Battlestar Galactica (2004)

2004 • SYFY
4.8
2.43K reviews
Eligible
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Season 3 episodes (19)

1 Occupation/Precipice
10/6/06
Occupation: Humans find various ways of living under Cylon rule. Some, like Baltar (James Callis), are collaborators, while others, like Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), resist peacefully, using education to keep human values alive. And then there are those who fight back. Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), held captive by Leoben (Callum Keith Rennie), has repeatedly killed her Cylon captor, only to see him return in a new body. And Tigh (Michael Hogan), Anders (Michael Trucco) and Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) are leading an insurgency. On Galactica, Adama (Edward James Olmos) plans a rescue mission, his efforts frustrated by low morale, a lack of experienced top-notch pilots and a crew that, like his son Apollo (Jamie Bamber), has grown soft and flabby over the past year. The Cylons, meanwhile, debate how best to deal with their unhappy subjects. Precipice: After the suicide bombing, the Cylons crack down on New Caprica, ordering the arrest and summary execution of dozens of prominent humans, including Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell). The harsh measures provoke dissent within the Cylon camp, as Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) and Sharon (Grace Park) argue for greater accommodation with the humans. The crackdown also forces survivors of the bombing - new graduates like Jammer (Dominic Zamprogna) - to choose between their duty and their people. Meanwhile, Kara (Katee Sackhoff) must make her own choice; between her hatred of Cylons and the powerful feelings she has for the half-Cylon daughter that Leoben (Callum Keith Rennie) has presented her with
2 Exodus, Pt 1
10/20/06
As Adama (Edward James Olmos) prepares to rescue the human population of New Caprica, Lee (Jamie Bamber) bids his father farewell and takes the remains of the fleet to a safe point to await the outcome of the daring mission. On the ground, things are heating up. Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) leads a rescue team to save Cally (Nicki Clyne), Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and others from summary execution. Meanwhile, Sharon (Grace Park) must fight her way out of an ambush. Humans and Cylons alike face agonizing choices. Tigh (Michael Hogan) learns that Ellen (Kate Vernon) has been feeding information to the Cylons. Kara (Katee Sackhoff) must wrestle with her love for Kacey (Madeline Park), her half-Cylon child. And the Cylons grimly ponder their options as they lose control over the humans on New Caprica - the final solution may be to put an end to this misguided experiment in peaceful co-existence by nuking the colony. Adama's rescue effort becomes a desperate race against the clock.
3 Exodus, Pt 2
10/20/06
Panic grips the Cylon high command as explosions rock New Caprica and the resistance leaders rally the human population to rebel against their overlords. In orbit above the planet, Galactica tries to fight off four Cylon base ships, which threaten to tear it apart before it can complete the rescue mission. This climactic confrontation propels both humans and Cylons toward moments of personal crisis. Lee (Jamie Bamber) remains aboard Pegasus, far away from the battle, safeguarding the civilian fleet. Was his decision to preserve the human race the right one, or should he go back and die in battle beside his father? On New Caprica, Laura (Mary McDonnell) and Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) lead resistance fighters toward the civilian ships that are their only hope of escaping the planet. Tigh (Michael Hogan) agonizes over what to do with his wife (Kate Vernon), who's been exposed as a Cylon informant. Kara (Katee Sackhoff) becomes separated from her half-Cylon child (Madeline Park), and risks her life to rescue her. Baltar (James Callis) wrestles with the possibility of fleeing the planet with his Cylon protectors, and the Cylon leaders - D'Anna (Lucy Lawless), Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) and Boomer (Grace Park) - wonder if the moment has come to nuke the humans and move on. As the epic battle hurtles toward its stunning conclusion, all of them will be startled by the twists fate has in store for them.
4 Collaborators
10/27/06
In the wake of the human exodus from New Caprica, there are many scores left to be settled. Without Laura (Mary McDonnell) or Adama's (Edward James Olmos) knowledge, a secret jury has been formed aboard Galactica. Made up of Tigh (Michael Hogan), Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Anders (Michael Trucco) and other members of the resistance, its role is to pass judgment on those who collaborated with the Cylons. There are no lawyers or argument, and a guilty verdict means death. At the same time, the Cylons have their own jury assembled to determine the fate of Baltar (James Callis), with the vote hanging on a reluctant Number Six (Tricia Helfer). With all this in motion, Laura and Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch) strike a deal for her to return as president while Zarek stays on as vice-president. Laura is at first shocked when Zarek admits he set up the secret jury to deal with collaborators. His logic, however, is undeniable: better to deal with this now his way, the quick and dirty way, than to have long trials that could divide the fleet and leave Laura with blood on her hands. But can a quick and dirty "trial" justly decide the fate of people like Jammer (Dominic Zamprogna), who joined the Cylon-organized police force and took part in raids, but also saved Cally (Nicki Clyne) from execution? And how will the jury treat Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani), who served under a duplicitous Baltar but, unbeknownst to any of them, was the source of all the leaked information that allowed the insurgency to operate against the Cylons?
5 Torn
11/3/06
On Galactica, divisions begin to appear between those who remained on the ship during the Cylon occupation of New Caprica and those, like Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) and Tigh (Michael Hogan), who suffered under the Cylon yoke on the planet's surface. Tigh spearheads the discontent, his faith in human loyalty shattered by the betrayals he experienced on New Caprica. Starbuck, unable to shake off the pain of her long Cylon imprisonment, falls into step with him. After Lee (Jamie Bamber) and Kat (Luciana Carro) fail to settle the simmering rebellion, Adama (Edward James Olmos) is forced to put his leadership on the line to hold Galactica together. Meanwhile, in the Cylon fleet, Baltar (James Callis) plays a slippery game with the Cylons in order to persuade them he's worth keeping alive. When a crisis hits the Cylon fleet and a base ship is infected with a deadly virus, Baltar must prove his worth by volunteering for a dangerous mission.
6 A Measure of Salvation
11/10/06
A team from Galactica boards the infected baseship and finds hundreds of dead and dying Cylons. It's an intelligence windfall. Adama (Edward James Olmos) orders the team to tap into the dying Hybrid and to return with the surviving Cylons. Adama sends Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) in to interrogate them. The deal she offers the Cylons is simple: cooperate and you get the vaccine and live; resist and you die - forever. Simon (Rick Worthy) reveals that Baltar (James Callis) is helping the Cylons find earth and Lee (Jamie Bamber) gets an idea: if the virus is spread by resurrection, it may be possible to set a trap and use it to destroy the Cylon race. Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) is outraged - this is genocide, the extinction of his wife's race - but Adama and Laura (Mary McDonnell) take the idea seriously. Meanwhile, the Cylons hold Baltar responsible for the virus and are torturing him for more information. Number Six (Tricia Helfer) talks him through the pain, filling his mind first with pleasure and then with a warning. As Galactica's trap is sprung and the Cylons move in, Baltar must once again choose between his own people and his captors while Helo must decide how far his loyalties will go.
7 Hero
11/17/06
As Laura (Mary McDonnell) plans to boost morale by celebrating Adama's (Edward James Olmos) 40th year of service, the Admiral's world is thrown into turmoil by the appearance of a pilot he thought was dead. Three years ago, Lt. Daniel Novacek (Carl Lumbly) was believed to have been killed on a top-secret mission in Cylon territory under Adama's command. Now, after enduring three years in a Cylon prison, Novacek has escaped, stolen a Raider, and made his way to Galactica. His arrival forces Adama to confront his betrayal of one of his pilots and the possibility that his actions may have provoked the Cylon attack on the Colonies. While Tigh (Michael Hogan) stokes the conflict by telling Novacek of Adama's hand in his fate, Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) uncovers evidence that suggests that Novacek's escape may not be what it appears to be...
8 Unfinished Business
12/1/06
In an effort to clear the air and bring the ship together again, Adama (Edward James Olmos) allows the crew to hold a "dance": an impromptu boxing tournament where rank is forgotten and anyone can challenge anyone else. But as the fights unfold, with Tigh (Michael Hogan) playing referee and ringmaster, it becomes clear that the ring is haunted by thoughts of the recent past, of the shattered promise of a peaceful life in New Caprica, of the divisions that have emerged within the fleet and on Galactica. Things take an unexpected turn when Adama challenges Tyrol (Aaron Douglas); both men take their best shots, but the younger and stronger Tyrol has the advantage over his commander. That bout, however, is only a prelude to the main event: Apollo (Jamie Bamber) and Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff). As they go toe to toe - and as Sam (Michael Trucco) and Dualla (Kandyse McClure) watch from the sidelines - the memories come flooding back: the promises made and broken, the feelings that once brought them together only to tear them apart.
9 The Passage
12/8/06
When the fleet's food-processing machinery is contaminated, the threat of starvation looms. Sharon (Grace Park) is sent out to find a planet that can supply food for 38,000 people. She finds a planet with a rich supply of algae, but it's on the opposite side of a massive star cluster and passage will expose people to massive doses of radiation and disable the navigation systems of the civilian ships. Adama (Edward James Olmos) develops a plan to use the Raptors to guide the civilian ships through, but it will take an enormous toll on the pilots. When Kat (Luciana Carro) expresses her concerns, Kara (Katee Sackhoff) turns on her, while Kat's old colleague Enzo (Patrick Currie) threatens to reveals dark secrets from her past. Meanwhile, Baltar (James Callis) discovers that D'Anna (Lucy Lawless) is using the power of resurrection to look beyond the physical world. He follows her, hoping to learn more about what she's doing - and more about himself.
10 The Eye of Jupiter
12/15/06
While working on the algae planet, Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) discovers the Temple of Five, reputed to be the home of the Eye of Jupiter, which will guide the ones who discover it to Earth. His report is intercepted by the Cylons, who request a meeting with Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Laura (Mary McDonnell). Their proposal: let us have the Eye and we will let you leave unharmed. Adama's counter-proposal: make any move to take the Eye and we'll nuke the planet. The Cylons bring another piece of news: Sharon (Grace Park) and Tyrol's (Tahmoh Penikett) baby is alive, but not well. Sharon is initially skeptical, but when Adama confirms that Laura hid the baby at her school, she and Tyrol being to make plans to rescue her. As the standoff continues, tensions rise in both camps. On the Cylon baseship, D'Anna's (Lucy Lawless) sense that she and Baltar (James Callis) share a destiny that might not include the others sows dissension, while on the algae planet, efforts to protect the Eye are complicated by Lee's simmering affair with Kara (Katee Sackhoff), especially since Lee (Jamie Bamber) is counting on Anders (Michael Trucco), Kara's husband, to rally the civilians to the cause. Then the Cylons launch a flight of raiders, bound for the algae planet, forcing Adama to show he's not bluffing.
11 Rapture
1/21/07
On the algae planet, Lee (Jamie Bamber) and Anders (Michael Trucco) prepare to fend off the Cylon assault on the Temple of Five - supposed site of the Eye of Jupiter, an artifact which the scriptures claim points the way to Earth. The task gets tougher still when Kara's (Katee Sackhoff) raptor is hit by enemy fire and crash lands on the planet. With limited manpower and the Cylons in full force, Lee determines that they can't afford to go after Starbuck. However, to stave off mutiny by Anders and his men, Lee must order his emotionally-conflicted wife Dualla (Kandyse McClure) to mount a rescue attempt. As the team of marines and civilians try to hold off the Cylon forces led by D'Anna (Lucy Lawless) and Baltar (James Callis), Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) rushes to make sense of the temple's glyphs before the planet's star explodes. Meanwhile, Sharon/Athena (Grace Park) infiltrates a Cylon baseship to rescue her hybrid baby, Hera.
12 Taking A Break From All Your Worries
1/28/07
Sleep deprived and on a hunger strike in his Galactica cell, Baltar (James Callis) tries hanging himself in the belief that he's a Cylon and that resurrection will cleanse his soul. Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) thwarts his suicide attempt, however, and Baltar lives to face an interrogation by Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) about his role in the original Cylon attack on the Colonies. His denials crumble when Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) enters the interrogation room. She demands a public trial for her former lover, but Roslin and Adama (Edward James Olmos) opt to extract the information they're looking for by injecting Baltar with potent hallucinogens. The extreme measures implemented on the former President reveal both his guilty conscience and his discoveries in the Temple of Five. Roslin and Adama task Gaeta with extracting more information from Baltar, hoping that the former presidential aide may still be trusted. However, they may have greatly underestimated the level of Gaeta's resentment toward his former boss. Meanwhile, Kara (Katee Sackhoff) continues her pursuit of Lee (Jamie Bamber), promising she'll leave Anders (Michael Trucco) if he splits with Dualla (Kandyse McClure). The pair seems destined to be together, but their respective spouses battle to keep the marriages intact. With Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) feuding with his own wife Cally (Nicki Clyne), matters of the heart are debated in the smoky confines of Joe's Bar.
13 The Woman King
2/11/07
"Paranoid, pig-headed and argumentative." That's the Sagitarron race as described by Dualla (Kandyse McClure), a Sag herself. Showing clear signs of Mellorak Sickness, a group of Sag refugees stick to fundamentalist beliefs by shunning the booster shots that will prevent both their own deaths and a widespread epidemic. Inside "Dogsville," the Galactica hanger deck that houses refugees, the toxic atmosphere turns even more hostile when Dr. Roberts (Bruce Davison) fails to save a series of patients who have unwillingly been given shots. Bucking against widespread hatred of the Sag minority, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) discovers a long-standing pattern of suspicious Sag deaths. When Dualla catches the disease, her dramatically worsening condition confirms Helo's worst fears and he must fight to get her into the care of Doc Cottle (Donnelly Rhodes). Meanwhile, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) intends to charge Baltar (James Callis) with high crimes and treason. Zarek (Richard Hatch) warns her that the trial will trigger a "hurricane" of trouble throughout the fleet. While Baltar stews in his cell playing mind games with Number Six (Tricia Helfer), Caprica Six begins to experience similar psychic disturbances as a phantom Baltar whispers his own poisonous advice.
14 A Day in the Life
2/18/07
After 49 days without a Cylon sighting, there's growing optimism that the enemy has lost the scent. Lee (Jamie Bamber) cracks down on any complacency by ordering his pilots back to hardcore training. With more downtime than usual on his hands, Adama (Edward James Olmos) is having vivid memories of his long-dead ex-wife Caroline (Lucinda Jenney) on the anniversary of their marriage. Meanwhile, gossip is spreading about the Admiral's relationship with Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), as the two meet to discuss the trial of Gaius Baltar (James Callis). Elsewhere aboard Galactica, Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Cally (Nicki Clyne) are called in to repair a loading dock that had taken heavy fire during the escape from New Caprica. After inadvertently dislodging one of the patches, they find themselves trapped on the wrong side of an airlock as their remaining oxygen leaks away. Lee and Kara (Katee Sackhoff) attempt an unorthodox rescue before space can claim two more victims.
15 Dirty Hands
2/25/07
When fuel contamination causes an accident that almost kills President Roslin (Mary McDonnell), an investigation reveals widespread discontent over working conditions on the tylium ship. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) is blamed for the political unrest when it is discovered that the tylium workers have been empowered by Baltar's new book, a political manifesto that his lawyer has secretly been smuggling out of his cell. Concerned for the safety of the fleet, President Roslin and Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) order Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) to crack down on the defiant tylium workers and get fuel production up and running as quickly as possible. But Tyrol, a former union labor leader, strongly identifies with the plight of the tylium workers, and is deeply troubled when he is forced to suppress the workers' protests. Tyrol's inner conflict builds until catastrophe strikes and Tyrol openly defies Adama's orders and leads the workers in an all-out strike, which has more far-reaching consequences than Tyrol ever intended.
16 Maelstrom
3/4/07
As the fleet refuels near the stormy atmosphere of a planet, Kara (Katee Sackhoff) spots a Cylon heavy raider lurking in the dense clouds and chases after it. In a hair-raising dogfight, she feels her viper take multiple hits and the enemy ship escapes. But when Kara returns to Galactica, there's no evidence of damage to her viper. Badly shaken and afraid she's losing grip on reality, Kara cuts her next mission short by feigning a hydraulic failure. That's reason enough for Lee (Jamie Bamber) to send her for a full medical and psych evaluation. It also has everyone wondering if Galactica's top gun is cracking up. Kara is wondering the same thing. She's haunted by nightmares about Leoben (Callum Keith Rennie), the Cylon who held her captive on New Caprica. The mandala she painted long ago keeps appearing in the planet's atmosphere, drawing her toward its mystical vortex. And memories are flooding back about her abusive mother Socrata (Dorothy Lyman), an alcoholic ex-marine. Lee retains faith in his best pilot and keeps her on active duty. But the tightrope Kara walks between present and past, reality and illusion, threatens to snap.
17 The Son Also Rises
3/11/07
With recent catastrophic events still fresh, the crew of Galactica is numb. Some are losing themselves in the bottle while others, specifically Lee, are unable to concentrate on effectively doing their jobs. Lee is pulled from CAG and assigned to protect Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard), an attorney called in to defend Gaius Baltar (James Callis) after his original lawyer is killed in what may have been an act of sabotage. Lampkin's provocative tactics and the fact that he once worked for Lee's grandfather - a storied defense attorney with a checkered past on Caprica - begin to revive the grounded pilot from his despair. When they narrowly avoid death in another bomb plot, Lee and Lampkin become closer. Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer), expected to testify against Baltar, has mixed feelings about her ex-lover, which Lampkin exploits masterfully. Meanwhile, the crew debates whether the bombings are the handiwork of a Cylon infiltrator, Baltar's many foes or perhaps a radical inspired by his writings. When a third bomb goes off in Lampkin's quarters, Lee discovers that the lawyer's briefcase contains answers to more than one riddle.
18 Crossroads, Pt 1
3/18/07
The trial of Gaius Baltar (James Callis) is underway. Unable to prove his role in the genocide of the Twelve Colonies, prosecutor Didi Cassidy (Chelah Horsdal) focuses on the charge of treasonous collaboration with the enemy on New Caprica that resulted in the loss of 2,600 human souls. With Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) as his now-willing associate, Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard) opens the defense by arguing that the trial is motivated by mob bloodlust and Laura Roslin's (Mary McDonnell) need for vengeance. But with a succession of powerful witnesses lined up to testify against Baltar - including President Roslin and Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) - the defining issue becomes how far will Lee go to question the word of the fleet's leaders, while risking the increasing enmity of the chief judge: his own father, Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos). For his part, the Admiral must also deal with the possibility that the Cylons, conspicuous by their absence, have been secretly shadowing the fleet as it jumps from one sector of space to another, gradually closing in on the Ionian Nebula, the next stop on the route to Earth. Meanwhile, as each new jump brings the fleet closer to its destination, a series of strange hallucinations, visions and dreams begin bedeviling several members of the fleet, including President Roslin. By the time Roslin takes the witness stand, the stage is set for the trial against the "most hated man in the universe" to take a surprising twist.
19 Crossroads, Pt 2
3/25/07
Gaius Baltar (James Callis) believes the case against him is in tatters given the shattered credibility of key prosecution witnesses Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) and Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell). The defense team of Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard) and Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) is less confident after Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) tells the court that he saw Baltar signing a death list on New Caprica. Lampkin's surprise motion for a mistrial leads him to call Lee to the stand, in a move that could incriminate Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) himself. Meanwhile, eerie coincidences are being experienced aboard Galactica. The sound of a familiar but untraceable melody haunts several members of the fleet. President Roslin is also unnerved upon learning that her nocturnal dreams of the Kobol Opera House are shared by Sharon (Grace Park) and Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer). Whether a vision, dream or "projection," Roslin suspects it's the work of the mysterious Cylons known as the Final Five.

About this show

One of television's most celebrated dramas, "Battlestar Galactica" is the classic adventure of a ragtag fleet of humans, the sole survivors of a devastating nuclear attack by the robot cylons. Faced with an un-winnable battle against a deadly enemy, they are forced to flee under the protection of their one remaining warship, the outdated Battlestar Galactica. Pursued by the cylons - some of whom have now taken human form - Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) lead these last remnants of humanity in search of a new home... a planet called Earth.

Ratings and reviews

4.8
2.43K reviews
Jake Knight
March 31, 2016
A solid 3/5 and I love sci-fi but this show is just way too hyped. Wish I had tracked which episodes you should skip entirely because some episodes should be skipped entirely. Show would have been better as a 30 minute episodes to force the writers into a tighter timeframe. Definitely good parts in this series but there's quite a bit of downtime between them.
9 people found this review helpful
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Binary Recoil
October 13, 2021
From past experience, I loved the show. I consider it a noteworthy experience for any sci-fi fan. However, I am not in the habit of terrible trades. Consuming media takes time from reality with no real payoff other than a decent memory to show for it. So the price is about 99.9% too high for the quality of the goods sold & that's why even though BSG deserves a perfect score, for the purpose of this interface and the obscene price gouging, you get a flatline 0 stars in my books.
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A Google user
November 13, 2012
This is poorly written. There are far too many plot holes and anomalies to ignore. I was expecting something worth watching after the mini series, but that's not what I got.
28 people found this review helpful
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