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Starbuck is captured by the Cylons while the Fleet continues through the mysterious black void to a fateful rendezvous with the planet Kobol that may hold the secret to the lost thirteenth tribe. But a deadly surprise awaits them on the planet surface.
Tigh and Adama talk about the void. Adama mentions to Tigh a passage from the Book of the Word about the void and mentions his medallion that is the symbol of Adama's power and of their religion.
The female warriors gather in the Officer's lounge to discuss their mission. Apollo and Starbuck feel left out and begin discussing domestic duties. Serina notices the two carrying on and asks if they are feeling left out. Apollo sarcastically says they aren't.
Tigh notifies Adama of a blip on the scanner in quadrant Delta Nine, behind the fleet. Adama sees it and orders a patrol to investigate. The blip is a Cylon Raider awaiting a patrol so they can capture a Colonial Warrior.
Tigh pulls Apollo and Starbuck for the mission and Serina informs them that she is Apollo's wingman much to Apollo and Tigh's surprise. Starbuck wishes them well but instead of heading back to quarters he heads for the launch bay followed shortly by Apollo and Serina.
Starbuck launches in Apollo's viper stating to the flight deck officer that he took Apollo's patrol for him. Apollo and Serina launch shortly after. Apollo orders Serina back to Galactica and she refuses. The three venture out together.
Starbuck ends up going beyond Apollo and Serina's scanner range and is captured by the Cylons.
On board the basestar Starbuck interacts with Lucifer and lights a match on a Cylon Centurion for his fumarello. Lucifer playfully warns Starbuck it would go well for him if he showed a little respect. Starbuck to his surprise meets Baltar.
Baltar informs him that there is a change in the Cylon Empire favorable to humans and that he is there as an envoy of peace and will release Starbuck at the right moment.
Lucifer and Baltar discuss Baltar's scheme to lure the humans into his trap.
Back on board Galactica Apollo watches the scanners for Starbuck. Serina comforts him and says they should not wait any longer to get sealed and says that Starbuck would understand and approve.
Adama performs the ceremony, Boxey as the protector gives Serina away. During the ceremony a bright star appears and Adama orders Tigh to scan for a planet in orbit. Apollo asks Adama what it could be and Adama says it could be the planet Kobol.
Apollo and Serina are sealed as Kobol's star comes into view.
The Colonials land on the surface of the planet, where there are pyramids and ruins. Adama chooses a site for a camp, and posts a guard even though the planet is supposed to be dead.
Lucifer reports to Baltar that a star has appeared and guided Galactica to a dead planet. Baltar recognizes a chance to spring a trap, and orders Lucifer to prepare his craft. He will go alone, for only he can bring Galactica back to the Imperious Leader.
Adama, Serina, and Apollo explore the ruins. Adama suspects that it might be Eden, the largest city and the first to fall. Adama recognizes the seal of the Ninth Lord of Kobol. He was the last leader of Kobol before the thirteen tribes went to the stars. Apollo realizes that Adama is hoping to find the location of the thirteenth tribe (and Earth) by looking here.
The three find the entrance to the Tomb of the Ninth Lord of Kobol, which bears a warning of death for those that enter. Serina recognizes that Adama's medallion is the same as the seal on the tomb, and it acts as a key to open it.
They find the bodies of tomb robbers, and then are trapped by bars that descend, but lift when Adama uses his medallion again. They enter a room that appears to contain a sarcophagus.
Baltar enters through a different door, greeting Adama. Adama lunges at him, trying to strangle the traitor. Apollo pulls him off of Baltar, saying that he should be left to the council.
Baltar claims that he did not betray the colonies, and that Adama has been slandering him. He says he was trapped between his battlestar and Atlantia, and was tried by the Cylons. He claims that he was spared to lure them into another trap through a message of peace through a new and more benevolent Cylon ruler.
He claims that the Cylon forces are spread so thin looking for Galactica that the route to the Cylon home world is almost undefended. He says that a single battlestar could bring the Cylon Empire to its knees. He has the means to lead Galactica back to the Cylons as apparent prisoners, in order to launch a devastating counterattack. As proof of his good intentions, he has released Starbuck.
Adama orders Apollo to remove him. Adama says that safety does not lay behind them, with either Baltar or the Cylons, but somewhere "out there" along the path taken by the thirteenth tribe, who founded Earth.
Baltar believes that Earth is a myth, but Adama believes it to be real, and believes the key is somewhere in the tomb.
Back on the basestar, a Centurion reports that the prisoner (Starbuck) has been released. Lucifer (who is now sitting on Baltar's throne) inquires about Baltar, but the Centurion has not heard anything back from him. Lucifer concludes that Baltar's plan has failed. He speculates about the possible power gain he might make if there were a decisive military victory under his leadership.
Starbuck returns to the camp, much to the joy of Athena. He lets the Colonials know that there is a basestar just outside sensor range, causing Apollo to order the breaking of the camp.
Apollo brings Baltar back to Adama in the tomb. He informs Adama of the basestar that is just beyond range, suggesting they leave while the star is still dormant and shielding them from sensors. Adama refuses, as he wants to discover the path to Earth. Baltar claims that Earth might be a "myth of half-drunken star voyagers". He claims they must attack the Cylons and seize power.
The star begins pulsing again, and reflects off of Adama's medallion, causing what appeared to be the tomb to retract revealing a staircase. Baltar rushes down the steps, pursued by Adama, Apollo, and Serina.
Baltar pries off the lid sarcophagus, despite Apollo and Adama's protests, and seizes the scepter out of the hand of the mummy. He claims not to believe in all that "primitive superstition."
The room starts shaking and a large stone block seals them into the tomb. Baltar apologizes, claiming that he didn't mean it, but the damage is done. He appeals to Adama to use his power, since the lords are with him, but Adama can do nothing.
Cylon raiders begin attacking the Colonials on the surface. The female Viper pilots at the camp (as well as Starbuck) get into their Vipers and take off.
Back on Galactica, the male warriors have recovered from their illness. They are hardly strong enough to stand, but Boomer points that Vipers are flown from the seated position.
The female warriors begin to fight off the raiders as the male warriors begin to launch from Galactica. A pilot named Gemi is hit by Cylon fire and killed.
Adama discovers the passages he had been searching for regarding the exodus of the thirteenth tribe in the last days of Kobol. As he gets to the part about where they went, a raider shoots the tomb causing the room to shake.
A door has been blasted open by the explosion, but the writing has disintegrated. Baltar is pinned under a block of fallen stone.
The male warriors join the combat, and the Colonials start dealing heavy losses to the raiders.
Adama, Apollo, and Serina are unable to move the stone that pins Baltar. They are forced to leave Baltar. Adama says that Baltar's Cylon friends have sealed his fate as well as theirs. Baltar threatens to tear Lucifer apart, and claims that he has not heard the last of Baltar.
The raiders are routed, and the Vipers are recalled to Galactica.
Starbuck and Deitra encounter Adama, Apollo, and Serina as they exit the tomb. Starbuck reports that they lost some good pilots, and that they should get back to Galactica before reinforcements arrive.
A Centurion steps out behind some cover and shoots Serina in the back. The Colonials return fire, killing both Centurions, but the damage is done.
Back aboard Galactica, Boxey is brought to Serina, who is laying on a medical table. Serina admits that she is "going away," but tells Boxey that his father (Apollo) will be there to love him and take care of him.
Apollo and Serina say their goodbyes in private, and when Apollo emerges from the room Serina is dead.
Apollo tells Boxey that they'll have Serina's love forever, and that he will make a fine warrior.
They walk off down the hallway together, holding hands.
Starbuck finds himself to be a third wheel, and does not react well to the situation. His theft of Apollo's Viper and subsequent reckless flying is generally in character for him, but it is surprising that Apollo and Serina (and the rest of the Fleet) give up on him so quickly. There was no "I'm getting my men" from this Adama, nor the search effort for a missing Starbuck.
Nobody (outside of Apollo) seems to mourn for Starbuck. Everybody seems quite content to go on with the marriage ceremony, which quickly turns into the Kobol discovery expedition. By the time they hit the ground on Kobol everybody seems to have forgotten about Starbuck, until Baltar mentions him being released and he shows up at the camp. Maybe they're better equipped to handle the loss having just survived the destruction of their colonies, but the mood was definitely more somber for Serina's death than it ever was for Starbuck.
Baltar is exceptionally enigmatic in this episode. Nobody seems to be able to figure out who he is actually trying to betray. In fact, in the end, everybody assumes that Baltar is lying to them. Baltar was supremely confident in his ability to persuade the colonials, and from the sound of it he was charming the female Viper pilots quite effectively. Unfortunately for Baltar, the two people that he needed to believe him, Adama and Lucifer, didn't. Betrayed by Lucifer and abandoned by Adama, Baltar is defeated by his inability to inspire trust in the people that mattered most.
It's been suggested that Serina's death at the hands of two centurions was "contrived" and an "afterthought" but in point of fact, the two centurions who ambushed them are the centurions who escorted Starbuck to the planet and who presumably were waiting things out on the surface while the battle took place. In that respect, it isn't a contrivance at all.
Which side is Baltar really working for? Does he really believe that the Cylons can be toppled by a single battlestar? Or is it merely part of his ruse to get Galactica into Cylon custody?
Why can't Galactica's scanners pick up the other ships in the Fleet?
Why does everybody give up hope on Starbuck so quickly? No search patrols or rescue teams?
Why is Apollo the only person that seems concerned that Starbuck is dead?
Do members of the Quorum still get issued a seal of the Lords of Kobol? With Baltar's still missing (as he still possesses it), not to mention the ones lost during the Battle of Cimtar (like Adar's), is Adama's the only one left in Colonial hands?
Adama: Our safety is not behind us. With you or the Cylons. It lies somewhere out there. Along the path taken by the thirteenth tribe. The tribe that colonized the planet Earth.
Lucifer questions Baltar's motives:
Lucifer: A pity. I'm afraid Baltar's plan has failed–whatever that plan truly was. A pity.
Centurion: His instructions were quite specific–to stand by to escort Galactica back to Cylon.
Lucifer: Yes. The thought that intrigued me was just who was to be whose prisoner.
Baltar tries to leave:
Baltar: I cannot stay here too long before my machine friends will become nervous and do something rash.
With time running out, the team splits up. Dillon and Major Stockwell go to sabotage the rocket, while Troy and Jamie Hamilton head into the rocket base bunker to confront Xaviar.
Reaching the launch pad, Dillon fires on the V-2 just as it takes off with his laser and destroys it.
Xaviar having failed, comes immediately under suspicion by the Nazis, and is declared to be a spy.
Troy and Hamilton, who are still disguised as German soldiers, haul Xaviar away.
With Xaviar captured, the Colonial team and Stockwell now turn their attention to making sure the convoy to Auschwitz is stopped.
Flying through the air on their motorbikes, Troy and Dillon fire on the German guards, while Stockwell releases the Jewish prisoners.
Hamilton, realizing where/when they are in history, explains that the Nazis cannot pursue them, since the D-Day landings have begun and the local German units have all been ordered to defend Normandy.
The time has come to return to 1980, and Stockwell says a sad goodbye to Jamie Hamilton.
Just as they are approaching the Vipers, Xaviar escapes, activates his invisibility screen, and gets away.
Returning to 1980, Troy and Dillon land their Vipers in California and proceed to drop off Hamilton at a bus station.
As the Greyhound bus drives away with Hamilton aboard, a sheriff recognizes Troy and Dillon from a wanted poster.
The sheriff pursues the duo in his squad car, but the Colonials again escape into the air on their bikes.
Arriving back at the field where they parked their Vipers, Troy and Dillon discover the ships are being hauled away by the local military and police.
Troy and Dillon discover this is due to a boy having discovered their Vipers, and go to find young Willy at school.
Once there, they discover Willy Griffin has been getting beat up for his spreading of tall tales about spaceships by a bully named Tucker.
Troy and Dillon make a deal: if Willy will tell them where the Vipers have been taken, they will lend him one of their wrist computrons.
Willy agrees, and uses the computron to go invisible and torment Tucker.
Having gotten even with the bully, Willy tells the Colonials the location of their ships, and also mentions there was a third Viper, which was the one belonging to Xaviar.
Colonel Boomer comes to see Adama to bring him up to date on the developments, and Adama has all the Colonial missions to Earth recalled until Xaviar can be located.
Xaviar, in the meantime, has returned to Los Angeles, and after seeing a UBC news broadcast, determines to go to the studio to look for Doctor Mortinson.
Xaviar convinces two LAPD officers to give him a lift to UBC.
Arriving there, Xaviar uses invisibility to lose the officers, who have grown suspicious.
Xaviar identifies himself to Dr. Mortinson as one of the visitors from space.
Arriving at Mortinson's beachside home, Xaviar tries to convince the scientist about the benefits of returning to various time periods to change Earth's history.
Troy and Dillon track down Hamilton at UBC to loop her in on events.
Hamilton calls Mortinson to warn him about Xaviar, but before Mortinson can react, Xaviar pulls a gun on him.
Arriving at UBC, Troy and Dillon meet Hamilton, and together they head out to the base where the Vipers are being kept, in hopes of capturing Xaviar.
Hamilton lures away one of the sentries and Troy and Dillon are able to sneak in. As they do, Xaviar materializes in his own Viper and proceeds to the base's generator to suck up enough power to launch.
Xaviar spots the Colonials and shoots at them, before putting Troy down with a stunner.
Troy Jamie and Dillon aboard Galactica
Before Troy can stagger back to his feet, Xaviar takes off, leaving Mortinson behind.
A dozen sentries are now bearing down on them, but Troy and Dillon dispatch them effortlessly with a few laser stun blasts.
Dillon jumps into his Viper and discovers Hamilton already in the back seat.
Launching their ships, Troy and Dillon pursue Xaviar into space, but they open fire too late and Xaviar's Viper enters a timewarp.
Troy, Dillon and Jamie return to Galactica, and meet with Adama in his quarters.
Adama reveals that Xaviar has gone to Earth's 18th century to interfere in the history of pre-Revolutionary America.
Hamilton agrees to help Troy and Dillon with their next mission.
Troy, Dillon, and Jamie's time travel adventure in 18th century America was never scripted or produced.
The scientific advancement of Earth premise was sadly dropped after this episode.
The various missions into Earth's past—from Moses's obtaining the Ten Commandments to Civil War America—which are depicted in the novelization of the episode are not shown on screen.
Ted Gehring (the sheriff in patrol car) played Croad in the Battlestar Galactica episode The Long Patrol.
Jamie's farewell to Troy and Dillon at the bus stop is one of the best moments of the entire series (which isn't saying much).
The opening title sequence is terrible, composed entirely of stock footage from the original series. It looks like a bunch of sequences sloppily scotch-taped together, which was undoubtedly the case since the show was rushed into production.
Although Dr. Mortinson is mentioned frequently throughout the series, the character is never seen again.
Dr. Zee is the only character on either series shown wearing glasses.
The German portions of this episode take place on June 5, 1944 and the morning of June 6, 1944. The later date is when the Allied offensive known as D-Day begins.
A band named Ookla The Monk makes a reference to Galactica 1980 in a song called Tommy: "Everything good turns to crap. It turns to crap and I don't mean maybe, just like Galactica 1980. It turns to crap. Crap!"
After Galactica's extensive water supplies are sabotaged (TRS: "Water"), a source of water is found on a nearby moon—but it is in the form of ice, and must be mined, which will require a crew of around 1,000.
As that number cannot be spared from Galactica's crew, and it is unlikely civilians will volunteer, it is determined to try and enlist the help of the prisoners on Astral Queen.
Roslin won’t have the prisoners forced into the work, so Lee Adama suggests the prisoners who volunteer could be awarded points to go towards their freedom.
This idea does not go down well with Commander Adama, who is already at odds with his son over his new position as "special advisor" to the President.
However, Roslin decides to send a delegation led by Lee Adama to Astral Queen to put the idea to the prisoners. To address Adama's fears that they might inadvertently release dangerous prisoners into the Fleet's community, Billy Keikeya is selected to go as well and screen the prisoners prior to selection.
As a further snub to his son, Adama insists military personnel also go – one to assist in the screening, who will report directly to him – and one to ensure the selected prisoners can handle the equipment that will be used to extract the ice.
On Astral Queen, Captain Adama outlines the deal to the prisoners: help us and earn points towards your freedom. No one volunteers.
The nominated leader of the prisoners politely refuses the offer. Billy Keikeya recognizes him as Tom Zarek, a political agitator from Sagittaron.
While Dualla and Keikeya argue the merits of Zarek as a "prisoner of conscience" or terrorist, with Keikeya almost idolizing him, Adama meets with Zarek to try and persuade him to help the fleet.
On Galactica, Commander Adama meets with Gaius Baltar, who is still equivocating over his Cylon detector. When Adama pushes Baltar into a corner, the doctor tries to admit he can’t actually build the detector.
This releases a torrent of anger from Baltar’s virtual Six, which terrifies him into submission. She instructs him on what to ask for in order to make the detector: a nuclear warhead.
When virtual Six only reveals a part of how this can be used to make the detector, Baltar is forced to think things through himself, and realizes it will actually work. Adama agrees to let Baltar have a warhead.
On Astral Queen, Zarek's elaborately orchestrated break-out takes place, and Galactica’s delegation is taken hostage.
With the ship in his control, Zarek demands the immediate resignation of President Roslin and her government on the grounds that, having never been elected, they do not represent the people.
As Zarek uses Lee Adama to try and gain insight into the dynamic between Roslin and Commander Adama, an assault mission consisting of Marines and led by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is assembled. A crack sharpshooter, Thrace is ordered by Adama to kill Zarek if she gets the chance.
Commander Adama tries to negotiate with Zarek himself, but is rebuffed. Lee Adama realizes the truth: Zarek wants the commander to send in the troops, believing a bloodbath aboard Queen will bring down Roslin’s government through scandal.
The Marines and Starbuck arrive in the Raptors and cut their way into the ship.
In the cells, a prisoner, Mason, decides he doesn’t like the way Cally Henderson has been “mocking” him, and decides to teach her a lesson.
Matters escalate as Mason attempts to rape Henderson, who bites off a piece of his ear. He shoots Henderson in retaliation, wounding her.
Lee Adama and Zarek rush to the cell where the prisoner holds Henderson at bay. In the confusion, Captain Adama takes a sidearm and puts it to Zarek’s head, giving him a choice: die immediately, or work with his men to supply the Fleet with water, and in return he’ll get to keep Astral Queen and get his elections.
The Marines then make their presence felt, as Thrace takes a shot at Zarek – who is saved by Lee Adama.
Roslin and Adama are initially less than pleased at Captain Adama's arrangement, who is not concerned. The prisoners are helping with the water, even if they have control of Astral Queen they are still reliant on the Fleet for supplies, and under Colonial law, Roslin would have to face elections in seven months.
Later, Captain Adama informs Roslin that he didn’t mean to offend her with his views, and that when the elections come, he’ll vote for her. His honesty causes her to reveal the truth about her cancer and the fact that she might not be alive to run for re-election.
Helo and "Valerii" reach a relatively undamaged city.
As they explore the city, they are observed by a Number Five and Six from a rooftop.
The Five and Six discuss their heritage as Cylons - the "children of humanity". While Six expresses regret that humans must be destroyed, the Five is less compassionate, citing that parents need to die to let the children come into their own.
During a briefing, Billy informs President Roslin that: "The Captain of Astral Queen wants you to know that he has nearly 500 convicted criminals under heavy guard in his cargo hold. They were being transported to a penal station when the attack happened."
In the re-cap clip shown at the top of this episode, Keikeya's lines are re-dubbed so that he says, "The Captain of Astral Queen wants you to know that he has 1,500 prisoners under heavy guard."
Instead of being taken to a penal station, as in the Miniseries, Lee Adama states that the prisoners were being transferred to Caprica for parole hearings.
For the purposes of the increased number of prisoners, Astral Queen becomes a prison ship.
The Colonials will face a fuel shortage at some point.
Major Cottle, Galactica's ship doctor, is first mentioned in this episode, although he will not appear until the next episode.
President Roslin's hair style changes starting with this episode, from the straight-down hairstyle she had since the Miniseries, to the swept-back style which she would sport through the end of Season 2.
Galactica is referred to by Viper pilots as the "Big G." This mirrors the nickname pilots have given to the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the "Big E". The introduction of Pegasus would later change this; Galactica would be nicknamed "The Bucket," with Pegasus being nicknamed "The Beast."
This is one of only two Season 1 episodes to deal extensively with another ship in the Fleet. The other is "Colonial Day, which features Cloud Nine heavily and has few scenes on Galactica. Originally this was planned to happen more often, but building new sets turned out to be much more expensive than anticipated.
This is the only regular-series episode in which Boxey appears, outside of his appearance in the Miniseries. According to the podcast, when the Miniseries was created, the writers envisioned Boxey as being a major recurring character in most episodes of the series. However, on a case-by-case basis, they found that inserting a child like Boxey did not harmonize with many of the dark scripts on the series, and once the show got underway and found its flow, they simply couldn't think of ways to write him into upcoming scripts. By the beginning of Season 2, they realized they hadn't been using him, and officially decided to simply abandon the character and consciously never tried to use him again.
Starting with this episode, Cally Henderson started to become a larger character on the series, as noted by Moore and Eick in the podcast (see Official Statements, below). Originally she was supposed to die, but instead they rewrote the scene to give her an attention-getting grittiness and in turn, survival.
The quip made by Astral Queen's captain, "I'm a bus driver, not a warden," is a homage to the original Star Trek television series. It is similar to Doctor Leonard McCoy's trademark quote, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer," or whatever fits at the time in the latter portion of the statement.
The setup for this plot might have been inspired by the TOS episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I". In both episodes, a group of criminals was conscripted from a prison ship to work on the icy surface of a hostile planet. A notable difference between the two episodes lies in how the workers were chosen. While the workers in "Bastille Day" were chosen in part for their expendability, the conscripts in "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I" were chosen for their expertise in harsh environments and in demolition work. Also different was the prisoners' motivation to take on the work. In "Bastille Day," the prisoners are offered the possibility of earning their freedom, whereas the prisoners in "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part I" were offered nothing overtly other than the fear that the fleet might be destroyed without their services. A number of them take the assignment in the hopes of escaping during the action.
According to the DVD commentary for the episode, the startling scene when Number Six yells in Baltar's face that "they're going to throw you out of an airlock!" was a visual homage taken from the film "Jacob's Ladder," which has a similar startling close up shot. Tricia Helfer was given scary makeup for the shot, but in such a slight way that it is difficult for the eye to see what's wrong with the shot, but the audience can tell on some level that something's wrong. If you pause during her close-up shot, you can see that she's wearing contact lenses that make her eyes look unnaturally bright, and a mouthpiece of fake teeth which are bent out of shape and unnaturally large.
The building seen in the first scene with Helo and Sharon is actually the Vancouver Public Library, one of the most recognizable buildings in the city of Vancouver.
The scene where Lee Adama holds his pistol to a kneeling Tom Zarek is a recreation of Dirty Harry, according to David Eick's comments in the DVD commentary. "That is the 'I know what you're thinking, punk' shot, down to the move, the lens, the distance of the camera away from the actor."
The Cylons didn't nuke every city on Caprica, although they did nuke most of them (including Caprica City). Ron Moore points out in the podcast that at first this was just a plot expediency: Helo needed an environment to interact with. Helo verbalizes the issue, saying "Why are some cities not nuked?" The answer to this question comes in the episode "Downloaded," when viewers see the Cylons rebuilding and inhabiting a city themselves. The intense radiation exposure killed most humans on Caprica without the necessity of destroying all infrastructure.
It seems strange that Helo would be shouting loudly to see if anyone might hear him, as this might draw Cylon attention. However, viewers can't tell how many hours Caprica-Valerii and Helo might have spent discovering that the city is (apparently) empty. Moreover, it has only been 12 days since the Cylon attack, and Helo has no idea how far over Caprica they have spread yet.
The flight briefing Starbuck gives as acting-CAG seems a bit "out of character" compared to her personality as developed later in the series. She is in full "Top Gun" mode: wearing aviator sunglasses, sporting a cigar, and giving a very irreverent briefing. Actress Katee Sackhoff and the writers have said that after the first few episodes they learned to start adding "more of Katee into Starbuck," and Starbuck's character smoothed out a great deal by the middle of the season.
Another oddity with this scene is that Boxey's presence seems a bit forced (Moore and Eick point this out in the podcast). Why would Starbuck bring a 10 year old to a flight briefing on a military ship? The concept was that Boxey is an orphan kid adopted by the pilots, who lives with them and is sort of their mascot/gopher/helper. But that plot point was never fleshed out, leaving the impression that this kid is helping Starbuck give a briefing.
At the end of the Miniseries, Tigh chooses to quit drinking. In "33," Commander Adama notes how good it is that Tigh isn't drinking anymore. However, Tigh has a relapse, having a few shots, and is a little tipsy in front of some crewmen (although he is not slurring his speech and stumbling over furniture).
The notion of Starbuck being a sharpshooter, "best shot in or out of the cockpit" stretches the credibility of these scenes: shooting in a Viper and shooting a sniper rifle are entirely different things. The force of moving the plot forward and trying to include a major character becomes a bit obvious. Ron Moore conceded this point in his blog entry of April 11th, 2005:
"Kara might be the best shot in the fleet...but being a good shot is far from being a trained sniper. And she missed in that episode, a huge faux-paux for a scout sniper. In addition, she could not have been conducting unit training and sustainment training with the Marines...and fly her Viper.
In the season finale, with the Marine boarding party assaulting into the President's office...her guards would have had to put down their guns..or they would have been shot quickly..or at least physically detained at gunpoint. There is no way a standoff that close would ensue."
I think both comments are well taken and I concede the points. In both instances, we chose to go with the dramatic needs rather than the "real" choices. Making Kara the sniper was simply a way of providing more tension and drama into the final sequence of "Bastille Day" rather than going with a brand-new Marine sniper who the audience would have no investment in or identification with. Likewise, the stand-off aboad Colonial One would've probably never occured with real Marines and Secret Service agents, and indeed, early drafts of the script had the final beats playing out on either side of a barricaded hatch that separated the two sides. However, the feeling was that separating Laura et al from Tigh et al dissipated the drama and felt less suspenseful, so we decided to go for the stand-off. It's a judgement call, frankly. We're always striving to keep things as "real" as we can make them, but we are still producing a television series and we're telling a story, so sometimes we bend the rules to make the show more compelling or to avoid awkward scenes that actually slow it down and dissipate the momentum.
David Eick: Nicki Clyne, who you see here playing Cally, was somebody who in the Miniseries, I remember Michael (Rymer) and I cast just on the basis of her look, 'cause we thought she was really cute, she kind of reminded us of a young Shelley Duvall. [...] she turned out to be so good that we— in launching the series we started talking about ways to involve her and I'm very proud of a moment coming up where she does something rather nasty, that...
Ronald D. Moore: Well she almost died! She was gonna die in the intial drafts of this.
Eick: That's right! He kills her! He rapes and kills her! And they're telling us we're too dark this year.
Moore: Oh, I know. The second season is so much darker. And I don't think they even care. Yeah, Cally, Nicki, I hate to tell ya, but the bullseye was on Nicki here. And I can't even tell you why we decided it was, no I take that back I think it was your note; you said you wanted Cally to fight back and really show some balls in this scene. She bit his ear off...
Eick: I said, "She bites his frakking ear off" and I was totally being...you know, just illustrative! I didn't really mean it!
Moore: And I wrote, "she bites his ear off"!
Eick: "And I got the draft, and she bites his ear off! I was like "that's great!"
Moore: And from that moment on, I think, she really became part of the show. In a real sense, once she had gone through that and survived, and you know Tyrol and the gang come in and see her in the hospital at the end you kind of felt like she is one of the family.
Nicki Clyne discusses her appearance in the episode:
"They used this mixture of corn syrup and coloring for the blood, which was extremely sticky...I had to squeeze this sponge of icky goo all over myself, and I had it on whole day. I couldn't wipe off the blood for lunchtime and put it back on, because of continuity reasons. So for the entire day I had my shirt completely stuck to me, and my face was all sticky — it wasn't a nice feeling. When I ate my lunch, no one wanted to sit with me. I even forgot I had this guck on me. I was walking around, throwing popcorn in my mouth and everyone was backing off and staring at me. I'm going "Hey, what's your problem?" Then it occurred to me, "Oh yeah, I look like Death! Right. OK!""[1]
Tom Zarek and Apollo share a tremendous passion to make a difference in the world around them and to protect human rights. Both very idealistic. But Tom due to his painful history and paying such a huge price for his fight against injustice has crossed over to the darker side of his nature. He struggles with that as he has truly lost faith in the political system, government, and the law.[2].
Doral: (matter-of-fact) They would have destroyed themselves anyway. They deserve what they got.
Six: We're the children of humanity. That makes them our parents in a sense.
Doral: True - but parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own.
Later, aboard Astral Queen, in a broadcast by Tom Zarek:
Tom Zarek: I make these demands not for me....but for you, the people. The survivors of the holocaust and the children of humanity's future. I am Tom Zarek, and this is the first day of a new era.
Daniel Graystone attempts damage control in light of his wife's false revelation that their daughter was one of the suicide bombers of Maglev 23. Meanwhile, Joseph Adama continues his pursuit to see the Tamara avatar again while Willie and Sam Adama continue to bond.
Scenes from the Caprican media: Amanda Graystone's "revelation" of her daughter's involvement in the Maglev bombing are replayed on the news, Baxter Sarno mentions in his monologue that V-World hackers are re-creating the bombing before making comments about Daniel Graystone, students at the Athena Academy tell reporters that they were unnerved being in the same school and the same classes with Zoe Graystone, and Amanda is caught on camera leaving Caprica General Hospital as protesters chant "Terror Mom."
At the hospital, Amanda is walking fast toward her car, but she quickly answers a reporter's question about her employment future by saying that she has resigned from the hospital. Encouraged to share her side of the story with the audience, Amanda pauses long enough to tell the report that they are not interested in the truth. A bottle is thrown, and a shard cuts Amanda's forehead. She speeds away.
At the Athena Academy, students lead by Caston―including Keon Gatwick―stare at Lacy Rand, harasses her, and make thinly veiled threats. Sister Clarice Willow watches from a distance.
Daniel spars in the boxing ring at the Red Gloves Gym, an old and run-down facility, while talking with Cyrus Xander. Xander recommends hiring Priyah Magnus as a consultant to address the growing public relations problem. Daniel expresses his distaste for PR, but Xander disagrees, pointing out that Daniel is at this gym rather than in Graystone Industries' facilities precisely because he wants to be seen as a man of the people. Daniel is unmoved.
As Daniel walks to his car, his driver, Kalil, opens a door--and Sam Adama steps out. He accepts the keys from Kalil. Sam seizes Daniel and brings him to an alley, and proceeds to rough him up for being the parent of a terrorist who killed his niece. Joseph Adama joins them. He kneels next to Daniel and demands to see his daughter's avatar again. Daniel reluctantly agrees to search for the avatar. Joseph promises to call on him again.
Willie walks into a Tauron social club near his apartment building, carrying a box of burritos for sale. He approaches a group of men at a card game, who give him a hard time, even when he tells them about his brief time in jail. Sam pulls him aside and asks what he is doing there so early, telling him that he needs to go to school first for attendance before coming to the club. Sam concocts an excuse for him, hands him a beer, and they drink.
Daniel limps into his home. Serge starts to play the day's news broadcasts for him before it quickly becomes obvious that it will all be dominated by the fallout from Zoe's alleged involvement in the Maglev 23 bombing, and Daniel orders the stories to be deleted. Serge offers Daniel medical treatment, but he prefers to do it himself in the downstairs lab.
Evelyn greets Joseph at the courthouse entrance, telling him that he has to wait for a judge who for some reason is upset with him, despite all the appropriate paperwork and "special delivery" for the judge being in order. He asks Evelyn to get him coffee. She reluctantly agrees.
At the Academy, Clarice Willow makes tea for Lacy, telling her that all the monotheists at the school have to be careful, in order to avoid being linked to the bombing. She asks Lacy to open up to her, the way the Zoe did. Obviously uncomfortable, Lacy excuses herself, claiming to have problems with her classwork.
In the lab, Amanda finds Daniel. They are immediately worried about the injuries of the other. Amanda tries tending to Daniel's wounds first. While this is happening, Zoe-A watches from inside the U-87. Amanda and Daniel lapse into an argument about Zoe's supposed involvement in the bombing. Daniel eventually accepts Amanda's claim about their daughter's guilt, shocking Zoe-A, but he is still amazed that Amanda admitted this on television. She cries, claiming that it "just happened" and that she is sorry for it. Daniel kisses her tenderly. Eventually, Amanda asks him, "How about a good frak?" Despite his wounds, the two of the carefully start to make love, in front of the U-87.
In the Caprica City offices of the Global Defense Department, Agent Youngblood is pleased to read about Amanda's "confession" in the newspaper, but Jordan Duram pessimistically believes that it only served to scare off other members of Zoe Graystone's supposed cell. Director Gara Singh walks into their office and shows them an old videotape that had been mistakenly filed under "Starke" with an "e": Youngblood's interrogation of Ben Stark a year ago about wires and detonators in his possession that Stark explained as materials for his school's rocketry club, for which Stark had been quickly released. Singh warns them about press repercussions and leaves in frustration. Scared, Youngblood asks Duram what to do next. Duram destroys the videotape and asks rhetorically about the damage that would occur if they did not investigate "Terror Mom" because of bureaucratic road blocks. He dials the Caprica Tribune.
Joseph continues to wait. Finally, Judge Maximus emerges and leads Joseph to a side room. Maximus asks Joseph if he is willing to let his client, Plexico Amarcord, go to a full jury trial. Joseph is confused and assures him that the "delivery" was made--which makes Maximum furious at the insult of blind drops, rather than being given the dignity of their agreed-upon face-to-face meetings. He notes that Joseph has been sloppy lately, and then doubles his price for cooperation.
The U-87 connects itself to a holoband and Daniel's computer. In front of her own home, Lacy receives an e-sheet message to meet. She dons a holoband, and finds Zoe-A in Daniel's undecorated V-world entryway. Although Zoe can enter V-world, she cannot remain there, since she is housed inside the robot. Lacy informs her about Clarice's interest in Zoe-A. The original Zoe never showed the avatar to Clarice, so Zoe-A believes it is best to continue to keep the secret. They search for a doorway, find one, and open it, allowing light to pour into the room--revealing Tamara-A, on the floor and confused. Lacy assumes that the girls is "pure avatar," a simple simulation created and stored by Daniel. Zoe recognizes that Tamara is not the avatar of a live holoband user, and that she might be more than just a simulation. Lacy and Zoe lead Tamara through the door.
In the Caprica mediasphere: a news report discusses Zoe Graystone and shares security camera footage of her at the MLMT station in the company of Ben Stark; a business report notes the precipitous drop in Graystone Industries stock following Amanda's statement; protests against the Graystones continue; the Caprica Buccaneers may also be a target of public anger as they prepare for a home game; Sarno makes more jokes about the Graystone family.
Magnus and Xander tell Daniel about Sarno's success at the expense of the Graystones and the scandal's effect on the holoband, but Daniel is unmoved. He specifically notes Sarno's anti-corporate stance and the mixed success of guests on his show in repairing their own PR problems. Magnus persists, advising him that he would have to talk in length about Zoe on the show, that he would have to present her to the audience as "troubled." Daniel grows indignant, angrily insisting that he would not bring his daughter into the media spotlight. He curtly asks both of them to leave the house.
In the V-Club, Tamara is stunned and lost. Zoe offers to help, but she rejects their offers, insists that she will be able to find her own way home, and wades into the crowd.
Clarice locks her bedroom door and connects to the holoband. She enters a small, modest corridor, and opens a door to a small compartment. She sits and lights a candle.
In the quiet of their private V-Club room, Zoe eats and instructs Lacy to seek out Keon Gatwick, who was a friend of Ben Stark and thus knows about the plan to go to Gemenon. It is now Lacy's responsibility to make sure that Zoe-A is delivered to fellow believers there, but since the avatar has bonded with the U-87, Lacy will have to figure a way to transport the entire robot. Lacy is skeptical, but Zoe-A trusts the intentions of her creator. She goes on to remind Lacy about her cowardice, and tells Lacy that she must see this through.
In the small compartment, Clarice talks to Alvo, who appears as a silhouette behind translucent glass and speaks with a heavily distorted voice. Despite being ordered not to make contact, Clarice wants to report progress in acquiring Zoe-A and thus moving a step closer to apotheosis. Alvo notes that her quest for the avatar has caused her to lose control, leading to the bombing and unwanted exposure for the STO.
Lacy waits for Keon to walk by, then tackles him to the grass and forces him to confess his membership in STO. However, he is confused by Lacy's claim that Clarice is running the STO cell at the Athena Academy. Keon grudgingly promises to look into how he can help Lacy to make Zoe's delivery to Gemenon.
Daniel leads Joseph downstairs to the estate lab. Although Daniel did not speak to or see Tamara, he assures Joseph that the program was in the computer as of three hours earlier. They both don holobands, and find nothing. Daniel is confused and apologetic about her absence. On his way out, Joseph tells Daniel that he, too, is sorry.
Singh, Duram, and Youngblood watch Cubits and Pieces coverage of the Caprica Tribune's report of bureaucratic red tape holding up searches of the Graystone residence. Duram gives his partner credit for the idea. Singh happily promises them a search warrant by the following morning.
Daniel absently listens to further television reports about Zoe, protests, the corporation's stock price drop, and predictions of Graystone Industries' default on almost two billion cubits owed to the Twelve Colony Banking Consortium. Daniel calls Xander and orders him to tell Magnus to arrange an appearance on Sarno.
At the Adama apartment, Sam is cleaning the dinner table for his husband Larry and Willie, who asks them about why they do not have any children. Neither of them hide the fact that it is due to the violent nature of Sam's job. Joseph comes in and talks to Sam privately: he wants Sam to eliminate Amanda.
Sam Adama and his husband Larry have decided not to have children, at least not at this time because of Sam's "occupation." It is not conducive to having children. Ironically, Larry is right considering how Sam is corrupting his nephew William into a life of crime.
Caprica, and perhaps the other 11 Worlds as well, has a Juvenile Curfew Law. No minor is to be on the street after 10pm. This is the cause that had Ben Stark picked up by the GDD. In modern day Earth in some jurisdictions there are Juvenile Curfew Laws in some localities to maintain the general peace and to combat juvenile crime. Presumably Caprica have them for the same reasons. Civil Liberties organizations in the United States such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are generally against such laws, both on general principles that it violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and in particulars that they are unfairly enforced due to vagueness, lack of exemptions and sometimes are racially discriminatory. It is not known todate if Caprican Civil Liberties advocates oppose such laws. One non US example of curfew laws is Russia passing a law in 2009 allowing localities to pass curfew laws against juveniles. One important difference between Caprica and real life America is that the Global Defense Department (GDD) help enforce these curfew laws. In the US curfew laws are strictly a municipal and county creations. The State and Federal government do not enact or enforce these laws. On Caprica their "national" police force have a hand in enforcing these laws, the equivalent of the FBI or the United States Homeland Security doing so on Earth.
It is possible that GDD was only questioning Ben due to the wiring and detonators discovered in his possession, making him a possible security risk (which he was given his affiliation with the Soldiers of the Oneterrorist organization).
It is possible that Gara Singh, Director of the GDD, sanctions the destruction of evidence if he believes it could hold the Department in a bad light. He did criticize Agent Youngblood for alleged incompetence about not destroying a misfiled and forgotten interrogation tape of her questioning Ben Stark after he was picked up on Aprilus 9th, YR41 for a curfew violation and found with what could be interpreted as bomb making materials (Stark explained it away as model rocketry components) nearly a year prior to the attack. Singh was concerned that if it came out it could had been portrayed in the press with 20/20 hindsight as GDD incompetence in letting one of the bombers go instead of holding him and perhaps saving many lives. To an outside observer his comment about her not even being competent enough to destroy the tape saving herself and the Department embarrassment could had been taken as sarcasm. However, as soon as Singh left Agent Jordan Durham and Youngblood's presence Durham did exactly that, destroyed the tape. This seem to indicate that Singh is willing to sanction acts like this because Durham did not express any concern about not being able to producing the tape in the future if Singh or any other GDD or government official asked for it nor did Agent Youngblood object. This could be taken as another example of the corruption of the Government on either Caprica in particular or the other 11 Worlds as a whole.
Daniel claimed to Joseph that it would be impossible for him to construct another avatar like Tamara's, "no matter how many bones you break," because the program he would need to work from was (he believed) lost along with the Zoe avatar.
The documentation in the Battlestar Galactica episode "Hero" gave William Adama's parents as Joseph and Evelyn Adama and stated that Evelyn was an accountant. Does this mean that Joseph will marry his clerk assistant Evelyn? (Answer)
What will become of the Tamara avatar? Will she realize she is no longer in real space? (Answer)
Is there actually a model rocket club at Athena Academy?
Is Sister Clarice aware of these STO meetings Ben and Keon attended that were not held by her?
Daniel Graystone is sparring in a boxing ring as he discusses with Cyrus (who is outside the ring) the PR disaster his wife Amanda's public confession is causing the business:
Daniel Graystone: Scandals are sunburns, Cyrus; they fade.
Cyrus: Or they give you cancer.
The Graystone's situation has become grist for the late night comedian's mill:
Baxter Sarno: Big news in the publishing world today. Daniel Graystone is revising his autobiography. A lot of you know it as The Man Who Could See The Future. It is now going to be titled Wow, I Didn't See That Coming.
In a renewed sense of grief and anger over not being able to contact the avatar of his dead daughter Tamara, he gives Sam a veiled but still chillingly clear order:
Joseph Adama [to Sam]: Daniel Graystone lost his daughter, right? I lost my daughter and my wife. [thoughtful pause] Balance it out.
As Sister Clarice tries to open Lacy to her, Lacy retreats, claiming problems with her astronomy class work:
1978-10-01
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