The Captain's Hand

"The Captain's Hand" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 2, Episode 17
Writer(s)	Jeff Vlaming
Story by
Director	Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
Production No.
Nielsen Rating	1.7
US airdate	2006-02-17
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate	2006-04-25
DVD release	19 September 2006 US 28 August 2006 UK
Population	49,584 survivors ( 6)
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Sacrifice	The Captain's Hand	Downloaded
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
[[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]]
Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
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Overview

When two Raptors go missing after a training mission, new Pegasus commander Barry Garner challenges Admiral Adama's orders by sending his battlestar directly into the rescue zone — and a trap.

Summary

• Two Raptors begin a training mission outside Pegasus, which is near a binary star that causes DRADIS and communications interference. Shortly after contact with the Raptors is lost.

• On Galactica, Chief Tyrol and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, Chief Tyrol finds a pregnant teenager inside who asks for Dr. Cottle.

• Lee Adama, now promoted to Major, arrives as acting XO on the battlestar Pegasus, where he runs into Kara Thrace. Both report to Commander Garner in Pegasus' CIC. Garner argues with now-Captain Thrace over the disappearance of the Raptors.

• Commander Garner and Major Adama talk in private about the discipline on Pegasus. Garner thinks that Starbuck is a huge part of the problem and that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

• On Colonial One, President Roslin is hounded by her new aide, Tory Foster, about preparing for the coming election. Elsewhere, Tom Zarek discusses the idea of presidency. He concedes he's not able to garner support, but is willing to support someone more popular: Dr. Baltar.

• Back on Galactica, Dr. Cottle & Admiral Adama discuss the fate of the young woman found in the container, Rya Kibby. Kibby mentions the fact that she doesn't want to keep the baby, but Admiral Adama (on request from the Gemenese delegate) is intent on sending her back to her family. Dr. Cottle semi-sarcastically suggests that she request asylum aboard Galactica, a suggestion that she takes seriously.

• News of Rya Kibby's asylum request raises a stir throughout the Fleet. President Roslin discusses the issue with Admiral Adama, Tory Foster, and Delegate Sarah Porter from Gemenon. Delegate Porter states that abortion is an obscenity and demands that the girl be returned to her parents. Afterwards, President Roslin mentions she's not willing to even consider the idea of abortion in general, having fought for a woman's right to control her body for her entire career, but Admiral Adama quotes her own words back to her, reminding her that their population must increase in order to survive.

• While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, Starbuck discovers the reason for the missing Raptors may be that they responded to a distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory and orders Thrace confined to quarters.

• Shortly thereafter additional search parties learn of the distress call that lured the first Raptors away. Commander Garner decides to start preparing the Pegasus for a jump.

• Over wireless, Commander Garner, Major Adama, and Admiral Adama discuss the missing Raptor situation. Commander Garner feels that Pegasus should jump to bring home the missing crews and ships, while the Admiral and Major believe it may be a trap and orders a 5-Raptor recon mission to ascertain the training mission's fate.

• Garner orders a combat jump despite Admiral Adama's orders. After discovering this Major Adama confronts Garner and attempts to relieve him of duty, however the marines take Garner`s side instead and start to escort the Major back to his quarters.

• SAR Raptors at the rescue site find both Raptors, but the crews are dead. At that moment, three basestars ambush Pegasus with conventional and nuclear missile barrages seconds after their arrival.

• Pegasus's FTL drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the FTL failure's cause from CIC, but the engineering crew are confused from the attack. Commander Garner heads down to Engineering to assess the damage himself, and transfers command of Pegasus to Major Adama who is briefly in shock over his new responsibility. Adama then orders Pegasus to a more defensive orientation and to target one of the basestars with its forward batteries, severely damaging the basestar and buying them more time.

• Garner's successful repair of their FTL system allows Pegasus to escape. Commander Garner, however, dies in the process due to vacuum exposure.

• In Admiral Adama's quarters, the Admiral and Major Adama review the reports from the incident on Pegasus. After discussing the late Pegasus commander, the Admiral offers his son the job of commanding Pegasus, along with a promotion to Commander.

• Gaius Baltar proclaims his candidacy for President of the Colonies in the Presidential election in the midst of a press conference called by President Roslin regarding abortion in the Fleet.

Notes

• Timeline-wise, Baltar says that he made an initial projection of the fleet's population "over seven months ago". This would have been before the arrival of Pegasus, since he said he factored in the arrival of her crew subsequently.
• Baltar states that he added the crew of the Pegasus into his calculations, with the result of the end of the human race within 18 years at current attrition rates.
• It has been "almost a month" since Apollo was shot in "Sacrifice".
• The recap at the beginning of this episode includes two scenes that did not actually appear in any previous episode, but were constructed by redubbing existing footage.
  • The scene where Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama discuss Garner's promotion is constructed from the scene in "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to Pegasus on the hangar deck. The scene has been cleverly redubbed, so that Adama is saying entirely new lines when the camera is pointed at Tigh (not at Adama's face), and then Tigh says new lines when the camera is pointed at Adama.
  • The same technique is used when Baltar is talking to Gina: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear Gina saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "Epiphanies".
• From the podcast, it seems that the "previously" scene (above) was actually meant for "Black Market", but the original hangar deck scene had to be heavily edited due to the legal complications surrounding Commander Barry Garner's name. The character was originally named "Barry Trammel", but at the last minute it had to be changed for legal reasons when the production team found that there was a real person with that name.
• Captain Cole "Stinger" Taylor is still onPegasus, mentioned by Kara Thrace as being in the brig for insubordination.
• The adjectival form of "Gemenon" is "Gemenese".
• Under Gemenese law, minors are the "property" of their parents.
• Mercury class battlestars do not need to retract their flight pods prior to a jump, unlike the Galactica type.
• The coolant pressure gauges on Pegasus measure in PSI, presumably Pound-force per square inch. This is consistent with the use of customary units on the Viper Mk. II's altimeter, seen in "Act of Contrition".
• The distance between Pegasus and the lost Raptors is reported in "SU" units. This may be the Colonials' equivalent of the Astronomical unit (AU); an AU is based on the distance between Earth and the Sun, so it would seem illogical for the planets of the Twelve Colonies to share this exact measurement.
• This is the fourth episode of the season in which Grace Park has not appeared as Sharon Valerii.
• Writer Jeff Vlaming references Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" when he has Laura Roslin tell Quorum of Twelve delegate Sarah Porter, "you have your pound of flesh".
• Sharon warned Admiral Adama in the previous episode, "Sacrifice", that the Cylons might try to lay ambushes near some pulsar stars ahead of their position, due to DRADIS interference.
• Based on the promo images for the episodes, it appears that in a deleted scene, Rya tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills when she was told she couldn't have an abortion, and she had to be resuscitated.
• This episode had the lowest Nielsen Ratings figure that an episode of the Re-Imagined Series ever received, although the episode was well-received by critics and fans; this is possibly the backlash from what Ron Moore himself feels were the less desirable episodes "Black Market" and "Sacrifice".
• Several fans felt that in the final scene with Apollo and Starbuck embracing, Apollo whispered "forever" into Starbuck's ear (after his last line that "we're okay", etc.). However on repeat viewing it's just Starbuck sighing three short times in a row, which vaguely sounds like three syllables. When actor Jamie Bamber was asked about this, he confirmed that he did not whisper "forever".

Analysis

• When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This action runs in parallel to how then-Commander William Adama led the entire crew in a long, drawn-out slow clap in respect of President Roslin when she was re-instated to her office in "Home, Part II".
• Survivor count is decremented by six from "Sacrifice", but seven people died in that episode - terrorists Sesha Abinell, Vinson, Page and Chu, two unnamed marines, and civilian Billy Keikeya. At least one birth must have taken place to offset the population count between the two episodes.
• Based on the Colonial One whiteboard seen toward the end of the episode, only five people died as a result of the ambush on Pegasus: Richard "Buster" Bayer, Lyla "Shark" Ellway, the unnamed crew of Raptor 314, and Commander Barry Garner.
  • This casualty figure is conspicuously low, considering that Galactica lost 85 crewmen as the result of a hit by a single nuclear missile in the miniseries, while Pegasus is hit with no less than three in this episode.
  • On the other hand, it is at least consistent with the surprisingly low number of casualties incurred in the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, and may indicate that the hull armor on Pegasus is significantly stronger than on Galactica, which has many conspicuously bare structural ribs.
  • A large number of the casualties Galactica incurred were due to the firefighting crews failure to use breathing gear when Tigh ordered the flight pod vented. However, based on dialogue in this episode, it appears that the Pegasus firefighting teams did take this precaution.
• It seems clear now that the Cylons are again shadowing the fleet. They are doing so accurately enough to vector three basestars onto Pegasus. Why do they not attack the fleet itself? The trap for Pegasus was somewhat laborious. This returns us to theories that the Cylons want the fleet to survive, even with Galactica, but that the arrival of Pegasus throws some of their calculations out.
  • The Cylons never stopped shadowing the Fleet, per "Scar" etc. They were just afraid to engage because the Resurrection Ship was destroyed. In the past, one Basestar was willing to simply wade into Galactica and its Vipers, but now they're resorted to both a sneak attack/trap, and ganging up on a battlestar using superior numbers. The Cylons set up the trap, so they knew where to jump and that's why it was so accurate. In no way does this support a theory that the Cylons want the Fleet to survive, and further, Ron Moore has repeatedly stated that the Cylons aren't doing that and truly want to destroy the Fleet (at least, before the season 2 finale).
• In the course of this episode's timeline, Lee Adama rises from the rank of Captain (CAG of Galactica) to Major (No details are given on that posting except Adama was assigned to Pegasus), to Commander and CO of Pegasus in the wake of Commander Barry Garner's death saving his ship.
  • Major Adama's duty was intended as a temporary stint as Pegasus acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer. In the opening scene, he tells Anastasia Dualla that he expects to return to Galactica "in a couple of weeks".
• Garner's decision to mount a rescue operation in contravention of his commanding officer's orders is an explicit parallel to "Pegasus", down to the choice of words:

Adama: "I'm getting my men."

Garner: "I'm going to get our men."

• Kara Thrace's posting is finally clarified in this episode: she is now serving as CAG on Galactica.
  • She was transferred to Pegasus in "Pegasus" and then promoted to that ship's CAG over Cole "Stinger" Taylor in "Resurrection Ship, Part I". In "Epiphanies", it is made clear that Lee Adama regained his posting as Galactica's CAG. In "Epiphanies", Thrace is seen piloting one of Galactica's Mk. II Vipers with Kat; in "Scar" she is serving on Galactica, and appears to have assumed the majority of Adama's responsibilities as CAG, although she still takes orders from him.
  • During this episode it's mentioned that she's only been on board Pegasus for four days before getting thrown in the brig: probably referring to the time she spent away on Galactica in "Scar" and in the Fleet on leave in "Sacrifice".
• Although there's no clear evidence of this, it's nice to imagine that when Admiral Adama promoted his son to Commander, he gave Lee his old Commander rank insignia.
  • This is actually quite likely; the decision to bump Lee to Commander seemed to have been made immediately following Garner's debacle, and given that Billy had to search extensively for a jeweler to get Adama his Admiral's insignia, giving Lee his old rank insignia was probably as much practicality as it was sentiment.

Questions

• Why is Rya Kibby seeking an abortion? Who is the biological father to Rya's unborn child?
• Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested, give that he is one of the few remaining Doctors? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.
• Is Baltar's report real, or just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
• Who will replace Baltar as Roslin's Vice President?
  • Can Roslin actually pick another Vice President, under Colonial law, if Baltar refuses to resign? One of the reporters at the end actually directly asks if Baltar would remain as Vice President. Perhaps Roslin cannot forcibly remove Baltar from his office just because he's running against her.
• How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign? (Answer)
• Will Tigh accept the fact that Lee Adama now outranks him and has command of a ship?
• What will happen to Rya now that she has been granted asylum on Galactica?
• Had Garner been serving as XO to Pegasus's previous commander, the late Jack Fisk?
• Does the fact that the Cylons had such a large force waiting to ambush Pegasus indicate that they have a new Resurrection Ship in place?
• How does the double layer flight pod system on Pegasus operate? Just before the battlestar jumps away from the ambush, there is a short sequence of Vipers returning to the ship that shows them landing on two distinct levels of the flight pod, with Vipers landing on the lower level being upside down with respect to Pegasus. Does it work with artificial gravity or do the flightpods always operate in zero-g? (For more on the use of artificial gravity, see the article, Science in the Re-imagined Series).
• How could abortion be legal and established throughout the Colonies despite being against the religious views of at least one planet? Does this indicate a strong central government, that can dictate laws against the wishes of large population groups, instead of a federal system with the planet's having more autonomy?
  • Since Rya ran away perhaps abortion was not legal under Gemenese law.
• Now that Lee Adama is commanding Pegasus, who does he have for an XO since it is apparent both battlestars are short field grade officers? Does he elevate Stinger to XO, or does he bring someone from Galactica? (Answer, Post-LDYB, Part I)
• There are several factual errors in the scenes where Garner opens the valves to restore the FTL drive coolant pressure:
  • Garner should not have been able to open the hatch to gain access to the FTL auxiliary controls since the inside of the compartment was losing pressure and the hatch opened outwards. Assuming the breach had formed during the attack the air pressure outside of the compartment would have made it nearly impossible to open the hatch.
  • Additionally we can see gas/smoke coming inward from the rupture in the hull, which is odd since the atmosphere was escaping, not entering.
  • A rupture of that size would not cause the wind-blown effect that we see throughout the scenes, otherwise the entire cabin would have had it's atmosphere vacated in a matter of seconds.
  • As the atmosphere escapes the air pressure would decrease slower over time, however in this case it clearly decreases faster over time.
  • What kind of equipment is available to fix small breaches such as the one in the Pegasus's engine room? Helo uses a hand-held pressure pad to seal a minor breach in the damaged Raptor during the Miniseries right after he receives his leg wound. Kara Thrace used her flight suit to seal a fist-sized hole in her recovered raider in You Can't Go Home Again. Considering the importance of gaining access to that compartment why was no attempt made to seal the breach?
• Why did Major Adama order the battlestar "left" instead of "port" or more accurately use a bearing? Although he is new to command as an accomplished pilot he would have known that.
• Visual effects gaffe: In the shot where the pressure gauge is showing zero the pressure hand is on the wrong side of the zero-stop pin, actually indicating a severe over-pressure instead of vacuum.
  • The colors of the background of the gauge also change between subsequent shots, probably due to inconsistent white balance settings on the camera.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Following the Cylon ambush of Pegasus and the death of Commander Garner.

Admiral Adama: In your opinion, off the record, what was Garner's flaw?

Major Lee Adama: He was used to working with machines. Command is about people.

Admiral Adama: Remember that, as you take command of "The Beast" (Pegasus). Garner was my decision; his failures, my responsibility. Don't let me fail a second time. Congratulations, Commander.

• Responding to President Roslin's decision to criminalize abortion.

Vice-President Baltar: It is true in the light of recent events, the President may have lost support in some quarters. I would ask the people to understand that if this is an extreme decision, we live in extreme times. The decision has been made with good faith. I, however, cannot with good conscience support it. I am so sorry, Madame President, but the Cylon have no understanding the meaning of the word "freedom". How could they? They're programmed...machines. Every time you take away one of our freedoms, every time we restrict or curtail one of our rights, we become one step closer to being like them. As the Vice-President, I am bound to follow the administration's lead; as President, I should have no such strictures. Given the current situation, I'm afraid that I have no alternative but to announce that I am, as of now, a candidate for the Presidency.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Nicki Clyne as Specialist Cally Henderson
• Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Felix Gaeta
• Kandyse McClure as Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• John Heard as Commander Barry Garner
• Christian Tessier as Tucker "Duck" Clellan
• Stephanie von Pfetten as Cpt. Marcia "Showboat" Case
• Kavan Smith as Lt. Richard "Buster" Bayer
• Amber Rothwell as Rya Kibby
• Patricia Idlette as Sarah Porter
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Brad Dryborough as Hoshi
• Aaron Pearl as Ensign Abel Thornton
• Christina Schild as Playa Palacios
• Tammy Hui as ECO Lyla "Shark" Ellway
• James Bell as Lt. Steve "Red Devil" Fleer
• Kimani Ray Smith as Pegasus Sergeant
• Kurt Max Runte as Ensign Charles Bellamy

Re-imagined Series definition: battlestar landing bay mechanism that arrests a landing Viper, Raptor or other small craft ^{(TRS: "Final Cut")}

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

Re-imagined Series definition: in military parlance, directive to continue the attack; otherwise used to refer to journalists ^{(TRS: "Maelstrom")}

Original Series definition: a Cylon outpost ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I")}

Re-imagined Series definition: distance measurement similar to "astronomical unit," speculated to stand for "solar unit" (TRS: "The Captain's Hand").

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

Re-imagined Series definition: the senior pilot on a battlestar

Re-imagined Series definition: Commanding Officer; e.g. William Adama

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

Original Series definition: marriage

Re-imagined Series definition: nickname for Pegasus given by Galactica's crew (TRS: "The Captain's Hand")

crew member handling electronic countermeasures of a craft; ECOs are standard crew aboard Raptors (see: ECO)