FROM ULTRASONIC SCRUB TO 038
ULTRASONIC SCRUB A pre-operative procedure undergone by medical personnel, perhaps a method that uses ultrasonic sound waves to clean and sterilize the body (FS).
UMBRA The agro city on the edge of the Thorn Forest on Caprica where Starbuck was born. It was completely destroyed in a Cylon raid in 7322. This was apparently one of the first raids (at least within living memory) on the Colonies themselves and as such can be seen as the beginning of the final stage of the war (MN).
UNICOM A broadband communications channel used by the fleet. Sheba contacted the vipers of Apollo and Starbuck using unicom (LL). Adama uses unicom when he wishes to address the people of the fleet (WG, GE, ET).
“UNSUNG HERO OF THE CENTARE” While posing as the head of IFB in order to con the Canaris shuttle’s ticket taker into giving him free passage, Chameleon announced that the popular IFB show “Warrior of the Centare” was a mistake and that they should really focus on the common people of the fleet, such as the ticket taker. He suggested that it would be called “Unsung Hero of the Centare” and informed the stunned ticket taker that he’d be the first person interviewed (MN).
URI, SIRE
(Ray Milland) After escaping from the Colonies, in the process losing his evidently
inconvenient wife, Sire Uri and his decadent pals made themselves at home aboard the Rising
Star, fornicating with young women and feasting on food they had brought from the
Colonies while other people in the fleet starved because of the food disaster caused by
Cylon radiation weapons.Although caught at it by Apollo, Uri somehow was elected to the
Council of Twelve and, much to Apollo’s surprise and obvious dismay, Adama actually
voted for him, remembering the days when Uri was a leader of some eminence in the
Colonies. Uri suggested disarming as a method to gain the trust of the Cylons. His fate is
unknown, but we can hope that some of the wild gunfire in the casino put paid to him for
good (P). It is indicative of Glen Larson's scientific ignorance, by the way, that there
are a “Sire Uri” and a “Sire Geller” in the series.
URI, SIRESS Late wife of Sire Uri, she was “not in time to make the voyage.”
VALCRON A Colonial fabric (LG).
VAPOR POINT When the tylium in the Carillon mine reached vapor point, the planet exploded (P).
VECTOR (Ray Bolger) Android constructed by Sarah’s father and left to keep the farm on Paradeen. Vector constructed Hector to help him. He mistook Starbuck for the blonde-haired Charity, much to Starbuck’s dismay and the amusement of the others (GE).
VECTOR COORDINATES Navigational information. Vector coordinates are coded and transferred to vipers just before launch so that the navigational information available to the pilots will be absolutely up to date.
VELA (Kathy Cannon) Sister of Bootes, she nursed the injured Colonial warrior Martin, who crash landed on Equellus after a battle with the Cylons, back to health and later married him. Martin was killed by Red-Eye when their son Puppis was less than a yahren old; since then she has kept up her ovine farm, recently with the help of Puppis as he grows older. When Apollo arrived she hid him from Red-Eye, provided him with suitable local clothing for his forays into town, and eventually showed him where Martin’s wrecked ship was, so he could siphon fuel from it for his own viper. A good-looking, intelligent woman with an unsurprising hatred of guns and killing (LW).
VENUS FLIGHT LEADER Cylon flight leader whose patrol intercepted Starbuck and Boomer near Attila; his was the only Cylon ship to survive the dogfight (YL).
VI (Mary Kay Mars) One of the saloon girls in Lacerta’s hangout on Equellus (LW).
VICKERS (Walt Davis) Warrior assigned to the Arkta mission, dark and clean-shaven. He was injured in the crash-landing of the shuttle (GI).
VICTUALS Food supplies (LG).
VIGNON A drink served in Lacerta’ bar on Equellus (LW).
VILLIAN MOONS, BY THE Expression used by Chameleon (MN).
VIPER
The standard single-seat interceptor of the Colonial Fleet, a small ship about 30 feet
long. It is fitted with three engines and armed with a pair of laser cannon mounted on the
leading edges of the wings. The viper has three atmospheric stabilization surfaces, a
small vertical fin and two wings with a large degree of anhedral. Presumably these fins
are fitted to give the viper directional stability when flying in a planetary atmosphere.
The vipers were painted a dirty white with dark orange or red stripes.
The viper pilot occupies a small
cockpit fitted with computer displays, and flies the ship through a centrally-mounted
control stick on which are three buttons controlling laser fire, turbos, and reverse
thrust. No two-seat vipers were ever shown in the series,
though they obviously exist (P).
Grant
McCune, Joe Johnston, John Dykstra, and Ralph McQuarrie, all of whom had previously worked
on Star Wars, were responsible for the design of the viper. An earlier concept
had three engines like the final viper but they were integrated more cleanly into a
longer, pointed fuselage. The vertical fin was shorter but the wings much longer with the
laser cannon mounted out on their tips.
A full-size mockup of a viper was
constructed but compared with the models used in the series it is too short and has
simplified, inaccurate details. The Monogram plastic model kit of the viper is based on
the full-sized mockup and there are significant differences between it and the model
vipers used in the series. Unfortunately these inaccuracies are becoming canonized by CGI
vipers that are based on the Monogram model and not the series vipers. CGI modelers take
note, please.
VIPER 4 Starbuck’s viper in “Experiment in Terra.”
VIPER 4 One of the vipers flown to the Celestra by Apollo and Starbuck (TC).
VIPER 6 One of the vipers flown to the Celestra by Apollo and Starbuck (TC).
VIPER 2 Apollo's viper in “Experiment in Terra.”
VIRGON One of the Twelve Colonies, and, with Caprica and Sagitara, one of the first attacked by the Cylons (P).
VOIGHT (?) A dark, mustached warrior assigned to the Arkta mission (GI)
VOLTON A Colonial measure of power output.
VULPA The Cylon Command Centurion on Arkta, and the only non-IL Cylon in the series to have a name (GI). According to the production team’s terminology sheet, Vulpa was intended to be a continuing character, but this probably changed when ABC ordered the revival of Baltar to serve as a “more understandable” threat to the humans.
WARBOOK Each viper’s computer carries in its memory the warbook, a collection of known spacecraft designs. When an unknown ship is sighted, the pilot punches in a request and the warbook tries to identify the craft, the results appearing on a display screen in the cockpit (P).
WARDAGGIT Cassiopiea affectionately refers to Cain thus in his hologram of her (LL).
“WARRIOR OF THE CENTARE” A popular program on IFB, each episode focuses on a different warrior in the fleet. Starbuck is one of the warriors interviewed, and his interview gave Chameleon the idea for and enough info to pull off his escape from the pursuing nomen on the Rising Star (MN).
WARRIOR
WITH THE BEARD Unknown extra who can be seen in many BG episodes.
Tall, dark, bearded, East Asian/Indian-looking, and easy to spot thanks to his beard. His
numerous appearances include being at the party for Apollo and later on the bridge in
“Lost Planet,” in the background in the bunkroom when Starbuck chastises Giles for packing up Cree’s
gear (GI), on the bridge in “Long Patrol,” in the bunkroom again when Apollo
decides to take Boxey along on the mission to Sectar (he
also plays one of the civilians in the bar in Serenity!)
(MW), possibly as a medtech carrying the stretcher up to the command level on the bridge
to take Adama to life station in “Fire in Space,” in the post-Triad game crush
and assorted corridor and party scenes in “War of the Gods,” and among the
spectators at Starbuck's tribunal (MR). He’s also seen peering over Rees’ shoulder in the Officer’s Club, obviously
unimpressed with Rees’ aggressive remarks (GE), on the bridge in “Experiment in
Terra,” and enjoying a furlon in the Astral Lounge aboard the Rising Star (MN). Who the heck IS this guy? I for one
would love to talk to him!
WATTS, COLONEL CHARLIE A member of the Nationalist military who John claimed was a prisoner of war, captured on Lunar One. When John “Protected” Apollo, he arranged that Apollo would look like Charlie to the Terrans he met. Watts is evidently a bit of a Starbuck judging from comments his girlfriend Brenda made about him, and this would have been even more appropriate had the episode been shot as originally written, with Starbuck in the part played by Apollo in the filmed version (ET).
WAVELON Colonial measure of voltage (FS).
WILKER, DOCTOR (John Dullaghan) Dr. Wilker is the all-purpose scientist aboard the Galactica. Seemingly interested primarily in drone technology, he constructed Muffit II as a favor to Apollo (P) and later enthusiastically disassembled Baltar’s centurion pilots in his quest for knowledge (BE). When Iblis visited the fleet, Dr. Wilker investigated the strange effects on the plants aboard the Agro Ship and also was consulted by Apollo as to whether Iblis might be an android (WG). When Starbuck was suspected of killing Ortega Wilker was called upon to test his sidearm to see if it was the murder weapon (which of course it was) (MR). Seeming out of character from his other appearances in the series, Wilker ruthlessly examined the Lunar Seven shuttle trying to learn more about its technology (GE).
WING COMMAND Colonel Tigh asked Athena to order Wing Command to give Apollo Red Squadron’s coordinates, presumably so he could rendezvous with them, but they had already been taken by the Ship of Lights (WG). Wing Command may refer to an independent flight control center aboard the Galactica, similar to Primary Flight Control (PriFli) on modern aircraft carriers; in fact it would be very surprising if the Galactica did not have an independent flight control center.
WOLFE (Richard Lynch) One of the prisoners chosen for the Arkta mission, Starbuck described Wolfe as being a “one man task force.” An aggressive and antisocial man, he stole the injured Vickers’ laser and later on the mountain attempted to kill Apollo with it. Croft jumped him, captured the weapon, and was prevented by Apollo from shooting the fleeing Wolfe, who could not possibly survive the cold or, for that matter, the explosion of the pulsar cannon (GI). Interestingly, actor Richard Lynch is the only actor who has appeared in three different iterations of BG; as Wolfe in the original, as Xaviar in Galactica 1980, and as Count Iblis in Richard Hatch’s BG trailer produced in 1999.
WORSHIP BELL The Cylons signaled their agreement to Kyle’s plan to “trade Starbuck to the tincans for Father” by ringing the castle's worship bell (YL).
YAHREN Colonial measure of time equivalent to our year.
YELLOW SQUADRON Squadron named by Apollo as a ruse as he and Starbuck approached the Cylon base star over Carillon. Possibly a real Galactica squadron (P).
ZAC
(Rick Springfield) The youngest of Adama and Ila’s three children, Zac was a recently qualified
viper pilot at the time of the false Peace Conference. He arranged for Starbuck to feign
illness so he could fly his patrol with Apollo, during which the Cylons damaged Zac’s
viper. He was killed just short of the fleet, the first victim of uncountable millions
(P).
ZARA (Patricia Stich) Host of “Warrior of the Centare” on IFB (MN). She also interviewed Sire Solon before Starbuck’s trial and announced that she felt that the “brilliant career” of Starbuck was at an end, irritating Starbuck into hitting the telescreen in his cell and knocking it out, and thus unintentionally giving him the idea for his escape bid (MR).
ZED (Frank Parker) A newscaster on IFB (MN), he also announces Triad games and did so for the critical match between Apollo and Starbuck and Ortega and Barton, with Boomer serving as his color commentator (MR).
ZERO THREE EIGHT The pilot who is vectoring the landram towards the old mine on Carillon identifies himself thus. Probably his viper number (P).
�1987, 1999 by Susan J. Paxton
A, B, C, D, E & F, G & H, I, J & K, L, M & N, O, P & Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z