Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
Encyclopedia
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is a made for television movie
set in the reimagined version
of the fictional Battlestar Galactica
universe. It consists of newly filmed material as well as a compilation of footage from the TV series
and miniseries
.
The miniseries and first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica are retold with more emphasis on the Cylon perspective and their plan to wipe out the human race. The story follows two versions of Cylon known as Cavil, with one admitting they may have made a mistake, with the story being told in flashback. The "Final Five" Cylons are featured prominently.
The film premiered exclusively on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and digital download on October 27, 2009. It premiered on January 10, 2010 on Syfy
, on April 2, 2010 on Sky Premiere in the United Kingdom, and on August 6, 2011 on Space in Canada.
. Humanoid Cylon
John Cavil (played by Dean Stockwell
) is shown leading the planning for the genocidal
attack on the human race. All of the seven "known" humanoid Cylons (Cavil, Leoben Conoy
, D'Anna Biers, Simon
, Aaron Doral, Six
, and Sharon Valerii) are present in the control room of the main Cylon base. Two versions of Cavil are shown in a Resurrection Ship, with the "Final Five" Cylons in stasis in resurrection chambers. The two versions of Cavil briefly discuss their plans for "teaching a lesson" to the Final Five (who were their creators), and one version of Cavil announces his intention to witness the destruction of humanity on the ground. This version of Cavil travels to the planet Picon, where he encounters Ellen Tigh
(one of the Final Five, played by Kate Vernon
) in a strip club
. Other characters from the series are also depicted: Gaius Baltar
(James Callis
) has a final meeting with Caprica Six; Samuel Anders
(Michael Trucco
) is shown at his Pyramid team's training camp along with the team doctor, who is Number Four/Simon
(Rick Worthy
); and Tory Foster
(Rekha Sharma
) is shown driving to an airport in an SUV-type vehicle.
The destruction of the Twelve Colonies is depicted in a series of new special effects shots, with the Cylon Hybrid seemingly narrating the destruction in a typically convoluted but poetic way. Almost all of the planets of the Twelve Colonies are depicted in short scenes. Ellen Tigh is severely wounded in the nuclear attack on Picon, and Cavil helps her leave the planet aboard a Colonial Fleet rescue ship as he feels she still hasn't learned her lesson yet and thus cannot download and regain her memories. Aboard a civilian transport, Cavil torments the half-conscious woman with descriptions of his intent to destroy humanity. Tory Foster survives the nuclear attack as well, and is wounded when her car flips over in the blast, but seems to protect her enough to survive. Anders helps console his teammates in the mountainous region where they were training. Several scenes from the television miniseries are edited into The Plan, notably shots of: Colonial One in space; Lee Adama
(Jamie Bamber
) helping survivors board Colonial One; Commander William Adama
(Edward James Olmos
) and Colonel Saul Tigh
(Michael Hogan) responding to the attack on the Twelve Colonies. Another Number Four/Simon
is shown to hold a job as Colonial Fleet medic, and has a wife named Giana and a stepdaughter named Jemmy.
In a scene from the end of the miniseries, Commander Adama enters his quarters to find a note informing him that there are only twelve Cylon models. A cut to Baltar implies that he left the note.
Cavil later boards the Galactica itself, where he is mistaken for a priest. Calling himself "Brother Cavil," he takes over the Galactica's chapel. The creation of Galactica's "wall of remembrance" where survivors posted pictures and mementos of their dead or missing loved ones is depicted. Using religious fliers which talk about a "plan", Cavil covertly gathers the other cylons: two Sixes, one who is Shelly Godfrey (Tricia Helfer
), a Number Five
(Matthew Bennett
) and a Number Two
(Callum Keith Rennie
). Cavil tells them that he intends to continue his plan to utterly destroy the human race. He also tells them that there is a sleeper agent
aboard the Galactica, a Number Eight (Grace Park
), whom he also plans to use.
Back on Cylon-occupied Caprica, Sam Anders and his teammates have fled their training center for more safe quarters. They spot Cylon Centurions collecting the parts of their fallen comrades. Later, Sam and his companions, having taken up refuge in an old military compound in the mountains, launch their first attack on the Cylons, losing several people in the successful attack. Sam and Jean Barolay later observe several Number Fives burying numerous dead human bodies, realize that Cylons have taken humanoid form, and resolve to attack them. They do so later, while a Cavil version supervises the Fives' work. Cavil plays dead and survives the attack unharmed. Mistakenly believing Cavil to be a human being, Sam and his friends take the "priest" with them back to their camp while Cavil is clearly shocked to see Anders.
Back on the Galactica, the events of the first season episodes are depicted, in part. Using an elephant figurine, Brother Cavil triggers the original Cylon programming of the Number Eight known as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. Cavil meets with Boomer to discuss ways in which she might cripple the Galactica, and Boomer comes up with a plan to bomb the ship's water storage facilities. As she tries to implement her plan, Boomer becomes increasingly distraught because she has fallen in love with Chief Galen Tyrol
(Aaron Douglas
). Some of the previously unknown backstory of "Water" is depicted. Cavil becomes angry when the Number Five known as Aaron Doral is exposed as a Cylon. He demands that the Number Five he has been meeting with attempt to kill Commander Adama. He does so (as depicted in the events in the episode "Litmus"). The Number Two, meanwhile, works to listen in on Colonial Fleet communications, and becomes convinced that Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
(Katee Sackhoff
) holds some special purpose for the humanoid Cylons. He begins to paint the nebula depicted in Season Three episodes. Cavil, realizing that the Number Two known as Leoben Conoy has had his identity compromised (as depicted in the events of the miniseries during the Galactica's re-arming trip to Ragnar Anchorage), demands that the Number Two turn himself over to the humans and attempt to deceive or kill them. He does so (as depicted in scenes from the episode "Flesh and Bone"). When Boomer's plan to deprive the Fleet of water fails (and Boomer actually helps the Galactica locate more water), Cavil demands that Boomer kill Commander Adama. She first attempts suicide, and later purposefully botches the assassination attempt. Cavil, worried about Dr. Baltar's attempt to develop a Cylon detection machine, orders the Number Six known as Shelly Godfrey to frame Baltar for treason. She does so, but her attempt fails when she purposefully turns an amateurishly manipulated series of security tapes over to Commander Adama. Her identity compromised, Cavil orders the Six into an airlock and kills her (telling her to report back to the Cylons the Fleet's location). Cally Henderson's assassination of Boomer is depicted as well. In desperation, Cavil orders the Number Four known as Simon to destroy the ship on which he lives with his family. Distraught at the idea of killing the people he loves, Simon attempts to turn his wife against him. Overcome by guilt, he reunites with her and then commits suicide by rigging an airlock to jettison himself into space, while outside of Resurrection range.
In the aftermath of Simon's suicide, there is concern that he might have been a Cylon. But his wife, Giana, reveals that he left a suicide note. Nonetheless, when Simon is revealed by Kara Thrace to be a Cylon Giana seeks solace from Chief Tyrol—who is beginning to suspect that he himself might be a Cylon.
Meanwhile, back on Cylon-occupied Caprica, the other version of Cavil has ingratiated himself with Sam Anders. Cavil has ordered the Number Four to attempt to kill members of Sam's team, but none have died and Cavil criticizes the Four's actions. Cavil himself tries to undermine Sam's fragile psychological well-being, but Sam rejects Cavil's counsel. Starbuck returns to Caprica and meets the stranded Colonial pilot Karl "Helo" Agathon
. The two run into Anders' team, Cavil makes a failed attempt to trick Sam into thinking they are Cylons and attacking them. Helo and Starbuck join them and attack a local Cylon base. Starbuck is wounded, taken captive by the Cylons, and subjected to various breeding experiments. Anders, Helo, and the others rescue her, discovering that Simon is a Cylon in the process. Later, after Starbuck and Helo have been away from Caprica for months and return to rescue Anders' group with Galactica troops, Cavil tries to assassinate Starbuck and Anders but finds that he cannot pull the trigger of his rifle, still thinking about Anders comment that death wouldn't make him love people any less. When the Cylon Centurions attack, Cavil is forced to hide with the rest of the humans. The Centurions break off their attack. That night, Cavil sneaks from the human camp to meet with a Number Six who informs him that the Cylons have agreed to end their attacks on the human race. Cavil, who has changed his mind about humanity, agrees to pass on the message to the humans despite the Cavils voting against peace. Cavil returns to the human camp, and the humans leave the next day for the Galactica.
Meanwhile, Brother Cavil is bedeviled by the repeated appearance of a young boy named John (Alex Ferris
) in his chapel. Initially, Cavil just kicks him out. But over time, Cavil appears to warm to the boy. He begins talking to him, learning the boy's name and that the boy's parents no longer want him. Cavil soon begins to feed the boy, and allows him to sleep in the chapel. One day, the boy brings Cavil the gift of an apple, and Cavil asks him if they are friends. The boy just shrugs in response. Cavil says relying on friends is dangerous and stabs him with a knife, murdering him.
The Plan ends with "Caprica Cavil" arriving aboard the Galactica, and unwittingly exposing himself and Brother Cavil as humanoid Cylons (as depicted in scenes from the second season episode "Lay Down Your Burdens"). This time it's shown that he does it on purpose to stop Brother Cavil's plans.
Brother Cavil is brought to the brig protesting that he is not a Cylon until he sees Caprica Cavil already in the brig, at which point he stops pretending. Caprica Cavil announces that the Cylons have voted to give the humans "a reprieve" because they have decided that their attempts at genocide were an error. They have left the colonies and will stop hunting the humans (this scene differs from the same scene in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part Two": since Mary McDonnell
doesn't appear in "The Plan," the Cavils's interaction with Laura Roslin
, including her interrogation questions concerning what the Cylons plan to do next, is edited out, as is her order to "airlock" the two Cylons; the order is instead given first by Saul Tigh
, and then reiterated by Commander Adama
, neither one of whom had these lines in the original episode.)
The two Cavils argue while on their way to the airlock. Brother Cavil is in disbelief that the Cylons have decided to leave the humans alone, and continues to argue for their destruction. But Caprica Cavil asserts that Brother Cavil does not understand the nature of love. He says that the Final Five loved humanity, and that Brother Cavil is jealous of this love. Brother Cavil, he claims, does not understand that God and the Final Five will love humanity even more if the human race is extinguished.
As they are escorted to the airlock, the Cavils see all of the Final Five Cylons watching them. They admit that this wasn't the reunion they had expected. The two Cavils are then ejected into space. Beforehand, Brother Cavil reveals that there is a second Resurrection Ship nearby and they will download when they die. He plans to box Caprica Cavil and then destroy humanity once and for all, indicating that Galactica Cavil is in fact the same copy that was the main enemy throughout season four. Caprica Cavil quietly tells his other self that he knows how terrifying death can be, and offers his hand, which Brother Cavil takes. The two are ejected, and float out past the fleet. The film ends with this scene overlaid with John Cavil's fourth-season tirade lamenting his human-like body and desiring to be more like a machine so that he could "see gamma rays, hear x-rays, smell dark matter...and feel the solar wind of a super-nova" flowing over him.
as a two-hour Battlestar Galactica "special event" directed and written by series veterans Edward James Olmos
and Jane Espenson
. Production began September 8, 2008.
Edward James Olmos states: "When Battlestar fans see The Plan, they’re all going to have to go back and watch the entire series again."
returned to score The Plan. The score features a more primitive sound with ethnic instruments, similar to the score from the earlier seasons of the show, fitting with the time period the film is set in. It also features an original song "Apocalypse", which debuted at the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra's concerts at ComicCon 2009 – a melody designed as a counterpoint
to a variation of the series' Gayatri mantra-Main Title (as performed during the end credits of The Plan).
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
set in the reimagined version
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...
of the fictional Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
universe. It consists of newly filmed material as well as a compilation of footage from the TV series
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...
and miniseries
Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
.
The miniseries and first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica are retold with more emphasis on the Cylon perspective and their plan to wipe out the human race. The story follows two versions of Cylon known as Cavil, with one admitting they may have made a mistake, with the story being told in flashback. The "Final Five" Cylons are featured prominently.
The film premiered exclusively on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and digital download on October 27, 2009. It premiered on January 10, 2010 on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , 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...
, on April 2, 2010 on Sky Premiere in the United Kingdom, and on August 6, 2011 on Space in Canada.
Plot
The opening scenes of The Plan occur just prior to the destruction of the Twelve Colonies in the televised miniseries, Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
. Humanoid Cylon
Cylon (reimagining)
Cylons are a race which appear in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series and its prequel Caprica. They have several forms, some of which resemble and even mimic the behavior of humans, while others are mechanical in appearance and function.In the first DVD, one of the show's creators...
John Cavil (played by Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
) is shown leading the planning for the genocidal
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
attack on the human race. All of the seven "known" humanoid Cylons (Cavil, Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy is a fictional character portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie appearing in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series....
, D'Anna Biers, Simon
Number Four (Battlestar Galactica)
Simon , is a fictional character, a Cylon from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. He first appears in The Farm , an episode written by Carla Robinson and directed by Rod Hardy...
, Aaron Doral, Six
Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)
Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven"...
, and Sharon Valerii) are present in the control room of the main Cylon base. Two versions of Cavil are shown in a Resurrection Ship, with the "Final Five" Cylons in stasis in resurrection chambers. The two versions of Cavil briefly discuss their plans for "teaching a lesson" to the Final Five (who were their creators), and one version of Cavil announces his intention to witness the destruction of humanity on the ground. This version of Cavil travels to the planet Picon, where he encounters Ellen Tigh
Ellen Tigh
After she is killed for treason against the resistance on New Caprica, Ellen resurrects aboard a Cylon ship, where John Cavil holds her prisoner. However, by downloading into a new body, she regains the memories that Cavil had blocked decades earlier...
(one of the Final Five, played by Kate Vernon
Kate Vernon
Kate Vernon is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from , the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink , Mary-John Lovejoy in The Lost Colony Feature of Lovejoy and...
) in a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
. Other characters from the series are also depicted: 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...
) has a final meeting with Caprica Six; 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...
) is shown at his Pyramid team's training camp along with the team doctor, who is Number Four/Simon
Number Four (Battlestar Galactica)
Simon , is a fictional character, a Cylon from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. He first appears in The Farm , an episode written by Carla Robinson and directed by Rod Hardy...
(Rick Worthy
Rick Worthy
Richard Worthy is an American actor and Star Trek veteran, having played several alien and one human role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise....
); and 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...
) is shown driving to an airport in an SUV-type vehicle.
The destruction of the Twelve Colonies is depicted in a series of new special effects shots, with the Cylon Hybrid seemingly narrating the destruction in a typically convoluted but poetic way. Almost all of the planets of the Twelve Colonies are depicted in short scenes. Ellen Tigh is severely wounded in the nuclear attack on Picon, and Cavil helps her leave the planet aboard a Colonial Fleet rescue ship as he feels she still hasn't learned her lesson yet and thus cannot download and regain her memories. Aboard a civilian transport, Cavil torments the half-conscious woman with descriptions of his intent to destroy humanity. Tory Foster survives the nuclear attack as well, and is wounded when her car flips over in the blast, but seems to protect her enough to survive. Anders helps console his teammates in the mountainous region where they were training. Several scenes from the television miniseries are edited into The Plan, notably shots of: Colonial One in space; 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...
) helping survivors board Colonial One; Commander 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...
) and 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) responding to the attack on the Twelve Colonies. Another Number Four/Simon
Number Four (Battlestar Galactica)
Simon , is a fictional character, a Cylon from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. He first appears in The Farm , an episode written by Carla Robinson and directed by Rod Hardy...
is shown to hold a job as Colonial Fleet medic, and has a wife named Giana and a stepdaughter named Jemmy.
In a scene from the end of the miniseries, Commander Adama enters his quarters to find a note informing him that there are only twelve Cylon models. A cut to Baltar implies that he left the note.
Cavil later boards the Galactica itself, where he is mistaken for a priest. Calling himself "Brother Cavil," he takes over the Galactica's chapel. The creation of Galactica's "wall of remembrance" where survivors posted pictures and mementos of their dead or missing loved ones is depicted. Using religious fliers which talk about a "plan", Cavil covertly gathers the other cylons: two Sixes, one who is Shelly Godfrey (Tricia Helfer
Tricia Helfer
Tricia Janine Helfer is a Canadian actress and former model, best known for her roles as Number Six in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, "Carla" on Burn Notice, and FBI Special Agent Alex Rice on Dark Blue, as well as for hosting the first season of Canada's...
), a Number Five
Aaron Doral
Aaron Doral is a fictional character from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series.Doral is a humanoid Cylon who first appeared as a civilian public relations specialist aboard Galactica just prior to the Cylon attack on the Colonies. Through conversation with the Cylon agent Number Six, Dr...
(Matthew Bennett
Matthew Bennett
Matthew Ray Bennett is a Canadian actor, writer and director. At the age of 20 he moved from his hometown of Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue an acting career...
) and a Number Two
Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy is a fictional character portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie appearing in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series....
(Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
). Cavil tells them that he intends to continue his plan to utterly destroy the human race. He also tells them that there is a sleeper agent
Sleeper agent
A sleeper agent is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as a potential asset if activated...
aboard the Galactica, a Number Eight (Grace Park
Grace Park (actress)
Grace Park is an American-born Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Sharon Valerii on Battlestar Galactica, as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont...
), whom he also plans to use.
Back on Cylon-occupied Caprica, Sam Anders and his teammates have fled their training center for more safe quarters. They spot Cylon Centurions collecting the parts of their fallen comrades. Later, Sam and his companions, having taken up refuge in an old military compound in the mountains, launch their first attack on the Cylons, losing several people in the successful attack. Sam and Jean Barolay later observe several Number Fives burying numerous dead human bodies, realize that Cylons have taken humanoid form, and resolve to attack them. They do so later, while a Cavil version supervises the Fives' work. Cavil plays dead and survives the attack unharmed. Mistakenly believing Cavil to be a human being, Sam and his friends take the "priest" with them back to their camp while Cavil is clearly shocked to see Anders.
Back on the Galactica, the events of the first season episodes are depicted, in part. Using an elephant figurine, Brother Cavil triggers the original Cylon programming of the Number Eight known as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. Cavil meets with Boomer to discuss ways in which she might cripple the Galactica, and Boomer comes up with a plan to bomb the ship's water storage facilities. As she tries to implement her plan, Boomer becomes increasingly distraught because she has fallen in love with Chief 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
Aaron Douglas was an African American painter and a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance.-Early life:...
). Some of the previously unknown backstory of "Water" is depicted. Cavil becomes angry when the Number Five known as Aaron Doral is exposed as a Cylon. He demands that the Number Five he has been meeting with attempt to kill Commander Adama. He does so (as depicted in the events in the episode "Litmus"). The Number Two, meanwhile, works to listen in on Colonial Fleet communications, and becomes convinced that 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...
(Katee Sackhoff
Katee Sackhoff
Kathryn Ann "Katee" Sackhoff is an American actress known mainly for playing Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica. In 2004 she was nominated for a Saturn Award in the "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" category for her work in...
) holds some special purpose for the humanoid Cylons. He begins to paint the nebula depicted in Season Three episodes. Cavil, realizing that the Number Two known as Leoben Conoy has had his identity compromised (as depicted in the events of the miniseries during the Galactica's re-arming trip to Ragnar Anchorage), demands that the Number Two turn himself over to the humans and attempt to deceive or kill them. He does so (as depicted in scenes from the episode "Flesh and Bone"). When Boomer's plan to deprive the Fleet of water fails (and Boomer actually helps the Galactica locate more water), Cavil demands that Boomer kill Commander Adama. She first attempts suicide, and later purposefully botches the assassination attempt. Cavil, worried about Dr. Baltar's attempt to develop a Cylon detection machine, orders the Number Six known as Shelly Godfrey to frame Baltar for treason. She does so, but her attempt fails when she purposefully turns an amateurishly manipulated series of security tapes over to Commander Adama. Her identity compromised, Cavil orders the Six into an airlock and kills her (telling her to report back to the Cylons the Fleet's location). Cally Henderson's assassination of Boomer is depicted as well. In desperation, Cavil orders the Number Four known as Simon to destroy the ship on which he lives with his family. Distraught at the idea of killing the people he loves, Simon attempts to turn his wife against him. Overcome by guilt, he reunites with her and then commits suicide by rigging an airlock to jettison himself into space, while outside of Resurrection range.
In the aftermath of Simon's suicide, there is concern that he might have been a Cylon. But his wife, Giana, reveals that he left a suicide note. Nonetheless, when Simon is revealed by Kara Thrace to be a Cylon Giana seeks solace from Chief Tyrol—who is beginning to suspect that he himself might be a Cylon.
Meanwhile, back on Cylon-occupied Caprica, the other version of Cavil has ingratiated himself with Sam Anders. Cavil has ordered the Number Four to attempt to kill members of Sam's team, but none have died and Cavil criticizes the Four's actions. Cavil himself tries to undermine Sam's fragile psychological well-being, but Sam rejects Cavil's counsel. Starbuck returns to Caprica and meets the stranded Colonial pilot Karl "Helo" Agathon
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
. The two run into Anders' team, Cavil makes a failed attempt to trick Sam into thinking they are Cylons and attacking them. Helo and Starbuck join them and attack a local Cylon base. Starbuck is wounded, taken captive by the Cylons, and subjected to various breeding experiments. Anders, Helo, and the others rescue her, discovering that Simon is a Cylon in the process. Later, after Starbuck and Helo have been away from Caprica for months and return to rescue Anders' group with Galactica troops, Cavil tries to assassinate Starbuck and Anders but finds that he cannot pull the trigger of his rifle, still thinking about Anders comment that death wouldn't make him love people any less. When the Cylon Centurions attack, Cavil is forced to hide with the rest of the humans. The Centurions break off their attack. That night, Cavil sneaks from the human camp to meet with a Number Six who informs him that the Cylons have agreed to end their attacks on the human race. Cavil, who has changed his mind about humanity, agrees to pass on the message to the humans despite the Cavils voting against peace. Cavil returns to the human camp, and the humans leave the next day for the Galactica.
Meanwhile, Brother Cavil is bedeviled by the repeated appearance of a young boy named John (Alex Ferris
Alex Ferris
Alexander "Alex" Ferris is a Canadian child actor. He currently stars on jPod as Connor Lefkowitz, and appeared in The Time Traveler's Wife as Young Henry DeTamble.Ferris was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
) in his chapel. Initially, Cavil just kicks him out. But over time, Cavil appears to warm to the boy. He begins talking to him, learning the boy's name and that the boy's parents no longer want him. Cavil soon begins to feed the boy, and allows him to sleep in the chapel. One day, the boy brings Cavil the gift of an apple, and Cavil asks him if they are friends. The boy just shrugs in response. Cavil says relying on friends is dangerous and stabs him with a knife, murdering him.
The Plan ends with "Caprica Cavil" arriving aboard the Galactica, and unwittingly exposing himself and Brother Cavil as humanoid Cylons (as depicted in scenes from the second season episode "Lay Down Your Burdens"). This time it's shown that he does it on purpose to stop Brother Cavil's plans.
Brother Cavil is brought to the brig protesting that he is not a Cylon until he sees Caprica Cavil already in the brig, at which point he stops pretending. Caprica Cavil announces that the Cylons have voted to give the humans "a reprieve" because they have decided that their attempts at genocide were an error. They have left the colonies and will stop hunting the humans (this scene differs from the same scene in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part Two": since 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...
doesn't appear in "The Plan," the Cavils's interaction with 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...
, including her interrogation questions concerning what the Cylons plan to do next, is edited out, as is her order to "airlock" the two Cylons; the order is instead given first by 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...
, and then reiterated by Commander Adama
Commander Adama
Commander Adama is a fictional character in the 1978 movie and subsequent ABC television series Battlestar Galactica and its continuation series, Galactica 1980. Adama is the commander of the great military vessel Battlestar Galactica, commander of the refugee fleet and military commander of the...
, neither one of whom had these lines in the original episode.)
The two Cavils argue while on their way to the airlock. Brother Cavil is in disbelief that the Cylons have decided to leave the humans alone, and continues to argue for their destruction. But Caprica Cavil asserts that Brother Cavil does not understand the nature of love. He says that the Final Five loved humanity, and that Brother Cavil is jealous of this love. Brother Cavil, he claims, does not understand that God and the Final Five will love humanity even more if the human race is extinguished.
As they are escorted to the airlock, the Cavils see all of the Final Five Cylons watching them. They admit that this wasn't the reunion they had expected. The two Cavils are then ejected into space. Beforehand, Brother Cavil reveals that there is a second Resurrection Ship nearby and they will download when they die. He plans to box Caprica Cavil and then destroy humanity once and for all, indicating that Galactica Cavil is in fact the same copy that was the main enemy throughout season four. Caprica Cavil quietly tells his other self that he knows how terrifying death can be, and offers his hand, which Brother Cavil takes. The two are ejected, and float out past the fleet. The film ends with this scene overlaid with John Cavil's fourth-season tirade lamenting his human-like body and desiring to be more like a machine so that he could "see gamma rays, hear x-rays, smell dark matter...and feel the solar wind of a super-nova" flowing over him.
Production
The Plan was announced August 7, 2008 by SyfySyfy
Syfy , 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...
as a two-hour Battlestar Galactica "special event" directed and written by series veterans 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...
and Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson is an American script writer and television producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and shared a Hugo Award for her writing on the episode "Conversations with Dead People"...
. Production began September 8, 2008.
Edward James Olmos states: "When Battlestar fans see The Plan, they’re all going to have to go back and watch the entire series again."
Music
Bear McCrearyBear 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:...
returned to score The Plan. The score features a more primitive sound with ethnic instruments, similar to the score from the earlier seasons of the show, fitting with the time period the film is set in. It also features an original song "Apocalypse", which debuted at the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra's concerts at ComicCon 2009 – a melody designed as a counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
to a variation of the series' Gayatri mantra-Main Title (as performed during the end credits of The Plan).
Cast
- Edward James OlmosEdward James OlmosEdward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
as William AdamaWilliam AdamaWilliam "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series... - Dean StockwellDean StockwellDean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
as Number One - Michael TruccoMichael TruccoEdward 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...
as Samuel AndersSamuel AndersSamuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco... - Grace ParkGrace Park (actress)Grace Park is an American-born Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Sharon Valerii on Battlestar Galactica, as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont...
as Number Eight - Michael Hogan as Saul TighSaul TighSaul 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...
- Aaron DouglasAaron 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 Galen TyrolGalen TyrolGalen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica... - Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
as Number TwoLeoben ConoyLeoben Conoy is a fictional character portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie appearing in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series.... - Kate VernonKate VernonKate Vernon is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from , the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink , Mary-John Lovejoy in The Lost Colony Feature of Lovejoy and...
as Ellen TighEllen TighAfter she is killed for treason against the resistance on New Caprica, Ellen resurrects aboard a Cylon ship, where John Cavil holds her prisoner. However, by downloading into a new body, she regains the memories that Cavil had blocked decades earlier... - Rick WorthyRick WorthyRichard Worthy is an American actor and Star Trek veteran, having played several alien and one human role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise....
as Number FourNumber Four (Battlestar Galactica)Simon , is a fictional character, a Cylon from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. He first appears in The Farm , an episode written by Carla Robinson and directed by Rod Hardy... - Lymari NadalLymari NadalLymari Nadal is a Puerto Rican actress, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 11 February 1978. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.-Early years:...
as Giana O'Neill - Matthew BennettMatthew BennettMatthew Ray Bennett is a Canadian actor, writer and director. At the age of 20 he moved from his hometown of Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue an acting career...
as Number Five - Rekha SharmaRekha SharmaRekha 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...
as Tory FosterTory FosterTory 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... - Tricia HelferTricia HelferTricia Janine Helfer is a Canadian actress and former model, best known for her roles as Number Six in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, "Carla" on Burn Notice, and FBI Special Agent Alex Rice on Dark Blue, as well as for hosting the first season of Canada's...
as Number SixNumber Six (Battlestar Galactica)Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven"... - Alisen DownAlisen DownAlisen Elizabeth Jean Down is a Canadian film and television actress. She was born in Langley, British Columbia.-Early life:...
as Jean Barolay - Tiffany Lyndall-Knight as Hybrid
External links
- The Plan at the Battlestar Wiki