Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Bastille Day


Caption = Political radical Tom Zarek
Series = Battlestar Galactica
Season = 1
Episode = 3
Airdate = UK: November 1, 2004
US: January 21, 2005
Production = 103
Writer = Toni Graphia
Director = Allan Kroeker
Guests = Richard Hatch as Zarek
Episode list = Episode chronology
Prev = Water
Next = Act of Contrition

"Bastille Day" is an episode of the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" television series.

Plot

Survivor Count: 47,958

After a source of water is located on a nearby moon, Apollo suggests the use of the 1,500 prisoners aboard the "Astral Queen" to extract it, but President Roslin does not want to institute slave labor, and instead believes that the prisoners should have the choice to work in exchange for "points" towards early freedom. She assembles a delegation consisting of Apollo, her personal aide Billy Keikeya, Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla, and Specialist Cally.

Commander Adama is opposed to the idea of granting early freedom to prisoners, especially since he is at odds with Apollo's newly appointed role as Roslin's "special advisor", which he sees as a conflict of interest. Regardless, the delegation heads to the "Astral Queen" and Apollo presents the proposal. The prisoners, acting in solidarity as a union, decline to respond. The prisoners' de facto leader Tom Zarek, a political radical and terrorist from Sagittaron, steps forward to discuss the matter with Apollo.

Zarek refuses Apollo's offer. Instead, he and his men manage to escape confinement and capture the delegation as hostages. He then demands Roslin's immediate resignation as President, believing that her government does not represent the people. He calls for free elections among the human survivors and limited autonomy for the prisoners.

Refusing to give in to Zarek's demands, Adama sends Starbuck to lead a section of marines to infiltrate the "Astral Queen" and kill Zarek if he doesn't release the hostages. Apollo realizes that this is exactly what Zarek wants: a bloodbath that will lead to the collapse of Roslin's government. However, Apollo stops the assault and forces a compromise with Zarek. He proposes to hold elections within a year in return for the prisoners' cooperation in retrieving the water. Roslin and Adama object to the decision until Apollo points out that Roslin is just serving out the last few months of President Adar's term which will be up within a year anyway.

Later, Adama asks Dr. Baltar for a progress report on the development of the Cylon Detector. In his head, Number Six intimidates Baltar into asking for a nuclear warhead, claiming he needs materials from it to build the detector. While speaking, Baltar realises that this is in fact a valid route to building a detector. Adama reluctantly allows it.

Meanwhile, on Caprica, Karl "Helo" Agathon and Caprica-Sharon continue their trek through a ruined city as they are observed and analysed from a rooftop by a pair of human Cylon models; Number Six, and Number Five. The two of them comment approvingly on the acting skill of Caprica-Sharon.

Production Notes

* The plot of having prisoners help the fleet echoes events in the original series episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" where Starbuck and Apollo recruit inmates from the fleet's Prison Barge to help destroy a Cylon outpost.
* Tom Zarek is played by Richard Hatch, who was Apollo in the original "Battlestar Galactica" series.
*When Caprica-Boomer and Helo are walking through Cylon-controlled Caprica and stumble upon the corpse being eaten by rats, they are actually walking in front of the Vancouver Public Library.
*The character of Cally was planned for killing-off by prisoner "Mason" in the original drafts of this script, but David Eick decided he wanted her to fight back instead during the rape scene. In the final production, Cally bites Mason's ear off, Mason shoots Cally in retaliation, wounding her, and Apollo shoots Mason, killing him. The death is not recorded however on President Roslin's headcount whiteboard, which remains at 47,958 souls into the next episode.
* In the miniseries, the President's advisor states that the "Astral Queen" only holds "nearly 500" prisoners - and not the 1500 mentioned in this episode.
*The episode's title is a reference to the French holiday of Bastille Day, a day that is often associated with the Storming of the Bastille.

External links

* at the Battlestar Wiki