Final Cut

Overview

D'anna Biers, an investigative journalist, makes a critical documentary on Colonel Tigh's conduct during a "Kent State"-like crisis.

Summary

• Caprica Boomer nearly has a miscarriage, but Dr. Cottle saves the child.
• Roslin and Adama have not only buried the hatchet by this episode, but are working jointly and appear to have developed a comeraderie.

Questions

• The Cylons deployed two Raiders to the Galactica to transmit D'anna's video documentary back to Caprica. Does this mean the Cylons know exactly where the Fleet is, and have simply chosen not to intercept it? Is keeping the Fleet alive part of their "Plan"?
  • Possibly, in the "de-briefing" towards the end of the episode, Caprica D'anna meant the two Raiders transmitted the footage she cut from the documentary (showing Helo's Boomer in the Sickbay). It is possible they meant that they picked up the whole "show" from fleet transmissions and the snippet from the two Raiders.
  • Or, are the Cylons now refraining from sending in a full Basestar and Raider wing to attack the Galactica because they are worried that a direct attack on the Galactica will result in the death of Caprica-Boomer and her hybrid daughter? That is, they would have attacked it if Boomer wasn't on board, but was sending two Raiders in now simply a reconaissance mission? The Cylons did say that they want to proceed cautiously.
  • Then again, the two Raiders didn't jump in to the Fleet's vicinity, they flew in normally. Perhaps the Cylons actually don't know exactly where the Fleet is, and these Raiders may have been searching for days to find them. Seeing as the Cylons on Caprica weren't aware that the Caprica-Boomer was still alive, perhaps they also trully aren't aware of the Fleet's location, and other Cylons in the Fleet cannot transmit messages back to Caprica because they are out of range (though a nearby Cylon ship might be close enough).
  • In light of all this, have the Cylonsnot been using their entire strength against the Colonials in combat? Have they, in effect, been "toying" with them? This could explain the relative lop-sidedness of the Colonials' military victories since the initial destruction of the Colonies.

Analysis

At the end of the episode, D'anna says that the Cylons "lost two Raiders relaying the images back to the Fleet" from the Galactica. She didn't say "from the Galactica back to Caprica". Does this imply that there is a main Cylon fleet following Galactica?

• This will be covered in the episode Pegasus.

Notes

• Population count is now 47,853, a loss of two since Home, Part II, to account for the two Tom Zarek henchmen killed in that episode.
• Onboard Colonial One, Roslin is no longer surrounded by her Secret Service agents, but rather by Galactica marines - Adama's insurance against any more misbehavior, perhaps?
  • Perhaps they were only there to escort Commander Adama while he was off of Galactica?
• D'anna Biers makes the same comment about Baltar that Roslin made in 33.
• We finally learn Dualla's first name as she is interviewed by D'anna Biers: Anastasia.
• Gaeta's first name is revealed as Felix. He also showed a wild side in the form of a tattoo on his chest he got when he was drunk. He's also taken up smoking. Perhaps this isn't so much a sign of a previously unrevealed wild side, but a sign that Gaeta's composure is starting to get frayed from constant stress.
• The ECO known as Racetrack has a full name: Margaret Edmondson.
• The music aired at the end of the documentary is the Colonial Fanfare last heard in the Mini Series: the theme from the original "Battlestar Galactica" TV series. In the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, it is apparently the "national anthem" of the Twelve Colonies.
• Adama uses the phrase "warts and all." This was invented by 17th-Century English dictator ("Lord Protector") Oliver Cromwell.
• Timeline-wise, Col. Tigh says there's been no Cylon contactcs for 10 days. Col. Tigh was in command of Galactica for "over a week" (from "Scattered" to "Resistance").
• Colonial video feeds are octagonal, but video screens are (oddly) rectangular.
• Capt. Kelly appears fulfilling his duties as Landing Signal Officer by coordinating Viper landings. This scene further explains the "where was Kelly between the mini series and season 2?" question: he doesn't work in the CIC, but in the flight pod itself.
• Goof: In the last scene, the Caprica Biers says that two Raiders were lost relaying the video back to the fleet, yet the documentary was not complete when the Raiders attacked. Indeed, the Caprican Cylons are shown watching the closing footage of the documentary, which shows Adama's outburst in the CIC ("Yes!"). This outburst was prompted by the destruction of the second Raider.
  • Perhaps they launched a transmitter buoy before their destruction? Maybe they were just a diversion for another Raider transmiting from beyond DRADIS range?
  • The video relayed to the Cylon fleet from the Raiders was just the part that was cut. The rest of the video was broadcast to the fleet so the Cylons could easily pick up that transmission.
• This episode contains the first scene on Colonial One since Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• • After meeting Dr. Gaius Baltar for the first time:

  D'anna Biers: What a strange little man.

• • D'anna Biers is filming an interview with Apollo:

  D'anna Biers: You seem to think that your pilots deserve special consideration.

  Apollo: Actually, I do. Like everyone else, my pilots have lost their families, their friends, everyone they ever cared about; but on top of that their asked to put their lives on the line every single day, for a fleet that seems more interested in what they do wrong than in what they do right. They're not asking for your pity, but they damn well deserve your respect.

• • D'anna Biers is interviewing Racetrack:

  D'anna Biers: Are you afraid when you go into combat?

  Racetrack: First thing they tell you is to assume you're already dead.

  D'anna Biers: Well that sounds ghoulish.

  Racetrack: Yeah, maybe. But dead men don't get scared and freeze up under fire. Me, I'm just worried that hell's gonna be a lonely place, and I'm gonna fill it up with every Toaster son of a bitch I find.

• • D'anna Biers is interviewing Lt. Gaeta. Gaeta is slightly disheveled, and is smoking a cigarette:

  D'anna Biers: Does that help you cope with the stress?

  Lt. Felix Gaeta: Not really. Look, um, all that I ever wanted was to be an officer on a Battlestar, okay? I trained my whole life, I trained harder than anyone in my unit. Basically, I put my life on hold until I was assigned to Galactica. Then the Cylons hit and I realized that this is all that I know: tech manuals, commands, and tactics, you know? I'm not saying that I'm unhappy...I'm just wondering if there's something more.

  D'anna Biers: And what have you discovered?

  Lt. Felix Gaeta: ...[takes a long drag, coughs]...I hate cigarettes. Ambrosia's good with a chaser. And, if you have enough Ambrosia...[Gaeta pulls back his shirt to reveal an ugly tatoo of a tiger on his upper right chest]...it don't hurt that much.

• • The closing voice-over narration to D'anna Biers' documentary on the Battlestar Galactica, which runs over a montage of images from the ship. The Colonial Anthem tinkles in the backround and gradually builds to up to a grand swell:

  D'anna Biers: I came to Galactica to tell a story. In all honesty I thought I knew what that story was before I ever set foot there: how an arrogant military let their egos get in the way of doing their jobs, safeguarding the lives of the civillian population. But I found out that the truth was more complex than that. These people aren't Cylons. They're not robots blindly following orders and polishing their boots. They're people. Deeply flawed, yes, but deeply human too, and maybe that's saying the same thing. What struck me most is that despite it all; the hardships, the stress, the ever present danger of being killed, despite all that they never give up. They never lie down in the road and let the truck run them over. They wake up in the morning, put on their uniforms and do their jobs. Every day. No pay, no rest, no hope of ever laying down the burden or letting someone else do the job. There are no relief troops coming, no Colonial Fleet training new recruits every day. The people on Galactica are it. They are the thin line of blue that separates us from the Cylons. Lt. Gaeta told me a remarkable statistic; not a single member of Galactica's crew has asked to resign, not one. Think about that. If you wore the uniform wouldn't you want to quit? To step aside and say "enough! Let someone else protect the fleet"? I know I would. But then, I don't wear a uniform. Most of us don't, most of us never will. The story of Galactica isn't that people make bad decisions under pressure, it's that those mistakes are the exception. Most of the time the men and women serving under Commander Adama get it right. The proof is that our fleet survives. And with Galactica at our side, we will endure. This is D'anna Biers, Fleet News Service.

• • The camera pulls back to show a movie theater on Cylon-occupied Caprica, where the humanoid Cylons are watching a copy of the documentary, as D'anna Biers' ending narration finishes:

  Aaron Doral: That was shown across their entire fleet.

  Number Six: Their resilience is remarkable.

  Sharon Valerii: Play the footage that was cut. [camera footage plays of Helo's Sharon in Galactica's Sickbay]

  Sharon Valerii: I'm still alive?! She's still alive! I told you.

  Number Six: That's incredible. And the baby?

  D'anna Biers: [speaking without her usual New Zealand accent, but with a normal American accent] It was saved. We lost two Raiders relaying the images back to the Fleet, but I think the sacrifice was worth it.

  Aaron Doral: We must proceed with caution. The child's life must be protected at all costs.

  D'anna Biers: Yeah. Truly is a miracle of God.

Statistics

Guest Stars

• Donnely Rhodes as Cottle
• Lucy Lawless as D'anna Biers
• Luciana Carro as Kat
• Leah Cairns as Racetrack
• Ty Olsson as Capt. Kelly
• Matthew Bennett as Aaron Doral
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh

Writing & Direction

• Written by
• Story by
• Teleplay by
• Directed by

Production Notes

• Series 2 (2005/2006)
• Production Number: 2.8
• Airdate Order: 8 (of 20)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

• UK Airdate: 2005
• US Airdate: September 9th, 2005 (note - airdate had been planned for September 2nd, 2005, however, SciFi is running a Stargate SG-1 Viewers Choice Marathon for the Labor Day Weekend)
• DVD Release: Date

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Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another

Original Series definition: a title of nobility (e.g. Lord Baltar)

Original Series definition: a defense attorney in a tribunal ^{(TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star")}

Re-imagined Series definition: officer responsible for flight operations of either a battlestar or battlestar group

Re-imagined Series definition: nerve center or "bridge" of a battlestar, see: Combat Information Center

Re-imagined Series definition: "Direction, Range, and Distance", Colonial equivalent of radar or lidar