Islanded in a Stream of Stars
Encyclopedia
"Islanded in a Stream of Stars" is the twentieth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
. It aired on television in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2009. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,521. The Region 1 DVD release of Season 4.5 includes an extended version of this episode.
Ellen Tigh
states that if John's plan is to study Hera and learn what made her a successful human-Cylon hybrid, he would take her to "The Colony", which is a large biomechanical structure similar in composition to the Basestars (after the armistice, the Final Five and the Centurions retreated to this "home"). Under protest, Adama allows a heavy raider
to be sent to The Colony, not wanting to risk the whole fleet. In their room "Helo"
and "Athena" are distraught over the kidnapping of their daughter. Helo asks Adama for a Raptor so that he can go look for Hera, but Adama tells him that the Cylons have already reported back that the Colony has moved.
As Boomer plots several jumps to the Colony in order to deliver Hera to Cavil, Hera begins to whine and cry for her mother. Boomer grabs a needle with a sedative in it, and threatens Hera with it, but finds herself unwilling to forcibly sedate her. Boomer begins to tell Hera about her dream home with Tyrol on Picon
, revealing that it was in fact, once her dream and not simply a ruse created to manipulate Galen Tyrol
. Hera reaches for Boomer's hand and connects with her, allowing the little girl to project the dwelling in Boomer's imagination. This is a welcome surprise for Boomer as she knew not whether Hera, who is half Cylon and half human, possessed this ability. Boomer arrives at The Colony with Hera and delivers her to Cavil. Hera becomes upset when she is handed over, and Boomer also seems reluctant to give her up.
Gaius Baltar
meets Kara Thrace
in one of the ship's head
s, where Kara tells him that she discovered her own body on Earth and asks him to analyze her dog tags. Baltar finds blood on the tag that came from a body which was already dead whose DNA matches Starbuck's. At the burial of those lost in the hull breach, Baltar reveals what he has discovered and designates Starbuck an angel
. Admiral Adama yells at him to be quiet, and Starbuck slaps him across the face. Later, Apollo meets with Starbuck and offers her his unconditional love and support. Starbuck puts a photo of herself on the memorial wall of the dead.
Samuel Anders
has been transferred to a hybrid tank in the hopes it would help him recover, but he remains comatose. Kara visits him and decides to shoot him as an act of mercy, but the still-comatose Sam grabs the gun and begins to speak like the hybrid. Arriving in Anders' room, Tigh is informed that Anders has gotten into the ship's programming. The Cylon biopolymer fluid which repair crews have painted upon Galacticas hull has made possible a connection between Anders' hybrid tank and Galacticas electrical systems. When the Eight states that it is theoretically possible for Anders to gain control of Galacticas FTL drive and jump away, Tigh orders that he be taken offline. Kara visits Sam and says they will work out the meaning of the song ("All Along the Watchtower
") together. She plugs Sam back in and he says, "new command".
Adama informs Tigh that he has made a decision: he plans to abandon the ship. Adama orders a stop to the repairs on the ship, and he instructs the crew to begin stripping down Galactica, start offloading civilians, and transfer the crew and weapons to the basestar. When Tigh objects, Adama states that the ship is dying and wants to send her off "in style". Adama and Tigh both salute
the damaged Galactica with a drink as the episode ends.
in the brig, having confessed to his actions in the previous episode. An extended cut of the episode is available on the season 4.5 DVD.
, helmer of the motion picture adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, as well as a major fan of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, was originally slated to direct "Islanded in a Stream of Stars," but was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.
viewing), about 100,000 fewer viewers than for the previous episode.
praised the performances, noting that "almost everyone went to some new, scarier places in this one." IGN
's Eric Goldman felt the strongest part of the episode were the scenes between Boomer and Hera, praising Grace Park's
performance as both Boomer and Athena. Goldman felt the scene in which Adama breaks down over the inevitable loss of Galactica "lacked as much weight as it seemed intended to have" but felt Islanded in a Stream of Stars was "a decent episode overall". Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly
felt the episode lacked cohesion, calling it a "collage of moments" though some of those moments were "lovely and heartbreaking and fantastic" and felt Tahmoh Penikett
gave his best performance of the series. Paste Magazine's writer Michael Saba felt the scene between Adama and Roslin in the sickbay was a "surprisingly emotional moment" but that overall the episode was really "about setting up for the finale". The Chicago Tribune
wrote that the episode "felt like an elegiac farewell" and particularly praised the performance given by Mary McDonnell
. Alan Stanley Blair of Airlock Alpha
felt that the storyline concerning Athena and Helo coping with the loss of Hera deserved more airtime but felt that Olmos gave both "fantastic acting and direction".
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 aired on television in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2009. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,521. The Region 1 DVD release of Season 4.5 includes an extended version of this episode.
Plot
Repairs on Galactica continue, but it seems little headway is being made. The ship's systems are fluctuating, and a major hull breach kills 61 people, 26 of them Cylons.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...
states that if John's plan is to study Hera and learn what made her a successful human-Cylon hybrid, he would take her to "The Colony", which is a large biomechanical structure similar in composition to the Basestars (after the armistice, the Final Five and the Centurions retreated to this "home"). Under protest, Adama allows a heavy raider
Cylon Heavy Raider
The Cylon Heavy Raider is a heavy fighter used by the Cylons, in the television series Battlestar Galactica.- History :The first Heavy Raider encountered by the Fleet crash landed into Galacticas non-operational starboard hangar bay, and a boarding party of Cylon Centurions exited the wreck to...
to be sent to The Colony, not wanting to risk the whole fleet. In their room "Helo"
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
and "Athena" are distraught over the kidnapping of their daughter. Helo asks Adama for a Raptor so that he can go look for Hera, but Adama tells him that the Cylons have already reported back that the Colony has moved.
As Boomer plots several jumps to the Colony in order to deliver Hera to Cavil, Hera begins to whine and cry for her mother. Boomer grabs a needle with a sedative in it, and threatens Hera with it, but finds herself unwilling to forcibly sedate her. Boomer begins to tell Hera about her dream home with Tyrol on Picon
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
, revealing that it was in fact, once her dream and not simply a ruse created to manipulate 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...
. Hera reaches for Boomer's hand and connects with her, allowing the little girl to project the dwelling in Boomer's imagination. This is a welcome surprise for Boomer as she knew not whether Hera, who is half Cylon and half human, possessed this ability. Boomer arrives at The Colony with Hera and delivers her to Cavil. Hera becomes upset when she is handed over, and Boomer also seems reluctant to give her up.
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...
meets Kara 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...
in one of the ship's head
Head (watercraft)
The head is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.-Design:In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons...
s, where Kara tells him that she discovered her own body on Earth and asks him to analyze her dog tags. Baltar finds blood on the tag that came from a body which was already dead whose DNA matches Starbuck's. At the burial of those lost in the hull breach, Baltar reveals what he has discovered and designates Starbuck an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. Admiral Adama yells at him to be quiet, and Starbuck slaps him across the face. Later, Apollo meets with Starbuck and offers her his unconditional love and support. Starbuck puts a photo of herself on the memorial wall of the dead.
Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
has been transferred to a hybrid tank in the hopes it would help him recover, but he remains comatose. Kara visits him and decides to shoot him as an act of mercy, but the still-comatose Sam grabs the gun and begins to speak like the hybrid. Arriving in Anders' room, Tigh is informed that Anders has gotten into the ship's programming. The Cylon biopolymer fluid which repair crews have painted upon Galacticas hull has made possible a connection between Anders' hybrid tank and Galacticas electrical systems. When the Eight states that it is theoretically possible for Anders to gain control of Galacticas FTL drive and jump away, Tigh orders that he be taken offline. Kara visits Sam and says they will work out the meaning of the song ("All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
") together. She plugs Sam back in and he says, "new command".
Adama informs Tigh that he has made a decision: he plans to abandon the ship. Adama orders a stop to the repairs on the ship, and he instructs the crew to begin stripping down Galactica, start offloading civilians, and transfer the crew and weapons to the basestar. When Tigh objects, Adama states that the ship is dying and wants to send her off "in style". Adama and Tigh both salute
Toast (honor)
A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast"...
the damaged Galactica with a drink as the episode ends.
Deleted scenes
A number of scenes were omitted for time. There was at least one scene of Galen TyrolGalen 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...
in the brig, having confessed to his actions in the previous episode. An extended cut of the episode is available on the season 4.5 DVD.
Trivia
According to the Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion season four guide by Titan Books, director Frank DarabontFrank Darabont
Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
, helmer of the motion picture adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, as well as a major fan of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, was originally slated to direct "Islanded in a Stream of Stars," but was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.
Ratings
"Islanded in a Stream of Stars" was seen by 1.568 million viewers (live viewing plus same day digital video recorderDigital 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...
viewing), about 100,000 fewer viewers than for the previous episode.
Critical reception
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-LedgerThe 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...
praised the performances, noting that "almost everyone went to some new, scarier places in this one." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Eric Goldman felt the strongest part of the episode were the scenes between Boomer and Hera, praising Grace Park's
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...
performance as both Boomer and Athena. Goldman felt the scene in which Adama breaks down over the inevitable loss of Galactica "lacked as much weight as it seemed intended to have" but felt Islanded in a Stream of Stars was "a decent episode overall". Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
felt the episode lacked cohesion, calling it a "collage of moments" though some of those moments were "lovely and heartbreaking and fantastic" and felt Tahmoh Penikett
Tahmoh Penikett
Tahmoh Penikett is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Karl "Helo" Agathon on the Sci Fi Channel's television series Battlestar Galactica and as Paul Ballard in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse'.-Early life:...
gave his best performance of the series. Paste Magazine's writer Michael Saba felt the scene between Adama and Roslin in the sickbay was a "surprisingly emotional moment" but that overall the episode was really "about setting up for the finale". 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...
wrote that the episode "felt like an elegiac farewell" and particularly praised the performance given by 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...
. Alan Stanley Blair of Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
felt that the storyline concerning Athena and Helo coping with the loss of Hera deserved more airtime but felt that Olmos gave both "fantastic acting and direction".
External links
- "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" at Battlestar Wiki
- "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" 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...