33

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"33" (credit: Sci-Fi Channel)

Overview

Continuing from the events of the mini-series, the Battlestar Galactica and the fleet must avoid their Cylon pursuers, which happen upon them every 33 minutes after each successful FTL jump.

Special Note: This episode marks the premiere of the series.

Summary

• It is 5 days since the events of the Mini-Series
• The Cylons are just over half-an-hour behind the Colonial survivors each time they jump, and have been in that position throughout the 5 days
• The Colonials are growing ragged, their ships subject to increasing failures at each jump
• Roslin receives word from a Dr. Amorak aboard the Olympic Carrier that he has information concerning about how the Cylons overcame Colonial defences
• Amorak is known to Baltar, the two of them having working together in the Colonial Defence Ministry.
• It is 5 days since the events of the Mini-Series and the Cylons are just over half-an-hour behind the Colonial survivors each time they jump, slowly wearing the fleet down
• Roslin receives word from a Dr. Amorak aboard the Olympic Carrier that he has information concerning about how the Cylons overcame Colonial defences. Baltar knows Amorak, and the news that he has information panics Baltar
• When the fleet is forced to make another jump, the Olympic Carrier vanishes, and Six tries to convince Baltar that it is because God is watching over him
• When Baltar continues to refuse the concept of God, the Olympic Carrier reappears; Adama orders the fleet to full alert, fearing the worst
• A CAP lead by Lee Adama intercepts the liner, but when the Carrier fails to heed orders not to approach the fleet, tensions rise, and a radiological alarm reveals there are now nuclear weapons on the liner
• Adama seeks Roslin's permission to destroy the liner; she hesitates. Baltar is terrified she won't give the order. Listening to Six, he finally "repents" of his "sins", as she has been pressuring him to do; as soon as he does, Roslin gives the order to destroy the liner, and Lee Adama and Starbuck open fire, blowing it up
• 24 hours later, everyone is living with the consequences of their actions. Only Billy has a small nugget of good news: at some point in the proceedings, a couple gave birth to a baby.

On Caprica:

• Helo is on the run, and has C4-type ordinance he uses to blow up pursuing Cylon warriors
• However, his 6 days on the run comes to an end when he is captured by the Cylons – only to be rescued by Valerii.

Review

We open with the traditional, "Previously on..." common to most continuing series nowadays, and we're then treated to a series of flashbacks from the mini, culminating in Six’s comment that some humanoid Cylons "May not even know they are Cylons at all. They could be sleeper agents programmed to perfectly impersonate human beings until activation."

As she says this, so we are treated to Boomer walking on-camera to join the other Cylon humanoids at the Ragnar Anchorage.

Teaser

Gaius Baltar is resting fitfully aboard Colonial One as a clock ticks loudly somewhere. In his dream, he is back on Caprica, at his home, a clock still ticking somewhere. Elsewhere in the fleet, the Galactica launches her Vipers, lead by Lee Adama as he reports, "One minute to mark."

On Colonial One, Baltar continues with his fantasy, staring out of the window of his lounge. Aboard the Galactica, a dishevelled command crew watch the clocks ticking down and fight to stay awake. Six interrupts Baltar’s reveries, informing him that God has a plan for him, but Baltar remains distracted. As she asks if he's listening to her, and the scene cuts to the Colonial One moving through space as the flight deck informs her passengers they are now 30 seconds to mark. Aboard the ship, Laura Roslin works with Billy Keikeya and her staff, trying to inject an air of normality.

In Baltar’s head, Six rises from her chair to join him at the window, challenging him that he has to believe in something. "I believe in a world I can and do understand," he replies, "A rational universe, explained through rational means." Moving closer to him, Six rests her head on his shoulder and lightly kisses his cheek, playing with he ear. "I love you," she whispers. "That's not rational," Baltar responds, going on to state that she's not rational anyway - that she's not even "here" - and nor is he.

The dream fades as the ship's intercom chimes and a voice from the flight deck informs the passengers that their 33 minutes are almost up once again, and that they should prepare for an FTL jump. The announcement fully wakens Baltar, and he looks around nervously.

At her desk, Roslin comments to Billy that they are cutting it a little close. He replies that the flight crew is having a little trouble with the FTL computer again before looking at a wall-mounted clock.

On the Galactica’s hanger deck, another clock shows exactly the same time. Watching it, Cally asks why do the Cylons hit the fleet every 33 minutes? Why not 34 or 35? Tyrol admonishes her to shut up. In CIC Gaeta announces they have 15 seconds. Dualla reports that jump 237 is underway, and that 53 ships have successfully jumped, but 10 are reporting problems - Colonial One among them. Adama comments to Colonel Tigh that they're getting slower. "Maybe this time," Tigh mutters in reply. The final seconds tick away on digital readouts on the Galactica - and aboard Lee Adama's Viper. As clocks and displays everywhere reach zero, alarms beep and chime and ring - and out in space a basestar appears.

Gaeta confirms the contact as alarms go off in CIC; Tigh swears and Adama states, "Not this time. Maybe the next."

On Colonial One, the flight deck reports the arrival of the Cylons, but the FTL drive systems are now operational, and so they will be jumping out. A distressed Baltar reaches across the armrest of the seat next to his and in his mind he clutches Six’s hand. "Five days now," he states, and pauses before nodding. "There are limits...to the human body, to the human mind...tolerances that you can't push beyond." Six strokes his head as he continues, "Well, those are facts. Provable facts." And the camera reveals he is now addressing the couple seated opposite him, "Everyone has their limit."

In space, Lee Adama gives his orders to his Vipers. "Keep them off the civvies - and don't stray beyond the recovery line!" In her Viper, Starbuck shakes unwanted fatigue from her head in an attempt to concentrate. Behind them, the Galactica’s point-defence and main guns open up on the basestar, Tigh warning his crews to keep an eye on the ammo hoists, which are showing a red light. The basestar returns fire on the Galactica, hitting her before launching its Raiders, which are engaged by the Vipers. Gaeta reports the last ship - Colonial One - is away, and Adama orders a recovery of all Vipers. In his ship, Lee orders combat landings and the Viper wheel for home, making high-speed touchdowns in the flight pod. As soon as the fighters are aboard, Adama orders, "Execute jump," and the Galactica, her pods retracted, leaps out of the fight.

She re-emerges in the heart of the fleet. In CIC Gaeta reports jump 237 is complete, and Dualla reports all civilian ships present and accounted for. Adama orders the clocks be restarted, and Tigh adds they should start preparing for the next jump. On the hanger deck, Tyrol informs his crew they have 32 minutes before the Vipers must be ready for the next launch.

On the Colonial One, Baltar tries to escape the waking nightmare. He pictures the bedroom of his house, and his hands helping to undress Six. He nods at the mental image and closes his eyes. As he nuzzles Six’s neck, she comments that he knows he's not safe. He confirms this, adding that the Cylons will find them again, "As they have done the last 237 times." As him speaks, they both pull back the bed covers and Six crawls across the bed to him. "You know, you are right. There are limits. Eventually you'll make a mistake."

"And then you'll kill us all," Baltar concludes, and she nods. Baltar tells her he knows this, but it won't happen for another 33 minutes and they kiss - only for the dream to vanish in the sound of a ticking clock that wakes Baltar abruptly.

Acts

The Galactica moves through space surrounded by her fleet, and a caption appears: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA CREW 130.35 HOURS WITHOUT SLEEP.

It is a little under 20 minutes from the next anticipated jump, and Adama, William|Adama]] and Colonel Tigh are in Adama’s cabin. As he shaves, Adama states he wants to try a new plan - splitting the fleet into six groups and jumping to different sets of co-ordinates, re-grouping following the fourth jump. Tigh helps himself to some food noting, "24 jumps to plot and we're breaking our humps calculating one jump every 33 minutes."

In the Viper ready room, Lee Adama is giving yet another briefing to his pilots. He breaks off suddenly, "Look, you've all done this 237 times. You know what to do. No mistakes, and let's make it to 238. Good luck, and be careful out there." His comment seems to meet with a degree of disapproval from Starbuck. As the pilots leave the room, they each touch a picture mounted on the wall next to the door. It appears to be a lone airman walking back to a distant city.

On the hanger deck, the crew is working all-out to get Vipers combat-ready. Standing next to a badly-damaged Mk II, Tyrol asks someone to do him a favour - tell Captain Apollo he owes him one wing. He then asks Cally to re-check an item of inventory as she's got some figures wrong.

In her Raptor, Boomer is checking her systems with her new ECO – call sign “Crashdown”, who informs her of the latest scuttlebutt: "The Cylons look like us now." Boomer continues her checks as Tyrol boards the Raptor and Crashdown mentions that the XO (Tigh) apparently marooned someone on the Ragnar Anchorage because he thought he was a Cylon. This generates a sudden angry outburst from Boomer, who orders him to go and check on a red light appearing against one of the ship's thrusters. After Crashdown has left the ship, Tyrol moves up beside Boomer, asking her if she thought she was a little rough with him. Her response is not positive, referring to Crashdown as a "refugee" she's been "saddled with." She goes on to state she didn't ask Tyrol for an opinion, a rebuke that causes him to tell her flatly that Helo is gone - which draws another, sharper rebuke from her. Raising his hands at this, Tyrol retreats from the Raptor, ignoring Boomer’s apology.

Elsewhere aboard the Galactica, crewmembers not on duty are trying to trace whether any relatives or friends made it to the fleet. Dualla, a native of Sagittaron, arrives at the desk handling the searches and is informed 5,251 people escaped her homeworld - at the last count; things still seem to be in a state of flux. Hopeful, she tries to hand over some pictures of her family, but is informed the records-gatherers don't have the facilities to transmit pictures at present. He suggests she post them in the corridor, presumably in the hope that if anyone else aboard Galactica has seen them, they'll contact her. She walks away, passing a 9/11-style wall of pictures, pleas, ribbons and memorabilia.

On Colonial One, Billy gives Roslin an update on the headcount. Behind Roslin, the current running total is written on a whiteboard: 50,298. She checks the data card Billy hands her, and asks, "How did we lose three hundred?" He explains that there were some over-counts, some deaths from wounds and - perhaps interestingly, “A few missing during the last attack."

Roslin then revises the running total: 49,998.

Further back in the cabin, Baltar sits pensively, and Six appears beside him, asking a strange question: "Do you want children, Gaius?"

He appears to give the question some thought, and then dismisses it with a "No." Six appears mystified by his reaction. "Procreation is one of God's commandments," she informs him. Gaius' sarcasm deepens as he informs her that if she is a good little Cylon, God will reward her with a "little chrome toaster" of her very own. She leans towards him intently: "I want US to have a child, Gaius." He claims she can't be serious - and we cut to Billy stating, "It's Doctor Amorak," a name that snaps Baltar back to the present: "What was that?"

He looks around and realizes Six has "vanished". Slightly disoriented, and realising he was actually caught between Billy's comment and his own "conversation" with Six, he stands nervously and approaches Roslin and Billy, apologizing for interrupting them. He asks Billy to repeat what he was saying. Billy, slightly confused, responds, saying that a Doctor Amorak has requested a meeting with Roslin. The name clearly unsettles Baltar. "You know him?" Roslin gently prompts. Simultaneously, Six appears alongside Baltar asking, "Have you always been able to multi-task like this?"

Confused, Baltar appears to answer her first, "Yes." Realising he is not addressing Roslin, he turns back to her, adding smoothly, "Yes. I used to work with him at the Ministry of Defence." Billy adds that the report states that Amorak has uncovered important information on how the Cylons were able to overcome Colonial defences.

Six is again alongside Baltar, "I was always worried he was on to us."

"Were you?" Baltar snaps in reply, then catches himself – to Roslin and Billy, he appears to be addressing empty air. He tries to moderate his tone as he continues, "Going to speak to him? Perhaps I should speak to him - if you're busy, I -,” Roslin stops him, holding up a hand. Billy interrupts at the same time, stating that the doctor has stated he wishes to speak directly to Roslin in person.

Six is now taunting: "Must be something very, very important. Perhaps about a certain traitor in the President's inner circle?" Baltar's discomfiture is palpable. Roslin instructs Billy that there is not enough time to get Amorak onto ‘‘Colonial One’’ before the next jump, but she wants to see him directly afterwards and then thanks Baltar. He stands bobbing his head in agreement, as Six adds a further taunt: “I'd say you have a serious problem,” and she turns and walks away. Baltar continues nodding, then - as if again realising his behaviour is odd, he adds, "If I can help?" He looks around and hurries after Six, leaving Roslin and Billy watching after him. "He's a strange one, isn't he?" Roslin muses.

On CYLON-OCCUPIED CAPRICA, it is raining hard, the weather is bad - and Karl “Helo” Agathon, is on the run from two Cylon warriors. Dashing through the trees he jumps a shaped charge - much like a C4 mine - and leaps for cover behind a tree. Pulling a remote detonator from his flight suit, he waits until the Cylons are on top of the mine and detonates it. As the blast clears, two ruined Cylons lay on the ground, one still active despite having its legs and an arm blown off. Helo dispatches it with his handgun.

On the Galactica, Dualla hands Adama another report: 12 more cases of nervous exhaustion have been reported in the crew, taking the total to 61. Adama instructs Tigh to have the medical staff to start pumping the crew with stimulants - pilots included; one out of every three crew, every other cycle. Tigh observes, "That's going to come back and bite us in the ass." Adama agrees but notes, "We have too much work and not enough people to do it." As if to prove the point, Dualla hands him a further report - one he has already seen. She apologises, and Adama checks with Tigh as to whose turn it is out of the two of them to get ten minutes rest. Tigh informs him it is his turn. After Adama leaves, Dualla looks at Tigh, pointing out it was his ten minutes. Tigh replies that the "old man" is so tired he can't remember when he last rested.

On the hanger deck, Lee Adama confronts Starbuck on the orders from the XO. She states she doesn't fly on stims. He tries to cajole her, and the conversation deteriorates into an angry outburst from Starbuck, which only stops when she suddenly starts laughing; she takes the required pills.

Back on Caprica, Helo is on anti-radiation medication and looking decidedly ill. After injecting himself with another dose, he turns to see he is being observed - Six, dressed in a white raincoat is watching him from a short distance away. Stunned, he draws his sidearm and hauls himself to his feet, taking aim at her. Before he can issue a challenge, he hears a familiar whirring behind him and looks over his shoulder. A Cylon Warrior is standing behind him. As we see it, the left hand folds up under the wrist and a weapon muzzle flips out of the forearm to replace the hand. Helo surrenders.

Back at the fleet, the 33 minutes are again up and the Cylons have arrived. The Galactica once again covers the fleet as they jump out. As Raiders swarm towards her, she also jumps. In CIC Gaeta reports jump 238 is complete. Tigh orders the clocks restarted, and Dualla reports all civilian ships have reported in - only to correct herself: one ship is missing - the Olympic Carrier. Adama wants to know if they were left behind. Dualla is unsure, but informs him 1345 people are now missing; Gaeta tries to offer reasons for the missing vessel, but the fact is they simply don't know what has happened to the liner. This prompts an outburst from Tigh to the entire CIC crew, which essentially reminds them that mistakes cannot be afforded. As the tirade subsides, Adama quietly adds, "We make mistakes and people die. There aren't that many of us left.”

On Colonial One, Billy updates the survivor total based on the loss of the Olympic Carrier: 47,972. He also informs Roslin that Doctor Amorak was on the liner. Hearing this, Baltar slips back to his home on Caprica, with Six informing him God is watching over him. He counters stating, "The universe is a vast and complex system. Coincidental....serendipitous events...are bound to happen." Six points out the Doctor Amorak posed a threat, and has been removed, ergo logic dictates there is a connection. Baltar admits this but refuses to accept it is due to the intervention of some kind of divine being. Six stops him, warning him to be careful, "That which God gives, he can also take away."

On the Galactica the time for the next jump - 239 - comes and goes. No Cylons arrive. Adama orders the clocks to keep running. "What d'you think?" Tigh hisses. "I think we wait," Adama responds. Twelve minutes pass. Adama confers with Roslin, and they speculate whether the disappearance of the Olympic Carrier has something to do with the non-arrival of the Cylons. Adama suggests they stand down to Condition Two until they determine whether the Cylons will show up - this will enable some to get some much-needed rest. Roslin thanks him and his crew for their efforts. Without them, the fleet would have been lost. Concluding the call, Adama orders contact be made with Apollo, and that he sets up a CAP - Combat Air Patrol.

Taking the message, Lee Adama orders all but Starbuck back to the Galactica. He also orders Boomer, who is flying with the fighters, to remain with him. The is a brief moment of teasing between the three craft, and Lee asks Boomer how she's holding out - that she never seems to be tired like everyone else. Starbuck teases it's because she's a Cylon, prompting Boomer to good-naturedly suggest to Thrace that she "comes over there and kick your ass." Lee sets up his patrol.

On the Galactica Adama takes time out to congratulate Tigh on keeping off the booze for 5 days, noting there are several in the crew who had been hoping he would fall off the wagon. As they chat, Gaeta announces they have a new contact: the Olympic Carrier. As she approaches the fleet, Adama calls action stations, dissipating the sense of relief that has swept into CIC at the news of the liner’s sudden appearance. Vipers are ordered to the launch tubes, and the fleet ordered to Condition One. The clocks are re-started.

In his "dream world" Baltar is stunned: it's wrong. If the Olympic Carrier was left behind, why wasn’t she destroyed? Six informs him God is punishing him for his lack of faith. He rejects this, demanding a more logical explanation. Six gives him one: the Olympic Carrier had been infiltrated by Cylon agents, allowing the Cylons to track the ship all along. Baltar tries to reject this as well, but Six points out that, were this to be the case, in order for Baltar to survive, the Olympic Carrier must be destroyed.

In CIC, Adama and his crew listen-in as Boomer makes contact with the missing liner, which explains the delay in arrival due to problems with the FTL systems that took almost 3 hours to fix. Adama wants to know how they escaped the Cylons. The response from the Carrier is odd: the Cylons just "broke off" after the rest of the fleet jumped out. The voice from the flight deck then states that there is a Doctor Amorak on the Carrier who needs to meet with the President. Boomer pushes for specifics, but all the voice can offer is that the doctor, "Claims to know something about a traitor in our midst."

Hearing this, an increasingly agitated Baltar requests - demands - communications with the Olympic Carrier are curtailed. When asked why, he comes close to cracking, babbling out Six’s reason for the liner’s arrival, and adding that the Colonials must cut off contact with the Olympic Carrier before it broadcasts another computer virus that could infect the entire fleet. Hearing the Doctor’s outburst over the radio link, Adama concurs. Boomer is ordered to jam all transmissions from the liner and only communicate by beacon light - and to order the liner to stop.

The message is relayed, but the Carrier fails to obey. Instead, she picks up speed and heads for the fleet. Lee Adama orders Boomer to break radio silence and verbally order the liner to a stop. She does so using voice and beacon lights, but the Carrier does not respond. She even ignores a shot across the bows fired by Starbuck.

Adama orders the fleet to commence its next jump, and for the Galactica to position herself between the Carrier and the civilian ships. At the same time, Gaeta reports multiple contacts jumping-in. Cylon basestars have arrived and immediately commence launching Raiders. The fleet has less than 2 minutes before they are in combat range.

At the same time radiological alarms go off in the Raptor and aboard the Galactica - the source is the Olympic Carrier: she is carrying nuclear warheads. Adama informs Roslin they must eliminate the liner immediately. Roslin responds that there are 1300 people on the ship. Adama counters that they don't know that for sure. Further back in the ship, Baltar is convinced Roslin isn't going to give the order. Six informs him it is not her decision; it's God's choice and he wants Baltar to repent.

As the discussion between Adama and Roslin grows ever more tense, Six presses Baltar to repent and accept God's true love. Near panic, Baltar repents....Almost immediately Roslin relents and orders Adama to destroy the Olympic Carrier.

Still following the liner, Starbuck is stunned by the order, stating they are being asked to fire on a civilian ship. Crashdown points out that it is a ship with nukes. Lee Adama makes a fly-by of the Carrier, and fails to see anyone in her flight cabins. He orders Starbuck to form up with him and to make one pass from astern the liner. Starbuck obeys but pleads with him, "What if you're wrong? Lee?" He orders her to fire on his mark. She refuses, but when he opens fire, she does as well, and the Olympic Carrier is destroyed.

Tag

On Caprica, a captured Helo is confronted by Six, who asks him, "Are you alive?" He gives his name, rank and serial number. Removing his bonds, she replies she knows who he is, uses his call sign, and kisses him. Mid-kiss, she is shot in the back, and a stunned Helo finds Valerii coming through the rain to him. Confused, he accepts her help as she leads him away from the "dead" Six. As they retreat, another Six steps out of the trees, a warrior beside her. She smiles enigmatically at the departing Helo and "Valerii", before looking down at her dead twin...

Following their last jump, Adama faces his son over the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, trying to consol him. "I gave the order. It’s my responsibility." He states. Lee replies that he pulled the trigger, so the responsibility is his. On Colonial One, Billy tries to consol Roslin, stating that 24 hours have passed without further Cylon intervention - at least she knows she made the right choice. Roslin replies that she'd like to be alone. Billy informs her he has an update on the headcount - that they can add one more person: a baby was born aboard the Rising Star - a boy. Roslin accepts the news and stands as Billy leaves her. She turns to the whiteboard and updates the count: 47,973, before coming close to tears.

--Colonial Archivist 12:50, 5 Jan 2005 (EST)

Questions

• Does Doctor Amorak truly have something on Baltar's involvement in the holocaust?
• Is Six actually in contact with other Cylons, and thus was involved in the disappearance / reappearance of the Olympic Carrier?

Analysis

Overall, a good opening episode that cleverly adds to a number of arcs from the mini: is Boomer a Cylon? What is the Six who is interacting with Baltar? Can the Colonials truly escape the shadow of the Cylons?

The opening sequence of shots ending with the Valerii on the Ragnar Anchorage is interesting: is this a hint to the real identity of Boomer on Galactica? Also, is the good-natured teasing between Starbuck and Boomer during the CAP an indication that others have noticed Boomer seems to be handling the lack of sleep a lot better than others. Could this lead to some kind of rumour-mill starting-up about her?

As to Baltar's Six: three possibilities seem to suggest themselves:

• She is a working of his own psyche; a reaction to his betrayal of his people to the Cylons. Certainly, his increasing psychosis in the episode would seem to point to this; but then, he has - like the rest - been five plus days without sleep, and some degree of paranoia is bound to result.
• She is, as she suggested in the mini, an implant in his head and possibly in communication with the Cylons. However, if this is the case, surely the Cylon hunt for the fleet would continue despite the destruction of the Olympic Carrier - as the Cylons would be tracing the fleet through Baltar. Given the humans are to all intents and purposes "on the ropes", it seems odd that they would break off the attack when they have such a clear advantage.
• She could she actually be a complete download of "Six's" personality, captured at the point of destruction of Baltar's home, and now contained in his head, possibily occupying his subconscious, out of contact with her own kind, but able to fully interact with his thoughts and feelings – even manipulate his thoughts and feelings?

Hopefully, these issues will be addressed in time. Meanwhile, the episode builds on some of the relationships established in the mini: Apollo and Starbuck clearly have a past, one that reaches beyond command hierarchies, exhaustion and tempers. The hanger deck confrontation is a valuable byplay not so much for what it says, but for the way in which it is communicated - a large element of non-verbal communication passing between Thrace and Lee Adama prior to her taking the stims.

Similarly, Roslin's mistrust of Adama, as expressed at the end of the mini following his admission that "earth" was a deception on his part, has begun to grow into an edgy respect: she knows full-well that without his leadership, the fleet would not have survived 5 days of repeated FTL jumps - and she is prepared to admit it.

Then there is Adama's relationship with his son. From the scene where they discuss responsibility, it is evident that there is a gulf between them still - one that may well be held open in part by their relative positions aboard the Galactica: Adama is Lee's father and the Officer Commanding the Galactica. While both again appear to want to bridge the gap – the difference in rank still prevents them openly discussing things: hence Lee's act of rebuffing his father's attempt to console him following the shooting of the Olympic Carrier.

Overall the three storylines evident in the episode – escaping the Cylons, Baltar and Six and Helo on Caprica - are cleverly interwoven, with the main storyline; the Baltar / Six relationship in particular intersecting smoothly through the crisis involving the Olympic Carrier, while the Helo subplot is given enough exposure to engage us and deflect attention from the "A" story sufficiently to heighten the drama, without actually interrupting the overall story flow.

Indeed, such is the subtlety of the Helo sub-plot that the questions it raises don't really reveal themselves until a second viewing, and you realise they are related to the central Cylon theme: why does Six ask him if he is alive? He clearly is, and the question is not a reference to either his leg wound or his radiation-induced sickness. Nor is it simply a throwback to her "sister's" first words to the Colonial officer at Armistice Station. It is something that appears to go to the very centre of Cylon reasoning.

Similarly, while it could be over-sensitivity given the amount of time the Valerii on Caprica was on-screen, but one couldn't help but feel she was perhaps a little too human; too familiar with Helo? It seems odd that she is introduced to Helo through the "killing" of the Six construct. Why resort to the "murder" of one of her own? Was this simply to establish her credibility in the eyes of Helo? Could she not have found another way to make contact with Helo? Contrasted with the comments regarding Boomer's heritage back at Galactica, are the writers attempting to imply something? Could it bee that BOTH the Valerii characters are Cylons that believe themselves to be human?

Time will tell - but it will be interesting to see how the Helo/Valerii/Caprica arc is followed-up.

But, in discussing the role of Cylon agents, there is a potentially interesting throwaway comment in this episode that might be an indication that something is amiss in the fleet: in discussing the number of survivors, Roslin asks why the total has dropped by 300. Billy responds that some over-counts were made (understandable), that there have been deaths from wounds (possibly people picked up from the 12 colonies), and some seem to have simply "disappeared" during the last Cylon attack (witnessed prior to jump 237).

"Disappeared"? How? No ships were destroyed during the attack / jump, so how do people just "disappear"? Again, is this simply an error in the script, or are the writers trying to point at something deeper?

All that said, the episode isn't without some flaws.

Nit-picks:

• Why is Boomer's Raptor launched alongside Apollo's Vipers for what everyone is expecting to be an interdiction exercise against Cylon Raiders? It is a complete departure from previous actions: in the mini, CAG ordered Boomer to get her Raptor out of the way as his squadron went into to face the Cylon Raiders; at Ragnar, the Raptors weren't deployed against incoming Raiders, nor where they in evidence prior to jump 237 at the start of this episode. It is unclear whether Raptors are armed, or whether they would be effectively in an electronic warfare capability against Raiders, but the sudden presence of a Raptor in a Viper interdiction flight smacks of being a somewhat clumsy means of meeting the needs of the plot: obviously, the writers wanted Boomer there to handle the communications with Olympic Carrier & so heighten the perceived tension.

• The 9/11 scene is, sadly, something of a misplaced element. Yes, 9/11 is a horror that stunned the world, and will always rightfully have a place in the memories of all Americans, but the use of a scene that so closely mirrors the aftermath of the site around the World Trade Centre to try and convey the sense of loss the Colonials are feeling is somewhat heavy-handed. More should have been done to impart this to the audience back in the mini (where Cylon strikes on the Colonial worlds were restricted to a few scenes of Caprica, and even then the outright and inevitable destruction was barely shown).

• Similarly, the failure to openly resolve the issue of whether or not 1345 people were aboard the Olympic Carrier weakens the story. Indeed, Apollo's flyby of the ship is suggestive that she indeed wasn't carrying anyone any more - thus removing our feelings of horror one step further from the drama being played out on screen. In opting to remain ambiguous about the presence of humans aboard the ship, the writers very much weaken the entire “should we / shouldn’t we” argument as to whether the Colonials can fire on and destroy the ship. Should they have shown people clinging to the windows of the Carrier, staring back at Apollo in helplessness as he made his final fly-by? Perhaps; perhaps not - but out emotions would have been better engaged if we had at least seen some evidence that lives were going to be destroyed along with the Olympic Carrier.

• A final nit-pick comes with the reminder of Tigh's alcoholism. The by-play here didn't entirely fit, and came across as a clumsy reminder that the writers hadn't forgotten about Tigh's condition and would possibly be returning to it in the future. Better to have kept the focus on Adama's comments regarding driving and managing the crew.

However, all this said, "33" serves as an excellent opening episode: the pacing is smooth, the storylines cleverly interwoven and combined without stepping on one another, and there are no hurried or harried resolutions. Arcs established in the mini are extended and new interactions given birth. --Colonial Archivist 11:59, 6 Jan 2005 (EST)

Notes

• Continuous jumping badly affects the FTL drives and management systems aboard Colonial vessels
• The Cylons have the same ability to undertake highly-accurate FTL jumps as the Colonials: 238 times they’ve managed to jump to the Colonial fleet and arrive with precise momentum and trajectory to be able to close the distance and launch an attack
• Billy may be a good PA but he’s crap at maths. “33” starts with 50,298 survivors. He informs Roslin this is in error by 300 = 49,998 survivors. When the Olympic Carrier is destroyed (1345 people), he reduces the total to 47,972 – that’s a reduction of 2026!!
• Whatever Roslin taught at school, it wasn’t mathematics – she fails to pick up on Billy’s error!

Noteworthy Dialogue

Discussion on Stims between Lee & Kara

Lee: "Hey, um, did you see the note from the XO?"
Kara: "I saw it. No way."
Lee: "Kara, everyone else--"
Kara: "I don't fly with stims. They fudge with your reflexes, reaction time."
Lee: "C'mon Kara, give me a break. Just--"
Kara: "Why are we arguing about this?"
Lee: "I have no idea."
Kara: "Neither do I. You're the CAG, act like one."
Lee: "What does that mean?"
Kara: "It means that you're still acting like everyone's best friend. We're not friends. You're the CAG. (beat) 'Be careful out there?' Our job isn't to be careful, it's to shoot fraking Cylons out of the sky. 'Good Hunting' is what you say. And one of your idiot pilots is acting like a child and refusing to take her pills. So she either says 'Yes, sir' and obeys a direct order, or you smack her in the mouth and drag her sorry ass to sickbay and you make her take those pills."
(beat; Lee bursts out with a chortle)
Lee: "Well, I'm glad I'm not working for you."
Kara: "Damn right you're glad."<br? Lee: "So do I have to smack you in the mouth, Lieutenant?"
Kara: "No sir, I'll take my pills."

Official Statements

Blog Entry from Ronald D. Moore

Source: SciFi.com's RDM Blog

Why 33 minutes?

The truth is, there's no real answer. It's just a random number that felt right when I came up with the idea that our people were under continuous, relentless attack since the end of the pilot. I wanted it to be a short interval, just long enough for them to grab a bite to eat, jump in the shower and maybe try to catch a catnap before dragging themselves back to their duty stations and begin the whole tedious, terrifying ordeal all over again.

A deeper truth is, I was never interested in coming up with an explanation for Why? Never. I mean, I suppose I could've come up with a sufficiently important-sounding bit of technobabble that would've made sense (you see, the Cylon double-talk sensors tracking the Olympic Carrier's nonsense drive signature needed 15 minutes to relay the made-up data wave through the pretend continuum, then the Cylon navigational hyper silly system needed another 10 minutes to recalculate the flux capacitor, etc.) but what would that have really added to the drama? How does explaining that 33 minute interval help our understanding of Laura's terrible moment of decision, or bring us to any greater knowledge of Dualla's search for her missing family and friends, or yield insight into Baltar's morally shattered psyche?

It doesn't, of course. The answer, however artfully it may (or may not) have been crafted can only subtract from the experience we have in watching the episode. Not knowing the how's or why's of the Cylon attack puts us in the same seat as the characters we're watching. They're in the dark, and we're in the dark. The relentless attack is unfathomable in its origin and unstoppable in its execution. It's mortality coming at you on a loop. If you only had 33 minutes before the next time you could die, what would you do? And what about the time after that? And the time after that? At a certain point, you stop caring about why it's happening, all you know is that it is happening, and it's happening to you.

So the mystery of 33 will be permanent on this show. No explanation, not even the attempt. Let it just be a number that seemed like an eternity for five long days on the battlestar Galactica.

Statistics

Guest Stars

• Alonso Oyarzun as Socinus
• Nicki Clyne as Cally

Writing & Direction

• Written by Ronald D. Moore
• Directed by Michael Rymer

Production Notes

• Series: 1 (2004 / 2005)
• Production Number: 1.01
• Airdate Order: 1 (of 13)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

• UK Airdate: 18 October 2004 (Sky One)
• US Airdate: 14 January 2005 (Sci-Fi Channel)
• DVD Release: N/A

Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another

Re-imagined Series definition: student pilot (TRS: "Act of Contrition", "Scar")

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Re-imagined Series definition: nerve center or "bridge" of a battlestar, see: Combat Information Center

Re-imagined Series definition: imaginary boundary within which a fighter can return to a landing bay within a given time (TRS: "33")

Original Series definition: a Cylon outpost (TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I")

Re-imagined Series definition: Executive Officer, e.g. Saul Tigh

Re-imagined Series definition: derogatory term for Cylons in general

Re-imagined Series definition: stimulants or a type of stimulant (TRS: "33", "Final Cut")

Original Series definition: an all-purpose term for Colonial soldier and Viper pilot (see: Warrior)

Re-imagined Series definition: standard deployment of craft on defense posture, an anachronistic colloquialism used to refer to patrols in space

Re-imagined Series definition: the senior pilot on a battlestar