Season 1, Episode 09:
Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
Onboard Galactica, Baltar reports to both Bill and Roslin that the Cylon detector is now fully operational, and that he is ready to start administering tests. Roslin, still bothered by what Leoben Conoy said in the previous episode, asks Bill to take the first test, and he agrees.
Elsewhere, in Galactica's forward observation deck, Billy and Dualla are sharing a quiet date. In the CIC, Tigh is on duty when Gaeta reports that a lone Cylon Raider has jumped into the vicinity. When he calls Bill, he is shocked to discover that the Commander has gone offship without informing anyone. Lee is dispatched to intercept the Raider, and manages to cripple it without destroying it.
At the same time, Adama re-establishes contact with Tigh and tells him that he has a surprise—he has found Tigh's wife, Ellen, in the fleet.
When he arrives back on Galactica, Ellen reveals to Tigh that she was knocked out during the destruction of Picon, and that someone loaded her onto one of the last transports leaving the planet. She subsequently spent the last three weeks unconscious aboard the Rising Star before she was discovered. Tigh is understandably overjoyed to see her.
Roslin calls Baltar and asks about the results of Bill's Cylon test, only for the doctor to tell her that it has been cancelled so that another woman can be tested. Roslin orders Baltar to restart Bill's test.
Later, Roslin asks Tigh to visit her, and when he arrives on Colonial One, she tells him that she has suspicions that Bill is a Cylon, using his abandonment of his post as proof. Tigh counters by saying that Bill left to go Ellen, and that she has been brought onboard Galactica. Roslin subsequently calls Baltar and tells him to restart Ellen's test.
Bill invites Tigh, Ellen, Lee and Roslin to dinner in his quarters. During their meal, Ellen expresses a lot of curiosity about their situation and their destination, while trying to flirt with Lee. Bill asks how Ellen could be unconscious for three weeks without anyone knowing her identity, but Ellen's drunken behavior soon brings a stop to the dinner.
Meanwhile, on Caprica, Helo and Sharon are making their way through a storm drain system. Sharon tells him that if they want to escape, they'll have to find the Cylon base at Delphi and steal a ship. Elsewhere, Doral and Six are taken aback by the realization that Sharon is experiencing new emotions.
In Galactica's corridors, Saul and Ellen are walking back when she tries to drunkenly flirt with Baltar. Saul is angered when Ellen tells him that Bill wants her, and then drags her husband after Baltar.
In Baltar's lab, Bill, Lee and Roslin are arguing over who should be tested first when Saul and Ellen arrive. A bigger argument breaks out, with everyone except Baltar accusing everyone else of being a Cylon. Their anger is defused when both Adamas and Saul are called to the CIC.
The damaged Cylon Raider has reactivated, and is heading towards Galactica on a kamikaze run. When Bill is turned away, Saul goes with his instinct and orders the CAG to be deployed, and they end up shooting down the Raider just before impacts the Battlestar. Bill realizes Saul's judgement call, and realizes that he needs his friend's instincts more than ever. They agree to put aside their differences.
Later, in the lab, Baltar reports that Ellen's test results are green, causing everyone to be overjoyed. As they celebrate, Baltar tells HeadSix that everything is easier when the results are all green…
Tropes
- Absent-Minded Professor: Baltar, when he's caught out by Kara.
- The Alcoholic: Saul and Ellen.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Saul and Ellen, who make up at the end of the episode.
- Bilingual Bonus: The opera that Baltar listens to as he laments the years it will take to test everyone is actually in Italian, and the lyrics are describing his current situation.
- Breather Episode: After the intentionally-heavy subject matter of the previous eight episodes, this one goes the opposite way and is the only real comedy episode of the series. The original script was a lot darker but when the crew realised it was going to air between two very heavy episodes the script was revised to add more comedy.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: Kara discovers Baltar in his lab with his fly unzipped.
- Dirty Old Woman: Ellen, who tries to flirt with Lee several times over the course of the episode.
- Easy Amnesia: Ellen can't remember how she got aboard the Rising Star, and only knows that someone put her on one of the last transports leaving Picon.
- Feet-First Introduction: Ellen's first appearance is a shot of her legs and feet as the Raptor door opens.
- Footsie Under the Table: Ellen does this to Lee during the dinner party. Poor Lee is deeply uncomfortable and the fact that the other guests include his father and Ellen's husband doesn't help at all.
- Gambit Pileup: Everyone thinks everyone else is a Cylon. This is Played for Laughs.
- Gut Feeling: Tigh's intuition leads to the Galactica being saved when a Raider tries to go on a kamikaze run towards the forward deck.
- Innocuously Important Episode: This comedy-filler episode sets up the eventual plotline and reveal that Ellen Tigh is a Cylon.
- Jump Scare: Played for Laughs. Ellen yells "BOO!" after the table goes silent while talking about the Cylons, and laughs at everyone's reaction.
- Naughty Under the Table: Ellen tries to play footsie with Lee during dinner with Roslin and both Adamas.
- Off the Wagon: Tigh, as a result of his wife's influence.
- Only Sane Man: When Baltar is the voice of reason, you know things are bad.Baltar: Ladies and gentlemen, please! We're in a laboratory, there are hazardous chemical compounds everywhere. That- That's a thermo-nuclear bomb for frak's sake!
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Ellen and Saul walk in on Bill and Laura in Baltar's lab just as Bill is saying, "I wanted her close to me" about Ellen, by which he meant he wanted her where he could keep an eye on her. Ellen immediately accuses Bill of trying to get in her pants and tries to start a Cock Fight between Saul and Bill.
- Really Gets Around: Ellen is stated to have gone through "half the Colonial Fleet" during her marriage to Saul before the Colonies were destroyed.
- Retcon: The Previously on… includes a clip of Tigh burning a photograph of his wife. The original version in the Miniseries used a photograph of Exectuvie Producer David Eick's wife, as the character hadn't been cast yet. For this episode the insert shot was redone with a photograph of Kate Vernon.
- Spot the Imposter: Saul, Roslin and Bill all accuse each other of being Cylon agents.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Ellen's reappearance in Saul's life causes him to start drinking again.
