# Battlestar Galactica Finale Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206 "2009-03-20T19:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/261 "2009-03-23T00:38:48Z")
Oh, I understand _why_ the writers put in the Mitochondrial Eve stuff. It’s just bad science – no real scientist would discover mitochondrial remains that match all living humans and proclaim _this_ is Mitochondrial Eve. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/262 "2009-03-23T01:32:40Z")
> [@II\_Gyan\_II](#): > > Primarily the Galactica, due to the cost-cutting during its building. But it’s not been established that most of the civilian fleet needed continuous maintenance. In fact, they were all grounded for a year and half on New Caprica. I doubt they were being maintained, given that Adama let even much of the Galactica maintenance go (and that ship was an active part of the orbital defence patrol). Yet during the exodus, all ships took off and escaped. Hell, Galatica was 40+ years old when the series started. She was ready to be decommed around that point as well. You can bet people were skimping on the maintenance a bit for a ship just about ready to be retired. And that’s before the 2nd cylon war. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/263 "2009-03-23T01:37:17Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > And, really, why not say that _Athena_ was Mitochondrial Eve? 'Cause she’s the one who Hera inherited her mitochondria from. Well technically _some_ mitochondria from the male makes it into the egg (from the sperm). It’s just that the majority is from the mother. So it’s possible that some of that human Helo mtDNA was needed to mix with Athena mtDNA to make the perfect human-human concoction. There could even possibly have been some recombination between the human and cylon mtDNA once in the zygote to share some genes. But good point about calling Hera mitochondrial Eve, I didn’t think about that. They could only know a time frame, not a specific fossil, unless they somehow extracted some DNA from the bones. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/264 "2009-03-23T02:22:08Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > They rejected the concept of building a city because of their experience on New Caprica. That _clearly_ was not going to work. Which is ridiculous, since they know of social development on numerous planets, and the development of cities is inevitable, and as we know, happened again. Of course it did. It makes sense for humans to congregate for safety and commerce. What doesn’t make sense is splitting up all over a planet, dividing your resources and knowledge base when most of your survivors have no idea how to live there. > [@](#): > > Remember, they’ve also been dropped onto a planet with some pretty incredible prey animals, as well. Megafauna that are now extinct, for example. As long as it wasn’t Karl doing the hunting, they’d’ve been able to get by. Not that some people won’t die, or that those people wouldn’t have been able to had been saved by the advanced tech they just weren’t going to be able to hold on to… but I don’t think that living in a “city” would have made much difference in _that_. (whereas a “city” would have made establishing an initial food supply much more difficult). The dispersal of the 38,000 almost guaranteed the loss of the good aspects of technology and culture, just as it almost guaranteed a huge die-off in the first few years. A city would have given them safety, as well a locus for the preservation of the positive aspects of their society. Splitting everyone up just seems like a colossally bad idea to me, at least in the early phases of their settlement. It would make more sense to spend some time exploring the planet (using technology, not on foot), finding the safest, richest areas, and establishing settlements there, preferably on the same continent. The goal is to ensure the longterm survival of the species, right? I don’t think Lee’s plan was the best plan if that was the goal. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/265 "2009-03-23T02:35:49Z")
> [@Bob55](#): > > But good point about calling Hera mitochondrial Eve, I didn’t think about that. They could only know a time frame, not a specific fossil, unless they somehow extracted some DNA from the bones. That is a good point. I wonder if God/It lifted his reproductive curse on the Cylons so they could start making babies with humans too? ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/266 "2009-03-23T03:32:31Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > … > > > [@ambushed](#): > > > > [from [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10960601&postcount=191)]I also share the opinion of those who thought the whole “harbinger of death” thing petered out pretty pathetically. “Harbinger” yes, but not “harbinger of death” in any way _I’d_ go along with. > > Well, there was the death of all of Cavil’s Cylons. Sure, but when I heard one or another hybrid calling Starbuck “the harbinger of death” all those times, I certainly expected a hell of a lot more than the death of a few Cylon models. Didn’t you? > [@acsenray](#): > > > [@ambushed](#): > > > > How come Angel Kara needed to learn the Watchtower tune from a human piano player? > > Remember how when Tigh heard the song, the piano player wasn’t there? An angel’s angel? Sorry, no, I don’t remember that. Or are you talking about when Ellen, Tigh, Athena, and Galen (if that’s right) heard it in the bar in one of the recent episodes? I thought they, Starbuck, and the piano player were all in the same bar at the same time, and _that’s_ when they recognized it again. Or are you talking about some other time Tigh heard it, such as in the nebula? > [@acsenray](#): > > > [@ambushed](#): > > > > Speaking of Watchtower, it was kind of fun to spot all the references to various real religions throughout the whole series. Besides the Jehovah’s Witness ref there and the Greco-Roman traditions (including the very name of Cylon), there were further polytheistic references to Mormonism (e.g., Kobol-[Kolob](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolob)), Judaism (Cylon monotheism), and even Scientology (the magazine rack in New York featured many copies of a magazine with the name “Scientology” emblazoned on it. I wonder if Moore et al have Scientology linkages?) Did anyone see any other religions referenced or hinted at? > > Was that [“Jehovah’s Witness ref”] Baltar’s cult? I missed that reference. I was referring to the fact that “Watchtower” is the name of the Jehovah’s Witness official journal as well as being found in the title of “All Along the Watchtower”. But I may well have been over-reaching there. My thinking was that Moore/Bear _et al._ had any number of great tunes to choose from, and both Dylan (or was it Moore? I forget) and the Jehovah’s Witnesses garnered the word “watchtower” from the same biblical verse, so I’d thought it was chosen at least in part because of its religious reference. Of course, that reference might well not have been on anyone’s mind when they chose the song. It might well have just been Moore’s or someone’s favorite song. It’s an awesome song whose lyrics are particularly open to diverse interpretations, certainly including some that I envision being apropos of one or more BSG themes (even though I can’t quite flesh any out very far; for example, who would be the Joker and who the Thief?). But I think it still qualifies as a religious reference even if it wasn’t deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/267 "2009-03-23T03:41:21Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > Sorry, no, I don’t remember that. Or are you talking about when Ellen, Tigh, Athena, and Galen (if that’s right) heard it in the bar in one of the recent episodes? I thought they, Starbuck, and the piano player were all in the same bar at the same time, and _that’s_ when they recognized it again. Once we see Tigh and the others, the piano player has disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/268 "2009-03-23T03:55:33Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > I just came back from watching that scene again, and my new impression was definitely weaker, but I still think it said “Scientology”. Stepping through it frame-by-frame was useless; I couldn’t make out anything clearly that way. > > Perhaps someone who dvr’d the HD version would be so kind as to check what they could see? I just rewatched and I’m certain the blue & white magazine says _ScienceNow_. BTW, I read the interviews linked to way up-thread and RDM said he’s kinda embarrassed he did that cameo. He didn’t think it would be so obvious and jarring. Personally, I’m glad the very end changed so abruptly. It’s like a splash of cold water to snap you out of the mood they put you in. Had it ended with Adama staring off into the sunset, I might have had to OD on sleeping pills. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/269 "2009-03-23T04:28:17Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > The goal is to ensure the longterm survival of the species, right? I don’t think Lee’s plan was the best plan if that was the goal. I don’t think long-term survival is the goal, actually. Their hopes have been dashed so many times. New Caprica turned into a bloodbath. “Earth” turned out to be a radioactive cinder. The Galactica literally fell apart. And their leadership has been dismal, from Tigh’s disastrous turn commanding the fleet to President Baltar to the mutiny to having to accept Cylons as part of the fleet. So I think they want to find a quiet place to live out the rest of their lives. They want to join up in small settlements with their remaining family and friends and not have to worry about mutinies and suicide missions and emergency jumps. Will they regret it after two or three harsh winters? Possibly. But at this stage in their journey, I don’t have a hard time believing the survivors would say, “Frak it. If we can end the cycle of violence by going off into the wilderness and never again listening to Baltar’s broadcasts or forming a union under Tyrol or building a city that makes a nice conspicuous target, then sign me up.” For those who are worried about Lee, I don’t think he’s going to go off exploring by himself. I picture him leading a band of explorers a la Lewis and Clark. One thing that pleases me endlessly is that Moore didn’t try to explain everything with wormholes and cloning and implanted memories and who knows what else. There are drawbacks to using “God did it” and “Starbuck’s an angel” to cover all the loose ends, but it spared us painful exposition and pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo. Whatever he came up with would inevitably have invited nitpicking and groans of “Oh, come on!” ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/270 "2009-03-23T04:48:02Z")
It did sound like Lee was talking about leaving all technology behind, but it’s fairly clear that’s not what happened. Bill flew his old Viper out of Galactica right before Anders took the fleet toward the Sun. (Did anyone else expect to see him jump away at the last second?) He had his Raptor as well after that. So clearly the smaller vessels stayed on the planet. The plan with the maps was after Lee’s suggestion was approved, so they weren’t sending people out to walk the (new) Earth alone, they were settling in a number of small villages, which might _not_ be the worst plan for survival, especially with transport ships and communications devices to keep them connected at first. The people setting off on foot with a backpack or a duffel bag weren’t walking to Europe and Asia, but presumably to the local settlement over where Lampkin had suggested a city where supplies and materials had presumably already been set up. Galen, of course, was an exception: He was committing suicide, and he knew it. He wasn’t the kind to just say “Frak!” and eat a gun like Cavil, but several people had commented in the last few threads that he seemed to be drifting, going along with whatever was asked of him, but without any real sense of meaning or commitment. (Fix the ship? Sure, you got it! Abandon the fleet and try to form Cylontopia? Yeah, cool, whatever!) It was pretty clear especially after what happened with Boomer and then the revelation about Cally that he just wanted off this ride called life. Alternately brooding in isolation and fighting hopelessly for survival in a harsh and unforgiving environment was exactly the way for him to go. In a sense, it’s what he’s done all along. [ETA: I don’t think “He’s not coming back” meant that Lee would never see his father again, just that his father was going off to live his own life and let Lee live his. He wasn’t gong to play “Daddy” anymore, as he’d done in Lee’s life well past the point where Lee should have become an adult.] As far as Mitochondrial Eve, first of all realize what that is. As the article in the show said, it is the _most recent_ common ancestor through the female line of all living people. Galen _could_ have fathered a tribe that survived in Scotland (if there were anyone there at the time to do it with) as long as his descendants eventually interbred with female descendants of Hera. Secondly, although it is correct that having scientists find fossils that could be identified as Mitochondrial Eve is indeed bad science, it’s _exactly_ the sort of bad science that the media report every day (though not usually Nat. Geo., I think). All it would take is one scientist musing that these recently found fossils are of the right age and location to _possibly_ be Mitochondrial Eve for all we know, and I guarantee that’s the exact report that you’d read in the paper the next day. So in that sense it’s perfectly believable. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/271 "2009-03-23T05:05:56Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > > [@ambushed](#): > > > > Well, I suppose that’s “reasonable”, but only inasmuch as very little makes much sense in that universe surrounding Starbuck. Consider just one of the sets of difficulties I brought out in my long post above: Kara-A is physical, then she and her ship are totally destroyed while Lee watches. But later, Angel Kara (Kara-C) “shows up” (whatever that means in context), and she leads the fleet to Earth1, whereupon she discovers physical Kara-B and physical Viper-B (we know Kara-B is physical because, for one thing, RealBaltar matches Kara-B’s DNA to Kara-A’s). > > The Kara that died on the Maelstrom gas giant is the body that they found on Earth. I don’t see how that’s possible. Lee and the audience saw her and her Viper _completely destroyed_ several months before Angel Kara-C magically returned. I can’t see any alternative than that a new Kara, Kara-B, was magically “resurrected” (by God, I guess) off screen, who then crashed on Earth1 (for no adequately explored reason I can think of except as a necessary but nevertheless highly contrived plot point. > [@Lightray](#): > > That is the body that supplied the necrotic blood that Baltar tested, since those were where Angel Kara got the dogtags from. As I wrote previously, the necrotic blood from that body was obtained on Earth1. In my Thrace Theory, that body _had_ to belong to the second Kara, Kara-B. I’d written that I thought that Baltar compared the dog tag blood with Kara-A’s blood, thinking that it would still be on file. But now I’m considering the possibility that the dog tag blood was compared to that of Angel Kara-C (as opposed to Kara-A). Unlike all the other angels, Angel Kara-C was fully physical (no matter what _else_ she might have been). So if Kara-C had DNA at all – something I’d previously rejected because of her angelic nature – why not the same DNA as that of Kara-A _and_ Kara-B? > [@Lightray](#): > > In “Six Degrees of Separation”, Head Six vanishes during an argument between her and Gaius about God. Shelley Godfrey then shows up on Galactica, accusing Baltar of being a Cylon collaborator. Gaius thinks that Shelley = Head Six, but the way that Shelley reacts makes him believe that not to be true. Shelley’s accusations are proven by Gaeta to have been doctored up, thereby reinforcing Baltar’s position in the fleet. While being followed through Galactica’s corridors by marines, Shelley turns a corner and has inexplicably disappeared. > > The implication, now, is that Shelley Godfrey (Godfrey = “God-friend”) _was_ Head Six, manifesting to interact with _everyone_. Which would mean that Angel Kara was not the only angel-type who had done so. Interesting! Thanks for elaborating on that. I’ve been preparing this post off and on while multi-tasking like crazy, so I don’t know if this has been brought out yet, but I’d like to ask you and the other posters if they would elaborate their views regarding the ontology of angels in the BSG universe. For example, can they switch from Head Angels into Physical Angels at will? If so, why is Angel Kara-C the only one who was demonstrably physical? (Well, now I guess that’s not the case, if **Lightray’s** Shelley Godfrey hypothesis is true; how intriguing!) I find this issue to be an interesting sub-plot/sub-thread. Perhaps it was the Ontology of Angels issue that Moore thought would consume so much Internet bandwidth? ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/272 "2009-03-23T05:41:35Z")
there is no evidence at all that they simply arrived and jumped off their ships and started hiking, it would take time to offload that many people, slave all those ships to Galatica and all the other stuff that had to go on, so why does everyone assume they didnt at least find out what kind of edible plants were around and go over basic survival with everyone? it wouldnt take much and yeah I know its a bit of a fanwank but its not a stretch. also Hera was essentially the mother of us all but that doesnt mean there arent other descendants around (as has been pointed out) it just means that anyone whos kids didnt hook up with Heras kids at some point down the line died out. personally I liked it, the final battle was sweet, and while they didnt need to rescue Hera to find the new earth it was her “map” that led them there, and it was only after the rescue that Kara was put in the place to try it out as a jump coordinate. Not quite as good as the Final of the Shield but still a damn good series ender in my book. I do agree we kinda got a happy ending to a very dark series but I will live. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/273 "2009-03-23T06:25:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > … I did like the robot montage - yes, we’re a far distance still from making them with self-awareness etc., but we’re closer than we’ve ever been and we’re on the way. Even the angels visiting Times Square were doubtful about our ability to keep allofthis from happening again. That whole issue has got lots of red meat in it. One major role of science fiction – arguably its most important one – has historically been to provide cautionary tales concerning technology and society. This aspect is very much at the heart of science fiction. H.G. Wells anticipated nuclear weapons and warned against their use, for just one noteworthy example, and of course there’s no end to the influence of _Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus_. Moore, _et al._ made _Battlestar Galactica’s_ cautionary moral particularly explicit. But I’m _exceptionally_ skeptical that A.I. is anywhere on the horizon as far as we can see. As a software engineer, I’ve followed that field (albeit from a non-expert perspective), and I consider the very recent prediction that we’ll see Turing-level A.I. within 5 years to be utterly ridiculous. Just like commercial fusion, A.I. has been promised to be “just around the corner” every five or ten years, virtually throughout their respective histories. That’s one reason I find Vernor Vinge’s notion of the “Age of Failed Dreams” so deeply compelling. In that period in Vinge’s universe, set well into our future, mankind’s dreams originating in the late 20’th century of A.I., commercial fusion, and extensive nanotechnology have all failed to materialize. Thermonuclear weapons remain humanity’s most powerful and deadly technology, with all the same enormous risks attending it. Nevertheless, with the exception of Well’s cautionary tale of nuclear war, it seems to me that humanity has done a fine job of heeding science fiction’s warnings (and arguably going too far into excessive caution at times). For example, loud alarms were recently raised about the poor containment capabilities surrounding nanotech work. And I don’t imagine any society will allow full human cloning. It seems to me that society has hearkened well to most of science fiction’s well-known warnings, and if (or when) A.I. _does_ become a reality, we can all see that the ordinary person is going to _demand_ something like Asimov’s 3 (and ideally his zero’th) laws of robotics. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/274 "2009-03-23T06:53:37Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > But I’m _exceptionally_ skeptical that A.I. is anywhere on the horizon as far as we can see. Depends what we mean by horizon. We’ve already got robots, and we’re working on AI. But in BSG, AIs and Centurions don’t get created until people have a comfortable presence in space. We’re a ways away from that too. But when we get to the point where an average person can board a space liner for a nice leisurely trip to Mars, then get back to me on that AI/robot thing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/275 "2009-03-23T07:08:06Z")
I don’t think it matters how far off AI is: it wasn’t the point of the montage to show that we’re on the verge of creating Cylons. In fact, the montage showed the opposite; it showed how far we have to go. The point was that we’re driven, beyond all concern for practicality (robots that dance? play musical instruments? look seductive? What on earth for?), to create images of ourselves. Creating new human-like life is a dream that far, far, predates the science that may someday make it possible, and it is worth wondering - no matter how distant the goal - what makes that dream so compelling. What is it that drives us in that direction: curiosity? hubris? vanity? benevolence? What is our true goal? What makes us worthy of being imitated, of reproducing ourselves as a species and giving our form, our intelligence, our flaws to another order of being? And will they thank us for creating them in our image? ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/276 "2009-03-23T08:56:04Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I don’t think it matters how far off AI is: it wasn’t the point of the montage to show that we’re on the verge of creating Cylons. In fact, the montage showed the opposite; it showed how far we have to go. The point was that we’re driven, beyond all concern for practicality (robots that dance? play musical instruments? look seductive? What on earth for?), to create images of ourselves. Creating new human-like life is a dream that far, far, predates the science that may someday make it possible, and it is worth wondering - no matter how distant the goal - what makes that dream so compelling. What is it that drives us in that direction: curiosity? hubris? vanity? benevolence? What is our true goal? What makes us worthy of being imitated, of reproducing ourselves as a species and giving our form, our intelligence, our flaws to another order of being? And will they thank us for creating them in our image? I’m sorry to mar such a thoughtful and eloquent post (which very much deserves replies in kind) with the following banal observations, but I’m too sleepy at the moment for any attempt at profundity… With one exception, I’ve never understood _any_ desire to “create images of ourselves”, at least in the form of artificially intelligent, fully functional humaniform robots. Asimov himself had difficulty justifying humaniform robots, although, of course, nearly all of his robots were merely humanoid rather than humaniform. But even _he_ – and he was always quite prudish in his novels (however otherwise in real life) – latched on to the main and possibly only reason we will most definitely try to create them, which is the same as the exception I spoke of: To serve as always-willing sexual partners. Partners who will have to speak and react in a very human-like manner lest they be seen by our various cultures as mere advanced blow-up dolls (making the possession of such a thing far too socially embarrassing to justify their presumably enormous price tags). ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/277 "2009-03-23T09:14:21Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Once we see Tigh and the others, the piano player has disappeared. Are you certain of that? That doesn’t jibe with my own memory. In my recollection, Saul, Ellen, Tory, and Galen are in the same bar when they hear the piano player & Angel Kara-C play a duo of the Watchtower theme after they’ve incorporated Hera’s drawing into the score. It seems to me Saul says something like “it’s that same frakkin’ song!”. I seem to also recall seeing them at the piano looking at the score in wonder, but it’s certainly possible that by the time they reach the piano, Kara-C and the pianist have departed the room. However, there’s no question that my memory for such details is fuzzy, so I’ll take your word for it, at least until I can review that episode (anyone remember the title of that ep?) ---
**Author:** ![beowulf573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@beowulf573](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulf573)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/278 "2009-03-23T12:23:09Z")
You see Kara and the piano player getting all googly eyed, then Tigh’s hand reaching for Kara’s shoulder. The camera the shifts so both are in frame, and both the piano player and his score are gone. The only things left are Kara and Hera’s drawing of the notes. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/279 "2009-03-23T12:27:01Z")
Starbuck is there, but the piano player isn’t. That’s my recollection. Only Starbuck ever saw the piano player. I also seem to recall an earlier scene in which Starbuck asks the barkeep when they got a piano player and he gives her a “WTF?” look. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206/280 "2009-03-23T12:38:11Z")
> [@ambushed](#): > > Are you certain of that? That doesn’t jibe with my own memory. In my recollection, Saul, Ellen, Tory, and Galen are in the same bar when they hear the piano player & Angel Kara-C play a duo of the Watchtower theme after they’ve incorporated Hera’s drawing into the score. It seems to me Saul says something like “it’s that same frakkin’ song!”. I seem to also recall seeing them at the piano looking at the score in wonder, but it’s certainly possible that by the time they reach the piano, Kara-C and the pianist have departed the room. > > However, there’s no question that my memory for such details is fuzzy, so I’ll take your word for it, at least until I can review that episode (anyone remember the title of that ep?) Lemmie refresh your memory: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WalRgIjHjas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WalRgIjHjas) All fanwanking about how could Kara play with three hands aside. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battlestar-galactica-finale-thread/490206.md?page=15)