Season 3 (2006-07)

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Summary

The stranded colonials struggle to survive under the brutal cylon rule of New Caprica, but when Galactica returns to save humanity, the fledgling Fleet resumes its search for Earth. The Cylons, after losing control on New Caprica, depart on their own mysterious quest for Earth.

Story

The Occupation

Four months have passed since the events of "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". On New Caprica a Cylon occupation, akin to Vichy France, is in full swing. The head of the colonial government, Gaius Baltar, reduced to the role of a puppet leader, colludes (albeit, unwillingly) with the Cylons.

The oppression rouses a resistance, led by Colonel Tigh, who task themselves with the objective of disrupting the Cylon occupation force. Laura Roslin, though supportive of the resistance, focuses on concealing Hera from the Cylons.

During this time, Kara Thrace has been held in captivity by Leoben Conoy, who subjects her to psychological and manipulative torure. He presents to her a child, claiming it to be her own; the result of the removal of one of her ovaries inseminated with his sperm (or his cylon analogy of sperm). Kara eventually etablishes a motherly connection with the girl, and apparently accepts the child, Kacey, as her daughter.

Meanwhile, Galactica and Pegasus, at a safe distance from New Caprica, are preparing to enact plans to rescue the colonists. Admiral Adama, frustrated with the situation, attempts to spur himself and his crew to action. He orders his son, Lee Adama, commander of Pegasus, to stay behind with the rest of the civilian fleet; now a mere 2000 people. Galactica will attempt the rescue and in case of failure, Pegasus will continue the search for Earth with the remnants of the Fleet.

On New Caprica, the humans continue to be subjected to horrific conditions and many must endure torture, notably Colonel Tigh. A police force is created by the Cylons to tackle the resistance, composed of colonists opposed to it. The fact that humans are collaborating with the Cylons disgusts members of the resistance and they plan revenge. They recruit Duck, a former Viper pilot and hopeless widower, as a suicide bomber and enlist him in the New Caprica Police. Upon his graduation he detonates an explosive vest killing some collaborators and destroying some Cylon bodies in the process.

In response to the suicide bombing, the Cylons try to impose order and force President Baltar to sign a mass execution order. Amongst those rounded up for execution are Laura Roslin and Cally Tyrol. However, the resistance is able to rescue the prisoners before they are killed due to a source in Baltar's administration providing details of the event ("Occupation" through "Exodus, Part I").

Exodus

Galactica successfully contacts the resistance and coordinates an escape plan. The resistance shepherds the colonists to the grounded civilian ships, while simultaneously setting off wide-spread explosions all over the city to distract the Cylons. With the ground battle engulfing the whole city, Galactica jumps into the atmosphere below Cylon DRADIS range and while falling "like a rock", launches Vipers to protect the evacuating colonists before jumping back into orbit. Laura Roslin retakes Colonial One, and the evacuee ships jump to safety. But Galactica, outnumbered four to one, is near destruction. Fortunately Pegasus joins the battle against orders and attacks the Cylon fleet, allowing Galactica to escape. In the process, Lee Adama sacrifices Pegasus, destroying two more bastars in a deliberate collision after he and the crew escape in Raptors.

On New Caprica, Baltar, Caprica Six and Number Three, find baby Hera crying in the arms of her dead mother. Taking the baby and Baltar with them, the Cylon fleet leaves New Caprica.

The reunification of the Fleet is a bittersweet one; many colonists have had their lives left in tatters. For instance, Colonel Tigh, forced to kill his wife, is in the deepest of inner turmoil, and Starbuck is forced to come to terms with the tragic realization that Kacey is not her daughter after all, after her real mother is revealed following the escape (Exodus, Part II).

Trials and Tribulations

The aftermath of the Exodus is marred by the sufferings and betrayals that occured on New Caprica. Tom Zarek, who legitamately succeeds Gaius Baltar as President, commissions the Circle, a secret tribunal of ex-resistance members, to try and convict collaborators. Amongst the members of this group are Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol and later Kara Thrace. Over a dozen death penalties, carried out via venting through the launch tubes into space, lead Laura Roslin to notice the steady flow of disappearences, which include Jammer. Tom Zarek explains the situation to her, and she is less than impressed. They make a succession deal which leads to her resumption of the presidency, and as a thank you to Zarek she recruits him as Vice President. Upon her inaurguration as President she controversially declares that all collaborators are pardoned and dissolves the Circle, signalling a new start for the Fleet and its citizens (Collaborators).

Major Plotlines

The relationship between Helo and Sharon continues. Helo is Galactica's XO at the beginning of Season 3 (Occupation, Precipice).
Dualla is indeed married to Lee Adama after the "one year later" leap forward in time (Occupation).
The humans on New Caprica are freed from the Cylons, but the price is high. Pegasus is destroyed, Saul Tigh loses an eye and forced to kill his wife, Hera falls into the hand of the Cylons. Baltar joins the Cylons. Roughly 2000 people die ("Occupation" trough "Exodus, Part II").

The presidential succession:
- Zarek was indeed Baltar's Vice-President, but the relationship soured rather quickly with Zarek refusing to cooperate completely after the occupation (Exodus, Part I).
- He initially becomes President, but is forced to resign after created a secret tribunal to try and sentence collaborators
- Roslin returns to the presidency, but makes Zarek her Vice President (Collaborators).

There is a large storyline told exclusively from the Cylons' (and Baltar's) point of view ("Collaborators" through "Rapture").
Not all of the Cylons may believe that Baltar is the Hand of God, "Guardian of the New Order", etc., and he himself begins to question whether he is a Cylon ("Torn", "The Passage").

A two-part story has Galactica discover a dying Cylon baseship, and deals with a plague that has befallen the Cylons. The Colonials contemplate using the plague to exterminate the Cylons. ("Torn" and "A Measure of Salvation").
"Unfinished Business" reveals some of the events that transpired during the year-long time gap in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". One of the flashbacks shows what happened between Apollo and Starbuck that caused a rift between them, and involves a boxing match between them.
The Fleet comes close to starvation and Louanne Katraine dies when leading a civilian ship to a food source (The Passage).
The mid-season cliffhanger story, spanning episodes , centers on "discovering the next big clue on the road to Earth ("The Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture").
Number Three is permanently resigned by the Cylons themselves. Her entire line is boxed. Even the thought of execution is so repulsive to the Cylons that reaching this point is an extraordinary event for them.
Hera is retrieved by Sharon Agathon. Caprica-Six defects to the humans.
Something shocking, with far-reaching consequences will happen to Kara Thrace in "Maelstrom". After the episode one of the main characters will be permanently missing from the credits. ^[1]
Baltar is captured by the Colonials (The Eye of Jupiter), tortured for information about the Cylons (Taking a Break From All Your Worries) and put on trial for his actions on New Caprica. Caprica-Six offers to be a key witness against him.
Some notes for the rest of Season3 ^[2]:
- One of the major characters will be revealed as a Cylon.
- A revelation about the remaining four Cylon models. It will blur the line between what is a Cylon and what is human. David Eick describes it has the "tip of an iceberg" which will be revealed the the season finale. This sets the theme for early Season 4.
- There will be changes in cast for Season 4.
- Lee Adama's prosecution of Baltar will take a dramatic twist in favor of Baltar.

Cast

Production Crew

Producers

Ronald D. Moore - Developer / Executive Producer / Writer
David Eick - Executive Producer
Toni Graphia - Co-Executive Producer / Writer
Harvey Frand - Producer
Glen A. Larson - Consulting Producer

Directors & Writing Staff

To view the list of all the directors and staff, go to the Battlestar Galactica Crew Guide page.

Episodes

To view the list of episodes, go to the Battlestar Galactica Episode Guide page.

Official Statements

Lucy Lawless discusses the changes in the Cylon culture:
Lucy Lawless: "Right. You see the schism starting to happen. Basically, its individuation, where as before there was all a collective thought and consensus about everything they were doing. Its like the humans are the serpent in the garden and the mere contact with them has splintered the Cylon collective psyche and everyone is individual again, even within each model. They do not know how to handle individuality; it’s a great threat to their way of life and their programming."

From RDM's blog (March 26, 2006)

Regarding William Adama and the reduction of the Colonial military:

"What happened to Adama in the season finale to change him so much? Why would a man who spent decades of his adult life standing watch for the Cylon return suddenly give in and allow the military to stand down? How could he convince himself that the Cylons weren't coming back after 1 year when the last time they waited 40 years? He knew settlement was wrong so why didn't he offer any resistance? "

I think people have a remarkable ability to convince themselves of just about anything. Adama, like everyone else in the fleet, had been constantly on the run, constantly under stress, and constantly in danger of losing his life for months on end, with virtually no break from the metal walls surrounding him day in and day out. When, finally, the people decided to end the long sojourn and settle on New Caprica, he had little choice but to comply with the results of a democratic election which hinged on that very question. And as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, people began to relax, to believe that maybe they had really turned a corner, had really found a place to lay down their burdens and start a new life. Adama was just as vulnerable to that attractive idea as anyone else, and as the men and women under him began to clamor for a new life, as the political leadership of New Caprica began to demand more and more military resources to support the civilian population, there came the point where Adama began to believe in the mirage too. He's not perfect. He never was. He couldn't bring himself to leave his ship, but as age and fatigue began to set in, he started to let down his guard just a little -- not all at once and never completely, but just enough.

There were also practical considerations. He was entirely alone out here. No Admiralty to call for reinforcements or intelligence, no Justice Ministry to prosecute soldiers who simply never came back from the surface of New Caprica, and no friendly ear in the office of the president to get needed resources for the military ships maintaining their lonely vigil up in orbit. He was alone and he was tired. It's almost as simple as that.

I remember one of my most vivid memories from the immediate post 9/11 period was opening up the newspaper and reading about a physical confrontation in the streets between members of the New York police department and the New York fire department. It was heartbreaking, it was infuriating and it was illuminating. People are people. Enormous events happen, history pivots around us and we tell ourselves that everything has changed, that we're irrevocably different from this day forward -- until the next time everything changes. Adama made a mistake. They all did. And as he is wont to say, they will all have to live with it.