Battlestar Galactica "Escape Velocity" TV episode Written by Jane Espenson Directed by Edward James Olmos Original air date: April 25, 2008

Baltar sows unrest in the fleet when he starts to promote belief in the Cylon god; the three secret Cylons on the Galactica clash over how far they should embrace their secret.

Read the summary of the episode at the Battlestar Wiki

Notes from the BSG chronology

This episode takes place very soon after the events of "The Ties That Bind".

Didja Know?

The opening titles show the fleet at a population of 39,675, down one from the previous episode "The Ties That Bind", due to the death of Cally there. 

Chief Tyrol

Cally (mentioned and in Tyrol's memories only, deceased)

Colonel Tigh

Admiral Adama

President Roslin

Tory Foster

Apollo

priestess

Anthony Figurski

Caprica Six

Sgt. Brandy Harder

Hera Agathon (mentioned only)

Ellen Tigh (in Colonel Tigh's visions only)

Nicholas Tyrol

Baltar

Sons of Ares

Paulla Schaffer

Racetrack

Redwing

Skulls

Mr. Officious (derogatory nickname given to a marine by Baltar)

Head Six

Lilly

Jeanne

Petty Officer Basim (mentioned only)

Reza Chronides

Tracey Anne

Paulla Schaffer

Starbuck

Sam Anders

Didja Notice?

Cally's memorial in this episode confirms that her maiden name was Henderson, as first revealed in the novel Sagittarius is Bleeding.

At 5:50 on the Blu-ray, Colonel Tigh is wearing admiral's pins on his collar! This seems to have been an error by the costuming department.

In Tyrol's quarters, Colonel Tigh changes baby Nicky's diapers when Tyrol is too self-absorbed to pay attention!

When Tory acts very sexually aggressive with Baltar, he remarks, "I think I preferred it when you cried." In "Six of One", Tory cried while having sex with him, saying it's just something she does during sex.

This episode introduces the militant fundamentalist group the Sons of Ares, which attacks Baltar's cult. They appear again in "Deadlock", where Admiral Adama reluctantly allows Baltar's cult to arm themselves in anticipation of future attacks by the group (though no future attacks are seen to occur).

When Racetrack and Skulls are forced to make an emergency landing of their Raptor in the Galactica hangar bay, the Raptor collides with a landram that happens to be making its way across the hangar at the time. It's hard to imagine why a landram would be trekking across the hangar bay. I guess one could argue it was moving parts or supplies from one part of the hangar to another, but the vehicles are really meant for use on land (hence the name landram), not for transporting material across the fairly short distance of a battlestar launch bay.

Baltar finds one of his followers, Lilly, praying to Asclepius, the god of healing of the Lords of Kobol. In Ancient Greek mythology, Asclepius was the god of medicine.

Baltar and his cult of followers interrupt a service performed by a priestess of the Lords of Kobol and Baltar remarks that Zeus, the first of the Lords of Kobol was a serial rapist prone to giving birth out of his own forehead. Zeus was the king of the gods of ancient Greek mythology, who legend says had sexual intercourse with many mortal women and who is said to have given birth to his daughter Athena from his forehead.

Admiral Adama gives President Roslin a copy of the novel Searider Falcon, a classic of Colonial literature. Though she tells him she's read it before, it is one of her favorites; he reads it to her again in this episode. And it seems she starts to read it herself yet again, as she has the book in hand later in "Guess What's Coming to Dinner".

At 22:05 on the Blu-ray, Tyrol is seen wearing a Jackson HSL-100 welding helmet as he works in the hangar bay. Jackson is a real world manufacturer of welding supplies.

At 25:40 on the Blu-ray, a poster for the 22nd Inter-Caprican Games at Delaney Stadium is seen hanging on the wall in Joe's Bar. This is the first and only mention of the Inter-Caprican Games and Delaney Stadium in the series.

Discussing the death of his wife Cally in Joe's Bar, Chief Tyrol angrily tells Adama he didn't get to be with the person he really wanted to be with, who turned out to be a Cylon and didn't know it. Tyrol and the unknown Cylon Boomer were having an affair before she was killed and resurrected amongst the Cylon fleet.

At 36:34 on the Blu-ray, Colonel Tigh says to Caprica Six, "Get your damn hands off me, you frakking freak machine!" This is probably a nod to the 1968 film Planet of the Apes and the line, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" 

Unanswered Questions

What is Galen Tyrol's rank at the end of this episode? Adama demotes him for his unrepentant outbursts at Joe's Bar, so he is no longer Chief. I suppose he is just Specialist Tyrol. But now, who is chief on the hangar deck?