Battlestar Wiki:Official Communiques

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"Radar" gaffe in "The Hand of God"?

Excuse me Mr. Thompson, but we've been debating something here for a long time and I'm really hoping you can help us with it: in The Hand of God, while they'e planning out the mission Starbuck says they're jumping in at "extreme (radar) range". Most think she said "radar", which would be a mistake because the Colonials use DRADIS. However, I think she says "Raider range", which would make sense in context. Does it really say "Raider" in the script, and Katee says "raider" she just slurred her pronounciation a little?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:00, 8 June 2006 (CDT)

Other concerns about interview text in "Final Cut"

Another question for Mr. Thompson: Is Racetrack a Lieutenant or a Lieutenant Junior Grade? The (already proven to have flaws) interview text in "Final Cut" said "Lieutenant, CF". But in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I" Racetrack and Boomer go on a mission into a Basestar: Boomer was definately a Lieutenant Junior Grade, but she was giving orders to Racetrack as if she outranked her. While I'm on the subject of the confusion involving the interview text in "Final Cut", Kat's interview says she is a full lieutenant. She started out as just a nugget trainee pilot two months before: did she get promoted all the way from Ensign to Lieutenant in that time? It seems plausible to me, given that A) it's been established that she's a good pilot (enough to rival Starbuck) and B) in wartime promotions can come pretty fast. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 10:56, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

At the time of the Sneak the Nuke Aboard the Base Ship Mission, Boomer did outrank Racetrack (if only by date of commission). Even if that weren't the case, as Adama's designated mission commander, Boomer was in charge of the operation. And yes, promotions come fast in wartime... Ngarenn 21:36, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Makes sense. So are Racetrack and Kat currently full lieutenants? (in which case, we don't have to change their rank listing in their current bio articles). --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:45, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

They were for a while. As we said, promotions come fast, and tracking them will be kinda hairy. It's hairy for us and we work here...Ngarenn 22:06, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Raptor pilot names

During Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I, when 20 Raptors are Jumping to Caprica, Starbuck has all of the Raptor teams sound off: the only two names I was able to make out were "Tough Guy" and "Carousel", but while Helo and Sharon are talking over a dozen other pilot names are listed off, and they're so muffled I've never been able to make them out. Do you know what they are?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 10:56, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

I'm not sure if they made it onto the actual soundtracks, but the scripted pilot names are Headcase, Swordsman, Anvil, and Tackle Ngarenn 21:42, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Thanks. The most we were able to make out of our (extremely innacurate) except at GalacticaStation.com was "Headcase, Swordman, Shoestrap gumball, Milko, Skylar, Ronin, Brake, Boulion, Steaker, Hamster, Bo, Chaser, Godama, Charlieman, Starcloud"....this needs work, I know what I'll be doing tonight...--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:50, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Many times these things are made up by the editors for the looping sessions and the writers never see them. Ngarenn 22:06, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

I see...oh great, now it might turn out that such fan favorites as Wedge and Beehive will never be seen (haha). Thanks. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:19, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Helo Rank

At the end of Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II, did Helo take over Gaeta's job as tactical officer, or is he the XO taking over from Tigh, or is it perhaps a little of each as they're on a skeleton crew? Or is this a spoiler for season 3 you are unable to divulge just yet?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:19, 9 June 2006 (CDT)

Nevermind: In a recent interview with IGN, Tahmoh said that he himself thought he was just filling in for Gaeta, and a few scripts into season three was surprised to learn that he is in fact the XO. So that answers that question. I was also confused about the caption on his interview in "Final Cut": it just says "Lieutenant" and I didn't know of it was just a clipped way of saying "Lieutenant Junior Grade", or if he got promoted for his heroism in surviving on Caprica for two months: turns out that in the same IGN interview Tahmoh confirmed that Helo was promoted to full Lieutenant by that episode. Excellent. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 23:22, 13 June 2006 (CDT)

Tie-in Material

There are currently at least two licensed productions putting forth content set in the RDM universe - the Tor Books series, and the Dynamite comics series. How much input does the BSG writing staff have on these works? Can we expect to see them referred to in the series at any point, or should they be considered non-canon? --Peter Farago 01:58, 10 June 2006 (CDT)

The comics group runs their proposed stories by some of the series writing staff to make sure they are not stepping on the toes of upcoming episodes. Apart from that, the series writers currently have no input to the comic or novel tie-ins. Ngarenn 17:58, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Colonial One and One

Mr. Thompson - Being a policial major and all I love the politics that happens in the show, but I got a question about the Colonial One ship itself. I know nothing is shown on screen, but I was wondering if the ship's interior is "designed" or modeled after the U.S. White House West Wing. Also, whoever is president, if he/she was on board lets say a Raptor, would that call sign be officialy known as Raptor One? Thanks a million! --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 11:17, 13 June 2006 (CDT)

Thanks. I can't really answer your question because Colonial One was designed during the miniseries, before my time. If you have an in with the art department, that's who'll give you the best reply. Regarding Raptor One, we're borrowing heavily from US presidential protocol, and if that's the way they do it -- Marine One, the Presidential Helicopter springs to mind -- we'll probably do it that way, too. But since it has not yet occurred in an episode, this question as yet has no definitive answer. How's that for keeping our options open? Ngarenn 18:05, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Great. :) I know a few times that Laura Roslin traveled in a Raptor (i.e. Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II) after she was under arrest, but that was about the only time I can remember. From my field of studies, (U.S. Presidential Forigen Policy), there has only been "three" aircraft desinated with One. Air Force One, Marine One, and Navy One (Fighter on the USS Abraham Lincon). That's about it. :) --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 18:13, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Note that several craft have been designated Raptor One, including one which carried Vice President Gaius Baltar (which, if we were following the US system, should therefore have been "Raptor Two") --Peter Farago 19:51, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

This intance it might have been a fluke, but then "One" would have no meaning if other times Raptor One would be used in missions. "One" and "Two" is only (in U.S. Protocall) when a member of the President or Vice-President is on board. This would be a canon mistake. The Raptors should have then been Raptor Two, Raptor XXX, and Raptor XXX. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 23:06, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Rather than chalk this up as an error, it would be sensible to conclude that BSG simply doesn't follow U.S. Protocol with regard to call signs of ships bearing executive branch officers. --Peter Farago 23:55, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Squadron numbers

How many Vipers are in a "squadron" in the terminology used by the Colonial Fleet? I ask because in "Scar" Roslin said they were getting enough metal ore to build "two squadrons" of Vipers. Is a squadron 10? 12? 20? If a squadron is 20, this would be a dramatic increase.

While I'm on the subject, we've speculated that based on this dialogue, Mercury class battlestars have some sort of limited Viper production facilities but the exact nature of such facilities eludes us.--->Another problem has come up regarding information from Battlestar Galactica Magazine: it's information isn't always quite accurate and when I asked Ron (via Mrs.Ron) on the messageboards, he said they aren't directly affiliated with the magazine in any way, so I don't know how this fits--> in issue #3, they say:

"A Battlestar's air wing generally consists of six to eight squadrons (20 ships each)...20 Vipers also form a reserve unit to replace lost or damaged ships on an ad hoc basis. Each squadron is also supported by a single Raptor" (P.59)

Is this magazine information accurate? Are there 20 Vipers to a squadron? How many Vipers is Galactica capable of carrying (that is, during its prime when it was a new ship in the Cylon War, how many Vipers is it meant to support?): How many can a Mercury-class Battlestar like Pegasus hold? --->Based on these magazine numbers, there should only have been 6-8 at most Raptors on Galactica (during it's prime, so by the time of the Cylon attack probably less): In "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I" we see 20 Raptors jump to Caprica; Pegasus probably had an equal number of Raptors on board, but where did so many Raptors come from? Can Pegasus construct Raptors just like Vipers? Or (my explanation), are there just many refugee Raptors which escaped to Ragnar, because they've got their own FTL drives? I mean Boomer escaped all the way from Caprica to Ragnar, and Crashdown was stated as being a refugee from another ship, so presumably a few other Raptors made it out (well, that's our assumption. I still think its entirely plausible and not a stretch that there were 20 though). --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 20:53, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

"Skin Jobs"

To ask the most fannish of fan questions (not so much a "question" shouting "wow!"), how was the decision made for Cylons to be referred to as "Skin Jobs" a la Blade Runner in "Downloaded"? What did everyone in the writer's room think?  :) :) :) (My personal wish list includes that one day someone will refer to killing a Cylon as "retiring" them...hey, that might not work on the current series, but on the Caprica prequel when the Cylons worked for humans that kind of makes sense. Plus I hope "Number One" turns out to be Rutger Hauer...or Avery Brooks. Both good actors...)--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:08, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

There was no real "decision" as such. We were writing Downloaded. Barolay and Anders were on the roof and we needed a quick way to categorize. We remembered the term from blade runner and put it in. The drafts went through the usual pathways of approval and nobody shot it down. So now there are skin jobs along with metal jobs, clankers, and bulletheads (that last is credited to Gary Hutzel). Ngarenn 21:24, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Restraints on Galactica-Sharon in "Downloaded"

If you go to the page for "Downloaded" and see the pic of Sharon in the episode box, Galactica-Sharon can be seen restrained with handcuffs while she's in the Cylon rebirthing chamber, but previously when Caprica-Six was so reborn, she was not restrained like that. Why? We assumed it was because while Caprica-Six is a fully aware Cylon, they knew that Galactica-Sharon was a sleeper-agent that thought she was a human and thus would probably freak out when she was reborn (which she did). Is this accurate?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:14, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Exactly. The part where the Cylons explained that was cut because we felt the audience would get it without explanation, and you just proved us right. 21:26, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Cylon Homeworld

I've listened to the Writer's room podcasts on Scifi.com so I understand that exact details about the Cylon homeworld are very much a work in progress (For all we know it's just a bunch of Tylium-rich asteroids lashed together), but I've got a question about its location which was brought up in season one: In "The Hand of God", the following exchange takes place between Apollo and Gaeta:

Gaeta: "They'd build a refinery this far from their homeworld?"

Apollo: "Why not? They need fuel out here just as much as we do"

Judging from this dialogue, do the Colonials actually know where the Cylon Homeworld is? Roughly speaking at least? I mean they may have never set foot on it or seen it, but do they have a general idea of where it is? If Galactica has fled into deep space, far from the Twelve Colonies, and while in this same deep space location Gaeta said that they were also very far away from the Cylon Homeworld, does this mean the Cylon Homeworld is relatively close to the Twelve Colonies? I would assume so; that when they left the Twelve Colonies at the end of the Cylon War they didn't travel half way across the galaxy, but went somewhere relatively near.

While I'm on the subject, they said that in the region of deep space Galactica and Pegasus had fled to by "Pegasus (episode)", they were out of "downloading" range from the Cylon Homeworld. In "Downloaded" they say that Cylons killed in the cafe will be reborn, and we also see that during the events of the Miniseries 9 months before, Caprica-Six was also reborn.--->Is the Cylon Homeworld close to the Twelve Colonies, and thus the Twelve Colonies are within downloading-range from it? That is, downloading worked fine on them and they didn't need the support of the Resurrection Ship to download while on Caprica?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:41, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Resurrection Ship

When was the Resurrection Ship built? Was it built only *after* Galactica fled into deep space (which the Cylons did not predict), or was it a pre-existing part of their Fleet? In "Resurrection Ship, Part I" Baltar says:

"At the moment, we are too far away from the Cylon home for the normal downloading process to work, which is why they built this ship."

This line has led me to believe that the Resurrection Ship was built only after Galactica managed to escape the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Meanwhile, Caprica-Six was able to download at the very start of the Cylon Attack because the Twelve Colonies are in normal downloading range of the Twelve Colonies. Is this accurate?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 21:41, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

The Cylons haven't told us much about their fleet. They keep secrets from us humans pretty well.Ngarenn 21:28, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Galactica Chain of Command

in "Scattered", Commander Adama is shot so his XO Colonel Tigh takes command, while Captain Aaron Kelly then becomes his acting XO. Is Captain Kelly normally third-in-command of Galactica (well, before the many promotions and shifting assignments in Season 2.5 post-"Pegasus")? Or is Apollo normally third in command, but because he was arrested for mutiny, he was removed from the normal succession?--The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:11, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Hadrian in "Valley of Darkness"

In "Valley of Darkness", while discussing in CIC how various teams of Marines are engaging the Cylon boarding party, they mention that Sgt. Hadrian was leading one squad. When last we actually saw her in "Litmus", Adama had her confined to quarters. Was she eventually released, just offscreen? I don't think Adama would permenantly keep someone confined to quarters when they have frequent manpower shortages. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:17, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Once again, your suppositions are correct. Hadrian just won't be heading any more tribunals. Ngarenn 21:34, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Scar

Is the Cylon Raider known as "Scar" supposed to be the reincarnated version of the Cylon Raider that Starbuck shot down, and then cut the brain out of and flew back to Galactica in "You Can't Go Home Again"? The "previously on Battlestar Galactica" segment reshowed parts of "You Can't Go Home Again" and this coupled with Caprica-Sharon's comments in her cell to Starbuck seemed to hint that it was. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 23:22, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Sharon is speculating. She doesn't know, but it could have happened that way. Ngarenn 21:29, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

"Caprica-Six"

In "Downloaded", the Number Six that seduced Baltar is in-story referred to as "Caprica-Six" (as the Cylons didn't really have "celebrity" individuals before and simply no need to destinguish individuals before her, they say it's sort of an ad hoc name).---->There's an online fan convention which sort of developed over time for differentiating Cylon copies: Galactica-Sharon, Caprica-Sharon, Caprica-Six, Pegasus-Six, etc. (I've searched around and this is a true gestalt: no one person or website created this, but it simultaneously aggregated on many sites at the same time, to the point that by Season 2 it had simply become the common way to tell them apart: i.e. on the official messageboards we routinely call them "Galactica-Sharon" and "Caprica-Sharon"). --->Was naming the Caprica-based copy of Number Six "Caprica-Six" a referrence to this fan naming convention which developed? I thought it might be because that joke is included where Number Three points this out and says "They call you "Caprica-Six"...as if your the only Six on the planet!"....which I thought might be a little jest at the fans, because to be honest we'd seen in "Colonial Day" etc. that there were many other copies of Number Eight/Sharon Valerri on Caprica, but still called the one with Helo "Caprica-Sharon"...when she was only one of many on the planet. (As you can see on this section we were already discussing the "Location-Name" identification nomenclature when I (using my old screename, Ricimer) made up this hi-larious send up of the whole thing, in which I already refer to her as "Caprica-Six" in November of last year). --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 23:41, 14 June 2006 (CDT)

Caprica Six was named by the writers, either in the room, on the page, or in rewrites. I'm not sure when that appeared , but my best guess is that it was Ron. I doubt that it was because of the boards. We certainly weren't conversant with them when we wrote the show. Ngarenn 21:31, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Rebirth Room

Was the Resurrection room seen in "Downloaded" inside the Resurrection Ship, a basestar, or their homeworld? There's been some debate as to whether the Resurrection Ship solely sent it to a Basestar to download into a body, or whether the room itself is supposed to be in the Resurrection Ship. Another option is that the room was located in their homeworld if this was close enough to the colonies. I thought it was meant to be inside the Resurrection Ship, but all options are viable. --Sauron18 23:20, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

This is part of why I asked that earlier question; linked to the debate over where exactly this room is. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 23:39, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Does it matter? I'm very grateful to Bradley for taking the time to answer our questions, but I can't help but wonder how this sort of question furthers our understanding of the episode and series. --Peter Farago 00:00, 18 June 2006 (CDT)

Knowing the location of the room tells us, indirectly, a lot about the Resurrection Ship, the homeworld, and the downloading range. For example, if the answer is "It's in the Resurrectio Ship", then it would mean the colonies are outside of downloading range, that the resurrection ship was already built, and an intimation of the internal architecture of Cylon Vessels. --Sauron18 00:40, 17 June 2006 (CDT)

Tom Zarek / Ellen Tigh involvement

"Colonial Day" made it very clear that Ellen Tigh furnished Zarek with the information he needed to have Valance killed, and later intended her husband to meet with his agents afterward. Why was this plot thread dropped, after making such a big deal of it in the episode? --Peter Farago 00:09, 18 June 2006 (CDT)

Resources

To what extent does the writing staff keep track of the fleet's limited resources? Ronald Moore has identified the disregard that Star Trek: Voyager showed to resource issues to be one of his pet peeves with the series, and I'm curious to what extent the BSG staff try to address this. Notably,

• Although survivor count figures throughout both seasons are broadly consistant, the off-screen casualties sustained in several second-season combat situations seems suspiciously small. The opening credit survivor count reveals that 11 people are killed offscreen during the boarding action in "Valley of Darkness", 4 in the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, and none during "The Captain's Hand".

• The size of the Fleet changes from 40 FTL capable ships in the miniseries to (apparently) around 75 during the second season.

• Galactica is able to deploy six Raptors simultaneously in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", during which only two are destroyed. Oddly, in "Fragged", which seems to take place late in the same day, Lee Adama orders a raptor scrapped for parts to make up a two-ship rescue party, then a few days later in "Resistance", Tigh is able to have five raptors standing by to board ships protesting his policies.

Do you keep informal track of statistics such as crew totals and raptors/vipers on hand? Is there a list of pilot and ship names to avoid verbally identifying more people or craft than are supposed to exist? --Peter Farago 00:39, 18 June 2006 (CDT)

Timeline

The season two timeline discontinuity left us all a bit baffled. Can you help clarify matters? --Peter Farago 00:40, 18 June 2006 (CDT)

Re-imagined Series definition: Colonial Fleet ^{(TRS: "Final Cut")}

Re-imagined Series definition: student pilot ^{(TRS: "Act of Contrition", "Scar")}

Re-imagined Series definition: Executive Officer, e.g. Saul Tigh

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.

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

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

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