Brad Ideas - All the questions you must answer in your Galactica theory - Comments

Hera's Hair is a Non-Issuer

crood — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:49:41 -0800

I could just mark it down to the choice of child actor they thought was the best fit. However, the simplest in-story explanation is that Helo's hair has always been cut very short. My son's hair is quite curly when it grows out, but if it is cut to the length of Helo's, it stays straight. Therefore, there's no mystery.

Ordinary humans

brad — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:10:57 -0800

Don’t feel a sudden need to wander out into the hills on an overly hot planet and discover hidden temples. But then again, they had not tagged him as Cylon at that point, so who knows what the writers think ordinary folks do in this show.

Thanks for posting that.

Kobuster — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:32:49 -0800

Thanks for posting that. Brad, I like your theory (though I'm more of the mind that the Cylon God is the invisible hand behind everything, not the 5, but mostly because I like the idea of technological singularity), but as this and other podcasts show, they are making up a lot of this as they go. Personally, I feel like a condition a hypothetical theory must meet is "does it still work if the F5 were someone else?" Namely, if the actions of the F5 before they were revealed could be those of "ordinary humans" (whatever that may mean). For example, would Tyrol's actions re. the Eye of Jupiter (or whatever it was) make sense if he wasn't a cylon?

Leoben's reaction to Starbuck

JerseyCHUD — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 11:02:30 -0800

It makes perfect sense for Leoben to run from Starbuck! First, she has been the single deadliest anti-cylon force on the entire show, and if you recall she repeatedly killed Leoben on New Caprica. For Leoben to find out that Starbuck has a huge secret of literally cosmic importance that she may want to hide, coupled with the fact that he is no longer immortal himself, could make him run for his life. Also consider that "sleeper" cylons may have been programmed to automatically kill anyone who discovers their true identity. Leoben would be aware of this and assume that Starbuck may be a "sleeper" of some kind, even if he doesn't know exactly what. I hope we find out that Leoben informed the other cylons of his discovery.

As I've posted earlier, I believe Starbuck is a cylon, not one of the "final five" but of a later generation probably created on earth, possibly with Baltar and even Roslin. Her generation of cylon are responsible for nuking earth 2000 years ago. This could certainly cause the cylon god to consider her the harbinger of death! As for Dee, she evidently had some kind of flashback as well, indicating she was either a victim or aggressor 2000 years ago and has since reincarnated. This fits with the hybrid's statement in "The Hub", I believe, that mentioned dead Natalie going "back in the stream that feeds the ocean that feeds the stream."

Ellen being a cylon does make sense in another way. She was called a whore, drunk, untrustworthy, etc., but if she was created for the purpose of mothering a race of "humans" then she would naturally be programmed with a "healthy" sex drive. Also, she was not necessarily untrustworthy, as I think Tigh knew about her extramarital olympics but still loved her. In fact, I think he has always unconsciously known that she's acting as she's designed to do and accepts it.

Red herring

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:00:39 -0800

Y'all don't think that was Tigh trying to get some wish fulfillment? He would want nothing more than to be absolved of his guilt for killing Ellen. I am pretty sure every single skinjob and human is a cylon. Tigh assumes Ellen is the fifth because he recognized her and the fleet hasn't figured out that they are all cylons yet. The 7 models that download are different, but I think they are different in that they should be rebirthing like the other cylons not downloading. While everyone who is reborn is evolving the downloaders never evolve. They are always the same age, the same look, the same everything. This is why old diseases affect them. They are still in the same form as the originals molds. They need to re-learn how to be reborn, or maybe the whole having babies thing is the key to their evolution. Either way, I guarantee Ellen is a misdirection.

Things Change

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 03:07:04 -0800

Hmmm. I'm hoping they clear up the mess of this episode. I suppose andtend to agree that Ellen is likely to reincarnate. Whether that's on Earth or elsewhere, my guess is Cavil's bunch will pick her up as Adama is moving Galactica out of that frame. Two other points: V6 mentioned that anyone who dies on Kobol is dead for good, and then there's the Caprica thing. I'm wondering if the experiments there kicked off the Final Five's resurrection nor if they floated in on the breeze. Dunno. This is starting to turn into Groundhog Day.

Before, the idea of Tigh and Ellen being Final Five and involved in a relationship didn't work for me but the flashback to the bank scene has changed that. She was a bit of a bitch, like Dee was hard, but as both threw off the baggage in their final moments both characters became more appealing. I could've run with Dee being the Final Cylon and I'm pretty sure that would've worked as well. As the bank scene showed, things change, perceptions change, and what looked daft before now looks more credible.

Ellen's not dead

brad — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:14:37 -0800

Yes, Tigh killed her, but as she said, they have the power to be reborn after they are killed. So she’s out there, we’ll probably see her quite soon. I’m pretty confident they would not make her the fifth and then not have her appear on the series!

The Holographic Universe

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:14:02 -0800

Elen has been speculated on as a top candidate for the fifth Cylon by people in this blog but I'm puzzled where all the clues are and how the Last Supper photo is supposed to make sense. The really annoying thing is I was beginning to warm to Elen. Now, she's dead. Ditto Dee. I'm not sure the hype was worth it and the end could've been better executed so I'm not a totally happy bunny. I've read this sets up the direction for the rest of the series. That sort of tease is beginning to get annoying and I don't appreciate it no matter how much the marketing department thinks it's funny.

I guess, the speculation about resurrection technology, the Cylon hub,and Caprica will kick off. That could be pretty interesting as it will touch on the backstory and possible ending, especially with all that stuff about Starbuck, visions, and the blur between Cylon and human. Ellen will be making later appearances but whether that's just flashback or she reincarnates, nobody knows. Also, I'm not 100% convinced we've seen the last of Dee. Same deal, there.

I've been reading, again, about the theory of the holographic universe and, of course, there's various Buddhist theories about reincarnation and reality. I suppose, the series could touch on those as it rolls forward. Stopping the cycle seems to be a big part of this latest strand and Buddhism is all about stopping the cycle. Some of that is down to self-enlightenment or, in some strands of Buddhism, 'enlightened' characters can stay behind to help others develop enlightenment as a way of assisting that process. It seems to fit but I might just be seeing what I want to see.

Episode 1 of 10

Josiah — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:29:12 -0800

SPOILER ALERT

I just watched the latest BSG episode, and let me start by saying that the show continues to demonstrate why it's held in such high regard by fans and critics... It's not a perfect show, but can anyone tell me of another show on television that offers such consistent and enduring quality?

A few reactions to what happened tonight. FULL OF SPOILERS, so read on at your peril...

Dee -- I did not see this one coming, but I did think to myself, 'this can't be right... they're way too happy.' Such a beautiful woman, too. If it were coked out, one-legged Gaeta, I'd understand. But by making it Dualla, the producers and writers really made it hard to swallow.

Roslin -- I was a little surprised at how she just curled up and shut down like that. Sure it's not what she thought, but, technically, the prophecies were not wrong, per se. It's just that the ending turned out to be a little different. I'm surprised at how quickly she gave up, but then again, if I'd been living on a 747 for the past four years, I'd probably be a little upset that the trip wasn't over, too.

The Old Man -- "FRAK YOU!" Best line of the show, for me. Edward James Olmos is a big part of why this show is so good. I enjoy watching every scene he's in, especially when he gets angry or freaks out.

Tigh and Ellen -- Well done, Brad. And I think well executed, too. The flashbacks were interesting, although I would have liked to have seen Anders' and Tory's. I also would have liked to have seen more of these flashbacks, and presumably we will.

Three/D'anna -- Does she really stay on earth? Is this a contract thing with Lucy Lawless? Or is she really just giving up? And before we leave her, can we please know who she was talking to in the temple? (You, I had not idea. Forgive me.)

Baltar -- Not much from Baltar, except for that silly line about how no one should drink or eat anything because of radiation... Yeah, no shit, Baltar. Glad we have the world's smartest man to tell us that. (Although... if Baltar says not to eat or drink anything, I'd say it's probably best to do the opposite. If you want to live...).

Starbuck and Leoben -- I don't quite get Leoben's reaction... Why run away like that? Doesn't this kinda make sense? I suppose maybe I'm seeing this too much as a member of the audience, but, to me, that "non-cylons" are capable of some kind of download and regeneration only supports the idea that humans and cylons are much more similar than anyone realized.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the "rebirth" of Starbuck and the line from Ellen proving that the final five do (or did) have the ability to regenerate/download and effectively live forever as immortals may be the ultimate nerve center of the show. What I mean is: the ability of certain human beings to achieve immortality may be linked closely with the inevitable destruction of the civilization from which those humans arose. It seems that this it what started it all, and maybe, had they not figured out how to do this, the destruction of earth might not have occurred.

Nine more weeks to go. Can't wait.

I called it the Aurora

Lisa — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:30:43 -0800

I called it the Aurora Theory because (1) I think Aurora is cool, and (2) Starbuck's association with Aurora is what kicked off my interest in writing posts about the Final Cylon. My previous posts about it concentrate more on Aurora than the latest one does.

I think D'Anna's actions are pretty typical for the personality she has so far displayed. She's confrontational. You're right in that she must know who and where the Fifth is, but killing hostages to get what she wants seems very much in character whether she's only been unboxed for a short time or not.

The Four are different from the Seven. Is the Fifth supposed to be different yet again? Who knows what form she saw of the Fifth. It might not be as straightforward as just looking at a person standing in front of you. Why the bright light?

Plan A...B..., uh, C+1

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:38:05 -0800

Okay, I'm gonna stop messin' about.

I've just read some spoiler stuff and it looks interesting. The Final Five "pre-date pretty much everyone" and are responsible for the human and Cylon setups. The otherthing is that the skinjobs are a bridge between the mechanical Clons and humanity,and the line between Cylons and humans is blurred. That fits with stuff hinted at in the series and Ron's comments. The theory that's been talked about before is that neither human or Cylon are capable of becoming more than they are. It requires both.

The other interesting thing is that there's a suggestion there *may* be a fifth series. It's too early to say but when the current run has time to sink in the potential in stepping beyond and expanding the BSG universe is there. I've no idea if my comment on Brad's blog has provoked anything or other folks are beginning to develop similar ideas independently but if BSG can break out of its straitjacket and have something compelling to offer I'm sure a lot of folks will be receptive to that.

We haven't even had the Final Cylon revealed so it's jumping the gun to flesh out an entirely new story arc but BSG could develop hints of a more technology and naturalistic variant of the Star Wars universe. In some ways it would be set in a time like just before the Old Republic but in other ways more advanced. My guess is that, like Caprica, it would be sufficiently novel to deserve its own title.

Odd BSG Theory

JerseyCHUD — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:07:25 -0800

Although making sense of BSG is difficult work, I have a theory which fits some of the facts revealed so far and suggests the answer to other. Although it does not answer every one of Brad’s questions in detail, I think it's worth thinking about.

I believe there are several generations of cylon we have observed. By “cylon” I mean any entity with the ability, or at least internal mechanism required, to take a new physical form after death such as the final five and significant seven. Each generation of cylon has a different “ability” to take physical form, as they are all created with slightly different technology. The oldest existing cylon, the cylon god, is a purely virtual being that rarely, if ever, manifests itself in a visual form or audio form and is so far removed from flesh and blood that its name “cannot be spoken.” It can, however, speak to and through a hybrid. The next generation of cylon are what we call the “virtual beings”, virtual Baltar, virtual Six, possibly virtual Leoben. These cylons are also very removed from flesh and blood; however, they can and occasionally do take a physical form. This explains the manifestation of virtual Six as Shelley Godfrey in “Six Degrees of Separation.”

After the “virtual beings”, the next generation of cylon gods includes the “Final Five” who were created on Kobol and sent to earth with the “humans.” The final five were created for a benevolent purpose and function as such, created by a society that believed the F5 were persons with all the associated rights. This contrasts with the next generation of cylons produced on Earth, to which Kara Thrace and Gaius (“earth”) Baltar belong. (This generation may also include Roslin, although that is less certain.)

The cylons created on Earth were responsible for destroying Earth, much like the significant seven destroyed the 12 Colonies, and they were reborn in the colonies where Baltar again helped to destroy a civilization. Not all is peaceful, however, because the different generations of cylon may have different agendas. Some generations believe humanity must evolve itself, that suffering helps to drive evolution, while other generations believe an assisted evolution is the best approach. Even the same generation of cylon can split among how to treat humanity.

This isn't all of the theory, and I admit there are a lot of unexplained parts and guessing to fill in some areas. I do believe that generally the concept of several generations of cylon is probably sound, though.

Loose (Scraggy?) Ends Justify the Means

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:15:25 -0800

So,who could she have seen? Jake the dog. He's a below the radar sort of pooch. Plus, if you'd gunned yourself up to expect some sort of Nietzsche style superman you'd be a bit downed if the Final Cyclon was some scraggy mutt. Nah, better just to grab what you can and wipe the rest out. It ties up all the loose ends and you can spin the Final Cylon anyway you want after then, get changed, and be at the party in time for the corks popping.

Aurora Theory

brad — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:41:53 -0800

Reading that page I am not sure why Aurora is so important that you put her in the name.

As for Dualla and “four are in your fleet.”

The question that needs answering is, who could D’Anna have seen in the chamber that makes her say “four in your fleet” (which may or may not be a lie) but then to start killing hostages until she gets the four — which means it’s what she really wants, whether she thinks the fifth is also in the fleet or not.

Remember, she’s been awake for a short time, and while she may have gotten intel on fleet activity, she doesn’t know a lot more. Something she saw in that chamber makes her feel the right strategy is to demand four Cylons, and to threaten to nuke the civilian fleet and kill more hostages if she doesn’t get four of them.

So who could she have seen? Well, obviously somebody not in the fleet — ie. somebody on the base star, or somebody dead.

But I have yet to see any explanation of why, if she saw Dualla or Cottle or Gaeta or anybody else on Galactica, she would have acted as she did. What would have made them different from her viewing of Tigh and the others?

Great Questions

Lisa — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:24:38 -0800

This is a great list of questions. I think my revised Aurora Theory answers most of them.

It doesn't answer why Hera's hair is curly though. Sometimes toddler's hair is just curly.

RE: How does the First Hybrid’s life “begin again, in ways uncertain.”

I think the Cycle of Time refers to the cycle of AI->cyborg->human->AI->cyborg->human. The Lords of Kobol were either one AI that split into 13 or 13 AIs that served as navcomputers when humans first left Earth. Either they wanted to become human or the humans wanted to become AI "gods." Disagreement over that led to the paradise on Kobol being broken.

All the questions you must answer in your Galactica theory

brad — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:17:54 -0800

Everybody in SF is theorizing, like me, about the mysteries of Battlestar Galactica. I have prepared a list of what I think the major questions that you must answer if you have a theory of your own. There are also a few lesser questions that it’s good if you can answer, but which are not mandatory. And indeed, even I don’t really answer all of these easily, nor do I suspect the show will tie up all these loose ends. A few minor spoilers about Caprica here.

For my answers see the invented backstory and of course the rest of this blog.

Virtual Beings

Who and what are they?
How do they get into character’s heads?
Are they all the same being, or are there different beings? If so, what’s their agenda?
How did Six pick up Baltar? Who was Shelley Godfrey and how did she vanish? (Godfrey question to be answered in “The Plan”)
How is it that ordinary humans can receive visions at all? Not just dreams but visions with real external information. (Baltar, Starbuck, Young Bill Adama, Roslin)
Why did Head Six say goodbye to Baltar? (Deleted scene.)
How could the Elosha in Roslin’s head have a conversation with her in the non-time of a jump?

13th Colony “Earth”

Why and how was Earth destroyed thousands of years ago?
How did it come to be that the 13th tribe was Cylon?
Why was the true nature of Earth covered up in colonial mythology?
What was the “exile and rebirth of the human race” Pythia wrote about 3,600 years ago?
Who took Starbuck to Earth and back?
Why this very convoluted way of showing the path to Earth (Arrows and star maps on Kobol, probes, stars going nova, signal on fake Viper) instead of just giving a set of coordinates?
Why don’t he colonials find it odd that the scrolls say the 13th tribe “saw their 12 brothers in the sky” (ie. tribal flags are Earth stars and names, which is at odds with their belief that Kobol is their homeworld.)
Why don’t 8 of the Tomb of Athena star maps match the photos Starbuck took? (Deleted lines found on DVD)
Why do the stars seen from the gas giant site of the Cylon civil war match the real Earth’s sky?
Why don’t we see any continents or star patterns we recognize in the Earth’s sky?
Why was the Earth destroyed around the same time that the tribes fled Kobol?

Final Five

Is the fifth aware or unaware, and why?
What are the Final Five? Who made them?
What are the white robe Final Five in the visions?
How old are they?
Why did they lead full lives as humans, unaware of what they are?
Why did they wake up to a Bob Dylan tune?
Are there other copies of the Final Five around?
How will the ending “blur the line between human and Cylon”
Just why were 3 of the Five at Galactica at the start of the war? Are they the reason it survived?
Where has Ellen been? Is she behind Starbuck’s magic trip, viper and recreation?
What have the five been doing for the past 2,000 years?
What were they doing between the building of the Temple of Five and destruction of the 13th colony?

Cylon God

Is he real? What is he?
What’s his agenda?
Do the Final Five worship him? Is he the “God whose name must not be spoken?”
Who is the “jealous god, who wanted to be put above all the other lords of Kobol?”
Why would he appear to speak to Dodonna Selloi through the Lords of Kobol to give #3 a message?
Who is pulling the strings, if not this being?

Temple of Five

Are the Five Priests the Final Five?
Was Baltar supposed to activate the temple? What does it mean that D’Anna did?
How, as Baltar asked, could all of them have come there on Nova day, in spite of astronomical odds?
What poisoned the food processors to force the fleet there?
Why did D’Anna say “you were right” to Baltar?

Cycle of Time

Since there is no time travel, what can make things repeat so exactly? (Moore declared at the start of the show: “No aliens, no time travel.”)
Just how exactly are they repeating?
How many cycles have their been?
What’s special about this cycle, if anything?

Predictions

How is the First Hybrid able to know Kendra’s life?
How does the First Hybrid know the story of the Final Five and their current state?
How does Pythia know about the visions of serpents?
How does Leoben know they will find Kobol?
How do Oracles, Leoben, and the Hybrids know about Starbuck’s destiny?
What is “the truth about the Opera House?” Why is the long-ruined Opera House so important?
How does the First Hybrid’s life “begin again, in ways uncertain.”

Kobol

Why is head Six afraid of Kobol?
Who were the Lords of Kobol?
What are they doing now?
What is the meaning of the suicide of Athena?

Hera

Why does Head Six say Hera is the child of herself and Baltar?
Why is Hera’s hair so curly when her parents have straight hair?
Is she the Cylon fetus shown in the ads? If not, who is it and what does it mean?
Why does Hera draw a book full of pictures of Six?
What is the role of Nicholas, and little unborn Six-Tigh?

Starbuck

See Earth
What is her destiny?
To wit, what does, “Kara Thrace will lead the human race to its end. She is the herald of the Apocalypse, the harbinger of death. They must not follow her” mean?
What happened to her in the maelstrom?
How did she get a new body, a new Viper? Why?
What is her connection to Aurora?
Who is her father?

The Seven

How did the seven acquire their biological bodies? (Aparently the official “Final Five” comic series will tell us this.)
Why are the seven programmed not to think about the final five?
Why was Cavil (the least spiritual one) so strongly against the quest for the five, and the awakening of the centurions?
Why did D’anna only ask for four Cylons from the fleet? What makes her know one is different from the others? If she thinks one is not yet awakened, why does she think that?
What happened to the minds of the older, metal Cylons?

Baltar

How did Baltar heal that child in his cult? Why does he have a cult?
How did Baltar survive the nuke near his house?
Why are female Cylon models so drawn to him?
What does it mean that the Hybrid identified him as “the chosen one?” What is his role in “God’s plan?”
Why all the Christ metaphors on Baltar?
How did he unconsciously know about Doral, or what to blow up in The Hand of God.

Web site clues

“You have heard my voice many times, but you don’t know my name.”

Other

What does Gaeta’s song “to have her please, just one day wake” mean?
What is “the space between life and death” that Starbuck and D’Anna explore? Why are the Five there?
In Caprica, Adama’s father helped create the metal Cylons. Adama’s sister was the template for one of the first three models. Can this remain unmentioned? What would the fleet think if it knew? Why don’t any of the Cylons have her memories?
What shut down all power to the fleet at the Ionian nebula? Why? And how did the Cylons know to be there?
Why did the power shutdown also make Roslin faint? And why all the visions for her at that time?
How did the Cylons keep finding the fleet? How did Hotdog find it?