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==Production== ==Production==
Several chords of ]' original Battlestar Galactica theme are heard at several junctions in the show,<ref name=credits>Closing credits, {{cite episode |url= |title=Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica) |series=Battlestar Galactica |network=] |airdate=] |season=4 |number=22 }}</ref> including when Adama flies the last Viper off the Galactica and when Anders flies the fleet into the sun.<ref name=starledger>{{cite web|title=Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2": There must be some kind of way out of here |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/03/battlestar_galactica_daybreak_1.html|last=Sepinwall|first=Alan|date=2009-03-20|accessdate=2009-04-01|publisher='']''}}</ref><ref name="Bear">{{cite web|url=http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=1760|title=Bear's Battlestar Blog |author=], BSG music composer |work=Bear's Battlestar Blog |publisher=BearMcCreary.com |accessdate=2009-04-14 |date=2009-03-21}}</ref> The final shot of the fleet leaving Earth's orbit is an exact recreation of the fleet stock shot from the original series.<ref name=Bear/> ] (played by ]) is the only Cylon not to appear in this episode,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvguide.com/episode-recaps/battlestar-galactica/battlestar-galactica-episode-1004259.aspx|title=Battlestar Galactica Episode Recap: "Daybreak – Part 2"|last=Fox|first=Erin|date=2009-03-20|accessdate=2009-04-14|work=]}}</ref> as her character had stayed on Earth at the end of "]." Several chords of ]' original Battlestar Galactica theme are heard at several junctions in the show,<ref name=credits>Closing credits, {{cite episode |url= |title=Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica) |series=Battlestar Galactica |network=] |airdate=] |season=4 |number=22 }}</ref> including when Adama flies the last Viper off the Galactica and when Anders flies the fleet into the sun.<ref name=starledger>{{cite web|title=Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2": There must be some kind of way out of here |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/03/battlestar_galactica_daybreak_1.html|last=Sepinwall|first=Alan|date=2009-03-20|accessdate=2009-04-01|publisher='']''}}</ref><ref name="Bear">{{cite web|url=http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=1760|title=Bear's Battlestar Blog |author=], BSG music composer |work=Bear's Battlestar Blog |publisher=BearMcCreary.com |accessdate=2009-04-14 |date=2009-03-21}}</ref> The final shot of the fleet leaving Earth's orbit is an exact recreation of the fleet stock shot from the original series.<ref name=Bear/> ] (played by ]) is the only Cylon not to appear in this episode,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvguide.com/episode-recaps/battlestar-galactica/battlestar-galactica-episode-1004259.aspx|title=Battlestar Galactica Episode Recap: "Daybreak – Part 2"|last=Fox|first=Erin|date=2009-03-20|accessdate=2009-04-14|work=]}}</ref> as her character had stayed on Earth at the end of "]."
In part one, Anders's prattle while functioning as a ] includes the line "slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of perfection." The poem '']'' by aviator ].<ref>{{cite web|title=High Flight|url=http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/highflight.htm|accessdate=2009-04-02|publisher=] Historical Studies Office}}</ref> has similar opening and closing lines.{{Fact|date=April 2009}} In part one, Anders's prattle while functioning as a ] includes the line "slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of perfection." The poem '']'' by aviator ].<ref>{{cite web|title=High Flight|url=http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/highflight.htm|accessdate=2009-04-02|publisher=] Historical Studies Office}}</ref> has similar opening and closing lines.


Before entering coordinates to the FTL computer, Starbuck says 'there must be some kind of way out of here' which is the opening lyric of the song "]" as sung by ]. The song is a recurring theme throughout the series and the Hendrix version is played at the end of the episode.<ref name=starledger /> Moore commented in his final podcast episode commentary that he had trouble scouring for robot footage and clearing rights issues. He calls one of the robots "disturbing". His wife Terri, who contributed to aforementioned podcast, agreed, adding "she's freaky. She's a Six in the making".<ref name="podcast"/> Before entering coordinates to the FTL computer, Starbuck says 'there must be some kind of way out of here' which is the opening lyric of the song "]" as sung by ]. The song is a recurring theme throughout the series and the Hendrix version is played at the end of the episode.<ref name=starledger /> Moore commented in his final podcast episode commentary that he had trouble scouring for robot footage and clearing rights issues. He calls one of the robots "disturbing". His wife Terri, who contributed to aforementioned podcast, agreed, adding "she's freaky. She's a Six in the making".<ref name="podcast"/>

Revision as of 12:57, 9 July 2009

Television episode
"Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)"

"Daybreak" (Parts 1 and 2) are the 21st and 22nd episodes in the fourth season, and the series finale of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, and are the 74th and 75th episodes overall. The episodes aired on the US Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada respectively on March 13 and March 20, 2009. The second part of the episode was double-lengthed. Both parts were written by Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Michael Rymer.

The episodes portray the Galactica launching a rescue mission to retrieve Hera Agathon from the "colony", a heavily armed and defended Cylon base located near a black hole. They manage to rescue Hera, and in the end, the fleet finds a new planet to settle on, which they come to call Earth (revealed to be our Earth). The final episodes gave Battlestar Galactica the strongest ratings since its second season, though they received mixed reviews.

Plot

Part 1

The flashback sequences during the course of the first part take place a few years before the Cylon attack on Caprica. William Adama (Edward James Olmos) is reluctant to undergo a lie detector test in preparation for a civilian desk job. Elsewhere, Gaius Baltar (James Callis) is getting tired of his father, Julian's abusiveness to his nurse. However, Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) soon informs Baltar that she took his father into a care home, where he will be happier. Roslin is living happily with her two sisters, one of whom is pregnant. But later, Roslin receives distressing news that both her sisters and father were killed in a car accident. Three months after, she is set up for a blind date and is encouraged to join Mayor Adar's presidential campaign. Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) meets Kara Thrace (Katie Sackhoff) for the first time while she is seeing his brother, Zak (Tobias Mehler). When Lee arrives home drunk, he notices a pigeon in his house, and he chases it away. Lastly, the flashbacks focus on Anders (Michael Trucco), who is interviewed during his sporting career, where he admits to playing for the fun rather than the winning.

Back in the present, Galactica is being stripped for parts to be used on other ships, while the military will be transferred to control the Rebel Basestar. The pictures of the fallen in the memorial hallway are also taken down. Baltar decides for him and his people to have a seat on the quorum, but Lee refuses. Admiral Adama later decides to give amnesty to those who took part in the attempted coup d'etat, including Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), who is in the brig for helping Boomer (Grace Park) escape, to take part in a mission to retrieve Hera, who is being studied by the Cylons to determine how Cylons can reproduce. However, Adama doesn't allow Cottle (Donnelly Rhodes) to join in, as he says that the fleet needs a doctor. Several other join in the operation, including the original Cylon models, and a weakened Roslin. A Raptor is dispatched to the possible location of the "Colony", only to find it located very close to a black hole, but despite the circumstance, Adama orders an attack to begin.

Part 2

In more flashback sequences, Adama and Tigh (Michael Hogan) celebrate their upcoming retirement, where Tigh convinces Adama to take his new job. However, as he is questioned in an interview, he complains that no job is worth questioning his loyalty, and decides to rejoin the military. Lee has dinner with Zak and Starbuck again, but when Zak passes out through drinking too much, the sexual tension between Kara and Lee grows, until they realise Zak is still present and stop. At home, Lee finds the pigeon again, but doesn't bother chasing it. Roslin meets her blind date, who happens to be a former student of hers. After they go back to her apartment, she has second thoughts and ends the date; she then calls Adar's campaign, informing them of her intention to join it. Boomer meets Adama and Tigh for the first time, where she is warned that she is on the verge of ending her career due to her inability to land a Raptor. Boomer is given one last chance, where she tells the two that unlike other pilots, she will repay Adama one day. Meanwhile, Baltar, believing that Caprica Six is a corporate spy, allows her access to the military defense mainframe. He says that he is not doing this for her employers, but for her.

Back in the present of the series, Baltar decides to join the mission with Caprica Six at the last minute; she later admits to being proud of him for the first time. It is later revealed that Baltar's inner-Six, and Six's inner-Baltar are aware of each other, and the two real-life counterparts can see both of them. Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard) becomes the new president, and Hoshi (Brad Dryborough) is given command of the fleet while Adama and Galactica set off to rescue Hera. Galactica jumps right next to the colony, where they are immediately fired upon. Some of the Raptors, which are armed with nuclear weapons, make a short jump into the debris field and fly toward the back of the colony; in the process, Racetrack (Leah Cairns) and Skulls (Collin Lawrence) are killed by an asteroid. Anders has been installed into the CIC computers, and disables the Hybrids (Tiffany Lyndall-Knight). Galactica rams straight into the colony, where a strike team led by Starbuck search for Hera. Hera is rescued by Boomer, who kills Simon (Rick Worthy) and finds Starbuck's team. However, after her daughter is returned, Athena kills Boomer.

However, after Hera is returned, Galactica must also contend with numerous Cylon boarding parties. Hera is split off from her parents. She is spotted by Roslin, who takes a break from assisting with a triage, and is able to hide her from the Cylons, until she disappears again. While Roslin gives chase, Baltar and Caprica also spot Hera and give chase as well. The chase parallels the Opera House vision shared between Athena, Roslin and Caprica. The chase ends in the CIC, where Cavil (Dean Stockwell) holds her hostage. Inner-Six and Inner-Baltar again appear jointly to Baltar, inspiring him to make a speech saying, among other things, that he sees angels, and convincing Cavil to end the war. The Cylon representatives agree that Cavil will give Hera back and let them leave if the Final Five give Cavil the technology for resurrection. However, in the process, Tyrol is made aware that Tory (Rekha Sharma) murdered his wife, Cally, and kills her in revenge before the downloading is complete. Feeling betrayed, the Cylons resume fighting; after the other Cylons in CIC are killed, Cavil commits suicide. In the debris field, a chance rock strike causes Racetrack's hand to fall on the launch button for her Raptor's nuclear weapons; the missiles strike directly into the colony, knocking it out of orbit. With Galactica being dragged toward the singularity along with the colony, Adama orders Starbuck to jump the ship away, anywhere. Starbuck finds herself entering co-ordinates into the computer as if she were playing a song, using the notes which Hera had written. Galactica jumps away as the colony falls to its destruction in the black hole.

Galactica arrives at the co-ordinates, but the damage caused in the battle has made the ship incapable of surviving any further jumps. Fortunately, the ship has arrived over a habitable planet, which is revealed to be our version of Earth. After the rest of the fleet has been summoned, Lee suggests that they abandon their technology and start fresh. They take basic supplies and leave Anders to fly the fleet into the sun. The Rebel Cylons decide that their centurions have earned their freedom, and give them control of the Basestar. Tyrol decides to live the remainder of his life in solitude on a remote island. Baltar and Six decide to live together, and are bid farewell by their inner selves. Starbuck feels her purpose is complete, and vanishes as Lee looks away from her for a moment. Tigh and Ellen (Kate Vernon) decide to spend the rest of their lives together. Helo (Tahmoh Penikett), Athena and Hera are reunited as a family. Adama leaves with Roslin, but while admiring the wildlife, Roslin dies peacefully. After Adama buries her, he decides to build a cabin in her honour.

The scene cuts forward to 150,000 years later, where, in the early 21st century, humanity has made several advances in robotics, and have recently uncovered the remains of the Mitochondrial Eve in Tanzania. In New York City Inner Baltar and Inner Six (no longer tied to the long deceased Baltar and Caprica Six, consistent with Ronald D. Moore's statement in Battlestar Galactica: The Last Frakkin' SpecialCite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). that they are "... messenger(s) of a higher power") walk through the streets, and stand behind a bystander at a newsstand (Ronald D. Moore in a cameo role) where Inner Baltar implies that 'Eve' was Hera. They both comment on the society's decadence and out-of-control technology and how it reminds them of Kobol, the original Earth, and Caprica. They say that all of this has happened before, but Inner Six says she thinks it might be different this time.

Production

Several chords of Stu Phillips' original Battlestar Galactica theme are heard at several junctions in the show, including when Adama flies the last Viper off the Galactica and when Anders flies the fleet into the sun. The final shot of the fleet leaving Earth's orbit is an exact recreation of the fleet stock shot from the original series. D'Anna Biers (played by Lucy Lawless) is the only Cylon not to appear in this episode, as her character had stayed on Earth at the end of "Sometimes a Great Notion." In part one, Anders's prattle while functioning as a cylon hybrid includes the line "slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of perfection." The poem High Flight by aviator John Gillespie Magee, Jr.. has similar opening and closing lines.

Before entering coordinates to the FTL computer, Starbuck says 'there must be some kind of way out of here' which is the opening lyric of the song "All Along the Watchtower" as sung by Jimi Hendrix. The song is a recurring theme throughout the series and the Hendrix version is played at the end of the episode. Moore commented in his final podcast episode commentary that he had trouble scouring for robot footage and clearing rights issues. He calls one of the robots "disturbing". His wife Terri, who contributed to aforementioned podcast, agreed, adding "she's freaky. She's a Six in the making".

Reception

"Daybreak, Part 2," was watched by 2.4 million total viewers, a 56% surge from the Season 3 ender and the series' best numbers since the Season 2.5 premiere, "Resurrection Ship, Part 1." This led to a 1.7 household rating. The series finale also drew 1.5 million viewers in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic, and 1.6 million viewers aged 25-to-54, the best in each demographic since "Resurrection Ship, Part 2." The numbers do not take into account timeshifting via digital video recorders, which typically adds another 700,000 Battlestar Galactica viewers per episode.

Critical reception of the finale varied. Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald concluded that "The desire to wrap everything up in a neat package - which is so contrary to the spirit of this show - hobbled the series creators." while Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger opined that "so the amazing four-year journey of "Battlestar Galactica" comes to an end, and I feel very, very good about it -- even as I suspect others may not." Mother Jones magazine noted that the finale did little to genuinely resolve many plotlines and subplots, and pondered the implications for the industry. Time Magazine noted that it seemed hard to believe that an advanced culture would discard all of its technology.

Salon Magazine contrasted the finale with the rest of the series noting that the episode finished with "40 minutes of speeches about lessons learned and the need to "break the cycle," the naiveté of which did indeed feel like a break -- from the knowing, worldly stoicism that made "Battlestar Galactica" so refreshing to begin with." A reviewer at Blend Magazine wrote an article entitled "Why The Battlestar Galactica Finale Is A Huge Cop Out And It Doesn’t Matter;" noting that the final resolution lacked credibility, but that the simple drama of the episode was one reason to view it positively.

References

  1. "On Air Schedule Mar. 13, 2009". Scifi.com. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  2. "On Air Schedule Mar. 20, 2009". Scifi.com. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  3. Wayne Rose. "Blood on the Scales". Battlestar Galactica. Season 4. Episode 16. Sci Fi Channel. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |writers= ignored (help)
  4. Michael Nankin. "Someone to Watch Over Me". Battlestar Galactica. Season 4. Episode 19. Sci Fi Channel. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |writers= ignored (help)
  5. Michael Rymer. "Crossroads". Battlestar Galactica. Season 3. Episode 19. Sci Fi Channel. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |writers= ignored (help)
  6. "Do You Believe in Angels?". Scifi.com. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  7. ^ Ronald D Moore. "Podcast for "Daybreak" (56.3 MB)". Podcast downloads (Podcast). Scifi.com. Retrieved 04-27. {{cite podcast}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |website= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. Closing credits, "Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)". Battlestar Galactica. Season 4. Episode 22. 2009-03-20. Sci Fi Channel. {{cite episode}}: Check date values in: |airdate= (help)
  9. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2009-03-20). "Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2": There must be some kind of way out of here". The Star Ledger. Retrieved 2009-04-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Bear McCreary, BSG music composer (2009-03-21). "Bear's Battlestar Blog". Bear's Battlestar Blog. BearMcCreary.com. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  11. Fox, Erin (2009-03-20). "Battlestar Galactica Episode Recap: "Daybreak – Part 2"". TV Guide. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  12. "High Flight". United States Air Force Historical Studies Office. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  13. ^ Mitovich, Matt. (2009-03-21.). ""Ratings: How Many Went Along for Galactica's Final Trip?"". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Weprin, Alex. (2009-03-21.). ""Battlestar Galactica" Finale Delivers Most Viewers In Three Years."". Broadcasting & Cable. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. Perigard, Mark (2009-03-21). "'Battlestar': The final blow". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  16. Mother jones article, Mar 2009.
  17. Time Magazine blog, Mar 20 2009.
  18. Salon Magazine article, Mar. 2009.
  19. http://cinemablend.com/television/Why-The-Battlestar-Galactica-Finale-Is-A-Huge-Copout-And-It-Doesn-t-Matter-16337.html mar. 20, 2009.

External links

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