# Battlestar Galactica 1.9: "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" (spoiler spoiler burning bright) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981 "2005-03-04T22:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/81 "2005-03-09T18:37:10Z")
IIRC, in the pilot the writers were deliberately unclear about whether Adama knew where Earth was, of if he was just using the idea of getting there as a way to give “the masses” some hope, something to strive for. I suspect they’ll keep it that way as it makes for a more interesting story. Can someone explain the Cobal/Earth connection to me? In the episode where Starbuck was interogating the Cylon, didn’t he say something like “you’ll never find Cobal and you’ll never find Earth.”? Is Cobal the orignal point from which the 12 colonies were formed, and Earth is a mysterious 13th colony, and has the location of Cobal been lost to the 12 colonies? Somehow I just assumed that everyone knew where Cobal was. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/82 "2005-03-09T18:37:46Z")
The latter - Roslin’s weaselboy was there with the black lieutenant - Duallo, is it? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/83 "2005-03-09T18:40:08Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Is what possible, jumping? 🙂 > > 19th century ships that parted arranged rendevous months in advance. If it’s needed for the plot, there would be some Cylon proof rendevous arranged for military vessels. I suspect there’s a mechical limit on how much and how far they can jump. And remember, Helo was gone before Adama said he was “going to earth” and jumped out well beyond the Red line. I don’t think there were any pre-arraigned meeting points that adama is heading to out there. In fact, I’m pretty sure Adama has given up any hope of picking up any more survivors. If they aren’t in the fleet, they’re assumed lost. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/84 "2005-03-09T18:43:13Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Is Cobal the orignal point from which the 12 colonies were formed, and Earth is a mysterious 13th colony, and has the location of Cobal been lost to the 12 colonies? Somehow I just assumed that everyone knew where Cobal was. I thought they explained Earth as the original home planet, which then colonized Kobol, which then spread out to the 12 other planets. I don’t recall any mention of why Kobol was abandoned or at least forgotten, or why the fleet wouldn’t be just as happy finding either one. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/85 "2005-03-09T18:52:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Surely there is some plan for FTL military vessels to find each other if they become separated. During a normal scenario, probably, but when you’re out beyond the red line, being hunted by the cylons and everything has been nuked(to your knowledge), somehow I think such plans aren’t going to work. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > What are they doing when they aren’t jumping, just cruising around at sub light? I’m guessing they do whatever needs to be done, and they are jumping every so often, but it’s not mentioned. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Where are they going? Do they have some idea where earth is, or are they just wandering about in infinite space? > > How much of space has been explored by humans and by Cylons? In the miniseries, Roslin Confronts Adama about Earth and he says he made it up. It’s to give them a sense of purpose, moreso then “Let’s run aimlessly unless the cylons find us and kill us”. We don’t know how much the cylons control, or where, though I have been wondering if they aren’t about to stumble right into the middle of their empire. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/86 "2005-03-09T18:56:17Z")
Adama did say that, but it might not have been true. He didn’t know Roslin from a hole in the ground the day before, and might not yet have trusted her enough. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/87 "2005-03-09T19:08:10Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > And what was with the makeout room at the nose of the Galactica? Were they all Battlestar personnel in there, or are they letting anyone from the fleet onto the only military vessel for some luvin’ when they can’t even reliably detect Cylons yet? Well, as far as we know, that IS the only reliable way to detect Cylons – the red glowing spine at orgasm thing… ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/88 "2005-03-09T19:38:22Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Well, as far as we know, that IS the only reliable way to detect Cylons – the red glowing spine at orgasm thing… Except that Baltar’s original design correctly identified Boomer as a Cylon - he just lied about it. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/89 "2005-03-09T21:26:54Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > IIRC, in the pilot the writers were deliberately unclear about whether Adama knew where Earth was, of if he was just using the idea of getting there as a way to give “the masses” some hope, something to strive for. I suspect they’ll keep it that way as it makes for a more interesting story. > > Can someone explain the Cobal/Earth connection to me? In the episode where Starbuck was interogating the Cylon, didn’t he say something like “you’ll never find Cobal and you’ll never find Earth.”? Is Cobal the orignal point from which the 12 colonies were formed, and Earth is a mysterious 13th colony, and has the location of Cobal been lost to the 12 colonies? Somehow I just assumed that everyone knew where Cobal was. We are definitely given the impression that earth may be only a legend from their perspective. I do believe however that Adama has some general flight plan in mind for the fleet, but is not sharing it with everyone. The general cover is that they are heading for earth, which means at least that they can not appear to be randomly flying around, even though they don’t know if earth exists, much less where it is. Having said that, I would assume that they tactically change course when jumping to throw off cylons. Kobal is where everyone (all the colonies)orginated. Presumably descendants of the 12 lords of Kobol. As this is ancient history, however, this is practically as much legend as it is history. The result is little factual information on Kobol or its location. Remember to them, “the lords of Kobol” are basically their gods as portrayed by the shows writers. This does not indicate a strong level of factual understanding of Kobol. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/90 "2005-03-09T21:35:42Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I thought they explained Earth as the original home planet, which then colonized Kobol, which then spread out to the 12 other planets. I don’t recall any mention of why Kobol was abandoned or at least forgotten, or why the fleet wouldn’t be just as happy finding either one. No, this is definately not what the writers have presented. The show has actually been under attack from critics, due to the colonial belief that life started on Kobol. They are not even sure if earth ever existed. As for how the writers will explain earth (with obvious evolution), or even if earth exists, we need to remember this is fiction. It is certainly possible in the end, your theory will play out. The thing to remember is that this show is about “the journey” as opposed to the end result and earth may not even exist. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/91 "2005-03-09T23:07:35Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Is Cobal the orignal point from which the 12 colonies were formed, and Earth is a mysterious 13th colony, and has the location of Cobal been lost to the 12 colonies? Somehow I just assumed that everyone knew where Cobal was. It is hard to believe Adama supposedly knows where Earth is, yet doesn’t know where Kobol is. Seems like Kobol would have been easier to keep track of. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/92 "2005-03-10T00:46:03Z")
> [@jeffh3000](#): > > We are definitely given the impression that earth may be only a legend from their perspective. . I got the impression that nobody had ever heard of Earth before Adama mentioned it. He referred to it as a “Closely guarded secret”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/93 "2005-03-10T00:52:38Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > He referred to it as a “Closely guarded secret”. He made it up to give the people some direction; they aren’t just running away, they are going somewhere important. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/94 "2005-03-10T01:05:38Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I got the impression that nobody had ever heard of Earth before Adama mentioned it. He referred to it as a “Closely guarded secret”. Only its location and actual “existance” was a “closely guarded secret.” Earth was a well known part of their mythology/religion. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/95 "2005-03-10T01:10:35Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Earth was a well known part of their mythology/religion. I rest my case. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/96 "2005-03-10T04:42:16Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Only its location and actual “existance” was a “closely guarded secret.” Earth was a well known part of their mythology/religion. Was it? I seem to remember Roslin saying “There’s no earth”. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/97 "2005-03-10T04:43:52Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > He made it up to give the people some direction; they aren’t just running away, they are going somewhere important. 🙂 Isn’t that what I’ve been saying? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981/98 "2005-03-10T05:36:21Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Was it? I seem to remember Roslin saying “There’s no earth”. It may help to think of the way Colonials view Earth as analogous to the way we view Noah’s Ark. Have we heard of Noah’s Ark? Of course. Everyone has. It’s written in the ancient scrolls. Do we know where Noah’s Ark is? No. Do most “rational” people still believe that Noah’s Ark actually exists, and is out there somewhere waiting for us to find it? No. Then along comes Adama, humanity is on the run and needs a sense of hope, so he says, “there is a Noah’s Ark. I know where it is. It’s a closely guarded secret only the most senior military commanders know about.” Then Roslin gets him alone and says, “there’s no Noah’s Ark. Tell you what, I’ll keep your little secret if you share power with me.” Adama says “OK.” That’s about where we’re at, Earth-wise. You can throw in the part about finding Kobol, and Kobol leading the way to Earth. I guess that’s in the ancient scrolls somewhere too. So does Earth exist in the ancient scrolls and has everyone heard of it? Yes. Does Earth actually exist? Most people thought not, until Adama’s speech. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-1-9-tigh-me-up-tigh-me-down-spoiler-spoiler-burning-bright/292981.md?page=4)