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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr
enik1138 at popapostle dot com

Caprica: Know Thy Enemy "Know Thy Enemy"
TV episode
Story by Patrick Massett and John Zinman and Matthew B. Roberts
Teleplay by Patrick Massett and John Zinman
Directed by Michael Nankin

 

Daniel faces a rival while Sister Clarice closes in on Zoe’s avatar.

 

Read the synopsis of this episode at the Battlestar Wiki site.

 

Didja Notice?

 

At 1:54 on the DVD, we see that Tauron has a rather large moon, with a ring around it. The shot is borrowed (and modified) from one of a city on Libran in the BSG2000 TV movie The Plan.

 

The beginning of the episode depicts events of one month previous, with Tomas Vergis discovering that his company's new MCP chip has been stolen. The theft occurred between scenes in "Pilot" Part 2.

 

The article "Catch the Art Treasures of Kobol Exhibit" in The Caprican reveals that the Graystone party takes place at the Caprica Art Museum and the art piece Vergis is looking at when he crashes the Graystone party at 4:19 on the DVD, was made before humanity fled its homeworld of Kobol. It is a real world objet de art as well, called Raven and The First Men, made by Canadian artist Bill Reid and on display at the UBC Museum of Anthropology; the piece depicts an aspect of the creation myth of the indigenous Haida people of British Columbia, Canada and southeast Alaska.

 

At 6:17 on the DVD, the U-87 is shown with its right arm missing. But it was the left arm that was torn off in the previous episode, "There is Another Sky"! And, just seconds later, both arms are back in place!

 

At 7:41 on the DVD, a scrolling digital advertisement for the Business Times is seen outside the window. The ad reports on Daniel Graystone's statement about donating all future profits from his company's holobands to charity and his remark, "Hold me to it, Caprica," on Backtalk with Baxter Sarno in "Gravedancing".

 

The bag which holds Joseph's purchase of a holoband reads Emptor Electronics, which must be the name of the store from which he bought the device. Emptor is Latin for "buyer".

 

Notice that Joseph attempts to open the plastic packaging for his new holoband with increasing irritation (as I'm sure most of us have experienced as well!). At 9:19 on the DVD, we then get a jump cut to a hammer sitting next to the torn packaging!

 

At 12:56 on the DVD, Clarice has what looks like a large Russian nesting doll on her desk.

 

At 15:09 on the DVD, Clarice pulls down a text book titled Markowitz's Math. This is a fictional text, but the title may be a nod to American economist Harry Markowitz, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Later, at 22:31, we see three more books from Clarice's collection, all of which she claims belonged to Zoe so she'll have an excuse to visit Amanda at the Graystone residence under the guise of returning them: Principles of Biology: Level 3, Day by Day, and Today's Poetry; notice that the titles on bindings of the last two books appear to have simply been handwritten on by someone in the props department!

 

At 15:31 on the DVD, we see a pack of Forge cigarettes smoked by Joseph Adama. 

 

At 17:40 on the DVD, we see the dating website used by Philomon is called Caprica V-Match, with the slogan "Find your virtual connection." A click-through ad for a game called Tauron Stars is seen on the right-hand side of the web page, as well as an ad for something called Alpha League.

 

Philo's dating profile reveals he is 27 years old and was born in Qualai, Caprica (the BSG2000 episode "Hero" reveals that Bill Adama was also born there). Among his favorite television viewing are Gemenon monster movies, probably a reference to Japanese monster movies, well-loved by many geeks here on Earth.

 

Philo's educational degrees as displayed on his dating profile use the same terms as used here on Earth: BS (Bachelor of Science), PHD (Doctor of Philosophy), MA (Master of Arts), and MSCS (Master of Science, Computer Science). These are terms used in our world for students who have achieved certain university-level degrees, though it seems slightly odd that the same exact terms would be used in the far distant past of the Twelve Colonies.

 

After meeting Lacy for the first time, Barnabas tells Keon he has to stop thinking with his tarse. It would seem that "tarse" is a Caprican slang term for "penis".

 

At 31:54 on the DVD, a radio or television evangelist speaks of turning to the Book of the Word. This was one of the religious books Commander Adama put great faith in as mentioned in the BSG70 episode "A Death in the Family".

 

The dating profile of Zoe's fictional Rachel persona mentions that one of her hobbies is cello, which Zoe herself apparently played as hinted in "Gravedancing".

 

The information Evelyn finds on the VR gamer known as Heracles, who developed something of a friendship with the Tamara avatar, reveals his real name is Tad Thorean and he attends North Ridge High School in Caprica City. 

 

Notes from The Caprican

 

The article Assistant Defense Minister: "Caprica City May Be Caught in the Crossfire of an STO Civil War" reveals there is a Caprican morning news show called Good Morning Caprica City.

 

The article "Racism: An Unacceptable Aspect of Caprican Life" features a description of Joseph and Willie's fishing trip in the episode, without naming them. How did the in-universe author of the article learn of the incident? See this article also for the origin of the racial epithet "dirt-eater" used by many Capricans against the Taurons.

 

    The Caprica City Visitors Guide mentions the Pantheon Bridge as the most beautiful bridge in Caprica City and a popular post-brunch stroll: this is the bridge at which Amanda Graystone will attempt to commit suicide in "End of Line".
   The guide also recommends a night club/restaurant called Via Appia Café. Via Appia is Latin for Appian Way, a major and militarily strategic road of the old Roman Empire on Earth; large portions of the original route still exist today and open to tourists.

 

Memorable Dialog

not one woman is interested in me.wav
an afterlife that we can see and touch.wav
an unfortunate name.wav
that mother frakker.wav
this assistant who yells at me.wav
geeks never are.wav
my dream is to tear up your dream.wav
whatever cuts you deeper.wav

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