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Crossroads (Battlestar Galactica)
Encyclopedia
"Crossroads" are the nineteenth and twentieth episodes of the third season and season finale from the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica
. Neither episode begins with a survivor count.
and Athena share the same vision of chasing Hera Agathon through the ancient opera house on Kobol, where they also encounter Caprica Six
. At Joe's Bar, Colonel Tigh
and Samuel Anders
share a different form of vision, ethereal music that only the two of them are able to hear.
Just before Baltar's
trial is set to begin, Cassidy refuses Roslin's request that Baltar be tried for conspiring with the Cylons, unwilling to act on Roslin's visions as evidence. Meanwhile, Baltar is visited in the brig by a woman who asks him to bless her child. He refuses, but she reaffirms her belief in him nonetheless.
Although the fleet is nearing the Ionian Nebula, and has not encountered the Cylons for weeks, Adama is unconvinced that the fleet has truly outrun them. His suspicions are confirmed when Racetrack's
trailing Raptor narrowly dodges an attack by a massive Cylon fleet. When Tigh questions Caprica Six, she informs him that the Cylons had found a way to track the fleet's Refinery Ship. The interrogation turns to blows when Six takes her imaginary Baltar's suggestion to bring up Tigh's wife
. Shaken, Tigh has Six shackled.
At the beginning of the trial, Cassidy's opening arguments rest on Baltar having been a failed leader and the devastating loss of 5,197 people on New Caprica. Defense attorney Romo Lampkin
opens by condemning Baltar in the harshest terms, finally obtaining an unruly shout from a member of the gallery. Lampkin uses the outburst to turn his arguments abruptly into the notion that Baltar is being railroaded to execution and that the trial is being held as a formality over top of the carnal desire to punish Baltar beyond any blame he deserved. Lampkin also takes advantage of Roslin's arrival at the courtroom to suggest that she would have pursued confrontation with the Cylons, and gotten more people killed than Baltar had by unconditional surrender.
The trial moves further into Baltar's favor when Colonel Tigh takes the witness stand and admits to masterminding the New Caprica Police graduation bombing (see Occupation
), with Baltar as the primary target. After Cassidy opens up the subject by suggesting that Ellen is another victim of Baltar, Lampkin pushes him into eventually confessing to killing Ellen. Lampkin also coaxes Tigh into admitting his drinking problem, and Tigh further degrades his own position when he again hears the ethereal music and angrily yells for it to be turned off. He is effectively barred as a witness after repeatedly admitting that he would do or say anything to see Baltar executed.
When Roslin herself takes the witness stand, she confirms for Lee Adama
that Baltar helped save her life during her bout with cancer a year beforehand, and later also confirms, over the objections of Adama, that she had resumed taking medication because her cancer had returned. As the chamalla has hallucinogenic side effects, Roslin's credibility is seriously damaged.
During a recess in the trial, Romo Lampkin
asks Lee Adama
to consider that his role in the trial may get him expelled from the "aristocracy" of the Adama family in the fleet. Soon afterwards, Lee argues with his father
over the principle of trying Baltar. Admiral Adama confirms that the trial is a formality and that he already feels Baltar is guilty. He also condemns Lee for the damage done to Saul, though Lee had no knowledge of Ellen Tigh's death, much less that Saul murdered her. In disgust, Lee resigns his commission, and Adama almost happily accepts it. Later, in their quarters, Dualla
takes Lee's role in the trial as the final straw to break their troubled marriage, packs her things and leaves over his pleas to stay.
On Colonial One, Roslin is badgered with questions from reporters about the resurgence of her cancer. Tory Foster
, suffering from constantly hearing the music in the same way as Colonel Tigh, angrily tells the reporters to stop prying into Roslin's personal affairs, earning her a private reprimand from Roslin. On Galactica's bridge, Felix Gaeta
and Helo
review a plan to use the refinery ship as a decoy to lure the Cylons off course, and brood over a gathering storm.
is awakened by the music. Both he and Colonel Tigh begin their own searches for its source, but neither can find it. On the hangar deck, Anders realizes that Tyrol is humming the strange music, and the two agree that it sounds like something from childhood.
After receiving an injection for her cancer treatments in sickbay, Roslin has another vision of the opera house on Kobol. Also in sickbay, Sharon enters the same vision while holding Hera in her arms and both women wake up screaming. Sharon confirms having shared the experience and likens it to the Cylon ability of "projection." They proceed to question Caprica Six in her cell, and immediately discover that she was in the same dream. Caprica talks of feeling compelled to protect Hera.
The trial resumes and Gaeta takes the witness stand. He perjures himself by saying that Baltar willingly signed the death order to have Roslin, Zarek, and others executed. Rather than attempting to prove this during cross-examination, however, Lampkin acts on Lee Adama's suggestion and moves for a mistrial, based on prejudicial statements Admiral Adama had made to Lee concerning Baltar's guilt and the trial's outcome. Lee then takes the witness stand, but refuses to testify against his father, instead returning to Lampkin's original line of argument that Baltar, for all his failings, could not be faulted for the tragedy on New Caprica.
By a vote of 3 to 2, the tribunal finds him not guilty and the courtroom erupts in furor. His service having been completed, Lampkin abandons Baltar. Reflecting on the trial, Baltar wonders how he will survive. On the bridge, Admiral Adama admits to Roslin's dissatisfaction that he was one of the "not guilty" voters.
When the fleet makes the final jump into the Ionian Nebula, Roslin feels faint and a few seconds later all of the ships suffer a power outage and drift. The Galactica crew struggles to restore power. Moving through the darkness and trying to hide his face, Baltar is suddenly surrounded by three people, including the woman who had asked him to bless her child. They take him to what they tell him is "[his] new life."
Caprica Six returns again to the opera house and sees herself, Baltar and Hera looking up at the glowing, robed apparitions of the Final Five Cylons looking down on them from a balcony. Compelled by their own shared auditory hallucination, Tory, Colonel Tigh, Tyrol, and Anders converge on the Galactica gym, where they all hum the melody together, then sing the lyrics, and come to the distressing conclusion that they are all Cylons. When power is restored, DRADIS identifies four Cylon basestars bearing down on the fleet and Admiral Adama orders general quarters. All of the newly discovered Cylons return to their posts but are wary of what they might do. As the other pilots scramble to their ships, Lee returns to his locker to grab his flight gear, despite having been removed from flight status.
After launch, Apollo
separates from the other Vipers to chase a new DRADIS contact in the nebula. The contact turns out to be Starbuck; she tells a surprised Apollo that she has found Earth.
As the Cylon and Galactica fleets prepare for battle, the camera zooms out (to show the entire galaxy), and zooms back in elsewhere in the galaxy to show a single planet: Earth.
's "All Along the Watchtower
", as adapted by series composer Bear McCreary
. The vocals for this version are performed by McCreary's brother Brendan McCreary, with former Oingo Boingo
guitarist Steve Bartek
playing various guitar
s and sitar
s. There is no explanation given in the show as to why this particular song is heard, nor where it comes from. According to a conversation McCreary had with Ronald D. Moore, the version heard in the episode is meant to have been recorded by a Colonial artist rather than by Bob Dylan himself.
and Jamie Bamber
submitted this episode for consideration in the categories of "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
" and "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
" on their respective behalves for the 2007 Emmy Awards
. Similarly, Mark Sheppard
also submitted this episode for consideration of his work in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama 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...
. Neither episode begins with a survivor count.
Part 1
President RoslinLaura 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...
and Athena share the same vision of chasing Hera Agathon through the ancient opera house on Kobol, where they also encounter Caprica 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"...
. At Joe's Bar, Colonel 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 Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
share a different form of vision, ethereal music that only the two of them are able to hear.
Just before Baltar's
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...
trial is set to begin, Cassidy refuses Roslin's request that Baltar be tried for conspiring with the Cylons, unwilling to act on Roslin's visions as evidence. Meanwhile, Baltar is visited in the brig by a woman who asks him to bless her child. He refuses, but she reaffirms her belief in him nonetheless.
Although the fleet is nearing the Ionian Nebula, and has not encountered the Cylons for weeks, Adama is unconvinced that the fleet has truly outrun them. His suspicions are confirmed when Racetrack's
Margaret Edmondson
Margaret Edmondson is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by actress Leah Cairns.- Character biography :...
trailing Raptor narrowly dodges an attack by a massive Cylon fleet. When Tigh questions Caprica Six, she informs him that the Cylons had found a way to track the fleet's Refinery Ship. The interrogation turns to blows when Six takes her imaginary Baltar's suggestion to bring up Tigh's wife
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...
. Shaken, Tigh has Six shackled.
At the beginning of the trial, Cassidy's opening arguments rest on Baltar having been a failed leader and the devastating loss of 5,197 people on New Caprica. Defense attorney Romo Lampkin
Romo Lampkin
Romo Lampkin is a fictional character in the television remake of Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by Mark Sheppard. He first appeared in the third season episode, "The Son Also Rises"....
opens by condemning Baltar in the harshest terms, finally obtaining an unruly shout from a member of the gallery. Lampkin uses the outburst to turn his arguments abruptly into the notion that Baltar is being railroaded to execution and that the trial is being held as a formality over top of the carnal desire to punish Baltar beyond any blame he deserved. Lampkin also takes advantage of Roslin's arrival at the courtroom to suggest that she would have pursued confrontation with the Cylons, and gotten more people killed than Baltar had by unconditional surrender.
The trial moves further into Baltar's favor when Colonel Tigh takes the witness stand and admits to masterminding the New Caprica Police graduation bombing (see Occupation
Occupation (Battlestar Galactica)
"Occupation" is the third season premiere and 34th episode of the re-imagined American science fiction drama television series Battlestar Galactica. The episode was written by re-imagined creator Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan. It first aired on October 6, 2006 on the Sci-Fi...
), with Baltar as the primary target. After Cassidy opens up the subject by suggesting that Ellen is another victim of Baltar, Lampkin pushes him into eventually confessing to killing Ellen. Lampkin also coaxes Tigh into admitting his drinking problem, and Tigh further degrades his own position when he again hears the ethereal music and angrily yells for it to be turned off. He is effectively barred as a witness after repeatedly admitting that he would do or say anything to see Baltar executed.
When Roslin herself takes the witness stand, she confirms for 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:...
that Baltar helped save her life during her bout with cancer a year beforehand, and later also confirms, over the objections of Adama, that she had resumed taking medication because her cancer had returned. As the chamalla has hallucinogenic side effects, Roslin's credibility is seriously damaged.
During a recess in the trial, Romo Lampkin
Romo Lampkin
Romo Lampkin is a fictional character in the television remake of Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by Mark Sheppard. He first appeared in the third season episode, "The Son Also Rises"....
asks 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:...
to consider that his role in the trial may get him expelled from the "aristocracy" of the Adama family in the fleet. Soon afterwards, Lee argues with his father
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
over the principle of trying Baltar. Admiral Adama confirms that the trial is a formality and that he already feels Baltar is guilty. He also condemns Lee for the damage done to Saul, though Lee had no knowledge of Ellen Tigh's death, much less that Saul murdered her. In disgust, Lee resigns his commission, and Adama almost happily accepts it. Later, in their quarters, Dualla
Anastasia Dualla
Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, portrayed by Kandyse McClure, is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica.-Character history:...
takes Lee's role in the trial as the final straw to break their troubled marriage, packs her things and leaves over his pleas to stay.
On Colonial One, Roslin is badgered with questions from reporters about the resurgence of her cancer. 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...
, suffering from constantly hearing the music in the same way as Colonel Tigh, angrily tells the reporters to stop prying into Roslin's personal affairs, earning her a private reprimand from Roslin. On Galactica's bridge, Felix Gaeta
Felix Gaeta
Lieutenant Junior Grade Felix Gaeta is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Alessandro Juliani.- Character overview in his early career :...
and Helo
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
review a plan to use the refinery ship as a decoy to lure the Cylons off course, and brood over a gathering storm.
Part 2
As Anders and Tory continue to hear the strange music and begin making love, Chief 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...
is awakened by the music. Both he and Colonel Tigh begin their own searches for its source, but neither can find it. On the hangar deck, Anders realizes that Tyrol is humming the strange music, and the two agree that it sounds like something from childhood.
After receiving an injection for her cancer treatments in sickbay, Roslin has another vision of the opera house on Kobol. Also in sickbay, Sharon enters the same vision while holding Hera in her arms and both women wake up screaming. Sharon confirms having shared the experience and likens it to the Cylon ability of "projection." They proceed to question Caprica Six in her cell, and immediately discover that she was in the same dream. Caprica talks of feeling compelled to protect Hera.
The trial resumes and Gaeta takes the witness stand. He perjures himself by saying that Baltar willingly signed the death order to have Roslin, Zarek, and others executed. Rather than attempting to prove this during cross-examination, however, Lampkin acts on Lee Adama's suggestion and moves for a mistrial, based on prejudicial statements Admiral Adama had made to Lee concerning Baltar's guilt and the trial's outcome. Lee then takes the witness stand, but refuses to testify against his father, instead returning to Lampkin's original line of argument that Baltar, for all his failings, could not be faulted for the tragedy on New Caprica.
By a vote of 3 to 2, the tribunal finds him not guilty and the courtroom erupts in furor. His service having been completed, Lampkin abandons Baltar. Reflecting on the trial, Baltar wonders how he will survive. On the bridge, Admiral Adama admits to Roslin's dissatisfaction that he was one of the "not guilty" voters.
When the fleet makes the final jump into the Ionian Nebula, Roslin feels faint and a few seconds later all of the ships suffer a power outage and drift. The Galactica crew struggles to restore power. Moving through the darkness and trying to hide his face, Baltar is suddenly surrounded by three people, including the woman who had asked him to bless her child. They take him to what they tell him is "[his] new life."
Caprica Six returns again to the opera house and sees herself, Baltar and Hera looking up at the glowing, robed apparitions of the Final Five Cylons looking down on them from a balcony. Compelled by their own shared auditory hallucination, Tory, Colonel Tigh, Tyrol, and Anders converge on the Galactica gym, where they all hum the melody together, then sing the lyrics, and come to the distressing conclusion that they are all Cylons. When power is restored, DRADIS identifies four Cylon basestars bearing down on the fleet and Admiral Adama orders general quarters. All of the newly discovered Cylons return to their posts but are wary of what they might do. As the other pilots scramble to their ships, Lee returns to his locker to grab his flight gear, despite having been removed from flight status.
After launch, Apollo
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:...
separates from the other Vipers to chase a new DRADIS contact in the nebula. The contact turns out to be Starbuck; she tells a surprised Apollo that she has found Earth.
As the Cylon and Galactica fleets prepare for battle, the camera zooms out (to show the entire galaxy), and zooms back in elsewhere in the galaxy to show a single planet: Earth.
Music
The song and lyrics that Tory, Tigh, Tyrol and Anders hear is Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "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...
", as adapted by series composer 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:...
. The vocals for this version are performed by McCreary's brother Brendan McCreary, with former Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
guitarist Steve Bartek
Steve Bartek
Steve Bartek, born in Garfield Heights, Ohio on January 30, 1952, is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor and orchestrator.-Early career:...
playing various guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
s. There is no explanation given in the show as to why this particular song is heard, nor where it comes from. According to a conversation McCreary had with Ronald D. Moore, the version heard in the episode is meant to have been recorded by a Colonial artist rather than by Bob Dylan himself.
Emmy Award considerations
Mary McDonnellMary 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 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...
submitted this episode for consideration in the categories of "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – a Drama Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1952: Helen Hayes*1953: no award*1954: Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show*1955: no award...
" and "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: Roddy McDowall – Not Without Honor*1962: no award*1963: no award...
" on their respective behalves for the 2007 Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
. Similarly, Mark Sheppard
Mark Sheppard
Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician, born in London of an Irish-German background. He is often credited as "Mark A. Sheppard".-Personal life:Mark Sheppard is the son of actor W. Morgan Sheppard...
also submitted this episode for consideration of his work in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actor.-Award winners:1970s*1975: Patrick McGoohan – Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light...
".