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 loosing 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

There is a large storyline told exclusively from the Cylons' (and Baltar's) point of view.
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.
The relationship between Helo and Sharon continues. Helo is Galactica's XO at the beginning of Season 3.
Dualla is indeed married to Lee Adama after the "one year later" leap forward in time.
A two-part story ("Torn" and "A Measure of Salvation") has Galactica discover a dying Cylon baseship, and deals with a plague that has befallen the Cylons.
"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 mid-season cliffhanger story, spanning episodes "The Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture", centers on "discovering the next big clue on the road to Earth.
By the middle of Season 3 the total human survivor count has shrunk from over 49,000 pre-"Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" to roughly 38,000. At least several thousand must have died in the nuking of Cloud Nine by Gina, and presumably there are more casualties to come on New Caprica.
Roslin returns to the presidency
Zarek was indeed Baltar's Vice-President, but the relationship soured rather quickly with Zarek refusing to cooperate completely after the occupation.
Lucinda Jenney has been cast as Commander Adama's late wife in a flashback-heavy episode airing later this season. The episode sheds light on their marriage and delves into how Bill struggled to balance family with his military career.^[1]
One of the Cylon characters will be permanently killed. ^[2] The Cylons themselves will execute the Cylon that permanently dies. Even the thought of execution is so repulsive to the Cylons that to reach the point to execute one of their own is an extraordinary event. ^[3]

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

An official notice of Season Three was announced on SciFi Wire on March 9, 2006. Excerpt follows:

SCI FI Channel announced that its hit original series 'Battlestar Galactica 'will return in October with a full 20-episode third season. Production on the third season begins in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2006.^[4]

Lucy Lawless discusses the changes in the Cylon culture:
Lucy Lawless: "Right. You see the schism stating 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.

References

↑ http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspx
↑ [1]
↑ [2]
↑ (2006-03-09). Galactica Returns In Fall. Press release. (HTML)