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== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
: ''Continuing from the events of the [[Miniseries]], [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' and [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] must avoid their [[ | : ''Continuing from the events of the [[Miniseries]], [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' and [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] must avoid their [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] pursuers, which ambush them every 33 minutes after each successful [[FTL|Jump]].'' | ||
== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
Revision as of 17:47, 18 December 2006
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| "33" An episode of the Re-imagined Series | |||
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| Episode No. | Season 1, Episode 1 | ||
| Writer(s) | Ronald D. Moore | ||
| Story by | |||
| Director | Michael Rymer | ||
| Assistant Director | |||
| Special guest(s) | |||
| Production No. | 101 | ||
| Nielsen Rating | 2.6 | ||
| US airdate |  2005-01-14
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| CAN airdate |  {{{CAN airdate}}}
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| UK airdate |  2004-10-18
| ||
| DVD release | 20 September 2005 US 28 March 2005 UK | ||
| Population | survivors | ||
| Additional Info | Series Premiere | ||
| Full Credits | |||
| Episode Chronology | |||
| Previous | Next | ||
| Miniseries | 33 | Water | |
| Related Information | |||
| Official Summary | |||
| R&D Skit – View | |||
| Continuity Errors Present – View | |||
| [[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]] | |||
| Listing of props for this episode | |||
| Related Media | |||
| @ BW Media | |||
| Promotional Materials | |||
| Online Purchasing | |||
| Amazon: Standard Definition | High Definition | |||
| iTunes: [{{{itunes}}} USA] | |||
Overview[edit]
- Continuing from the events of the Miniseries, battlestar Galactica and the Fleet must avoid their Cylon pursuers, which ambush them every 33 minutes after each successful Jump.
Summary[edit]
On Galactica[edit]
- The crew of battlestar Galactica have been on continuous alert for some 130.35 hours, during which time the Fleet has had to make an FTL Jump every 33 minutes to escape their Cylon pursuers shortly after their initial escape from Ragnar Anchorage.
- Everyone in the Fleet is beginning to feel the strain – particularly Gaius Baltar, who is also distracted by Six’s repeated conversations about God having a plan for him, and also her wanting to have his children.
- Vessels in the Fleet are also beginning to feel the strain: Jump engines and their controlling computers are starting to breakdown or malfunction, requiring Galactica to linger longer and longer in the Cylon line of fire while the rest of the fleet complete their Jumps.
- Following jump number 237, President Roslin receives word from a Dr. Amorak aboard the Olympic Carrier concerning information on how the Cylons overcame Colonial defenses.
- Overhearing the conversation, Baltar is worried: he knew Amorak at the Defence Ministry. As Six points out, Amorak might have information on Baltar's complicity with the Cylon attack.
- There is insufficient time before the next Jump to bring Amorak aboard Colonial One, but Roslin wants to see him directly after the Jump has been completed.
- Elsewhere, Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is having problems accepting her new ECO, Crashdown, and is feeling guilty about leaving Karl "Helo" Agathon on Caprica to his fate.
- When the next Jump is made, the Olympic Carrier, complete with Dr. Amorak and 1344 other souls, fails to appear with the rest of the Fleet. Six tries to convince Baltar that it is because God is watching over him.
- Thirty-three minutes later, the Fleet is ready to jump, but the Cylons don’t appear. Adama orders a stand-down from the immediate alert, but the Fleet is to maintain a readiness to Jump, in case the Cylons do return.
- When Baltar continues to refuse the concept of God, the Olympic Carrier reappears; Commander Adama orders the Fleet to Condition One alert, fearing the worst. He orders the Jump clocks reset in anticipation of the Cylons arriving.
- The Combat Air Patrol lead by Lee Adama intercepts the starliner. Adama orders all communications with the Carrier jammed and the Carrier is ordered (through signal lamps) to remain at its current position. When the Carrier fails to heed orders not to approach the fleet, tensions rise, and a radiological alarm reveals there is now a nuclear weapon on the liner.
- As the crisis deepens, the Cylons appear precisely 33 minutes after the return of the Carrier, confirming that the Carrier was used somehow by the Cylons to track the Fleet. Adama wants to destroy the liner, but Roslin hesitates to give the order, as no one can be sure if the 1,345 people aboard the Carrier are still alive. Baltar is terrified she won't give the order for fear of Amorak's information.
- Six uses the hesitation to push Baltar into “repenting” before God. As soon as he does, Roslin gives the order to destroy the liner. Apollo and Starbuck (reluctantly) open fire, destroying the liner. After the Fleet makes a Jump once more, the Cylon's relentless pursuit is halted.
- A day later, everyone is living with the consequences of their actions. Only Billy Keikeya has a small nugget of good news: at some point in the proceedings, a baby was born in the Fleet.
On Caprica[edit]
- Helo is on the run in the rainy woodland, and has Claymore-like ordinance he uses to blow up pursuing Cylon Centurions.
- Helo's six days on the run comes to an end when he is captured by the Cylons, after being distracted by the appearance of a copy of Number Six, wearing a white raincoat.
- Helo is “rescued” by a copy of Valerii, who shoots Six and then leads Helo away into the woods. Helo mistakenly believes that this Valerii copy is actually the "Boomer" copy that left Caprica and returned to rescue him.
Questions[edit]
- Billy reports that the number of survivors is down by 300 - some lost through death from injuries, etc., some "lost" through initial inaccurate counts, and the rest have "disappeared." How can people simply "disappear" in the fleet?
- Does Doctor Amorak truly have something on Baltar's involvement in the holocaust?
- Is Six actually in contact with other Cylons, and thus involved in the disappearance / reappearance of the Olympic Carrier?
- What happened to the group of survivors Helo was left with in the Miniseries? (Answer)
Analysis[edit]
- Why did the Cylons come "every 33 minutes"? Short answer: it was a number Ron Moore has stated he picked at random, with no other significance. Long answer: See the Numerology article for in-depth analysis of the "mystery of 33".
- The cast actually consulted with a sleep deprivation expert before this episode, making a large effort to accurately depict the effects of sleep deprivation on their characters, and it really comes through on screen. Rather than simply yawning alot and constantly saying "wow, I'm so tired", the cast met the series' goal of realistically portraying their symptoms: they behave aggravated, they start to forget things, their minds just start "slowing down".
- With Baltar's internal Number Six, three possibilities seem to suggest themselves:
- She is a creation of his own psyche; a reaction to his betrayal of his people to the Cylons. Certainly, his increasing psychosis in the episode would seem to point to this; but then, he has - like the rest - been five plus days without sleep, and some degree of paranoia is bound to result.
- She is, as she suggested in the Miniseries, created by an implanted chip in his head and possibly in communication with the Cylons. However, if this is the case, surely the Cylon hunt for the Fleet would continue despite the destruction of the Olympic Carrier - as the Cylons would be tracing the fleet through Baltar. Given the humans are to all intents and purposes "on the ropes", it seems odd that they would break off the attack when they have such a clear advantage.
- The brain scan on Baltar in "Home, Part II" dismisses the notion that a mechanical implant is in his head, although it may not be medically recognizable.
- At times through the series, Baltar's virtual Six claims that the other Cylons are totally unaware of her existence.
- Could Six be a complete download of "Six's" personality, captured at the point of destruction of Baltar's home, and now contained in his head, possibly occupying his subconscious, out of contact with her own kind, but able to fully interact with his thoughts and feelings – even manipulate his thoughts and feelings? This may suggest Baltar could be a Cylon agent himself.
- Why is Boomer's Raptor launched alongside Apollo's Vipers for what everyone is expecting to be an interdiction exercise against Cylon Raiders?
- Based on events from the Miniseries and in later episodes, Raptors are occasionally used to support or augment Viper operations with strengthened DRADIS and perhaps radiological detection. Normally, Raptors are not on CAP with Vipers and are frequently deployed alone or as a group, but the events of "33" suggest that Commander Adama wanted to ensure extra coverage with the Raptor's stronger avionics to ensure extra coverage of Cylon activity.
- In a later episode a Raptor is used for rescuing ejected pilots during combat.
- The Memorial Hallway scene continues the writers' allusion to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States to the events of the Miniseries through the use of the many memorials, the confusion in finding lost loved ones, and Dualla's amazement at the size of the memorial. (A picture of a Colonial soldier on one of the Colonies during its destruction also plays on the intense feelings felt by many Americans when they saw similar pictures of New York City firefighters at the ruins of the World Trade Center.)
Notes[edit]
- This episode won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
- When Season 1 premiered in the United States, "33" and "Water" aired back-to-back as a two hour TV event. This was also the case when Season 3 first aired in the United States with the episodes "Occupation" and "Precipice".
- When the first few episodes of the series began airing on Scifi Channel, title cards were shown at the beginning of each episode, i.e. "33" or "Water" flashing in white letters on a black screen, and then the episode would begin. This stopped by mid-Season 1.
- Continuous jumping badly affects the FTL drives and management systems aboard commercial Colonial vessels, which are not as rugged as the Galactica's military-issue drives
- The Cylons FTL ability is just as highly-accurate as the FTL of the Colonials. 238 times they manage to pounce on the Colonial fleet, arriving with precise momentum and trajectory to be able to close the distance and launch an attack.
- According to Socinus, there are 5,251 people in the Fleet from Sagittaron.
- As of "33", there are 60 civilian ships in the Fleet, but errors in continuity of episode events, especially from "Home, Part I", may place this initial information in question.
- The head count of Colonial citizens at the end of the episode is 47,273.
- Zoic visual effects artists hid small signs of movement within the Olympic Carrier in close-up effect shots as something of a morbid joke. Lights in the windows appear to flicker on and off rather rapidly and when slowed down there is some kind of movement visible on the inside of the ship.
- In the DVD commentary for this episode, Ron D. Moore states that during the scene when Dualla hands Commander Adama a set of reports that he reads aloud (including fuel shortages, dozens of crewmen breaking down from nervous exhaustion, etc), Edward James Olmos ad-libbed "and ten suicides" in one take. The production team really liked the ad-lib, and thought the way Olmos acted the scene was fantastic. However, there were concerns that the network would think this would make an already extremely "dark" episode far too dark and alienate the audience during the premiere, and the line was reluctantly cut.
- At first appearance, there appears to be error with Billy's math with the survivor count. The episode starts with the count being 50,298. He informs Roslin this is in error by 300 = 49,998 survivors. When the Olympic Carrier is destroyed (1,345 people), he reduces the total to 47,972 – that’s a reduction of 2026, or 681 people more than listed on the Carrier. However, in deleted scenes from this episode, Billy is actually reducing the survivor count additional times set between the beginning of the episode and the destruction of the Olympic Carrier. These other deaths just occur offscreen.
Noteworthy Dialogue[edit]
- Baltar is having a vision of climbing into bed with Number Six
- Six: You know you're not safe.
- Baltar: No, course not. The Cylons will follow us again, as they have the last two hundred and thirty seven times.
- Six: You're right, you know. There are limits. Eventually you'll make a mistake.
- Baltar: And then you'll kill us all. Yes. Yes, I know, but...not for another thirty-three minutes.
- Addressing the bridge crew:
- Colonel Tigh: Yes, we're tired. Yes, there is no relief. Yes, the Cylons keep coming after us time after time after time. And yes, we are still expected to do our jobs!
- When Lee Adama and Kara Thrace are on Galactica's flight deck:
- Lee Adama: Hey, did you see the note from the XO?
- Kara Thrace: I saw it. No way.
- Lee Adama: Kara, everyone else--
- Kara Thrace: I don't fly with stims. They fudge with your reflexes, your reaction time.
- Lee Adama: Come on, Kara, give me a break. Just--
- Kara Thrace: Why are we arguing about this?
- Lee Adama: I have no idea.
- Kara Thrace: Neither do I. You're the CAG, act like one.
- Lee Adama: What does that mean?
- Kara Thrace: It means that you're still acting like everyone's best friend. We're not friends. You're the CAG. "Be careful out there?" Our job isn't to be careful, it's to shoot frakking Cylons out of the sky. "Good Hunting" is what you say. And one of your idiot pilots is acting like a child and refusing to take her pills. So she either says "Yes, sir" and obeys a direct order, or you smack her in the mouth and drag her sorry ass to sickbay and you make her take those pills.
- (Lee and Kara both start laughing)
- Lee Adama: Well, I'm glad I'm not working for you.
- Kara Thrace: (laughing) Damn right you're glad.
- Lee Adama: So do I have to smack you in the mouth, Lieutenant?
- Kara Thrace: No sir, I'll take my pills. (takes pills from Lee) Perfect.
- Lee Adama: Carry on.
- Kara Thrace: (half-heartedly saluting) Yes, sir.
- When Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh are talking outside the CIC:
- Colonel Tigh: (grunting) Oh...a couple hours rack time does sound awfully sweet right about now...
- Commander Adama: You deserve it.
- Colonel Tigh: You know, the truth is, all this has me feeling...well, more alive than I have in years.
- Commander Adama: You look that way too. It's good to see you without the cup in your hand.
- Colonel Tigh: Ah, don't start.
- Commander Adama: I know there's a whole lot of people on this ship, that wish you weren't feeling as good.
- Colonel Tigh: (laughing) If the crew doesn't hate the XO, then he's not doing his job. Besides, I've gotta make the old man look good.
- Commander Adama: I always look good.
- Colonel Tigh: Look in the mirror.
- Commander Adama: Seriously...
- Colonel Tigh: Sir?
- Commander Adama: It's one thing to push the crew. It's another thing to break them.
- As the Olympic Carrier heads on a suicide run towards Galactica, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace and Sharon Valerii are flying beside the liner:
- Boomer: (in a Raptor flying beside the Olympic Carrier) We have...new orders. We are directed to...destroy the Olympic Carrier, and return back to Galactica.
- Kara Thrace: (in a Viper flying beside the carrier) It's a civilian ship!
- Crashdown: (inside the Raptor) Yeah...a civilian ship with nukes.
- (Lee Adama looks out the cockpit window of his Viper at the ship, which seems to be barren)
- Crashdown: I don't see anybody in there. Do you?
- Lee Adama: The Cylons will be here any second. If we're gonna do this, let's just do it. Starbuck, form up with me and we'll make one pass from astern.
- (Lee and Kara fall back a fair distance from the ship)
- Kara Thrace: Lee, what if you're wrong? (silence) Lee, come on. Lee!
- Lee Adama: Okay, fire on my mark.
- Kara Thrace: No frakking way, Lee. Lee! Come on!
- Lee Adama: ... ... mark.
- (Lee and Kara both open fire on the Olympic Carrier, and it explodes in a ball of flames.)
Official Statements[edit]
Offical Statements: Note on "Lest We Forget"[edit]
From RDM's Sci-Fi Channel Blog
- "It's probably been asked before, but I'm curious as to whom[sic] is in the picture in the Viper Pilot's briefing room, facing away from the camera . . . the one the pilots, including Commander Adama, touch when they enter and leave? This is touching, and is a wonderful human element to the story. So who is it?"
- There was a scene cut from "33" where we saw Laura Roslin being given her copy of the photo along with a card that said it was taken on the roof of the capitol building on Aerilon during the attack. The photo was inspired by the famous shot of the fire-fighters raising the flag at Ground Zero that became iconic. I thought the Colonies would have their own version of this -- a snapshot taken in the moment that becomes a symbol of the day they can never forget and of all they had lost. The photo itself is of a soldier falling to his knees (possibly shot or simply overcome by emotion) as he stands on the rooftop over looking the devastation of his city, while the Colonial flag waves at the edge of frame. The inscription below the photo on Laura's plaque reads, "Lest We Forget" in itself a reference to the inscription on the watch presented to John Wayne's character in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon."
Comments from the Cast[edit]
- "Insomnia. Nobody has slept. Everyone's just coming to terms with the fact that they have lost everybody that they've loved or relate to." -- Jamie Bamber, [1]
- "It was a hard episode, because, you just had to basically fall apart." -- Katee Sackhoff, [2]
- "Episode 1 is extremely docu-style because the characters haven't actually slept for five days (sic) and they have been running from the Cylons for the 250th time. And it's very stressful and they're about to lose the plot completely because of sleep deprivation." -- Michael Rymer, [3]
Excerpt from the Official Companion[edit]
In Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, the dedicated performance by the cast, trying to accurately and realistically depict extensive sleep deprivation on-screen, was explained:
- "Battlestar Galactica's first season premiere required the show's cast members to depict their characters under extreme physical and emotional duress, as they faced sleep deprivation and the constant threat of Cylon attack. This unique and intriguing acting challenge prompted Edward James Olmos to enlist the assistance of a sleep deprivation expert, who met with the cast shortly prior to the starting of shooting. Olmos and several other cast members also restricted their sleeping paterns a few days before filming, to gain a better understanding of sleep deprivation.
- "I rested just before we actually shot the episode, because I didn't want to go on-camera exhausted," explains Olmos. "But in the week before shooting, I only had about three hours of sleep per night and I studied myself to get to know how to pay the symptoms of sleep deprivation. About two days away from shooting, I was sitting in this meeting and everyone was looking at me as I tried to make sense. I told everyone, "This is what happens when you go without sleep — you don't act funny or yawn all the time, it's more the case that your mind doesn't function correctly". The doctor later expanded on this, and pretty soon everyone was tuned in. So when we went into the episode, everyone knew exactly what they were doing, and it was beautiful to watch."" (page 46)
Guest stars[edit]
- Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
- Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
- Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
- Nicki Clyne as Crewman Specialist Cally
- Alonso Oyarzun as Crewman Specialst Socinus
- Paul Campbell as Billy Keikeya
- Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Felix Gaeta
- Samuel Witwer as Crashdown
