Continuity errors (TRS)

This is a listing of continuity errors in the Re-imagined Series.

Acknowledged Mistakes

• At the end of "Home, Part II", when everyone is looking at the map to Earth in the Tomb of Athena, Lee points out the Lagoon Nebula in one of the constellations shown in the sky. Lee says, and the visual FX show the nebula located in Scorpio, but it is actually in the constellation Sagitarius. Ron Moore and David Eick acknowledge the error in their podcast commentary of the episode but no attempt is made to correct it.
• At the beginning of "Downloaded" two captions are shown: one states that the Cylon Attack in the Miniseries occurred nine months before the current episode (which is consistent with the other episodes in Season 2.5), while the second reads "10 weeks ago", and then shows Cally shooting "Boomer" Valerii in the past episode, "Resistance". However, it is impossible for this to have happened "10 weeks before 9 months after the attack": 9 months = 270 days. There is another plaque in the episode "Epiphanies" which clearly states on screen that that episode took place on Day 189. There are 70 days in 10 weeks. 70 days before Day 270 would be around Day 200; well after "Epiphanies", which was the ninth episode following "Resistance". In response to this serious error being brought to the forefront, the title card of the DVD and international television releases has been changed to "10 weeks later", meaning 10 weeks after Number Six's rebirth.
• In "'Scar" Starbuck and Kat fly Viper Mark VIIs but the launch in the originally aired episode showed a Viper Mark II. This has been fixed in the DVD release which now includes a new, but somewhat shorter, launch sequence with the Mk VIIs.
  A few previous episodes like "Resurrection Ship, Part II" only use the Mk II sequence, but both types of Vipers are deployed by Galactica.
• Exodus, Part I: At the end of "Precipice" we see Cally clearly in the woods when the gunfire is going off. At the time we watch Tyrol and his group take aim at the Cylon Centurion, Cally had not reached the wooded area by the time gunfire sounded. Further, when the gunfire begins in "Precipice", Tyrol is at the firing position, far from Cally, while in "Exodus, Part I" he is holding her to the ground when it begins.

Retcons

• Season two timeline discontinuity: All episodes before Season 2.5 (starting with "Resurrection Ship, Part I") seem to indicate that Season 2.5 begins 3-4 months after the Cylon attack. However, "Resurrection Ship, Part I" and all subsequent Season 2.5 episodes indicate that "Resurrection Ship, Part I" began 6 months after the Cylon attack. See the main article for more detailed analysis. There are 3 main points of discontinuity:
  • Caprica-Valerii is not visibly pregnant in "Pegasus", but by "Epiphanies", roughly 2-3 weeks later, she appears to be in her second trimester.
  • The presidential elections in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" are said to take place 9 months after the attack, when throughout Season 1 it was consistently said to be 7 months after the Cylon attack.
  • If all of the dates mentioned in each episode are counted up, "Pegasus" only occurs roughly three months post-attack, not six.
• Fleet numbers: In the Miniseries, a total of 40 FTL ships (led by Roslin) rendezvous with Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage. This makes the count 41 ships, including Galactica. However, this number was enlarged for the series. In "33," Dualla states: "Jump 237 underway... 53 ships have jumped, 10 still reporting trouble with their FTL drives, including Colonial One." In You Can't Go Home Again, Colonel Tigh mentions the Cylons searching for "a sixty-odd ships". The count offered in "The Farm" was similar - 24 ships had left to join Roslin's fleet, which was "almost a third" of the fleet, putting the number at about 75.
• The Astral Queen: In the Miniseries, Billy Keikeya stated to Laura Roslin that the captain had 500 prisoners in his cargo hold, and that the Queen was a cargo vessel transporting prisoners to a prison. In "Bastille Day", Billy Keikeya's lines were re-dubbed: 1,500 prisoners were aboard the Queen, that the Queen was a prison transport. Lee Adama would go on to later state that the Queen was en route to Caprica during the Cylon attack for parole hearings.
• Cylon Detector: In the episode "Flesh and Bone", it takes only minutes to identify "Boomer" Valerii as a Cylon. However, in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", he states that complete testing on one sample of blood takes 11 hours.
  • This could be because a negative result takes 11 hours to confirm but a positive result potentially may be more instant. Most colonials, it would be reasonable to assume, would be negative.

Danglers

• Caprica-Six Meeting: In the Miniseries, at the end of the scene where Number Six and Gaius Baltar walk through the park, Six says she has to meet someone. After Baltar walks away, she looks off-camera and says she had "been wondering when you'd get here." Cue a cut to Galatica. Given that was the day of/before the attack, it seems unreasonable that the meeting was not related to the Cylon plans. Whomever she met could be another Cylon model(s). This has not been revisited.
• Zarek-Tigh Plotline: In the episode "Colonial Day", it is heavily implied that Ellen Tigh revealed the location of Valance to agents of Tom Zarek, and that she intends for her husband, Colonel Saul Tigh, to meet with Zarek's people in the near future. As of the start of the third season, this plotline has not been revisited and probably will never be in light of Tigh's death in "Exodus, Part II".
• Zarek-Black Market Plotline: Similarly, the end of "Black Market" implies that Zarek has assumed some measure of influence in that organization. This also has yet to be revisited.
• Demand Peace: The pro-Cylon terrorist faction that sprung up in the fleet during "Epiphanies" has yet to resurface as well. The episode concluded without any firm resolution regarding the fate of the movement and its leader Royan Jahee, however their base of operations, Cloud 9, was destroyed by Gina in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". The plotline of "Epiphanies" implies that the group is gearing up for a full-scale campaign against Admiral Adama's military and President Roslin's government, but they are never seen again the fates of the group's members is not discussed later on.

Recasting

• Zak Adama: In the Miniseries, a different actor was pictured as Zak Adama. In "Act of Contrition", a new actor portrayed Zak, and the picture was changed to reflect the casting choice.
• Ellen Tigh: Same with Zak Adama. The picture of Saul Tigh's wife, which Tigh had burned a hole through, was originally a picture of David Eick's wife. When Kate Vernon was cast as Ellen in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", the image was changed.
• Richard Adar: In the miniseries, portrayed by David Eick in a photograph in Baltar's domicile on Caprica. The role was recast as Colm Feore for the episode, "Epiphanies."

VFX Gaffes

Mirrored shot of Viper 1104 (Scattered).

• Miniseries: Viper 1104 must be the most prolific Viper in existence. No less than three copies are present at the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage. Of these, one is crash landed by Lieutenant Thrace, one destroyed by Cylon fire, and one successfully landed on Galactica.
• Miniseries and 33: As Galactica prepares to jump to Ragnar Anchorage, the flight pods retract. As the ship jumps, the pods are not retracted. When Galactica has jumped to Ragnar Anchorage the pods are retracted again. This same footage was shown during the opening titles of 33.
• 33: As the Cylon Centurion approaches Helo from behind, you can see the rain hitting it, but it does not drip off the Warrior's body. In contrast, water is dripping from Helo's face in a fairly consistent and noticeable manner.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Before searching for Starbuck, Lee Adama climbs into a Viper Mk VII, although he is shown piloting a Mk II in all other VFX shots.
• Amid Season 1: Half-way through season 1, the Colonial One CG model was updated and the seal of the President of the Colonies was added to the hull. However, the reuse of stock footage from the Miniseries and earlier in the first season cause the seal to continually disappear and reappear in the same episode depending on what shot is used.
• Scattered: A shot of Viper 1104 is mirrored accidentally.
• Flight of the Phoenix:
  • Viper and Pilot numbers. 42 Vipers are deployed at a time when no more than 34 could have been serviceable, and with no more than 25 pilots available.
  • Blackbird. As the Great Cylon Turkey Shoot begins, the Blackbird (still incomplete, unflown, and missing its composite skin by this point) can be seen swooping across the screen in a manner inconsistent with its flight characteristics; the ship was built for speed, not maneuverability. The ship also fires what appears to be autocannons, which is wholly incorrect, as the Blackbird is unarmed except in its final mission.
• The Captain's Hand: As Starbuck leads Pegasus' Viper Mk VIIs into combat, a cockpit shot of her mistakenly shows Viper Mk IIs around her ship.

Prop and Equipment Errors

Maj Spencer in Viper 2276 (Miniseries).

• Miniseries:
  • An F-16 Fighting Falcon is visible in a picture in Adama's quarters when he and Colonel Tigh discuss Starbuck striking Tigh. However, this could be a tribute, the F-16 is sometimes called "Viper" by its pilots.
  • The Viper Mk. VII flown by Major Spencer during the first sortie (Miniseries) is still marked as "Viper 2276NC" which is the Viper flown by Captain Lee Adama to Galactica.
  • As "Boomer" Valerii takes off from Caprica with the civilians in the Raptor, just after Helo shoots the civilian who jumps on to the wing, the camera points to Boomer, where viewers can see in the window reflection the crane that is hoisting the Raptor mockup into the air.
  • When Starbuck's Viper is hit during the second sortie ("I'm all right"), her helmet is unsealed and open.
  • Similarly, Lee Adama's collar is opened when he scolds her for being "beyond insane" as Thrace pushing Adama's Viper into Galactica's flight pod at the end of the last battle at Ragnar.
• 33:
  • When Dualla admits that she lost the Olympic Carrier, her headset changes sides during the conversation.
  • As Helo fires upon the Cylon Centurion that survives the detonation of an anti-personnel mine (similar to a Claymore mine), the first time Helo fires the pistol, it is heard to fire, but there is no accompanying visual spark from the barrel. In contrast, the second shot is accompanied by both a spark and the appropriate sound.
  • After the disappearance of the Olympic Carrier in Jump 238, with the timer running towards the 33 minute mark, the viewer can see that the clock is at 10 seconds. When focusing on Adama and Tigh, the viewer hears ten seconds counting off, but when the camera quick-pans to the overhead console, it reads that 3 seconds have passed.
  • Before the clock reaches zero in the pre-title sequence, a wide shot of CIC is shown with Adama and Tigh standing at the central console. The timer on the screen above their heads is flashing 00:00:00.
• Six Degrees of Separation: The special-effects group for the Re-imagined Series appear dedicated to creating computer screens, equipment and interfaces that are familiar to viewers, but aren't full counterparts to real-world Earth materials. However, the logo for NEC computer manufacturers can be seen on the monitors while Gaeta is working on the photograph. Another similiar occurrance happens in "Sacrifice."
• Colonial Day: During the bar fight scene, Valance's gun is shown with a silencer attached as it falls out of his briefcase, but the silencer is not present for the rest of the scene. The silencer is back when Valance is interrogated by Starbuck and Lee.
• Valley of Darkness: Kat finds a box of explosive rounds with only 6 shells. The shells in the container start out scattered within the box, but as the camera cuts back and forth in the scene the shells switch from organized to scattered many times.
• Scar: The little model plane on top of the "Top Gun" mug sported by Starbuck and Kat is actually an F/A-18 Hornet.
• Sacrifice:
  • When Starbuck is getting the handguns out of her case, she still has the environmental engineer's hat on. When she quickly turns around with the guns and starts firing, her hat has disappeared without explanation.
  • A computer mouse (a design created by Microsoft) is seen connected to Sesha Abinell's laptop computer.
• In several episodes characters wear the wrong rank insignia:
  • The Hand of God: Starbuck wears "Lieutenant j.g." (short chevron) insignia most of the time.
  • Fragged: Cally is wearing Petty Officer, 2nd Class instead of Crewman Specialist insignia.
  • Home, Part I and Home, Part II: Apollo wears Major instead of Captains insignia.
  • Scar:
    • In the first scene in the recreation room Starbuck wears Lieutenant insignia despite having been promoted to Captain.
    • Some of the nuggets have Lieutenant insignia despite being addressed as Ensigns. The prop department hasn't produced any Ensign insignia yet.
    • The Captain's Hand: Apollo's insignia switch between Captain and Major a few times. Major is his correct rank at that time.
    • Hero: In the flashback scenes in Valkyrie's CIC, Commander Adama is wearing an Admiral's insignia.
• Exodus, Part II: The DRADIS displays aboard Galactica and Pegasus are free of interference from the New Caprica nebula, even though it continued to be an obvious problem for both ships at the end of Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II.
• The Passage: Raymond "Raygun" Lai's name appears on Galactica’s flight roster. His name previously appeared on one of the 40 year-old Viper Mk. II's donated the Galactica museum during the Miniseries.

Dialogue Errors

• Miniseries:
  • Tigh inexplicably exclaims "Jesus!" when shown the photo of Adama, Zak and Lee. Ron Moore has stated that this was just an ad-lib by the actor, and was never in the script, and should have been removed during editing.
  • At the start of the episode, dialogue is retained from a draft script which placed the Twelve Colonies actually on Kobol, rather than spread among twelve worlds. The giveaway lines are spoken by Aaron Doral (played by Matthew Bennett):

    "Now, as I was saying, form follows function, and nowhere is this axiom of design more readily apparent than on the world famous Battlestar Galactica... now originally there were twelve battlestars, each representing one of Kobol's twelve colonies..."

  Given the show is set among 12 different worlds, and Kobol is now regarded as the birthplace of humanity, abandoned at some point in the distant past, Doral should have used the words "worlds' famous", and simply referred to the original battlestars representing each of the Twelve Colonies. Still, within context it is impossible for the casual viewer to tell this is from an earlier script draft: each of the 12 human-colonized planets is a "colony" of the mother-planet Kobol.

  • The singular "world" was also used by Starbuck when confessing her role in Zak's accidental death to Lee Adama. Bear in mind that "world" is an inexact term, and need not be synonymous with "planet", it can mean "the known universe". "World" literally means "age or life of man".
  • When being informed by Six of her true nature and mission, Gaius Baltar exclaims "Oh, my God!" as opposed to "Gods".
  • Jackson Spencer also makes this mistake after the Cylon Raiders launch missiles at his disabled squadron.
  • The pronunciation of Lt. Gaeta's name frequently shifts between GAY-ta and GUY-ta during the Miniseries. Col. Tigh regularly calls him GUY-ta while Adama vacillates between GAY-ta and GUY-ta. From "33"-onward he is referred to by everyone as GAY-ta.
  • When Leoben and Adama discuss the nature of the Cylons while navigating their way through Ragnar Anchorage Adama argues that "God didn't create the Cylons, Man did."
• 33: Helo states his rank as "Lieutenant, junior grade" despite consistently wearing "Lieutenant, senior grade" rank insignia
• Scattered: During the scene on Caprica , Helo exclaims "for God Sakes" instead of the more Colonial "for Gods' Sakes" or Cylon "for God's Sake".
• Downloaded: In the Miniseries, Boomer claims that her parents died while she was very young. In "Downloaded" she explains that she received a gift from her mother when she left for the Fleet academy.

Crew Visible

Crew member visible (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II)

• A member of the production crew, possibly a boom operator, is visible on screen in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II". He can be seen behind the damaged wall behind the display of the Arrow of Apollo.