Herc

Battlestar Galactica 2.1 FAQ

What’s it called?
“Scattered.”

Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to “Deep Space Nine” vets Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, who teamed for the first-season “Galactica” episodes “Act of Contrition” and “The Hand of God.”

What does TV Guide say?
“As Adama fights for his life in the second-season opener, Col. Tigh takes command and orders an emergency hyperspace jump that leaves Galactica stranded from the fleet. On Kobol, the landing party seeks shelter from the Cylons, while on Caprica, Starbuck tries to find a way to deliver the arrow to Roslin. Elsewhere, Roslin and Apollo have a heart-to-heart in their adjoining cells.”

How is Galactica separated from the rest of the fleet?
Seconds after Boomer puts the bullets in Adama, the Cylons appear, and immediately begin bearing down on Galactica. Tigh sweatily gives the order to jump to FTL. Problem is, in all the confusion, nobody on Galactica remembered to give the rest of the fleet the just-changed emergency-jump coordinates.

What else is TV Guide not telling us?
“Doc Cottle’s not on board,” Apollo tells President Roslin, who occupies the next cell. Cottle, who may be the only doctor in the fleet, cannot attend to Adama’s injuries because Cottle is in another part of the galaxy. And Galactica has to return to Cylon-infested space to discover which part.

The big news?
The opening is different. Shorter. Improved in at least one respect. Now every time we see that “There Are Many Copies” superimposition, there’s going to be a squadron of pretty, naked Boomers behind it. The “Mission: Impossible”-style sequence depicting scenes from this week’s episode is gone.

The bigger news?
Commander Adama has no dialogue this week.

No dialogue? Is Olmos still in the title credits?
He is. Olmos has speaking parts in Tigh’s many super-brief flashbacks. Olmos plays a pre-commander Bill Adama, who sports a Gregorio Cortez mustache - but no eyewear. Tigh had more hair. The flashbacks also feature prominently a metal door with a big “3” on it.

Did Sharon shoot Adama in a bid to save humanity, or to vanquish it?
Sharon seems to cry “I didn’t do anything!” as she’s whisked to stir. She only appears in one other scene, in act two, as Tigh visits her in her cell. The first thing she does is ask Tigh about Adama’s condition. “You bungled the job, if that’s what you’re asking,” smirks the colonel. “Then he’s alive. Thank the gods,” she responds with what appears to be genunine relief. Then Tigh goes CTU on her hinder.

This ends Boomer’s last scene?
There’s more to the scene. The other key line comes after Tigh asks Sharon who gave the order to shoot the old man. “No one,” says Boomer. “Just get it over with, you fraking coward!!”

Gaius Baltar said toward the end of the first season finale that he recognized the ruins on Kobol. “Of course you do,” replied Six. Do we learn for certain this week that Baltar is a Cylon?
It looks like Baltar never really visited those ruins; his walk with Six was all in his head. If he’s a Cylon, we don’t learn this week.

What was with that baby Six showed Baltar at the end of the season?
“She’s real,” Six tells Baltar in the opening minutes of the first act - as they look upon the pretend-baby. “She may not be with you yet, but she will be. Soon.” “You’re the mother?” asks Baltar. “And you’re the father,” assures Six.

And then what?
Baltar essentailly disappears from the episode.

Is Baltar, who – remember – is vice president of the colonies now, not rescued from Kobol this week?
He is not.

Is there room enough inside Kara Thrace’s pet Cylon ship for Helo and Boomer II to escape Caprica?
We may never know.

Does Starbuck deliver the arrow to Galactica?
Not this week.

Does the arrow start to glow or vibrate or point toward Earth or anything?
Not that I noticed.

What’s good?
“She’s right, huh? Sharon the Cylon is right. Let’s all just listen to Sharon the Cylon.” Tigh’s flashbacks. Tigh’s visit to Boomer. Apollo’s philosophical disposition generally and the sadness in his voice when he gives Roslin the news about Doc Cottle in particular. Ellen Tigh running around in her slip, acting all MacBeth-y. Specialist Cally bitching at her superiors. The fact that nobody on Kobol gets to leave Kobol. The fact that nobody on Caprica gets to leave Caprica. The fact that Adama never regains consciousness. The fact that Roslin never gets out of jail. “So say we all.”

What’s not so good?
Baltar and Starbuck disappear after act one. Boomer disappears after act two. Agathon and Thrace do essentially the same thing this week as they did in at the end of the first-season finale: she tries to put a bullet in Boomer II; he stops her.

How does it end, spoiler-boy?
“Don’t you dare die on me now.” And then the metal Cylons wake up.

How about a super-spoiler, Herc? One that’ll ruin the entire season for everyone?
The Lucy Lawless character who joins the cast in a bit? “On Web Theorem.”

Herc’s rating for “Battlestar Galactica” 2.1?
***1/2

The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
***** better than we deserve
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins

10 p.m. Friday. SciFi.

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