History Recap / BattlestarGalactica2003S00E01MiniseriesPart1

* EverythingIsOnline: For the more modern Colonial hardware, a fact the Cylons exploit.

* TheNeutralZone: The Armistice Line. There's a station built in the area with a meeting chamber accessable from both sides so humans and Cylons can meet to negotiate. The Cylons destroy the station as the first move against humanity.

* DramaticLandfallShot: Used to introduce the Caprica City skyline. Later used at the beginning of each episode's credit sequence.

Elsewhere, Commander William "Bill" Adama looks over his speaking notes for the decommissioning ceremony, and acknowledges several people who congratulate him, including Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Lieutenant Felix Gaeta arrives and notifies him about various updates, including a request for any ships in the area to visit Armistice Station. However, Adama notes that they're too busy with the decommissioning to worry about it.

Elsewhere, Commander William "Bill" Adama looks over his speaking notes for the decommissioning ceremony, and acknowledges several people who congratulate him. Lieutenant Felix Gaeta arrives and notifies him about various updates, including a request for any ships in the area to visit Armistice Station. However, Adama notes that they're too busy with the decommissioning to worry about it.

Later, the ''Galactica'' hangar crew, led by Chief Galen Tyrol, gives Adama a gift: his old Viper Mark II, which has been restored to operable condition. Adama is also given a framed photo from the Colonial archives, although he is disturbed when he sees it — the photo is of his two sons, Lee and Zak. Elsewhere, Kara is thrown into the ship's brig for starting a fight with Colonel Saul Tigh during a poker game.

On the nearby planet Caprica, Colonial Secretary of Education Laura Roslin is informed by a doctor that she has breast cancer, which is spreading aggressively. She leaves the doctor's office and heads towards a ship to travel to ''Galactica'' for its decommissioning ceremony, being met by a government aide, Billy Keikeya, along the way. Keikeya tries to brief her on the ceremony, but Roslin is too distracted by her prognosis.

Meanwhile, a scientist named Gaius Baltar gives a television interview with a reporter as the same blond-haired woman enters his home. After he finishes the interview, he begins to kiss her and they fall onto his bed. As the woman removes her top, her spine begins to glow bright red. Later that day, Baltar tells her that his Command Navigation Program has been wildly successful thanks to her help, but she replies that future government work wasn't her motive for helping him. She heads back to Caprica City and meets with an unknown individual...

On ''Galactica'', Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama arrives on the flight deck, and questions Tyrol about the usage of manual landings onboard the ship. Later, Colonial Heavy 798 docks on ''Galactica'', and Roslin heads to the ship's CIC (Combat Information Center). While Roslin tries to get Bill to install a computer network for students onboard the ship, Adama refuses, citing the tradition of not networking anything on the ship.

* AdultFear:
** Six walks up to a stranger in the street, fusses over a baby, picks it up and, when the mother turns away for a second, breaks the child's neck. And leaves it there for the mother to find.
** One of the passengers on Colonial Heavy 798 says that his kids are on one of the Colonies that has just been nuked.

Elsewhere on Caprica, a woman identical to the one who appeared on Armistice Station walks through a market and sees a young mother and her child. She walks up to them and begins talking about how small children are. When the mother's back is turned for a minute, the woman snaps the child's neck and walks away, with the mother beginning to scream soon after.

Later, Lee and a squadron of Vipers perform a flyby over ''Galactica''[='=]s landing bay as Bill gives his decommissioning address.

In Baltar's apartment, the blond-haired woman enters and sees him in bed with another woman. She forces the other woman out and tells Baltar that she is a Cylon agent who used him to help her disable key Colonial systems. Baltar is flabbergasted, and tries to call his lawyer to deny his involvement, only for the agent to tell him that no one will be alive to implicate him. Suddenly, a nuclear explosion appears in the distance. Some time later, Baltar watches horrified as television crews covering the event are blown up by more explosions. He realizes that his actions have led to Caprica being destroyed, as the agent states that her name is "Number Six", and that there are 12 Cylon models. As a shockwave approaches Baltar's apartment, he begs for his life, and Six tells him to get down as the blast wave rips through his home.

Onboard Colonial Heavy 798, the crew and passengers realize that the Colonies are under attack. The flight crew calls Lee, who is flying escort with his father's Viper, and he informs them that he will try to protect them, but can't guarantee anything.

On ''Galactica'', Bill is alerted to the attack by Gaeta and orders the crew to action stations. Tigh and the others are confused as to how they should act, with Tigh believing an accident occurred. Bill opens the comm and informs the crew that a massive assault has occurred and that the Battlestar ''Atlantia'' is leading a fleet attack, then orders Gaeta to track all space traffic. He then orders Tigh to let Kara out of the brig and find out where the nearest munitions depot is.

A squadron of Viper Mark [=VIIs=] from ''Galactica'' is heading to Caprica for their assignments when they receive news of the attack, and move to intercept a Cylon fighter squadron. A nearby support Raptor ship, piloted by Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, stays back while the Vipers move to engage.

Back onboard ''Galactica'', Kara is informed about the attack, and is shocked to learn that nearly 30 Battlestars were wiped out in the initial strike. Gaeta also informs the crew that the fleet is massing near the planet Virgon, and communications officer Anastasia Dualla tells Adama that several of the Battlestars have reported equipment malfunctions. Bill tells the crew to mourn later, and says they have to get into the fight.

The Mark VII Viper squadron begins to engage two Cylon Raiders near Caprica, only for the Raiders to disable the advanced fighters' system software with Baltar's Command Navigation Program code. The Raiders launch a salvo of missiles and destroy the squadron as Boomer and her copilot, Karl "Helo" Agathon, flee. Although they manage to escape the pursuing fighters, Boomer's Raptor is damaged and forced to set down on the surface of Caprica. As they enter the planet's atmosphere, they see the remains of a Battlestar and many Colonial ships, while several Cylon Basestars are situated around Caprican space.

On the Caprica surface, Boomer and Helo are finishing their repairs when a crowd of fleeing refugees come upon them, and beg to be rescued. They agree to take the children in the refugee group, but with the children and themselves onboard they can only take three other adults before reaching ship capacity. They organize a lottery for the refugees so the odds can be fair.

* DeathOfAChild: Six snaps the neck of a baby just before the bombs hit. She looks conflicted as she walks away leading to a lot of speculation over her motives. A passenger on Laura's ship mentions that his kids are still on the planets, and Billy reveals that his sisters and their children are in danger too.

Back on the Caprica surface, Boomer and Helo draw three numbers and the lucky winners come forward. The final number is an elderly woman who is standing next to Baltar, and can't read her number. Helo sees Baltar in the crowd and calls to him, and Baltar says the woman has the correct number and brings her to the centre. Helo then tells Boomer he can't go with her, and tells her to take Baltar in his place. Baltar then sees a vision of Six in the crowd before he boards. Reluctantly, Boomer accepts Helo's decision, and takes off while he watches.

On the Caprica surface, Boomer and Helo are finishing their repairs when a crowd of fleeing refugees come upon them, and beg to be rescued. They agree to take the children in the refugee group, but with the children onboard they can only take three other adults before reaching ship capacity. They organize a lottery for the refugees so the odds can be fair.

On the Caprica surface, Boomer and Helo are finishing their repairs when a crowd of fleeing refugees come upon them, and beg to be rescued. They agree to take the children in the refugee group, but realize they can only take three other adults before reaching ship capacity. They organize a lottery for the refugees so the odds can be fair.

* SexSells: In the first scene of the series, Six walks into the room in a tight red skirt suit, and passionately kisses the Armistice officer. A few scenes later, she walks into Gaius Baltar's apartment wearing a see-through black dress with sexy black lingerie showing through it.

** One of the passengers on Colonial Heavy 798 says that his kids are on one of the colonies that has just been nuked.

** One of the colonies is referred to several times as "Sagittar''i''on". The name would later be shortened to "Sagittaron" (without the second "i").

* MoreExpendableThanYou: Helo lets Baltar have his seat on the Raptor, telling Boomer that the best scientist in the colonies is worth more than just another pilot.

* WatchingTroyBurn: The destruction of the colonies.

* ItsAllMyFault: Baltar gets this after realizing it was Caprica-Six who shut down the colonies' defense systems through his gullibility.

** The Colonials frequently say "God" and Colonel Tigh says an [[ThrowItIn ad-libbed]] "Jesus," whereas the show would establish that the dominant Colonial religion is polytheistic and based on Greco-Roman mythology.

* MythologyGag: The Colonial officer at the Armistice Station is reading schematics of a Cylon Centurion; they depict the Centurion from the 1978 series. Then a pair of new-model centurions arrive, symbolizing the new series superseding the old.

* TheyLookLikeUsNow: The modeled-number Cylons.

* ShoutOut:
** Look closely, and you can see a ''{{Series/Firefly}}''-class transport over Caprica City from the doctor's office.
** Roslin's emergency swearing-in as President is staged as an allusion to the photograph of UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson being sworn in aboard UsefulNotes/AirForceOne after the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

* ShoutOut: Look closely, and you can see a ''{{Series/Firefly}}''-class transport over Caprica City from the doctor's office.

* DeadlineNews: When the bombs go off.
* DeathOfAChild: With a vengeance.

* FreezeFrameBonus: When Adama uses the comm to announce to the crew that a Cylon attack is underway, Cally and a fellow deckhand, Prosna, are seen exiting a room while [[SexDressed hastily pulling their jumpsuits back on]]. This makes her reaction when she finds his burned body later on (due to the section he was working in being vented) much more understandable.

* TheNeutralZone: The Armistice Line.

* InfantImmortality: Averted with a vengeance.

* FreezeFrameBonus: When Adam uses the comm to announce to the crew that a Cylon attack is underway, Cally and a fellow deckhand, Prosna, are seen exiting a room while [[SexDressed hastily pulling their jumpsuits back on]]. This makes her reaction when she finds his burned body later on (due to the section he was working in being vented) much more understandable.

* MildlyMilitary: It's shown that the crew (who are waiting out the days until decommissioning) were prone to lax standards. The XO is an alcoholic known for DrinkingOnDuty. Their best pilot gets herself thrown in the brig after getting in a brawl with the aforementioned XO. One of the pilots (of evidently questionable talent, based on her repeated rough landings) is having an affair with one of the maintenance chiefs, who is stated to be reporting directly to her, and so on. The attack on the Colonies forces them to shape up, though they never completely break from their old ways.
* MilitaryMaverick: Somewhat deconstructed with Starbuck. She also gets away with her dysfunctions only through being among the best at what she does, being among the only at what she does and being heavily favored by Bill, who regards her as a surrogate daughter.