Six Degrees of Separation (Rewatch)

[bazzyb]

This poll and thread are now open for votes and comments. You may also wish to consider this episode for the season one awards, see http://www.battlestarforum.com/showthread.php?t=1595

When voting or posting a comment you may wish (or not) to add whether your rating i.e. Exellent to Poor is based on the quality of BSG in general, TV in general or otherwise

[genji2000]

I wish I'd never seen this show. I wish I could watch it for the first time again.

There is something amazing about both Edward James Olmos and Commander Adama. As we saw in the episode, EJO does a tremendous job of anchoring the show in realism whilst we as viewers are wrapped up in head characters and their physical incarnations (or not, whatever Shelly Godfrey might be). He is rock solid. In the same way, amidst all the religious prophecies and special destinies, Adama is the foundation of agnostic common sense. He's the epitome of Rudyard Kipling's If, like the real-time character in those TV ads that have the rest of the world twisting around him in speeded-up time lapse photography.

I wonder if Shelly Godfrey is the person that Caprica Six meets up with in the Miniseries ("It's about time. I wondered when you'd get here"). Or perhaps she was meeting Dr. Amarak to pass the disc onto him, for Shelly to ask for it back at a later point.

Interestingly, Boomer's fingers look yellow before she frantically wipes the word "CYLON" off her mirror. Might be because that was the eighth take, or it might be because she wrote it in the first place (I suspected this on first viewing, but they never explored that schizophrenia aspect).

It's nice that Gaeta enters Baltar's cell to give him the news that he's free and the disc was a hoax, in comparison with Taking a Break... where he stabs Baltar.

Top spine action from Caprica Sharon. I don't know why they dropped this aspect, other than in Season One they needed show how different Cylons were to humans, and by Season Three they needed to show how similar they were.

I think I need to Timbo these re-watch episodes and make notes while I'm watching.

[bazzyb]

I'm still not quite sure about this episode. So many questions about the true nature of 'Baltar's Head Six' and if Baltar actually does a destiny/path mapped out for him by something or someone beyond himself. Perhaps if some of these questions are answered in S4.5 I will revise my opinion of this episode.

I also loved EJO's acting here. The scene in which Shelly Godfrey tried to seduce him and he did nothing but yet did so much. Great acting to 'say' so much by saying nothing.

This episode also shows the 2nd time that Adama has correctly indentified a humonoid cylon (something that has led to much discussion in other threads)

[aylinn]

"No more mister nice Gaius!" love the scene when they are fighting in the toilet. You can see that they had a lot of funmaking it.
As for the episode itself, I liked it a lot. There are some unanswered questions but overall it was avery good episode, and Six in the end... meow! :D

[Helo87]

I loved the whole Shelly Godfrey aspect of the episode, primarily because it's never explained just what this creature is. Admittedly, the writers picked a great name for her; Shelley God-free. If you take into account the purpose of her manifestation - to break Baltar to the point where he has no choice but look to a higher power for salvation - this title makes sense. She represents the consequences of Baltar choosing to free himself of the one true God because she can indict him for the genocide of mankind. Only through begging for forgiveness, and admitting his belief in God (even if it is deceptive) does Godfrey disappear, Head-Six return, and is Baltar saved. Strange as it may be, this is compelling stuff...

[Batman316]

this episode helped cement my present theory about H6. She is truely an Angel of God, Baltar is the Instrument of God, and God is someone like Count Iblis who is hanging out on Earth.

Angel/Demon, God/Devil I'm not really sure which but there is a Outside Party manipulating things.

I wonder if Adama still has Shelly's glasses?

[Shadow Rider]

I wonder if Head-Six was Shelly Godfrey...maybe she can show herself to others, but she choose not to normally. It would explain her mysterious arrival and disappearance.

[Batman316]

I wonder if Head-Six was Shelly Godfrey....

I didn't consider her to be anything else. Considering when she arrives, her actions etc It's clear that Baltar brought this all upon himself with his lack of faith in the one true god.

[timbo]

I thought this was a great episode. No space fights, but top notch tragi-comic drama between Baltar and his two chicks.

First off, the appearance of Shelley clearly resulted from Baltar´s cold treatment of head six. Initially I was thinking about the plot logistics - how can a cylon be activated by a head character, etc., but then I decided that it is not important. The important thing is what Shelley represents in the story. She represents ye shall reap as ye sow, and you will be forgiven your trespasses as you forgive those who trespass against you. I believe that these are spiritual laws the same as physical laws. Not some vague "if you are nice, people will be nice to you back" wishy washy idea, but that pretty much exactly the nature of our thoughts and actions, be they good or bad, are visited back upon us. If we are sufficiently attuned, we can see this so clearly. And this is what I think Shelley Godfrey was about. She was Baltar´s hens coming home to roost personified. It also marked the beginning of his awakening. His praying scene was brilliant. He began begging, just using the words he thought would work, just as he does in his life, and then suddenly, he asks for grace and forgiveness, and I think it came from his heart. Brilliant stuff. Baltar is already one of the great TV characters.

The other stuff I was thinking is all more general. The depth to the characters, and the real way they grate against each other, making sparks because they dont know how to deal with each other. It really is good stuff. I used to think that it was unfair that BSG was given limited airing, while something like prison break is clearly considered to have a wider appeal. I now think I was wrong. Unfortunately (time to probably offend lots of people), prison break is exactly what the mass audience wants - a regular dose of mind medicine to dull the senses. Modern mass media is the new opium of the people, and BSG is the antithesis of this, asking people to really think and question, never wrapping things up neatly so we can go to bed satisfied until the next episode. A good example of this is Tigh and Kara. In other shows, we would see them making up from time to time, all lovey dovey, but in BSG, when one of them extends the olive branch, the other snatches it away and smacks him across the face with it, and then smirks as the other sulks off.

I hav a question. In my list of eps, I have not got Tigh me up, ..... , but I have got one called secrets and lies. How many are there in total?, and could someone post a quick list.

Thanks dudes.

[genji2000]

Unfortunately (time to probably offend lots of people), prison break is exactly what the mass audience wants

And needs. Don't forget, the majority of people work bloody hard - in most industries people are doing well in excess of what used to be considered a full time job. It's no surprise that they want to switch off when they get home and watch Coronation Street or the celebrity-in-the-jungle programme.

- a regular dose of mind medicine to dull the senses. Modern mass media is the new opium of the people, and BSG is the antithesis of this, asking people to really think and question, never wrapping things up neatly so we can go to bed satisfied until the next episode. A good example of this is Tigh and Kara. In other shows, we would see them making up from time to time, all lovey dovey, but in BSG, when one of them extends the olive branch, the other snatches it away and smacks him across the face with it, and then smirks as the other sulks off.

I hav a question. In my list of eps, I have not got Tigh me up, ..... , but I have got one called secrets and lies. How many are there in total?, and could someone post a quick list.

Thanks dudes.

http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Portal:Battlestar_Galactica_%28RDM%29

Scroll down a bit and click on the season you want.

There is no episode called Secrets and Lies, but it sounds a bit Elleny.

[timbo]

Thanks dude, I dont know why, but my list has a couple of different ep titles.

[Neakal]

In some places, "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" was aired as "Secrets and Lies". My S1 soundtrack even has songs from that episode tagged with "Secrets and Lies" rather than the other one.

[genji2000]

In some places, "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" was aired as "Secrets and Lies". My S1 soundtrack even has songs from that episode tagged with "Secrets and Lies" rather than the other one.

Interesting... I wonder if it was in non-English speaking countries (which might explain why Timbo has it), where the pun on "Tigh" wouldn't make sense... hmmm... sounds a bit daft if the title (and presumably dialogue) is still in English.

EDIT: there's a note on the Wiki that the script for this episode was originally called Secrets and Lies, plus this:

"'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' was originally called 'Secrets and Lies', or 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down' by Jeff Vlaming. And when I saw those titles on the script, I knew we had to go with 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down'. It was too good. Too good a title to let lie on the cutting room floor." -- Ronald D. Moore

[aylinn]

For a second there I thought that Shelly's name Godfrey we could read as "God free" (pronuciation is the same) but then I read battklestarwiki and found the real answer :P
This would be good beacuse Godfrey showed up the moment when Baltar said that God does not exist and he has enough of listening about it. God free as his manifestation of someone far from God and someone who was suppose to prove that only in god can Baltar look for help.

And her name is the only name I read with British accent and not American :D

[BSGfan-atic]

A really good episode - "No more Mr. Nice Gaius!" is unforgettable! EJO was fantastic, but then again, isn't he always? It is really intriguing, the question of what exactly Shelley Godfrey was. I am inclined to agree with Timbo above (post #9), but it would be nice to have more detail. I hope that some time down the road, one of the producers writes a detailed BSG encyclopedia, something along the lines of what the Dune Encyclopedia was.

[Zod]

A fantastic episode in my opinion, and the 1st BSG episode i ever saw, so this episode really has a special place in my heart.

There really isnt much to fault here, the exploration of guilt, faith, fear as well as the ambiguity with Shelley were masterfully done in this episode, and any episode featuring baltar in most scenes is always a good thing. more is more when it comes to gauis.

i never spotted the god-free word play before, so cheers for that!

[Stairway]

I recently got around to watch it yesterday. I kept focusing on Baltar's face. It's pretty hilarious.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e265/Cickan/BaltarPanics.jpg

[BSGfan-atic]

As they never found Shelley Godfrey after that, not on BG or in the fleet, maybe someday, some maintenance guy is going to find her skeleton in the spaces between the bulkheads. She could have killed herself, or starved herself to death, if she didn't like suicide, a la Gina. She then would have downloaded into a new body and gone on some well-earned R&R.

[Osprey]

except she doesn't really have a "skeleton" per se ...
:-)

[genji2000]

except she doesn't really have a "skeleton" per se ...
:-)

Huh? What does all that flesh hang off?

[Osprey]

well, a glowing spine to be sure ...


/too easy ...

[stavrosg]

I am currently adhering to the belief that Shelley Godfrey is Baltar's Head 6, that chose to be visible to everybody. But since a definite answer is yet to be given, I'd say this can remain one of the series unsolved mysteries.

[Jamie]

I think that we may finally get an answer towards the end if head six decides to reveal herself to all towards the end of the show which I think is possible then we will finally know Shelly was Head 6

[Ender]

I think that it’s interesting that most people here think that Shelley Godfrey is a manifestation of Head 6. It never occurred to me that she was anything other than a different version of 6.

This is partially supported by her story of how she came to possess the disk. She claims to have received the disk from Dr. Amarak. We’ve also been told that Dr. Amarak had proof that Gauis was complicit in the destruction of the colonies and that he was on the Olympic Carrier. The gods conveniently stepped in and helped Gauis out of that sticky situation in 33. However we’re meant to believe that the Cylons took over the Olympic Carrier before Lee and Starbuck destroyed it. So it stands to reason that since the Cylons were on the Olympic Carrier at some point that they could have learned that Amarak had this information or some other information on Gauis or at the very least that he told the president that he had information. Regardless, the Cylons used Amarak’s info or made up some of their own for Shelley to deliver to Adama.

As to how Shelley got off the ship, she’s a Cylon. They’ve proved themselves to be very adept at getting on and off ships as needed. Doral got onto the Galactica in this episode unnoticed. Gina gets off the Pegasus unnoticed during some episode in the future that I can’t recall the name of at the moment. The Cylons are just good at this kind of thing.

For that matter, I’m beginning to wonder if Boomer isn’t having more Cylon episodes that we realize. Maybe leaving the hatch-combing open in Litmus wasn’t an accident. If she’s “turned on” more often than we realize, she could have helped Shelley off Galactica.

As to the motivation of the Cylons for exposing Gauis, he’s a little bit of a liability for them. By now, Caprica 6 has downloaded and is having trouble readjusting. The Cylons are considering boxing her. Maybe they think that eliminating Gauis is safer than letting him roam around the fleet with more knowledge of the Cylons and their plans than they might like him to have. Thanks to Caprica 6, the Cylons know that it’s not that hard to get a secret out of Gauis Baltar.

Finally, I think that we have to consider Occam’s razor here. We really don’t have any evidence that it’s possible for Head 6 to be anywhere other than Baltar’s head, so the first big assumption in that theory is that she has powers to call up a physical manifestation of herself. There are holes and assumptions in the Shelley is a real Cylon theory as well, but it connects facts that we know to be true without inventing new powers.

Also, I do want to comment that the “God Free” observation. That’s a great catch!

[genji2000]

I think that it’s interesting that most people here think that Shelley Godfrey is a manifestation of Head 6. It never occurred to me that she was anything other than a different version of 6.

I think most people here entertain the possibility that she is a physical manifestation of Head Six. Most of us entertain the possibility that the show hasn't been excreted from Ron Moore's bowels.

However, welcome to the forum, if you haven't been welcomed already. You write an interesting post...

I’m beginning to wonder if Boomer isn’t having more Cylon episodes that we realize. Maybe leaving the hatch-combing open in Litmus wasn’t an accident.

That's a given I think, if she did it and not Socinus.

If she’s “turned on” more often than we realize, she could have helped Shelley off Galactica.

I think that's highly unlikely. Not impossible, you may be right, but I would rather believe that Boomer's little incidents do not involve anyone else. Her 'sleeper' programming relies on her not being in contact with other Cylons I would guess.

Good post. I hope someone else picks up the other parts.

[timbo]

I think that it’s interesting that most people here think that Shelley Godfrey is a manifestation of Head 6. It never occurred to me that she was anything other than a different version of 6.

Yeah good stuff, Ender. I was kinda getting used to the idea that Head 6 was perhaps part of Baltar´s subconscious, a sort of super ego or even conscience that kicks in from time to time, but we are clearly supposed to make the connection between Head 6 storming off in a huff and Shelley immediately appearing to take revenge on Baltar. This means that Head 6 must be connected to the cylons through a device, and not just exist only in Baltar´s mind. He had a brain scan that showed nothing, but maybe .... wait a minute, maybe the device is in his eye, the same as the other guy who has a Head girlfriend. We are talking about visions, here. Eyes.

[Ender]

It's good to be here. Thanks!!

[genji2000]

You should tell Atomic so.