to leave the military together and get married before the Cylon attack.
*This is the first episode of the Re-imagined Series that does not involve any characters appearing on a planet. Further, "Flight of the Phoenix" is the first episode whose story is contained entirely on ''Galactica'' (or its Vipers) and doesn't even visit another ship in the civilian Fleet, such as ''[[Colonial One]]''.
*In one shot after Apollo states "weapons free" there is a shot of a heavy raider getting hit, then the blackbird flies by, does a 180 degree turn and stays there, before an explosion covers it up and the scene changes.(time index 35:18-25:21)

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==

*''On the flight deck:''
:'''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 locker room:''
:'''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!

*''Speaking to Tigh:''
:'''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?

*''At the unveiling of '''[[Laura]]''':''
:'''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."

* In issue #348 of ''Starlog'' magazine, p. 32, Nicki Clyne (Cally) said:

:"It was an honor that the writers let Cally shoot Sharon; that was a big moment in the show...but then Cally is locked away in a jail cell, and that was pretty boring. When she gets out, everyone gives Cally an anti-climactic little party and she goes back to work. That's one of the funny patterns about my character: She has all of these crazy, intense, traumatic experiences, and then in the next episode, you'll see her back on the ship, turning a screw. There's a lot going on, obviously, that you ''don't'' see, and as actors, we do our best to fill in those blanks. But yes, essentially, after whatever horrible things happen to Cally, in the end, she just goes back to work!"

== Guest stars ==
*[[Michael Hogan]] as Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]
*[[Aaron Douglas]] as Chief [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Tahmoh Penikett]] as Lt. [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]]
*[[Paul Campbell]] as [[Billy Keikeya]]
*[[Nicki Clyne]] as Specialist [[Cally Tyrol|Cally Henderson]]
*[[Alessandro Juliani]] as Lt. [[Felix Gaeta]]
*[[Kandyse McClure]] as Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla]]
*[[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Dr. [[Cottle]]
*[[Bodie Olmos]] as Lt. [[Brendan Costanza|Brendant "Hot Dog" Costanza]]
*[[Leah Cairns]] as Lt. [[Margaret Edmondson|Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson]]
*[[Jennifer Halley]] as [[Diana Seelix]]
*[[Christian Tessier]] as [[Tucker Clellan|Tucker "Duck" Clellan]]
*[[Dominic Zamprogna]] as Specialist [[James Lyman|James "Jammer" Lyman]]
*[[Don Thompson]] as [[Anthony Figurski]]

{{episode list (RDM season 2)}}

[[Category:Episodes written by Bradley Thompson]]
[[Category:Episodes written by David Weddle]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Michael Nankin]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Margaret Edmondson

2007-04-14T17:04:55Z

Roddickrocker21:

{{Character Data
|photo= MaggieCrop.jpg
|age=
|colony=
|birthname= Margaret Edmondson
|callsign= Racetrack
|death=
|seen= Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role= [[Raptor]] pilot and [[ECO]], assigned to ''[[Galactica]]''
|rank= Lieutenant
|actor= [[Leah Cairns]]
|cylon=
|name=
}}

Lt. '''Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson''' is a female [[Raptor]] pilot aboard ''[[Galactica]]''. She harbors a deep hatred of the Cylons, almost certainly because of the loss of loved ones during the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. In her job she is competent and trusted, although she is willing to put her personal beliefs above duty. Racetrack tends to have a dark, fairly cynical attitude after the Cylon attack.

== Biography ==
Racetrack accompanies [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] on a mission to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]. She witnesses Boomer's attempted assassination of [[William Adama]] in ''Galactica's'' [[CIC]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Immediately after, she informs the CIC staff that Boomer returned from placing the nuclear warhead inside the basestar orbiting [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] without her helmet on and that she probably gave away ''Galactica's'' position to the Cylons ([[Scattered]]).

During the [[SAR]] mission to Kobol, Racetrack pilots the Raptor carrying [[Lee Adama]], encountering fire from Cylon anti-aircraft missiles. [[Galen Tyrol]] destroys the missiles' [[DRADIS]] dish on the surface, and they fail to lock on. Racetrack's Raptor then destroys the [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] on the ground with a missile, and recovers the trapped ''Galactica'' crewmen ([[Fragged]]).

She aids the escape of President [[Laura Roslin]] from the [[brig]] by falsely claiming that her [[Raptor]] was having technical problems, enabling the furloughed Lee Adama to report to the hangar bay instead of the brig per his arrest. She then helps prep the Raptor used as the escape craft for launch, but remains on ''Galactica'' ([[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]). On Boomer's death, Edmondson becomes the only person in the Fleet who has seen the inside of a basestar.

Racetrack serves as ECO on [[Raptor 1]], plotting the best point of orbital entry when taking Commander Adama to [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] to find and meet with President Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]). Since then, Margaret flies basic supply runs between ''Galactica'' and [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]]. She continues to light candles for fallen comrades in the Cylon attack. She is almost certain she will eventually die on a mission, and is more focused on taking out as many Cylons as she can before that happens ([[Final Cut]]).

Along with many other pilots, Edmondson intially snubs [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] upon his return because of his romantic relationship with the Caprica-originated copy of Sharon Valerii. After she insults [[Kara Thrace]] over the matter, Starbuck pushes Racetrack face-first into a card table ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]). Racetrack later congratulates Helo on his help with the [[Blackbird]], whose [[DRADIS]]-absorbing carbon composites Helo suggested, which serves as a quiet apology for her earlier rudeness.

[[Image:Racetrack2.jpg|left|thumb|Edmondson in a Raptor]]
Racetrack is particularly overjoyed when ''Galactica'' encounters the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''. While socializing with ''Pegasus'' pilots in the hangar bay, she fails to understand Starbuck's contempt for the "scorecards" on which they tally their kills ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]). Racetrack's Raptor rescues the unconscious Apollo during the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], and she revives him using defibrilator paddles in her emergency gear ([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]). When Racetrack transports Apollo and a squad of Marines to check the ''[[Daru Mozu]]'' for signs of sabotage by Cylon sympathizers, her vessel narrowly escapes the ensuing explosion ([[Epiphanies]]). Racetrack also later flew a Raptor transporting Apollo back from ''[[Cloud Nine]]'' after he spent some off duty time there with [[Shevon]] ([[Black Market]]).

During Starbuck's rescue mission for the [[Caprica Resistance]], Racetrack serves as ECO on one of the 20 Raptors to make a series of ten jumps, aided by a Cylon navigation system. On the first jump, Racetrack's Raptor jumps to the wrong coordinates, ending up in a gas cloud. Starbuck and the main group proceed on without her. Preparing to return to ''Galactica'', Racetrack picks up a lot of gravity distortions on her sensors and upon clearing the gas cloud she discovers an inhabited planet that the Fleet could colonize ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]). Though the planet turned out to be marginally habitable at best, it would later be named [[New Caprica]], and most of the human survivors of the Fleet would settle down there permanently ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]).

Racetrack remains with the Fleet and flies missions to detect communications from the [[New Caprica Resistance]] ([[Occupation]]). She also plays a leading role in the rescue mission to New Caprica ([[Exodus, Part I]]).

Although she is a qualified Raptor pilot, Edmondson agrees to serve as [[Sharon Agathon]]'s ECO after the crews of ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' are combined and far more pilots than aircraft are available, because she thinks being ECO is better than not flying at all. When Edmondson refers to Agathon using the callsign of her Cylon doppelgänger, "[[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]]", the room of pilots gleefully offer a less controversial callsign for Sharon Agathon: "Athena".

On her first mission with Agathon, the two make a recon flight to the [[Lion's Head Nebula]] to investigate a clue to the location of Earth. The information proves to be correct, but they also find a deserted Cylon [[basestar]] ([[Torn]]). After undergoing precautionary quarantine measures due to a possible [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|viral]] infection, the two fly together again in the [[Battle of NCD2539]] ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

Edmondson lends her Raptor talents in a harrowing series of escort flights to shepherd the Fleet through a very dangerous star cluster to a [[algae planet|planet with desperately needed foodstuffs]] ([[The Passage]]).

On a routine patrol around the Fleet, her Raptor suffers from an engine and [[RCS]] malfunction, due to impurities in its [[tylium]] fuel. Unable to regain control and on a collision course with ''[[Colonial One]]'', she and her ECO [[Hamish McCall]] are forced to eject from the Raptor. The craft collides with ''Colonial One'', causing moderate hull damage and several injuries, but no fatalities ([[Dirty Hands]]).

As the Fleet approaches the [[Ionian nebula]], Admiral Adama, worried about Cylon pursuit, tasks Raptor pickets with staying one jump point behind the Fleet to watch for Cylons. One of those patrols, Racetrack and Skulls put their Raptor to station-keeping behind an asteroid and start playing [[Triad (RDM)|Triad]] to pass the next twelve hours. Shortly after that a Cylon fleet jumps to their position. They manage to spin up the FTL drive and escape seconds before an enemy missile would have hit their Raptor ([[Crossroads, Part I]]).

Racetrack instructs [[nuggets]] in basic Raptor operations and technology to prepare them for flying ([[Crossroads, Part II]]).

==Notes==

[[Image:Edmonson caption.jpg|thumb|The incorrect spelling for Edmondson occurs here; it is, however, correct on the nameplate of the [[Raptor]] she flies.]]
[[Image:Racetrack's Raptor.jpg|thumb|A shot of the [[Raptor]] with the correct spelling.]]
*Racetrack was probably created as a replacement for [[Crashdown]], the ECO of whichever Raptor a given episode focuses on; Crashdown himself was created as a replacement for [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] after he was stranded. Racetrack was introduced in the first season finale, simultaneous with the seeds of Crashdown's demise: signs of his incompetence for command while stranded on Kobol.
*Racetrack's given name was revealed in the episode "[[Final Cut]]". Her name was misspelled in the caption during her interview, however, as noted by [[Bradley Thompson]] (See [[Sources:Margaret Edmondson]]). Confusion about her name's spelling resulted in Racetrack's last name being mispelled in the end credits of many episodes in Season 2, although is corrected in Season 3.
*Ron Moore noted in his [[podcast]] to "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]," Racetrack's debut episode, that she was only meant to be a one-shot character, like [[Karl Agathon|Helo]]. But, just as with [[Tahmoh Penikett]]'s performance in [[Miniseries|the Miniseries]], Leah Cairns' performance in the episode was impressive and she was decided to be a new recurring character.
*A fan of [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], "[[User:Sabaceanbabe|Sabaceanbabe]]", once wrote a short [[fan fiction]] romance scene between Helo and Racetrack (located [http://sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com/38792.html here], scroll down to part 5). [[Tahmoh Penikett]], who plays Helo, and actress Leah Cairns read it at a party, and Cairns decided that she'd work that into the character. While not canonical or acknowledged by the writers, Cairns said in an [http://podcasts.lvrocks.com/details.aspx?castid=5 interview] on June 27th, 2006, that she chose to incorporate this into her character backstory and how she plays scenes with Helo, that she is wildly attracted to him and jealous of [[Sharon Agathon]]. Although Sharon isn't supposed to know about this, Penikett reacts with underlying tension in his scenes with her. This is also referred to in the fan-made Battlestar Galactica game "[[Beyond the Red Line]]", when one of the pilots during a mission notes that whenever Racetrack sees Helo she "slobbers all over him."

{{sourcebox}}
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{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Edmondson, Margaret]]
[[Category:Characters|Edmondson, Margaret]]
[[Category:Characters (RDM)|Edmondson, Margaret]]
[[Category:Recurring Guest Characters (RDM)|Edmondson, Margaret]]
[[Category:RDM|Edmondson, Margaret]]

[[de:Margaret Edmondson]]

Cylon Models

2007-04-14T16:44:14Z

Roddickrocker21: /* The "final five" */

{{RDM cylons series}}
==Centurion Model 0005==
[[Image:Centurion_armor_old.jpg|thumb|Cylon Centurion (armor) on display ([[Miniseries]])]]
Model Name: Cylon Centurion
:''Main article: [[Cylon Centurion Model 0005]]''
The Centurion Model 0005<ref>This model was included in the miniseries primarily as an homage to the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]. Within the context of the Re-imagined Series, the Model 0005 is over 40 years old, and was the last assumed appearance of the Cylons after the war.</ref>, glimpsed briefly in two scenes of the [[Miniseries]], was apparently the latest Cylon model to have been extensively documented by Colonial authorities after the [[Cylon War]]. It is a primitive model, resembling a short, clumsy humanoid with a single red eye - or as some of the Colonials contemptuously referred to them, "chrome [[toaster]]s". According to [[Saul Tigh]],<ref>From "[[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]", [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]</ref> they had a distinctive "stink" of machine oil.

These models were apparently the instigators of the Cylon rebellion, or their immediate descendants. They fought in all the major engagements of the Cylon War, including the boardings of ''[[Brenik]]'' and ''[[Galactica]]''. A painting by [[Monclair]] depicts a massive melee between early-model Cylons and joint Aerelon-Caprican ground forces.

Not only were these models sentient, they were far from emotionless — in his recollection of the ''Brenik'', [[Saul Tigh]] recalls their vicious tactics in hand-to-hand combat: "The first one was Duncan Raverty. I found him in the corridor. His guts were strewn around on the floor. Y'know, at first I couldn't figure out why the Cylons would bother doing something like that [...] You had to look into their red eye-slit. They hated us. They hated us so much it wasn't enough just to kill us" ("[[Scattered]]", deleted scene).

While remarks by [[Number Six]] in the miniseries state that "those [walking chrome toaster] models are still around. They have their uses," it is most likely that she is referring to the modern Centurions (below), which seem to have replaced the Model 0005 entirely.

==Modern Centurion==
[[Image:Cento.jpg|thumb|right|A deadly Cylon Centurion, upgraded from its predecessors]]
:''Main article: [[Cylon Centurion]]''
The current mainstay of Cylon ground forces, the modern Centurion is a taller, swifter and more agile unit than the Model 0005. Its "fingers" serve as edged weapons in close-quarters combat, and can retract to make way for projectile weapons built into its forearms.

There are apparently two armor configurations - the Centurions encountered by Lt. [[Karl Agathon]] on occupied [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] were susceptible to normal small-arms fire, while a boarding party dispatched to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' in a boarding action could only be impeded by explosive rounds ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

While the earlier Centurion models presumably took a leadership role in their war against the Colonials, modern Centurions appear completely mute and are subservient to the human models. To prevent an uprising of their own, the human models did not design the modern Centurion with any sentience.<ref>Ron Moore, from [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/blogs/ blog] [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2006/01/#a000114 entries] on January 20th, 2006, confirms "the Centurions are not sentient[,] and their memories/experiences are not downloaded into new bodies when they die." [[William Adama]] notes this to his son in the episode, "[[Exodus, Part I]]."</ref>

==Cylon Spacecraft==
[[image:SCinside2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kara Thrace]] cuts her way through the biomechanical muscles of the [[Cylon Raider]] in order to get in ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).]]
:''Main article: [[Cylon Spacecraft]]''
The current model Cylon Raider is an autonomous craft ([[Miniseries]]), apparently capable of operating at fair distance from any command vessel ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]; [[Final Cut]]). Capt. [[Jackson Spencer]], encountering the newer model Cylon Raider for the first time, expresses shock that "nobody's flying these things." Lt. [[Kara Thrace]] later discovers that the Raider she has [[Skirmish over the Red Moon|shot down]] was, after a fashion, "alive." She removes most of its organic parts before returning with it to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. There, [[Sharon Valerii]], a Cylon sleeper agent, guesses that the Raider is a Cylon in its own right, although "More of an animal, maybe, than the human models... like a pet" ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

[[Sharon Agathon|Another Sharon copy]] confirms that Raiders 'download' and reincarnate. In addition, the former Cylon operative reinforces the earlier statement about the animal-like nature of Raiders, saying, "A raider's much like a trained animal, with the basic consciousness and survival instinct."

The [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] also makes extensive use of organic parts ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The ship is [[Basestar command|commanded by a group of Humanoid Cylons]], and has a living humanoid computer, known as a [[Hybrid]], that manages ship functions and takes orders from other agents. Hybrids do not function autonomously.<ref>In both these cases, the distinction between a "Cylon" and their own semi-sentient technology becomes increasingly blurred — interestingly, the same problem that led to the [[Cylon War]] in the first place.</ref>

== Human Models ==
:''Main article: [[Humanoid Cylon]]''
At some point at least two years prior to the [[miniseries]], Cylon forces in exile on their homeworld deploy to the Colonies in secret an organic model that's almost completely indistinguishable from a human being. These were used to quietly and effectively infiltrate the Colonial defense forces, with agent models such as [[Number Six]] gaining access to secret military technology, and sleeper agents such as [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] being planted within the [[Colonial Fleet]] itself. These sleeper agents are programmed with false memories and appear genuine. Unplanned discovery of their true nature can be extremely disturbing for these units, and their behavior is not always predictable.

Only slight chemical differences reveal human from Humanoid Cylon. Humanoid Cylons also apparently differ from humans in two significant ways.
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[[Image:Sharonspine.jpg|thumb|right|Sharon Valerii conceives a child with [[Karl Agathon]] ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).]]

===Reproductive Difficulties===
It is impossible for two Cylons to reproduce with each other, and as result the Cylons begin cross-breeding experiments with humans, which results in the pregnancy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|the Caprica-copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Cylon beliefs attribute this to the apparent inability of Cylons to feel love, which they believe to be a crucial element of the process. The forceful impregnation of human women however was unsuccessful ([[The Farm]]).

The second human-Cylon hybrid is [[Nicholas Tyrol]]. At the time of the child's conception, his father [[Galen Tyrol]] was unaware that he is a Cylon ("[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]", "[[Crossroads, Part II]]").
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===Cybernetics===
[[Image:6spine-ms.jpg|thumb|left|[[Number Six]]'s spine glows during intercourse]]On two occasions, the vertebrae of human-model Cylons have been seen to emit a red glow visible through the skin during sexual intercourse ([[Miniseries]], "[[Six Degrees of Separation]]").

Other elements of Cylon humanoid physiology are light-sensitive. Tissues disguised in their forearms behave as a [[Cylon data port|data link]] that can be interfaced, after a fashion, to Colonial fiber-optic networks ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]), but is primarily used in accessing the Cylon optical network known as the [[datastream]] ("[[Torn]]," "[[A Measure of Salvation]]").
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Cylon brains are imbued with a vaguely described technology called [[Silica Pathways|silica pathways]]. This legacy technology existed in the original Centurion Model 0005, but some of this technology remains in the human models, although the technology appears to have been integrated at the molecular level since the brains of Humanoid Cylons and humans are visually identical. Silica pathways are possibly key in the maintenance or transfer of thoughts, memories and consciousness of a Cylon to be downloaded and transferred into a new body when the agent dies. Silica pathways in Humanoid Cylons, as in Centurions, remain susceptible to certain forms of radiation, as found in the storm surrounding [[Ragnar Station]] and the [[Wikipedia:Plutonium|Plutonium]] used as the active element of Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]]'s [[Cylon Detector]]. It normally takes several hours of prolonged exposure for this radiation to have a visible effect ([[Miniseries]], "[[Bastille Day]]"). Cylons are exceptionally resilient to other forms of radiation, as seen in "[[The Passage]]".

===Known Models===

In the miniseries, somewhat ambiguous comments by [[Caprica-Six]] and a note left for [[William Adama]] (presumably by [[Gaius Baltar]]) indicated that there were only twelve humanoid models at the time of the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].<ref>Humanoid Cylons are constructs, archetypes of human behavior that are not and never were human, as clarified by [[Ronald D. Moore]] in an [http://www.thefandom.com/Article50.phtml interview] on "The Chase Show", hosted on the SF webcast news site [http://www.thefandom.com/TheFandom.com TheFandom.com].</ref> Of the twelve human models, eleven have been revealed as of the episode "[[Crossroads, Part II]]."
<gallery>
Image:Three Cylon BW.jpg|[[Number Three]] ([[Boxing|Boxed]])
Image:Doral.jpg|[[Number Five]]
Image:Six_closeup.jpg|[[Number Six]]
Image:Boomer_closeup.jpg|[[Number Eight]]
Image:Leoben Headshot.jpg|[[Leoben Conoy]]
Image:Cysim.jpg|[[Simon]]
Image:Cavil_closeup.jpg|[[Cavil]]
Image:Tyrol Cylon.jpg|[[Galen Tyrol]]
Image:Anders_Cylon.jpg|[[Samuel Anders]]
Image:Tighlon.jpg|[[Saul Tigh]]
Image:Tory Cylon.JPG|[[Tory Foster]]
</gallery>
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===The "[[final five]]"===

[[Image:TheFinalFive.JPG|right|thumb|300px|The Final Five, as seen in visions by observers.]]
The existence or knowledge of the [[Final five|five remaining models]] appear to be something of a taboo in Cylon society. When Baltar mentions their absence to Caprica-Six he is told not to talk about them. The identities of these five models appear to be suppressed or missing from the Cylons' collective knowledgebase.

A Number Three model believes that the five silhouetted figures she sees in a vision of Kobol's ancient [[Opera House]] while she is in the "space between life and death" prior to [[Resurrection (RDM)|resurrection]] are images of the final five.

Inside the [[Temple of Five]], Number Three manages to return to the "space between life and death" and sees the faces of the five and retains her memories of them for the first time. She recognizes one of the five while she was in their presence. Although her consciousness returned to the temple she promptly died before she could reveal who it was she saw, many have suggested that the figure she recognized and "apologized" to was none other than Colonel Saul Tigh, whom she probably saw while he was in captivity on New Caprica. Her "apology" towards him could have been in relation to his eye, which the Cylons removed while he was held in a Cylon Detention Center. Her consciousness, and the consciousnesses of all other Three models has been [[boxing|boxed]] by the other Cylons and all the knowledge of the five has been boxed with her, for the time being ([[Rapture]]). Since only the Threes have seen these figures, and because the Temple itself was designed for descendants of the twelve tribes and not the Cylons, the actual nature of the final five remains a mystery.

Four members of the final five have been revealed thus far; [[Saul Tigh]], [[Galen Tyrol]], [[Samuel Anders]] and [[Tory Foster]]. The final Cylon model remains a mystery, however [[RDM]] has stated in multiple interviews that he knows who they are and has left clues behind as to their identity in the season three finale <ref>[http://forums.scifi.com/index.php?showtopic=2270103&st=0&p=3041263&#entry3041263 20 Answers - SCI FI FORUMS] Retrieved 03-27-2007</ref> ([[Crossroads, Part II]]).

===Hybrids===
:''Main article: [[Hybrid]]''
[[Image:Hybrid.jpg|thumb|left|A Hybrid speaking "nonsense".]]

In addition to the Humanoid Cylons, there is a second type of humanoid Cylons, known as the Hybrids. Not to be confused with the Cylon/human hybrid child, [[Hera Agathon]], the Hybrids aboard basestars resemble [[Humanoid Cylon|Humanoid Cylons]], but are another type of Cylon similar to the autonomous bio-mechanical pilots within [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Raiders]]. They are specially constructed living computers that manage the autonomic functions of the basestar. The Hybrids are so integrated into the basestar's functionality that they ''are'', for all practical purposes, the basestar.
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===Organizational Relationships===
The exact nature of the Cylon hierarchy remains unclear. The humanoid models, as the most evolved form of Cylon, are definitely in charge of the Centurions and Raiders. [[Caprica-Six]]'s statement in "[[Downloaded]]" that Cylon culture is based on unity and that celebrities such as herself are something new implies that there is no single "[[Imperious Leader]]" as there was in the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]. Instead, each model appears to be equal in terms of power and authority and the Cylons appear to make critical decisions based on consensus, or failing that, majority opinion. One or two representatives from each available model gather and discuss matters in a forum-like environment then hold a vote on what course of action to take. Each model gets one vote that appears to represent the opinion of every copy of that model (except in one known instance where [[Caprica-Six]] disagreed with the other Number Sixes). The Centurions, Raiders and the [[Hybrid|Baseship Hybrids]] are not permitted a vote in the decision making process ("[[Occupation]]" through "[[A Measure of Salvation]]"). In "[[Rapture]]" a [[Number Three]] indicates that she does not know who programmed the humanoid Cylons or why, while speaking to one of the [[Cavil]]s, before being [[boxed]].

==References==
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[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]