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 quetions distinctive.

Cast/Crew: These are questions we are seeking from you. 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 seeming from the issue have stopped.

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

Who's the Mop Guy?

Hi there. We have a humorous article dedicated to our administrators: Mop Boy. We have a screencap of a Galactica crewman who is mopping the floor in the documentary of "Final Cut" (which, metaphorically, is what admins do). Did that character have a name? If not, can you give him an unofficial one? "The Unknown Mopper" is the administrator's patron saint. :) --Spencerian 18:40, 8 October 2006 (CDT)

I'll ask Mark to give him a name when I get back to LA - Ngarenn 22:56, 19 October 2006 (CDT)

Quote from Mark Verheiden's email to me: "I always thought the Mop Boy was named Stan Gibson." - Ngarenn 14:38, 28 November 2006 (CST)

Awesome. Much appreciated! Stan Gibson it is. I was just admiring Scifipedia's new exclusive content today, and was wishing that we had the "mop guy" article. Wish granted. Of course, our content is a bit less "exclusive" (creative commons share and share alike not withstanding). --Steelviper 14:59, 28 November 2006 (CST)

Woohoo! St. Stan Gibson he is! Thanks for the addition! --Spencerian 16:43, 28 November 2006 (CST)

Lol thats excellent, I never really thought he'd get a real name :D --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:48, 29 November 2006 (CST)

New episode names

Hello Mr. Thompson, we have a couple more "working titles" if you'd care to confirm them as such: Episode 15/16 - Dirty Hands, Episode 16/17 - Maelstrom. --Straycat0 22:41, 19 October 2006 (CDT)

So far, "Dirty Hands" is the title of Episode 15. - Ngarenn 22:46, 19 October 2006 (CDT)

BTW, "Download City" is Seelix's slang for wherever Cylons go to get resurrected. - Ngarenn 22:51, 19 October 2006 (CDT)

Darn. Oh well.. i liked the idea of a city. lol. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 23:14, 19 October 2006 (CDT)

And one "working title" more: Episode 17/18 - The Son Also Rises. Is that correct, Mr. Thompson? -- Spike 16:10, 3 November 2006 (EST)

Confirmed. At least as far as script stage. - Ngarenn 16:22, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Guest stars in Exodus, Part 2

I was curious about the names of some actors in the episode that weren't credited:

--The Viper pilot with the call sign of Red Wing. Hot Dog talks to him over the wireless as they launch off Galactica over New Caprica.

--The baby who portrayed Hera/Isis.

Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks. -- 123home123 01:41, 27 October 2006 (CDT)

Sorry, but I'm the wrong guy to ask about this. All that stuff's handled in Canada. - Ngarenn 16:38, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Chadwick in "Collaborators"

We only saw the character Chadwick in a photo as the Circle debated her fate near the halfway point of the "Collaborators" episode. I was wondering who the actor is. Is the person an actor or is it a friend or relative of one of the production staff? I find these little tidbits interesting. Thanks for any answers on this. -- 123home123 23:31, 30 October 2006 (CST)

As in the question above, I work in LA, so I'm not very clued in to the production office in Canada. I do know that often the art department uses crew/relatives/friends as subjects for some of the photos that appear in the show. - Ngarenn 16:40, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Final episode titles

Mr. Thompson could you please confirm these episode titles:

3.16 - Maelstrom
3.17 - The Son Also Rises
3.18 - Crossroads, Part I
3.19 - Crossroads, Part II

And I suppose that episode 19 is season finale, right?

All the above statements are correct as of this date. - Ngarenn 16:25, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Thank you for your time. -- Deus 18:04, 8 November 2006 (CST)

You're most welcome - Ngarenn 16:25, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Kacey's real name

I've noticed that the actor who plays Kacey has been spelled two different ways in the end credits: Madeline Parker and Madeleine Parker (with an extra "e"). Assuming that these aren't twins, which spelling is correct? Thanks.

I'm also assuming that the director's name was misspelled for Torn. Jean de Segonzac has directed many shows and movies while there is no information on a Jean de Segoznac as the director's name was spelled in the onscreen credits. -- 123home123 19:23, 9 November 2006 (CST)

New Baseship Design

Hello, I was wondering (and I'm sure many more too) about why the external design of the Baseship was changed to what we started seeing in Collaborators and have seen since?

Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot more, it's sharper, more menacing, and a lot more mechanical, but I was wondering if there was a reason for which the design was changed, and whether it meant that this was a new class of Baseship (since it also appears to be a bit smaller than the older ones). --Sauron18 23:36, 12 November 2006 (CST)

We're always upgrading the imagery (compare the Centurions from Season 1 to those of Season 3, for example). Gary Hutzel, Mike Gibson and the VFX crew decided to echo the internal design elements of the base ship on the exterior. - Ngarenn 16:29, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Awesome, thank you. --Sauron18 14:49, 16 December 2006 (CST)

Battlestar Valkyrie

Dear Mr. Thompson,

There is a slight confusion over the design of the Battlestar Valkyrie, which is clearly different from the Galactica and the Pegasus. Is it is different style of Battlestar, or just a refitted type? --Volostheguardian 10:04, 18 November 2006 (CST)

I don't really why some people are confused. The ship is clearly smaller than Galactica or Pegasus, which indicates some form of support role for larger carriers. Inside though, it as advanced as the Mercury class, which indicates a newer design. Obviously the Colonials could and would have more than 2 battlestar designs --Serenity 10:23, 18 November 2006 (CST)

Dear Serentity,

While I find your findings supportable, you took it upon yourself to answer a question that I posed to Mr. Thompson. I asked Mr. Thompson the question, and while I can except the fact that circumstantional evidence is present, it is not fact. The manner that you wrote in suggests some sort of sniding holier then thou attitude, which I may add instead of adding to the question, seemed to quell it and had the placement your own answer. --Volostheguardian 16:36, 19 November 2006 (CST)

Volstheguardian, Serenity - I don't have a security clearance that allows me access to the Colonial military vessel design bureau. Considering that Galactica was built long before Valkyrie, I confidently assume that decades of modifications were incorporated in her design, as they were in Pegasus. That doesn't necessarily make them carbon copies of one another. - Ngarenn 16:47, 21 November 2006 (CST)

Adama v. Networks

I was wondering if Adama's stand against networks, which he maintained on the Galactica, was also maintained on the Valkyrie? I realize that this question quite possibly has no answer, so i'd be interested to hear anyone's opinion on the matter. --Thetruthseeker 11:30, 1 December 2006 (CST)

See the answer from Ngarenn on Valkyrie's design to aid in this. Valkyrie was probably more advanced. We know that Galactica was never networked in its lifetime based on its lifetime; it is very impractical to network an entire ship, only to de-network it just because it was the "old-school" thing to do. This includes not only the computers, but the entire electronic infrastructure, including its phones. Galactica is a comparative relic like the USS Constitution in Boston, but it is cherished (to the point of still keeping it running, if only as a museum because of that distinction. Adama, knowing the ship's history, having served on it in the past during the Cylon War, likely kept to the commander's (and probably the Colonial Fleet's) tradition of the ship's non-network edict. --Spencerian 12:51, 1 December 2006 (CST)

My personal belief is that, based on his experience during the First Cylon war and during the black op with Novacek (revealed in "Hero,") Commander Adama still regarded the Cylons as a clear and present threat. His memory of casualties caused by networked computers in the First War would have burned that precaution into any ship he commanded. - Ngarenn 20:40, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Stealth Star spelling

There is a slight issue, both here and on Wikipedia, with the spelling of the Stealth Star ship piloted by Bulldog. Is "Stealth Star" spelled with or without a space? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 13:19, 1 December 2006 (CST)

In Mr. Eick's script, the spelling used is "Stealthstar." - Ngarenn 20:41, 5 December 2006 (CST)

New Cylon?

I'm a little behind in the series having just watched Download. At one point you see the courtyard and cylons going about their business. For just a moment you can see a known model, a # 3 I think, talking with a big, bald, buff looking white guy in a black suit. They can only be seen for a few seconds and even then I had to pause it. Can anyone shed any light on who this is? Venemon 00:59, 3 December 2006 (CST) venemon

• That is actually a Simon walking with a Six, the overexposed lighting used for scenes in Caprica may make him appear to be white, but he´s not. --Sauron18 16:59, 3 December 2006 (CST)

That makes sense...of course I was kinda hoping I had discovered some new character just no one else noticed...lol. Thanks.

Rather it's *supposed* to be a Simon, so within the context of the show Sauron is 100% correct. They didn't actually want to bring Rick Worthy in for an episode where he didn't have any meaningful lines so they had to be a little creative. That might explain why they might have given some extra VFX attention to the face (and why Venemon detected something amiss). I believe RDM discusses that in the podcast. --Steelviper 07:46, 4 December 2006 (CST)

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 added him to the newly created Unnamed Battlestar Galactica personnel page. Ausir 09:20, 13 December 2006 (CST)

Mark Sheppard's character

Hello Mr. Thompson. Thanks to you and everyone in the production staff for the wonderful work of "real-world relevance" (I'm trying to quote Roslin from Lay Your Burdens Down during her debate with Baltar, but if I have it wrong, please somebody go ahead and edit this post to the correct quote) that is BSG. During The Battlestar Roundtable podcast put together by Ron and his wife, Mrs Ron (sometimes I forget that her real name is Terry), Mark Sheppard was asked to describe his character that he portrays during the last 3 episodes of the season. He mentioned his name so I placed that information on our webpage here. However, I am only about 90% positive that I heard it correctly. I heard "Rommel Lamphkin" but that may be part in due to Sheppard's Irish leaning accent. Is this name correct or have I heard it a little off? --Straycat0 15:21, 8 December 2006 (CST)

Mr. Angeli introduced him as Romo Lampkin. - Ngarenn 18:36, 15 December 2006 (CST)

Battlestar or battlestar? (Basestar or basestar, et cetera)

It would be nice if you could clarify if it is a capital B or lower-case, I'm generally one to capitalise but it would be nice to find out the correct case. Cheers. MatthewFenton 08:31, 9 December 2006 (CST)

In scripts, David and I capitalize Battlestar and Base Ship. During the first season, we asked Mr. Eick for a decree on the subject: Are the Cylon vessels Base Ships or Base Stars? One word or two? He quite definitively stated that Base Ships was what they use. Of course, not everybody got the word and you'll hear both throughout the series. You'll also see the words capitalized, non-capitalized, one word and two, sometimes all within the same script. But never from us. Yet. - Ngarenn 18:50, 15 December 2006 (CST)

Personally, I prefer the lowercase version as it's just a shiptype like "destroyer" or "frigate" --Serenity 19:13, 15 December 2006 (CST)

I agree. This is generally our current practice. --Peter Farago 19:27, 15 December 2006 (CST)

Okay, so both are correct? and there is no definitive correct or incorrect? If so that's cool. Cheers :) MatthewFenton 09:04, 18 December 2006 (CST)

"The Eye of Jupiter" Marines

Does Gunnery Sgt. Mathias have a first name? Also, only the names of Fischer, Griggs and Varrick were in the close captions. What was the name of the third Marine mentioned in the scene with Starbuck and Dualla? It sounded something like Ditko, but I can't be sure. Ausir 16:05, 17 December 2006 (CST)