Re-imagined Series References

See also: Original Series References

References on BSG

Mini-Series

References to Original Battlestar Galactica

• The Cylon design the Armistice Officer is looking at in the beginning, and the Cylon Centurian in the Galactica's museum, are from the original show.
• A model of the original series' Cylon Basestar is also in the Galatica's museum.
• The theme played during the current affairs programme used to introduce Dr. Gaius Baltar is that of the original series fanfare. The fanfare is again heard during the decommissioning Viper flyby
• Baltar tells Number Six that "the last time anyone saw a Cylon [i.e., the original series], they looked like walking chrome toasters."
• Baltar tells Number Six that "treason gets the death penalty;" in the original series, a point was made of the death penalty being abolished, even for treason.
• In the first encounter between the Colonial Vipers and the Cylon Raiders, one of the pilots says that during the first war, Raiders looked like flying wings (the original series' Raider design).
• One of the Galactica's pilots who is killed by the Cylons is called Jolly, the name of a Galactica pilot from the original series.
• Roslin makes a point of calling Lee "Captain Apollo," saying "it has a nice ring to it."
• At the end of the mini-series, Boomer says "by your command," the standard response of the original series' Cylons to the Imperious Leader.

Other References

• Number Six's name is a reference to the character of the same name from "The Prisoner".
• Colonel Saul Tigh is based on the character Michael Eddington from the movie "In Harm's Way".
• Serenity, the ship from the show "Firefly," can be seen through the window above Roslin's head when she is diagnosed with cancer. Firefly and Battlestar Galactica shared the same special-effects studio (Zoic, which put in the Serenity) and several of the same writers.
• Colonel Tigh burning the eye out of a picture of his wife is a reference to a similar scene in Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen's character.
• The Gemenon liner's ID number is 1701; in Star Trek: The Next Generation (which had many episodes written by Battlestar Galacticas developer) the Enterprise's ID number is 1701.
• The gun used by Helo, Boomer, and other pilots is a homage to the guns used in the movie Blade Runner (which also starred Edward James Olmos).
• Roslin's swearing-in as President is a reference to the famous photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as President onboard Air Force One, after Kennedy's assassination.
• Colonial One's design was based on Air Force One, and the Raptor's design was based on the Apache helicopter.

Season One

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• (Also seen elsewhere in the series)The format of the opening titles, a series of clips representing the story of the Cylon attack on the twelve colonies and the exodus of the fleet (all taken from the Mini-Series, followed by clips from the upcoming episode, is a homage to the ITC / Century 21 television series Space 1999, which Moore, Ronald D. admits to having watched while growing up.
• (Also seen elsewhere in the series) The photograph pilots touch on entering / leaving the Ready Room is called "Lest We Forget" and shows a Colonial soldier falling to his knees on witnessing the destruction of the capital of Arilon during the Cylon Attack. This is a direct homage to the pictures of NYFD personnel at Ground Zero on 9/11, while the title is drawn from the John Ford-directed film "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" starring John Wayne.
• The Rising Star mentioned as the birthplace of the fleet's first baby is a reference to the luxury liner Rising Star from the original series

Bastille Day

• Tom Zarek is played by Hatch, Richard, famous for his role as Apollo in the original series
• The title is a reference to the event that began the French Revolution, when a crowd of around 1,000 stormed the Wikipedia:Bastille Bastille prison in Paris. In this case, the prison is a prison ship, and the prisoners themselves take it over.
• The Astral Queen's design is identical to the Prison Barge from the original series.
• The "I'm a bus driver, not a warden," comment from the Astral Queen's captain is a reference to Dr. McCoy's quips from "Star Trek."

Act of Contrition

• In the flashback to Zak's funeral, there are American military HumVees and Deuce-and-a-Half trucks on the Colonial base.

You Can't Go Home Again

• This episode shares some similarity with the final Galactica 1980 episode, "The Return of Starbuck," where Starbuckis stranded on a desert moon, and uses a crashed Cylon Raider to return to the Galactica.
• The "waggling" scene with Apollo's viper and Starbuck's Cylon Raider is a nod to the original series; Apollo and Starbuck had to "waggle" their own Cylon Raider in order to convey they were friendlies, after losing their transmitter in "The Hand of God".

Litmus

• The name of the episode refers to a litmus test, used in chemistry to determine the presence of an acid.
• Commander Adama has copies of "Reader's Digest" in his cabin.
• Number Six says, "Don't make me angry, Gaius. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." This is a possible reference to the famous catchphrase of Dr. Bruce Banner, just before turning into the Incredible Hulk: "You're making me angry, and you're not going to like me when I'm angry."

Six Degrees of Separation

• The name of the episode is a reference to the movie of the same name, and share a similar concept - that everyone can be connected to others (in this case, Baltar, the dead scientist, and Shelly).

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down

• The episode was initially going to be a riff on the movie Crimson Tide, where both Adama and Tigh would begin to suspect one another of being a Cylon agent, ending up in a scene where they would be pointing weapons at one another.

The Hand of God

• A reference to the final episode of the original series, also called The Hand of God; in both episodes, Adama launches the first offensive strike against Cylon bases.
• In both episodes, "wing-waggles" are used to identify the friendly intents of captured Cylon Raiders to other Colonials.
• During the battle, Starbuck yells out to Lee, "You magnificent bastard!" In the movie Patton, during their first battle against each other, Patton says the same to Rommel.

Colonial Day

• The name of the news show, "The Colonial Gang," is a spoof of the CNN show "The Capital Gang."
• The bar that Lee gets into the fight at has several bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey on the shelf.
• At the end, Roslin tells Zarek that he doesn't need to worry about her kissing him, to which he replied that it's a shame, as he shaved extra close in anticipation of getting "smacked" by her. This dialogue was taken verbatim from the movie Patton, with Roslin as Montgomery and Zarek as Patton.

Kobol's Last Gleaming

• In both this episode and the original series The Hand of God, the Colonials track Cylon Raiders using IFF transponders.
• Both Kobol's Last Gleaming and the original series The Lost Planet of the Gods are two-part episodes where the Galactica finds Kobol.

Season Two

Flight of the Phoenix

• The name of the episode, and the theme of attempting to make a plane from scratch, comes from the book and two movies of the same name.

Pegasus

• This is a remake of the original series' two-part episode, The Living Legend.

References to BSG

"Tripping the Rift"

• One of the show's main characters is a robot seductress named Six, who has the appearance of a beautiful human woman.