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"Ghosts in the Machine"
TV episode
Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Wayne Rose |
Daniel Graystone engages in a dangerous game to draw out his
daughter's avatar.
Read the synopsis of this episode at the Battlestar Wiki site
Didja Know?
The title of this episode is a play on the phrase "ghost in the
machine", coined by British philosopher Gilbert Ryle in his 1949
book The Concept of Mind, wherein he criticizes the
notion that the mind can be separated from the body, the mental
from the physical, the spiritual from the material. Arthur
Koestler took the concept further with his 1967 book The
Ghost in the Machine, examining what he says is the ability
of the primitive portions of the human brain to override the
higher ones with destructive impulses such as anger and hate.
Didja Notice?
At 1:14 on the DVD, a crumpled fast food wrapper on Joseph's
coffee table appears to say something like Melty Burger. There
is such an establishment in New York City, though not Vancouver
where the series is shot, as far as I can tell. This same scene
also shows an aluminum beverage can labeled Leonis (the article
"Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations" in
The Caprican implies that the beverage is Leonis
Red, an energy drink).
When Emmanuelle pulls out a gun and
hands it to Joseph in New Cap City, he remarks she's a "real
life Nicky Casino." Nicky Casino seems to be a television
character on the planet Caprica in a show called Nicky
Casino, as briefly mentioned in the Caprican
article
"Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations".
When Emmanuelle tells Joseph she doesn't look like her New Cap
City avatar in the real world, he asks, "Then, who are you
really?" and she responds, "Someone who's being paid to help
you." Her response has a double meaning and is a hint of her
true identity, as she is actually Joseph's assistant, Evelyn, in
his job as a lawyer.
At about 9:42 on the DVD, a few book titles are legible on the
bookshelf behind Daniel: HTML 3, Windows Me,
Optimizing SQL Server 7, and QuickTax. The
titles are all related to real world Earth software and
computer-related protocols. Many other books can be seen to have
tape or other markings on the binding to partially cover the
titles.
At 11:24 on the DVD, Daniel is seen to light his cigarette with
a Savitari match. I've been unable to find a real world brand
name or word meaning of "Savitari".
At the Mysteries night club in New Cap City, Cerberus asks
Joseph to answer a riddle: "As the gods overthrew the Titans, so
has Man overthrown the gods. But when Man visits his sins upon
his children, how shall he be repaid?" We get no answer here
but, philosophically, the answer is that the children of Man
overthrow him; in the context of BSG, it will be humanity's
"children" the Cylons who will overthrow them.
The poster hanging behind Joseph
at Mysteries at 31:33 on the DVD
reads, in part: |
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Erotic Dance By
Penny Ann Hardage
ALSO PERFORMANCES BY
Maya Toews and
Rachel Dudley
Back from a triumphant
CONTINENTAL TOUR
Exclusive to
The Eleusinian Theatre
Throughout the month
Of Maius, Starting at
10pm Every Night
HELD OVER UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE
Rumba Rhythms
Lance Johnson and Lauren(?)
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Penny Ann Hardage and Rachel
Dudley were production
assistants on the series. Maya
Toews is known as a production
assistant on several films, but
I'm not aware of her having been
involved with Caprica.
Lance Johnson purchased props
for the
Caprica pilot.
"Lauren" (last name not visible
on the poster) may be a
reference to Laurence Schwarz,
an assistant engineer on the
series. (The article
"The Top 5 Entertainment Options
in New Cap City" in
The Caprican recommends the entertainment at
the Eleusinian Theatre.)
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Another poster reads, in part: |
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Jazz on the Moon
Swing and Beat by Denise Hutniak
THREE NIGHTS ONLY
STARTING AFTER
THE MAIN SHOW
Quintilis 3rd, 4th, and 5th
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Hutniak was an art department
coordinator on the series. |
Daniel remarks that the U-87 weighs about a quarter-ton (about
500 pounds).
In this episode, we see Serge enter
Daniel and Amanda's upstairs bedroom to tell Amanda that Vergis
is at the door. How does Serge get up and down the levels of the
house? Is he able to maneuver the stairs somehow on his rounded,
ball-like locomotor? Is there an elevator in the house that
takes him up and down?
At 40:30 on the DVD, it's obvious the dog is looking off camera
at its handler instead of at Zoe/U-87 as it's supposed to be
doing.
Notes from The Caprican
The article
"Top 5 Off-Beat Vacation Destinations"
mentions Queenstown, Picon as a favored destination for
outsourcing the filming of Caprican movies and TV shows. This is
a tongue-in-cheek reference to Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada as the same such destination of Hollywood productions.
The article
"Suspicious Activity on Graystone Property" is a report of
one of the Graystones' neighbors across the bay seeing a fire on
the Graystone property and reporting it to the police, as well
as a strange gigantic lawn statue there that disappeared later
in the day. This is, of course, a distant eyewitness' version of
Daniel's attempt to get a reaction out of Zoe inside the U-87
through the use of fire as depicted in this episode.
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