Sine Qua Non

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"Sine Qua Non" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 4, Episode 8
Writer(s)	Michael Taylor
Story by
Director	Rod Hardy
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.	10
Nielsen Rating
US airdate	30 May 2008
CAN airdate	30 May 2008
UK airdate	27 May 2008
DVD release
Population	39,674 survivors ( 1)
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Guess What's Coming to Dinner?	Sine Qua Non	The Hub
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
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Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
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Overview

President Roslin's abduction by the Cylon Hybrid triggers a bitter power struggle within the Colonial fleet.

Summary

Teaser

• With President Laura Roslin missing, a meeting is held by the Quorum of Twelve. Vice Predident Tom Zarek heads the meeting and tells the delegates that with Roslin missing, he is to be sworn in as the new President of the colonies.
• Upon hearing the news, Lee Adama cantacts the Admiral, who doesn't take the news well.
• Natalie, who has just been shot by Athena, is taken to the infirmary. She started to have a vision that she is in a forest on a sunny day and in real life, only focuses on the faces of those who are taking her to the infirmary.
• Dr. Cottle immediatly starts to operate on her. Cottle holds Natalie's hands.
• However, just as they operated, her vision of the forest brightens to a bright flash. The second that happened, her heart moniter flat lined. The doctors announces her death.
• Adama sees Athena, who is angered by her decision to kill an unarmed woman, even if she was a Cylon.
• Athena starts to explain her dream about a Six taking away her child at the opera house.
• Adama ordersa guard to take Athena away to a cell, and refuses her access to her daughter.
• When Adama returns to the CIC, he hears news that the Hub had dissapeared from it's last known location.

Notes

• Sine qua non is a Latin phrase meaning "without which it could not be". It is famously used by Andrew Jackson, who says the following after receiving an honorary degree from Harvard: "E pluribus unum, my friends. Sine qua non."
• When establishing visual contact with the drifting Raptor, Racetrack clearly uses the real f-word instead of "frak".
• The pistol Lampkin uses to threaten Adama is a Stallion. The model previously appeared prominently in "Home, Part II".
• The episode features the first explicit mention of artificial gravity in dialogue.
• The book Searider Falcon makes another appearance. Adama finds it in the derelict Raptor, somewhat singed.

Analysis

• The child of Caprica-Six and Tigh will be the first known fully Cylon child (if it survives to be born).
• The ability of Tigh to impregnate Six indicates a fundamental difference between the Final Five and Significant Seven, as Significant Seven Cylons have been thus far unable to conceive with one another.

Official Statements

• Michael Taylor discusses his spoiler-free impressions of a scene:

I was in the editing room, watching one of our talented editors assemble a rough cut of a single scene. Not a huge scene, just a relatively brief but quietly powerful scene between Adama and Tigh (you’ll see it in Episode 8, “Sine Qua Non”). What struck me is that while the dialogue was relatively simple, these two actors brought so much to it that the smallest looks and gestures carried immense weight. It made me realize anew how, after four seasons, these characters have accumulated so much history and nuance. As embodied by actors like Edward J. Olmos and Michael Hogan, they are wrenchingly human. Less characters than people I have now spent years with, and who still surprise me.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Donnelly Rhodes as Doctor Cottle
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Mark Sheppard as Romo Lampkin
• Leah Cairns as Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Colin Lawrence as Lieutenant [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall
• Ryan McDonell as Lieutenant Eammon "Gonzo" Pike
• Alexandra Thomas as Hera Agathon
• Donna Soares as Gemenon Delegate
• Andrew McIlroy as Jacob Cantrell
• Judith Maxie as Picon Delegate
• Iris Paluly as Speaking Delegate #2
• Veena Sood as Quorum Delegate
• Laara Sadiq as Priestess