Occupation

"Occupation" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 1
Writer(s)	Ronald D. Moore
Story by
Director	Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	2006-10-06
CAN airdate	{{{CAN airdate}}}
UK airdate
DVD release	{{{dvd}}}
Population	? survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	Occupation	Precipice
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – 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

It's been four months since the Cylons occupied the human settlement of New Caprica, and Galactica, Pegasus, and a handful of ships jumped to safety. On New Caprica, a resistance has begun to challenge the Cylons. Aboard Galactica, Admiral Adama struggles with plans for a rescue, having only a handful of untested pilots at his command, understaffed ships, and facing a nearly impossible task.

Summary

• The episode begins with a series of cut scenes. Light flashes over Saul Tigh's face. He is in a prison cell, his missing eye patched over with a gauze bandage, and has scratched notches into a calendar on the wall. His wife, Ellen Tigh, is having sex with one of the Cavils. Laura Roslin lights a candle and prays to the gods. Galen Tyrol and Samuel Anders are planting a bomb using G-4 and an A-type detonator within a building space.
• Kara Thrace is inside a neatly decorated room, setting a table.
• Admiral William Adama tries to strategize a rescue plan with a series of various models of fighters, support vehicles and other civilian ships in the Situation Room's plot table, but becomes frustrated and hurls a model across the table.
• A Cavil walks into Tigh's cell and taunts him as he attempts to hide the calendar that he has scratched in the wall. A copy of Leoben Conoy walks into the room where Thrace sits at table, carrying her dinner. He sits and prays to "The Heavenly Father."
• Thrace coyly asks the Conoy copy for a knife for her steak, but Conoy takes his knife and cuts her steak himself.
• Tyrol and Anders scatter away as a Heavy Raider lands near their bomb.
• After Ellen Tigh's liaison with her Cavil copy, she asks when will she gets what she asked for, suggesting a previous deal. The Cylon informs her that it should be happening right at that moment. At same time, the Cavil in the cell with Colonel Tigh releases him from prison in a very taunting way. Tigh exits the prison and his wife meets him at the gate.
• A group of 'skinjobs' including at least 3 Eights, 3 Sixes, and 2 Fives approach the Heavy Raider as several 'chromejobs' exit it. Tyrol and Anders set off the bomb. A great explosion ensues that is witnessed by the Conoy copy with Thrace from their apartment. He returns to the table, pushes his knife away from Thrace.
• As he comments on how beautiful she is, Thrace stabs him in the neck with metal chopsticks. As he dies (while Thrace repeatedly stabs his chest for good measure), he tells Thrace that he will see her soon. She tells him to take his time. Then, after wiping her hand on the carpet, she returns to the table and calmly resumes eating dinner.

This is the end of the "FirstLook" sneak peak video provided on the official website of Scifi.com.

• Colonel Tigh is running the resistance effort, with Tyrol and Anders acting as his second in command officers.
• Every day a Raptor jumps in and listens for a wireless broadcast. With the list of jamming frequencies provided by Gaeta, Tyrol manages to contact the Colonial Fleet.

Questions

• How did Anders manage to recover from his pneumonia without the medical supplies Thrace was seeking in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"?
  • It is possible his own bodily defenses fought it off or he received medical supplies from a Cylon.

• Is this episode further evidence that Jammer is another Cylon model? He was standing next to Duck when they assembled for the graduation, and it is unlikely that he would have survived the explosion at such close range.
  • In the podcast, Ronald D. Moore reveals that Jammer survives Duck's attack, yet another issue that he has to deal with. An unfilmed scene was to show him waking up, under bodies, and having to move body parts out of the way. It was to be shown where his flashback of Cally's arrest occurs.

Analysis

• Given the dialogue during the scene and the marks on Ellen Tigh's face, it appears that Cavil has a penchant for "rough sex," adding to the sacrifice being made by Ellen to free Saul Tigh.
• During the episode, Conoy mentions that Kara has succeeded in killing Conoy five times prior to this airing.
  • Upon his return from being downloaded, Conoy stated that it had been five times (including the killing that was shown).

Notes

• "Occupation" was awarded the IGN.com Editor's choice award, following a review in which it recieved a rating of 10/10.
• "Occupation" and "Precipice" is edited as one 2-hr episode with only one intro. However, in the podcast, Ronald D. Moore indicates the "beginning" of "Precipice".
• The episode opens on the 134th day since the Cylon occupation.
• Crew changes in the year after settlement glimpsed in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I" are confirmed here: Helo is serving as XO on Galactica, with Kat as CAG. Dualla is serving as XO on Pegasus.
• Apollo has gained roughly 40 pounds since the the fleet found New Caprica. The Admiral states that he is soft, both physically and mentally.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• After hearing that contact had been established with New Caprica
  

Admiral Adama: "It's gonna be okay. It's really gonna be okay."

Guest Stars

• Lucy Lawless as Number Three
• Matthew Bennett as Number Five
• Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
• Rick Worthy as Simon
• Dean Stockwell as Cavil
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne Katraine (Kat)
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret Edmondson (Racetrack)
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl Agathon (Helo)
• Christian Tessier as Tucker Clellan (Duck)
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Henderson Tyrol
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Dominic Zamprogna as James Lyman (Jammer)
• Brad Dryborough as Lt. Hoshi
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh

Re-imagined Series definition: used to signify a civilian transport vessel over a certain gross weight/mass, i.e. Colonial Heavy 798

Re-imagined Series definition: Colonial equivalent of radio

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

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