Battlestar Wiki:Official Communiques

This page is one of Battlestar Wiki's many projects. This page serves to coordinate discussion on a particular aspect of this Wiki. The formal recommendations of a project may be treated as policies.

Members of Battlestar Wiki: This page is to coordinate all questions to any official members of the cast or crew of "Battlestar Galactica." Please sign your question after you are done. The "summary" of the question should be be first, if any, and then the questions, in short form, should be placed at the bottom. This is to not confuse people and to keep the questions distinctive.

Cast/Crew: These are questions we are seeking answers to. If you have the time, please answer them as best you can. We will move these questions/answers to the correct page once they have been done. You can also check out Category:Seeking Official Information for larger items - particularly pictures.

All questions which have been previously answered can be found on the archive pages. Questions get moved to the archives once items and questions stemming from the issue have stopped.

Ask a new question or begin a new discussion by clicking here.

Question on a recurring extra

In early Season One, there was a large Asian pilot with tattoos that appeared at a card game. As far as I remember, he disappeared after that. Then he reappeared during the partying scenes in Scar. And now he's back in a major way in Season Three, appearing in most scenes involving lots of pilots. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the man, and was wondering if there's any actual information on him. Does he have a name? And will he ever get a line? Thanks for your time. Alpha5099 13:51, 6 December 2006 (CST)

Good question. Lots of pictures can be found in this Galactica BS thread.--Pedda 18:02, 6 December 2006 (CST)

I created an article about him: Tattooed pilot. When (if) Brad gives us his actual name, we can move it.Ausir 06:09, 22 December 2006 (CST)

He's getting the reputation of being BSG's counterpart to Morn from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. :) --Spencerian 09:38, 5 January 2007 (CST)

Now we know the name of the extra: Leo Li Chiang. Ausir 20:17, 15 January 2007 (CST)

Maybe its like a running joke, that he's been in it since the beginning but still doesnt have a name? :D --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 08:47, 2 March 2007 (CST)

If we give him a name, you won't have the fun of trying to guess what it is. - Ngarenn 19:01, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

But... But... if he doesn't have a name then there's nothing to guess! --BklynBruzer 21:22, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Boxed Cylon Storage Room

Hello, Mr. Thompson

Cylon Homeworld?

At the end of "Rapture" we see Cavils boxing Threes inside a large chamber, where they presumably leave the bodies after they're done boxing them. I am wondering, where is this room? Is it aboard each Resurrection Ship or is it in the Cylon Home World?

Originally, I thought it was in the Resurrection Ship, but the ship itself isn't that big, and it would make sense for the Cylons to pack up all the bodies and send them back to the homeworld, keeping the Three's in a buffer until they download them over there and box them. So now I'm wondering, is it in the Homeworld?

Thank you for your time --Sauron18 23:02, 13 February 2007 (CST)

This scene took place aboard the local resurrection ship. No doubt similar scenes happened wherever there were D'Anna's to box. - Ngarenn 21:07, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Thank You! --Sauron18 07:07, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Spelling of Ferdok root

The Saggitarons use this root as a calmative for the sick but how is it spelt? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:37, 14 February 2007 (CST)

Mr. Angeli's script has it spelled "burdock root" - Ngarenn 21:09, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Thankyou for the clarification. Moved to burdock root. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:07, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Furdock root? The script may say burdock root, I am rather sure that I heard furdock root spoken by Aaron Douglass in the episode.

Burdock root, also called "Gobo", is a traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine for purification of blood and liver. Eating alot of it can cause one to break out in a sweat while sitting still. There seems to be furdock root in the RDM- a parallel to burdock root in our own? Clever.

maximilian333

... Dude did you just try to contradict Bradley freakin' Thompson, one of the show's producers?! I am speechless. --BklynBruzer 22:33, 7 March 2007 (CST)

Ha Ha ... No. You say botato.... I say fotato... I can see why my strong belief seems audacious, but I am rather certain of what I heard. The original article poster heard "Ferdock", as I did. Mr. Thompson graciously clarified that "Burdock" was actually written in the script. I take no issue with that, but with what I myself heard. The suggestion that Furdock may have been spoken on the set in no way contradicts Mr. Thompson's factual statement that "Burdock" was written in the script. I merely suggest that the script and the spoken dialogue on the set differ. This is not uncommon as issues are worked out on a set. Maybe this could have been done purposely to work around the plausability of two distant planets sharing the same fauna. Such a parallel would suggest some mysterious, ancient link to earth. Similarly, the colonies themselves are roughly similar to the names of the Zodiacs. This is the kind of attention to detail that deepens the production and enthralls us as fans. Perhaps Peter Farago or Aaron Douglass (Chief Tyrol|Galen Tyrol) will be inclined to clarify minutae like this for the rabid, discerning fanbase. We shouldn't care about this frakkin root, but as fanatics, we can't help it, can we? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Maximilian333 (talk • contribs).

A few points. One, Aaron Douglas never mentioned the root, it was Dr. Michael Robert (Bruce Davison). Secondly, I was the contributor who originally started the article, and at the time there was background noise in the episode that somewhat fudged the sound. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 16:35, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Just a thought, but Peter would be the one to go to in order to determine what was said on screen, since he has that know-how. If it is mispronounced on screen, I imagine we could note that, but keep the article under its current, confirmed spelling. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 08:11, 8 March 2007 (CST)

Huh. Sadgeezer's transcript of the episode says "burdock", for whatever that's worth. --Steelviper 08:18, 8 March 2007 (CST)

I'll run a spectrogram if you guys insist, but it seems pointless in light of Thompson's comment. --Peter Farago 13:39, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Chief Tyrol & his 'Knuckledragger Crew', Will we see more?

The Dirty Hands episode was fantastic as it gave us a glimpse into the heart and soul of the crew/workers that have dedicated their lives to securing a future for all the survivors in the fleet. It was interesting to see an episode introducing some of the new faces involved in the 'Dirty Work'. It was very well written and acted and a pleasure to watch. Can we look forward to seeing more of Chief Tyrol and his main crew of 'Knuckledraggers' - Figurski, Pollux and Redford?

--Chillishake 14:08, 27 February 2007 (CST)

I'll pass your compliments to Jane and Anne. We've been wanting to see life in the fleet for a long time and we finally got to do it. We'll certainly see more of Tyrol and Figurski. I seem to remember Ep 16 introducing SP2 Sarah Ryan to the hangar deck (christened at the last minute and I'm not sure her name will reach the screen as I've given it here). How much? Depends upon the order for Season 4, which has been given a "go" but the number of episodes has yet to be determined. - Ngarenn 21:15, 1 March 2007 (CST)

SP2 = Specialist 2nd class? Could you tell us what the rank structure for the enlisted crew is? According to some, admittedly, old blog entry by RDM it goes somewhat different and we pieced it together here. And what is Figurski's rank/rating?

I expected to focus "Dirty Hands" to focus more on the deckhands, but it was great to get a look at a civilian ship too. And the guy with the prosthetic arm was a nice touch. --Serenity 05:46, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Props to David Weddle and Bradley Thompson

This last episode, "Maelstrom" is some of the best storytelling I have ever seen! Give your selfs a pay-rasie and a high-five! Cylon Shooters on me. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 23:24, 5 March 2007 (CST)

A good episode indeed, although it can never beat the immortal "Rapture" ;) --Catrope 08:49, 6 March 2007 (CST)

Thanks for liking them both! - Ngarenn 18:59, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Harvey Frand

What is this guy's job exactly? He doesn't seem to be directly involved in the creative side of the show. Is he more of an administrative producer? Making sure the logistics work, sets are built, actors hired, etc. I'm not saying that that's not important, just curious :) --Serenity 07:20, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Without Harvey Frand, Galactica would not be nearly as spectacular as it is. He keeps everything on time and on budget, makes sure the scripts can be done with the resources available, finds the most efficient way to allot those resources -- and when something is necessary to make the story work -- yet is financially impossible to do, he finds a way. Harvey is the man who literally makes the show happen in the real world, which calls for tremendous creativity and risk-taking. He's the guy on Maelstrom who pointed out that we had an eight page day to shoot on location in Socrata's apartment -- and a location day can make at best six pages. It was impossible to do, even with overtime, given what we'd accomplished in seasons previous.

As David Weddle was trying to cut those scenes down to something we could shoot, he realized that doing so would gut their emotional impact. He brought this to the attention of Michael Nankin, who agreed - we needed all eight pages. We went to Harvey with the problem and swore that everything would go right, that the guest star would know her lines, that Michael could cut some corners on coverage to be able to make the day. If anything fell apart (camera failure, safety issue, botched lines... anything like that and we'd be hosed. We couldn't stay late. (You can't keep the trucks on the street after a certain hour in that section of Vancouver or you're busted, fined and can never shoot there again.) Not only that, but the rest of the schedule would be thrown out of whack and it wouldn't just be these critical scenes that would be unfinished... would there be budget left to do the spectacular end of the season? Or even the humungous dogfight at the end of Maelstrom? Harvey had a tough call to make.

Harvey rolled the hard six. And Dorothy had her lines down cold. And Katee was perfect. Nothing broke. And we got out of there with less than seconds to spare.

That's just one of the calls Harvey has to make every day. He's frakking awesome. - Ngarenn 18:52, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Billing and Contracts

The Son Also Rises rose some questions about how billing works on Galactica. With the exception of Katee Sackhoff's departure, the main credits have remained constant, while the secondary credits for Guest Stars has been more more fluid. However, there've been some constants. Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, and Tahmoh Penikett were always the top dogs of the non-main cast, and, with the exception of the rare episode where one of their characters didn't appear, they always appeared in that order.

However, things seem to be changing. Ever since Cally became a prominent character in Season Two, Nicki Clyne has been slowly rising in the ranks of the Guest Stars. At first, she was just getting away with supplanting Alessandro Juliano and Kandyse McClure, but now she has actually broken into the top three, as she was credited before Penikett in the last episode.

I was wondering, what determines billing? I assume it's contractual, as Michael Hogan is always top billed, even in the few episodes he doesn't have any lines. So has Clyne negotiated a new contract that puts her higher in the credits?

Also, I noticed that Sebastian Spense cracked the Guest Stars in The Son Also Rises. Not to speak ill of Narcho, but why has he gotten up to the front of the episode? Did he get a better contract? What makes someone only worthy of getting their credit at the end of the episode? Is Brody Olmos less able to commit to a contract, and that's why he hasn't cracked the Guest Stars?

Sorry I've asked so much. Really, I just want to know how people get their names in the secondary credits, and why certain reliable, long time characters are stuck at the end of the episode. Alpha5099 15:46, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

That's a really good question and I don't have an answer. It is indeed contractual and that's all handled by business affairs, who tend to be a tight-lipped bunch, and rightly so. - Ngarenn 18:22, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Maelstrom Viper Mark VII

In the excellent fighter scenes in the episode Maelstrom, Apollo consistantly flies a different version of the Mk VII Viper than we've seen before. I was wondering if some light could be shed on what it was, since the changes were fairly substantial, such as one of the "home-made" Vipers from Pegasus, a modified regular Mk VII, or just a retro-active design change? --Talos 23:34, 14 March 2007 (CDT)

Or is it the Viper Mk VIII? :) --Catrope^{(Talk to me or e-mail me)} 05:49, 15 March 2007 (CDT)

Galactica's ships are in a constant state of change. The arms race with the Cylons and shortage of parts and resources means Tyrol's knuckledraggers are constantly making improvements and jury-rigging around lacks. (At one point there were talks about making tylium tanks out of paper to extend the fighter ranges, but the idea was dropped when paper was declared a strategic material.) - Ngarenn 18:19, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

...and when people were eating it during the food shortage ^_^ --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 05:06, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

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

Re-imagined Series definition: taking large risks; literally, rolling 2 threes with a pair of dice

Re-imagined Series definition: all-purpose vulgarism; Colonial version of "fuck" (see: frak)

Re-imagined Series definition: mineral that can be refined to a powerful fuel, see: tylium

Original Series definition: a highly combustible fuel (see: tylium) ^{(TOS: "Fire in Space")}