Daniel Novacek

Daniel Novacek
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Name	{{{name}}}
Age
Colony
Birth place	{{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name	Daniel Novacek
Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
Callsign	Bulldog
Nickname	Dan, Danny
Introduced	Hero
Last Known Appearance	[[{{{lastseen}}}]]
Death	{{{death}}}
Parents	{{{parents}}}
Siblings	{{{siblings}}}
Children	{{{children}}}
Marital Status	{{{marital status}}}
Family Tree	View
Role	{{{role}}}
Rank	Senior Lieutenant
Serial Number	{{{serial}}}
Portrayed by	Carl Lumbly
Daniel Novacek is a Cylon
Daniel Novacek is a Final Five Cylon
Daniel Novacek is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Daniel Novacek is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
Additional Information
Daniel Novacek in the separate continuity
[[File:|300px|Daniel Novacek]]

Lieutenant Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek is a pilot who served under then-Commander William Adama aboard the battlestar Valkyrie, approximately 6 BCH (94YR). Novacek had family on Scorpia, including his mother who had recently moved to Aerilon to a retirement community.

Novacek was part of a covert mission from the admiralty of the Colonial Fleet as the sole pilot of a special fighter known as a Stealthstar. The mission was to fly over the Armistice Line for reconnaissance of Cylon activity.

Upon crossing the Line, Novacek was quickly interdicted by an unknown contact. Under fire, his fighter is severely damaged and was spinning out of control.

With two more unknown craft bearing down on him, Commander Adama ordered Novacek's fighter destroyed so as to eliminate any evidence of their incursion into Cylon space. Novacek ejected a split second before the incoming missile struck, and is subsequently captured and imprisoned by the Cylons ^{(TRS: "Hero")}.

The Escape

Novacek as a prisoner of war.

Around 3 ACH (2002BYR), Novacek is permitted to escape his imprisonment as part of an elaborate ruse by the Cylons. Two Raiders in pursuit of Novacek's escape Raider were apparently unable to shoot Novacek down. As Kara "Starbuck" Thrace later discovered, the Cylons deliberately missed an obvious kill shot, allowing him to escape and bring a measure of terror to the admiral.

Shortly after telling Novacek of Adama's actions, Saul Tigh finds Novacek in the process of killing Adama. After stopping him, Tigh berates Novacek for almost giving the Cylons the assassination they wanted.

Later, Novacek boards a Raptor to start a new life on a civilian ship. Admiral Adama presents Novacek with a Colonial uniform and assures him he will always have a place as an officer on Galactica ^{(TRS: "Hero")}.

His fate thereafter remains unclear.

Notes

Production History

David Eick's Video Blog entitled "Introducing Bulldog" revealed that after agreeing to the role, Carl Lumbly stated that he wanted to keep his dreadlocks, much to the bemusement of director Michael Rymer.

In early drafts Novacek's first name was Seamus and then Eugene. When Cottle checks if Novacek is a Cylon, the computer screen shows Novacek's first name to be Eugene, an on-screen remnant of the prior name before its change to Daniel.

Michael Rymer considered Dennis Haysbert for the role of Novacek.

From Script to Screen

A remnant for the Novacek's earlier first name before its change to Daniel by production ^{(TRS: "Hero")}

The Hero script contains significantly more detailed backstory and context than appears in the final aired episode. Several key differences include:

The script provides extensive detail about Admiral Corman's briefing and the mission's stated objective "to ascertain the likelihood of a Cylon strike." The aired version focuses more on the immediate action rather than the political motivations behind the reconnaissance mission.

The script contains much more graphic descriptions of Novacek's imprisonment, including detailed accounts of the Doral deception where Novacek was befriended by a Cylon posing as a fellow prisoner for over a year, then forced to choose between killing his "friend" or facing execution. These sequences were likely shortened in the final cut for pacing and broadcast standards.

The script includes more detailed flashback scenes showing the original mission, including specific dialogue from Novacek's reconnaissance report: "There's nothing here, sir. Which is fine by me." The aired version presents these events more concisely.

The script provides more extensive dialogue during Tigh's confrontation with Novacek, including detailed explanations of how Novacek's actions served Cylon strategic objectives.

References