#BSG15Years – 2×03: Fragged

15 years ago today, the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA episode 2×03: Fragged aired on July 29, 2005 on the Sci Fi Channel in the USA.
This episode was written by Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin and directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan. #BSG15Years.

NOTE: The video will wait until it is fully buffered before playing

Aaron Douglas (@theaarondouglas) July 29, 2020
Filming was so fun. Dir. Sergio worked on Saving Private Ryan and wanted to give Chief that hero moment. I hit the target, left handed, on take 1. Very proud of myself, Ha. After it aired Mary told me she jumped and clapped at the end of the scene. “Yes! Chief!” #BSG15Years

Bear McCreary (@bearmccreary) July 29, 2020
Dude I can’t believe how fast time is flying.

Aaron Douglas (@theaarondouglas) July 30, 2020
Right? Every time I see one of these clips for #BSG15Years I think, “You know, my thinner younger brother is a pretty good actor.” Ha! It feels like a lifetime ago.

 

BONUS #BSG15Years video clips from FRAGGED

Aaron chooses the video clips for these #BSG15Years posts. And I would have picked the same one he did because I *LOVE* that Chief ‘hero moment’ scene. But because ‘Fragged’ is one of my favourite Chief episodes I’m including some other clips from the episode.

 

(1) In the #BattlestarGalacticast for Fragged @trutriciahelfer wondered if the last line in this scene was an ad-lib by Aaron. I’m 99.9% sure it was because I asked him the same thing years ago. But let’s have @theaarondouglas confirm/deny it. @jamescallis #BSG15Years

Aaron Douglas (@theaarondouglas) July 29, 2020
I CAN confirm it is a great line and I CAN confirm I’m 99.9% sure it’s an ad-lib. Leaving just a little wiggle room in case I’m wrong. 😉 @trutriciahelfer @jamescallis #BSG15Years

James Callis (@james_callis) July 30, 2020
The weight’s off my shoulders now! I mean the load! X

 

(2) I *LOVE* this scene. The Chief’s facial expressions just screams “Crashdown is an incompetent dumbass”. I wish they had left in the (as Ron Moore called it) ‘f-ck you salute’ part of the scene. “You’re out in the middle of everything, and the bad guys are watching. Whoever gets saluted is the highest-ranking guy. You don’t want to be saluted when they are trying to pick out who’s the guy they need to take down”.

 

(3) Another great scene. “Look, no disrespect, but like why are we always going uphill?” (lol). And I love that even though the Chief thinks that Crashdown is ‘insane in the membrane’ he is respecting his decision as the commanding officer.

 

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#TBT (Throwback Thursday) #08 – April 10, 2014

#TBT. The Chief and Gaius Baltar (James Callis) on the set of the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA episode 2×03: Fragged. This is one of my favourite Chief episodes besides ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ and ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – 2×03: Fragged (July 29, 2005)

Previously on Battlestar Galactica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSCRIPT: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – 2×03: Fragged (July 29, 2005)

Written By: Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
Directed By: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan


(1) KOBOL – FOREST

Crashdown: Lords of Kobol, take these brave men into your arms. Take upon … take … take … the spirits of our fallen friends so that they may share in the everlasting life that awaits us all beyond the vale of tears. So say we all.
All: So say we all.
Six: Nothing awaits them. No eternal life, no damnation. Only oblivion.
Baltar: Because they haven’t seen the face of God, I take it.
Six: Because they died here. On Kobol.
Baltar: I see.
Tyrol: Doc… let’s go. We’re moving out. Doc, you hear me? We’re moving out.
Baltar: I did hear you, Chief. I just don’t respond to the title “Doc”. A “dock” is a platform for loading and unloading material. My title is “Doctor,” or “Mr. Vice President,” if you don’t mind.
Tyrol: You are loading, are you not? (to Crashdown) El-tee? El-tee! Crash!
Crashdown: Hmm? Oh, yeah, Chief, I’ll be right there.


(2) KOBOL – FOREST

Tyrol: No Cylons.
Crashdown: You sure?
Tyrol: Uh-oh. Wait a minute. Tree line, two o’clock.
Crashdown: Got ’em. What are they doing?
Tyrol: Looks like they’re dismantling the ship.
Crashdown: Why? Why not just use it to fly the hell out of here?
Tyrol: I don’t know. I can’t tell. They’re… dragging it into the tree line. It’s, uh… Oh, wait a minute. They’re building something.
Crashdown: Chief, is that a…
Tyrol: A missile. They’re building a missile battery.
Crashdown: Well, at least we know why they’re not chasing us.
Baltar: Why? Why aren’t they chasing us?
Tyrol: Because they don’t have to. They can just sit back, launch a missile barrage that’ll wipe out every living thing in this valley.


(3) INT. GALACTICA – CIC
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Tigh: What the hell’s all this? Why aren’t you in the brig?
Apollo: I’m on duty, sir. Planning the search and rescue mission.
Tigh: Search and rescue? For who? We lose a plane, and nobody tells me?!
Apollo: For our Raptor crew down on the surface of Kobol, sir?
Tigh: Simes is senior pilot now. He can plan the SAR.
Apollo: You asked me to command the air group when I’m on duty. And I’m on duty. So am I in command… or not?
Tigh: What’s the status of the SAR, Captain?
Apollo: Well, we don’t know in what area Raptor 3 went down. So the only realistic chance we have of finding her is to hope that her transponder disaster beacon is still functioning. I intend to take two Raptors, one with medical personnel, and make five low level orbits of the planet.
Tigh: What about the Cylon base ship that Lieutenant Valerii supposedly destroyed? What if she was lying?
Apollo: Racetrack confirmed the destruction of the base ship, and I checked the gun camera footage from the Raptors, which verifies it.


(4) KOBOL – FOREST

Cally: I count… six missiles being carried into the forest site so far.
[Baltar and Six conversation]
Tyrol: Wait a minute, wait a minute. El-tee, check this out.
Crashdown: What do you got, Chief?
Tyrol: 45 degrees east of the launcher. You see that tree stump?
Crashdown: What the hell is that?
Tyrol: It looks like a dradis dish. At least, the Cylon version of a dradis dish. It’s probably salvaged from the nose cone of the ship. They’re building an anti-aircraft battery.
Cally: Anti-aircraft? For what? There are no other aircraft around here.
Tyrol: The Galactica’s gonna send a search and rescue team. When they do, that’s at least two Raptors doing a low pass over the crash site. When those Raptors come looking for us, risking their lives to rescue us…
Crashdown: Cylons will shoot ’em down.


(5) INT. GALACTICA – HANGAR DECK
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Apollo: Seven birds down for repairs. Three out on picket duty with the CAP.
Dualla: Uh, CON traffic, sir. Priority messages are on top.
Tigh: Cut to the chase, Captain! How long before you launch the SAR? (to Dualla) Come on, D, these are all marked “priority.”
Dualla: Sorry, sir, that’s how they came in.
Apollo: I’m cannibalizing 305 for parts. Should be up in the air in, I don’t know, 90 minutes.
Tigh: 90 minutes?! We got men down on that frakking planet! Get your head in the game. You do your job, or go back to the brig. (to Dualla) Are on the members of the Quorum in the Ward room?
Dualla: All 12, sir.
Tigh: Don’t suppose you wanna do this for me?
Dualla: Never was much for public speaking, sir.


(6) KOBOL – FOREST

Crashdown: The launcher looks like a simple point-and-shoot. No built-in guidance.
Tyrol: Ordnance appear to be standard ship-to-ship missiles. They’re modifying them for atmospheric flight.
Cally: One Cylon sentry walks the perimeter, stopping at regular intervals.
Baltar: The dradis dish that controls the missiles is on the 4.5 KG wavelength, judging by the diameter. It’s guarded by two centurions, I think.
Crashdown: I’m sorry, Doc, did you say it was guarded by two centurions?
Baltar: Yes, I did.
Crashdown: Okay, is the dradis guarded continuously of intermittently?
Baltar: I saw two centurions through the field glasses… continuously, for five minutes. In that time, they didn’t leave their post.
Crashdown: So there’s three toasters near the launcher. Two more out by the dish. That’s a lot of Cylons. (to Baltar) You ever handle a weapon?
Baltar: Who, me? No. I’m not a soldier, Crashdown.
Crashdown: I’ll try to give you the most simple assignment, but I’m gonna need every man.
Tyrol: You’re not suggesting we attack the Cylons?
Crashdown: We owe it to Socinus and Tarn to tack the frakkers out before they kill anyone else. We have equal numbers. We have the element of surprise. Therefore, we have the initiative. We can attack at the time and place of our choosing.
Tyrol: El-tee, a word… in private.
Baltar: He’s crazy. I’m not trained for this kind of thing. I’ve never fired a gun in my life.
Seelix: I haven’t fired one since basic.
Baltar: You?
Cally: I just joined to pay for dental school.
Tyrol: Basic ground assault was a long time ago. For all of us. Those aren’t training officers out there. They’re programmed killing machines.
Crashdown: We don’t have any choice. Galactica will definitely be sending a search and rescue party. It’s just a matter of time. And if we don’t take out that launcher…
Tyrol: We can’t go up against an armed and defended position like that. They’ll wipe us out in the first two minutes.
Crashdown: That’s enough! Chief, look, under the circumstances, it’s important that you keep your cool.
Tyrol: I don’t believe I’ve lost my cool.
Crashdown: I disagree. Look, I don’t want to attack the launcher either, but it’s our duty. We owe it to the rescue party, and we owe it to Socinus and Tarn.
Tyrol: I fail to see what this has to do with Socinus and Tarn.
Crashdown: Maybe that’s why I’m an officer, and you’re not. Dismissed.


(7) KOBOL – FOREST

Crashdown: This briefing will outline a plan of attack in five graphs. Graph One: Situation. Our situation is that we are stranded on Kobol with a group of five Cylons who are planing to use an AAU to destroy any SAR craft sent to find us. There are no friendly forces present.
Baltar: What’s all this graph business?
Tyrol: It’s a five-paragraph order. It’s a basic command tool. It’s taught at officer candidate school. It’s just not usually used this… literally in the field.
Crashdown: Graph Four: Execution. We will assault the Cylon launch site from the northwest, using…
Baltar: Oh, come on. This is absurd. What, we’re talking on the Cylon army, are we? Us? Look at us. What, with two rifles and a canteen? Have you lost your mind…?
Crashdown: That’s enough, Doctor.
Baltar: Is it? Look, no disrespect, but like why are we always going uphill? Does anybody else think that this plan is frakking nuts? I’ll tell you what’s fair. This is fair. We’ll have a show of hands…
Tyrol: No! Absolutely not! This is not a democracy! The LT’s in charge! The LT’s in charge. No ifs, no ands, no buts. He say we go, we go. There’s no questions…
Baltar: We’ve already lost two men, Chief! How many more people are we gonna lose?
Tyrol: You need to sit down. And shut up right now.
Baltar: Nobody tells me to shut up. I’m the vice president…
Tyrol: You need to sit down and shut up right now. (to Crashdown) Your briefing, LT.
Crashdown: Thank you, Chief. Graph Four. We’ll approach the Cylon launch site from the northwest, using natural ground cover to mask our approach. Our objective is the command and control console. Once we reach this position, Cally, you’re gonna flank out to the left, making a feint on the Cylon position. Hopefully drawing their fire long enough for me and Seelix to flank out to the right and get a shot at the console. Tyrol, you and the vice president will stay at position one, and provide covering fire for both flanking maneuvers.


(8) INT. RAPTOR – SPACE
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Apollo: Galactica/Apollo, we are preparing to Jump to Kobol.
Dualla: Roger that, Apollo. You are clear to Jump. Good hunting.
Apollo: Thank you, Galactica. (to Racetrack) Let’s go find our people.


(9) KOBOL – FOREST

Cally: Okay, cock the rifle, click the safety, open the scope. Cock the rifle, click the safety, open the scope.


(10) INT. RAPTOR – SPACE
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Racetrack: I got a transponder signal. Definitely Colonial. Trying to establish a lock. Got it. Northern hemisphere. Looks like mountainous terrain. There’s a valley.
Apollo: Take us out of orbit. Signal Raptor Two to form up on us.


(11) KOBOL – FOREST

Crashdown: There they are. All three of ’em, right where they’re supposed to be. All right, people, this is it. We’re going in. Cally, move up the tree line to point alpha.
Tyrol: Whoa, whoa, whoa. El-tee, there’s five Cylons at the launcher.
Crashdown: What?
Baltar: Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Something’s wrong with the plan…
Crashdown: Quiet down, there’s nothing wrong. There’s just a couple Cylons that we didn’t account for. That makes for seven Cylons. Five here, and two up at the dish. Are you absolutely certain about the two guards at the dish?
Baltar: I know what I saw.
Tyrol: Maybe there are only five Cylons. They just changed their deployment. They brought the two that were guarding the dish down here. Now the dish is unprotected.
Crashdown: Gods, Chief, that dish is, like, almost a click away.
Tyrol: So what? It’s unprotected. We can go take it out. We don’t have to take on the whole Cylon army.
Baltar: What the hell was that?
Crashdown: Sonic booms.
Tyrol: Spacecraft entering the upper atmosphere.
Crashdown: It’s the SAR mission. They’re here. They are right up there, Chief. We gotta go. There’s no time for discussion. All right, everyone, move out. It’s game time. We’re taking these toasters out before they kill any more of us. (to Cally) Cally, I said move.
Cally: I can’t.
Crashdown: What? That’s an order.
Tyrol: She doesn’t have to. We can just go take out the dish.
Crashdown: Cally, you have to move. Cally, this is not a joke. Go. This is not a game, Cally. Go. We have people counting on us. They’re up there, Cally. Move!
Tyrol: Listen to me. We still have time to double back and take out the dish.
Crashdown: Shut up for a second. Cally, Cally. Specialist. You have your orders. I need you to go out there and create a distraction now! Move! Move!
Tyrol: El-tee!
Seelix: There were only supposed to be three Cylons and now there are five. How are we supposed to take on five Cylons?
Crashdown: Cally, move. Frak orders, frak court martial. Our people are up there. We have to save them. We don’t have any time. Move!
Cally: I can’t do it.
Crashdown: Cally! Move!
Cally: Nooooooo!
[Crashdown draws his gun on Cally]
Baltar: Chief!
Tyrol: Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey. Put it down. Put it down.
Crashdown: You’re going out there, Cally. You’re going out there or I’m gonna blow your brains out. Right here, right now.
Tyrol: Put it down. Hey, El-tee. Easy. Take it easy.
Crashdown: I’m gonna count to three.
Seelix: This is crazy. This is crazy!
Crashdown: One.
[Tyrol draws his gun on Crashdown]
Tyrol: Put it down right now.
Seelix: Oh, my gods.
Tyrol: Listen to me! Drop your weapon.
Crashdown: Two. Three.
[Gun fires. Crashdown slumps forward, dead. Baltar is revealed to be the shooter]
[Cylons start shooting at them]
Tyrol: Fall back! Fall back! Go! Go! Go!
[Tyrol removes all the dogtags from around Crashdown’s neck]
Tyrol: C’mon on Doc let’s go.


(12) INT. RAPTOR – SPACE
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Apollo: ETA?
Racetrack: Five minutes!


(13) KOBOL – FOREST

[Chief, Baltar, Cally and Seelix running through forest]
[Two Raptors flying over the Raptor One crash site]
[Tyrol has been shot in the arm]
Tyrol: Aaah! Aaah!
Baltar: Chief!
Tyrol: Aaah! Doc! Gimme the launcher! Gimme the launcher, Doc! Come on!
[Baltar hands Tyrol the launcher]
Tyrol: Cover me
[Tyrol takes out the dradis dish with launcher]


(14) INT. RAPTOR – SPACE
***** TYROL NOT IN THIS SCENE *****

Racetrack: Missiles! There’s a battery down there!
Apollo: Evasive! Break, break, break!
Racetrack: No lock. No lock! They’re not locking on us.


(15) KOBOL – FOREST

[Cylon still shooting at them]
[Baltar takes cover behind a tree. Cally and Seelix join him. Tyrol is separated from the others]
Cally: Chief!
Tyrol: Stay there! Stay there!
Baltar: Chief! Chief!
Cally: Chief!
[Tyrol takes his pistol out, screams and shoots at cylons. Cylons blow up. He thinks he did it. He turns around and looks up and sees Apollo in the Raptor]
Apollo: You’re welcome.


(16) KOBOL – FOREST

Apollo: It’s a hell of a butchers bill, Chief. How did Crashdown die?
Baltar: Leading the charge. He gave his life in the… in the finest tradition of the service.
Tyrol: Yeah. He was a hero. To the end.
[Baltar and Head Six talking]
Apollo: Okay, Doctor, we gotta go! Doctor, come on! We gotta go.
[Baltar and Head Six talking]
Apollo: Come on, Doctor! We gotta get outta here! Come on.


http://transcripts.thedealr.net/script.php/battlestar-galactica-2004-1hyM/s2/e3

VIDEO: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – 2×03: Fragged (July 29, 2005)

TV SHOW: Battlestar Galactica
EPISODE: 2×03: Fragged
AIR DATE: July 29, 2005 on Sci Fi Channel (USA)
AARON’S CHARACTER: Chief Tyrol
WRITTEN BY: Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
DIRECTED BY: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
LINKS: IMDb / Wikipedia / Battlestar Wiki

NOTE: The video will wait until it is fully buffered before playing

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

BSG TRAILER: 2×03: Fragged (SCIFI) & (SPACE)