Re-imagined Series References

References on BSG

Mini-Series

References to Original Battlestar Galactica

The Cylon design the Armistice Officer is looking at in the beginning, and the Cylon Centurion in the Galactica's museum, are from the original show.
A model of the original series' Cylon Basestar is also in the Galatica's museum.
A full-scale mock-up of an original series Cylon Raider is visible in the Galatcia museum. Its hanging from the ceiling for the flight pod.
The Original Series Viper appears in the museum as well.
The theme played during the current affairs programme used to introduce Dr. Gaius Baltar is that of the original series fanfare. The fanfare is again heard during the decommissioning Viper flyby
Baltar tells Number Six that "the last time anyone saw a Cylon [i.e., the original series], they looked like walking chrome toasters."
Baltar tells Number Six that "treason gets the death penalty;" in the original series, a point was made of the death penalty being abolished, even for treason.

A sword carried by the Centurions in the original series is one of the weapons in Commander Adamas collection.
- The sword could be a war trophy picked up by Adama, possibly when the Galactica is boarded by the Cylons at the end of the war (Valley of Darkness deleted scene).
In the first encounter between the Colonial Vipers and the Cylon Raiders, one of the pilots says that during the first war, Raiders looked like flying wings (the original series' Raider design).
One of the Galactica's pilots who is killed by the Cylons is called Jolly, the name of a Galactica pilot from the original series.
Roslin makes a point of calling Lee "Captain Apollo," saying "it has a nice ring to it."
At the end of the mini-series, Sharon Valerii says "by your command," the standard response of the original series' Cylons to the Imperious Leader.

Firefly transport in skies above Caprica City before the Cylon attack. (c) Sci-Fi Channel/Universal

Other References

Number Six's name is a reference to the character of the same name fron "The Prisoner".
Colonel Saul Tigh is based on the character Michael Eddington from the movie "In Harm's Way".
Serenity, the ship from the show "Firefly," can be seen through the window above Roslin's head when she is diagnosed with cancer. Firefly and Battlestar Galactica shared the same special-effects studio (Zoic, which put in the Serenity) and several of the same writers.
Colonel Tigh burning the eye out of a picture of his wife is a reference to a similar scene in Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen's character.
The Gemenon liner's ID number is 1701; in Star Trek: The Next Generation (which had many episodes written by Battlestar Galacticas developer) the Enterprise's ID number is 1701.

File:NCC1701 Mini2.JPG

Star Trek's USS Enterprise makes a cameo appearance in last Fleet scene of Mini-Series. (c) Sci-Fi Channel/Universal

The gun used by Helo, Boomer, and other pilots is a homage to the guns used in the movie Blade Runner (which also starred Edward James Olmos).
Roslin's swearing-in as President is an allusion to the famous photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as U.S. President onboard Air Force One, after John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Colonial One's design was based on Air Force One, and the Raptor's design was based on the Apache attack helicopter.
The original USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, from "Star Trek: The Original Series" makes a humorous cameo in the Fleet shot immediately before the memorial service at the end of the Mini-Series.

Season One

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(Also seen elsewhere in the series)The format of the opening titles, a series of clips representing the story of the Cylon attack on the twelve colonies and the exodus of the fleet (all taken from the Mini-Series, followed by clips from the upcoming episode, is a homage to the ITC / Century 21 television series Space 1999, which Ronald D. Moore admits to having watched while growing up.
(Also seen elsewhere in the series) The photograph pilots touch on entering / leaving the Ready Room is called "Lest We Forget" and shows a Colonial soldier falling to his knees on witnessing the destruction of the capital of Arilon during the Cylon Attack. This is a direct homage to the pictures of NYFD personnel at Ground Zero on 9/11, while the title is drawn from the John Ford-directed film "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" starring John Wayne.
The Rising Star mentioned as the birthplace of the fleet's first baby is a reference to the luxury liner Rising Star from the original series

Bastille Day

Tom Zarek is played by Richard Hatch, famous for his role as Apollo in the original series
The title is a reference to the event that began the French Revolution, when a crowd of around 1,000 stormed the Bastille prison in Paris. In this case, the prison is a prison ship, and the prisoners themselves take it over.
The Astral Queen's design is identical to the Prison Barge from the original series.
The "I'm a bus driver, not a warden," comment from the Astral Queen's captain is a reference to Dr. McCoy's quips from "Star Trek."

Act of Contrition

In the flashback to Zak's funeral, there are American military HumVees and Deuce-and-a-Half trucks on the Colonial base.

You Can't Go Home Again

This episode shares some similarity with the final Galactica 1980 episode, "The Return of Starbuck," where Starbuck is stranded on a desert moon, and uses a crashed Cylon Raider to return to the Galactica.
The "waggling" scene with Apollo's viper and Starbuck's Cylon Raider is a nod to the original series; Apollo and Starbuck had to "waggle" their own Cylon Raider in order to convey they were friendlies, after losing their transmitter in "The Hand of God".

Litmus

The name of the episode refers to a litmus test, used in chemistry to determine the presence of an acid.
Commander Adama has copies of "Reader's Digest" in his cabin.
Number Six says, "Don't make me angry, Gaius. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." This is a possible reference to the famous catchphrase of Dr. Bruce Banner, just before turning into the Incredible Hulk: "You're making me angry, and you're not going to like me when I'm angry."

Six Degrees of Separation

The name of the episode is a reference to the movie of the same name, and share a similar concept - that everyone can be connected to others (in this case, Baltar, the dead scientist, and Shelly).

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down

The episode was initially going to be a riff on the movie Crimson Tide, where both Adama and Tigh would begin to suspect one another of being a Cylon agent, ending up in a scene where they would be pointing weapons at one another.
The episode's name comes from the Stereophonics' song "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down". Its also the name of a Spanish language movie staring Antonio Banderas. The film, incidentially, was one of first NC-17-rated movies in America.

The Hand of God

A reference to the final episode of the original series, also called The Hand of God; in both episodes, Adama launches the first offensive strike against Cylon bases.
In both episodes, "wing-waggles" are used to identify the friendly intents of captured Cylon Raiders to other Colonials.
During the battle, Starbuck yells out to Lee, "You magnificent bastard!" In the movie Patton, during their first battle against each other, Patton says the same to Rommel.

Colonial Day

The name of the news show, "The Colonial Gang," is a spoof of the CNN show "The Capital Gang."
The bar that Lee gets into the fight at has several bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey on the shelf.
At the end, Roslin tells Zarek that he doesn't need to worry about her kissing him, to which he replied that it's a shame, as he shaved extra close in anticipation of getting "smacked" by her. This dialogue was taken verbatim from the movie Patton, with Roslin as Montgomery and Zarek as Patton.

Kobol's Last Gleaming

In both this episode and the original series The Hand of God, the Colonials track Cylon Raiders using IFF transponders.
Both Kobol's Last Gleaming and the original series The Lost Planet of the Gods are two-part episodes where the Galactica finds Kobol.

Season Two

Valley of Darkness

The title is a reference to Psalms 23:4.
Cally says, "I have a really bad feeling about this." This line (or variants) is a cult phrase amongst Star Wars fans; it is said in every Star Wars movie, and many of the Star Wars games and books.

Fragged

The term 'fragged' comes from the Vietnam War, when it was used by American soldiers to describe deliberately killing their superior officers in the field, usually by tossing a fragmentation grenade (hence, fragged) into the room or area where the superior is located. Although Baltar doesn't kill Crashdown with a grenade, he does take out his superior officer, hence the reference.

When Colonel Tigh asks of Adama's condition as Dr. Cottle begins surgery to save the Commander's life, he tells the XO, "How should I know? I'm not a psychic. Now get the hell out of here." This is an indirect nod to the character of "Dr. McCoy" from the original "Star Trek" series.

Resistance

Cally's assassination of Boomer resembles Jack Ruby's assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald (the assassin of JFK).
The shooting of unarmed civilians by the Marines on the Gideon, resulting in four deaths, was a reference to the Kent State Shootings from the Vietnam War era.

Flight of the Phoenix

The name of the episode, and the theme of attempting to make a plane from scratch, comes from the book and two movies of the same name.

Pegasus

The character Helena Cain and battlestar Pegasus (RDM) are based on the Cain (TOS) and Pegasus from the original series episode The Living Legend. The episode stops short of a full remake, however.

Resurrection Ship, Part II

Vireem and Gage's beating of Tyrol and Helo with bars of soap stuffed inside socks used as slings is an obvious homage to the Stanley Kubrick film "Full Metal Jacket", in which a similar thing happens to "Pvt. Pyle" in the Marine barracks at night.

Downloaded

Sharon wears a brown jacket that seems to be an homage to Warrior uniforms from the original series.
This episode seemed to equate the Resistance with Palestinians, the Cylons with Israelis, and Caprica with Israel/Palestine.

Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II

The Celestra (an electronics ship from TOS) was listed on vote tally boards.

References to BSG

"Tripping the Rift"

One of the show's main characters is a robot seductress named Six, who has the appearance of a beautiful human woman.

"The Office"

The main character, Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) mocks one of his employees for watching "Battleship Galaxy" every Friday night. The Office airs on NBC, which is owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of SCI-FI Network.

"Gilmore Girls"

Rory Gilmore jokingly accuses her grandmother of being a Cylon in one episode.