OT: BSG Discussion

[geoschmo]

When Pegasus showed up and had "Gina" 6 locked up as a Cylon, the Galactica crew all recognized her as a suspected cylon model. That pretty much confirmed that the previous episode with the Shelly Godfrey 6 model accusing Baltar wasn't a dream. There really wasn't any indication that it was a dream episode though. I'm not sure why people ever thought it was.

The only real question was whether the Mind 6 was somehow communicating with the Cylons and was working with the Shelly 6 unit somehow in a coordinated effort to teach Baltar a lesson. Personally I think Mind 6 is and always was a construct of Baltars twisted psyche. Shelly 6 was simply another 6 unit that was attempting to sow discord among the fleet by exposing/discrediting Baltar. Shelly 6 would have probably known about the other 6 models mission before the attack and that Baltar was the dupe that allowed the colonial defenses to fall. But she wouldn't have known about the Mind 6 that's been torturing Baltar ever since. He just subconciously has her using dialoge that makes it appear she is involved in real events, when actually she's just reacting to them along with Baltar.

[Azselendor]

I don't think RDM is stupid enough to do a dream-reset episode. The whole point of BSG was to get away from the reset-button sci-fi mentality and get back to dramatic, allegory based stories.

Also, in a prior episode before pegasus, a picture of Shelly appeared as a suspect cylon with the other known cylons on a desk.

Also, about Shelly's disappearance, I'm surprised to see everything but the most logical reason for her disapperance. I've seen debates on trekbbs and gateworld where people say she vaporized herself, beamed herself off, was really a hologram, etc. But the most logical reason is that she knocked out the gaurds (most likely with an aerosol) following her and slipped off the ship before they woke up and the two guards following her lied about it and said she disappeared into thin air which would be accepted as humanity doesn't know the full extent of cylon technology.

[geoschmo]

The human cylon models have demonstrated super strength and super endurance. It's not a huge stretch to think they can run much faster then a human. The guards are following her a few steps behind and she turns a corner and steps on the gas. By the time they round the corner she down the hall and around the next corner. Maybe only a few dozen feet the way the passages on Galatica twist and turn. Once she loses the guards it's only a matter of blending in with the crowd, or hiding in the vent shafts until the coast is clear and she can sneak onto a transport. From the guards point of view she dissapeared into thin air, but only because they thought they were following someone who could only walk/run at a normal human pace.

[Daynarr]

Or maybe she just dissapeared into thin air ...

[Hunpecked]

Thermodyne: "So if we take the 39K number, what would the effects of surviving a nuclear war and several close proximity fission detonations have on them?"

From the mini-series I got the impression that most of the survivors were already off-planet during the initial Cylon attack. The ones Boomer picked up from Caprica were at some distance from the nearest blast and apparently made it off before the fallout started dropping. As I recall, Galactica herself took a nuke (near miss?) at some point in the series, but since the electronics came through OK, the ship must be well-shielded from radiation.

As for Baltar's nuke, the FX guys produced a pretty good simulation of an atmospheric blast engulfing nearby ships, but that's probably not what would happen in RL. Extrapolating from what I've read, I think the warhead would probably vaporize part of the Cloud 9 ship. Within this "atmosphere" the nuke would probably produce the usual radiative and blast effects, but the fireball would be no bigger than the ship and would dissipate rapidly at greater distances. I suspect the nearby ships would experience more damage from fragments and radiation than from blast. No doubt the fleet's civilian ships carry shielding adequate to protect against solar flares; I have no idea if this would be enough to protect against a nuke at a distance of several miles. Anyone on the ground, of course, would probably see some nice auroras in the following days.

Actually, it occurred to me while writing this that the fleet might not maintain a cluster formation while orbiting New Caprica. Ships closer to the planet than the Cloud 9 ship would effectively be in a lower orbit and gradually pull ahead; ships farther out would fall behind. Ships separated laterally would actually be in crossing orbits. My guess is that the fleet would form line, orbiting the planet like a string of pearls. In that case, Baltar's gift to #6 might not take out more than one ship.

Thermodyne: "I hope this is just a tease for next season and not a cost cutting measure."

I suspect the writers were trying to deliver a real shock to the viewers: fast-forward a year and then leave our heroes in an apparently hopeless position (again). If so, it worked; I was screaming "Jump, you idiots! Jump!" at the TV as soon as the Cylons showed up again. I predict the fleet will stage a heroic (and hopefully plausible) rescue operation using Sharon's talents (again) and plucky Starbuck's military skills on the ground, before resuming the trek to Earth.

[Atrocities]

When Pegasus showed up and had "Gina" 6 locked up as a Cylon, the Galactica crew all recognized her as a suspected cylon model.

I just watched that episode again and the ONLY person from Galatica's crew to "recognize" her was Baltar. None of the Galatica crew ever saw her aside from Baltar.

There really wasn't any indication that it was a dream episode though. I'm not sure why people ever thought it was

People rightfuly suspected that this was a dream episode, or in Baltars case, a psycotic (sp) break because the Six model in his HEAD, threatened him, then vanished from his thoughts at the exact time that he was accused by a then supposedly real 6 model of being a traitor. After he repented and gave himself over to "GOD", the supposed real 6 vanishes, the evidence against him is provem false, and the imaginary 6 returns.

It is widely, and again rightfully concluded, that the whole thing was a mind job. The six in his head was teaching him a lesson.

To now come out and say otherwise means that the Six in his head is something far more than an illusion and actually has physical abilities that can manifest themselves in the "real" world outside of Baltars delusions.

It was a mistake for them to erase the mystery of that episode by confirming that it was a real happenstance. Leaving the viewers to wonder about Baltars mental state was a far more effective method of developing his character than the avenue they just took in the final episode of season two.

[geoschmo]

Atrocities said:
I just watched that episode again and the ONLY person from Galatica's crew to "recognize" her was Baltar. None of the Galatica crew ever saw her aside from Baltar.

My memory on that wasn't precise. It wasn't in the episode when Gina arrived as I thought, but I am pretty sure I do remember the scene Klivino mentioned where they had 6's picture on the desk with the other cylon models.

Atrocities said:
To now come out and say otherwise means that the Six in his head is something far more than an illusion and actually has physical abilities that can manifest themselves in the "real" world outside of Baltars delusions.

I guess that's one way of looking at it, but I don't see it that way. Inner 6 could be simply taking advantage of a situation that she has no actual control over and making it appear to Baltar that she is manipulating things. Much the same way that people will have bad things happen to them and they start to think that God or fate or the world has it in for them. When actually it's just a random occurance, or the consequences of their own bad actions. Baltars psyche is simply more complicated then the normal negative paranoia. Insteaed of thinking to himself, "Why is this happeneing to me." he's got this hot blond only he can see saying, "This is happening to you as a punishment for you lack of faith."

[Renegade 13]

I wouldn't mind having said hot blonde in my head.