Battlestar Galactica "Resistance" Written by Toni Graphia Directed by Allan Kroeker Original air date: August 5, 2005

Colonel Tigh declares martial law in the fleet; on Cylon-occupied Caprica, Starbuck and Helo encounter an armed human resistance—a former sports team called the Caprica Buccaneers.

Read the synopsis of this episode at the Battlestar Wiki site

Notes from the BSG chronology

This episode opens immediately after the events of "Fragged". According to a flashback in "Downloaded", this episode takes place ten weeks after the fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Didja Know?

The opening titles show the fleet at 47,861 survivors, down one from "Fragged" due to the death of Crashdown in that episode.

The assorted guns carried by the humans on Caprica in this episode are seen again in the following episode, "The Farm".

Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode

Chief Tyrol
Colonel Tigh
Boomer (dies in this episode, but is resurrected as seen in "Downloaded")
Samuel Anders
Sue-Shaun
Starbuck
Helo
Baltar
Cally
Head Six
Crashdown (mentioned only, deceased)
Petty Officer Dualla
Lt. Gaeta
President Roslin
Apollo
Hammerhead
Hot Dog
Commander Adama
Ellen Tigh
Jo-man
Rally
Ten-point
Crip-Key
Morris Fink
Corporal Venner
Dr. Cottle
Billy Keikeya
Jammer
Racetrack
Private Brandy Harder
Elosha
Tom Zarek

Didja Notice?

Under suspicion of being a Cylon, Tyrol tells Colonel Tigh he would like to invoke his Article 21 rights. Presumably, this relates to civil rights under the Articles of Colonization.

Tigh accuses Tyrol of being a Cylon and that, as such, he has no rights. Tyrol denies it. Ironically, unknown to both, they are both Cylons (as later revealed in "Crossroads" Part 2).

Tyrol reveals that his father was a priest and his mother an oracle. Of course, these are implanted memories.

Tyrol says he's served on battlestars since he was 18 years old, naming the Pegasus, Columbia, Atlantia, and Galactica. This is the first mention of Pegasus in the BSG2000 TV series, though the battlestar did appear previously in The Cylons' Secret and "Two Old Men and a Woman". Tyrol's past aboard the Pegasus is not mentioned at all when the battlestar appears before the fleet in "Pegasus".

At 4:07 on the Blu-ray, a resistance member on Caprica holds a Beretta M12 and carries a Hammerli 280 in a holster. Many other resistance members are seen to carry L85A1 rifles.

On Caprica, Starbuck tells Helo she's thinking of heading to Cobb's Point, where an emergency airstrip is located.

At 6:12 on the Blu-ray, after hearing sounds in the woods and realizing they're about to be ambushed, Starbuck hands Helo a Ruger MP9. In the firefight that follows, Starbuck wields a pair of Česká Zbrojovka Sa. Vz.61 Skorpions.

This episode is the first appearance of Hammerhead, who goes on to play a major role in "Final Cut".

During the resistance's mistaken-identity firefight against Starbuck and Helo, Anders wields a modified Heckler & Koch Mark 23 and a Heckler & Koch UMP.

At 15:21 on the Blu-ray, a resistance fighter aims a Remington 700 with a Choate Ultimate Sniper Stock at Starbuck and Helo.

The resistance force encountered by Starbuck and Helo turns out to be the professional pyramid team the Caprica Buccaneers. In episodes of Caprica (set 58 years prior), Daniel Greystone was the owner of the team.

It's amusing that the refusal of the supply ships to resupply coffee to the Galactica is the tipping for Colonel Tigh to send in the marines!

This episode is the first appearance of the heavy hauler transport vessel Gideon in the fleet.

The military truck used by the resistance at 25:39 on the Blu-ray looks like a GMC CCKW, circa the Korean War of 1950-1953. The same truck is also seen in use by them in "The Farm".

The resistance base Starbuck and Helo are taken to is said by Anders to be Delphi Union High School.

Anders tells Starbuck and Helo that his resistance group has 53 members and that they raided a couple of hospitals down in Pilgrim Bay for anti-radiation meds, enough for about three months.

Under duress, Boomer tells Baltar there are eight Cylons in the fleet. We already know of her, Shelly Godfrey, Leoben Conoy, and Aaron Doral. Four more are revealed in later episodes and in The Plan. Boomer does not know about the Final Five Cylons who are present in the fleet as well.

The female marine who runs into Roslin's party at 30:53 on the Blu-ray appears to be armed with a Beretta CX4 Storm rifle. She goes unnamed here (referred to simply as Private by Roslin) and in "He That Believeth In Me", but is referred to as Sgt. Brandy Harder in "Revelations".

As the President's Raptor lifts off from Galactica, piloted by Apollo, he responds "wilco" to the departure instructions from the launch officer. "Wilco" is an abbreviation of "will comply", usually used by English-speaking militaries when communicating over radio.

At 36:17 on the Blu-ray, notice that the Cloud 9 has "Cloud 9 Cruises" mounted on top of its landing bay.

Starbuck reveals that she was once up for becoming a professional pyramid player but a bum knee took her out of contention.

The assassination of Boomer by Cally is made to resemble the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald (charged with the murder of U.S. President John F. Kennedy) by Jack Ruby on November 24, 1963.

Unanswered Questions

Why did Baltar want to know how many more Cylons were in the fleet from Boomer? Under duress, she tells him their are eight, but he never uses this information in this or any subsequent episode.