Battlestar Wiki:Official Communiques/Archive7

"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)

We met GUNNERY SERGEANT ERIN MATHIAS in Exodus Pt1. Sergeant Fischer's first name was Omar. We met him in "Scattered."

From "The Eye of Jupiter", 2nd Production Blue Pages (by Mark Verheiden):

DUALLA: Griggs, you and Varrick are going to establish a forward observation post here. Henick and Ditko will go here.

- Ngarenn 01:07, 22 December 2006 (CST)

That's awesome. I'll grant that the average fan probably doesn't even think about this stuff, but to us librarians, this stuff is pure gold. I was particularly happy to learn Fischer's name, especially as we were recently discovering that he had showed up more than we had realized (such as in the ring in "Unfinished Business", thanks to the plug that Tahmoh gave him in the podcast). Thanks! --Steelviper 07:50, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Which Three is She?

Hello, Mr. Thompson, I have a question which has been puzzling the fan community for most of Season 3:

Which Three is Menáge/Dream/Main Three?

Is she D'Anna Biers? Is she the one from Caprica (Rock-Three)? Are the 2 previous the same one and that's her? Once again, thank you for taking your time to answer our questions :) --Sauron18 16:05, 18 December 2006 (CST)

I don't have clearance for the Cylon Consciousness Tracking Database, but here's my opinion: The D'Anna that's doing all that downloading is the D'Anna from "Downloaded," the one who got bonked by Caprica Six. At that time, D'Anna Biers was still in the fleet. In early drafts of "Downloaded," we wrote a subplot that included Baltar conspiring with the reporter D'Anna Biers to steal Hera from the incubator. Time constraints forced us to drop that from the final show. We also assume that D'Anna Biers returned to the Cylon fold once they occupied New Caprica, and was possibly the same one Sharon shot in the vault. But that's speculation. Biers could also have vanished in the explosion of Cloud Nine. - Ngarenn 00:47, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Yeah, that's what I used to think, but then why would she have D'Anna's memories? I guess it's possible she shared a few memories for the sake of other Threes knowing the lay of the land of Galactica, especially since this one grew in importance and eventually became the lead Three. Thank you for your time, Mr. Thompson --Sauron18 01:46, 22 December 2006 (CST)

I'd say that she probably has the memories of both, just like Athena has the memories of Boomer. Ausir 16:18, 18 December 2006 (CST)

Athena has the memories of Boomer because these memories (up to the point the Cylons had them) were implanted into the Sharon tasked with impersonating Sharon Valerii in order to seduce Helo during Season 1. (As you know, this Sharon became Athena.) To our limitied knowledge, the Cylons don't generally share memories, although it's intriguing to contemplate how the various models can all make their opinions known to their spokesperson. Or to consider why Sharon said words to the effect that she hasn't accessed certain data (in "The Farm"), implying that she could if she chose to. - Ngarenn 01:21, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Yeah, Grace Park told us in an interview, from the Cylon "bible" that Cylons can choose to share their memories, but it is not an automatic process. --Sauron18 01:46, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Julia

Mr. Thompson, could you please confirm the surname of Kacey's mother? It's hard to tell if she says "I'm Julia Prynne, I'm Kacey's mom" or "I'm Julia Brenham, Kacey's mom". The credits list her only as Julia. -- Noneofyourbusiness 15:18, 21 December 2006 (CST)

In the 2nd Pink Production revision of "Torn," (by Anne Cofell Saunders) we see:

JULIA: Captain Thrace? I’m sorry... don’t you remember me? Julia Brynn. Kacey’s Mom?

Hope that helps. - Ngarenn 00:53, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Thanks. -- Noneofyourbusiness 13:23, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Cottle's first name

Since we're asking for characters' first names, does doctor Cottle have one already? Ausir 04:06, 22 December 2006 (CST)

He has a first and middle but we've never said it onscreen or published it in scripts. He said he'd thump us if we revealed it. - Ngarenn 14:31, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Use of the Wiki

Well... I think most of want to know this because everyone puts in time into the Wiki, but we were wondering if you (or the writers) look to the wiki (the question section in particular) as a guide to see what arc's have or haven't been completed in the "series". Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 22:52, 4 January 2007 (CST)

That's a nice question. We can't or shouldn't be a true "source" (that's a bit of a fanwank) but if help in pointing out writing gaffes that have been improved, or confirming unofficially that some of the fans "get it" (the overall storylines and characterizations) then it's a nice ego boost. --Spencerian 02:45, 5 January 2007 (CST)

And egos are always nice things to have boosted. --BklynBruzer 08:18, 5 January 2007 (CST)

I might use it to get a head start tracking down some plot point that I later confirm within the organization. Thanks guys. - Ngarenn 14:30, 25 January 2007 (CST)

I think all of the contributors would be happy to thank you, Ron, David, and everyone involved in the Battlestar Galactica sagas for giving us a show that's so wonderful to watch as well as to document. --Spencerian 22:42, 27 January 2007 (CST)

Dirty Hands

Can you confirm if "Dirty Hands" has been re-titled "Our Enemies, Ourselves"? --FrankieG 19:29, 12 January 2007 (CST)

"Our Enemies, Ourselves" was the original story for Episode 15, but as Michael Angeli's Ep 13 ("The Woman King") evolved, we found that it was working the same thematic ground as "Our Enemies," so we developed a different story, which became "Dirty Hands." - Ngarenn 14:28, 25 January 2007 (CST)

I really liked the title "Our Enemies, Ourselves" though. One of the best titles in the show so far IMO. --Serenity 06:08, 26 January 2007 (CST)

Why Did D'Anna Die?

Hello Mr.Thompson, there's been some debate and uncertainty about why exactly D'Anna died after seeing the Final Five? When she got bloody-nosed and foggy eyed and died....

Was it because she saw the Final Five? Or was it some sort of "kill signal" for all Threes in order to box them? Thank you for your time. --Sauron18 20:42, 23 January 2007 (CST)

To see god is to know madness. - Ngarenn 14:32, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Thanks :) --Sauron18 15:56, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Cavil's number

The closed captioning in Exodus, Part I said:

Number Two: This is three downloads for me.

Should this be regarded as a canonical confirmation that Cavil is in fact Number Two?

Nope. All it confirms is that this particular Brother Cavil's "consciousness" has been incarnated three times so far. - Ngarenn 14:35, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Thanks for the answer (and for many other answers on this page), I'll forward this to our Cavil-is-Number-Two discussion. --Catrope 14:45, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Battlestar Triton's BSG Number

Hello Mr. Thompson and other Battlestar crew, nice to be talking with you. I was just wondering what the Triton’s Battlestar Group number was? The image [1] of the Triton patch from Crashdown's profile page shows "Battlestar Triton - BSG-3*". I was just wondering, what was the second digit of the number? Is it BSG-33? Because if so that's pretty damn clever. Thank you for your time. --Kahran 19:22, 24 January 2007 (CST)

Kahran, I'm sorry to blow my omnipotent image here, but I don't know. I'll have to save your question for the costume department when (if) they come back for the next season. - Ngarenn 14:41, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Well, thank you anyway. Here's hoping for Season Four (and beyond!) --Kahran 16:54, 25 January 2007 (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)

Sykes

There's a character in Rapture, named Sykes. I am pretty much absolutely certain he is played by Tygh Runyan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0750353/). I had two questions. First, I just wanted confirmation on the name of the character and the actor. I've asked others, they agree with me it's the same guy. The other question is, is there more to Sykes? Tygh Runyan is a somewhat well known actor. He's appeared in several TV shows, and had a fairly prominent role in Snakes on a Plane. It seems odd that he'd be cast as just an extra. Did he have lines that were cut? Will he be appearing more? Thank you. Alpha5099 23:00, 25 January 2007 (CST)

That's ANOTHER Galactica person in SoaP! (Or SoaP person in Galactica if that's what you prefer) --BklynBruzer 06:43, 26 January 2007 (CST)

I know about Chuckles and one of the terrorists from Sacrifice. Is there anyone else? Alpha5099 10:03, 26 January 2007 (CST)

I think Sykes makes the 3rd. --BklynBruzer 14:24, 26 January 2007 (CST)

Cavil, Leoben, Simon model numbers

Is there a reason why we haven't got the model numbers yet for these three Cylons? Is it a story reason or is this something trivial that the writers have just never gotten around to revealing? I noticed a few websites refer to Cavil as Number Two based on closed captioning...is that an error? --Meteor 9:09 05 February 2007 (EST).

Closed captioning did call Cavil "Number Two", but Bradley Thompson stated elsewhere on this page that that's not canonical information, although he doesn't directly deny that Cavil is Number Two. I still wonder why we haven't got their numbers yet, though. --Catrope 08:46, 5 February 2007 (CST)

Yeah, it's been nagging at me lately. Unless model numbers do have some significance, there's no reason we shouldn't know the numbers. --BklynBruzer 09:00, 5 February 2007 (CST)

I'd like to point out that Cavil is called Number Two by the closed captioning of some televisions but not others. My captions don't say anything of the sort in the scene in question and some other people on message boards have confirmed that their captions don't either. As for why the model numbers aren't being revealed, my guess is that the writers don't actually care about them and haven't assigned them. -- Noneofyourbusiness 12:32, 12 February 2007 (CST)

I think that's the most logical theory we've heard in this discussion. --BklynBruzer 06:29, 13 February 2007 (CST)

Boxed Cylon Storage Room

Hello, Mr. Thompson

At the end of "Rapture" we see Cavils boxing Threes inside a large chamber, where they presumably leave the bodies after they're done boxing them. I am wondering, where is this room? Is it aboard each Resurrection Ship or is it in the Cylon Home World?

Originally, I thought it was in the Resurrection Ship, but the ship itself isn't that big, and it would make sense for the Cylons to pack up all the bodies and send them back to the homeworld, keeping the Three's in a buffer until they download them over there and box them. So now I'm wondering, is it in the Homeworld?

Thank you for your time --Sauron18 23:02, 13 February 2007 (CST)

This scene took place aboard the local resurrection ship. No doubt similar scenes happened wherever there were D'Anna's to box. - Ngarenn 21:07, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Thank You! --Sauron18 07:07, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Spelling of Ferdok root

The Saggitarons use this root as a calmative for the sick but how is it spelt? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:37, 14 February 2007 (CST)

Mr. Angeli's script has it spelled "burdock root" - Ngarenn 21:09, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Thankyou for the clarification. Moved to burdock root. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:07, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Furdock root? The script may say burdock root, I am rather sure that I heard furdock root spoken by Aaron Douglass in the episode.

Burdock root, also called "Gobo", is a traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine for purification of blood and liver. Eating alot of it can cause one to break out in a sweat while sitting still. There seems to be furdock root in the RDM- a parallel to burdock root in our own? Clever.

maximilian333

... Dude did you just try to contradict Bradley freakin' Thompson, one of the show's producers?! I am speechless. --BklynBruzer 22:33, 7 March 2007 (CST)

Ha Ha ... No. You say botato.... I say fotato... I can see why my strong belief seems audacious, but I am rather certain of what I heard. The original article poster heard "Ferdock", as I did. Mr. Thompson graciously clarified that "Burdock" was actually written in the script. I take no issue with that, but with what I myself heard. The suggestion that Furdock may have been spoken on the set in no way contradicts Mr. Thompson's factual statement that "Burdock" was written in the script. I merely suggest that the script and the spoken dialogue on the set differ. This is not uncommon as issues are worked out on a set. Maybe this could have been done purposely to work around the plausability of two distant planets sharing the same fauna. Such a parallel would suggest some mysterious, ancient link to earth. Similarly, the colonies themselves are roughly similar to the names of the Zodiacs. This is the kind of attention to detail that deepens the production and enthralls us as fans. Perhaps Peter Farago or Aaron Douglass (Chief Tyrol|Galen Tyrol) will be inclined to clarify minutae like this for the rabid, discerning fanbase. We shouldn't care about this frakkin root, but as fanatics, we can't help it, can we? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Maximilian333 (talk • contribs).

A few points. One, Aaron Douglas never mentioned the root, it was Dr. Michael Robert (Bruce Davison). Secondly, I was the contributor who originally started the article, and at the time there was background noise in the episode that somewhat fudged the sound. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 16:35, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Just a thought, but Peter would be the one to go to in order to determine what was said on screen, since he has that know-how. If it is mispronounced on screen, I imagine we could note that, but keep the article under its current, confirmed spelling. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 08:11, 8 March 2007 (CST)

Huh. Sadgeezer's transcript of the episode says "burdock", for whatever that's worth. --Steelviper 08:18, 8 March 2007 (CST)

I'll run a spectrogram if you guys insist, but it seems pointless in light of Thompson's comment. --Peter Farago 13:39, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Chief Tyrol & his 'Knuckledragger Crew', Will we see more?

The Dirty Hands episode was fantastic as it gave us a glimpse into the heart and soul of the crew/workers that have dedicated their lives to securing a future for all the survivors in the fleet. It was interesting to see an episode introducing some of the new faces involved in the 'Dirty Work'. It was very well written and acted and a pleasure to watch. Can we look forward to seeing more of Chief Tyrol and his main crew of 'Knuckledraggers' - Figurski, Pollux and Redford?

--Chillishake 14:08, 27 February 2007 (CST)

I'll pass your compliments to Jane and Anne. We've been wanting to see life in the fleet for a long time and we finally got to do it. We'll certainly see more of Tyrol and Figurski. I seem to remember Ep 16 introducing SP2 Sarah Ryan to the hangar deck (christened at the last minute and I'm not sure her name will reach the screen as I've given it here). How much? Depends upon the order for Season 4, which has been given a "go" but the number of episodes has yet to be determined. - Ngarenn 21:15, 1 March 2007 (CST)

SP2 = Specialist 2nd class? Could you tell us what the rank structure for the enlisted crew is? According to some, admittedly, old blog entry by RDM it goes somewhat different and we pieced it together here. And what is Figurski's rank/rating?

I expected to focus "Dirty Hands" to focus more on the deckhands, but it was great to get a look at a civilian ship too. And the guy with the prosthetic arm was a nice touch. --Serenity 05:46, 2 March 2007 (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 created an article about him: Tattooed pilot. When (if) Brad gives us his actual name, we can move it.Ausir 06:09, 22 December 2006 (CST)

He's getting the reputation of being BSG's counterpart to Morn from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. :) --Spencerian 09:38, 5 January 2007 (CST)

Now we know the name of the extra: Leo Li Chiang. Ausir 20:17, 15 January 2007 (CST)

Maybe its like a running joke, that he's been in it since the beginning but still doesnt have a name? :D --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 08:47, 2 March 2007 (CST)

If we give him a name, you won't have the fun of trying to guess what it is. - Ngarenn 19:01, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

But... But... if he doesn't have a name then there's nothing to guess! --BklynBruzer 21:22, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Props to David Weddle and Bradley Thompson

This last episode, "Maelstrom" is some of the best storytelling I have ever seen! Give your selfs a pay-rasie and a high-five! Cylon Shooters on me. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 23:24, 5 March 2007 (CST)

A good episode indeed, although it can never beat the immortal "Rapture" ;) --Catrope 08:49, 6 March 2007 (CST)

Thanks for liking them both! - Ngarenn 18:59, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

You guys do downright amazing work. --BklynBruzer 12:05, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

Harvey Frand

What is this guy's job exactly? He doesn't seem to be directly involved in the creative side of the show. Is he more of an administrative producer? Making sure the logistics work, sets are built, actors hired, etc. I'm not saying that that's not important, just curious :) --Serenity 07:20, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

Without Harvey Frand, Galactica would not be nearly as spectacular as it is. He keeps everything on time and on budget, makes sure the scripts can be done with the resources available, finds the most efficient way to allot those resources -- and when something is necessary to make the story work -- yet is financially impossible to do, he finds a way. Harvey is the man who literally makes the show happen in the real world, which calls for tremendous creativity and risk-taking. He's the guy on Maelstrom who pointed out that we had an eight page day to shoot on location in Socrata's apartment -- and a location day can make at best six pages. It was impossible to do, even with overtime, given what we'd accomplished in seasons previous.

As David Weddle was trying to cut those scenes down to something we could shoot, he realized that doing so would gut their emotional impact. He brought this to the attention of Michael Nankin, who agreed - we needed all eight pages. We went to Harvey with the problem and swore that everything would go right, that the guest star would know her lines, that Michael could cut some corners on coverage to be able to make the day. If anything fell apart (camera failure, safety issue, botched lines... anything like that and we'd be hosed. We couldn't stay late. (You can't keep the trucks on the street after a certain hour in that section of Vancouver or you're busted, fined and can never shoot there again.) Not only that, but the rest of the schedule would be thrown out of whack and it wouldn't just be these critical scenes that would be unfinished... would there be budget left to do the spectacular end of the season? Or even the humungous dogfight at the end of Maelstrom? Harvey had a tough call to make.

Harvey rolled the hard six. And Dorothy had her lines down cold. And Katee was perfect. Nothing broke. And we got out of there with less than seconds to spare.

That's just one of the calls Harvey has to make every day. He's frakking awesome. - Ngarenn 18:52, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Thanks for that detailed explanation. That's sort of what I assumed. --Serenity 12:20, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

Billing and Contracts

The Son Also Rises rose some questions about how billing works on Galactica. With the exception of Katee Sackhoff's departure, the main credits have remained constant, while the secondary credits for Guest Stars has been more more fluid. However, there've been some constants. Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, and Tahmoh Penikett were always the top dogs of the non-main cast, and, with the exception of the rare episode where one of their characters didn't appear, they always appeared in that order.

However, things seem to be changing. Ever since Cally became a prominent character in Season Two, Nicki Clyne has been slowly rising in the ranks of the Guest Stars. At first, she was just getting away with supplanting Alessandro Juliano and Kandyse McClure, but now she has actually broken into the top three, as she was credited before Penikett in the last episode.

I was wondering, what determines billing? I assume it's contractual, as Michael Hogan is always top billed, even in the few episodes he doesn't have any lines. So has Clyne negotiated a new contract that puts her higher in the credits?

Also, I noticed that Sebastian Spense cracked the Guest Stars in The Son Also Rises. Not to speak ill of Narcho, but why has he gotten up to the front of the episode? Did he get a better contract? What makes someone only worthy of getting their credit at the end of the episode? Is Brody Olmos less able to commit to a contract, and that's why he hasn't cracked the Guest Stars?

Sorry I've asked so much. Really, I just want to know how people get their names in the secondary credits, and why certain reliable, long time characters are stuck at the end of the episode. Alpha5099 15:46, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

That's a really good question and I don't have an answer. It is indeed contractual and that's all handled by business affairs, who tend to be a tight-lipped bunch, and rightly so. - Ngarenn 18:22, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

Maelstrom Viper Mark VII

In the excellent fighter scenes in the episode Maelstrom, Apollo consistantly flies a different version of the Mk VII Viper than we've seen before. I was wondering if some light could be shed on what it was, since the changes were fairly substantial, such as one of the "home-made" Vipers from Pegasus, a modified regular Mk VII, or just a retro-active design change? --Talos 23:34, 14 March 2007 (CDT)

Or is it the Viper Mk VIII? :) --Catrope^{(Talk to me or e-mail me)} 05:49, 15 March 2007 (CDT)

Galactica's ships are in a constant state of change. The arms race with the Cylons and shortage of parts and resources means Tyrol's knuckledraggers are constantly making improvements and jury-rigging around lacks. (At one point there were talks about making tylium tanks out of paper to extend the fighter ranges, but the idea was dropped when paper was declared a strategic material.) - Ngarenn 18:19, 20 March 2007 (CDT)

...and when people were eating it during the food shortage ^_^ --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 05:06, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

Intro, survivor count for Crossroads, Part I

The latest episode, "Crossroads, Part I", did not have an intro movie (time constraints?), nor did it show a survivor count. I personally don't care much about the intro movie (since we get back actual episode content), but there are a lot of die-hard fans here eager to know the survivor count. What was the count for Crossroads, Part I? Is Part II going to have an intro and a survivor count? Have you abolished the intro movie altogether? --Catrope^{(Talk to me or e-mail me)} 09:15, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

The survivor count was on the board during the trial. Ausir 18:54, 23 March 2007 (CDT)

No, the number of people who escaped New Caprica was on the board. "Crossroads" takes place 2 to 3 months later. --Catrope^{(Talk to me or e-mail me)} 09:37, 24 March 2007 (CDT)

Number of Season Four episodes

I realize this was only just announced, and you may not know or be able to comment, but there seems to be confusion over what exactly the 22 episode season order entails. Alongside this announcement, there is confirmation of the made for TV movie, which Sci-Fi is describing as "a special two-hour extended episode." The thing that people are unsure of is whether the movie counts toward the 22 episode count. Will the movie count as two episodes, and then Season Four proper will be the standard 20 episode? Alpha5099 17:39, 22 March 2007 (CDT)

I don't know how SciFi is going to label the "seasons" but the 22 episodes are broken down as such: 2 for the "Special Extended Episode." We come back to where season three left off at episode #3 and do a cliff-hanger at episode 12. Then we have 10 more to bring the series to its resolution. That adds up to 22. - Ngarenn 21:56, 15 June 2007 (CDT)

Faster-Than-Light Stuff

Hi there. We know that Ron Moore's goal for the show, as stated in his Naturalistic science fiction essay, was not to use incredulous science for the show, for instance, faster-than-light travel. We have a little debate if that applied to faster-than-light communications. Several instances appeared where Cylon downloading and communications may move faster than light. We understand that "FTL" travel is apparent-FTL through the wormhole theory, but has there been a change to how writers handle, say, communications between Cylons at long range (like between one basestar to the infected one in "Torn"). Did Boomer's consciousness go to a Resurrection Ship and then to Caprica, or traveled farther, relayed, or some other process? If you like, you can see the extended debate in the Talk:Faster-than-light communication article to note our confusion. If true-FTL does not exist anywhere in the Re-imagined universe, we'll just tack it up to a continuity error that, I feel at least, is for cinematic purposes so a story doesn't get all overly technical or complicated. Thanks. --Spencerian 18:07, 23 March 2007 (CDT)

Let me ask me more precise question: how do the Cylons manage to appear at the Fleet's previous position less than 12 hours after it jumped away? The Fleet must be making multi-lightyear jumps, since their destination (the Ionian nebula) is thousands of lightyears away. Does the radiation signature from the Daru Mozu travel faster than light? The radiation signature from the Cloud 9 blast did travel at lightspeed. Do the Cylons have some other way of tracking the Fleet? Or is it simply a continuity error? --Catrope^{(Talk to me or e-mail me)} 03:48, 25 March 2007 (CDT)

Note that we can't be sure the Cylons really traced them with the radiation signature. That is only what Six suggested they "might have done." Six might even be lying -- not about the signature's presence, but about how usable it is for tracking -- to cover up the real tracking method. But most of all, the Cylon fleet at Ionia didn't track them there using the radiation signature because the Mining ship was off elsewhere as a decoy.

Now that said, since an FTL radiation signature seems unlikely, this would imply that if used, the radiation signature somehow allows the Cylons to track where a ship has jumped from its origination point. ie. that somehow the mining ship radiated its target jump coordinates. It's never said, but the colonials clearly believe it is not possible to tell where a ship jumped to, but the only ways to track a jumping ship would be either that, or an FTL transmission from the destination.--Bradtem 18:05, 23 April 2007 (CDT)

The radiation signature is definitely a buy. Our Tech guy, Kevin Grazier (who put the cameras on Cassini) came up with a more accurate explanation (after all, space is chock full of radiation and FTL emanations would get lost in the clutter), but because radiation sounded simpler, that's what ended up in the show. Originally, the sick ship in Torn was detected by scouts sent by the main unit of the Cylon fleet and the message relayed back to them when the scouts returned. I'm not sure if that bit of legwork remained in the final cut. Finally, there might still be Cylon agents in the colonial fleet, tracking devices left on the ships from New Caprica - the Cylons aren't going to give up all their technological secrets that easily, especially regarding the transmission of the massive amounts of data involved in the resurrection process -- Ngarenn 22:06, 15 June 2007 (CDT)