The Dirteaters

For the anti-Tauron racial slur, see: dirt eater.

"The Dirteaters" An episode of the Caprica Series
Episode No.	Season 1, Episode 15
Writer(s)	Matthew B. Roberts
Story by
Director	John Dahl
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.	115
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	4 January 2011
CAN airdate	November 9, 2010
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	{{{population}}} survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Blowback	The Dirteaters	The Heavens Will Rise
Related Information
Official Summary
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Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
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Overview

Joseph and Sam Adama reflect on the horrors of their childhood and their loyalty to the Guatrau. Zoe-A and Tamara-A come to understand the extent of their power in V-World. Agent Duram's investigation is thwarted from within the GDD itself.

Summary

Teaser

TODAY

• Formally dressed Ha'la'tha members gather in a back room of Goldie's for a ceremony to make Joseph Adama a full member and to elevate his younger brother Sam to captain. Joseph privately confesses that he feels terrible about this event in light of business ties to the STO terrorist group and orders to assassinate Daniel Graystone. Sam blithely dismisses his concerns about Graystone. At that moment, the Guatrau arrives. He fondly recalls his first encounter with the two when they were boys in a refugee camp, when Sam tried to pick his pocket and Joseph showed his quiet, calculating manner. He kisses both of them and the ceremony begins with the lighting of a skivvy malanos lamp.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

• On Tauron, William Adama Sr. lights a skivvy malanos on the kitchen table of the Adama family home, and prepares to give young Joseph--"Yoseef" in the Tauron language--a tattoo of manhood. He praises Yoseef's successful learning of prayers and religious texts. After asking Yoseef to find his ceremonial robes, William turns to a sullen-looking Sam and asks him to support his older brother on this day. He assures Sam that he is already a man, and that his time to receive his own mark will come.
• Isabelle Adama enters the kitchen with news that Heracleides troops were arriving, likely as a reprisal for the resistance blowing up grain silos. William is uncomfortable about the resistance's tactics, while Isabelle sees them as appropriate. The four family members sit at the table, and as the boys' parents warn them against the dangers of the Heracs, William shows them a small vial of kapi, suicide capsules to be used if no other options remain. He tells them that like their own ancestors, it is a point of personal honor for someone to decide for themselves how they would "return to the soil."

Act 1

TODAY

• At Sinny McNutt's Slash and Cut bar in the New Cap City V-world game, Olaf and Nestor Willow are dressed in expensive suits and enjoying drinks and the company of women. The relaxed mood is interrupted by the entrance of the "deadwalkers" Tamara-A and Zoe-A. Most of the bar patrons remove their holobands and escape, fearing game death at the hands of the unstoppable "Avenging Angels." Nestor and Olaf remain and draw their swords, eager for a fight--until the girls pull out firearms in clear violation of the rules of Slash and Cut. Olaf is struck and killed by the first round, while Nestor dives to the floor and takes off his headband just in time.
• Back in their real world bedroom, Olaf vents his frustration about being permanently blocked from New Cap City after five years of work on his avatar. Clarice Willow enters the room and scolds them for wasting time on the game instead of sorting through belongings left by their wife Mar-Beth Willow after her murder. The two husbands jokingly invite Clarice to try New Cap City and meet the player who is supposedly pretending to be Zoe Graystone. All of this happens as they are recorded by a discreetly placed GDD surveillance device.
• Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adama spar in a boxing ring in a Graystone Industries gym. Daniel tries to get Joseph to understand that the two-week deadline imposed on him by the Guatrau for delivering new V-world avatar technology is unreasonable. Joseph tries to advise him indirectly as they fight, and at one point pauses the match to tell him in a near whisper to do research and find the Guatrau's weakness, and to use it or risk being killed. He yells at Daniel to fight and knocks him out, giving him a black eye.
• At the Graystone Estate that evening, Daniel listens as the robot Serge reports biographical and criminal records on Sam Adama, the importance of family ties in Tauron culture, the civil war, and the emergence of the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate as a means of survival for the defeated resistance. Daniel next asks for information on Obolus Incorporated, a shell company operating across the Twelve Colonies on behalf of the Guatrau. The corporation has been able to evade prosecution on Caprica. Except for Graystone Industries, five of the six companies recently acquired by Obolus have all been used up and left in various states of financial ruin. The screen displays the pictures of CEOs of all six, and all but Daniel are marked "DECEASED."

Act 2

TODAY

• Cap News reports that the Tauron government is confident of success in their war against the current rebellion, and that Caprican defense minister Sasha Patel has no plans to send soldiers to Tauron. In very different news, Cap 2 reports that the popularity of the Avenging Angels has spawned new merchandising opportunities.
• Daniel walks into Goldie's and ignores an insult from Frankie to speak with Sam. The two step into the privacy of a kitchen. Daniel's show of respect for Tauron culture is met with Sam's derision for "Cappa fraks," but Daniel quickly moves on to his main point: he knows that the Guatrau will have him killed soon after he finishes his new avatar program, and that Sam will be the likely assassin. Sam denies it, but Daniel presses on. He demonstrates a deeper understanding of Ha'la'tha respect for family and for "soil," and argues that the Guatrau is betraying those values for profit by selling U-87 Cyber Combat Units to the STO when they could vastly improve the rebels' chances for survival and victory. Daniel offers Sam the use of his own personal resources--including a private transport--to divert U-87 robots to Tauron without the Guatrau's knowledge. Sam is interested, and asks Daniel for his price. He asks only that Sam keep him from being killed.
• Joseph and Evelyn spend time talking in bed. While Joseph handles a lucky lighter, his mood sours. Evelyn convinces him to admit that he is being torn up by the Guatrau's decision to sell U-87s to the same terrorist group that murdered his wife and daughter. Despite Joseph's new position in the Ha'la'tha, the Guatrau would not listen to him.

Notes

• "Dirt eater" is a derogatory term for a Tauron.
• Joseph is seen for the first time with the lighter that, according to his son William, he always carried with him into court when arguing cases. Nearly sixty years later, William lends the same lighter to his own son for good luck before a key battle (TRS: "The Hand of God").
• Black-and-white film of atrocity victims from the Tauron Civil War is taken (at least in part) from footage of bodies discovered in Nazi concentration camps by Allied forces at the end of World War II More recent file footage of ground rocket bombardments and protests are also used in the episode.

Analysis

• After being gunned down in New Cap City, Olaf complains that he had been working on his avatar inside the game for five years. This puts a minimum age on the game, and possibly approximates the age of holoband technology.

Official Statements

• From an interview with Scifi Wire:
  • Esai Morales: "There's one we unofficially call 'Adama-rama.' It's called 'Dirt Eaters' and it shows the history of my brother (Sasha Roiz) and I on the show, our history when we were little, when he was actually shorter than me."

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Nestor stands alongside Olaf in the Slash & Cut bar in New Cap City, challenging Zoe-A:

Nestor: You look nothing like Zoe Graystone. Whoever programmed you was a hack.

• Daniel tries convincing Sam he will soon be assassinated:

Daniel: (In Tauron) "When the tree surrenders all its fruit, it's time to trim from the top down." (Switching back to Caprican) More than just a Ha'la'tha proverb?

Sam: Your pronunciation needs some work.

Guest Stars

• Scott Porter as Nestor Willow
• Peter Wingfield as Gara Singh
• Jorge Montesi as The Guatrau
• Aleks Paunovic as William Adama Sr.
• Elisabeth Rosen as Kolibri
• Sina Najafi as William Adama
• Genevieve Buechner as Tamara Adama
• Panou as Olaf Willow
• Teryl Rothery as Evelyn
• Jim Thomson as Voice of Serge
• Christian Tessier as Francis
• Alison Araya as Isabelle Adama
• Daleal Monjazeb as Young Joseph
• Alexander Kambolis as Young Sam
• Diego Diablo Del Mar as Bartender
• William C. Vaughan as Fan Boy
• Nicola Anderson as GDD Receptionist
• Colin Decker as Herac Soldier