Battlestar Galactica

Season 4

He That Believeth in Me

1. The title of this episodes comes from the Bible verse John 3:16.

Six of One

1. During Apollo's send-off ceremony, the cases along the walls contain a mixture of props and real military insignia and awards. Most obvious is the rank insignia of a USAF Airman and a USAF Staff Sergeant directly behind Apollo and Admiral Adama.
2. Co-executive producer/"Six of One" writer, Michael Angeli was nominated in the 2008 Prime Time Emmy category, outstanding writing in a dramatic series.
3. Human Survival Count: 39,676.
4. Aside from USAF enlisted ranks is also a US Navy SEAL Special Warfare officer pin.

The Ties That Bind

1. While Cylon Centurions are unable to verbally communicate, the scene when Cavil is meeting with the six and the eights, it is very apparent that these centurions - the ones whose ability for higher mental functioning has been enabled - take a strong interest in their visual appearance. In several shots, these centurions are noticeable for their highly polished metal surfaces.
2. Tigh, Tyrol, and Tory's clandestine meeting takes place in weapons locker 1701D. 1701-D is the Enterprise's hull number in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), which Galactica creator and executive producer Ronald D. Moore wrote for and produced.
3. When the chief, Tigh and Tory enter the weapons locker the locker's ID number is 1701D, this is clearly a nod towards Star Trek The Next Generation where the USS Enterpise Serial number is 1701-D.
4. In episode #4:3, The Ties That Bind, the audience gets a prolonged look at the door to the weapons locker that four of the final five meet in. Weapons Locker 1701D. 1701D was the hull number for the Enterpise D from ST:TNG where creator Ronald D. Moore got his first writing gig in 1989.
5. Human Survival Count: 39,676.
6. When Lee Adama is giving his acceptance speech, there is an overdub of the Quoram members name that he is replacing at 8:21. "Delegate Collins" was added in post-production. What is unusual though is that it appears to be a re-recording rather than a script mistake.

Escape Velocity

1. Cally's last name of Henderson had been originally put forth in the tie-in novel "Sagittarius Is Bleeding" by Peter David. However, that same book said her full first name was "Callista" rather than Callandra.
2. Human Survival Count: 39,675.
3. Aaron Douglas reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" at the beginning of the episode.

The Road Less Traveled

1. This is the only episode of the entire series in which Edward James Olmos did not appear.
2. Human Survival Count: 39,676.
3. Michael Trucco reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line at the beginning of the episode.

Faith

1. Human Survival Count: 39,675.

Guess What's Coming to Dinner

1. Katee Sackhoff reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line at the beginning of the episode.
2. Human Survival Count: 39,673.
3. The title of this episode comes from the film "Guess Whos Coming to Dinner" (1967).

Sine Qua Non

1. Jamie Bamber reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line at the beginning of the episode.
2. Human Survival Count: 39,674.

The Hub

1. Human Survival Count: 39,673.
2. Tricia Helfer reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line at the beginning of the episode.

Revelations

1. Mid-season cliffhanger.
2. Human Survival Count: 39,665.
3. If the 2007-2008 writers' strike would have gone on longer, this and the next episode would've been the series finale.
4. Michael Hogan reads the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line at the beginning of the episode.
5. When the first hostage is put out the airlock you can hear a faint Wilhelm scream.

Sometimes a Great Notion

1. This episode was written to function as a possible series finale, due to an interruption in filming by the WGA Strike of 2007-2008. Fortunately, the strike resolved in time for the Sci-Fi Channel to allow filming to recommence.
2. The title is a reference to the folk song 'Goodnight, Irene': "Sometimes I live in the country / Sometimes I live in the town / Sometimes I have a great notion / To jump In the river and drown". This lyric has also inspired the title of the Ken Kesey novel 'Sometimes a Great Notion'.

A Disquiet Follows My Soul

1. As a way to simplify design and cut costs, the colonial uniform costumes were created without pants pockets. A minor subplot of this episode, however, involves Adama walking through the ship, picking up scraps of paper litter and putting them in his pocket to show that he still cares, even though many of the crew have become ambivalent. To make this work, Adama's uniform was modified to add pants pockets. According to the DVD commentary, Edward James Olmos had fun pointing out to the other cast members that he alone had pockets, and made sure to have his hands in his pockets in several scenes.
2. The poem quoted by Admiral Adama in the opening scene is "There is a Languor of the Life" (396) by Emily Dickinson.
3. This is the only episode of the series that was directed by producer Ronald D. Moore. He wrote the script with the knowledge that he would also be directing it, and specifically included scenes that he thought would be interesting to film.
4. Producer (and episode writer/director) Ronald D. Moore's son Robin and daughter Roxy appear in the scene where Baltar is preaching about how a father treats his children. Robin is the little boy sitting in front with his chin in his hands.

The Oath

1. This episode was originally to be directed by Kevin Smith, who is an ardent fan of the series. However, scheduling conflicts prevented Smith from directing.
2. This marks the first time the "Cylon" introduction was not used. In this case, it's already an established fact and there are no more mysteries about who the Cylons are or where they are or what the plan is.

Blood on the Scales

No Exit

1. This episode's opening - instead of a variation of the previous prologues, shows shots of a decimated Earth, and Cylon Centurions similar to those from the original series. This is because of both the earlier episode: Sometimes a Great Notion, and because of the major plot-point of this episode (the return of Ellen Tigh).

Deadlock

1. According to Ronald D. Moore's commentary (podcast/DVD), the original title for this episode was "A Drowning Woman". The title would have referred to Galactica herself, as the ship is being rescued from "death".

Someone to Watch Over Me

1. When Slick starts trying to write the second movement of his musical piece, the notes he plays for inspiration are the same notes from the start theme tune of the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) TV show.
2. While Boomer is escaping Galactica, she initiates her Raptor's FTL "jump drive" using an Apollo / Garmin 618C LORAN C altitude encoder; an obsolete piece of equipment by even early 21st century Earth standards. "618C" and "USA" are clearly displayed on the unit.
3. Both Aaron Douglas and Torrance Coombs stared in Killer Mountain (2011) together and also were in this episode as well.

Islanded in a Stream of Stars

1. In the scene where Boomer arrives at The Colony and is landing her Raptor, there are a circle of Cylon Raiders, some lifting off for departure, some parked. Amongst these, are several very similar to the ships the Cylons used in the original series, but, there are two Raiders of an unfamiliar design. While being similar to the standard Cylon Raider (not the Cylon 'Heavy' Raider), these Raiders have much longer Wings which project straight ahead, and the centre section, which contains the Cylon pilot is also elongated and projects forward separate from the ship itself. This is their only appearance in the series. The centre section is separate, still unconnected - but, rather than the small, narrow space which separates the wings from the central pod of a standard Cylon Raider , there is a deep, long trough, which runs parallel to that of the wings.
2. When the decision is made to send off Galactica, Adama and Tigh refer to her as a "Grand Old Lady." The Grand Old Lady was the nickname of the HMS Warspite, a Queen Elizabeth Class battleship that served in the Royal Navy with distinction during both World Wars, accumulating more battle honours than any other ship in the world.

Daybreak: Part 1

Daybreak: Part 2 & 3

1. In the final draft script, Chief Tyrol's final lines mentioned him moving to an island off the northern continent. At the request of Aaron Douglas, this line was expanded to include a mention of the "highlands". Ronald D. Moore, in the episode commentary, confirms that this line is intended to imply that Tyrol is the founder of Scotland.
2. The original cut (of all three parts) of the series finale ran over four hours long.
3. Late in the writing process, it was realized that the "opera house" sequence could be shown to parallel the ongoing battle on Galatica. Anders' hybrid tank was set up on the CIC balcony, and it was arranged that the other four Cylons be near him, so that the "final five" could be posed in a manner similar to that shown in the opera house dream. In order for the actors to be visible at the appropriate angle, however, a safety railing had to be removed from the CIC balcony.
4. Two scenes which were considered and dropped regarding the Galactica. One was that the ship would be discovered on Earth by archaeological excavation. Another was to show one of the flight pods breaking off from the main ship and crashing on the moon, where it would be discovered by the Apollo astronauts.
5. The pigeon in Lee's flashback is a metaphor of Kara.
6. In the extended DVD cut of this episode, the scene where Cally interrupts Tyrol and Boomer in the workroom, then warns Tyrol to "be careful", is a deleted scene that was filmed for the original miniseries. Because of this scene, Nicki Clyne (Cally) gets screen credit for the extended cut, even though she didn't film any new material.
7. The title is based on Nietzsche's homonym work.
8. Towards the end of the episode, when the people are heading off in different directions and the camera slowly pans towards Karl, Sharon and Hera, if you look carefully at the bottom left of the screen, just as Karl says "There's game on this planet" an out of focus fly can be seen landing on the camera lens and move towards the corner edge of the screen.
9. Kara Trace quotes directly from the song, "All Along the Watchtower" as she's inputting the coordinates for Earth into the FTL drive: "There must be some kind of way out of here". The song's notes are a integral part of finding a new home for humanity and the ultimate conclusion of the show.
10. The uncut and extended edition of this series finale (all three parts) runs 2 hours and 32 minutes.
11. The deleted scenes for this episode include two scenes where Tory Foster and Boomer are being "planted" into human society, after having their memories altered. Ronald D. Moore, in the commentary, indicates that these scenes will probably be integrated into Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009).
12. Ronald D. Moore: man at the New York City newsstand reading about the discovery of Hera Agathon's skeleton while 'Six' and 'Baltar' comment about it behind him.
13. Ronald D. Moore decided all the ships from the Colonial fleet would be destroyed by the Sun after watching a documentary about the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who burned his ships after his men reached Mexico, so they wouldn't be tempted to move back.
14. Events are mirrored that happened in the early moments of the Battlestar Mini-series. The final shot of the series is of Caprica Six walking away from camera into a crowd of people. In the first minute of the mini-series Caprica Six is seen walking towards the camera. Also the first and last exchanges we see between Adama and Starbuck are exactly the same. Adama: "What do you hear Starbuck?" Starbuck: "Nothing, but the rain". Adama: "Grab your gun and bring in the cat" (although in the miniseries Adama actually says "Grab your gun and bring the cat in").
15. According to Ronald D. Moore's podcast, in earlier scripts it was considered killing Athena and Helo so Hera would have been raised up by Gaius Baltar and Caprica Six. Baltar being killed by Cavil was considered too. It was also thought Tigh would kill Cavil, but Dean Stockwell suggested Cavil would commit suicide. The Adama and Roslin flight scene aboard the Raptor was supposed to take place in space, not on Earth, so they both would get lost between the stars. It was also considered Adama killing himself after Laura's death, but it was dropped too. Finally, they considered the fleet would arrive to Earth during the Hellenistic period, so the Colonial religion would match with the Greeks', but they decided to make Hera the ancestor of all people on Earth so they had to reach the planet during Middle Paleolithic.