Revelations (Battlestar Galactica)
Encyclopedia
"Revelations" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
. It first aired on television in the United States on June 13, 2008. The episode serves as the mid-season finale of the fourth season, with the concluding episodes of the series airing after a hiatus. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,665.
), decide to take Laura Roslin
(Mary McDonnell
) and the Colonial soldiers aboard the Basestar
hostage to bargain for the secretive "Final Five" Cylons currently on the Battlestar Galactica
. Before the departure of Admiral William Adama
(Edward James Olmos
) from the Basestar, President Roslin secretly orders him to attack and destroy the Basestar, in the event that negotiations between the Cylons and Humans go poorly. D'Anna asks initially that the four can leave at their own will, but after Tory Foster
(Rekha Sharma
) joins them, D'Anna reneges and starts to order the execution of her hostages. Adama subsequently passes along Roslin's order to his son and acting President Lee Adama
(Jamie Bamber
), who reluctantly agrees.
After Tory's defection, Colonel Saul Tigh
(Michael Hogan) admits to his friend and commanding officer that he too is a Cylon in order to prevent what he sees as useless slaughter. Tigh even offers himself up to be airlocked as a bargaining chip. Horrified, Adama orders Tigh to be arrested. As Tigh is escorted away, Adama tears apart his office in a fit of rage and despair. Lee uses Tigh's life, as well as those of fellow Cylons Samuel Anders
(Michael Trucco
) and Galen Tyrol
(Aaron Douglas
), as leverage, but D'Anna refuses, at one point arming the Basestar's nuclear weapons. Gaius Baltar
(James Callis
), also a hostage, tries to reason with D'Anna.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
re-inspects the Viper fighter she was piloting in the third season finale "Crossroads
" after being requested to by Tigh, Samuel, and Tyrol, and discovers a hidden signal being received by the fighter. She halts the execution of Tigh, and explains to the Galacticas crew that she presumes the signal originates from Earth. Though everyone agrees that it is unlikely, D'Anna and Lee form an alliance to find Earth.
In the final scene of the episode, the Fleet jubilantly arrives at Earth. Adama announces to the Fleet that their journey is finally over. A party of humans and Cylons travels down to the surface, but are speechless when they arrive in the radioactive ruins of a developed city.
.
For the arrival at Earth, Bear McCreary
composed a piece he titled "Diaspora Oratorio." He also wrote the lyrics which were then translated into Latin
for one scene and Samoan
for another.
praised the episode as "stunning," and declared that "the finale—especially the ominous final scene—is getting far more attention than its rating would indicate." James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter
raved, "The show, which has been uneven this season, snapped together in its last hour for an Emmy-worthy cliffhanger."
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
called it "one of the busiest and yet most emotional hours of Galactica ever." Robin Brownfield of SyFy Portal
praised the episode overall, but found the trip to Earth to be anti-climactic: "I know the sudden change of venue was necessary to move the story along, but it seemed a bit too rushed.". The Chicago Tribune
's Maureen Ryan found that the episode "brilliantly reinforced the main themes of the series" and "the final scene, with its masterful tracking shot of all the characters reacting to the devastation around them, was one of the best moments in the entire series."
In March 2009, the episode was nominated for a 2009 Hugo Award
in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category.
These ratings do not include viewers who watch the show on DVRs
. One source estimated that fewer than 500,000 additional viewers watch Battlestar Galactica on DVR. The Nielsen ratings
estimate for DVR watching (calculated over the seven days following an episode's initial airing) do not count shows watched on delay by fewer than 500,000 viewers, and Battlestar Galactica does not usually appear in the Nielsen DVR ratings.
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
. It first aired on television in the United States on June 13, 2008. The episode serves as the mid-season finale of the fourth season, with the concluding episodes of the series airing after a hiatus. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,665.
Plot
The Cylons, led by D'Anna Biers (Lucy LawlessLucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless, MNZM is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess....
), decide to take Laura Roslin
Laura Roslin
Her first actions include organizing all FTL-capable ships together and convincing Commander William Adama to abandon a retaliatory attack on the Cylons. President Roslin and Billy Keikeya, her aide/press secretary/chief of staff, establish a working office space aboard her transport, renamed...
(Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell
Mary Eileen McDonnell is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves, and she is also very well known for her performance as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the President's wife...
) and the Colonial soldiers aboard the Basestar
Cylon Basestar
The Basestar is the capital ship of the Cylons in the 1978 science fiction television series and movie Battlestar Galactica along with its re-imagining in the 2003 miniseries and 2004 television series.- Battlestar Galactica :...
hostage to bargain for the secretive "Final Five" Cylons currently on the Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
. Before the departure of Admiral William Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
(Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
) from the Basestar, President Roslin secretly orders him to attack and destroy the Basestar, in the event that negotiations between the Cylons and Humans go poorly. D'Anna asks initially that the four can leave at their own will, but after Tory Foster
Tory Foster
Tory Foster is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Rekha Sharma.-Character biography:Tory, like the other members of the Final Five, was originally from a planet called Earth...
(Rekha Sharma
Rekha Sharma
Rekha Shanti Sharma is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Tory Foster on Battlestar Galactica.Her ancestors are from the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, which they left during the British period. Her family resettled in the Fiji Islands and her parents moved to Canada...
) joins them, D'Anna reneges and starts to order the execution of her hostages. Adama subsequently passes along Roslin's order to his son and acting President Lee Adama
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
(Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber is the stage name of Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith , a British actor known most widely for his roles as Lee Adama on Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin on the ITV series Law & Order: UK...
), who reluctantly agrees.
After Tory's defection, Colonel Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
(Michael Hogan) admits to his friend and commanding officer that he too is a Cylon in order to prevent what he sees as useless slaughter. Tigh even offers himself up to be airlocked as a bargaining chip. Horrified, Adama orders Tigh to be arrested. As Tigh is escorted away, Adama tears apart his office in a fit of rage and despair. Lee uses Tigh's life, as well as those of fellow Cylons Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
(Michael Trucco
Michael Trucco
Edward Michael Trucco is an American actor with Italian roots. He is best known for his role as Samuel T. Anders on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and currently appears as a series regular on the USA Network television series Fairly Legal.-Biography:A native of San Mateo, California, he...
) and Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica...
(Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas (actor)
Aaron Douglas is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Galen Tyrol on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica....
), as leverage, but D'Anna refuses, at one point arming the Basestar's nuclear weapons. Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
(James Callis
James Callis
James Callis is a British actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' best friend in Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason...
), also a hostage, tries to reason with D'Anna.
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Kara Thrace
Kara Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
re-inspects the Viper fighter she was piloting in the third season finale "Crossroads
Crossroads (Battlestar Galactica)
"Crossroads" are the nineteenth and twentieth episodes of the third season and season finale from the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica...
" after being requested to by Tigh, Samuel, and Tyrol, and discovers a hidden signal being received by the fighter. She halts the execution of Tigh, and explains to the Galacticas crew that she presumes the signal originates from Earth. Though everyone agrees that it is unlikely, D'Anna and Lee form an alliance to find Earth.
In the final scene of the episode, the Fleet jubilantly arrives at Earth. Adama announces to the Fleet that their journey is finally over. A party of humans and Cylons travels down to the surface, but are speechless when they arrive in the radioactive ruins of a developed city.
Production
The scene on Earth was shot on Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen, British ColumbiaTsawwassen, British Columbia
Tsawwassen is a suburban, mostly residential community located on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the Corporation of Delta, British Columbia, Canada. Tsawwassen provides the only road access to the community of Point Roberts, Washington via 56th Street...
.
For the arrival at Earth, Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Biography:...
composed a piece he titled "Diaspora Oratorio." He also wrote the lyrics which were then translated into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for one scene and Samoan
Samoan language
Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...
for another.
Reception
Joanna Weiss of the Boston Globe called it "one of the most tense, well-executed episodes [she] can remember," praising the acting of Callis and Olmos in their respective keynote scenes. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised the episode as "stunning," and declared that "the finale—especially the ominous final scene—is getting far more attention than its rating would indicate." James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
raved, "The show, which has been uneven this season, snapped together in its last hour for an Emmy-worthy cliffhanger."
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
called it "one of the busiest and yet most emotional hours of Galactica ever." Robin Brownfield of SyFy Portal
SyFy Portal
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
praised the episode overall, but found the trip to Earth to be anti-climactic: "I know the sudden change of venue was necessary to move the story along, but it seemed a bit too rushed.". The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
's Maureen Ryan found that the episode "brilliantly reinforced the main themes of the series" and "the final scene, with its masterful tracking shot of all the characters reacting to the devastation around them, was one of the best moments in the entire series."
In March 2009, the episode was nominated for a 2009 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category.
Ratings
The mid-season finale of "Battlestar Galactica" was watched by 1.8 million total viewers for a 1.4 household rating, the largest audience for an episode of the show since the Season 4 premiere. Of that total, 1.2 million viewers were in the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.These ratings do not include viewers who watch the show on DVRs
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
. One source estimated that fewer than 500,000 additional viewers watch Battlestar Galactica on DVR. The Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
estimate for DVR watching (calculated over the seven days following an episode's initial airing) do not count shows watched on delay by fewer than 500,000 viewers, and Battlestar Galactica does not usually appear in the Nielsen DVR ratings.
External links
- "Revelations" at Battlestar Wiki
- "Revelations" at SyfySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...