43
votes
Accepted
Are the Battlestar Galactica deities Lords of Kobol references to a programming language?
It is actually more likely a reference to the star/planet Kolob, which is mentioned in Mormon scripture and teachings. In those texts, Kolob was close to the throne of God, or is described as the "...
- 133k
29
votes
Why do Vipers use skids instead of wheels?
If you watch a Viper landing on the deck of BattleStar Galactica Ideally they come to a Hover and then lower the Landing Gear and drop down. wheels would make this action more unstable and in any case ...
- 18.9k
21
votes
Accepted
How does the Galactica survive so much hammering
It doesn't, really.
Seriously, watch it carefully over the course of the entire four seasons. You can watch it deteriorating episode by episode -- sometimes more, sometimes less -- until, near the ...
- 11.6k
19
votes
Accepted
Was Six in classic Battlestar Galactica?
No
Six was not in the original BSG. Her character was first introduced in the 2003 miniseries.
In the original BSG there are no skinjobs (cylons that are nearly indistinguishable from humans). There ...
- 12.3k
14
votes
How does the Galactica survive so much hammering
To draw on historical analogy, 19th century frigates and ships of the line were state-of-the-art floating cities carrying huge stocks of spare parts. They had the tools and expertise to make all ...
- 13k
14
votes
Accepted
Do Cylons have any concept of law?
The Cylons use some form of democracy via the mass-production Numbers. We know this because there's a episode where there's a contentious vote and Boomer (a Number Eight model) votes against her ...
- 48.5k
13
votes
Accepted
Why do Vipers use skids instead of wheels?
I think the argument about pneumatic tyres is irrelevant, and also uninteresting. You could have gear with metal tyres (like a train has). More interesting is why no wheels at all?
In-universe ...
- 306
11
votes
Accepted
Who were "The Primitives"?
Primitives is a common term in English for people belonging to an undeveloped civilisation. The OED defines primitive (warning: paywall) as "An original inhabitant, an aboriginal; a person ...
- 1,132
10
votes
Accepted
Is the Cylon Test reliable?
Because after the initial positive test of Boomer (which Baltar hides to save his neck), and Baltar later discovering that each sample will take ~11 hours to test, he fixes the cylon detector to give ...
- 6,436
9
votes
What or who were the Lords of Kobol?
The Lords of Kobol were the Gods of the mainstream religions of the twelve colonies. They are referenced again in the prequel series Caprica.
A central plot point of the Caprica series is a group of ...
- 2,037
9
votes
Did the Colonials do any kind of spatial exploration?
Important distinction: Original 1978 Battlestar Galactica? or Reimagined Ron Moore 2004 series?
In the original series, in the pilot episode, Apollo is on patrol with his brother Zac, and they ...
- 477
8
votes
Do Cylons have any concept of law?
It's not the clearest answer but I'd say "Sort of" - their society seems to have been largely harmonious, operating on a principle of consensus between the model lines prior to the events of the ...
- 1,800
8
votes
Accepted
Why Do Vipers Land Like Aircraft?
We need to look at this in the context of time, which is VERY precious in this scenario.
To come in for a landing trying to match your speed with the Galactica's hard-deck while she's under hard fire ...
- 3,544
6
votes
Accepted
In Battlestar Galactica, why does Baltar not know who the Final Five are?
Quite simply, the tests were abandoned without everyone being tested, and there was never any indication that it could detect one of the Final Five.
The first test was a lie - Baltar wanted someone ...
- 5,509
6
votes
Why wouldn't Cylon Raiders immediately send at least one by FTL to report contact with military enemies?
In TRS Season 2 Episode 15 "Scar" of the 2004 series, we learn that Raiders are reborn through resurrection technology just like other cylons. This could mean that there's no need to jump out to get ...
- 249
6
votes
Why wasn't Boomer's Raptor affected by the CNP?
I can't find a script online to give a direct quote, so this is going to be a paraphrase. For reference, the scene starts at 52 minutes.
At the start of the scene when they're approaching the Cylon ...
- 7,591
6
votes
What's the purpose of the Cylon "transponder" from the BSG Miniseries?
Transponders are a type of real-world technology (the question makes it unclear if you were aware of this.) They can be used for a variety of purposes, but one of the more common applications is ...
- 6,518
6
votes
Accepted
How do Cylons (Human form) tell each other apart?
I don’t believe that it is established exactly how this works, but it is an established ability of the human form Cylons. In the Season 4 episode “Deadlock”, a human form Cylon immediately identifies ...
- 1,252
5
votes
Accepted
Were the identities of the Final Five planned from the start?
According to this 2009 interview, identities weren't decided until later in the series:
How did you choose who the final five Cylons would be? Was it like picking a name out of a hat? Or did you have ...
- 15.1k
5
votes
Battlestar Evacuations
Battlestars would definitely have had evacuation setup.
1) detailed (and likely drilled) evacuation plans to leave the ship by the flight pods and disaster pods (see number 2 below). This is a ...
- 3,544
5
votes
Why didn't the Cylons just build a new resurrection hub?
The hub was created by the "Final Five", although the Cylons know how to use and operate the technology they lacked the knowledge to replicate the technology. Seeing The Final Five lost ...
- 5,726
4
votes
Was Six in classic Battlestar Galactica?
No. Cylons were machines in the original BSG, period, end of sentence.
However, as this was pretty expensive, the producers had intended to introduce human-looking robot Cylons in the second season. ...
- 673
4
votes
Is there an explanation for the resurrection of the Cylons?
The resurrection tech was coordinated by the Resurrection Hub
From Resurrection
For resurrection to occur, the dying Cylon must be close to a
resurrection ship or hub, otherwise his or her ...
- 12.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Battlestar Galactica Resurrection
This may not fully answer your question, but the process seems to be wireless and may rely on facilities whether planet-based or with ships like the Resurrection Hub and data-stream.
For ...
- 1,952
4
votes
Accepted
Who is being spoken to in the BSG miniseries?
We finally get to see who she was speaking to in BSG: The Plan. It was a Cavil, advising her that the attack on Caprica was imminent.
Six: It's about time. I wondered when you'd get here.
Cavil: Are ...
- 621k
4
votes
In "The Passage", why do the Raptors need to see the civilian ships?
The science of jumping is pretty soft, so it behaves the way it's needed to in each episode.
Prior to starting the crossings, Sharon notes that due to the light and instrument interference, ships tend ...
- 15.1k
3
votes
Battlestar Galactica Resurrection
Keep in mind Cylons use frequencies the Colonials can’t detect. As evidenced by them finding the tracking device in the middle of Galactica’s CIC, without knowing it was there for weeks.
Thus it ...
- 3,544
3
votes
Did the cylons deliberately spare these characters?
I don't think that it was necessary for Cavil to make sure they survive (if the attack had been 100% successful as planned, there would have been nor survivors at all).
He had already killed them once ...
- 988
3
votes
In Battlestar Galactica, how does the newly re-imagined series relate to the original?
On at least one occasion, storylines and characters from the 70s series are reworked into the plot of BSG.
One great example is Admiral Cane, who appears in the 70s series, and a force of will begins, ...
- 31
2
votes
Was Six in classic Battlestar Galactica?
Six nor any other humanlike cylons were part of the original BSG. Even though the original BSG was not very consistent with the cylons I don't remember any work where completely humanlike cylons ...
- 10k
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